At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 612: Government-run crisis and the Liu family
After leaving the palace, Chao Cuo found Jia Yi. He rushed over immediately after hearing the news that Jia Yi had returned to Chang'an. He took Jia Yi to live in his home. After both sides had a good meal and a good drink, Chao Cuo gave Jia Yi his research report.

Jia Yi was surprised and asked, "A report on the investigation of the Chenjun government camp over the past 20 years?"

Chao Cuo nodded and said, "Prime Minister Zhou Bo carried out the government-run reform in Chen County. It has been more than 20 years this year. The benefits of government-run are obvious. Chen County's agricultural production capacity has doubled, and the industrial production has increased by more than five times. The production capacity of the steel industry has increased by more than ten times. Chen County has achieved a population of more industrial people than agricultural people. These are all due to the rapid growth brought about by the government-run control of the entire industrial chain. However, everything in this world has its pros and cons. The drawbacks of more than 20 years of government-run have already been revealed."

Chen County has developed rapidly in the past 20 years, with rapid increases in industrial and agricultural output values. However, the development in the last 10 years has been particularly rapid. This is because after the Han Dynasty began to build the Western Region Railway, Liaodong Railway, and Jiangnan Railway, the princes in other parts of the Han Dynasty also became interested in building railways. As a result, the princes in Southeast Asia, Nanzhong, Tianzhu, and even the Xiongnu New World region also had more or less experimental railways.

Since that time, the whole world has formed a wave of railway construction. This year, the three kingdoms of Han, Xiongnu, and Tianzhu have built more than 300 miles of railways, and the amount of steel consumed by these railways alone is roughly million tons.

Railways have driven the rapid development of the steel industry, so the past decade is also the golden decade for the development of the steel industry. Relying on the entire industrial chain, Chenjun can lower the price of rails to a low price with high quality, while earning most of the profits in the industrial chain. More importantly, for heavy industries like steel, integrated overall planning is faster than disorderly development.

Relying on the advantages of its state-owned layout, the steel industry has expanded 20 times in the past 10 years, creating a golden age of development for Chen County.

The rapid expansion of the steel industry has also led to the rapid expansion of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, so the industrial population once exceeded the agricultural population for the first time. The income of a steel worker generally exceeded 6 yuan. Relying on the great development of the steel industry, Chen County has reached the standard of a wealthy society.

At the same time, the large-scale popularization of infrastructure soldiers in the south was related to the rapid expansion of industry. The Han Dynasty expanded several thousand conscripts in a county every year. The cost was not too high, but the difficulty lay in the placement of these soldiers.

The prosperity of the steel industry requires a large number of disciplined, hard-working and skilled craftsmen, and soldiers who have been trained and have worked in infrastructure are the best steel workers.

Therefore, relying on the explosive growth of the steel industry and the huge increase in demand for steel functions, the Han Dynasty achieved a rapid expansion of its infrastructure troops.

The Han Dynasty now has more than 60 infrastructure soldiers, and more than 20 soldiers need to be resettled every year. Half of these soldiers are diverted to the New World, and the other half are diverted into heavy industries, led by the steel industry.

These two aspects are even somewhat complementary and mutually reinforcing, because the rapid development of the steel industry requires a large number of high-quality craftsmen, so the court can smoothly advance the infrastructure military system.

But also because of the large number of infrastructure soldiers and the need to resettle hundreds of thousands of retired soldiers every year, the steel industry must have enough jobs, so the steel industry is forced to continue to expand. If the steel industry wants to expand, the best way at present is to build large railways.

But the crisis that broke out in the Xiongnu last year was a wake-up call for the Han Dynasty's steel industry. The shortage of hundreds of thousands of tons of steel in the market instantly caused large-scale losses in the entire industry.

Chao Cuo discovered that after 10 years of golden development, these rapidly developing heavy industrial centers of the Han Dynasty all encountered the problem of industrial upgrading. On the one hand, they needed to upgrade various mechanical equipment, and on the other hand, they needed to upgrade factory management.

Chao Cuo said helplessly: "The current steel industry is developing too well. As long as the rails can be manufactured, they can be sold immediately. Many middlemen who sell rails live near the steel mills and have good relationships with the managers of the steel mills, just to get their goods as soon as possible."

"As the saying goes, one is born in adversity and dies in comfort. Business is too good, and those factories lack competitiveness. These factories have many problems from top to bottom. The managers of those factories like to talk business over wine, and they don't observe the market themselves. They also like to place their own confidants in the factories, resulting in redundant staff and reduced efficiency."

"There are also problems with the factory's craftsmen. They are unwilling to learn and develop products. In recent years, the variety of new steel produced in Dahan has declined significantly, and the development of new blast furnaces has also been extremely slow."

"Because there were too many people with connections, there was too much personal connections in the factory, and too many unqualified craftsmen entered the factory. These people with connections slacked off on the work, which brought a bad atmosphere. The efficiency of the factory began to decline, and the steel plant continued to grow in size, but its profits decreased."

"Last year, the Xiongnu experienced an economic crisis, which caused the Han Dynasty to lose hundreds of thousands of tons of steel market. At that time, the profits of Chenjun's steel industry fell rapidly. Fortunately, the court took action in time and the economic crisis of the Xiongnu was quickly resolved. Only then did everything return to normal, but it also covered up the problem."

Chao Cuo said seriously: "It is time for Chen County to change. If we change now, the court can still take the initiative and minimize the losses. But if we wait until the steel industry suffers large-scale losses, everyone will have to endure the pain of change."

After hearing what Chao Cuo said, Jia Yi was extremely shocked. You know, the state-run economy is the Legalists' forte. The Legalists were able to get rid of the influence of the late Qin Dynasty so quickly because they could also play a huge role in the industrial age. If the foundation of their existence was wrong, then the Legalists would be doomed to perish.

He carefully read all the reports from Chao Cuo, but no matter how carefully he read them, he could not let Chao Cuo understand the problems more deeply.

So Jia Yi asked: "What method do you have for dealing with this problem?"

Chao Cuo said: "To change the current situation in Chen County where there are too many people but not enough work, I think we need to establish a leadership center. The current situation in the state-owned steel industry is that there are too many people who can manage, resulting in a situation where everyone can manage, but few people are willing to take responsibility."

"Take the steel industry as an example. The imperial court's junior officials can manage it, the local county governors can issue orders, the steel mill owners can, and the craftsmen below can make suggestions and express their opinions. There are too many people who can influence the steel mill, which in turn makes it difficult for the factory director to make a qualified decision because there are too many influences from all aspects."

"My idea is to cut off these influences and implement the factory director responsibility system. Of course, if you have this power, you must also bear this responsibility, and you must ensure full responsibility."

Jia Yi thought deeply for a long time and shook his head, saying, "The power and responsibility are not equal. In private factories, if the factory managers do not do a good job, it is their own enterprises that will go bankrupt. However, in state-owned factories, there are shares of the court, the craftsmen, and the owners, but the factory managers do not have many shares. The court cannot really execute a factory manager just because a factory goes bankrupt. There will definitely be factory managers who abuse their power for personal gain. The court is too far away to supervise, but the craftsmen have no rights that cannot be supervised."

After thinking deeply for a long time, Chao Cuo smiled bitterly and said, "I can only choose the lesser of two evils."

October 40, 10th year of the Han calendar, Chang'an City, Peihou Mansion.

Liu Ruyi looked at the place where he grew up and couldn't help but yelled excitedly: "Naigong is back."

When the housekeeper of Peihou Mansion heard the voice, he ran out and saw Liu Ruyi and said excitedly: "Third Young Master, you are home."

Then the butler took Liu Ruyi's luggage and ordered someone to notify Liu Fei, Liu Heng and other brothers.

Liu Ruyi asked, "Is there no one at home?"

The housekeeper said, "The court is now holding the Shangji Conference, the Sages Conference, and the Princes Conference. The eldest young master is busy entertaining the princes from all over the country. The marquis just gave birth to a legitimate son this year, and the Princes Conference sent an envoy this year. The fourth young master is also busy handling internal affairs. The fifth young master is out visiting friends. The sixth and eighth young masters are going to the Xiongnu Kingdom to handle the family's business. It is said that there is a big business in the Xiongnu Kingdom, but I don't know the details. The seventh young master is still protecting His Majesty's safety. There are also several grandsons who are either assigned by their families or studying in the academy."

The housekeeper still had a proud look on his face when he said this. Although there were many powerful families in the Han Dynasty, their Peihou Mansion had vassal states outside the Han Dynasty. There were two officials with a rank of two thousand stones in the Han Dynasty. They had both developed civil and military talents, and another was the emperor's bodyguard. They also had a certain influence in the academic world and also had family factories in the Han Dynasty. It was difficult to find a second powerful family with such a comprehensive development in the entire Han Dynasty.

Liu Ruyi slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot that this is the busiest time for Big Brother and the others."

The housekeeper looked Liu Ruyi up and down and asked, "I heard that you, Third Young Master, went to Daqinzhou and fought a war with a foreign country. You were not injured, right?"

Liu Ruyi said unhappily, "It was a wasted trip. The battlefield was at sea, and the navy was the one who made the contribution. I didn't even encounter a single enemy. In the past few years, I went to the Yanzhou Governor's Office. I was said to be a soldier, but what I did was either to open up wasteland or to teach those foreigners how to farm. I really lived up to the tradition of the Han army to follow wherever they go. I haven't farmed as much land in my entire life as I have in these few years."

The housekeeper comforted him, "Third Master, you are already a captain in your early 30s. You still have plenty of opportunities. Sooner or later, you will become a general." Liu Ruyi sighed and said, "It's hard to become a general now. Daqinzhou is already the place with the most intense conflicts, but their powerful country can only recruit tens of thousands of soldiers. Once they lose a battle, they will surrender immediately. It's not easy to make achievements in this situation."

Chang'an County Government Office.

Liu Heng was also writing his own report. This time, he and the emperor toured the Central Plains, one openly and one secretly. He not only saw the chaos in the agricultural communities in the Central Plains, but also saw other problems in the agricultural communities of the Han Dynasty. He had been looking for data in the imperial court during this period, and based on what he had seen in the Central Plains, he planned to write a memorial on the rural problems of the Han Dynasty.

The power of the Han Dynasty in recent years has been mainly concentrated in cities. Urban industries have developed rapidly, the population has increased, and the people have become wealthy. However, in the countryside, there has been a lack of organization, the power of the court has declined, and a large number of people have withdrawn from the countryside, and local tyrants have begun to rise. Especially in recent years, the court has invested a lot of resources in the villages of the Han Dynasty. These resources have been favored by the tyrants who have risen in the villages of the Han Dynasty. They use the power in their hands, or the control of the court's policies, to make profits for themselves, resulting in bad money driving out good money. A large number of tyrants who want to suck blood from the court have begun to attach importance to the positions in the countryside. The stronger the economy of the county, the more serious the situation. In the coastal counties, the Han Dynasty's Tingli system is completely lax, and there is a situation where tyrants control the countryside.

In the Han Dynasty's democratic system of villages, the implementation of the system of wise men was different from what was imagined. Instead, it was controlled by the big families in the village. Official positions in the village were concentrated in one family, and even several generations served as village heads. This was very common in the villages in the Central Plains.

Liu Heng wrote down exactly what he had seen in the countryside of the Central Plains. At the same time, he was still a little disappointed. In the past few years, he had implemented market democracy in Chang'an City, and it was doing quite well. People in the same community could also make suggestions for their own lives, and the owners could manage themselves, which greatly reduced the court's expenditure at the grassroots level. He had been very optimistic about this model, and it was promoted well in several counties in Chang'an City, but when it was promoted to the countryside, it soon encountered problems of acclimatization.

As expected, every reform is not easy and there is still a long way to go.

Liu Heng dragged his tired body back to his home.

But he found that the house was brightly lit. As soon as he entered the door, he heard the hearty laughter of his third brother and his eldest brother.

"Brother Heng, you're back!" Liu Ruyi said with a smile on Liu Heng's face.

"Third brother, you are back from Daqinzhou!"

Liu Ruyi smiled and said, "I took a month off and came back to see you." Then he saw Liu Heng's tired expression and blamed him, "The emperor said 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for work, and 8 hours for life. There is no end to government affairs, so why do you delay coming back so late? You should learn from your elder brother. You see, your elder brother gets off work at 5 o'clock, so government affairs will not be delayed until 5:30."

Liu Fei said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? Your elder brother is a loser. Brother Heng is highly valued by the emperor and is now the governor of Chang'an. He is much more promising than me, your elder brother."

Liu Fei is 52 years old this year. He has neither made any great achievements nor committed any major faults over the years. He is just an ordinary screw in the Han official system. Because the Han promotion system mainly faces places like the New World, the poor areas of the Han frontier, and the developed areas of the south of the Yangtze River. Officials and clerks in these places can be promoted faster. In wealthy areas like Chang'an and Guanzhong, it is extremely difficult to be promoted unless one has outstanding talents. Although he has connections with the Peihou Mansion, one of his brothers became the magistrate of the capital county with an official salary of two thousand stones, one became a captain, and another became the guard of His Majesty. The prime minister of the Han Dynasty saw these children of the Liu family and it was not easy to continue to promote Liu Fei.

So Liu Fei is now just a Han official with a rank of Qianshi. If nothing unexpected happens, he will retire in this position. But Liu Fei doesn't care. Because Liu Bang has been away for many years, he has watched his younger brothers grow up. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is both a brother and a father. He will be satisfied if his younger brothers have made progress.

Not long after, Liu Hui and Liu Chang also came back.

Liu Chang said happily: "Third brother, I heard that you went to the war. Did you bring me any spoils of war?"

Liu Ruyi said: "I didn't win the battle, I was defeated by the navy, but I bought a Damascus steel knife in a big city in Daqinzhou. The material is not as large as mine, but it is inlaid with gems on the outside, and it looks pretty."

After saying that, Liu Ruyi went to his room and took out such a good gift. He first gave Liu Fei a few gems and said, "These are gems from Daqinzhou. They are for Xiang'er and the others to play with."

Then he gave Liu Heng and Liu Hui a few books and said, "These are some of Daqinzhou's books that I bought from the largest library in Daqinzhou. I know you love reading books."

Then Liu Ruyi took out the Damascus steel knife he mentioned.

Liu Chang took the long sword and said with a smile: "It looks beautiful on the outside, but I don't know if it's just a facade."

He pulled out his long sword. The blade had very beautiful patterns. The more Liu Chang looked at it, the more satisfied he became. He ran out and said, "I'll go test the sword."

Liu Ruyi smiled and said, "Brother, it's still the same."

Then he looked at Liu Heng and Liu Jian and asked, "How have you been doing in Chang'an over the past two years?"

Liu Heng said calmly: "I am still working for the Han Dynasty and serving the people."

Liu Ruyi gave a thumbs up and said, "With Brother Heng's personality, it's no wonder that he has such a successful career."

Liu Jian said: "In the past two years, I have become a disciple of Master Tian Zhen and studied Taoist scriptures with him."

"Master Tian Zhen? The one who treats Huang Lao?"

Liu Jian admired him and said: "Although Teacher Tian Zhen came from the Huang-Lao school, he was able to break through the barriers, form his own school, and founded chemistry."

Liu Ruyi asked curiously: "Chemistry?"

He understood these words separately, but he didn't understand what they meant when they were put together. He had only been away from the Han Dynasty for three or four years, so how could he have acquired new knowledge?
Liu Jian explained: "Chemistry is a natural science that studies the composition, structure, properties and laws of change of matter at the atomic level. The teacher believes that atoms are the smallest particles in the world, and molecules are the smallest units that maintain certain properties of matter. Molecules are composed of atoms. Single molecules are composed of atoms of the same element, while compound molecules are composed of atoms of different elements. In chemical changes, the atoms of different substances are recombined. Everything in the world is composed of molecules composed of different atoms, and then molecules host matter.

"The teacher has been separating various elements in the world for a while. Our experiments have been highly valued by the emperor, who gives us hundreds of millions of experimental funds every year. The teacher leads five research groups to conduct experiments every day."

Liu Ruyi asked curiously: "What's the use of this?"

Liu Jian looked at his third brother with disdain, showing his superiority in intelligence. He said, "Teacher invented sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid in his early years. These are important raw materials for the chemical industry. They can be used to make fertilizers, pesticides, and dyes. They have many uses in the Han Dynasty. Because of these inventions, the emperor made the teacher a viscount."

Liu Heng said: "Brother, chemistry is already a very advanced knowledge. Students who graduate from the academy in the Han Dynasty can only be entry-level apprentices. Your talent is mainly in the military field, so you don't need to worry about these."

Liu Ruyi said, "Brother Heng is right. You are only specialized in chemistry. If I were to tell you about marching, fighting, deploying troops, and even the timing of firing a gun, you would still not understand."

Liu Fei said: "Well, Ruyi finally came back, we brothers won't say this anymore, we will invite the younger generation back in the next two days, and the whole family will be lively."

(End of this chapter)