Chapter 342: Change of Policy
Silk Road.
Ying Zheng, Li Si and others remembered that this was the path opened by a man named Zhang Qian during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
The original purpose was to unite the countries in the Western Regions to deal with the Huns. In the end, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty relied on the Silk Road to unify the Western Regions and increase the Han's territory several times.
How could he, the First Emperor, not be able to do what future generations can do?
So, Ying Zheng stood up slowly and said: "If you didn't tell me, I would have forgotten that there is a map of the world in my palace, which made me know how vast the world is, and at the same time, it also made me know that Da Qin is only like this in the world. It’s just a big place.”
Ying Zheng even compared the size with his two hands.
"Therefore, I have decided in my heart to stabilize the Qin Dynasty in my lifetime. When the Qin Dynasty becomes strong and strong, I will attack the city and seize the territory, and return the world to Qin."
"Your Majesty is wise."
"Your Majesty is wise."
…
All the officials applauded and said at the same time.
Ying Zheng waved his hand and said: "The Silk Road is feasible. Feng Quji, you can form a caravan to go to the Western Regions to do business, mainly silk, porcelain and colored glaze."
"No." Feng Quji responded, "Your Majesty, should we send troops?"
"If you need it, I'll give you five hundred cavalry." Ying Zheng said.
It's not that Ying Zheng doesn't want to send more people to escort, but too many people will consume a lot of money. There is no need for this. Five hundred cavalry are enough to sweep away the bandits in the entire Western Region.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Feng Quji said excitedly.
Afterwards, Ying Zheng discussed some state matters with civil and military officials and then withdrew, leaving only Li Si and Feng Quji behind.
Li Si and Feng Quji followed Ying Zheng to Ying Zheng's imperial study.
"Come, please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
When Ying Zheng saw the two of them sitting down, he asked: "Feng Quji, since you proposed to hand over the salt to the merchant in the court, I want to know who do you plan to hand it over to?"
"Your Majesty." Feng Quji said without hesitation, "As long as anyone can provide one hundred thousand taels of silver, I will leave the business to whoever can manage it."
"Yeah. Not bad." Ying Zheng nodded slowly, "One hundred thousand taels seems like a lot, but once you get the right to make salt, you can get your money back in less than ten years.
It can all be profit in the future. "m.
Five cents per pound of salt can be used for one month, which is sixty cents per year. This is the amount of salt used by ordinary people.
A city with 10,000 households can sell for 600,000 taels of silver, which is equivalent to 600 taels of silver per 1,000 taels of silver.
But what you sell is not just one city, you can sell at least a dozen cities, not counting those restaurants, restaurants and the like.
It is definitely possible to earn ten thousand taels of silver this year, or even more.
Moreover, when salt becomes cheaper, its usage will be different. It will not be used in the same way as before.
So the technical fee of 100,000 taels is not expensive at all. What they buy is not the present, but the future.
"What about the Silk Road?" Ying Zheng asked again.
"Reporting to Your Majesty," Feng Quji said, "I want to know more about the Silk Road, so I want to go to the village to ask the emperor for advice."
"Okay." Ying Zheng said, "Qin An said that it is still too early for Great Qin to establish sea routes, so there is no need to worry. First, capture the land of Baiyue to expand the population.
I strongly agree with this. The melee between the seven kingdoms has resulted in numerous casualties among the people. Now is the time to recuperate and expand the population of Qin.
However, this does not prevent me from exploring the Western Regions. The Western Silk Road is a trade route between the Western Regions and Daqin.
It is also the only way for Da Qin to send troops to the Western Regions in the future. In the future, I will win the Maurya Dynasty, the Persian Empire, and the Roman Empire.
I want the world to return to the Qin Dynasty, so Feng Quji, your trip to the Western Regions is very important and cannot be missed. "
"Wei Chen understands." Feng Quji responded.
"Then you go down and prepare. You can go to the village to find Qin An. I will give you three days to form a caravan. After three days, you will go to Zhaojia Village with me." Ying Zheng said.
"promise."
After Feng Quji left, Ying Zheng said, "Is there anything you want to ask?"
Li Si lowered his head and asked, "Your Majesty is cultivating nobles and businessmen. This will be very unfair to the farmers all over the world."
Ying Zheng shook his head and said, "Li Si, you really disappoint me."
"Your Majesty, forgive me." Li Si immediately lowered his head.
Ying Zheng asked again: "I ask you again, how great is Qin An's knowledge?"
"Awesome, very awesome." Li Si said, "In the beginning he invented candles, paper, ink, pen and inkstone, and the art of making salt.
But not long after, agricultural tools such as the curved shaft plow were invented, and new crops were developed.
Now, electric lights, textile looms, etc. have been invented.
Wei Chen has never thought that a candle can light up a room without a torch, and it is not an exaggeration to compare Qin An to an immortal. "
Ying Zheng smiled and said: "Since Qian'an is so powerful, do you think the steam engine that the Mohists and Gongshu are currently studying will be successful?"
"Doesn't this mean there is no material? So Wei Chen is not sure." Li Si said,
"Stupid." Ying Zheng scolded angrily, "Do you really think there are no materials? The land of Baiyue is already the territory of Great Qin.
Then we won’t be able to find the rubber tree? "
Li Si's eyes lit up and he suddenly realized: "Your Majesty is wise, we only need to find rubber trees. Then vigorously cultivate them to form a rubber garden. When Qin An walks out of the village in three years, he will be able to make a steam engine immediately.
With the steam engine, many tools can be made, one of which is the steam plow truck.
Thousands of acres of farmland can be cultivated every day. In this way, farmers do not need too many people. They can become workers and go to work in major workshops.
In this way, business can develop rapidly and Great Qin will become richer and richer.
At that time, the imperial court had money, food and people, so it sent troops to the Western Regions and occupied the countries in the Western Regions. Go to sea and occupy those unowned lands, especially Japan. "
"Now that you see it clearly, you should know why I cultivate nobles and businessmen, right?" Ying Zheng asked again.
Li Si thought for a while and said: "Wei Chen understands that in Da Qin, they are the only rich people, and only they can help Da Qin develop business.
Your Majesty used to curb them because the nobles were cannibalizing the court's money and food, which was very harmful to the Qin Dynasty.
Although this hazard has always existed, with the advent of potatoes and sweet potatoes, this hazard has been temporarily alleviated.
The top priority now is to develop Da Qin. We can all see the prosperity of the village. Whether it is business or agriculture, it is very good. There are smiles on the faces of the people.
Even if there are more than 8,000 people added, they are still living very well, and some people even live better than Wei Chen.
At least their food is better than that of Weichen, and I am afraid that their living conditions are better than many people in Xianyang City now. "
Ying Zheng knew this very well. He also watched Qin An make the village so prosperous step by step.
Ying Zheng doesn't have this ability.
Some people died, but not completely...
