frightfiction Chapter 958 I want the goods, but I don't want to pay for them.
Chapter 958 I want the goods, but I don't want to pay for them.
Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting, while Li Shanchang smiled and changed the subject: "I was just thinking, and it seems there's no rule that steam locomotives have to weigh over 40,000 jin, right?"
"If we only consider the steam engine driving the plow, perhaps a steam locomotive weighing one or two thousand kilograms, or even a few hundred kilograms, could be used?"
"And when repairing roads and building houses, you need to compact the soil. If you use a steam locomotive to pull rolling stones and compact them, it doesn't seem like there's any problem?"
Yang Shaofeng's train of thought was completely swayed.
"It should be fine to drive the plow, but it would be a bit difficult to drag a rolling stone to compact the road."
Yang Shaofeng stroked his chin, pondering as he said, "To replace tamping, the rolling stones or iron rollers need to be big enough, and the locomotive used for pulling must also be powerful."
"If you want the front of the car to be more powerful, it has to be bigger."
"The bigger the size, the heavier it is, and the deeper the ruts the wheels leave. To move forward, it needs more power."
"Unless you make wider wheels."
"..."
Otherwise, how about developing a tracked steam tractor?
The problem is, even I, the official, don't understand this stuff.
Can the Ming Dynasty's current technological level handle this?
Seeing Yang Shaofeng frowning in thought, Li Shanchang breathed a sigh of relief.
Very well, keep thinking of wider wheels. Just don't try to torment this old man. I just took a concubine last year, and I haven't had enough of her yet. I don't want to make her a widow so soon.
Hu Weiyong glanced at Li Shanchang, then at Yang Shaofeng, and suddenly said, "Wider wheels?"
"Could we make the gears wider, and then make a chain out of steel, with the chain being slightly wider than the gears?"
“If that doesn’t work,” Hu Weiyong pointed to the steam locomotive that was heading back in the distance, and said, “how about we just make the left and right wheels of the steam locomotive into long, cylindrical shapes?”
Yang Shaofeng nodded unconsciously.
They had to be proper scholars, each one knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and some even skilled in medicine and mechanics. They knew women in bed and shoes out of bed; any one of them was no ordinary person.
In another ten or eight years, we'll probably see a situation where scholars are everywhere, those who pass the county-level exams are worthless, and those who pass the imperial exams are commonplace.
These people might be able to come up with something even better and more advanced?
As Yang Shaofeng pondered this in his mind, Hu Weiyong continued, "Your Highness, could you find a way to bring tens of thousands more laborers to Liaodong?"
Before Yang Shaofeng could ask any questions, Hu Weiyong explained, "It doesn't need to be much, thirty to fifty thousand will do."
"After these laborers arrived in Liaodong, they were split in two, with one half going to mine coal and the other half going to mine iron ore."
"If we could have a little more, the road construction progress would be greatly accelerated."
Yang Shaofeng's train of thought was completely swayed.
"Thirty to fifty thousand laborers?"
"That's easy to handle."
“It can be obtained from any vassal state.”
After glancing around, Yang Shaofeng simply pulled Hu Weiyong aside and whispered, "Actually, there's another way. It's a bit underhanded, but it's definitely effective. I don't usually tell this to just anyone."
Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up, and he asked repeatedly, "What method? Please enlighten me, Your Highness."
Yang Shaofeng stroked his chin and said in a low voice, "There are far more able-bodied men than women here in Liaodong, aren't there?"
Hu Weiyong nodded unconsciously and said, "Indeed, there are many. Most of the young and strong men come from inside the Great Wall to Liaodong to work and earn money."
"Some of these people have already started families in the interior, while others are still single."
"Recently, that short, ugly man has been transporting large numbers of Japanese women to Liaodong, saying he wants to set up brothels."
"I'm thinking it would be a good thing to set up a brothel with Japanese women."
"So let those short, ugly guys do it."
Yang Shaofeng didn't pay too much attention to it, but simply pointed in the direction of the stick and said, "Let's not concern ourselves with the matter of the Japanese brothel."
"The main reason is that many young men want to marry a proper wife."
"Later, Hu Buzheng can arrange for those able-bodied men to carry rice to the Koreans."
"A bag of rice is enough to bring back a wife."
"After too many marriages, the young men on the Korean side will not be able to find wives, so they will have to find ways to earn more money to get married."
"For the Koreans, the most profitable way is to work in Liaodong."
"..."
Yang Shaofeng opened and closed his mouth, slowly recounting the routine of exchanging rice for wives and then forcing young Koreans to work in the Ming Dynasty. Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up, and he immediately gave Yang Shaofeng a thumbs up: "Brilliant! Only a prince consort like you could come up with such a brilliant idea!"
In the Ming Dynasty, a able-bodied man could exchange a bag of rice for a wife, which was considered to have solved his personal problems.
When a girl from the Korean peninsula comes to the Ming Dynasty, whether she becomes a wife or a concubine, at least she can have a full meal, which is better than staying in the Korean peninsula and starving.
Young men from South Korea can earn more money working in the Ming Dynasty, and when they return to South Korea, they will be more competitive and able to find wives.
Liaodong solved the labor shortage problem and also eliminated some potential risks.
Win-win-win!
It's like Qin Shi Huang drinking pepper water and getting completely numb from winning!
As for the young and strong Koreans who didn't come to work in the Ming Dynasty, they couldn't earn money or get married.
Stop joking! I am the Liaodong Provincial Governor of the Ming Dynasty, not the Korean Provincial Governor. What do I care about the lives of those Koreans?
Could it be that I forbade them from coming to Liaodong to work as laborers and earn money?
But then, Hu Weiyong felt a headache coming on.
It would certainly be fine to have able-bodied men exchange rice for wives, but the more laborers came to Liaodong, the more money and grain Liaodong would have to pay.
The cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue could not possibly allocate all their funds and provisions to Liaodong.
At that time, there is a high possibility that there will be a situation where there are enough laborers, but Liaodong cannot afford to pay and provide them.
Thinking of this, Hu Weiyong couldn't help but sigh and said, "If only there were a way to use laborers without having to pay them money and food."
Yang Shaofeng glanced at Hu Weiyong sideways.
I want the goods, but I don't want to pay for them. What should I do?
What, are you planning to change your surname to Yu, Lao Hu?
While inwardly complaining, Yang Shaofeng said with a forced smile, "The money will definitely be allocated, but the grain is another matter."
"Besides, if you have money, why worry about not being able to buy food?"
"As for money..."
Yang Shaofeng looked Hu Weiyong up and down, then lowered his voice and said, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'The squeaky wheel gets the grease'?"
What is money?
"It's just a matter of the Treasury Office printing a few more copies."
"As long as His Majesty and Prime Minister Li agree, there will be as many of these as we need."
"Besides, there's still a large sum of compensation and interest owed to that shorty. If you, Hu Buzheng, don't reach out, someone else will, won't they?"