CHAPTER 531: CHAPTER 227: THE ADVENT OF THE STEAM ENGINE, A NEW ERA OF CULTIVATION?

Seeing Xu Qing taking the initiative to present his case, the Grand Secretary breathed a sigh of relief. What followed were just the tedious affairs of the Cabinet drafting the decree, the Emperor reviewing it, and the Ritual Supervision stamping it.

After the court session ended, Xu Qing and the Grand Secretary went to Yanyue Hall.

Before leaving the Cabinet, the Grand Secretary was somewhat melancholic and hinted to Xu Qing, "I wonder if I will return to the Cabinet in this lifetime?"

Xu Qing laughed it off with a chuckle.

Inside Yanyue Hall.

Grand Secretary: "Gongming, there were some things not fit to discuss in front of everyone earlier. Let’s be clear first. Where do you think the focus of this water control effort should be?"

Xu Qing immediately perked up, "That would depend on what Tai’a is concerned about. Sea transport, or canal transport?"

For hundreds of years, the Yellow River’s floods have caused untold casualties among the people, but the biggest challenge in controlling the Yellow River lies with the Canal.

Since the Grand Canal’s excavation in the previous dynasty, it has undoubtedly facilitated north-south communication and governance by the Central, but the waterways along the Grand Canal have frequently flooded.

The places where floods frequently occur often face major issues where the land gradually becomes saline and unsuitable for cultivation.

And with numerous residents on both sides of the canal, if they cannot farm, they must have a place to go, or else rebellion becomes the only option.

This is a critical reason tied to the livelihood of millions of Cao workers.

Many problems in various dynasties have seemingly absurd solutions, but these often have even more absurd reasons behind them.

If the livelihoods of millions of Cao workers cannot be resolved, then protecting the canal would become paramount during a Yellow River flood. Otherwise, if the canal is compromised, not only would north-south logistics be interrupted, but over a million organized Cao workers would face losing their livelihoods, for the people rely on food.

Disaster victims affected by the Yellow River floods, even if they rebel, are like lambs before the Court’s Official Army.

But a massive, semi-organized group like the Cao workers rebelling could plunge the entire land into chaos.

This is a critical reason why stirring up rebellion via the Yellow River was so significant.

Precisely because of the canal’s importance, the Grand Secretary is very cautious about initiating sea transport. Even now, the capacity of sea transport is much less than that of the canal; it hasn’t even reduced the canal’s original capacity.

Besides, behind the canal are the Jiangnan nobles. Relying on the canal to connect the north and south, these people have made great fortunes.

If not for Xu Qing’s efforts to divide some of them and secure immense profits from maritime trade, the Court’s current sea transport situation would likely not exist.

One could say Xu Qing managed to solve some disaster relief issues with Immortal Coal, but he is still powerless when facing the livelihoods of millions of Cao workers.

Nonetheless, in many ways, canal transport lags behind sea transport. The key issue is that canal transport has limited capacity, while sea transport can be greatly expanded.

The Grand Secretary is naturally aware of these reasons. He has now temporarily set aside his responsibilities and said, "Xu Qing, don’t try to fool me. Is there a solution that can safeguard both canal and sea transport?"

He made it clear he wanted to tackle both issues and tackle them well.

Xu Qing: "The hardship of the puller lies in farming. If they can’t even become pullers, I don’t know what they might resort to. Therefore, canal transport cannot be cut. In my view, preserving canal transport must be the priority, and sea transport cannot be advanced further for now."

He spoke the truth. Profits from sea transport are currently high, but the most exaggerated aspect is that sea transport has not reached its capacity ceiling.

If the Court continues to invest in this area, the profits from sea transport would be significant, but the interests of canal transport would suffer greatly. How, then, could millions of Cao workers be resettled?

This isn’t simply a matter of giving money.

Due to the existence of the Grand Canal, many areas along the water systems are unsuitable for cultivation, and even without the Grand Canal now, it would take many years to restore soil fertility.

The massive costs involved are something the Court cannot bear.

But the Court has another problem: if sea transport continues to be developed, it would prevent the Jiangnan nobles from fully choking off money and grain, which is more beneficial for Central control.

In worldly matters, repeated consideration is necessary to find a compromise.

Compromise is not ideal, but it can at least temporarily pacify matters.

When things can no longer be pacified, then everything might as well be overturned and start anew.

Grand Secretary: "I’ve read the Ministry of Industry’s plans. What’s the real value in your and Daoist Gu’s research on the steam engine that makes it worth such an investment of money and manpower?"

Xu Qing: "With the Prime Minister’s wisdom, it should be apparent that this device can partially replace the strength of oxen and horses."

The Grand Secretary nodded: "What I can currently think of is replacing oxen and horses to drive carriages with this device. In that case, like the old Qin system, should tracks be built?"

Northern regions have many plains; with tracks built and mechanisms replacing oxen and horses, continuous operation day and night would deepen the Court’s control over local regions significantly.

Xu Qing: "This is not something achievable overnight, but once the steam engine is addressed, subsequent matters will follow naturally; it’s just that we might not live to see that day."

"Having a beginning is good, too. It seems that we must first resolve the grain issue to ease the pressure on canal transport," the Grand Secretary sighed.

It seems that after his mourning period, his focus should intensify on high-yield crops.

Once there is grain, many problems can actually be resolved seamlessly.

...

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After the Grand Secretary and Xu Qing had laid everything out, they went to see the old Daoist Gu.

He could only accelerate the course of history but could not reverse it. This time, the water control effort must still first preserve the canal. To protect the canal from the Yellow River’s floods, the northern block and southern diversion must be implemented.

The result of this would be the floodwaters being diverted southward, where the southern silt would accumulate even more over time, hence leading to the Yellow River’s course always shifting northward since the founding of the Great Yu Dynasty.