People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 613 Report
"Are there any prospects for a steamer?"

"Your Excellency, we have already made some progress. The Institute of Engineering has conducted a detailed theoretical design and concluded that it is completely feasible. The only thing left is the research and development experiment. I have already called on the relevant engineers and master craftsmen to participate in the research and development. If it is just for verification, it will not take too long."

"Very good, very good. I will be waiting for your good news."

Xu Chen responded with a nod and a smile while looking at the written report in his hand.

Next to him was Hu Tao, the current Minister of Works of Xuanxia.

Hu Tao, the Minister of Works, was a senior official in the Six Ministries. In addition to overseeing major projects of the court such as water conservancy and the north-south canal, he also had a very critical function, which was to be in charge of many scientific and technological research and development projects of the Institute of Works. He was a true "technical" bureaucrat.

Although the Minister of Works does not have much power in governing the world's affairs, his importance is by no means low. At least Hu Tao, as the head of the Ministry of Works, can always feel Xu Chen's emphasis on the Ministry.

Almost every month, Xu Chen would personally call Hu Tao or some other officials from the Ministry of Industry to discuss government affairs. This was almost becoming a routine procedure unique to the Ministry of Industry, and Hu Tao had long been accustomed to it. This was enough to show how much Xu Chen valued the Ministry of Industry.

The more this is the case, the more Hu Tao dares not slack off in this position. This is not only because he does not want to let down Xu Chen and the country, but also reflects his essential qualities as a technical person.

"The difficulty of steamships lies mainly in the steam engine itself, and the ship itself is secondary. Now the iterative optimization of the steam engine by the Institute of Engineering is quite mature, and the performance and quality of the machine have reached high standards. Rather than saying that this is a study of new power ships, it is better to say that it is to verify an application direction of steam power. Although the project has just begun research and development, I am already 80% to 90% sure that it will succeed."

"Yes, your idea coincides with mine. The success of this steamship has verified the direction. Since this power can be used for ships, we can also try to develop it in other areas. For example, it is worth considering whether the same power can be used on vehicles. Perhaps in the future, there will be cars all over the world that do not require human or animal power."

Having said that, Xu Chen smiled and turned the page while talking.

What follows are the many large-scale projects of Xuanxia today, such as the national trunk road project that connects the whole country, the canal project that connects the north and south waterways, the water conservancy project to control the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, or the progress overview of port military industry and other affairs.

Although these projects are very large, Xu Chen has been in charge of them all the way, so the content of the report does not need to be so detailed at this time. He just glanced over it and had a general idea of ​​it.

Once the war stopped, Xuanxia's energy was fully shifted to internal governance, and various major projects began to accelerate. The strategic-level large-scale infrastructure plan of the Xuanxia court was completely on track.

Less than a year had passed since the Southern Expedition, and the entire Chinese land seemed to have turned into a huge construction site. The thirteen provinces of the country were under construction, and countless large and small projects such as roads, factories, houses, water conservancy projects were started and completed one after another, and then new projects were launched in an endless cycle.

These projects had already been started before, but due to concessions made to the war, the scale had never been expanded. It was not until now that they were completely unleashed. Once this huge infrastructure project began, it seemed that there was no end, and no one knew when it would end.

The number of people directly and indirectly mobilized by this plan has reached hundreds of thousands, which has attracted a huge number of workers. Of course, it has also mobilized a large number of cement, brick factories, quarries, sand pits, timber mills and other industries.

The entire infrastructure plan is like a fully-powered engine, providing a continuous source of development momentum for countless workers and industries.

Initially, many people in the court were very worried about such a huge plan, fearing that Xuanxia would repeat the fate of the Qin Dynasty. After all, a large part of the reason for the demise of the Qin Dynasty was because of the large-scale construction of the Great Wall, the Qin Straight Road, palaces and other huge projects, which eventually led to the collapse due to the waste of manpower and money.

Now the scale of infrastructure construction in Xuanxia is many times larger than that of the Qin Dynasty. Many people are unsure whether this can be done. It was not until Xu Chen finalized the plan and implemented it against all odds that the court was surprised to find that the infrastructure plan did not lead to the bad consequences imagined, but rather produced quite a lot of positive benefits. In addition to the function of the infrastructure itself, the huge employment and industrial value it brought about cannot be ignored.

After all, they overlooked the biggest difference between Xuanxia and the Qin Dynasty, which was that Xuanxia did not forcibly conscript labor like the Qin Dynasty, but instead adopted the form of hiring workers.

The laborers' work is not forced service but paid work, so there is naturally no problem of overwork. On the contrary, people are eager for the opportunity to earn extra money.

As for the loss of money, it is true, but money is supposed to create value in its flow, and healthy finances require that the money in hand be spent effectively.

When infrastructure drives industrial expansion, more money will slowly flow back to the court. In fact, although the court's burden is heavy, it is always within a reasonable range.

Now, many projects have begun to be implemented and infrastructure is on the right track. At the current pace, Xu Chen can foresee that in the near future, Xuanxia will undergo earth-shaking changes, and the country's appearance will become increasingly close to an industrial society.

Of course, infrastructure is not just civil construction. Public facilities such as hospitals, schools, parks, etc. are also rapidly increasing.

"The Ministry of Industry has also established various civil engineering departments in accordance with the Prime Minister's instructions. The construction of specific projects has now been handed over to these departments. They are responsible for coordinating the overall project and then subcontracting the sub-projects to private engineering teams. The progress of each project has been significantly accelerated. I estimate that within ten years, at least most of the existing projects can be completed."

"The efficiency is not low, but you can't take the quality lightly."

Xu Chen glanced at Hu Tao and said calmly, "Although the construction projects are fast now, cases are frequently reported in various places. Whether it is your subordinate civil engineering department or the private engineering team, there are huge quality problems. This is not a small matter."

Upon hearing this, Hu Tao broke out in a sweat. Being in this position, he could no longer only consider technical issues, but had to pay more attention to political issues. If there were any mistakes below, it must be a problem with the management of the Ministry of Industry.

Without hesitation, he responded, "What the Prime Minister said is that the current project supervision and acceptance model of the Ministry of Industry has loopholes. I will definitely improve it in the future and prevent such incidents from happening again."

Xu Chen certainly knew that this kind of thing could never be really stopped, but he was not dissatisfied with Hu Tao's promise.

Those who aim for the best will only achieve the average. If the goal is not set with enough determination, things will most likely not be done well.

After being warned like this, Xu Chen stopped worrying about it. All he had to do next was to see how effective Hu Tao's work was. He was not yet powerful enough to handle every detail of state affairs. Things would ultimately have to be handled by the people below him.

If Hu Tao did not have sufficient ability, he would not have reached where he is today. Xu Chen believes that he can manage the current Ministry of Industry well.

Putting these thoughts aside, Xu Chen casually turned to the next page of the document, and the content of this page immediately caught his attention, making his eyes brighten.

(End of this chapter)