Chapter 227 The advent of the steam engine, a new era of cultivation?

Chapter 227 The advent of the steam engine, a new era of cultivation?

Chapter 227 The advent of the steam engine, a new era of cultivation?

Seeing Xu Qing volunteering, the Prime Minister breathed a sigh of relief. What followed was nothing more than the tedious matters of the Cabinet drafting the edict, the Emperor reviewing it, and the Imperial Household Department using the seal.

After the court meeting ended, Xu Qing and the Prime Minister came to Yanyue Hall.

Before leaving the cabinet, the Prime Minister was still a little sentimental, and said to Xu Qing meaningfully: "I wonder if I can return to the cabinet in this life?"

Xu Qing laughed it off.

Inside the Yanyue Hall.

Prime Minister: "Gongming, some of the things I just said are not suitable to be said in front of everyone, let's be honest first. What do you think is the focus of this flood control?"

Xu Qing immediately perked up, "That depends on what Grandpa is concerned about. Sea transportation or canal transportation?"

Over the past hundreds of years, the Yellow River has flooded, causing countless deaths and injuries among the people, but the greatest difficulty in controlling the Yellow River lies in the canal.

Since the construction of the Grand Canal in the previous dynasty, it has connected the north and the south and was conducive to maintaining the central government, but the water system along the Grand Canal often floods.

The biggest problem in areas where floods frequently occur is that the land will gradually become salinized and unsuitable for farming.

There are countless people living on both sides of the canal. If they cannot farm, they have to find a place to go, otherwise they will just riot.

This is a major reason why millions of trough workers depend on food and clothing.

In fact, many of the dynasties’ shortcomings and their seemingly outrageous solutions actually had even more outrageous reasons behind them.

If the livelihoods of millions of canal workers cannot be solved, then when the Yellow River floods, the priority must be to protect the canal. Otherwise, once the canal has problems, not only will the logistics between the north and the south be interrupted, but millions of organized canal workers will be in a situation where they lose their jobs. Food is the most important thing for people.

Even if the victims affected by the Yellow River floods rebelled, they would be lambs in front of the imperial court and the army.

However, a large-scale group rebellion by the canal workers, who had a certain degree of organization, was enough to plunge the world into chaos.

Therefore, this was an important reason for inciting the Yellow River to rebel against the world.

Precisely because of the importance of the canal, the Prime Minister was very cautious about opening up sea transportation. Even now, the shipping capacity of sea transportation is much less than that of the canal, and it has not even reduced the original shipping capacity of the canal.

Besides, the canal was backed by the wealthy and powerful people in the south of the Yangtze River. By connecting the north and the south with the canal, these people made a fortune.

If Xu Qing had not divided some of them to seek huge profits from maritime trade, the court's current maritime transport would be difficult to exist.

It can be said that Xu Qing can use Xianmei to solve the livelihood problems of some disaster victims, but he is still powerless when it comes to the livelihoods of millions of ditch workers.

However, canal transportation is actually backward compared to sea transportation in many aspects. The most critical point is that the capacity of canal transportation is limited, while the capacity of sea transportation can have a very high upper limit.

The Prime Minister naturally knew all these reasons. He had temporarily put down his burden and said, "Xu Qing, don't fool me. Is there any way to ensure both grain transport and sea transport?"

He made it clear that he wanted to grasp both ends and do both well.

Xu Qing: "The suffering of the trackers is due to farming. If even the trackers are not given the job, I don't know what they will do. Therefore, the canal transportation cannot be cut. I think that the canal transportation should be protected first, and the sea transportation can no longer be promoted for the time being."

He was telling the truth. The profits of sea shipping are very high now, but the most exaggerated thing is that sea shipping is far from reaching its upper limit.

If the imperial court continues to increase its investment in this area, the benefits of sea transportation will be very considerable, but the profits of grain transport will also be greatly damaged. How will the millions of grain workers be resettled then?

This doesn't mean just giving money will do.

Because of the existence of the Grand Canal, many places along the river system have become unsuitable for farming. Even if the Grand Canal is gone now, it will take many years to restore the land's fertility.

The cost was so huge that the court could not afford it.

But there was also a problem for the imperial court. If it continued to increase the development of maritime transportation, at least the money and grain would not be strangled too much by the gentry and nobles in the south of the Yangtze River, which would be more conducive to the central government's rule.

Everything in the world needs to be weighed repeatedly before a compromise can be found.

Compromise is not a good solution, but at least it can fool people temporarily.

When you really can't fool people, just start over again.

Prime Minister: "I have read the regulations of the Ministry of Industry. What great use is there in the steam engine you and Gu Daoren have studied that is worth spending so much money and manpower on?"

Xu Qing: "With the wisdom of Yuan Fu, you should be able to see that this thing can actually replace a certain amount of oxen and horses' strength."

The Prime Minister nodded: "What I can think of now is to use this thing to replace cattle and horses to drive the carriage? In this way, can we build a track like the old Qin system?"

There are many plains in the north. If we build tracks and use machines to replace oxen and horses, they can run non-stop day and night. At that time, the court's control over the local areas will be greatly deepened.

Xu Qing: "It's difficult to accomplish this in one go, but as long as the steam engine is built, everything else will come naturally. We just may not see that day."

"It's good to have a beginning. It seems that we still have to solve the food problem first before we can ease the pressure on water transport." The Prime Minister sighed.

It seems that after his mourning period, he needs to pay more attention to high-yield crops.

With food, many problems can actually be easily solved.

...

...

After Xu Qing had briefed the Prime Minister, he went to see Taoist Gu.

He could only accelerate the course of history, but could not reverse it. This time, the canal must be protected first. To protect the canal from the Yellow River flood, it is necessary to block the north and dredge the south.

The result of this is that floods are diverted to the south, and the silt in the south will accumulate more and more. Therefore, since the establishment of the Dayu Dynasty, the course of the Yellow River has always moved northward.

In fact, when the Three Gorges Dam was built in the previous life, there was also the problem of silt accumulation.

But how to solve it?

Build large-scale infrastructure.

Because large-scale infrastructure will consume huge amounts of sediment, the problem of sediment accumulation caused by dams will naturally disappear.

The people in this world probably couldn't imagine that mud and sand could be sold for money and make a fortune.

"The Ministry of Industry is already researching cement, but I don't know when there will be any results. Even if there are results, a large amount of mud and sand will need to be excavated, and machinery will be very important. Relying solely on manpower will be too costly." Xu Qing could only be thankful that he still had the soul stone.

Using the soul stone to drive Fang Xiandao's mechanism can also bring out the effects of some of his machines in his previous life.

However, the soul stone veins are scarce, and it is destined to be difficult to develop and transform this world on a large scale and continuously. Fortunately, it is enough to serve as a prelude to early industrialization.

He now gradually felt the birth of a wonderful power.

"Mechanical cultivation?"

I wonder what kind of era of cultivating immortals will be born from the combination of Taoism, mechanisms and physics.

Xu Qing was looking forward to it.

Creating a new era, the sense of accomplishment is indescribable.

In the face of this great sense of satisfaction, the vanity of life and death will actually fade a lot.

When people live in this world, they really need a career to support and fill the emptiness and nothingness of life.

In the previous life, power was the best elixir of life.

Many old men, in their seventies and eighties, can run for president and are still full of energy.

Arrived here with Gu Laodao.

Taoist Gu was very excited, "Xu Gongming, I am a Taoist now."

He pointed to a well with a strange mechanism next to it that was constantly pumping water, and the power source was the burning of fairy coal.

"This thing can pump water from a depth of three meters. It can be used in mines in the future."

Xu Qing and Gu Laodao had already developed the prototype of the steam engine, and this time they made further improvements to make it have practical use.

Three feet deep is still too shallow.

But it is a crucial step.

Gu Laodao took out the blueprint and kept gesturing.

"What a pity, my numerology is not that great. When my fellow apprentices come over, we can calculate together and this thing can be further improved."

“Nowadays, the most powerful place for numerology is not in our Central Plains, but in the far west.” Old Taoist Gu sighed.

Xu Qing rolled his eyes. You overseas barbarian, it’s only been a short time and you’re already calling yourself a Middle-earth person.

As for numerology, Xu Qing was a liberal arts student in his previous life, so he was not very good at it. He vaguely remembered some formulas and gave them all to Gu Laodao. However, actual understanding and digestion and application naturally required further research. Xu Qing's time was very precious, so professional matters should naturally be left to professionals.

In fact, as long as they have motivation and financial support, people in Middle-earth can also do numerology well.

The most important thing right now is that with the soul stone mechanism, the primary steam engine, cement and other things, Xu Qing has the capital for the lowest level of industrialization.

To industrialize, there must be primitive capital accumulation.

Therefore, maritime transport will have to be expanded sooner or later to facilitate in-depth overseas plunder.

Another point is that there are various supernatural powers overseas. If you want to accomplish anything, the cultivation of practitioners in Middle-earth is essential.

A series of operations will definitely make the world more and more complicated and interesting.

Xu Qing naturally had an epiphany, as if he had a perspective from a higher dimension.

He was a little dazed, then quickly returned to reality.

boom!
Lao Gu's steam engine exploded.

Gu Laodao's smile came to an abrupt end.

"Accident, accident!"

Xu Qing smiled.

Dreams are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

Development is still difficult.

He then said, "It should be a material problem."

In previous lives, materials science was even ridiculed as alchemy.

This can also be considered as Fang Xiandao's specialty.

Xu Fu also had a talent for alchemy, so Xu Qing brought him to the Ministry of Works to give full play to his strengths.

Gu Laodao nodded and said, "We have to keep trying."

Collecting materials is as money-consuming as refining elixirs, and you can't save money.

Fortunately, the Dayu Dynasty has vast territory and abundant resources, and its advantages in this regard are much greater than those of the Immortal Dao.

Moreover, Xu Qing and Gu Laodao, who were engaged in physics, actually had specific clients to target, and that was the sons of nobles and gentry as their sponsors.

To be honest, no matter whether it is the sons of nobles and gentry in the north or south, except for the heirs of the family, the other sons are very bored. Apart from playing with women and cricket fighting, they also listen to operas...

These are still considered good. They have done a lot of bullying of men and women and all kinds of inhumane things.

There are also those children of wealthy merchants who are addicted to gambling, are set up by others, and lose all their wealth...

Therefore, some cruel family heads even deliberately let these spoiled children take Wushisan or similar psychedelic substances...

This way, at least it won't be easy to get into trouble and ruin the family.

Wu Shi San only costs a few dollars. It can fill your stomach every day and won’t cost you all your family fortune.

Now that Xu Qing and Gu Laodao are working on physical mechanisms, many of the gadgets will be very interesting, which is perfect for expending the idle funds of these pampered young men.

Moreover, some people really have talent in related fields. Coupled with their good food and clothing, once they become addicted to this field, it is easy for them to achieve results.

With the support of the physics school and Xu Qing behind the scenes, these pampered young men are addicted to it and are praised by their elders.

After all, that is the school of thought supported by Wenquxing behind the scenes.

Even if their lives are over, if they are exposed to the literary atmosphere, they may be able to improve their next life.

This is what the old people in the big family think.

...

...

Xu Qing went out of the capital in the name of imperial envoy to control floods, and his main responsibility was supervision.

The previous persons in charge of water conservancy, Minister of Works Zhu Ling and Governor of the River Liu Quan, actually became Xu Qing's deputies.

Su Lianqing and Xu Qing met in Qingzhou where the dam burst.

"Sir, I was ordered to investigate the matter of the Weiyang Sword, and I heard an unreliable legend."

"You said."

"It is said that the Weiyang Sword may be the key to unlocking King Yu's treasure house, and legend has it that King Yu's treasure house is located in the place where the ancient water demon was sealed." Su Lianqing replied.

Xu Qing thought of the previous unusual movements of the Weiyang Sword and knew that this news should not be groundless.

But it doesn’t matter whether King Yu’s treasure house is opened or not.

The main purpose of this water control was to further control the water transport.

With the canal transport in his left hand and the sea transport in his right hand, he could surpass the Duke of Wei in influence and become the undisputed leader of the gentry and wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River.

The bursting of the Yellow River in Qingzhou has actually had a huge impact on water transport.

When Xu Qing arrived at the place, he found that the water transport in this area had been cut off for two months.

Cheating superiors and deceiving subordinates!

When Xu Qing's imperial entourage arrived in Qingzhou, they were blocked as they were surrounded by disaster victims.

He finally arrived at the post station, where local officials came to greet him.

Xu Qing got angry and scolded these people.

Xu Qing was not a fool. Normally, when an imperial envoy came to inspect a place, the officials would definitely whitewash the situation. But when he came down, he was blocked by a group of disaster victims. It was obvious that they wanted to morally blackmail him.

Who says he is the literary star of the time?
Xu Qing could tell with his feet that Huo Jing and his gang were already instructing the Qingliu to write a memorial to impeach the reform. If it wasn't for the reform, how could there be so many victims?
Moreover, after Xu Qing returned, he had to acknowledge the disaster in Qingzhou.

As for how these things are related to the reform.

The people of Qingliu will naturally find a way.

After Xu Qing scolded these people, he called on the Fushe members and the students of the School of Physics who had accompanied them and asked them to collect information about the flood.

As for Xu Qing, when he was resting at the post station, he directly escaped from his spirit and observed the specific situation of the flood in Qingzhou.

Observe with the spirit, overlooking the earth, from a high vantage point.

Xu Qing quickly gained a general understanding of the entire Qingzhou flood.

There are nine seals on the entire Yellow River, forming a large formation to suppress the ancient water demon.

This was the formation that King Yu set up when he was controlling floods.

Every dynasty has its own blueprints, which are considered extremely confidential.

Because the Yellow River is related to the foundation of the world, all dynasties have never taken it seriously.

It can be said that no matter how foolish an emperor was, even at the end of a dynasty and facing a huge rebellion, he would not take the initiative to break the seal or let the Yellow River burst its banks to resolve the rebellion.

A large crack appeared in the seal of Qingzhou, and water monsters kept appearing.

The seal has a tendency to expand further.

"Does it look like a man-made disaster?" Xu Qing came to this conclusion after a rough observation.

...

...

"Sir, Duke Yansheng is here to visit." Su Lianqing saw Xu Qing's spirit return and hurried to report.

This Yansheng Duke was the original head of the Nankong family.

(End of this chapter)