272: Chapter 272 The Great Qin Dynasty: A Powerful Infrastructure Developer

"Brother Fan."

Inside the inn, Xiang Liang found Fan Zeng and asked, "When do you plan to go talk to Yuer?"

Xiang Liang truly did not want to just watch Xiang Yu remain immersed in boxing and forget about their great cause.

"Brother Xiang, there is no need to worry."

Fan Zeng said, "This old man will go speak to Yuer immediately."

"Mm."

Xiang Liang nodded and followed behind Fan Zeng; he wanted to see exactly how Fan Zeng would persuade Xiang Yu.

"Heh heh heh, heh heh heh!"

As soon as Xiang Liang entered Xiang Yu's room, he saw Xiang Yu swinging his fists at the air, fighting against an imaginary enemy.

Xiang Yu's eyes were incredibly focused, his gaze as determined as a war wolf's.

Seeing this, Xiang Liang became increasingly worried; this was definitely not a good thing!

"Yuer!"

Fan Zeng called out to Xiang Yu.

"Prime Minister Father."

Hearing Fan Zeng's voice, Xiang Yu stopped.

"Yuer, your Prime Minister Father is looking for you because I want to say a few words."

Xiang Liang had a look of anticipation; his Brother Fan was finally going to start lecturing Xiang Yu.

"Look here."

Fan Zeng said, "This is a new manual of boxing techniques your Prime Minister Father compiled. You cannot rely solely on brute strength to fight."

"You can do that against those weaker than you."

"But what if you face an opponent with strength similar to your own?"

"You must use tactics to win."

"Watch closely. In boxing, you can only hit the upper body. To avoid your attacks, the opponent will bend their arms to block."

"If all your punches land on the opponent's arms, the damage to them won't be significant."

"The human liver is very fragile. Hitting their arms is far less effective than hitting their liver; that is where you can cause real damage."

Xiang Yu had always disliked listening to Fan Zeng's suggestions.

He felt that Fan Zeng was too calculating and cynical.

Therefore, he often chose to do the exact opposite of what Fan Zeng said.

But he wanted to become the King of Fighters of Great Qin far too much.

This was the first time he had ever listened so seriously to Fan Zeng's explanations.

"Wait, no!"

Xiang Liang's eyes widened. He never imagined that Fan Zeng would 'persuade' Xiang Yu in such a manner!

"Sigh!"

Xiang Liang let out a long sigh.

He could only continue listening to how this Brother Fan of his was 'persuading' Xiang Yu.

"You need to bypass the opponent's arms and strike their liver."

"As long as you keep targeting the liver, even the strongest defense will eventually crumble under your blows!"

"Thank you, Prime Minister Father!"

Xiang Yu looked incredibly excited.

He was genuinely and sincerely thanking Fan Zeng.

After Fan Zeng and Xiang Liang left Xiang Yu's room, Xiang Liang spoke to Fan Zeng with a hint of reproach, "Brother Fan, is this how you 'guide' Yuer?"

Fan Zeng sighed, "Brother Xiang, can you still not see the general trend of the world? Great Qin's unification of the Six Lands is already an unstoppable force."

"To insist on doing what is impossible will only result in being torn to pieces."

Xiang Liang fell silent.

Since His Majesty the Head of State took power, he had deregulated the grain trade, abolished the corvée labor system, and reduced taxes to the levels of the well-field system era.

With only a one-tenth tax, farmers could not only feed themselves but also sell their surplus grain to improve their lives.

His Majesty the Head of State had opened numerous factories, recruiting a large number of urban commoners to work in them.

Their jobs were stable, and grain prices had dropped to one hundred coins per dan. Not only could they afford grain, but they could even eat beef during festivals.

Clothing was also cheap; a Wool Sweater cost only thirty coins, and clothes made of linen were also just thirty coins each.

In the past, farmers and commoners generally only had two sets of clothes to rotate and wash.

Now, their homes had at least seven or eight sets, and they even started being picky about colors and styles.

When people are well-fed and well-clothed, there is no future in rebellion.

When standing at the peak of a strong wind, even a pig can fly.

If one tries to go against the development of a great trend, they will only be crushed to powder by its wheels.

Fan Zeng spent every day at home painstakingly studying these things; he understood the power of trends better than anyone.

"Then what should we do?"

Xiang Liang sighed.

Fan Zeng said, "Take it one step at a time for now."

"Accumulating strength first is never a mistake."

"If Yuer can truly become Great Qin's King of Fighters, his influence within Great Qin will also grow stronger."

"If there truly comes a day when the world changes, we will have an advantage over others if we choose to rise up!"

Listening to Fan Zeng's analysis, Xiang Liang nodded secretly.

"For now, that is the only way."

Xiang Liang sighed.

A few days later, the First King of Fighters Tournament of Great Qin was held.

Just as Zhao Fusu expected, the person who claimed the title of King of Fighters was Xiang Yu.

Zhao Fusu had people arrange various endorsements and fan meetings for Xiang Yu.

He also wanted to use this method to ensure Xiang Yu had no time to engage in anti-Qin activities.

Once the summer harvest began, Zhao Fusu also started reviewing the grain production situation Inside the Pass.

In the first half of last year, the total output of various grains for the summer harvest Inside the Pass was 3.2 billion catties.

In the second half, after using traditional fertilizer methods, the total grain output increased by 1.5 times, reaching 4.8 billion catties.

With a population of two million Inside the Pass, the per capita disposable grain was 2,400 catties.

Calculated at 1.5 catties per person per day, the amount of grain consumed in half a year would be 270 catties.

The farmers Inside the Pass would only have more than 2,400 catties of grain in their hands.

Therefore, farmers could not only eat their fill but also have enough grain to sell.

As for the commoners in the county and commandery seats, they flocked to the factories after Great Qin opened so many of them.

Nowadays, although factories no longer provided free meals, the daily wage started at six coins, which was equivalent to a monthly salary of 3,600 units.

Besides allowing workers to eat their fill, they also had extra money to buy goods and enrich their lives.

The more prosperous commerce became, the more jobs it could provide to society, and thus social instability decreased.

Next, Zhao Fusu intended to recruit a massive number of workers, turning Great Qin into a master of infrastructure to accelerate the progress of the railway from Shangjun to Xianyang.

In this process, he could train a large number of engineering teams.

The railways in the Chu Region could then be divided into sections and put up for bidding to these engineering teams. This would greatly reduce the strain on Zhao Fusu's energy; he would only need to provide the funds and handle the final inspections.

After these engineering teams became wealthy, they would attract a large number of people to join railway construction.

As long as wages were paid to the workers on time, it would further reduce the number of people inclined to riot.

For a railway spanning over a thousand kilometers, advancing one kilometer a day would only mean thirty kilometers a month.

This would not do!

Zhao Fusu felt this speed was too slow. In a year, it would only advance 360 kilometers. With such a pace, how could they be called a master of infrastructure?

They had to advance at least ten kilometers a day, three hundred kilometers a month—only then could they be called a master of infrastructure!