"The Anxi Provincial Governor was afraid that Su Lu would find a chance to attack due to the lack of soldiers. Hence, he took the initiative to attack."
Li Yi thought for a while and guessed the reason.
In the early stages of the Kaiyuan Era, the Tang dynasty lacked logistics.
As long as there was enough food, the generals would be stronger than the last.
Seeing the autumn harvest, the Anxi soldiers finished fighting. Su Lu promised to be honest, but he did not know that Anxi had used up all the explosives.
After Anxi finished fighting and looting, they came back with a big harvest.
"We need to give out many officers." Li Longji's other reaction to the soldiers' victory was to spend money.
The lowest rank of officer was Rank 7. They had no real power and were given a salary based on their rank.
When there was no salary, they would give out a few Mu of land or dozens of Mu of land.
When there was no more land to give, many people would bring along officers, and things would become troublesome.
"Our Tang dynasty is rich, so it doesn't matter if we give them a salary. Once we occupy more land and use it to earn money, our revenue will continue to increase."
Li Yi did not mention to seal off the land. The soldiers would fight in the future, not farm.
… …
In the Political Affairs Hall, the Emperor did not have morning court today, so Song Jing was in a bad state.
"Privately sending troops and taking six cities. When will they send troops to Chang 'an?" Song Jing was most against the generals fighting blindly.
This was the reason why he suppressed Hao Lingquan. Unfortunately, his words were useless now.
"After defeating Su Lu, Su Lu does not dare to send troops this year. He can only fight the Turks and Abbasid Caliphate to make up for his losses."
Su Yi, the Minister of War, did not think much of it. As long as they won, everything was fine.
"Using explosives to bully people, what kind of ability is that? If we fight, we will naturally win. "Song Jing grumbled.
Bi Goo smiled and did not say anything. He wanted to say that he would give you a bag of explosives to use.
"Xiao Yi said that she wants to build a railway and told me not to spend too much money. 30 million is not much."
Bi Goo was worried about the logistical problems of the Anxi Provincial Governor. From the looks of it, there was no need to give them anything.
It was estimated that there were a large number of sheep and horses. The so-called six cities in a row were small city walls. The walls were less than ten feet high and were very thin.
A pack of explosives would definitely create a large hole in a section of the wall.
When it was the outer city wall of Chang 'an, there was no reaction when an explosive pack was dropped.
Chang 'an City was thirteen feet and four feet high, with a width of thirty to thirty-five feet at the top and forty to fifty feet at the bottom.
Even if it was the thinnest layer, it would still be nine meters thick. How could they blow it up with explosives?
However, it was useless even if the city walls were thick. They would still be occupied, and the country would still be destroyed.
"If thirty million troops were used to attack Tubo, would they be able to destroy Tubo?" Su Yi thought that the railway would cost a lot of money, but he did not think it was worth it.
Spending 10 million to build the railway and the locomotive would cost money to maintain it, but would the train not cost money to move?
How many years would it take to earn back the money spent?
Su Yi did not know that once Li Yi built the railway from Chang 'an to Luoyang, there would be no problem of recovering the cost after the train started operating.
The money earned would be used to maintain the existing railway and the rest would be used to build and pave the railway.
Li Yi would build the railway from Luoyang to Haizhou, which was Lianyungang, because it was close.
Once the railway from Haizhou to Chang 'an, the railway would start to make a lot of money.
The sea transport would directly go to Haizhou for loading and unloading before going to Luoyang and Chang 'an, the two important places of the Tang dynasty.
On the Grand Canal, docks for loading and unloading would also be built there. The docks would follow the water down or up from below.
Su Yi did not know how big the profits would be. The profits would be used to pave roads and repair bridges, and at the same time, increase taxes.
The railway's profits could not be seen, but there would be some financial support.
… …
At noon, Li Family Zhuangzi ate snake meat. Li Longji and his family.
Princess Yongmu ate the meat on the plate with a happy expression.
She did not care about what she ate. She felt that she was the happiest when she could eat the braised snake meat that she said she wanted to eat last night.
"Brother Yi, is the Imperial Court going to take out the 10 million yuan to build the railway now?" Li Longji did not go to the Imperial Court and decided to ask about something serious.
Isn't this equivalent to going to the Imperial Court? I am asking about politics and have not rested.
Li Yi swallowed the rice in his mouth: "It's still early. There is good steel, and I also have the technology. I am preparing to build the steam engine ship and the locomotive at the same time. This year is too tiring."
"If there is no other way, set aside next year's budget. You can print more coupons and make up for it when the time comes. "
Li Longji thought of a way to reduce the deficit. Any normal person would have such an idea.
Li Yi smiled: "No need. 10 million yuan is not much money.
Iron mining, including transportation, is a labor cost.
Coal mining, coal washing, transportation, and labor, no one can take profits from it.
I will build a few more furnaces and ask the Winged Knights to help. They will directly produce the steel and cast the railway … … "
Li Yi estimated that the cost of one li was about 2000 yuan.
He could not make the railway, so he could only cast it. He first made a mold, poured the molten steel into it, and broke the mold after it cooled.
One li cost 2 million yuan, but this money was not thrown away. The money earned from the labor work had to be spent.
If the Winged Knights did not want money, the cost would be even lower.
The cost included cement and wooden pillows, crushed stones, and so on.
It took a lot of effort to cut down a large piece of wood. It also took a lot of effort to soak asphalt and make cement.
10 million yuan was enough to build five thousand li. That was 10 billion yuan. The purchasing power was frightening.
In fact, it was not. There was a need to divide the tracks and move the switches.
Trains traveling in opposite directions would be divided into two tracks at a certain section. The trains would cross each other, and there would be a switch at both ends, and it would become a single track again.
The timing had to be calculated, or they would collide.
As for the dual tracks, there would not be so many trains, and it was not worth it. If there was a need for economic development in the future, there would be additional trains.
Including the locomotive and carriages, 10 million yuan was enough to build the railway from Chang 'an to Haizhou, including the railway bridges on the rivers.
Li Longji listened to Li Yi's calculations and was relieved. The cost was within the acceptable range.
10 million yuan seemed to be quite good.
He had forgotten that the Tang Dynasty's total revenue was a few million yuan a few years ago. The money and things were enough to maintain the Tang Dynasty's expenses, including the war.
Now, 10 million yuan was only enough to build a road from Chang 'an to Haizhou.
"After the road is repaired, if you want to eat seafood, let the train run a special line. It can travel about 120 to 30 li every two hours.
At this speed, it will take less than 40 hours to travel from Haizhou to Chang 'an.
If there are stations, the train will start, brake, wait for loading and unloading, start again, brake again, and the speed will be slow. "
Li Yi was talking about the type of train that stops and waits.
In the past, the real speed of the train was not slow. As long as the train did not stop in the middle and kept running, the speed would increase.
After stopping once, the inertia would be gone, and the train would start again. The train would slowly speed up, drive for dozens of li, and stop again.
Every time the train stopped and started, it would consume a lot of fuel, and it would wear and tear the train.
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