The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 552: Building a Railway
Changan Institute of Engineering.

This was the academy that Tian Ze focused on building after he moved various schools of thought here.

Among them, the students were mainly from the Mohist School, Gongshu School and other schools of thought, as well as some children from aristocratic families with inherited knowledge of government agencies.

The purpose of existence is naturally for Tianze to concentrate top forces to promote the advancement of science and technology.

With his insights from later generations, Tian Ze has a clear idea of ​​the direction of scientific and technological development.

Especially when going to war, logistics problems must be solved by technology. If you want to rule these areas from a distance in the future, technology will also be needed.

Therefore, Tian Ze organized a group of people to study science and technology in various fields. Among them, the most important ones were core technologies such as steel production and steam locomotives.

The iron smelting technology of the Great Qi Dynasty, starting from Tianze and Changxing Island, has been around for nearly twenty years.

Blast furnace ironmaking technology has become increasingly mature, and the output of ironware has shown exponential growth.

The Han Dynasty once produced only a few thousand tons of iron each year.

Now, after years of development in Da Qi, the continuous maturity of corresponding technologies such as blast furnace ironmaking, and the improvement and perfection of various links such as mining, ore dressing, smelting and forging, the steel output has approached one million tons.

Walking in the engineering institute with Chen Gong and Cheng Yu, Tian Ze nodded slightly as he looked at the steam engine that had already taken shape.

"Gongtai, is this steam engine practical?"

Chen Gong said: "It has already been used in some large factories, workshops and ships, and the effect is very good."

"However, it is still not feasible to apply it to small and medium-sized equipment. Because it is powered by coal, the machine cannot be too small, and it requires too much coal to operate."

"Although thanks to your guidance, we have found the oil you mentioned and have mastered the preliminary means of mining and refining, the quantity is small and the cost is too high. It can only be used in some critical moments."

Upon hearing this, Tian Ze frowned and sighed.

The development of science and technology takes time and is interconnected; it cannot be achieved overnight.

With his cheats, Da Qi's technological development has been fast enough, but it also has to be in line with the actual situation.

"If I want to build two railways from Chang'an to the Western Regions, is it feasible?"

Tian Ze couldn't help but ask this question.

Chen Gong's mouth was bitter, and Tian Ze finally asked this question.

After being invited by Tian Ze to accompany him to visit the Academy of Engineering and seeing Cheng Yu accompanying him, he guessed that it was probably about this matter.

Tian Ze was determined to march west, so it was impossible for him to ignore the logistical issues of sending troops from the north.

Given the situation at that time, building waterways was the best solution, but the project was too huge and simply unrealistic.

Of course, this is only for now. If there are five million people and it takes twenty to thirty years, it is still possible to complete it.

Chen Gong did not feel desperate about this. After conquering Kushan and Sindhu in the future, such a large population could not be wasted, so it would be a good idea to build waterways.

The First Emperor was able to build the Great Wall and straight roads under the circumstances of the Qin Dynasty. Their conditions were much better.

But distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, and waterways are not realistic, so we can only think of other ways.

Like Tian Ze, Chen Gong's first thought was railway.

To be more precise, they are wooden tracks and railway tracks, two different things.

"It's feasible, but not worth it. But if Your Majesty insists on the Western Expedition, it's worth it." Chen Gong said desperately.

Attacking Guishuang is just the first step that Tian Ze is going to take, and there is still a long way to go.

Chen Gong no longer had any hope of recalling the young and strong men who were sent to the Western Regions for rotation.

Because according to Tian Ze's ambition, he would have to stay there for at least ten years, and he might have to add more people and go deeper in the future. Instead of bleeding money all the time, it would be better to build a railway and solve the problem once and for all.

Seeing Chen Gong looking like he didn't care, Tian Ze smiled awkwardly.

“Is the steel production under our rule sufficient?”

"It's about the same as a year's output." Chen Gong said unhappily.

In fact, if more manpower is added, Da Qi's steel production can be easily increased.

But it's not cost-effective.

Firstly, there is a shortage of manpower, and secondly, there is enough steel now. Before there are new technological breakthroughs and demand for iron, there is no need to expand the scale. Even if it is expanded, it will not bring about a qualitative change.

"how much time is required?"

Chen Gong made a rough calculation and said, "Because of your majesty's talent, Da Qi has always had sufficient supplies and personnel reserves. The route planning and preparation work should be completed in as little as three months."

"As for manpower, Liu Fan and Sun Quan have transported a large number of foreigners here, so it's sufficient. It shouldn't be a problem to gather two million civilians."

"It's nearly 5,000 miles, and considering the roadbed construction, track laying, and the possibility of building bridges, it will take at least two years to complete the project."

Chen Gong had already calculated this account.

Although it would definitely be a huge loss, compared with Tian Ze's original logistics plan, it would probably "recover" soon and would definitely be much more "cost-effective".

Between the possibility of losing more and the possibility of losing less, Chen Gong still supports the construction of the railway.

Seeing Chen Gong say this, Tian Ze nodded slightly.

"It seems that building a railway is still feasible."

"With the railway, it will be much easier to transport troops and food in the future, and the construction of waterways will also reduce a lot of costs."

Seeing Tian Ze's self-consoling Ah Q spirit, Chen Gong pulled the corner of his mouth speechlessly.

This would cost Da Qi at least half a year's savings. If Da Qi was not at the peak of its power and had a legitimate reason to expand its territory, Chen Gong would never have agreed.

"Your Majesty, even if the railway is built, we still have to consider the issues of maintenance and security."

"After all, it is built of iron, so it is inevitable that someone will take risks. We must arrange enough soldiers and horses for long-term maintenance."

"Also, in order to prevent the enemy from attacking the railway, we'd better make some emergency plans and build wooden tracks at the same time."

“Although wooden tracks cannot support steam trains, they can still facilitate transportation. Whether it is transported by oxen and horses or pedal-powered rail cars, the efficiency can be increased several times.”

"The most important thing is that wooden rails are easy to repair and replace, and normally no one would steal them, so you can prepare more."

In fact, in Chen Gong's opinion, if we only consider the issue of the Kushan War, it would be enough to build wooden tracks.

It takes less time, has lower costs, and has a higher cost-effectiveness ratio.

But based on his understanding of Tian Ze, he will definitely not stop there in the future, so it is better to complete this logistical process in one step.

Tian Ze nodded slightly after hearing this: "Gongtai, you said it very well. Just do as you said, Zhongde, you cooperate well."

"Moreover, once this road is built, in addition to transporting troops and food supplies, it can also be used by merchants to transport goods. This way, we can earn a lot of money and get back our investment as soon as possible."

"My lord is wise." Chen Gong said.

Although he knew that it was impossible to "make back the investment", the loss of manpower and time, and the impact on development, could not be replaced by money and food.

But what Tian Ze said gave him some comfort.

(End of this chapter)