Chapter 897

February 9th. Three months had passed since the southern expedition began. The season was gradually transitioning from winter to spring. Aft

February 9th.

Three months had passed since the southern expedition began. The season was gradually transitioning from winter to spring.

After receiving supplies from Lin’an a few days ago, a continuous stream of various goods flowed into Qingzhou Province in the subsequent period, creating a scene of great prosperity.

Amidst this prosperity, the Grand Secretariat, after deliberation, quickly allocated funds. The military machinery department, as a key sector, received a large portion of the funds.

Chen Qi and Song Changping, relieved, expanded their production lines. The production of Falcon Rifles entered a rapid phase, and Chen Qi was even busier. After overseeing the grenade factory, he began investing heavily in the research and development of breech-loading artillery.

The breech-loading method of the Falcon Rifle had already given him a clear hint. After all, a cannon was merely an enlarged gun. If a gun could be loaded from the breech, then a cannon naturally could as well.

This completely solved the problem of difficult loading for rifled cannons, a problem that had long troubled Chen Qi.

Outside the military machinery department, the Railway Department also received a large sum of money. According to Princess Pingyang’s promise to Xiao Ming, the railway from Qingzhou Province to Youzhou would basically be completed by the end of the year. After all, Kaiping was only a hundred li from Youzhou, which was not a difficult problem.

After achieving this success, the Railway Department, having received massive funding, began the construction of the Kaiping to Chang’an railway line, as well as the Laiwu to Xuzhou, and Xuzhou to Jinling Province railway lines.

These four railway lines, running north, south, east, and west, were certainly not straight lines. They were winding, almost passing through every important city.

Once all the railways were open, the entire northern region would be connected. However, achieving this goal would take at least two or three years, and railway construction in Guandong would be even more difficult.

While vigorously laying railways, the construction of cement roads also continued. Now, the main roads from Qingzhou city to nearby county towns had all become cement roads.

Some roads within the county towns and in the countryside were also rebuilt. At the same time, merchants with qualifications to build factories began to go to other cities to build cement factories.

Because some wealthy cities, under the imperial court’s orders, began to build roads, but suffering from a lack of local cement factories, profit-driven merchants naturally saw this business opportunity.

However, building a cement factory was not a simple matter. One also had to find mines and have mining equipment. This way, related factories would be established to provide supplies to the mines.

The Great Yu Empire’s industry began to radiate from Qingzhou to the surrounding areas due to the recovery of the northern economy, and another injection of funds accelerated this process.

“Your Majesty, with this injection of funds, the Great Yu Empire is now flourishing everywhere. All industries have seen significant expansion. At this rate, within a year, the Great Yu Empire’s total industrial output will double again.”

Pang Yukun handed him the summary table of expenditures.

Xiao Ming smiled. In fact, this was unavoidable. Because the total industrial output was small, doubling it was so easy. However, the Great Yu Empire’s development from nothing to its current state in these nine years was already a miracle.

Now, his only effort needed was to expand localized industrial development to the entire country. Otherwise, merely dabbling in one place would not suffice. After all, current Western nations had holistic industrial systems.

“This is the charm of money.” Xiao Ming grimaced. The wealth seized from Lin’an was quickly squandered by the Grand Secretariat’s extravagant spending. He was now thinking about auctioning off the residences, workshops, shops, and some land left by the powerful families.

At this stage, funds had to be concentrated on major undertakings. Moreover, these properties constituted the bulk of Lin’an’s wealth. However, merchants, accustomed to life in Qingzhou Province, seemed unenthusiastic about purchasing them.

But it didn’t matter. He had ways. If the rich didn’t consume, how could economic development be stimulated? Everyone being a piggy bank, only taking in and not spending, was detrimental to economic development.

After a pause, he said, “I have an idea. Currently, merchants in Qingzhou Province are too concentrated. For the balanced development of the Great Yu Empire’s industry, a commercial zone should also be established in the south. All merchants operating in the commercial zone will receive preferential treatment. I am thinking of designating the Suzhou, Songjiang, and Nanjing areas as a commercial zone.”

Pang Yukun immediately understood Xiao Ming’s meaning. The Qingzhou Province thermal power plant had already begun construction, and it would not be long before Qingzhou city first entered the age of electricity.

And once the age of electricity arrived, many outdated workshops would face elimination.

However, eliminating these workshops now would be a waste. After all, the spread of industry required a process. Many areas of the Great Yu Empire were still not covered by the light of industry.

Therefore, it was necessary for the imperial court to guide merchants to relocate outdated workshops to undeveloped areas. This way, the Great Yu Empire could achieve a wave-like industrial development process.

Qingzhou city was the center of the wave, representing the most advanced technology. The technology outside the wave would be increasingly less advanced, so that not a single bit of productivity would be wasted.

“Indeed, we should designate a commercial zone.” Pang Yukun chuckled cunningly. Once the commercial zone was established, those financially abundant major merchants would surely flock to these areas to purchase land and property and establish workshops.

This way, industry and commerce in this area would thrive. At the same time, the imperial court could also obtain a large amount of funds by selling off the powerful families’ assets.

After all, the fixed assets of these powerful families were enormous, no less than the wealth transported to Qingzhou city.

The two, smiling mischievously, settled on this plan. Pang Yukun immediately returned, thinking about how to prepare this matter.

While Qingzhou gained immense vitality from the influx of funds, the war in the south continued.

After conquering Lin’an, Niu Ben chose not to continue the offensive. Instead, he rested in Lin’an City, awaiting ammunition resupply and reinforcements.

Lin’an was merely a single point in the southward advance, and south of Lin’an, there were many more such points. He had to be fully prepared.

After waiting for over a month, the second batch of twenty thousand hand grenades was delivered to Lin’an. At the same time, forty thousand new recruits, equipped with Falcon Rifles, marched to the battlefield.

At this time, the total strength of the southern expeditionary force reached one hundred and forty thousand men.

“One hundred and forty thousand men, that’s enough.”

In the Lin’an provisional General Staff Department, Niu Ben’s expression was firm. Now, for every soldier, the most important thing was to end the war in the south, for there were still a host of troubles awaiting them.

“Lu Fei, you are responsible for attacking Shaoxing, Ningzhou, and other cities to the south. Luo Xin, you are responsible for attacking Huizhou and other cities to the west. Once the objectives are achieved, you two will jointly advance southwest to reclaim all the southwestern territories.”

“Yes, General,” Lu Fei and Luo Xin said in unison.

They were now full of confidence, because the military machinery department was producing weapons like crazy, their production speed greatly increased. With ample ammunition, they feared no one.

Luo Quan reminded them, “Although we have mastered more advanced firearms, we must not be careless. The merchants’ council still has some tricks up its sleeve.”