If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

The matter of the national debt has basically come to an end. As for what to do next, Zhou Wu recommended Su Jing to the emperor.

"Su Jing? Is that the official in the Crown Prince's residence?"

"Exactly."

"I heard that the audit was also handled by this Su Jing."

"Your Majesty, it is indeed this person. He is highly talented and capable of great use."

Having just finished auditing the accounts, Su Jing was preparing to ask the Crown Prince for a few days' leave to rest properly. Little did he know that he had already been arranged perfectly by the Emperor and Zhou Wu.

. . . . . .

Zhou Wu couldn't stay in the capital forever, so after leaving all the remaining matters to Su Jing, he quickly ran back to the South China Sea.

Estan approached him as soon as he returned.

"My lord, you're finally back."

When Estan heard that Zhou Wu had come to the South China Sea, he immediately went to the city lord's mansion to find Zhou Wu.

"What's so urgent?"

"Sir, regarding the railcar you instructed us to do last time, we have completed the design and theoretical demonstration. Now all that's left is the practical operation."

The tram was a key project that Zhou Wu specifically requested to be studied, so Estan dared not be careless in the slightest.

A large number of scientists have gathered together to develop the railcar. The data has been validated, and only the experiments are needed.

"Really? That's fast."

Zhou Wu, who was originally exhausted, immediately perked up when he heard about the train.

"Sir, we need to conduct an experiment now, so, um, that..."

When the topic of experiments came up, Estando became a little hesitant and embarrassed.

"Are you short of money?"

"Yes."

Zhou Wu allocated a special fund to the laboratory for daily expenses and experimental research.

However, when they made a simple budget for the manufacture of the experimental train and the planned track laying, the cost was shockingly high. The laboratory's limited funds were simply insufficient, which is why Estan approached Zhou Wu.

"How much?"

When faced with Zhou Wu's question, Estan simply handed Zhou Wu the budget report.

"so much."

When Zhou Wu saw the budget report, he gasped. He knew that the cost of trains was not low, but he did not expect it to be this high. One locomotive was almost as expensive as two Qinglong-class ships.

However, upon further reflection, trains, whether locomotives, carriages, or even tracks, require a large amount of iron, so their high price is to be expected.

"Sir, this is just a preliminary budget. Since this is our first time building a locomotive, the cost will definitely be higher. However, once we gain experience, the cost will definitely come down."

Seeing that Zhou Wu was frightened, Estan quickly explained that he also had high hopes for the train project, and therefore did not want such a good project to be shelved due to money issues.

"Don't worry, I'll support you no matter how much it costs."

Although Zhou Wu felt the pinch, he knew that this money was unavoidable, and that the money spent now would be returned a thousandfold or even a thousandfold in the future.

. . . . . . .

Besides searching for firearms, Zhou Wu also assigned some of the Firearms Bureau's personnel to help build trains. However, Huang Laosan soon complained to Zhou Wu about this.

"Sir, we really don't have enough manpower."

Since arriving in the South China Sea, Huang Laosan has experienced both pain and joy. In the South China Sea, he has received unprecedented respect, does not have to worry about complicated interpersonal relationships, and his monthly salary is much higher than that in the capital.

With his current income, he could easily support his wife and children, so after about six months in the South China Sea, Huang Laosan brought his wife and children, who were still in the capital, over.

However, there was something that bothered him. Zhou Wu appointed him as the head of the Firearms Bureau, which was originally just a job of making firearms, so it wasn't a big deal.

However, as the South China Sea's business expands, especially after the establishment of the laboratory, many of the laboratory's experimental equipment needs to be manufactured by the Ordnance Bureau.

At first, they were just some strange little gadgets, but later, the things became not only stranger but also bigger and bigger, like the train they are building now.

Is this a car? Are there cars this big? Who has ever seen a car bigger than a house? Apparently, this is just the front. Is there anyone who can reason with this?

"If you don't have enough manpower, then go and hire more people."

Zhou Wu only just realized that the train project did indeed require the transfer of many people from the Firearms Bureau, which would indeed delay the production of firearms by the Firearms Bureau.

"Sir, we are a classified unit. We do have people in Nanhai City, but we dare not recruit them."

Both the Ordnance Bureau and the laboratory have always been top-secret units in the South China Sea, a point that Zhou Wu failed to consider.

"How about this: you separate out some less important components and find another place for externally recruited people to process and produce them, while our Ordnance Bureau only takes care of the core components and assembly. What do you think?"

"That's all we can do for now."

Although it's not a perfect solution, it's the only option for now.

"Huang Laosan, since you're here, I'll take this opportunity to talk to you. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

"There might be more work to be done in the lab later on, so I suggest you take advantage of this opportunity to find more people and set up a new General Works Bureau. It's not a good idea to keep transferring people from your Firearms Bureau."

The train manufacturing project served as a wake-up call for Zhou Wu, reminding him that he should have started preparing for the manpower shortage earlier.

"What you say is true, sir. There are more and more things happening in the laboratory lately, and if another train-building project comes along, our Ordnance Bureau will be paralyzed."

Huang Laosan had also thought about this issue, but he hadn't found a suitable opportunity to bring it up with Zhou Wu. Unexpectedly, Zhou Wu brought it up on his own initiative.

. . . . . . . . .

laboratory.

"How is the progress of the steamship project?"

Zhou Wu came to the laboratory to inquire about the progress of the steamship. Although he still considered the steamship to be a very outdated thing, it was much more advanced than the sailing ship, since it freed the ship from the condition of relying on the wind for sea navigation.

"The steamship experiment was very successful. After sending the Lord to the capital last time, we conducted several more test voyages. So far, we can basically confirm the stability of the steam engine."

The steamship was arguably a truly remarkable achievement of the laboratory, which is why Estan was so excited.

"Moreover, based on a comparison of various indicators, the performance of steamships is at least five times that of sailing ships."

"Really? That's great! When can we achieve mass production?"

Zhou Wu's current development is inseparable from ships, so he is most concerned about steamships.

"Sir, we can start mass production now."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get production going. Right now, the top priority in the lab is trains and steamships."

"Yes."

Zhou Wu didn't arrive first; so quickly, he was able to lead the Great Dragon into the steam age.