"That's right!"
Liu Xie nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Such as Waterwheel, Dike Construction, Jian'an Plow, Canal Irrigation, these are all technologies to increase grain production."
"However, these are far from enough. Further research is needed to achieve a significant increase in grain production."
"For example, in the "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" I was taught by Emperor Gaozu in my dream, I mentioned a Greenhouse Cultivation technology that can grow Winter Melon in winter; there are also crops named Sweet Potato and Potato that can produce more than thirty shi per mu and can replace wheat as a staple food."
After Liu Xie finished speaking, Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were both Shock.
To grow Winter Melon crops in winter that can replace wheat and yield more than 30 dan per mu... This is simply a fantasy!
But they had all heard the rumor that Son of Heaven was awarded "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" by Emperor Gaozu in his dream, and Jian'an Machine and Jian'an Plow were actually made, so even though they found it unbelievable, they did not question it.
"Your Majesty, I wonder what crops Potato and Sweet Potato are? Where can I find them?"
Zhuge Liang asked in a slightly urgent tone.
If Great Han could have such a crop, I don't know how many people would starve to death and how many people would survive!
Liu Xie shook his head with some regret and said, "We Great Han do not have these two things in our territory. They are both overseas. After the world is unified, I will send people out to sea to find them."
He didn't want to find Sweet Potato and Potato, but the situation did not allow it. Great Han now did not have the strength to form an ocean-going fleet.
Zhuge Liang sighed after hearing this.
Liu Xie continued, "I'm just giving you an example. What I want to tell you is that developing technology is the top priority. This is also one of the purposes of establishing Foundry Bureau."
"The art of a craftsman is never a fancy skill. In my opinion, its value exceeds tens of millions or billions of gold!"
"The clever Ironworking Technology can create a more powerful blade and stronger armor, saving me, Great Han Soldiers, countless sacrifices."
"Agribusiness can make a country rich, but technology can make a country strong!"
"I'll show you something else."
Then Liu Xie ordered Guo Nüwang who was waiting on the side, "Bring the things up."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Guo Nüwang lowered his head and retreated, then returned soon after, brought over a stack of thick cloth, and spread it on the ground beside him.
"This is..."
Seeing the content on the cloth, Sima Yi couldn't help but be a little surprised, because it was a map that included Great Han Two Capitals and Thirteen Provinces!
However, what is a little different from ordinary maps is that this map is drawn with red paint and has thin, spider web-like veins that connect all the states in Great Han.
Zhuge Liang was the first to ask, "Your Majesty, what do the red veins on this map mean?"
Liu Xie smiled slightly and said, "This is the road map... but to be precise, this is the Railway Route Map that I plan to pave throughout Great Han in the future."
"Railway Route Map?"
Zhuge Liang frowned, a little confused.
Liu Xie didn't explain too much. He directly took another stack of drawings from Guo Nüwang and handed them to Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi respectively.
The two took it and looked at it carefully.
There is nothing unusual in the drawing, except that there is a Carriage drawn, but this Carriage looks quite different from the ordinary Carriage.
If you look carefully, you can see that the wheels are concave inward, and there are several carriages connected behind the Carriage, which is very different from the ordinary Carriage.
"It's called fire... well, a truck."
"Yes, Rail Freight Wagon."
Liu Xie changed his words and said, "This is a special Carriage that I asked Foundry Bureau to develop. As long as it is used with Railway Track, it can travel hundreds of miles a day."
"As for what Railway Track is, you can look at the next drawing."
In view of the Foundry Bureau's current technical level, it is impossible to manufacture technological products in the true sense, and Liu Xie himself is not good at engineering knowledge.
So he settled for the next best thing and studied railway tracks and let the specially-made Carriage drive on them to achieve the purpose of increasing the transport speed. It would not be too late to replace them as technology progresses in the future. Anyway, keeping the tracks will definitely be useful.
Hmm... it feels a bit like dreaming back to the Qing Dynasty.
Sima Yi said in disbelief, "Carriage travels hundreds of miles a day? How is this possible?"
It is not uncommon to ride a horse and travel a hundred miles a day. Any veteran in Cavalry can do this. The minimum requirement for Eight-Hundred-Li Express is to travel a hundred miles a day.
But Carriage traveling a hundred miles a day is a bit unbelievable, it is simply not possible.
Because this means that the speed of Carriage will be faster than the waterway!
The speed of water transportation depends on the river course. Where there are no rivers, water transportation is impossible. In this case, a large amount of manpower is needed to dig canals and build waterways.
The speed of the land route depends entirely on whether the road is smooth and smooth. In comparison, building roads is definitely more convenient than digging rivers.
"No, this is completely possible." Unlike Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang keenly saw the clues from these two drawings. The speed of such a wheel paired with such a track is very amazing.
"It's just... If Your Majesty wants to lay such a track in our Great Han territory, the manpower and material resources that will be consumed will probably be a Astronomy number."
"With our current national strength, Great Han, we are far from being able to do it."
Zhuge Liang shook his head. Although he thought Carriage and Railway Track were very good, they were too expensive to lay.
Liu Xie smiled lightly and said, "I don't plan to lay Railway Track right now, I'm just telling you about this idea."
"The reason why I show you these is to let you further understand the importance of technological progress."
"Just imagine, if these Railway Track are laid in our Great Han, then if a natural disaster occurs somewhere in our Great Han, but it will have a continuous supply of food and material resources from various places and be quickly sent to the disaster area, how can the people panic?"
"If a war breaks out, logistics Grain and Fodder will no longer be so difficult, and the army can go to support faster."
"In addition, business development in various places will be much more convenient, and the exchanges between the north and the south will be more intensive. The benefits are countless."
Liu Xie said that he stretched out his right hand, clenched it tightly into a fist, and said in a deep voice, "This is the power of technology!"
Liu Xie's words simply opened a new door for Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, because they had never had such a concept before.
Everyone knows that technology is important, but their understanding of developing technology is too one-sided, and Liu Xie has just made a summary and summary for them.
Research and development of technology are of extremely important significance to agriculture, commerce, and military aspects, and can also improve productivity.
"But Your Majesty, it is important to develop technology to improve productivity, but you have not yet said how to develop agriculture and business simultaneously."
"Because even if agriculture prospers due to technological improvements, too rapid commercial development will have an impact on agriculture, right?"
Sima Yi asked, feeling that he was a little off topic.
In other words, this is what he is more concerned about.
Liu Xie just talked about how to improve productivity, but did not mention the most critical issue, which is how to implement both agriculture and business.
Liu Xie raised a finger and said, "First, support the development of trade, vigorously promote private commercial activities, relax restrictions, but at the same time increase the collection of commercial taxes."
"Second, focus on external trade, that is, Silk Road, earning wealth from other countries through trade."
"Third, use the collected commercial taxes to establish Agricultural Subsidy Fund to protect the interests of ordinary people and at the same time promote a series of Pro-Agriculture Policies."
"Fourth, it is up to Imperial Court to regulate and introduce strict laws and adjust grain prices to prevent Merchants from becoming dominant and thereby destroying the continuity of agriculture."
"What do Kongming and Sima Yi think?"
Liu Xie unhurriedly expressed his views on the simultaneous development of agriculture and business, and then asked the two of them with a smile.
Although they are just some crude ideas, he does not want to implement them all immediately. He needs to constantly try and then check for deficiencies.
I bring this up today mainly to discuss with Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang and win their approval.
Sima Yi was fascinated by what he heard. After hearing the words, he came back to his senses and said categorically, "There is no problem, what Your Majesty said is the true national policy for the ages!"
"If it can be implemented smoothly and achieve the simultaneous development of agriculture and business, our Great Han national strength will surely grow to an unprecedented level!"
There was unconcealable excitement in Sima Yi's tone.
No matter how difficult it is to implement, once it is successful, it will indeed skyrocket Great Han's national power!
Why didn't he think of it before?
Why Nonghe Shang and Imperial Court must be independent of each other? The three should be interdependent and complementary. No one can guess correctly.
As trade increases, Merchants will become rich, and the taxes paid to the country will naturally increase. Even if the country uses most of them to subsidize the people who farm, there will still be a lot left over.
And farmers will be stable when they get benefits. After all, they have state subsidies and Imperial Court as the backing.
If farmers live and work in peace and contentment, farm with peace of mind, and pay taxes on time, how can the country be short of money and not strong?
This is completely a virtuous cycle!
Merchants pursues interests and status, farmers pursue stability, and the country needs money to develop the military, improve national strength, and improve the people's welfare system. All three needs are met at once!
"Kongming Why don't you say anything?"
Seeing Sima Yi's excited look, Liu Xie couldn't help but smile, but he soon found that Zhuge Liang was frowning and silent, as if he was deep in thought about something.
Zhuge Liang gathered his thoughts and was silent for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty I have considered it carefully, but there is only one thing that is not appropriate."
Sima Yi immediately became unhappy when he heard this, and snorted coldly, "Then what are the things that are wrong with the national policies Your Majesty said?"
He couldn't stand Zhuge Liang's tendency to refute everything.
It's like you can't appear smart without refuting.
Zhuge Liang glanced at Sima Yi and calmly uttered two words: "Aristocratic family."
Sima Yi's expression froze slightly.
Liu Xie also fell silent.
Zhuge Liang continued, "Your Majesty's idea is undoubtedly a good one, but it may not be able to achieve what he wants when implemented."
"When Your Majesty promoted Land Reclamation Policy, the original intention was that Imperial Court would benefit the people, but what was the final result?"
"Aristocratic families have occupied a large amount of high-quality land through various means, and less than one out of ten has actually fallen into the hands of ordinary people."
"Therefore, the same is true for the national policies Your Majesty just mentioned. No matter how complete they are discussed now, they will eventually encounter unexpected difficulties when they are finally implemented."
What Zhuge Liang said is cruel, but also very realistic.
This time Sima Yi did not continue talking because the topic was too sensitive and he did not dare to say anything.
Because he is also a member of the aristocratic family, he Sima Clan was also involved in the land occupation.
Doesn't he understand that he can't get involved?
Of course he understood, but he couldn't stop it.