Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 417 - 368 Expectations

Chapter 417: Chapter 368 Expectations
In a private room of the tavern, Li Ang casually explained, "According to Yu Law, the officials calculate the hiring cost for civilian ships and horse teams. For every 100 pounds carried over a hundred miles by water, it costs one hundred coins; for land transport, it costs four hundred coins.
A single Spiritual Energy Locomotive can transport four hundred and eighty thousand pounds of grain.
This expense is borne by the court. If transported by ship from Chang’an to Luoyang, the cost would be two thousand eight hundred eighty strings of coins.
Including the cost of the rails, a Spiritual Energy Locomotive costs one million eight hundred thousand strings of coins. This means that as long as the Spiritual Energy Locomotive runs six hundred and forty-five times, it will recover the costs.
Moreover, the Spiritual Energy Locomotive running back and forth between the two places can transport goods both ways, effectively requiring just over three hundred round trips."
Li Ang smiled and said, "And if, instead of transporting goods, it transports passengers, the profitability is even higher. From Chang’an to Luoyang by waterway, twenty people share one large boat, and on average, each person pays over two strings of coins.
A Spiritual Energy Locomotive can make two round trips between Chang’an and Luoyang daily, pulling eighteen carriages each time, with each carriage fitting eighty people.
Even if we set the fare at one string of coins per person, in less than a year, the Spiritual Energy Locomotive will begin making a profit. From then on, it’s all net revenue."
He Fanshuang and Qiu Feng were indifferent to these figures, but Yang Yu, who came from a merchant family, almost dropped his bowl of sweet rice wine.
Once the costs and revenues were calculated, the Spiritual Energy Locomotive was no longer seen as a mere money-wasting toy but as a machine that printed wealth.
"Many places in Yu Country are actually not poor," Su Feng said. "It’s just that because the roads are impassable and transportation isn’t smooth, locally produced crops and fruits can’t be exported. At the same time, essentials like salt and iron can’t be imported. This causes the cost of living to indirectly rise, and the common people suffer long-term hardships.
The Spiritual Energy Locomotive and the railways, on the other hand, can flexibly, speedily, and massively transport manpower and materials, allowing wealth to circulate."
Everyone present, including Emperor Yu, had gleaming eyes as they quickly pondered.
The benefits of railways were tremendous: easing the food pressure in Chang’an, increasing fiscal revenue, and enhancing the court’s control over the provinces. It was enough for the court to make up its mind and overcome all obstacles.
Moreover, there were military benefits. A single Spiritual Energy Locomotive could transport one thousand five hundred soldiers along with their corresponding armor and weapons. Multiple trips could transport tens of thousands of troops to the border in just a few days.
The logistical pressures of marching armies were greatly reduced.
It could be said that wherever the railway reached, the military edge of Yu Country would extend as well.
Emperor Yu and the Prime Ministers exchanged glances, no longer hesitating, and declared solemnly, "Building railways will be the national policy of Yu Country for the next hundred years."
The only problem was deciding which department should oversee the effort.
Railways would traverse various State Mansions, involving massive interests and numerous aspects: construction, operation, management, maintenance, and taxation. Each of these required a large number of officials and clerks, and even constables to patrol along the railway lines, as rails, sleepers, and ballast were construction materials that might tempt thieves.
Among the Six Ministries, no single department could independently handle these arduous tasks.
A new agency was needed.
As Emperor Yu pondered the name for the new agency, he asked Su Feng, "Dr. Su, how quickly can the railway be constructed?"
The Qixi incident hadn’t caused much physical damage to Chang’an City itself, but it had a profound impact on the people.
To prevent anyone from smuggling prohibited items like Giant Tooth Whale Oil into the city, the City Gate Guard had added more personnel and screened incoming goods more carefully. Yet, it was still hard to prevent the city’s common people from feeling uneasy and fearing a resurgence of the Demon Sect.
The court urgently needed a major undertaking to divert attention and stabilize public morale.
"Replying to Your Majesty, the speed of railway construction depends on the manpower and resources the court can provide." Su Feng pondered for a moment before answering, "For the line from Chang’an to Luoyang, it could take as long as several years, or as short as half a year."
"That quickly?" The General frowned. "In the past, didn’t constructing a single state road take at least several years? How can a railroad, which requires a large amount of iron rails and possibly even crossing mountains, take only half a year?"
"The General might not be aware," Su Feng said, shaking his head. "In the past, state roads were constructed by the various regional State Mansions through corvee labor, for which they recruited common people.
According to Yu Law, every person must serve one month of unpaid labor per year. Those unwilling or unable to serve could pay to hire someone else to fulfill their duty.
Moreover, members of the Imperial Family, Nobles, officials, and their families were exempt from this labor. Those with scholarly recognition, who practiced filial piety, had recently had a child, or were observing mourning rites, could also be temporarily exempted.
Essentially, the common people drafted for these tasks were the impoverished populace. Usually, they were grateful just to have enough food and clothes; they lacked both strength and motivation."
In the presence of Emperor Yu and many ministers, criticizing the harsh and oppressive labor enforced by State Mansions seemed somewhat like making an indirect accusation.
However, Su Feng never cared about such things. Ignoring the ministers’ expressions, he continued, "Moreover, the costs of constructing state roads are difficult to recoup rapidly.
Some State Mansions wished to charge merchants and travelers a road fee to recover costs. However, if the fee was too low, the money was recouped too slowly. If the fee was too high, the common people would rather take detours—even risking routes through mountains known for tiger attacks—than spend more money.
These factors resulted in the slow construction of state roads.
Railroads, on the other hand, are different. Their profits are clear, and the efficiency of cost recovery is visibly faster.
As long as the court makes a resolute decision and mobilizes materials and manpower, it’s entirely possible to significantly shorten the construction time. Cultivators’ Iron Melting Skill and Iron Casting Technique can quickly produce quality rails. The Earth Splitting Technique and Tunneling Technique can dig tunnels. The Earth Melt Talisman and Earth Transformation Talisman can alter terrain and topography. Where they encounter mountains, they will open them up; where they encounter water, they will build bridges."
This is indeed the proper use of Cultivation techniques.
From a distant tavern, Li Ang sighed deeply.
Novels often focus on describing Cultivators’ abilities to fly through the sky and burrow underground, frequently overlooking the significant role Cultivators could play in production. Magic is equivalent to a combination of shield machines, lathes, forges, pumps, diggers, bulldozers, cranes, and tree-relocating machines.
Li Ang murmured softly to himself, "Over the past thousand years, Cultivators have been as plentiful as fish crossing a river. During the Two Jin and Pre-Sui Periods, the Sects and noble families reached the peak of their prosperity. But of what benefit were so many Cultivators to the common people? They were just one group after another, fighting amongst themselves over interests, oppressing the common folk for their own gain. That only changed with the emergence of the Academic Palace."
He looked out the window, observing the people of Chang’an who gazed in awe at the Spiritual Energy Locomotive, and the laborer sailors, their bodies worn out from enduring hard labor, still worrying about their jobs being taken by the new machine.
As Sacrificial Officer Chen Danqiu had asked him to represent the students and deliver a speech to the new intake of the fifth year of Zaiqian, Li Ang picked up a pen and paper and began to write:
People often say that Yu Country is prosperous. But that is not necessarily the truth.
Each and every one of you new students here has passed this important exam. Relying on sufficient perseverance, luck, effort, and intelligence, you have gained entry to the Academic Palace.
I hope you understand that education in Yu Country is still lacking; your entry into the Academic Palace means another person was denied that chance.
You are able to sit here today because of the taxes paid by the four hundred million impoverished people of Yu Country, some of whom still struggle daily just to survive, barely able to feed or clothe themselves.
I hope that during your long Dao Path of learning, you will still remember your origins and the hardships of the common folk. Do not consider yourselves superior, attributing opportunities granted by the heavens solely to your own efforts, and then begin to behave like those you once despised, oppressing the common folk.
I hope that amidst praise, you do not lose your initial purpose and continue to hold the most fundamental respect for Haotian and Yu Law.
I hope that all of you will strive upwards, do what can be done, and make your voices heard.