The development of any empire could not bypass resource bottlenecks, and the most important resource bottlenecks were food, fuel, fiber, and construction materials.
These four bottlenecks hindered the economic growth of all empires. Every empire faced these constraints. If they wanted to increase their economic growth quickly, they must get rid of these four resource bottlenecks.
Food was the core of any empire. Without food, the common people would not be able to fill their stomachs, and the empire would fall into turmoil or even collapse. The backward agricultural technology would lead to extremely low food productivity. As a result, a large number of people had to be engaged in agricultural production to meet the empire's demand for food.
As a result, the Empire could not spare enough manpower to carry out other tasks. Furthermore, when there were invasions, the Empire had no choice but to recruit agricultural workers who lacked training to join the army. This would, to a certain extent, destroy the development of agriculture and cause a loss of national strength.
After Ang Lee invented black gunpowder, the steel production of the Tang dynasty increased by dozens of times. The common people could use more iron farming tools to farm, thus increasing the food production. As agricultural machinery was gradually popularized, the productivity of agriculture was even higher. As a result, a lot of manpower could be withdrawn from agricultural production and transferred to industrial and handicraft production.
The importance of fiber was similar to that of food. Because the Tang dynasty was in a temperate zone, it was divided into four seasons. Summer was better, but winter was very cold. If there was not enough fiber, it could not make enough cotton-padded clothes. As a result, the common people would freeze to death. Therefore, in order to meet the demand for clothes, the Tang dynasty had to divide part of the farmland to plant mulberry leaves and flax to make silk and linen to meet the demand for clothes.
As a result, the land planted with mulberry leaves and flax could not be used to grow food, which formed a restriction on food production. Of course, silkworm breeding and weaving required a lot of manpower. The consumption of manpower was also very large, so a lot of manpower was absorbed in these fields.
Ang Lee invented various machinery to increase the production of pig iron and produce two crops a year. This could satisfy the need for less farmland and produce more food. As a result, there was no need to worry about mulberry leaves and flax stealing the farmland. This greatly reduced the restriction of mulberry leaves and flax on the farmland.
The importance of fuel was needless to say. The common people needed to eat every day, and to eat, they had to use fuel. Firewood and charcoal had always been the most important fuel for the common people.
However, the combustion efficiency of firewood and charcoal was relatively low, so naturally, the quantity used was relatively large. As a result, the common people in the countryside often had to go up the mountain to cut firewood, which consumed a lot of manpower. The common people in the city had to spend more money to buy the firewood, which also consumed a lot of money. Moreover, the wood was an important material for making carriages, furniture, and houses. The consumption of wood would inevitably restrict the construction of the furniture, carriages, and the development of the economy.
After Li An came to the Great Tang, he first invented honeycomb coal, which gradually became popular. This greatly saved manpower and resources, and the solar stove he invented was even more formidable. It could directly use solar energy to boil water and cook, and it didn't consume any fuel at all. Although the sun didn't shine every day, the majority of the year was sunny. This fact was undeniable, and it could save at least half of the fuel consumption, thus solving the problem of fuel constraints.
. The last big problem was the construction materials. Construction was a necessary facility to maintain human habitation. In the Tang Empire, construction was mainly made of wood and stone, and wood was the main material.
Whether wood or stone was used, it required a lot of manpower to mine, and then it had to be processed. The consumption of labor and natural resources was huge. Wood needed a lot of time to grow. Excessive mining would lead to a large reduction of forest resources, which would lead to serious soil erosion.
The Wei River in Guanzhong and the Yellow River in the Central Plains were both muddy rivers. The reason was that human activities were too frequent. In order to meet their needs, they cut down a lot of forests, resulting in such serious consequences.
Now, Ang Lee had invented cement and concrete. In the future, this new material could be used to make buildings, so as to avoid the huge destruction of forest resources.
Of course, the things that Ang Lee had invented so far could only alleviate the restrictions of the four major bottlenecks on the Empire's economy. There were still many aspects that needed to be worked on.
Because of the huge role of cement, Ang Lee did not hesitate to go to the Imperial Palace in person to demonstrate the huge role of cement in front of the Emperor, so as to get the decree to promote it throughout the country as soon as possible.
"Your Majesty, it will take a whole day for the cement to dry. We don't have to wait here. Just let these people watch over it."
Suddenly, the wind blew. Ang Lee motioned Li Longji to return to Zichen Palace. Moreover, Ang Lee still had a lot to say to Li Longji. It was not convenient to say it in a place where there were too many irrelevant people.
"Well, Assistant Minister Li, come with me!"
Li Longji nodded gently and led Ang Lee back to Zichen Palace.
"Assistant Minister Li, there are no irrelevant people here. What do you have to say?"
Li Longji asked hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, cement and concrete are extremely important to the Tang Empire. I think that the method of making cement should be notified to all provinces and counties, so that all provinces and counties can make cement and put it into use. In this way, the dependence on wood will be greatly reduced."
Ang Lee suggested.
"Reduce the dependence on wood? Assistant Minister Li, you want to build houses with cement? "
"Yes, Your Majesty. It will be more advantageous to build houses with cement than with wood. The houses built with cement will be stronger and less likely to be blown down by the wind. Moreover, it will be cheaper. No matter how you look at it, it will be more cost-effective."
Ang Lee explained the reason and continued, "Your Majesty, cement is very useful. Not only can it be used to build houses, but it can also be used to pave roads, build walls, build piers, and so on. In particular, paving roads will make the roads easier to walk on. In rainy weather, there will be no problem with silt. This is also the reason why I want all provinces and counties to build cement workshops. In the future, as long as all provinces and counties pave concrete roads, the roads will become easier to walk on and the transportation of goods will become easier."
"Pave roads with concrete?"
Li Longji frowned and thought about it. The concrete roads had not been laid yet. Li Longji really could not imagine it. He did not know what kind of effect the concrete roads would have. Would the houses made of cement be strong? Could people live in them?
"Assistant Minister Li, your proposal is very good. However, I want to see the houses made of cement, the roads paved with concrete, and the piers of the bridges with my own eyes. As for the nationwide promotion, there is no hurry."
Li Longji was still a little conservative. He felt that he had to confirm that the cement was really so good before promoting it nationwide. Otherwise, if the cement was not as good as Ang Lee said, he would be blamed.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Then I will build a road leading to the east outside Chunming Gate and cross the Longshou Canal. I will build a concrete bridge over the Longshou Canal. On the other side of the bridge, I will build a concrete pavilion and a two-story concrete house. Your Majesty, please give your permission."
Ang Lee asked for permission.
"Well, Assistant Minister Li, go and prepare. How long will it take? How much manpower do you need? "
Li Longji asked.
"Your Majesty, I have already prepared the materials. As long as there are 1,000 craftsmen, half a month will be enough."
Ang Lee said confidently.
"Good, then I will wait for half a month to appreciate the results of Assistant Minister Li. If it is good enough, I will consider promoting it nationwide."
Li Longji was very happy and continued to talk with Ang Lee about various newly developed machinery and the construction of the two strategic railways.
After leaving the palace, Ang Lee immediately mobilized 1,000 men and horses and used a large number of carriages to transport a large amount of cement, sand, and gravel made in the R&D Center to Chunming Gate. In addition, in order to prevent interference with the construction, Chunming Gate was temporarily closed and no one was allowed to pass.
After the materials were prepared, construction would begin immediately. The technical difficulties of building these things were very small. For Ang Lee and the craftsmen, it was nothing.
However, in order to complete it as soon as possible, they needed to start construction at several points at the same time. One part was responsible for paving the road, one part was responsible for building the piers and preparing to lay the bridge, and a small part was responsible for building the pavilion and the two-story concrete building. In this way, the manpower for each part was not much, especially for the pavilion, which only had a few dozen people. However, it was not a problem to complete it within half a month.
The work of paving the road was very simple because this section of the road had long been stepped on by pedestrians coming and going. There was no need to compact the road. They could directly lay gravel on the road. After laying the gravel, they would sprinkle a mixture of sand and cement on it, but without adding water, they would use tools to compact it. The last step was to lay the mixed concrete.
Because the gravel in the concrete was too heavy, it was difficult to use a shovel to mix it evenly. For this reason, Ang Lee had already asked the craftsmen to build a drum mixer, and it was driven by a steam engine. Of course, due to time constraints, only two machines were built at present, but it was enough to pave a small section of the road.
Before laying the first concrete road, Ang Lee had fully considered various situations, such as the thermal expansion and contraction of the concrete, the strength of the road surface, whether the foundation was stable, and so on.
For the foundation, Ang Lee was confident that there would be no problem. The strength of the concrete had also been tested. As long as the craftsmen worked seriously, there would not be too much of a problem. In order to resist the thermal expansion and contraction, which might cause the road to crack, Ang Lee used the method of embossing the surface and leaving a gap every five steps. In this way, it could greatly reduce the occurrence of cracks on the road and ensure the beauty and practicality of the road.
The craftsmen in charge of the construction followed Li An's instructions to pave every section of the road. From the gravel at the beginning to the empty space at the end, everything was done strictly according to Li An's instructions. They did not dare to violate the rules at all.
The construction of the bridge piers was not difficult. First, the pre-made concrete pillars were driven into the mud and surrounded by a circular area. Then, the concrete was poured into this area to form a solid bridge pier. In order to increase the strength, Ang Lee used a long iron rod as the role of the steel bar. The effect was naturally better than nothing.
After the three bridge piers were all solidified, the steel and concrete bridge deck officially began to be laid and was soon completed.
The concrete pavilion was a small project. It was the fastest to complete, but it needed to do some decoration, which took a lot of time.
More than 100 people were used to build the two-story concrete house. The progress was relatively fast, but it was the last to be completed.
The two-story house was not large. There were only five rooms on the first floor, including a stairwell. There were even fewer rooms on the second floor. There were only three rooms on the second floor. There was a large balcony on one side, where one could stand and enjoy the scenery in the distance.
After all of this was completed, Ang Lee personally checked it and expressed satisfaction with the construction results of the craftsmen. After letting it dry for a day, he reported to Li Longji and asked Li Longji and the ministers to visit it to test the effect of the cement and concrete. Finally, it was promoted throughout the Tang dynasty.
Li Longji took a carriage and set off from Daming Palace under the protection of a large number of guards. He went along the city and finally arrived at Chunming Gate.
At the moment when Chunming Gate opened, the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Longji, stepped out of the city gate with the civil and military officials in the court. They saw the roads, bridges, pavilions, and houses built by Ang Lee.
These things that had never appeared before left a deep impression on them. The roads were flat and hard, the bridges were thick, and the pavilions and houses also gave people a sense of sturdiness.
Two rows of Yulin Royal Guards lined up on both sides of the road to ensure the safety of the Emperor and the ministers. Further away, there were also a large number of soldiers and horses to maintain order and prevent unauthorized people from entering.
Li Longji walked in the front, accompanied by Ang Lee, who was half a step behind Li Longji.
"Well done. The road is very flat and looks sturdy. What are the horizontal lines on it for? What are the gullies for?"
Li Longji felt very steady walking on the concrete road. He was very curious when he saw the horizontal lines and gullies on the road.
"Your Majesty, these are to prevent cracks from appearing on the road. Without these things, many cracks will appear on the road before long, which will affect the normal use of the road."
Ang Lee quickly explained to Li Longji the purpose of the cracks and gullies on the road.
"Assistant Minister Li, why is there a long yellow line in the middle of the road? Does it also have an important function?"
"Yes! Why is there a yellow line in the middle of the road? "
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