If you want to get rich, build roads first!

The first thing Li Mu did when he settled down was to build roads and roads. As a time-traveling person with modern thoughts, Li Mu advocated the construction of the Chi Dao, which naturally could no longer use the standards of the Qin Dynasty. Qin Chi Road is in a flat place, the width of the road is fifty steps, Li Mu tried it himself, with the size of his pace, the width of fifty steps is about sixty-five meters, how much does it cost to build such a wide road? The total budget is only 400,000 yuan, and it can't be done at all.

And there is no need, the road is not the wider the appointment, the wider the construction time, the delay is also the cost of the people and money, this gallop road is of great use, it must be built as soon as possible, put into use.

In order to promote rail transit more conveniently, Li Mu was determined to set a standard, similar to the 'car on the same track' in the Qin Shi Huang period, and this standard he designed will be a model for all rail transit in the Tang Dynasty in later generations. In later generations, the width of the standard gauge was 143.5 centimeters. It is said that this width was determined according to horse-drawn carriages, and during the Industrial Revolution, the British had the most developed rail transportation, and they built railroad tracks to transport coal mines. But the steam engine had not yet been invented, so they used horse-drawn carts to transport coal. Therefore, the width of the carriage determines the width of the tracks. Later, the steam engine was invented, but it was too expensive to alter the rails that had already been laid, so the gauge of the train was designed according to the width of the carriage.

Although the standard of rules was spread by the British, this distance was not designed by the British. As early as the ancient Roman period more than 2,000 years ago, the Romans paved many roads for their armies in Europe, and the trajectory size was 143.5 Li Mi. This size is the width of the Roman chariot and is averaged according to the distance between the butts of the two warhorses. Li Mu found two horses and tried them, and it was really about the same.

But in today's Datang, all standards have not yet been decided. Nor does it have to be the same as the British and Romans. One hundred and forty-three .five is relatively difficult to understand for the weights and measures that Datang is practicing today. Li Mu considered it again and again and decided to set the gauge with four feet five inches as the number.

Three feet and one meter, and four feet and five inches is exactly one meter five, which is a little wider than the standard of the Romans and the British, and the carrying capacity can be increased. For horses, the tolerance is also higher, and the horse will not be unable to fit in just because the horse is a little fatter. And even if it is two slightly thinner horses, you can adjust the reins to make them fit, so you don't have to worry about not being able to use them.

Li Tai set off from Chang'an two days later than Li Mu, and also arrived in Luoyang today. He had all the information about Chidao that Li Mu asked him to collect, as well as the construction methods in the records. Li Mu asked him to sort out these materials, and then gather Gongsun Kang and the craftsmen together to study and determine the construction plan. Outside the west gate of Luoyang City, several huge tents were set up, and a temporary 'command center' was set up, and there was an endless stream of people coming and going.

I hired six cooks to cook non-stop all day, because the construction was three shifts around the clock, and at the end of each shift, we had to eat, so this meal became a 'buffet', and after eating, I found a place to sleep, and when I woke up, I went to work.

Of course, not just anyone can eat, and anyone who works has a wooden plaque to prove their identity. The wooden plaque has a number on it, and the number corresponds to the person's name. When the work is paid, do not look at the person, look at the work number on the work card, and receive the money with the card, so this card has become the life of the person who works, but it must not be lost.

In order to avoid heat stroke, at noon every day, Li Mu also prepared sour plum soup and mung bean soup to relieve the heat, and the four doctors were waiting at any time, and the logistics support was everything.

In this era, the work for the imperial court was in the nature of forced labor. Even if it is not a conscription of the imperial court, the official has spoken, and the untouchables have to do it. It's already good to be able to manage food, like Li Mu, who settles wages every day, eats two full meals, and drinks mung bean soup and sour plum soup, and is still treated when he is sick, these workers have never encountered it in their lives for half a lifetime. Some of them also participated in the construction of Luoyang City more than ten years ago, when it was a levy and conscription, and the work was slower, and they had to be whipped by the knights who oversaw the work.

Li Mu's popularity has skyrocketed. These people who are willing to work hard are all from poor families. Before Li Mu started a big job, they mixed in the market, and it was difficult to eat, but now with this job, they do four hours a day, and they also have eighty yuan of income, and they also bring out their own two meals, the old and young of the family can feed, and they can also have some savings, and they are grateful to Li Mu.

But Li Mu's move caused dissatisfaction among the businessmen. As the owner, the businessman hires workers on weekdays, and he must be able to spend less and is reluctant to spend more. In the past, they hired people to move goods, and when they were in a good mood, they could give fifty or seventy yuan to eat, and when they were in a bad mood, they could send a few steamed buns. More often than not, it's to give rice. Two liters of rice to hire a person for a day's work is considered a conscience price. The price of rice in Luoyang is three coins and one bucket. In other words, a strong guy's salary for a day is less than 60 yuan.

The wages are so low, and they don't include food, and the people who work eat a lot, and a liter of rice can be eaten well, and at the end of the day, they can earn one more person's rations, and if there are wives and children at home, the two of them have to drink porridge to be full.

And the eighty wen given by Li Mu is enough for the two to eat and have money to spare, and the people who work are not stupid, so naturally they all go to Li Mu to work, and no one works for them.

Business can't be left undone, and if the price is low, you can't hire people, so you have to raise wages. But even if the same price as Li Mu was mentioned, these laborers were unwilling to work for them. It's not that they can't get along with money, but that these businessmen refuse to hire long-term workers in order to save money, they are all short-term workers, and Li Mu's side repairs roads for several months. If you lose your position for these few days of short-term work, it will be more than worth the loss.

The merchants were so angry that they had to raise the price to Baiwen a day, so they could barely hire people. At this time, a businessman who came back from Chang'an brought news that when Li Mu was in Chang'an, the salary he gave was the lowest of 100 wen, and occasionally 130 wen, or even 300 wen a day. When the merchants got the treasure, they quickly spread the news in an attempt to provoke public outrage and cause the workers to strike. also let Li Mu add money to bleed, he was not happy, and he couldn't let him get away.

The abacus played well, but it didn't work. After Li Mu received the news, he set up a notice at the construction site the next day, explaining in detail how the salary was set. Concise and to the point, no roundabout nonsense. There are three reasons why the salary is set at 80 yuan, one is that the budget for road construction is limited, and if the budget is higher than 80 yuan, the budget will be overrun. The second is that eighty wen has exceeded the general wage in Luoyang City, and this price is not low. Third, why it is 20 Wen lower than Chang'an City, the reason is that the prices in the two places. The price of grain in Chang'an City is expensive, and it is too low to feed the family. The city of Luoyang extends in all directions, the price of grain is stable, and there is a surplus of eighty wen in addition to food, which is actually the same in the two places. As for those who earn 130 or 300 yuan, it is because people have skills, not laborers but technicians, and the wages are more deserved, and there is no comparison.

At the end of the notice, it is clear that wages will not be raised again, which is the standard. If someone thinks it's not cost-effective, they can settle their wages and leave. Where to give more money to work, it is a matter of course, and there is no need to worry about being embarrassed.

Li Mu's explanation is not perfect, in the final analysis, it is still less than Chang'an's side. But Li Mu said frankly, and he didn't mean to force it at all, but pushed the ball to the workers. Is it to go? Is it to stay? gone, the work of bringing two meals a day for eighty wen is gone, and there is nothing to stay at home. Those businessmen can't work every day, they are still day laborers. And Hou Ye made it clear that this job was not for him to do, it was the work of the imperial court. The work of the imperial court, that is, conscription, conscription is no money, the Hou Ye did not distribute this as conscription, but hired workers to do it, it is already benevolent and righteous, and there are more requirements, but don't look for a face.

If it is really urgent for the Hou Ye, if an order is issued, don't you have to do it?

When I think about it like this, I don't feel anything angry in my heart. Only a few left, and Li Mu did not stop him, and settled the wages and sent them away. Those who stayed behind were still working as they should have worked, and the progress of the project was not delayed at all.

……

When he first came to Luoyang, a lot of things were waiting for Li Mu to preside, and it was impossible for him to stay on the construction site of Chidao all the time. After staring at it for a few days, he handed over the matter to Gongsun Kang, which was also his job.

Ma Zhou rushed over on the third day after Li Mu's eight-hundred-mile message, calculating the time, he almost received the will, and immediately packed his bags and set off. Li Mu thought that he would be a little angry, after all, he is now a little celebrity in front of Li Shimin, walking in front of the emperor, he can often see the emperor, and he can't guarantee that one day he will say a word right, Longyan Dayue will enter the three provinces, and the soaring will be just around the corner.

But after meeting, looking at Ma Zhou's attitude, there was not the slightest resentment. Li Mu explained to him, and he also did it very seriously, which made Li Mu very happy, and he would take him with him when he went out occasionally.

But the temperament of the two is not very compatible. Therefore, Li Mu almost didn't talk about private matters to him except for official business.

Wei Yingluo came a little later, she was a female official in the palace, her affairs were complicated, and she was quite loved by Empress Changsun, if it weren't for Li Shimin's insistence that she go to Li Mu, Empress Changsun might not be willing to be such a capable person.

I don't know if it was intentional or unintentional, Wei Yingluo came over with Li Tai. Although the two did not ride in the same car, they did go all the way. When leaving, Empress Changsun also specially instructed Li Tai to take care of Wei Yingluo. The intent is already obvious, and it's not surprising. Wei Yingluo is not the daughter of ordinary people, she is the daughter of Wei Zheng, and she is also a match for Li Tai. Li Tai has not yet married, if he marries Wei Yingluo, with Wei Zheng's current status in the court, it will not be an insult to him at all.

The problem is, Li Tai didn't dare.

He is Li Mu's disciple, and Li Tai doesn't know anything about Wei Yingluo and Li Mu. Li Mu vomited blood and fought with tongues on the main hall for Wei Yingluo, although he didn't see anything about the two of them yet, but what if? If you can't keep it, one day she will become a teacher, does he dare to think like that?

Therefore, along the way, Li Tai was respectful and did not dare to overstep the slightest. When I arrived in Luoyang City, I was sent to Li Mu's Mansion overnight, as if I had thrown away a piece of hot potato, and ran away as soon as I smoked it.

Wei Yingluo has thoughts about herself, and Li Mu knows it. But he now has too many emotional debts, there are only five who are already husband and wife, one here, one there, and the family can't make it up, he really doesn't have the energy to talk about these anymore, so he keeps pretending to be stupid, and he doesn't understand it, and he doesn't talk about that topic. Wei Yingluo wanted to confess her heart several times, but with Jin Chen and Zhang Tianai, she didn't dare to say it. I had to keep my mind in my heart and do things silently, hoping that one day Li Mu would be able to express something, or wait for an opportunity to pierce this layer of window paper.

Tangguan is in Shuzhou, the road is long and difficult. It was only half a month later, and Wang Pu didn't expect it to be even more hopeful, and it would take a month for the urgent transmission of the eight hundred miles to arrive, and when he settled down, it would already be two months later. The matter in front of him has to be done by Li Mu himself. I don't know if it was intentional or unintentional, Wei Yingluo came over with Li Tai. Although the two did not ride in the same car, they did go all the way. When leaving, Empress Changsun also specially instructed Li Tai to take care of Wei Yingluo. The intention has become the master's mother, does he dare to move that thought?

Therefore, along the way, Li Tai was respectful and did not dare to overstep the slightest. When I arrived in Luoyang City, I was sent to Li Mu's Mansion overnight, as if I had thrown away a piece of hot potato, and ran away as soon as I smoked it.

Wei Yingluo has thoughts about herself, and Li Mu knows it. But he now has too many emotional debts, there are only five who are already husband and wife, one here, one there, and the family can't make it up, he really doesn't have the energy to talk about these anymore, so he keeps pretending to be stupid, and he doesn't understand it, and he doesn't talk about that topic. Wei Yingluo wanted to confess her heart several times, but with Jin Chen and Zhang Tianai, she didn't dare to say it. I had to keep my mind in my heart and do things silently, hoping that one day Li Mu would be able to express something, or wait for an opportunity to pierce this layer of window paper.

Tangguan is in Shuzhou, the road is long and difficult. It was only half a month later, and Wang Pu didn't expect it to be even more hopeful, and it would take a month for the urgent transmission of the eight hundred miles to arrive, and when he settled down, it would already be two months later. The matter in front of him has to be done by Li Mu himself.