After settling the sales of Yongzhou goods and cement agency rights, Zhong Jiaxiong was very happy.
Needless to say, Yongzhou sells everything from copper, iron, and wood.
As for cement agency rights.
Equivalent to the territory of Yongzhou, Zhong Jiaxiong is authorized to sell it exclusively, and others are not allowed to sell it.
Speaking of which, there is actually no difference between having this agency or not.
Prior to this, the use of cement in Yongzhou was only exclusive to the government.
In other words, there is no excess cement for sale.
But now that the machines are put into use, cement production has also skyrocketed.
It is not limited to official use, ordinary people can also buy cement.
This is Zhong Jiaxiong's opportunity.
First obtain the cement agency rights and monopolize the cement business in Yongzhou.
Cement has many uses, and its usage in the future will definitely be incalculable, and you will definitely be able to make a lot of money.
In order to thank Gongsun Mo for his help, Zhong Jiaxiong bought ingredients and went to his house to make a meal.
Before leaving the next day, no matter what, I had to leave fifty catties of meat stamps and fifty catties of food stamps for Gongsun Mo...
Zhong Jiaxiong from Yongzhou left, and envoys from Hengzhou, Shaozhou, Xiazhou, and Jingzhou came one after another.
They all heard about Zhong Jiaxiong and Song Kai, and came over eagerly to look for business opportunities.
It is not convenient for Song Yang to come forward in this matter. If he comes forward, he will become the designated salesperson.
So I simply left all the business matters to Shen Xiaowan.
Shen Xiaowan has become the new business executive, full of energy, and feels that she can best reflect her own value in the past two years in Jiangzhou.
After a period of time, representatives from all over the country flocked to Jiangzhou.
All raw materials for production in Jiangzhou are supplied.
Provided sufficient raw materials for the industrial revolution.
Moreover, all the products produced have a market, and they are manufactured and sold at the same time. The supply is simply in short supply.
This also forces craftsmen to upgrade and modify machines to increase production capacity.
This reversely promoted the rise of Jiangzhou’s Industrial Revolution.
Of course, other state capitals saw Jiangzhou's development and were interested in imitating it, and began to vigorously develop machinery suitable for localization.
The whole Jiangnan became more and more prosperous.
…
Song Yang does not need to appear in business negotiations and can just focus on upgrading artillery.
The first version of the wooden Franco cannon has been produced.
As a result, there was a large error in the size, and the gap between the sub-cannon and the barrel was large enough to fit a fist.
There is no sealing at all.
Song Yang knew that this was because the rice he used was different from the rice in the encyclopedia.
I was so busy working on it the past few days that I forgot about this.
There is no other way but to improve the dimensions in the book according to the actual situation.
Actually there was an episode some time ago.
Song Yang felt that he was good at it, and felt that there was room for improvement in the two guns themselves.
I thought that Jiangzhou had begun to gradually popularize steam engines, but the old version of the Franco cannon and the Hongyi cannon seemed not to be in line with the times.
Song Yang felt that they needed to undergo certain functional improvements and upgrades.
However, the progress of this phase of work is very slow. It has been half a month and there is no improvement at all.
Song Yang was forced to re-make the first version of the Fran cannon and the Hongyi cannon.
"Alas! After all, he is not the material for artillery!" Song Yang sighed secretly.
I gave up on upgrading and could only settle down and continue to make old models.
After adjusting the size, Song Yang was drawing the drawing.
The guard came in and reported that Zhang Mi wanted to see him.
Zhang Mi is an old man from Jiangzhou. He has been a village chief and is good at farming. He has a good reputation in Jiangzhou.
"Please come in." Song Yang nodded.
This old man is almost seventy years old, which is considered a long life in this era. He has already exceeded the average age of the era.
However, in the past three years, the old man has never looked for him, and Song Yang was also curious about what the old man wanted to do with him.
Song Yang's office is in the center of the government office, with two courtyards in front and a reception center and warehouse in the back.
It is said to be a government office, but it is actually the same as a centralized government office area.
Most Jiangzhou officials work here.
The guard took Zhang Mi all the way to Song Yang's office. When the old man saw Song Yang, he hurriedly knelt down to say hello.
"Get up! Get up! Lao Zhang, there's no need to be so polite."
Song Yang called him up and asked him to sit next to him and talk.
"Your Majesty, it's really a sin for me to come here and disturb your government affairs." Zhang Mi said still a little nervously.
Song Yang asked someone to pour tea on Lao Zhang's head, and then asked with a smile: "How is the spring plowing going this year? I heard that your family's field was the first to start work?"
Song Yang didn't ask Zhang Mi why he wanted to see him, but started making family arrangements.
The main reason is that Zhang Mi is quite nervous, so Lala’s daily routine relieves some of his nervousness.
"The prince is right. The old man couldn't stay idle, so he asked people to clear out the fields early. In fact, after last year's autumn harvest, autumn land preparation was done, and there is not much to do this spring."
When talking about farming, Zhang Mi talked more, became more angry and calmer.
"The matter of autumn soil preparation must be postponed this year. Do a good job in autumn soil preparation and save a lot of time in spring." Song Yang nodded.
Nowadays, Jiangzhou still adopts the annual planting method.
The current output is sufficient to cope with consumption, and there is no need to carry out two farming operations a year for the time being.
Otherwise, there will be too much food and there will be no place to store it.
Of course, the main reason is lack of labor.
Even if we only grow one crop of grain now, let alone two crops, we are extremely short of labor.
It's too busy at all.
"By the way, why did Lao Zhang come to see me?"
The two chatted about farming for a while, and Song Yang had time to ask.
"Ouch. Look at this old man's memory, I almost forgot about it!" Zhang Mi said, slapping her thigh.
"Speak slowly, don't be in a hurry, I have plenty of time, and I have nothing to do." Song Yang said with a smile.
"My lord, actually, I came here this time to ask... that..."
Zhang Mi said hesitantly.
"Just ask if you have any questions first," Song Yang encouraged.
"It's about the steam engine. I had the honor to watch the operation of a steam locomotive a few days ago."
"I would like to ask if this thing can be used on farmland?"
Zhang Mi finally asked the question in his mind.
It turns out that Zhang Mi thought of using steam engines for farming.
If it could be used to pull a plow, wouldn't it be faster than an ox?
This matter has to start with the cattle.
Although Jiangzhou has recovered for more than two years.
But the number of cattle is still extremely scarce.
This also forces the people to only grow one crop of food a year.
Relying entirely on manpower and working twice a year, it is difficult given the current nutritional conditions.
There are few plowing cattle. To what extent are there few?
There are less than 500 cattle in Jiangzhou, and on average one cow plows more than 2,000 acres of land. Isn’t this nonsense?
Therefore, farming at this stage still relies mainly on human labor.
That day Zhang Mi saw a steam engine. The front of the engine could actually pull several kilograms of stuff behind it.
What would be the effect if replaced by a plow?
The plow can't even fly!
Zhang Mi went to ask Wang Jinshi about this matter.
Wang Jinshi only builds machines, but doesn't know much about development.
However, the current trains cannot be used in fields.
So Wang Jinshi said that he didn't know if he could do it in the future. If he wanted to find the answer to this matter, he could only ask the prince.
So Zhang Micai came to find Song Yang.
"The machine is used on cultivated land?"
Song Yang was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and said with a smile: "Yes! It must be possible!"
Zhang Mi's doubts made Song Yang think of upgrading agricultural machinery.
With the current level of technology, it is not a big problem to build steam agricultural machinery.
If the steam engine could be applied to agricultural production, its efficiency would not be as good as that of an internal combustion engine, but it should be much better than that of cattle.
The most important thing is the substitution effect.
The breeding speed of cattle is very slow, but the manufacturing of machinery is much faster. It is not a problem to build more than a hundred units a year.
"Really? Can steam engines really be used to plow fields?"
Zhang Mi was even more excited than Song Yang.
After working hard all my life, when I get old, I have to go to the fields to pull the plow myself.
If machines could be used instead of oxen, it would save a lot of effort.
Song Yang put his shoulder on Zhang Mi's shoulder and said, "Old Zhang, don't be anxious! This matter can't be rushed."
"I say you can, but it won't happen overnight."
"The research on agricultural machinery will definitely take some time, maybe until next year, or even the year after that."
What Song Yang actually said was not to discourage Lao Zhang's enthusiasm.
"I understand. I understand."
After listening to Song Yang's words, Zhang Mi breathed a sigh of relief and knew that this matter should not be rushed.
Looking back on the production process of steam engines, from marine use to land use and factory use, even now I dare not say that this process will be okay.
Not to mention the missing agricultural machinery.
"Old Zhang. Since you mentioned agricultural machinery, I will leave this matter to you."
"I will allocate twenty people to you, and you can build agricultural machinery that can be used on steam engines."
Song Yang waved his hand and pushed the research and development matters to Zhang Mi.
Zhang Mi was stunned and immediately shook his head and said: "No! No way! I don't understand this!"
Song Yang smiled and said: "You don't understand machinery, and they don't understand agriculture. To develop agricultural machinery, you have to work together!"
"Old Zhang, you don't have to worry about the specific construction of machinery. You only need to be responsible for instructing them on what kind of machinery can cultivate good land and what kind of machinery is suitable for planting good land."
"This is your strength, right?"
After listening to Song Yang's words, Zhang Mi pondered for a long time before nodding and saying: "What the prince said makes sense, but at most I just give suggestions..."
Before Zhang Mi finished speaking, Song Yang said: "Suggestions are good. If there is an agricultural talent to guide you, the craftsmen will avoid detours. This matter is settled."
Song Yang has always been arbitrary in these matters.
Because he knows which path is right, he must work hard in this direction.
Song Yang didn't let Zhang Mi leave, and directly asked Fang Zhe and Wang Jinshi to come over.
When it comes to agricultural machinery research and development, Fang Zhe certainly agrees.
Wang Jinshi was a little embarrassed.
He has too many things on his hands recently, and setting up farm machinery would be too much for him.
"Well... let's see. You still have to worry about your previous affairs. Let Jin Yu take care of the research and development of agricultural machinery." Song Yang thought for a while and said.
Brothers Wang Jinshi and Wang Jinyu are both good blacksmiths. They have been helping Song Yang research various things since arriving in Jiangzhou.
It's just that Wang Jinyu is relatively introverted and doesn't like to be seen in public. He just concentrates on his work.
Song Yang called his name and asked him to specialize in research. Technically, there would definitely be no problem.
Wang Jinshi, as his elder brother, certainly supports Wang Jinyu's decision to engage in agricultural machinery research and development.