Wei's current speed of catching up can be described as faltering. It is not as fast as Chu's development. However, it is worth noting that Wei does have the intention to develop.
Similarly, among the forces supporting the Han...especially Liu Bei and Zhang Yan, they also had this tendency. However, compared to the Wei State that dominated the north, the composition of the forces supporting the Han was more complicated, and internal strife was much more serious than that of Chu and Wei.
And the only ones who are sensitive to this aspect are Liu Bei and Zhang Yan...
In contrast, although Ma Teng, Han Sui, and Yang Feng were covetous of Chu's armaments, they only knew how to buy and buy.
Although Liu Bei owns more than half of Qingzhou, the important coastlines are all under the control of the Chu State. Zhang Yan is inland. The two of them focus on technology, but only on ordnance and some basic civilian production techniques.
.
Gongsun Du's health was declining, and Gongsun's family was gradually controlled by Gongsun Kang. Gongsun's family also had some interest in sea navigation because they saw Chu's warships, but... it was just "interest".
Gongsun Kang has already decided to pledge a large number of mineral veins in western and eastern Liaoning in exchange for two thousand sets of Chu plate armor.
While the combat effectiveness was rapidly improved, it also meant that the Gongsun clan could no longer be distracted by any "technology".
In contrast, although the Wei State is seriously "lame", it is already the force that is most concerned about technological development besides Chu State.
Liu Ye proposed to buy a warship, but Bai Tu did not refuse directly. Instead, he talked about the hard work of going from the Ministry of Industry to the shipyard, and then asked him to talk to the Ministry of Rites...
As Pang Tong said, the encryption of wooden sail warships is poor, and as long as they are bought, they will be dismantled and deciphered quickly.
However, the "steel Qi battleship", which is far beyond the wooden sail battleship in terms of encryptability and performance, and has higher requirements for industrial level, is about to be successfully developed.
To be precise, the "mechanics" part, ranging from the shape of the ship to as small as a screw, has been designed. The power part has also left an interface. It only lacks a true qi machine that can meet the standards of power output efficiency and energy storage...
…
When the infuriating ship is launched, the wooden sail warship can rest!
Of course, if Wei wants it, it's not impossible, but... not only does the price have to be determined, but Bai Tu will sell all the ships that are about to be eliminated to him at once.
This is also one of the reasons why Bai Tu emphasized the "Turtle" before, implying Liu Ye - I know you want to decipher the technology, but then don't even think about spending the price of just one ship...
First go to the Ministry of Rites to discuss whether the transaction is possible, and then go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to discuss how to do the transaction?
Faced with this familiar routine, Liu Ye felt something in his heart - the previous "Chu Jia" had killed Wei Guo very painfully!
"Your Majesty, Ye has one more thing, I don't know if I should ask it or not." Liu Ye said thoughtfully.
"Zi Yang is worried too much. You are such a wise man, how could you not know?" Bai Tu said with a compliment.
Liu Ye:......
Liu Ye had already discovered that it was difficult to be polite to Bai Tu, so he asked directly: "Your Majesty, for the sake of the prosperity of the world, has agreed to open up the foreign trade of grain and grass. We, the State of Wei, have always hoped that we can transport grain by sea from the State of Chu."
"Yes, I did not impose any restrictions, but this transaction can only be done by yourselves... Do you think the two-for-five transaction tax is too high?" Bai Tu frowned deliberately.
"No, the transaction tax in Chu State is not high, but the price of food... is much higher than last year!" Liu Ye said resentfully.
"Actually, it's not too high. It's only one-third of the grain price in Wei. And this is due to the increase in domestic demand of our people in Chu." Bai Tu stated the facts and made sense.
Last year, even if Chu State used official salt and other means to indirectly purchase grain from the government, it could only stabilize grain prices at the level before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. If Chu State had not insisted on it, it would have fallen to the point of hurting the feelings of farmers.
.
As for the Central Plains region, even in Xuzhou during the years of peace, the price of food is seven or eight times that of Chu State, and these are only private prices. If you buy in large quantities, there will be no supply at all!
Every time at this time, the people of Chu can remember that it is still a time of war and chaos.
This also made smuggling grain and grass a hot business in Chu State...
This year, the State of Chu officially opened up foreign grain and grass trade, but it only required taxation - no other money or goods were collected. Instead, for every five shi of grain sent out from the border, two shi would be deducted directly, or taxes would be paid to the county government at the place of production, and then brought with them.
With the certificate, he went to Shouchun, Wancheng, or a trading seaport for transactions.
Although the tax is not light, considering that this is a serious transaction channel, in fact, for both parties, the advantages still outweigh the disadvantages.
However, this year has begun to promote the practice of martial arts among all people. The first national promotion version of Wuqinxi, also known as "Strong Youths Make the Country Strong", has been fully promoted, and the degree of promotion has even been regarded as one of the key assessment items for local officials.
Once you start practicing Qigong, your appetite will increase two or three times, especially for teenagers of the right age.
As for the enthusiasm for practicing Kung Fu, Chu finally chose to start from three aspects...
The first is to use basic zhenqi as a soft standard for county student sources - without zhenqi, the admission requirements and scholarship application requirements will be higher.
Second, after cultivating true energy, each person will enjoy twenty acres of food tax-free quota...
Third, the Ministry of Industry has established a number of new research laboratories this year, focusing on the development of "civilian Qi machines", including ones for harvesting, sowing, and weaving...
It is not a large seeding truck or harvester, but an automated and individualized handheld device that mainly supplies infuriating energy directly to the user!
Now there are many achievements, and they are being issued for trial use, trying to make the people believe that the zhenqi they have cultivated can not only be "taxed", but after fifty-fifty with the court every year, their zhenqi can also improve their own.
Quality of life.
In addition, for the people, the food in Chu State is indeed cheap enough, so many families, especially farmers, have young men at home who have begun to "practice martial arts".
According to Lu Bu, when a "half-year-old" eats the most, it is also the most suitable time to practice. When he gets older and eats less, his training efficiency decreases.
The stages of food intake reduction are basically the points where martial arts efficiency is most affected by age.
And the more advanced your skills are, the later this day will come - for example, Lu Bu, now that he is open to eating, he can eat a cow every day!
Therefore, people's direct consumption of food has increased a lot. At the same time, because the demand for meat, eggs, milk, and vegetables is also higher, naturally more poultry and livestock are needed, which further increases food consumption and increases vegetable prices.
, and also allows more fields to be used for growing vegetables.
There is no need for Chu State to specifically raise food prices this year, and it can be completely stabilized.
At the same time, the price of grain seems to have increased several times, but the actual impact is not big, because it is not a famine year, every household has a surplus of grain, and the grain that was originally "traded" is also the surplus of each family - most families in Chu State,
But they are still farmers.
Even if there are people who come to the city to work in workshops all year round, it does not affect each of them. In the countryside, they all have land, either their family members are farming, or they are entrusted with farming - the penalty for illegally cultivating land is higher than that for normal farming.
The annual food tax is higher!
It only has little impact on Chu State, but it is more uncomfortable for the Central Plains and the North who are waiting for "low-priced Chu grain"...