Can I get to the other side?

“Agriculture is the foundation of a country’s strength, and commerce is the foundation of its wealth. Both are indispensable, and one cannot be neglected at the expense of the other.”

"Businessmen focus on profit but not production. This is the disadvantage of business. If you focus on business, you will abolish agriculture. Therefore, if you want to develop commerce, you must make agriculture strong."

"The key to a strong agriculture is to increase productivity. Only when people have enough to eat can business prosper."

"So the first thing I want to talk to Zhongda and Kongming is the key to improving productivity - developing technology."

Liu Xie said to the two of them with bright eyes.

What he wanted to discuss with Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang today was the path the Han Dynasty would take in the future and its development direction.

But Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang looked at each other in shock when they heard this.

Increase productivity? Develop technology?

This was a new word they had never heard of before.

Sima Yi asked with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry for my stupidity. May I ask your majesty what you mean by this productivity and technology..."

"It's very simple."

Liu Xie smiled and patiently explained to the two of them: "Take weaving as an example. A piece of cloth is 40 feet long and 2.2 feet wide. A skilled weaver can weave about one piece of cloth a day."

"But after I invented the construction machine, this speed was increased several times. Weavers can weave more cloth in the same time."

"This is the relationship between technology and productivity. Weaving technology improves, so production speed also increases."

Liu Xie gave a simple and clear example.

The construction and installation machine he manufactured was a dimensionality reduction blow to the textile industry of this era, greatly increasing the production speed of cloth.

"I see, I understand."

Zhuge Liang suddenly understood, and then asked: "Your Majesty, do you mean to increase food production and ensure the stability of agriculture through the development of technology?"

"Yes!"

Liu Xie nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Such as waterwheels, embankment construction, plow construction, and canal irrigation, these are all technologies that 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 "Tiangong Kaiwu" taught by Emperor Gaozu in my dream, I mentioned a greenhouse planting technology that can grow cold melons in winter; there are also crops called sweet potatoes and potatoes. The yield can reach more than 30 shi, which can replace wheat as the staple food.”

After Liu Xie finished speaking, Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were both shocked.

To grow cold melons in winter, a crop 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 the emperor received the "Tiangong Kaiwu" from Emperor Gaozu in his dream, and the 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 kind of crops these potatoes and sweet potatoes are? Where can I find them?"

Zhuge Liang asked in a slightly urgent tone.

If a big man could have such a crop, I don’t know how many people would have been saved from starving to death and how many people would have been saved!

Liu Xielue shook his head with regret and said: "We do not have these two things in the Han Dynasty. They are all overseas. When the world is unified, I will send people out to sea to find them."

He didn't want to find sweet potatoes and potatoes, but the situation didn't allow it. The big man now didn't have the strength to form an ocean-going fleet.

Zhuge Liang also sighed after hearing this.

Liu Xie continued: "I am 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 the Smelting Bureau."

"The craftsmanship is never a fancy skill. In my opinion, its value exceeds tens of millions or billions of gold!"

"Excellent iron smelting technology can create more powerful blades and stronger armor, which saves our Han soldiers countless sacrifices."

“Agribusiness can make a country rich, but technology can make a country strong!”

"I'll show you something more."

Immediately afterwards, Liu Xie ordered Queen Guo who was waiting on the side: "Bring the things up."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Queen Guo bowed her head and retreated, then returned soon after, brought over a stack of thick cloth, and spread it on the ground beside her.

"This is……"

Seeing the content on the cloth, Sima Yi couldn't help but be slightly surprised, because it was a map that included two capitals and thirteen states of the Han Dynasty!

However, what is somewhat different from ordinary maps is that this map has thin, spiderweb-like veins drawn with red paint, connecting all the states in the Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Liang took the lead and asked: "Your Majesty, what do the red veins on this map represent?"

Liu Xie smiled slightly and said: "This is the road map...but to be precise, this is the track road map that I plan to pave throughout the Han Dynasty in the future."

"Track map?"

Zhuge Liang frowned, a little confused.

Liu Xie didn't explain too much. He directly took another stack of drawings from Queen Guo 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 it depicts a carriage, but this carriage looks quite different from ordinary carriages.

If you look carefully, you can see that the wheels are concave inward, and there are several carriages connected to the back of the carriage, which is very different from ordinary carriages.

"It's called a fire...well, a van."

"Yes, railcar."

Liu Xie changed his mind and said, "This is a special carriage developed by the Metallurgical and Manufacturing Bureau. As long as it is used with rails, it can travel hundreds of miles a day."

"As for what the rails are, you can look at the next drawing."

Given the current technical level of the Metallurgical Bureau, it is impossible to manufacture a real scientific and technological product, and Liu Xie himself is not good at engineering knowledge.

So he settled for the second best and studied the railway tracks, allowing special carriages to run on them to achieve the purpose of increasing the carrying speed. It would not be too late to replace them when the technology advances in the future. Anyway, the tracks must be useful.

Well... It feels a bit like dreaming back to the Qing Dynasty.

Sima Yi said in disbelief: "A carriage can travel hundreds of miles a day? How is this possible?"

It is not uncommon to travel a hundred miles a day on horseback. As long as the old soldiers in the cavalry can do this, the minimum requirement for the 800-mile express is to travel a hundred miles a day.

But it is a bit too incredible for a carriage to travel a hundred miles a day. This is not something that can be done at all.

Because this means that the speed of the carriage will be faster than the waterway!

The speed of water transportation depends on the river channel. There is no way to transport water in places without rivers. At this time, a large number 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 flat. In comparison, building a road is definitely more convenient than digging a river.

"No, this is entirely possible."

Unlike Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang keenly saw the clues from the two drawings. Such wheels with such tracks can achieve amazing speed.

"But... Your Majesty wants to lay such tracks in the territory of my Han Dynasty, and the manpower and material resources consumed are probably astronomical."

"With the current national strength of my Han Dynasty, it is far from possible."

Zhuge Liang shook his head. Although he thought the carriage and rails were good, the cost of laying them was too terrifying.

Liu Xie smiled faintly and said, "I am not planning to lay the rails right now. I am just telling you this idea."

"And the reason why I show you these is to make you further understand the importance of technological progress."

"Imagine, if these rails are laid in my Han territory, then if a natural disaster occurs in a certain place in my Han, but it can continuously and quickly deliver food and materials from all over the place to the disaster-stricken area, how can the people panic?"

"If a war breaks out, the transportation of logistics and food will no longer be so difficult, and the army can go to support faster."

"In addition, the development of trade in various places will be much more convenient, and the exchanges between the north and the south will be more frequent. The benefits are simply countless."

Liu Xie stretched out his right hand, clenched it 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.

Reading the error-free version! 6=9+book_ba first release novel

Everyone knows that technology is important, but their understanding of developing technology is too one-sided, and Liu Xie has just made a summary for them.

Research and development of technology is of great significance to agriculture, commerce, and military, and can improve productivity.

"But your majesty, developing technology to improve productivity is important, but you haven't said how to develop agriculture and commerce at the same time."

"Because even if agriculture prospers due to technological improvement, the rapid development of commerce will also have an impact on agriculture, right?"

Sima Yi asked, he felt a little off topic.

Or this is what he is more concerned about.

Just now, Liu Xie was talking about how to improve productivity, but he didn't mention the most critical issue, that is, how to implement agriculture and commerce at the same time.

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, the Silk Road, and earn wealth from other countries through trade."

"Third, use the collected commercial taxes to establish an agricultural subsidy fund to protect the interests of ordinary people, and at the same time implement a series of policies that benefit farmers."

"Fourth, the court will regulate, introduce strict laws, adjust grain prices, and prevent merchants from dominating and thus destroying the continuity of agriculture."

"What do Kong Ming and Zhong Da think?"

Liu Xie slowly expressed his views on the combination of agriculture and commerce, and then asked the two with a smile.

Although these are just some crude ideas, he is not going to implement them all at once. He needs to try them out continuously and then check for deficiencies and make up for them.

The main purpose of raising these today is to discuss with Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang and win their approval.

Sima Yi was fascinated by what he heard. After coming back to his senses, he said firmly: "No problem, what your majesty said is the true national policy of the ages!"

"If it can be implemented smoothly and achieve the simultaneous development of agriculture and commerce, the national strength of our Han Dynasty will surely be unprecedentedly strong!"

Sima Yi's tone was full of excitement.

No matter how difficult it is to implement, once it succeeds, it will indeed make the national strength of the Han Dynasty soar!

Why didn't he think of it before?

Why must agriculture, commerce and the court be independent of each other? The three should be interdependent and complementary. No one can guess it right.

When trade is established, merchants will be rich, and the taxes paid to the country will naturally be more. Even if the country takes most of it to subsidize the people who farm, there will still be a lot left.

And the farmers will be stable after getting the benefits, after all, there are subsidies from the state and the court as a backing.

The farmers live and work in peace, farm with peace of mind, and pay taxes on time. How can the country be poor and strong?

This is completely a virtuous cycle!

Businessmen pursue 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!

"Why doesn't Kong Ming say anything?"

Seeing Sima Yi's excited look, Liu Xie couldn't help but smile, but he soon discovered that Zhuge Liang was frowning and silent, as if he was deep in thought.

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."

When Sima Yi heard this, he immediately became unhappy and snorted coldly: "Then what are the things that are wrong with the national policies His Majesty mentioned?"

He couldn't stand Zhuge Liang's style of refuting everything.

It's like you can't appear smart without rebutting.

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 good, but it may not be able to achieve what you want when you implement it."

"When His Majesty implemented the pioneering policy, his original intention was that the imperial court would provide benefits to 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 His Majesty just mentioned. No matter how complete they are discussed now, they will eventually encounter unexpected difficulties when they are finally implemented."

Zhuge Liang's words are 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 class, his Sima family 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.

The food on the table was already cold. Liu Xie put down the chopsticks in his hands, stood up and said, "I've finished eating. Let's go and rest for a while. The two dear ladies will eat slowly."

After saying that, he left the side hall directly.

Watching the emperor leave, Sima Yi couldn't help but glare at Zhuge Liang and said: "Your Majesty and we are discussing national policy, do you have to say such disappointing words?"

Zhuge Liang sighed softly: "Some things have to be faced, and it has nothing to do with whether I say it or not. Wouldn't these problems exist if I don't say it?"

"National affairs are not child's play."

"You can eat slowly. I'm going to handle government affairs. There are still many government affairs that have not been completed today."

Zhuge Liang said as he stood up and walked towards the announcement room, leaving only Sima Yi with a gloomy expression.