263: Chapter 263 The Qin Dynasty Enters the Steam Age

The Hetao Plain is a unique geographical region formed by the surrounding Yellow River.

The Yellow River is the most important water resource for the Hetao Plain, flowing through the region for hundreds of kilometers and providing abundant irrigation water for the local area.

It can serve as a high-quality wheat production base.

As spring plowing was about to begin, Zhao Fusu decided to reclaim large swathes of wasteland on the Hetao Plain and turn them into farmland.

The development potential of the Hetao Plain is extremely high, with over 9.6 million mu of arable land available for development.

Even if each mu produced only two hundred jin of grain per year, that would be 1.9 billion jin of grain, enough to feed 3.55 million people for a year.

This grain would be sufficient to feed the Southern Desert and the troops stationed in Shangjun.

By eliminating the need to transport grain from Guan Zhong, the loss of grain during long-distance transport could be greatly reduced.

Guan Zhong could also have more of its population liberated from the land, promoting the development of industry and commerce and allowing Guan Zhong's economy to improve.

Zhao Fusu decided to use machinery on a large scale for reclamation in the Hetao Plain.

A steam tractor could be fitted with a full twenty-one plows and harrows; with twenty-one men guiding them, twenty-one plows could work simultaneously.

One steam tractor could replace twenty-one oxen; it had to be said that while the steam tractor's horsepower wasn't massive, its torque was terrifyingly high.

While Zhao Fusu was watching the steam tractors perform the spring plowing, a Shadow Guard arrived in a hurry to report that the First Emperor had arrived.

"Imperial Father!"

Zhao Fusu was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected the First Emperor to travel all the way to the Hetao Plain.

He hurried to welcome him.

"Imperial Father."

Upon meeting the First Emperor, Zhao Fusu asked, "Why didn't you tell me in advance?"

The First Emperor smiled and said, "I am someone who cannot stay idle; I enjoy going on inspection tours."

True enough!

Hearing the First Emperor say this, Zhao Fusu nodded slightly.

The First Emperor's inspection tours were indeed a bit frequent.

There had been five public tours, and even more private ones.

Besides the First Emperor wanting to see the conditions of the common people, this was also inseparable from his personal love for touring.

Accompanying the First Emperor was Li Si.

"His Majesty the Head of State."

Li Si bowed respectfully to Zhao Fusu.

Zhao Fusu nodded slightly in return.

The First Emperor said, "The purpose of our visit, besides wanting to see the Southern Desert you've conquered, is that we heard you intend to vigorously reclaim the Hetao Plain."

"Yes."

Zhao Fusu nodded in response.

"Would Imperial Father and Premier Li Si like to go and take a look?"

Zhao Fusu invited them.

"Of course!"

Both the First Emperor and Li Si agreed.

Zhao Fusu led the First Emperor and Li Si to the reclamation area.

They watched as a massive steam tractor belched black smoke, pulling twenty-one iron plows to break the ground amidst a deafening roar; the sight was truly spectacular.

"Is this what it means for science and technology to be the primary productive force!"

Li Si was speechless with amazement.

The First Emperor was equally astonished.

It was hard for him not to be.

With twenty-one iron plows moving at once, a vast area was reclaimed in an instant.

The land of the Hetao Plain was flat—endlessly flat—making it perfectly suited for using such large tractors for land reclamation.

"Yes!"

Zhao Fusu said, "This is the power of the Steam Engine."

Now that Great Qin's industry and agriculture both utilized Steam Engines, Great Qin had entered the age of the Steam Engine!

"The Steam Engine is indeed a remarkable invention!"

Li Si remarked with emotion.

With the Steam Engine, the efficiency of agricultural production could be accelerated.

Since the Warring States period, ancient China had begun to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce.

There were reasons for this involving low grain yields in ancient times, but an important point was that it was inseparable from the man Guan Zhong.

Guan Zhong was the greatest chancellor of all time.

His skill points were not invested in military affairs, but in economics.

He possessed extraordinary economic capabilities.

He pioneered economic and trade warfare.

Using economic and trade warfare, he defeated four states without shedding a drop of blood.

Targeting the states of Lu and Liang, Guan Zhong took advantage of the fact that the people of both countries were keen on weaving 'ti' silk; he first promoted 'ti' silk clothing in the Qi State, encouraging officials and commoners to wear it, while simultaneously banning the weaving of 'ti' silk within Qi and instead importing it in large quantities from Lu and Liang.

Guan Zhong also gave subsidies to the merchants of Lu and Liang, prompting the people of both states to abandon agriculture and devote all their efforts to weaving 'ti' silk.

Subsequently, Guan Zhong suddenly changed the policy, stopped wearing 'ti' silk clothing, and closed the trade routes with Lu and Liang, leading to a surplus of 'ti' silk and a shortage of food in both states, eventually forcing them to submit to the Qi State.

For the states of Lai and Ju, Guan Zhong adopted a similar strategy, purchasing firewood and weapons from the two states respectively, inducing their people to abandon agriculture in pursuit of short-term profits.

The Qi State secretly stockpiled grain and implemented economic sanctions at the appropriate time, cutting off trade relations, which caused economic chaos in both states and led to their eventual submission.

Against the Chu State, Guan Zhong utilized Chu's specialty, deer, purchasing them at high prices, which caused the people of Chu to abandon agriculture to hunt deer.

Guan Zhong simultaneously purchased and stockpiled grain from the common people of both Qi and Chu, creating a situation where Chu had money but no grain. The Qi State took the opportunity to press its armies to the border, forcing Chu to yield.

For the states of Dai and Hengshan, Guan Zhong adopted similar economic warfare strategies, purchasing fox furs from Dai and weapons from Hengshan respectively, inducing their people to abandon agriculture for short-term profits. Qi secretly stockpiled grain and implemented economic sanctions at the right time, cutting off trade and causing economic chaos, leading to their eventual submission.

The states of Lu, Liang, Lai, Ju, Dai, and Hengshan—all six were annexed by the Qi State because of issues with their food supply.

Under conditions of low productivity, vigorously developing commerce would lead to low grain yields and shake the foundations of the state.

For rulers, the fate of these six states served as a cautionary tale.

To avoid national destruction, they would emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce. This was to prevent farmers from engaging in trade to earn more money, which would cause grain production to drop, lead to famines in the empire, and allow it to be easily defeated by external forces.

Zhao Fusu had also been in a leadership position for a long time; only after communicating with high-level imperial leaders like Li Si and Feng Quji did he understand the intricacies of this.

This made Zhao Fusu reflect that even in modern times, while vigorously developing industry and commerce, agricultural production is equally valued.

The national Land Bureau uses satellites every year or sends people for field surveys to check on the occupation of farmland.

Besides residents occupying farmland to build houses, there is also the construction of roads and factories.

There is a 'red line' for the area of the nation's basic farmland.

Once the area of basic farmland falls below the red line, the local government needs to reclaim wasteland to make up the area of basic farmland.

Many people are unaware of this, mainly because the reclaimed farmland is mostly in mountain gullies, far from towns and villages.

This is also why 'agritainment' has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Many people who did farmland planning in the past, after retiring, contract these farmlands reclaimed in the mountains to create farmsteads.