After entering the initial era of industrialization, steel is not only the country, but also the symbol of the power of the steel country in this era, and the symbol of any industrial country is its national steel production. In the age of steam, steel production was far more important to a country than some industries after the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions. Without sufficient steel production capacity, there will be no industrial production and development of the country, and the rise and fall of the country in this era is closely related to steel production.

At that time, Li Qi was able to gain a firm foothold in Jinyang and achieve rapid growth, relying on the importance of steel production. The iron factories in Jindi and Shanbei also provided him with sufficient financial support. Since the unification of the north by Datang, it has begun to unify the planning of domestic steel production layout.

On the basis of the earliest Gujiao Iron Works, Wuzhou Iron Works and Luzhou Iron Works, a series of iron and steel production were planned and built in a unified manner, and the layout was similar to that in later China. Thanks to the increasing use of steam engines, domestic steel production is growing at a rate of doubling every three years.

By the twentieth year of the Republic, the steel output of the Tang Empire had exceeded 150,000 tons.

The emergence of steam engines and railways increased domestic coal and iron production and demand, and promoted the development of the mining industry.

The railway, based on these steel mills, began to extend outward.

……

Li Qi has been living a relatively easy life recently, except for the Western Regions, the empire is also relatively stable.

When the war report from the Western Regions was transmitted back to the Central Plains, he was inspecting the construction of the railway from Luoyang to Youzhou.

The entire railway project has been under construction for two years, and it is expected that next year, the railway line connecting the plains will be completed in its entirety. In order to deal with the Khitan, the empire also built a railway to connect Jinyang, through Yunzhou, to the Hetao and the Saibei Dam at the same time. The logistical support has made Datang invincible.

Just after the New Year, there was a sleet in Luoyang.

In such weather, Li Qi presided over the first court meeting of the twenty-third year of the Republic.

It is said that the rule that the ministers stood and talked to the emperor was made by Zhao Kuangyin.

Before the Song Dynasty, there were brocade piers in the court hall (chairs had not yet appeared, and the Hu bed was too big), not only the prime minister, but also the main courtiers sat and talked when discussing with the emperor. In order to show his majesty, Comrade Zhao once at a court meeting, when the ministers were discussing the government, Zhao Kuangyin said that he had bad ears and could not hear what the other party was saying, so they approached the imperial step to speak. When the ministers stood up and finished speaking, and then turned around, why didn't the seats exist?!

When you are the emperor, if you don't treat your ministers as people, the more he will refuse to work hard for you.

So from this era on, the courtiers only for their own families, those who have backbone, are willing to die for the country, and for the Son of Heaven have become less and less.

For example, in the previous dynasty, Yan Zhenqing dared to reprimand Shi Siming in person when he arrived in the enemy camp, and this kind of thing basically began to disappear at the end of the Tang Dynasty.

This kind of thing is not something that can be achieved by shouting a few slogans, which reflects a person's loyalty and identification with the country.

Therefore, Li Qi changed the meeting hall of the small court meeting into the meeting room of later generations, and everyone sat at the table to talk.

It's just that it is impossible for the Chinese people to practice Western-style round table meetings to hold meetings, and they have to distinguish between high and low, so the table in the council hall is only a huge rectangular wooden table.

Prime Minister Lu Yan first made a summary of last year's government affairs report, and then Privy Envoy Zhang Jinda made a report on the war situation in the Western Regions.

Anyway, the emperor's instructions on the war report in the Western Regions are all the words "I know", which is also noncommittal, making it impossible to speculate about the thoughts of the Son of Heaven.

After Zhang Jinda finished his report, Li Qi ordered someone to spread out a map of the Western Regions on the table, and said to a group of important ministers: "This place in the Western Regions is equivalent to the entire Central Plains, but the land is barren and sparsely populated, and many people think that it is not of much value. I would like to tell you clearly here that many of the most valuable minerals in the future will come from the Western Regions, and these places must not be abandoned, and they must be gradually and continuously developed outward. However, for the long-term peace and stability of the Western Regions, it is necessary to intensify the efforts to resettle military camps, and in addition, to strengthen the construction of infrastructure such as transportation. Therefore, in the current Western Regions, in addition to the existing Beiting Metropolitan Protectorate, the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate was restored in Shule, and two more military towns were set up in Yili and Xiaye. ”

Lu Yan looked at the map and frowned: "The transportation in the Western Regions is inconvenient, and if you send a large army to guard it for a long time, it will cost you a lot. But if the troops are too small, they can't resist the counterattack of the cannibals......"

Li Qi glanced at Song Tinghao: "Therefore, it is very important to immigrate and implement the practice of reclamation. ”

Song Tinghao said: "The road is too far, and the troops can only be transferred over, and it is difficult for ordinary people to recruit." ”

Li Qi pointed to the map and said with a smile: "So, transportation construction is very important, and the imperial court plans to use ten years to build a direct railway to Yili." ”

Cao Xin said: "This project is huge, I'm afraid the imperial court can't afford it at present." ”

"Industrial capacity and technology are developing rapidly, and maybe in 10 years, everyone will not find it very difficult," Li said. The easier and then the harder, planning the railway line is now trying to avoid the mountains. ”

The difficulty Cao Xin mentioned is not the problem of implementation, but the current railway construction in China, which is in the ascendant, and there is an urgent shortage of steel rails in various places, and steel production is far from meeting the needs.

The railway of the Beidi grassland has now been repaired from Jinyang to Fengzhou, that is, it continues to extend westward on the north bank of the Yellow River.

Subsequently, Li Qi specifically asked Liu Jiang and Xia Chengting about the development of the shipbuilding industry and the development of the sea.

The Imperial Navy has just been established, and as far as the current situation is concerned, the Datang Navy is an invincible existence on the ocean. And territorial exploitation on the sea is much easier than on land.

The future direction of the empire is the vast ocean.

Under Li Qi's guidance, Luoyang Academy has now completed the production of the completed mapper, and he gave Xia Chengting a new mapper as soon as possible.

He really wanted to eat a meal of eggplant and spicy fried tomatoes, but it was a pity that by now, the navy of the Tang Dynasty had just completed its exploration of Borneo, and there was still a long way to go before he arrived in the Americas.

The Tang army did not completely destroy the Karakhan state, and Satuk fled to the lower reaches of the Amu River, leaving behind a surviving Western Karakhan state, and there were several conflicts with the Seljuk Empire.

The Great Food Dynasty, which flourished in the time of Ahbas, although still in existence, has been fragmented and rapidly declining. It's just that what people didn't expect was that at the same time that the Great Food Empire began to decline, the Tang Empire, which was defeated by the Great Cannibals, began to extend its power to the Hezhong region......

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