***
Li Shi reported that Longmen Shipyard is indeed developing a new ship with a hollow bow, which is close to the launching stage.
Qin Mu resisted the urge to go to Longmen Shipyard immediately.
He was afraid that if he went there, he would not be able to help but gossip. In terms of technology, Qin Mu slowly learned to control himself, and was more focused on providing soil for the craftsmen of Daqin, rather than forcing them to grow.
For example, although the steam engine was invented in advance, its efficiency was not fully demonstrated due to the weak basic industry.
It's like launching a satellite with a "chirp!", but there is no satellite receiving station or mobile phone on the ground, so the satellite is just a meteor and cannot play its due role.
The steam engine is quite similar. After continuous improvements by craftsmen, the steam engine can basically be used, but the various supporting textile machines have not yet made any revolutionary breakthroughs and cannot truly convert the power of the steam engine.
Another problem was that the basic industry was too weak and steam engines could not be produced on an assembly line. They could only be built one by one based on the individual craftsmanship of the craftsmen.
This is the negative effect of forcing things to grow.
The Longmen Shipyard has finally made a major breakthrough thanks to the ingenuity of its craftsmen. If I were to interfere, it might affect the craftsmen's performance.
Once the craftsmen have fully tapped their abilities and the results are still unsatisfactory, I can make appropriate adjustments myself, and that should be better.
The next day, the regular court session was held in Xuanzheng Hall.
Under the secret instruction of Qin Mu, Xu Feihong, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works, submitted a petition requesting the repair of the official road from Changsha to Kunming.
As soon as this memorial was delivered to the emperor, it caused a huge uproar. Except for a few important ministers, all the other ministers in the court ignored the court etiquette and immediately started discussing it.
Shang Qingchen, the Minister of Rites, even stood up and loudly rebuked Xu Feihong, saying that this was a move that would bring disaster to the country and the people. Shang Qingchen's words were supported by many people, and the court was divided into two factions, arguing with each other.
As the emperor, Qin Mu was mentally prepared for this. He stayed out of it and allowed the debate to continue in the court.
What he had in mind was China in the 1990s.
China was not rich at that time, but it invested a huge amount of money in road construction and vigorously developed domestic transportation. Most of the road construction funds were obtained through bank loans, so there was a saying that tolls were collected to repay the loans.
Although ordinary people have many complaints about "tolls", from the perspective of national strategy, there is no doubt that this move has laid the foundation for China's economic take-off.
Without the huge investments in roads in the 1990s, it would be hard to imagine the economic boom of the first decade of the 21st century.
Now there is a large amount of deposits deposited in Huitong Bank. Qin Mu is considering whether to renovate the roads of Daqin through bank loans.
People of this era did not have such a concept. Emperors like Zhu Yuanzhang even wanted to nail all the people to the land. It was forbidden to leave the village at will. If you wanted to go on a long journey, you had to have a travel permit issued by the government.
With such a mindset, who would invest energy into building roads
But Qin Mu came from later times, and the Qin Dynasty followed the Song Dynasty's policy of encouraging industry and commerce. To develop industry and commerce, a complete road network is indispensable.
The debate in the court was so intense that Qin Mu could hardly continue his thoughts. The whole hall was buzzing. Qin Mu coughed twice and raised his hand to signal the ministers to be quiet.
"Xu Qing, tell me. What is the point of spending huge amounts of money to build a highway from Changsha to Kunming?"
Xu Feihong bowed and walked out of the hall, holding the hu tablet. Under the gaze of the ministers in the hall, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the so-called huge investment in road construction is a waste of money and labor, and this understanding is a huge misunderstanding."
"Where's the misunderstanding?" Qin Mu asked without comment.
“Your Majesty, since ancient times, the Central Plains Dynasty has had very weak control over the southwestern provinces, and could only allow the local chieftains to govern themselves. This has made the southwest an important factor affecting the stability of the Central Plains Dynasty.
The fall of the Tang Dynasty was actually caused by the Nanzhao Rebellion at that time. In the Song Dynasty, Nong Zhigao rebelled and Jiaozhi invaded, causing huge losses and hundreds of thousands of casualties. In the Ming Dynasty, the Bozhou Rebellion alone caused more than one million casualties among the military and civilians in the southwest, and the campaign to suppress Bozhou became one of the three major expeditions of the Wanli Emperor.
These facts did not seem to have attracted enough attention from our dynasty, and we did not think about solving the problems in the southwest from the root. Although the court set up three provincial governors to specialize in the transformation of aboriginals into officials, these measures were like trees without roots and water without a source.
The reason why the southwest has always been outside the control of the Central Plains dynasty is that the transportation is inconvenient, the imperial court's military deployment and material transportation are difficult, and the people of the southwest have little communication with the Central Plains and a low sense of identity;
If the transportation problem is not solved, even if the court now spends huge efforts and temporarily realizes the transformation of aboriginals into officials, it will be difficult to ensure long-term stability in the southwest.
Back to the question of whether spending huge amounts of money to build roads was a waste of money and manpower, in order to control Yunnan in the early Ming Dynasty, the maximum number of troops stationed in Guizhou was nearly 200,000, and there were more than 100,000 troops in Yunnan.
Your Majesty, if our dynasty also stationed so many troops in the southwest for a long time, the national treasury would have to bear a huge military expenditure every year. In the long run, this would be a real waste of money and manpower, and it would be putting the cart before the horse. The money would be spent, but the problem would not be fundamentally solved.
Now I propose to build a road, but it is just to use the money spent on garrisoning troops to build roads. I believe that once the road from Changsha to Kunming is built, it will not only fundamentally solve the problem of Qin's weak control over the southwest, but also save a lot of military expenses for the treasury in the long run. At the same time, it will play a historic role in promoting the integration of the people in the southwest and the Central Plains. "
Xu Feihong's voice echoed clearly in the Xuanzheng Hall. No one could doubt that inconvenient transportation was the fundamental reason why successive dynasties had difficulty controlling the southwest. From this point of view, building roads was indeed the fundamental way to solve the problems in the southwest.
Qin Mu still did not make any comment, and then asked Shang Qingchen, the ceremonial official of the Ministry of Rites who was vehemently opposed, "Shang Qing, now it's your turn to tell us why you object."
Shang Qingchen's momentum was a little weaker than before, and he came out to say, "Your Majesty, building bridges and roads is a good thing in itself, and the court should also promote it. I am not against building roads, but I am against spending a huge amount of money to build roads at this time;
Throughout the dynasties, didn't they know that unblocked roads were the fundamental way to solve the problems in the southwest? The reason why the dynasties didn't build this road was that the southwest was full of steep mountains and cliffs. It was hard to imagine how difficult it would be to build a highway from Changsha to Kunming.
Today, our Great Qin State has just been established, people's livelihood has not yet been restored, and many things need to be done. The most important thing now is to allow the people to recuperate. How can we do the opposite and engage in large-scale construction projects
Your Majesty, the First Emperor built the Great Wall, which led to the rebellion in Yuyang; Emperor Yang of Sui dug the Grand Canal, which led to the rise of many heroes; and the construction of the Yellow River in the Yuan Dynasty caused chaos. There are so many precedents. Your Majesty, please think twice. Building roads is absolutely not allowed at this time. "
It is undeniable that the reason why Shang Qingchen and others opposed it was out of public interest, but their thinking was limited. At least they did not know that the road to American hegemony was largely paved with the bones of Chinese workers.
Their vision was still limited to the domestic situation, and they thought that building roads would require conscripting labor from the country and moving silver from the national treasury.
They still adhere to the traditional idea of "cultivating culture and virtue to attract people from afar", but do not know how to extract the blood from the outside to maintain the operation of the country. For a while, it is impossible to fundamentally change their thinking.
Qin Mu didn't want to talk too much about big principles with them. It would be a shame to debate with them, because when it comes to quoting classics, you can't compare with them.
At this time, the admiral of the East China Sea Fleet, Gu Rong, who had just returned, stood up and said to Qin Mu: "Your Majesty, I support the construction of the highway from Changsha to Kunming."
Qin Mu smiled slightly and asked, "Admiral Gu, why do you support it? What do you have to support it?"
Gu Rong shook off his armor and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know any great principles. I only know that as long as Your Majesty wants to do it, I will support it even if I risk my life. Your Majesty has promoted me from the grassroots, and the emperor's grace is great..."
As this grand performance took place, suppressed laughter suddenly rang out in the originally solemn Xuanzheng Hall, and Qin Mu couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
Gu Rongtian didn't care and continued to act dumb and said, "What are you laughing at? Isn't the emperor's grace so great? Your Majesty treats me so well, and I have no way to repay you. Now the court wants to build a road, and I should be loyal to Your Majesty. It's just building a road, what's the big deal
Ministers, there is no need to argue. As long as Your Majesty is willing, the Royal Navy will cover all the money and manpower for the road construction. I guarantee your Majesty with my life today. If the Royal Navy cannot raise enough funds and labor for the road construction, I am willing to bring my head to you. "
***********************
ps: Today is the 15th, and half a month has passed without me noticing. This month's performance has declined a lot, and the number of monthly votes has been reduced by nearly half compared to the same period last month. In fact, I still think I am writing very carefully, and I have adopted the opinions raised by you appropriately. The silent majority, please vote for me to support me. With your encouragement, I have the motivation!
Please give me a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
...