"Heh, I don't think so. A person's ultimate achievements are closely related to their experiences. If they had really been in our world from the beginning, they might not be doing as well as they are now!"
"Look at their demeanor. They are either powerful figures, leaders of sects, or heads of families. In short, they are all true leaders. If this were in our world, how many years would they have to struggle to cultivate such an aura?"
Just as everyone was discussing, the Twin Dragons completed their breakthroughs. Next up was the little witch Wanwan. Although she had left the Tang Dynasty, her mischievous and adorable charm remained.
It's a pity this isn't a harem story; otherwise, Wanwan and her apprentice would definitely be singing "Conquer" together! No, it should be Wanwan, Shan Meixian, and Empress Yin—three generations of them! What a pity… Lin Yang thought to himself. Then, he shifted his gaze and began to get down to business.
"Ahem, Fengxiao, tell me in detail what happened in the Wu Kingdom during the three months I was away. Let's start with the changes in population. I feel that the entire Wu Kingdom seems to have become much more prosperous."
The so-called three months is because of the Shushan world. This time it is a mission in the real world. Therefore, the flow of time is no longer the kind where no matter how many years have passed in the mission world, the main world is just a moment away.
Therefore, a hundred years in the Shushan world corresponds to three months in the main world. Now that the Shushan world has been completely integrated into the main world, the flow of time in the two worlds is exactly the same.
"Over the past three months, one million people have been transported here. To date, the total population of the entire Wu Kingdom has reached more than two million two hundred thousand. These newly arrived people have been well taken care of; at least they all have their own houses and have initially settled down."
"In addition, there are two million people currently being transported, and they are expected to arrive in three months. As for the remaining four million, it may take another six months, after all, the Han Dynasty is simply too vast. In order to ensure the safety of the people as much as possible, the speed of transportation will naturally be slow," Guo Jia explained.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang first nodded, then shook his head. "This speed is acceptable. In a year, the total population will grow to eight million. Moreover, I still have the empire's debt to me, which is twenty million people. By then, it will be twenty-eight million people!"
"However, our transportation capacity is insufficient. If we continue to develop at the current pace, it will probably take five or six years to transport everything over. It's really frustrating to see it but not be able to eat it," Lin Yang said somewhat unwillingly.
"Um, my lord, I feel like you're being a little too hasty? Are you worried about the invasion of the Immortal Qin?" Guo Jia's eyes darted around, and he guessed the reason why Lin Yang was so anxious.
In his opinion, Lin Yang must have suffered some great loss in the world inside the Dinghai Pearl, which is why he was in such a hurry.
The problem is, you can't rush things! And there's the saying "haste makes waste"—such a simple truth, there's no reason Lin Yang wouldn't understand it.
"No, my master told me that the Immortal Qin will not stand idly by and watch the Han Dynasty develop! As for the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl this time, it is proof of that..."
Hearing Lin Yang's words, Guo Jia fell silent. In his view, Lin Yang had once again entered an intermittent goofy state. What he said in this state was not worth taking seriously or paying attention to.
In fact, according to Guo Jia's thinking, if the Immortal Qin really invaded, would it really matter how fast or slow the Wu Kingdom developed?
If the Qin invades, no matter how well Wu develops, can it be stronger than the Han Dynasty? If even the Han Dynasty can't withstand it, what's the point of Wu's strength?
Seeing this, Lin Yang didn't know what to say. Should he directly say that the Immortal Qin would definitely invade in a few decades, or that the Immortal Qin might invade directly in a few years?
No one would believe such a thing! Besides, if we really invaded, what would be the point of Wu being powerful against the Qin?
"Um, Fengxiao, please continue with the recent changes," Lin Yang said, patting his head.
Just by looking at Guo Jia's expression, Lin Yang knew how unreliable his words had been. Fortunately, Guo Jia was already used to it. That's good; understanding is everything.
"Over the past three months, many scholars from top academies in Jingzhou, such as Lumen Academy, have come here. Some of them aim to become village chiefs, township heads, or county magistrates who will be remembered in history. Others want to obtain fiefdoms and pass them down through generations. After all, the Wu Kingdom has now truly established itself."
"In addition, it's not just students from Jingzhou, but also students from Yizhou. A few students from various academies in the Central Plains have also come. Even many scholars from the Imperial Academy have been persuaded by Brother Zhicai to come here."
"In addition, many illegitimate sons from aristocratic families and legitimate sons from branches of aristocratic families have come. In short, the reputation of Wu Kingdom has truly become renowned. In particular, the Yuanzhi loom has been out of stock several times."
"In addition, a number of household appliances invented by the Ministry of Works, including refrigerators and air conditioners, have also been sold. For example, the deluxe version, which costs 10,000 taels of silver per set, has already sold over a hundred sets. The profit is truly astonishing."
"Moreover, the buyers are mostly local tycoons at the county level. It just goes to show how many nouveau riche there are these days. As for ordinary refrigerators and air conditioners, the biggest buyers are local landlords and wealthy people in the countryside. They want to show off, but they don't have enough money to directly use spirit stones to set up formations. Therefore, these devices are the most popular among them!" Guo Jia said with some surprise.
To be honest, he really didn't expect those rural tycoons to be so rich!
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Chapter Nine: The Population Transportation Challenge and Solutions – Trains
Are rural tycoons rich? Of course they are, otherwise why would they be called tycoons! Because they own a large amount of land (generally ranging from several hundred to a thousand acres), they can earn hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver every year just from their land.
It may not seem like much, but the problem is that they love to save money! They have no way to advance their careers, nor do they have any way to spend money. The upper class refuses to pay attention to them, so they accumulate wealth.
More than a hundred years later, any random local tycoon could produce tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!
As for the local tycoons in the higher-level county towns, also known as the so-called third-rate families, they are even richer. Which family doesn't have a few hundred thousand taels of silver?
(Actually, the powerful families at the prefecture and state levels are even wealthier, but they have more ways to spend money, so no matter how much money they have, it will always run out quickly. Therefore, on the surface, it seems as if they have less money.)
"That's how it is. The local tycoons in the countryside and the county town have money and want to enjoy the life of the upper class, but they don't have the money to buy spirit stones and set up formations, or rather, they are unwilling to do so. That's why our refrigerators, air conditioners, and the like are so popular," Lin Yang explained slowly.
"Hmm, how many families have applied to purchase a sub-gate of the Dark Gate in the last few days?" Lin Yang continued to ask.
"There are many. Almost all the first-class and top-tier families have applied or expressed similar sentiments. However, the families in the Central Plains are quite resistant and opposed to the population requirements."
"Why? One hundred thousand people for a sub-gate of the Dark Gate? That's already a very cheap deal, isn't it? Besides, it's also a standard for measuring strength. If you don't even have one hundred thousand people, even if you buy the Dark Gate, you won't be able to develop it, right?" Lin Yang asked doubtfully.
"Well, it's like this. The Central Plains is really too far from Jiangdong, tens of thousands of miles away. If we were to transport people, even if we could only travel a few dozen or even a hundred miles a day, it would still take several hundred days. That would be far too long."
"Moreover, the daily necessities for the survival of 100,000 people over several hundred days, including various medicinal herbs and food, would require millions or even tens of millions of taels of silver! Not every family can easily come up with so much silver," Guo Jia said with some helplessness.
In fact, a population of 100,000 is something that even a first-rate family, or even a second-rate county-level family, can easily manage by gritting their teeth, spending more money, doing more publicity, and using some tricks.
The problem is, the consumption over hundreds of days is simply staggering! They need to be well-fed and watered every day, otherwise, the people would have all perished on such a long journey. And then, the family's reputation would be ruined!
You have to understand, the reputation of any family isn't built up slowly over hundreds or even thousands of years. You can't just abandon it all for a sub-gate of the Dark Gate, can you?
So, this is where the problem lies. The number of 100,000 people isn't the issue; the key problem is that transporting them slowly from the Central Plains, or even the North, is far too time-consuming and expensive.
Therefore, after hearing Guo Jia's words, Lin Yang felt somewhat helpless. This matter was really annoying! And this was only because he only dealt with important matters and ignored the many trivial ones.
I really don't know how so many time travelers handle government affairs. For them, it seems like any problem can be perfectly solved with a simple thought.
As for Lin Yang, every time he comes up with a solution on a whim, it seems to be a disaster! Therefore, now, Lin Yang no longer dares to make decisions on a whim.
As Lin Yang paced back and forth, pondering the question Guo Jia had raised, he suddenly looked up. "So what if there are tens of millions of people? What does that matter? In our great nation, during the Spring Festival alone, the number of passengers transported by train reaches ten figures every year!"
"It's simple, just go to the Ministry of Railways, isn't that enough?"
"Uh, what's the Ministry of Railways?" Guo Jia asked helplessly. Clearly, their lord, Lin Yang, had once again entered an unreliable state.