amaotonovel Chapter 893 A Model of Clumsy, Big, and Rough
Chapter 893 A Model of Clumsy, Big, and Rough
Hu Weiyong was almost driven mad by Yang Shaofeng.
What does it mean to say whether or not to move now?
Damn it, I just copied your homework, why are you being so sarcastic, Yang the Madman?
Besides, I'm not like those in positions of power who always think about taking advantage of you for free.
Didn't I promise to provide you with double the number of male laborers?
Hu Weiyong grew angrier the more he thought about it, and finally couldn't help but retort.
"Look at what the Prince Consort is saying."
"Although I don't understand workshops, coal mines, or iron mines, Your Highness has already agreed to send all six hundred people from the Ningyang County Farm to Liaodong."
Hu Weiyong said with a forced smile, "I believe that among these six hundred people, at least a dozen or so must understand workshops and coal and iron mines."
Correct.
No need to doubt.
The dozen or so people I mentioned who were knowledgeable about workshops, coal mines, and iron mines were the dozen or so Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who came from Ningyang County.
When they arrive in Liaodong, I will treat them like cattle and horses.
I've dumped all sorts of workshops, coal mines, iron mines, and other miscellaneous things on them to manage.
How that old scoundrel Wang Guangyang treated you back then, that's how I treated them.
Wang Guangyang lets you do whatever you want in Ningyang County, and I can do the same for them in Liaodong.
As long as you don't act like those few scoundrels who lead their constables to the government office to snatch people, everything else is fine.
While pondering this in his mind, Hu Weiyong looked at Yang Shaofeng and said, "If we only consider the number of people, Liaodong can probably gather several hundred thousand. If we also include the number of laborers, Liaodong should have around three hundred thousand able-bodied men available."
Three hundred thousand?
Yang Shaofeng was so envious that tears streamed down his face.
Let alone 300,000 able-bodied laborers, even if there were 300,000, would I need to complain every day about not having enough manpower?
"But."
Hu Weiyong then changed the subject and continued, "These 300,000 able-bodied laborers, placed in the entire Liaodong region, are not only a drop in the ocean, but also better than nothing."
Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang nodded unconsciously, then turned their gazes to Yang Shaofeng.
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback, then flew into a rage: "Why are you all looking at me? It's not like I caused the number of people in Liaodong to decrease."
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled.
The entire Liaodong region, roughly the size of Shandong Province, only had 300,000 able-bodied laborers, while Dengzhou alone had over 400,000.
The results of it?
Hu Weiyong didn't complain about not having enough manpower every day.
On the contrary, Dengzhou Prefecture, which has a much larger manpower base, is crying out every day that it doesn't have enough manpower.
Tsk.
Seeing the ambiguous smile on Li Shanchang's face, Yang Shaofeng was immediately enraged.
What do you mean, you old scoundrel?
Do you think I'm taking too much or something?
Hu Weiyong quickly smiled and looked at Yang Shaofeng, saying, "Your Highness, don't be anxious. No one said that you caused the population to decrease in Liaodong."
After a slight pause, Hu Weiyong continued, "There are 400,000 things to do with 400,000, and there are also 300,000 things to use."
"My idea is to bring these 300,000 strong laborers together and concentrate our efforts on accomplishing great things."
"Of the 300,000 laborers, 200,000 were to be used for land reclamation, which goes without saying."
"The main problem is the remaining 100,000 people. I can't figure out how to use them for the time being."
"Should we send them to build roads first, or send them to mine?"
"Or is there some other, better way?"
Land reclamation, coal mining, iron mining, and road construction all require strong and capable laborers.
However, the manpower in Liaodong is limited, and it is impossible to take care of all aspects.
Then the problem is coming.
We need to concentrate our efforts on major tasks while also prioritizing tasks. Who has the most experience in this regard?
The answer, of course, is Yang Dianfeng, who single-handedly managed the Dengzhou border market.
Hu Weiyong looked at Yang Shaofeng expectantly and said, "For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people in Liaodong, Your Highness, you must think of a solution for this old man."
Yang Shaofeng was completely numb.
For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people in Liaodong?
Hu Weiyong, you better confess honestly, what is your relationship with the bald man's confidant?
While mentally ranting and raving, Yang Shaofeng said, "Isn't the problem in Liaodong obvious?"
"Liaodong has no shortage of good land, timber, coal and iron."
"The only thing missing is a road to transport these supplies out."
"Since there isn't enough manpower, then Governor Hu might as well use 100,000 people to repair the road first."
“Build the road from Shenyang and Liaoyang to Jinzhou.”
"As long as this road can be built, timber, coal and iron from Shenyang and Liaoyang can be transported directly to the coast and then shipped to Dengzhou or Jiangnan by sea."
"Similarly, supplies from Dengzhou and Jiangnan can be transported by sea to Jinzhou, and then transported by direct route to Shenyang and Liaoyang."
"The main problem is that we don't have enough manpower. Governor Hu can just hire some Koreans."
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang's eyes lit up, while Hu Weiyong unconsciously curled his lip.
stick?
"Very few of the Korean laborers can speak the local language, which makes them difficult to work with, and they also like to make a lot of noise."
"The monkeys' laborers are slightly better than the Koreans', but only slightly better, and even fewer of them understand human speech, so they're not exactly easy to use."
"The Ryukyu people are a bit better. Although they don't understand human language much, just like monkeys and Koreans, they are more reliable at work and learn things faster. Unfortunately, there are too few laborers in Ryukyu, so we can't count on them."
Hu Weiyong went on a tirade about the pros and cons of the various laborers, while Yang Shaofeng felt somewhat bewildered.
Excuse me, what kind of nonsense is this old scoundrel spouting?
I told you to find some Koreans so you could use them as laborers?
Yang Shaofeng said with a dark face, "Why doesn't Governor Hu let the Koreans and monkeys capture laborers for you?"
"Anyway, all you need are laborers, not necessarily sticks and monkeys as laborers."
"As for where they go to capture people and who they capture to be laborers... as long as they are not citizens of our Great Ming, who they capture is their own problem?"
Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up, while Yang Shaofeng stood up and sighed, "Now that we've all eaten, let's go take a look at the steam engine?"
……
The steam engine developed in Ningyang County could be summed up in two words in Yang Shaofeng's eyes: crude and unrefined.
If later steam engines at least possessed the aesthetic appeal of steampunk, then the steam engines of the Ming Dynasty only had steam, devoid of any aesthetic appeal.
Huge boilers, huge chimneys, huge gears, huge crankshafts and connecting rods.
This is compounded by its extremely rough craftsmanship and dark appearance.
It's the epitome of clumsy, big, and rough.
"It's barely usable."
"At the very least, it can power a smaller water pump."
"It can also haul several hundred kilograms of goods."
The craftsman in charge of manufacturing the steam engine proudly introduced the steam engine to Yang Shaofeng, Zhu Biao, Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, and others.