Chapter 2 The He Family

In the glass mirror, He Xi looked at the big red official robe, and suddenly found a few more strands of white hair under the hat. I was stunned for a moment, and then I felt that I was no longer young.

In the past few years, He Xi has been very tired.

To build the city of Beijing, He Xi did not feel that there was any problem. But in other respects, the problem is bigger.

Zhu Yuanzhang's judgment and He Xi's hunch were correct.

Thanks to Zhang Zongde's efforts, the steam engine has continued to improve, and there have been several new versions. To say that there is any leap forward, of course there is no such thing. But revolutionary progress is all carried forward in the improvement of little by little. It's not just a flash of change.

Here's the problem.

The promotion of the new steam engine was very problematic.

Unless he uses the privilege to propel the steam engine into use, almost no one will use the new steam engine. This question is similar to the reason why China did not have an industrial revolution, and it is not cost-effective.

Because of the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there are not many people in the Ming Dynasty today, and even fewer people in the north. But this number is to be compared with whom, even if He Xi thinks that there are fewer people in the north, but Hebei plus Liaodong, there are also three million households.

10 million people smaller.

Of course, this is the reason why many Mongols and Koreans migrated here. But this population, even in later generations, is not too small.

Therefore, adding manpower or adding machines, which one is more cost-effective. It's a choice worth weighing. Not to mention, the division of the Ming market is not competitive at all. Rather, it is a monopoly that takes advantage of power.

Therefore, the only place where companies can fully compete is overseas. The competition here is the fullest, the kind that even the brains are sufficient. In the territory of Daming, everyone lined up to divide the fruit.

The competitive advantage brought about by technological progress has naturally been weakened.

This economic model is unlikely to drive technological development. In other words, if He Xi does not make a change. Even if the Ming Dynasty had a steam engine, it popularized the steam engine. In the next three hundred years, four hundred years, the Ming Society will be in the era of steam engines.

Even if other new technologies are already there, they are more likely to be shelved unless there is a seismic change.

He Xi looked at himself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and said secretly, "It's coming soon. The storm is coming."

This is also one of the reasons why He Xibai happened.

If we say that before that, He Xi's ideas and plans have been referenced, referring to the industrial revolution and social reform of various countries in history. But now, the Ming Dynasty has embarked on its own path, and the routes of other countries are no longer very useful.

And the person who can give He Xi a cover is almost gone.

This does not make He Xi sad.

He's already decided to make a bloody storm. But if after this bloody storm, it is not the dawn of victory, He Xi himself will not be able to face himself.

"Father." He Yuansi said it outside.

He Xi put his black gauze hat on his head, came out and said, "What is it?"

He Yuansi had been waiting outside for a while.

He is now fifteen years old. He looks like a little adult. Yes, fifteen years old is just a student in the afterlife, but in this era, he is no longer a student. He has to take on some affairs, which is not that He Xi does not love He Yuansi.

Rather, the helplessness of being born in the He family.

There are too many things to do, and some things have to be done by others. And people who trust do it. Otherwise, it is easy to get out of control, and at the same time, He Xi knows that if he fails, what awaits He Yuansi? This kind of life-and-death event cannot be tolerated.

Not to mention, running errands for his parents at the age of fourteen or fifteen is a matter of course in this era.

He Yuansi said: "Master Zhang carried the steam engine onto the ship for the experiment, which was to be carried out in Nanhu. I've checked the previous records, and I estimate that this one has a very good chance of success. Father is going to see it?"

He Xi assigned He Yuansi the task of learning and summarizing all the cutting-edge projects of Beijing Guozijian.

whereas

Today, Beijing Guozijian and Nanjing Guozijian have taken completely different paths. Beijing Guozijian has gathered all the talents that He Xi can gather, and it can be said that everyone is He Xi's disciples and grandchildren, which is completely different from Nanjing Guozijian.

He Xi even put scientific research in Beijing's Guozijian.

The most important ones are, steam engine project team, gunpowder project team, metallurgical project team, machinery project team, improved fertilizer project team and so on.

So much so that Guozijian's annual research expenses are as much as 100,000 yuan.

Don't look at it, Daming's annual taxes are based on tens of millions of yuan, so I think it's not too much. On the contrary, more than 100,000 yuan is enough to raise 10,000 elite soldiers and win a counterinsurgency war. If it were not for He Xi's authoritative suppression, this matter would have been impossible to pass.

Since he has made great efforts to engage in scientific research, He Xi can't always pay attention to the progress of scientific research, and He Yuansi happened to be studying in Beijing Guozijian, and He Xi assigned this task to He Yuansi by the way, and it was also for He Yuansi's education.

Someone else's child is just that.

He Xi's own son must understand scientific thinking and the impact of science and technology on society.

He Xi's heart moved, and he said, "What happened to the train?"

He Yuansi said, "Still no. But in my opinion, there are already eyebrows. In recent years, there has been a lot of good news on the metallurgical project team, adding a lot of other materials to the molten steel to get better steel. As long as it can be produced stably. It's just a matter of time before the train is trained. It's just ------."

He Xi said, "Just what?"

He Yuansi said: "The child thinks that the value of the steam engine ship is far higher than that of the train, after all, the steam engine ship can immediately replace the current ship, and the efficiency is greatly increased, but if it is a train, the railway needs to be laid, and the cost is too great."

He Xi smiled and said, "Yes, what you said is good. In terms of economic benefits alone, steam engine ships are the most convenient. Almost change it, and it will be beneficial immediately, but the train is different. It's not just about building trains, it's about building railways. Railways consume more than trains. I don't know when the cost of recovery will be. But from the court's point of view, it's different."

"Even without steamboats, water transport is far more convenient than land transport, and wherever there is water transport, it is more prosperous than where there is no water transport. Steamships are nothing more than icing on the cake. For many places in the interior, large armies come and go, and ten stones of grain are transported to the front line, and it is estimated that there is not a single stone. Such a place is a place where the imperial court is weak, occupy it, it consumes a huge amount every year, and if it is not occupied, it is used by the enemy, but it is a disaster for China. But with trains, it's different. Then the country will be forever."

"My son, I'm asking you to look at things from an economic point of view, not to make you a businessman. It's about knowing that there is a cost to doing everything, and weighing the pros and cons to understand how to do a good job, so you have to calculate not only small accounts, but also big accounts."

He Yuansi nodded thoughtfully and said, "The child understands. The child will definitely supervise Master Zhang."

He Xi said: "No, you have to respect the objective law, you can do it, if you can't do it, just wait."

In fact, He Xi was very anxious in his heart.

He Xi hoped that there would be a perfect steam engine technology and all of it would be popularized in this war. After all, nothing is more costly than war, and nothing is greater than the need for war. This is a good opportunity to promote new technologies, and the same variety of new technologies is also a good helper for He Xisheng.

It's just that some things can't be rushed.

Haste makes waste.

The father and son were talking, when suddenly a child ran over from outside and hugged He Yuansi's leg. Ahhh

It was He Sinan.

He Sinan is only three years old now. I can talk a long time ago. It's just that his favorite thing is to run like crazy and scream. It seems that this is the only way to vent your emotions. He Yuansi saw his younger brother and picked He Sinan up.

"Why are you still here? Go for it. Don't miss the auspicious time." Princess Anqing said, "Today is not an ordinary day."

He Xi shook up his big red official robe and said, "Don't worry,

I'll go over now, and I won't miss the hour. It's early, it's early."