Chapter 538 Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce
Li Er glared at the naughty Yan Lide and winked at Fang Xuanling.
"Your Majesty, although I have doubts about what the Protector said, the Protector has brought countless surprises to the Tang Dynasty before, and he has never boasted or made any false claims."
"So I think we can let the Lord Protector give it a try."
Wen Yanbo said quietly: "What Duke Liang said is easy. The difficulty of building this railway is comparable to that of the Grand Canal, and its cost is unparalleled. It is a waste of people and money with just empty words, and it is a waste of money for the country!"
Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng, who had been playing dumb on the sidelines, were embarrassed!
Dare to say that the words of the current prime minister are harmful to the country, Wen Yanbo is so awesome!
Fang Xuanling laughed: "It's just building a railway. Even if it fails, it won't delay the country!"
Li Er then looked at Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng and said, "Mr. Zhao Guo, what do Zheng Guo Gong think?"
Changsun Wuji said: "I think it's worth a try. If this thing is really as the Protector said, it will be of immeasurable help to our country, the Tang Dynasty."
Wei Zheng cupped his hands and said, "I also think we can give it a try, but we need to save as much people's energy as possible, and we also need the Lord Protector to report the progress of the test in a timely manner. If something cannot be done, it's better to stop it as soon as possible!"
Li Er nodded: "Duke Protector, is this possible?"
Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay!"
Anyway, Li Er and a group of ministers will definitely keep an eye on the whole process. In the early stage, they just continued to adjust the locomotive, and the railway will not be long.
"In this case, the matter has been decided!"
Li Er agreed.
The Wen Daya brothers looked unwilling, but Li Er agreed, and Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng supported it, so they couldn't say anything.
"Let's talk about where is the right place to build this first railway?"
Fang Xuanling and others all looked at Su Chen. This matter was proposed by Su Chen and they must ask his opinion first.
"Your Majesty, I think it would be more appropriate to travel from Guanzhou to Chang'an!"
As soon as these words came out, Li Er and the others frowned.
"Why should it be built from Guanzhou? Wouldn't it be better to build a railway from Chang'an to Luoyang?"
Changsun Wuji disagreed at first.
Wei Zheng also said: "Guanzhou is far away from Chang'an. The first railway is still in the experimental stage, so it should not be built too long!"
Fang Xuanling continued: "There was a locust plague in the three northern states last year, and the people's power was withered, so it was difficult to start such a huge project."
Su Chen smiled bitterly and said: "I also want to build a railway directly from Chang'an to Luoyang. This road is the busiest in the entire Tang Dynasty and best reflects the value of the railway."
"But there is a problem that cannot be solved. How to transport tens of thousands of tons of steel rails from Guanzhou Iron and Steel Plant?"
Li Er's face darkened: That's tens of thousands of tons, not tens of thousands of kilograms. How many carriages and how many horses are needed to transport it from Guanzhou to Chang'an?
Changsun Wuji and others also looked dumb: How could such an obvious problem be ignored?
Wei Zheng sighed: "In the past, transporting hundreds of thousands of stones of grain from the south was the largest transportation volume every year. This would require transporting tens of millions of stones of steel, this!"
Su Chen said helplessly: "So we can only lay it out section by section from the Guanzhou Iron and Steel Plant. We have no choice!"
Li Er was so angry that he just wanted to slam the table: It's all your fault, you bastard, for building the steel plant in Guanzhou.
Changsun Wuji suddenly turned around and asked Su Chen: "Then how do you transport your steam engine from Chang'an to Guanzhou? Isn't it said that it needs to be debugged all the time? There are no railway tracks in Chang'an, so how do you debug it?"
Su Chen's face was uglier than a frost-beaten eggplant: "What a bad luck! I have to move the workshop to Guanzhou!"
Li Er was so angry and funny after hearing this!
"Get ready to move there early!"
After that, prepare to end the discussion.
"Your Majesty, I have one more thing that I need to ask your Majesty to tell you."
Wen Yanbo said hurriedly.
Li Er was stunned: "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, in order to extinguish the locust plague last year, the land in the three northern states was poisoned and cannot be cultivated. Now that spring plowing is approaching, how will the people of the three states be resettled?"
Su Chen frowned and said, "It's just that most of the land in Guanzhou has been sprayed with pesticides, and only a small part of it in the other two states."
"Besides, I have already resettled all the people in Guanzhou in steel plants, coal mines, iron mines and other construction sites, and I have to start building railways. I still think there are not enough people, why do I still need resettlement?"
Wen Yanbo's eyes widened: "The Protector doesn't want the people of Guanzhou to stay in the mines and workshops all the time, does he?"
"Yes what's the matter!"
"It's ridiculous. How can people support themselves if they don't engage in production?"
Su Chen was even more confused: "Aren't they all mining and smelting iron?
Why do you say they don’t do production?”
Wen Yanbo said angrily: "I'm talking about Nongsang!"
Su Chen was almost amused: "So in your eyes, if people don't farm, they don't produce?"
"Then what are the many craftsmen who will serve as supervisors doing?"
Yan Lide rolled his eyes, it's okay, don't drag me into trouble.
Wen Yanbo blew his beard and glared: "Those are craftsmen, and the imperial court supports them. Those in Guanzhou are farmers."
“Farmers can’t work anymore?
You said that the land in Guanzhou has been destroyed. If you don’t let them work, do you want to starve them to death?"
Wen Yanbo jumped up angrily: "Don't talk nonsense, I want to move them to another place to cultivate wasteland!"
Su Chen shook his head: "No, factories and construction sites still need a lot of labor. I still think there are not enough manpower!"
"Besides, it's not like the land in Guanzhou cannot be cultivated forever. After two years, the pesticides have degraded and we can continue to cultivate. What a wasteland you are cultivating!"
Wen Yanbo pointed at Su Chen: "You, for your own selfishness, you actually harmed the people of the Tang Dynasty like this! The rebellious officials and traitors should be killed!"
Su Chen was furious: "Old bastard! Who are you calling a traitor and a traitor?
Why did I harm the people?"
When Li Er saw the two people arguing, he started scolding him, slammed the table and said angrily:
"Shut up, everyone!"
"Su Chen, Wen Dalin has behaved inappropriately in front of the emperor, and will be fined three months' salary!"
Wen Yanbo bowed and saluted Li Er and said: "I have lost my temper, Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
"But in order to pursue meritorious deeds, Su Chen forcibly turned the people of Guanzhou in the Tang Dynasty into craftsmen. This is an act that is harmful to the country and the people. Please punish him severely!"
Su Chen was stunned: I almost forgot that the feudal era was very hierarchical and focused on scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.
Su Chen turned Guanzhou farmers into workers, which directly lowered them to a social level, at least on the surface!
Li Er and others also frowned. What Wen Yanbo said seemed to make sense.
Sighing: "That's what scholars, farmers, industry and merchants said more than a thousand years ago. It was because farmers' farming efficiency was low in the past. Once there were not enough farmers to cultivate land, there would be famine and social unrest."
"That's why we have to suppress industry and commerce and strive to ensure agricultural production. Even local officials are only encouraged to teach farming!"
"But now that we have the curved plow and high-yielding crops, one farmer can work as efficiently as ten people!"
"If you still trap the people in the fields, you are seeking death!"
Su Chen's remarks made Li Er, Fang Xuanling and others fall into deep thought.
