Qin's development is extremely uneven, and this imbalance is a challenge to Qin's future development. Because each state merges into different situations. The development of the Qin State is different, and the resources provided by each state are also different. Therefore, the development of each state is also different. What Shangwen has to do is to break this imbalance and develop it further.

"Qin's development is indeed uneven." Shang Wen said.

"This problem not only appeared in the Qin State, but was consistent in all places. For example, in your Chu State, or in this world, the development of the situation is very uneven." Shang Wen said to Fan Zeng.

"Because of the existence of various reasons, the imbalance of development cannot be solved at all. Therefore, adopting a free policy and proceeding according to specific needs is my policy policy." Shang Wen said.

"Yeah. Mr.'s opinion is really a good opinion." Fan Zeng said to Shangwen.

"No." Shang Wen said, shaking his head.

"It's not a big idea, they will do it naturally," Shang Wen said to Fan Zeng.

"This may be a different development concept." Shang Wen said.

"The problem of uneven development in the Qin State is due to different factors. As a federal government, it is impossible to cover everything. This requires the state government to develop according to the actual situation, rather than looking at the federal government." Shang Wen said.

"In other words, the specific method needs to be explored by the people below." Shang Wen said.

"However, the only thing Qin can provide is support from the general environment. For example, when developing the Western Regions, Longxi, Lizhou, Xiaolizhou, Wangzhou, and Xiaowangzhou, these places are all because of the need to develop the Western Regions. These states of the Qin State have benefited a lot. This is our goal." Shang Wen explained to Fan Zeng.

"Yeah." Fan Zeng nodded.

"The state of Qin has already developed into this way. This kind of unbalanced development is inevitable. The state of Qin can only be like this. When developing toward key points, considering other regions, some potentials, unclear, so there are rules, we still To comply." Shang Wen said to Fan Zeng. For the next development of Qin State. Shangwen believes that it can only be taken into account when developing the market, and then the developed areas should be taken into consideration for the underdeveloped areas. Then slowly benefit the place.

State of Zhao, Handan.

"Building the Southern Railway will be able to transport a large amount of coal to the south. The south is warm, but they need coal to power their machinery. This is the most important way out for coal." Li Mu said.

"Especially where there are railways, a large amount of coal is needed, and the demand for coal will be very large." Li Mu said.

"Another point is that after connecting to Xinzheng, it will reach Qin State Xianyang in the west, the western region of Qin State in the west, and the vicinity of Wei State beams in the east. If one day in the future, South Korea, Wei State, and Qi State build a railway. , You can directly reach the coastal area of ​​Qi State." Li Mu introduced.

Hearing this, the nobles present nodded one after another. They agree with this. You know, under the control of the steel plant, there is still a lot of coal. At present, iron smelting can still make a lot of money, mainly sold to Qin. If the railway is opened up, the sales of iron can be expanded to various regions. In this way, they can make more money, and more than that, they can also expand the demand for coal, so that they can make a lot of money.

"I think this is a good idea. Think about it, wherever Qin's railway goes, they sell their things? Our coal, iron ingots, these things can only follow Qin's railway. If this continues, we are very passive, and if we build a railway, we can make a lot of money at once. The most important thing is that the railway, the railway, the railway is built, and a lot of iron is used at once, and we built it. Make money. What a good thing." One nobleman said to another nobleman.

"Well. I think it makes sense. This matter makes sense. Qin State is building a lot of railways. I don’t know how much iron is needed. We currently have three iron smelting plants and don’t know how much iron is to be produced. One day in the future, if we produce steel, how much money we have to make." A thin nobleman pointed out with a white finger. Although he looks thin and weak, his brain turns faster. What's worse is that his body is not very good.

"Yeah. It makes sense. It seems that this railway needs to be repaired. Only if it is repaired can it develop well." An obese nobleman nodded steadily, and then agreed.

In the upper house, a large number of nobles agreed. Li Mu's idea was approved by the nobles for the first time, but it was the first time for Li Mu.

Soon, the upper house voted and agreed to this constructive idea of ​​Li Mu. Based on this idea, Li Mu will issue a series of decrees to promote its development.

The House of Commons, which is the Commonwealth House of Zhao State. The parliamentarians come from the civilian class. Most of them are businessmen and farmers. This is the main class that makes up the House of Commons.

"The prime minister’s ideas are very good, but I think that the nobles make too much money. These ideas are all based on steel, and the nobles who have a lot of resources in their hands are very unfavorable to us. We can't make any money at all. How much. This is a good idea, but it's not fair to us." Mato stood up and said. He is the owner of a cloth shop in Handan. Perhaps it was because he couldn't make much money from selling cloth, so he stood up and opposed it.

"I think this thing is pretty good, think about it. Isn’t that the case with Qin’s railway? Why can their goods be sold? It’s because of the railway. I said Mato. You sell cloth. , I feel that what you are doing in this business is really impossible." At this moment, Sima Qi stood up. He is the boss of a trading company in Handan, who mainly deals with the upside-down logistics of things. He also does coal, which is mainly sold to Yan Country. Then the timber from the Liaodong of Yan State was transported to Qin State by the railway of Qin State, or the furniture was made and sold directly in the locality, but the level of Yan State artisans was too poor. The best pine can only be bought at a third-rate price, so he can only be called a big businessman, but it is still far from being able to truly have the right to speak.

"If we can build railways in various places in the country of Zhao, our trade will be very large. The cloth in Handan cannot be sold but can be bought elsewhere. I heard that the cloth in Wei is easy to sell. Coarse cloths are sold well, and the demand is great. Even the ready-made clothes are not easy to sell. I think the horse shopkeeper can sell these cloths to Wei State, or buy them directly from Qin State, and set up an office in Xinzheng. Just like the Chang'an District of Qin State, you can arrange purchases and shipments without leaving your house, as long as you can arrange purchases and shipments according to a few telegrams. This is great." Sima Qi said with a smile.

"My pieces of cloth are worthless and worthless." The horse shopkeeper shook his head and said at this time.

"Yes, cloth is not valuable, but if you have railways, you can still make money if the transportation cost comes down. If you can in the future, I think, brother, you can do the same, open a textile factory and get a In the printing and dyeing factory, fabrics are made here, and they are printed and dyed directly there. Otherwise, they can make a few beautiful little ladies and make clothes. I think it's okay." At this time, Simaqi began to look at everyone with squinted eyes. . Everyone smiled knowingly. They all know what Sima means.

"When your brother Ma is okay, go to the factory and have a look at the little lady's hand. How great is this." Sima Qi laughed loudly.

"Hahaha." When everyone heard it, they all teased. The speaker did not intend, the listener did. When everyone was making fun of the horse shopkeeper, the horse shopkeeper felt that Simaqi's idea had great feasibility. Although there was still a lack of funds, he felt it was a way out. The horse shopkeeper’s business is always good and sometimes bad, mainly due to the influence of the seasons. The cloth business is good in winter, but sometimes the cloth business is not good, and his customers are not very stable. At present, the regular customers on hand are mainly There are a few ready-to-wear shops and some ready-to-wear workshops. They imported two sewing machines from Qin State, and the demand is still great. This is the main source of the horse shopkeeper’s business, but recently he heard some bad news that those garment workshops have begun to set the cloth purchase channel in Xianyang or South Korea, because the price of cloth there is a wholesale price, which is higher than that of the horse shopkeeper. The price given is much cheaper, and the demand is also great. People in Xinzheng earn more than people in Handan. There are many people buying ready-made clothes.

Thinking of this, the cold sweat on the back of the horse shopkeeper began to come out. If it weren't for Simaqi's words, he really didn't know how to develop. If he followed the current development, his cloth shop would go bankrupt. This is an ancestral industry, which must not be lost. The horse shopkeeper also wanted to develop new areas. After thinking about these, he felt that his development has a lot to do with railways.

"Although these railway businesses require a lot of steel, cement, and a lot of manpower, it is not those of us who make big money." Sima Qi analyzed.

"We have no chance to participate in it, but we can do other business. His family think about the situation near the railway station, how hot the business is, we can be affected by the railway, as well as the railway transportation. At present, the western railway transports mainly coal and wagons. We didn’t get much at all, so we got it. It also cost a lot of money. In the end, we had to repost it. If this continues, our business can’t be done. Now." Sima Qi said, waving his arms.

"In this way, it is not good for us to develop." Sima Qi said.

"Yeah, if this goes on, what can we still make money? Although those nobles also pay taxes, but they pay less tax, there is no way. Who makes people a steel and a leading enterprise, but we are different, we don’t have that. With so many resources and permissions, I can only make money on my own. I can’t sell this thing because of my own ability. I think Mr. Sima is right. If the railway in the south is opened, I think our business can still be done. Expand some. For example, import goods from other countries to sell, which is still good." Some businessmen agreed.

"Yes, not bad." Everyone meets it. In fact, Zhao is still a big importer of goods, especially grain, food. Because of the war and the recovery, Zhao needs to import a lot of grain, and Qin has a large amount of grain to export. , Zhao Guo can also import. This is a good thing for Zhao Guo. Because grain is a necessity, Zhao's insufficient production will naturally become popular. The nobles have reduced their control over grain because of a large amount of capital. This gives Zhao's merchants a good business opportunity. If this opportunity is not available, it may be. Let them lose a lot. This is also the place agreed by Zhao's merchants. In addition, there are many materials that can be imported, such as Qin's salt, medicines, and various seeds. These are all necessary.

But these businesses are very restricted, mainly because of the difference in railway transportation capacity. Qin country needs to import a large amount of electricity coal from Zhao country. The high-voltage transmission power is still in the experimental stage and cannot be truly popularized. However, Xianyang is a city with a lot of power consumption. There are a large number of power plants around Xianyang. These power plants require a large amount of coal to generate electricity, and the coal mainly comes from Zhao, because Zhao’s coal is cheap and high in quality. In this way, a large amount of coal for power generation in Qin is imported from Zhao, and the goods transported by railways from Zhao are coal, and it is difficult for the wagons to get the special products of Zhao. Of course. Zhao's specialty is coal and iron resources. But these are the businesses involved in the nobles. It is difficult for the Zhao State merchants to involve other businesses, but when they return, the train must not come back empty. In this way, the Zhao State merchants are given a chance, they can get from Qin China imported a large amount of food, luxury goods, and various other necessities of life, mainly for the nobles and civilians of the Zhao country. As a result, the import trade quickly spread in the Zhao country, so Simaqi’s business can be quickly Bigger, because the demand is like this.

"There are all kinds of benefits in the construction of the railway, and the nobles agreed. Don't we disagree with the lower court? There is an additional railway connected to Xinzheng, South Korea. What is the railway?" Simaqi asked everyone. Everyone shook their heads, they didn't know what this sentence meant.

"Railway is the way to make money. This is a chance for us to make a fortune. Are we going to lose it?" Sima Qi asked loudly.

"Railway is the way to make money." Such a sentence suddenly reminded everyone that the development of commerce is not accomplished by the passage of roads. The development of logistics and transportation will adversely affect the development of commerce and stimulate the further prosperity of commercial trade. , This is the meaning of the railway is the financial road, they can rely on the railway to complete their commercial purpose and achieve further prosperity of commercial trade.

"We agree, we agree." At this time, the businessmen present began to agree. Although some peasant parliamentarians disagree, the minority obeys the majority in order to achieve democracy. Businessmen can obtain parliamentary seats by paying more taxes, while peasant parliamentary seats are intentionally inserted. In this way, in terms of the number of competition, They are absolutely disadvantaged, and in this way, the significance of building a railway emerges.

Zhao Guo is actively developing the railway business. This monk Shang Wen's initial thoughts coincided with each other, and Zhao Guo thought of this on his own. This is of great benefit and help to Shangwen's future development. After all, some people will take the initiative to build railways, and the huge pull of railway construction is very big.

"Pass is passed. The next thing is going to be a lot hectic." Li Mu felt very tired and said while sitting on the sofa. When Li Zuoche saw that Prime Minister Li Mu was exhausted, he asked whether the plan was passed.

"There are many things that follow. We have to put forward a specific plan. The southern railway should be connected to Xinzheng, South Korea. In this way, we have to send people to South Korea. This matter. Who will do it, who can do it well? . We have to do a good job." Li Mu said.

"I think we can send someone to inquire about this matter. If the other party considers everything, the prime minister can go in person. This can show the sincerity of Zhao Guo. If necessary, I think we should want to send a telegram first. "Li Zuoche suggested.

"Yeah." Li Mu nodded.

"Just do it like this, I think, if this goes on, this can be done." Li Mu said.

"Go. Send a telegram to South Korea. The content of the telegram is about the construction of the railway between Handan and Xinzheng." Li Mu said.

"Yes, Prime Minister." Li Zuoche nodded.

Qin State Xianyang.

"This is Wang Ben's telegram. Take a look." King Qin handed the telegram to Feng Quji, Wei Liao, Meng Tian and others. Meng Tian came to the meeting as Wei Liao's assistant.

"The people of the Yue family were taught a lesson by the Kingdom of Anxi." Wei Liao looked at the telegram strangely. Meng Tian confirmed again. After reading it, Feng Quji thought about some things and didn't express his opinion.

"The prime minister is out for elections, and I don't know the news yet, what do you think?" King Qin asked.

"The minister believes that to help the Yue people, we Qin people only need to send a part of the officer observation group. How to do it depends on the development of the next step." Wei Liao said.

"Well. The widow agreed to do this. The advantage of this is that you can understand and observe the movements of the Yue people, but we still don't know how sincere the Yue people are?" King Qin said worriedly at this time.

"At this point, the minister believes that a test can be carried out to allow the Yue people to buy a large number of weapons. The additional condition given by the Qin State is to help them train, but the training area can be in the middle zone between the Qin State and the Yue people. Go on." Meng Tian suggested.

"Yeah. Yes, you can go on." Qin Wang said.

"Master Wang." Feng Quji, who was on the side, said at this moment. Everyone looked at Feng Quji.

"Chen believes that these suggestions are good, but none of them can fundamentally solve the problems of the Western Regions." Feng Quji said.

"What do you mean?" King Qin was a little surprised. He didn't know what Feng Quji would say, but he knew that Feng Quji's suggestion had strong political significance.

"The minister meant that a temporary organization should be established in the Western Regions of the Qin State to solve the affairs of the Western Regions, so that the State of Qin could comprehensively manage and coordinate the entire Western Regions." Feng Quji said.

"Recently, the State of Qin fought against Dawan in the Western Regions, and commercial organizations have already entered it. Today, we got the news of the Yueshi people being attacked by the Parthian nation. Although these two pieces of news seem to be accidental, the State of Qin If we want to continue to develop the Western Regions and open up the market, this kind of thing will be inevitable. Chen believes that this kind of thing is already difficult for frontline generals to control." Feng Quji said.

"Yeah." King Qin nodded. King Qin believed that Feng Quji's view was correct.

"The Qin State's methods for the Western Regions are a bit single. Commercial. Our methods are part of the arms trade. Li Xin's Ministry has not yet started. On the other side. Qin State has continued to have frictions with these places. If small frictions continue to develop If it does, it will inevitably lead to a bigger war. This is the situation we least want to see." Feng Quji said.

"If such an institution can be established, these problems will be solved. Commercial trade, military means, as well as diplomacy, comprehensive use, and timely and flexible resolution of the Western Regions issues will have a great effect on the Qin State." Feng Qu I suggest it.

Feng Quji concluded from the recent situation that Qin's actions in the Western Regions were extremely unsatisfactory. This kind of unsatisfactory was not manifested in Qin's affairs in the Western Regions, but Qin's inability to solve these problems flexibly. Existence made Qin passive, some needed flexible diplomacy, and some needed commercial trade.

However, Qin State did not have such an institution to accomplish this. The local state government does not have greater diplomatic powers, and they cannot handle this matter. The local garrison belongs to the federal government, and they have no right to interfere. Only the local militias, but the militias are very loose. Such a loose and incapable of overlapping management is precisely what caused Qin's troubles in the affairs of the Western Regions. Perhaps Shangwen hadn't noticed it. However, based on his own experience, Feng Quji judged that Qin should need such an institution.

"Yeah. The widow thinks it's okay." King Qin stood up and decided at this time.

"Just set up the Western Regions Protectorate to solve this matter in general." King Qin said.

"Master." At this moment, Wei Liao stood up and said.

"What's the matter?" King Qin asked.

"The minister believes that the establishment of the Western Regions Protectorate is still a bit early. You should ask the Prime Minister, maybe the Prime Minister has further plans." Wei Liao said at this time.

"Yeah." King Qin nodded. Recognized.

"The widows agree." King Qin nodded.

"Take a telegram to the prime minister and tell the prime minister the minutes of the meeting here. The widows also want to hear what the prime minister thinks." King Qin nodded and agreed. King Qin also wanted to hear what kind of good ideas Shang Wen had to solve this matter.

The train station hotel in Longxi County. Shangwen received a telegram from Xianyang. And it was specially issued by King Qin. Shangwen opened the telegram and looked carefully. There are many telegrams, and Shangwen needs to look at it in pairs. This one involves a lot of content. But they are all from the Western Regions. After seeing the Western Regions, he thought about it carefully.