Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 491: The “Flaws” of the Chu State
The name "steamship" originally means "a ship with wheels" or "a ship driven by wheels".
Historically, paddle steamers already existed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Because of their wheels, they were also called "cart ships."
During the Tang Dynasty, chariots and boats with two or more wheels on both sides of the hull began to appear. In the Song Dynasty, there were even three-story ships that could accommodate thousands of people, which were also driven by paddle wheels. The navy of Chen Youliang in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty1 also used chariots and boats for naval battles.
In the early 19th century, the earliest practical steamships in Europe also used paddle wheels as their driving components.
Later, the "propeller" was improved, a spiral propeller composed of several blades. It replaced the paddle wheel because it was more stable, would not float out of the water during bumps, was less likely to be damaged, and had a lower cost.
However, due to habit, later generations still call steamships "steamships".
Of course, the Chu State’s current ships are neither steamships nor Qi ships, but... human-powered ships!
It is similar to the vehicles and boats of the Song and Ming dynasties, and mainly relies on pedals. As for the improvements , they are the Chu State's windlass, rollers, levers and other technologies, with unique design and excellent workmanship.
In addition, there are more animal cages and input ports for Qi power supply - there is no storage equipment for large-scale Qi machines, but the warriors on the ship can input Qi into it in real time.
As for the "animal cage", it is similar to a large hamster wheel in structure, in which livestock such as cattle, horses, and donkeys can walk or run for energy.
It cannot serve as the main driving force and is mostly experimental in nature, but it is better than nothing.
After all, whether it is human or animal power, although is much higher than rowing, in the final analysis, the "living things" that need energy are also on board, so the improvement in efficiency is very limited - if you want the strength of an extra cow, you will actually have to bear the weight of a cow and its feed.
Only by using a Qi machine that stores a large amount of Qi as power can efficiency be essentially improved!
However, the Chu State also manufactured some of this type of river boats. After all, the craftsmanship of the craftsmen also needed to be polished, which could be regarded as the "preliminary process .
If it is really necessary to use the river section for trackers, try to lay tracks and "track bicycles" that fit in with the tracks. The track bicycles can be used for towing, that is, ropes can be hung and boats can be pulled.
Especially in river sections where the trackers' calves or even below the waist need to be soaked in water to work, auxiliary bridges should be built as much as possible to pave the tracks.
It not only improves the efficiency of pulling the boat and saves manpower that struggles with water, but also improves the working environment of the boat trackers.
In essence, it still relies on manpower, but it’s better than nothing +1.
In addition, Huang Yueying also designed a "hydraulic towing" structure, which can be used to build a water wheel near the shore. The power of the water wheel, through the transmission of gears and chains, will be used for a "power-assisted vehicle" that travels on a special track, making riding more labor-saving.
This can be regarded as further reducing the burden on the trackers...
It's just because a large piece of flat land is needed, and in areas with such water banks, the water flow is usually not too fast, so the role of the trackers is naturally relatively small, so... it can only be said that it is better than nothing.
With the accumulation of all these "better than nothing" measures, the transportation efficiency of the Three Gorges has increased by nearly one-fold even without the application of the essentially innovative technology of "Zhenqi Machine".
Although the several-fold improvement once the Qi machine appears can completely cover these "fancy" innovations, Bai Tu still supports it.
Firstly, it encourages innovation, and secondly... it also helps the craftsmen accumulate technical experience!
Also in Wudang County, even though there are no large-scale Qi machines now, human-powered cranes, excavators and other tools have been made on site.
Once the "Pan-Qi Plan" is harvested, the productivity of the Chu State will make rapid progress - because the technological points in mechanical engineering have already been selected.
Moreover, at this moment, the Three Gorges’ auxiliary transportation project is more important... it’s so powerful!
Looking at the "trackers" pedaling the strange two-wheeled carts on the shore, the boats without sails, and the water wheels, Qin Mi fell into a state of "confused but awe-inspiring".
Because he was just passing by and took a few glances, the Chu army "protecting" him would not give him the opportunity to stop and observe carefully, let alone answer any unnecessary questions. So in Qin Mi's heart... even if he was told that the transportation efficiency had increased tenfold, he would probably believe it!
Although Qin Mi did not know how effective these projects would be, as a qualified official, he could at least estimate the cost of these projects.
Along the coast, there are elevated auxiliary bridges, intricately crafted vehicles and boats, and huge water wheels...
If he were to supervise the construction and manufacturing, it would probably be a huge project. And these are just to make transportation more convenient, so... the effect would definitely far exceed the construction cost!
Therefore, according to Qin Mi's speculation, the increase should be at least five, seven, or eight times, which even added to his anxiety - Chu paid such a huge price, would it easily stop the war? Was it really just for Zhang Lu's Hanning Marquis?
And if the transport capacity is increased several times, the pressure on logistics supply will be much less, right? Maybe... the reason why there is no increase in troops is just to let Yizhou relax its vigilance. In fact, the limit of Chu is far more than 20,000 people!
In fact, it is not surprising that there is such a misunderstanding, because Qin Mi was referring to Yizhou's construction capabilities and Yizhou's labor costs.
Due to material and technical issues, Yizhou's construction capabilities were far lower than those of Chu. Therefore, in Qin Mi's mind, he overestimated these constructions. In fact, for Chu, the construction was not that difficult.
However, Yizhou had no workshops and was relatively less prone to war, so the labor cost was so low that one had to live on dirt - especially when the government conscripted laborers, then one had to live on dirt, not even enough for food!
Therefore, Qin Mi would not understand how important it was for the State of Chu to save the manpower of trackers and laborers.
Labor in the State of Chu is now very "expensive". For a tracker working in a harsh area, one month's wages can be equal to the annual harvest of a hundred acres of land!
It's not that Bai Tu deliberately spent more money, but after the rise of the workshop, human resources naturally became valuable - after all, the entire Chu State had a population of more than 12 million. After the farming efficiency was improved and the workshop technology caught up, the speed of urbanization increased rapidly.
Although the rapid change meant more trouble in all aspects, it also brought many additional benefits that Baitu had not thought of before...
For example, the population hidden by the aristocratic families in Jingyang has basically been identified through a census.
After all, if you farm in the countryside, it is not easy for the imperial court to investigate, and to a certain extent, they are unwilling to investigate. However, if you enter a workshop, you must have a household registration in the State of Chu!
Firstly, no matter how wealthy the aristocratic families are, they cannot afford to keep a large number of anonymous households doing inefficient farming, working as servants, and doing hard labor when the value of labor is skyrocketing. Secondly, many anonymous households are also affiliated with the aristocratic families.
It was just that before, compared to the imperial court which was far away, they trusted the wealthy families in the countryside more. As the manpower increased rapidly, they naturally and were willing to take the initiative to break away from the wealthy families and stand back in the position of the Chu people.
At the same time, the aristocratic families who gradually regarded workshops as an important source of income, or the emerging group of "workshop owners", were very keen on extraditing refugees...
The practice of "slave hunting" was strongly suppressed by the State of Chu. Banning slavery was one of the fundamental principles of the State of Chu, and there was no room for compromise in this regard. However... the State of Chu welcomed people from all over the country to immigrate!
On the contrary, the imperial court in the Central Plains and other places had to suppress the movement of people - this was completely different from the situation after the productivity had developed greatly and the population had overflowed.
In the State of Chu, as long as they abide by the laws of Chu, anyone is welcome!
Even if Bai Tu used trade as a bargaining chip, he could only ask Wei and Han to relax the immigration restrictions on imperial examination talents, but he could not directly threaten the other party to lift all immigration restrictions and allow the people to migrate south, otherwise the other party would definitely turn against him in a minute.
As a result, ordinary people in the Central Plains are unable to relocate on their own, but... the aristocratic families have their own channels!
Bai Tu only recently discovered why the number of "refugees from all over the country" pouring in was increasing, and had not slowed down at all. After an in-depth investigation, the Fengwei found that some of the Jingyang nobles had connected with the big clans in the Central Plains, Guanzhong, and even the north and Liaodong, and steadily traded a portion of their population here...
Some were hidden households and servants of foreign nobles, and some were ordinary people who wanted to move to Chu but lacked the means to do so!
The cost of moving these people to the State of Chu, or the benefits to the gentry, was generally a ten-year contract signed with the aristocratic families in the country.
In order to "absorb refugees", local government offices also provide refugee subsidies and include them in the scope of official inspection. Therefore, if refugees can be "acquired", local government offices will also support and commend them. This is considered a joint effort between officials and the public...
These aristocratic families do have their own wisdom. At least Bai Tu had never thought of this before.
Bai Tu did not stop this, but focused on supervising the implementation of the "resettlement of refugees", implementing the distribution of land according to households and the protection of the people who had become Chu people after the relocation.
We must be especially vigilant against "isolation". No matter how they came to the State of Chu, since they are already Chu citizens, they will enjoy the treatment of Chu citizens. The legal ten-year contract is valid, but any attempt to "isolate and confine" is absolutely not allowed.
No matter how much progress it makes, it is still a long way from a welfare society. The advantage of Chu is not welfare, but the opportunity to work and the higher value of labor. Any labor force is what Chu lacks.
As long as it is indeed in compliance with the ten-year contract of the "Chu Law" and there is no forced slavery or restriction of freedom, Bai Tu doesn't care where these people came from - if there is a headache, it should be the princes who are suffering from population loss!
Even so, the State of Chu has always been "crying out for food" in terms of manpower. Naturally, for the State of Chu, building these auxiliary facilities and equipment to reduce manpower consumption by half is very cost-effective.
Of course, the disadvantage of more expensive labor is that the cost of the Chu court's projects also increased dramatically.
Bai Tu did not specifically pay the conscripted trackers and other laborers more. He only rejected the suggestions of some officials and proposed to reduce the official labor quotes during conscription.
And Qin Mi still couldn't understand this behavior at all...
