The most arrogant in history

Ye Kun came to the bridge, stopped the boat and went up to check.

The bridge is three meters wide, with white marble railings on both sides and several pairs of stone lions at the bridge head.

It is indeed very impressive.

Ye Kun walked back and forth and asked, "From a technical point of view, can the stone arch bridge be made bigger?"

I remember that the main arch span of Zhaozhou Bridge is 37 meters. Compared with Zhaozhou Bridge, Xishan Bridge is still a little smaller.

From a distance, the span seemed not big enough, and Ye Kun was worried that large ships would not be able to pass through in the future.

Ye Qingyang said: "Technically, it is possible to build a stone arch bridge that is 15 meters wide, but the larger the bridge, the higher the material requirements. From the perspective of navigation needs, this span is sufficient."

Wu Qiong continued, "Building a bigger bridge will cost more money. We don't have that much budget for the canal. There are seven bridges like this on the Yongji Canal. Which bridge was not built with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? We spent three million taels of silver just on the bridges and ferries on the Yongji Canal."

The canal facilitated water transportation, but also damaged land transportation.

A big river appeared in a place that was originally flat, making it impossible to travel on both sides of the river, so a large number of bridges and ferry terminals were needed.

To dig a river, all you need are workers.

However, building bridges and ferry terminals requires a large amount of materials and more real money.

Ye Kun nodded and said with a smile:

"I said that wealth will not disappear, it will only be transferred. We spent three million taels of silver, but the money is still there, it just flowed into the pockets of ordinary people and craftsmen.

So don’t be afraid to spend money, because money is meant to circulate. The faster the money circulates, the more developed the economy is! ”

Ye Qingyang smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right. When we built the canal, the people on both sides of the canal became rich. The common people can come to work and earn wages; the smart people can do business and sell us food, grass, firewood, chickens, ducks, fish, meat, hemp ropes, shoulder poles and other tools.

Look at the people on both sides of the bridge, near the ferry docks, every family is wealthy. Some people even eat a lot of fish and meat every day. "

Ye Kun laughed: "This is exactly the effect I want!"

Wu Qiong was also amused and asked, "So, building the Grand Canal is not a waste of money and labor, but a benefit to the country and the people?"

"It benefits the country and the people!" Ye Kun said to Wu Qiong in a serious tone:

"Master Wu, let me give you another economic lesson - infrastructure construction drives economic development. If we use the energy and financial resources from the warring states to develop science and technology, build infrastructure, and repair bridges and roads, it will drive economic development.

If we continue to recuperate and govern by inaction as we did before, and people all over the country grow crops, hemp and mulberry trees, grain and silk and hemp products will soon be unsalable. At that time, low grain prices will hurt farmers and trigger an economic crisis.

Therefore, while ensuring that the people are well fed and clothed, we must vigorously develop infrastructure. Only in this way can we digest the excess food and labor.

Think about it carefully, is this the case? "

Wu Qiong nodded slightly, seemingly thinking about something.

Everyone started discussing Ye Kun's point of view.

Ye Kun added: "We built the canal, and the people on both sides of the canal became wealthy. The canal greatly increased our tax revenue. We collected taxes, took them from the people and used them for the people, and then built more infrastructure, forming a virtuous cycle. This is the best state for economic development."

Ma Zhengyang nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. When we build roads in other places, they boost the local economy. In the past, the mountain people's mountain goods could not be transported out, and ironware, glass and porcelain were also difficult to transport into the mountains. The mountain people lived a hard life. Now that the roads are well developed, the mountain people's trade has also greatly increased."

Ye Kun nodded: "The faster the goods circulate, the more taxes we can collect, and the richer the court's finances will be. The investment in road construction is a one-time investment, but the benefits are permanent."

After some thought, Wu Qiong also acknowledged Ye Kun's point of view and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty is far-sighted and insightful. Now it seems that building roads and the Grand Canal are the most profitable businesses."

Ye Kun asked in return: "Then I will continue to build railways and develop trains. Will you all object?"

Unlike the railway and the Grand Canal, the results were slow to come.

The convenience and economic benefits of the Grand Canal are immediate. If it is completed today, you can make money tomorrow.

Due to the backward mining and steelmaking technology, the cost of railways was high, and the quality of steam engines was not up to standard, so the railways were far from recovering their costs.

Everyone couldn't see the prospects for the development of the railway, so they were very opposed to it, thinking that Ye Kun was building the railway for fun!

Sure enough, when the topic of railways was mentioned, everyone fell silent.

Wu Qiong smiled bitterly and said, "The emperor insists on developing railways, so I choose to believe the emperor. But the emperor just said that infrastructure can only be vigorously developed if the people are well fed and clothed. As long as the emperor can guarantee this, I have no objection."

After a pause, Wu Qiong continued, "Even if the railway doesn't make money, the steel used to pave the road is still there, which is also considered wealth."

Ye Kun looked at everyone and laughed, "My Lords, I dare to make a bet. In three years, the cost of our first railway will be recovered and we will start to make a lot of money.

The cost of building railways will be reduced in the future. The efficiency of railway transportation will be further improved. If you oppose building railways today, you will beg me to build them three years later!"

Sang Buyi smiled and said, "Then let's build it. Let's build the first thousand-mile railway first."

The first railway already existed, but it was only two hundred miles long.

Extending it to a thousand miles would still be a huge project.

Wu Qiong suddenly asked, "Oh, Your Majesty, let me ask you something from a layman's perspective. Wouldn't it be better if we pressed the rails used to build the railway into iron sheets and laid them on the road? Wouldn't it be better if we built an iron sheet road so that horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carts, and trains could run on it?"

"This……"

Ye Kun was a little speechless, and said with a smile: "Master Wu, you should take care of the economy and finance. Let professionals take care of the technical issues of road construction."

Iron road, what an idea!

How thick does the iron sheet have to be to withstand rust?

If the iron sheet becomes deformed in the future, should we arrange for a blacksmith to hammer it flat?

Wu Qiong also chuckled: "Your Majesty, just pretend I didn't say that."

Ye Kun smiled, and took everyone back to the boat to continue their river tour.

The quality of the canal is still acceptable, but the supporting facilities are still insufficient.

For example, there are not enough road signs on both sides of the strait, not enough warning signs for navigation safety, and not enough greening on both sides of the strait.

Ye Kun worked on the spot, inquired about the situation one by one, and instructed everyone to improve the infrastructure.

By dusk, they had advanced several hundred miles.

There is a dock ahead, and the workers on the dock are still busy.

There were already steerable searchlights on the dock that scanned back and forth, giving it a sense of what later generations would call modernity.

Huang Jian, on the frigate in front, ordered the workers on the dock to evacuate and began martial law.

However, when the dock workers heard that the emperor was coming, instead of leaving, they flocked to the water's edge to watch the fun.

Ye Kun shouted through the loud speaker on the boat: "Huang Jian, please do not disturb the people. I will not go to the dock. I will just look around."

Huang Jian had no choice but to arrange frigates to follow Ye Kun's ship closely.

"Your Majesty, it's unfair, it's unfair!"

Suddenly, at the dock, there was an old man's cry for justice.