Chapter 354: The New Wooden Ox and Horse are Launched, Spring Has Come for the Transportation Industry
The official residence west of Wancheng in Jingzhou is the headquarters of the Construction Bureau, where Lu Su and other senior executives are holding a meeting.

"Director, please take a look. There is a pre-Qin highway from Chang'an to Longxi. We can rebuild the road along this track."

In the spacious hall, Pang Tong stood in front of a huge feng shui map, holding a long wooden stick and pointing at the mountains and rivers.

"Carriageway" is a new term coined by Jinmao, which refers to the carriage track, the predecessor of the train. Currently, the iron production and quality are insufficient, and the materials for building the track are a big problem.

Therefore, before Pang Tong could finish explaining the overall plan, Deputy Director Man Chong stood up and objected, saying, "Deputy Director Pang's plan is brilliant, and is intended to revive the transportation of Jingzhou and even the Central Plains and promote trade, but we must consider its practical difficulties. Although there are remains of the pre-Qin highway, it has fallen into disrepair over the years, and the terrain along the way is changeable, so it will not be restored overnight. Furthermore, the wood, stone and even possible rails required for the roadway will require a lot of manpower and material resources. The current national treasury still needs to support defense and people's livelihood. It may be difficult to fully support such a huge project. Our top priority should be to stabilize people's livelihood and improve productivity first, and then make long-term plans when the national strength grows."

Man Chong's words were clear and to the point, and the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became solemn. Director Lu Su stroked his beard, his eyes deep, as if he was weighing the pros and cons.

"Deputy Director Man is right. As officials, we should put the welfare of the people first. However, Deputy Director Pang's plan is not completely unfeasible. Perhaps we can implement it in stages, selecting a few key sections for pilot projects. On the one hand, we can test the technical feasibility, and on the other hand, we can gradually accumulate experience and lay the foundation for full deployment in the future."

Lu Su's proposal was like a stream of fresh air, which revitalized the discussion that had been somewhat stagnant. Pang Tong's eyes flashed with joy when he heard this, and he quickly added: "Director, your opinion is great, and I have the same idea. We can give priority to the sections connecting Jingzhou with important surrounding cities, such as Xiangyang and Jiangxia. These areas have prosperous commerce and trade, and the need for transportation improvement is most urgent. At the same time, we can try to use more economical and practical materials, such as reinforced wooden tracks, or explore alternatives such as stone and bamboo to reduce financial pressure."

As the meeting continued, everyone had a heated discussion on the details of the lane construction. From the source of funds, material selection to the organization of the construction team, every detail was repeatedly scrutinized.

Three months later, the first wooden driveway was successfully built, connecting Wancheng to Xiyangju. Transportation was indeed convenient and the cost was directly reduced by three quarters.

Obviously, the driveway is the main project of the future Construction Bureau.

The meeting hall of the Construction Bureau headquarters.

The conference was unprecedentedly popular and everyone saw a bright future.

As long as this road from Chang'an to the Western Region Dayuan Kingdom (Uzbekistan) is built, fame and fortune will be self-evident, and it will be easy to go down in history.

Soon, Pang Tong proposed and determined three main routes at the meeting and submitted them to the Prince of Wu's Palace for review.

Jinmao had no objection and immediately gave orders to send surveyors to conduct surveys along the three routes.

Six months later, it was confirmed that building a lane along the old Silk Road starting from Longxi was the best option.

The entire Construction Bureau was cheering. They had not been idle for the past six months and had been preparing for various matters. They were ready to start construction as soon as the survey results came out.

Millions of people gathered near the road from Chang'an to Longxi, waiting for the order.

but!

Bad news came out!
The highway from Wancheng to Xiyangju was used for only half a year before it was severely damaged and needed to be rebuilt.

In other words, wooden tracks are not used, at least not in economic terms, and the income is not proportional to the cost.

General Construction Administration, meeting hall.

Sad and gloomy.

No one expected such an accident to happen.

Is this grand infrastructure project going to be strangled in the cradle before it even begins?
Do not!
no way!

Zhuge Liang stood up and said: "Everyone, wood is easy to damage. This is a well-known fact. Why are you depressed?"

"For now, we should find a replacement."

It's as good as saying nothing.

Zhuge Liang naturally didn't waste words, and continued, "I suggest that we turn to the research and development of stone or iron track systems. Although stone tracks are heavy and time-consuming to build, their durability is far beyond that of wood. Once built, the maintenance cost is extremely low, and in the long run, it will definitely save a lot of expenses. As for iron tracks, they have a bright future. They have strong load-bearing capacity and high stability. Not only can two horses pull a cart, but even three or four horses can be used! The greatly increased load capacity will usher in a new era of industrial transportation."

“I know you are worried about costs and technical difficulties, but it is these challenges that demonstrate our determination to innovate and make breakthroughs.”

"I propose to ask His Highness for the trial production of two more tracks!"

Zhuge Liang's words were sonorous and powerful, like a beam of light that penetrated the haze in the meeting hall and illuminated the way forward. After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, and the fire of hope rekindled in their eyes.

However, when the proposal reached Jinmao, it was rejected.

The reason is very simple. Regardless of whether it is stone or iron, the consumption of manpower and material resources will increase exponentially. Do other projects have to be shelved and make way for the Construction Bureau?

Furthermore, the country's current grain reserves are not large, and supporting millions of laborers is already the limit. It is impossible to expand production capacity to increase iron production or mine stone.

When the news got back to the General Construction Bureau, everyone looked at Zhuge Liang strangely.

Although no one said anything, the arrogant Zhuge Liang understood what was going on and did not come to work for several months.

If the Construction Bureau had not had no work to do at the moment and all the directors and deputy directors had taken up deputy jobs, Zhuge Liang would surely have been impeached for such behavior.

Just when everyone thought that the Construction Bureau's affairs had become a joke.

The ninth year of Jian'an (204).

Zhuge Liang attained enlightenment at home and invented the one-wheeled wooden ox and flowing horse, which was similar to the hand-pushed agricultural carts of later generations. Only one person and one horse were needed to transport two stones of materials with low losses!

Twenty shi is six hundred kilograms. Although the quantity is small, the loss is even more than half less than that of a wooden driveway!

Theoretically speaking, it only takes two days to travel a hundred kilometers with ten kilograms of grain and two stone of fodder, and even a donkey can be used instead of a horse to pull the cart.

As soon as the news came out, Jinmao was immediately alarmed.

There is a small house in the south of Jingzhou City. This is Zhuge Liang's home. At this time, the house is full of people, and the most conspicuous ones are the King of Wu's personal guards.

The common people were also very curious about what happened here, and they crowded around the nearby streets.

In the courtyard, Jin Mao held the Liuma with both hands, pushing it while sighing: "Kong Ming is so talented that he could create such a magical thing. From now on, the people of the Han Dynasty will be blessed."

The wooden ox needs animals to pull it and someone to look after it, but the Liuma can be pushed by one person alone, and it does not need to take the main road. As long as there is room for one wheel to pass through a small path, it can transport three to ten stones of supplies. If this is not a magical artifact, what else could it be?
Zhuge Liang smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Highness, you are too kind. The wooden ox was made by me, but the flowing horse was made by my wife. You are praising the wrong person."

"Oh?" Jin Mao put down Liu Ma, and someone came to take over the test immediately. "I remember that your wife is Mr. Huang's beloved daughter. Could it be that she has inherited the old man's true teachings?" "That's right!" Zhuge Liang said with certainty: "My wife's skills are even better than mine!"

Jin Mao was very surprised. A trace of surprise and admiration flashed in his eyes, and then he laughed loudly, his voice echoing in the tent: "Haha, Kong Ming, you are really a hidden talent. Not only are you extremely intelligent, but your wife is also as capable as any man. How enviable! Mr. Huang was a master of craftsmanship, and it is a blessing for the world that his daughter can inherit and carry forward his skills. The exquisiteness of this Liuma shows that he is meticulous and has a deep insight into mechanics and mechanical principles. He is really a rare talent."

Jin Mao turned to face the crowd, his tone full of emotion: "Everyone, it seems that we need to get to know the Zhuge family again. This family not only produced a resourceful and talented person, but also gave birth to two geniuses who are leading in their respective fields. The appearance of Liuma will undoubtedly greatly enhance our army's logistical transportation capabilities and will be of immeasurable value to the upcoming battle."

He patted Zhuge Liang on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Kong Ming, you and your wife are so talented, it is a blessing for our dynasty. Please continue to use your strengths to make plans for our army, and jointly resist foreign enemies to ensure the peace of our country."

Zhuge Liang bowed humbly and said, "Your Highness, thank you for your praise. Liang and I are just trying our best to contribute to our country. Your Highness, rest assured that Liang will do his best to assist you and work together for the great cause."

"Great!" Jin Mao said happily, "Such a brave woman, wouldn't Kong Ming be willing to introduce her to me?"

Zhuge Liang said with embarrassment: "My wife is ugly, I am afraid that she will offend your Highness."

Everyone in the world knows that Jin Mao is extremely handsome. He is absolutely obsessed with appearance. Being beautiful is just the threshold to seeing him. If you want to enter the Prince Wu's Palace, you have to see if you have any special skills.

Similarly, Jin Mao could tolerate ugly men, such as Pang Tong, but he would want to dig out the eyes of ugly women.

That's why Zhuge Liang was so worried.

"Kong Ming, this is your fault." Jin Mao taught him, "How could I ignore a person's talent just because of his ugly appearance? Look at Pang Shiyuan, he will be better than you for a long time to come!"

Pang Tong, who was testing the wooden ox and flowing horse, lowered his head innocently. He was shot even when he was lying down.

"Your Highness is right." Zhuge Liang immediately admitted his mistake and said, "I was blind and didn't expect Your Highness to be so broad-minded."

After hearing the pats on the back, Jin Mao immediately forgot his unhappiness. This was Zhuge Liang flattering someone. Who else could be treated like this?
After a while, a masked slim lady came over. When she opened her mouth, it sounded like a girl from Northeast China who was trying to be cute by pinching her voice. When she looked at her height again, she was as tall as Jinmao!

Jin Mao is seven feet five inches tall (175cm)!
Huang Yueying is too tall!
"The commoner Huang Yueying pays respect to His Highness."

Jin Mao nodded and said, "Everyone says you are ugly, do you dare to show your true face?"

Huang Yueying bowed her head and said, "I'm afraid I've polluted your eyes."

"It might as well."

Seeing this, Huang Yueying had no choice but to take off her veil, and suddenly, her beautiful oval face was revealed.

Jin Mao was very confused. Why did everyone say Huang Yueying was ugly? Was it just because she had dark skin, yellow hair and blue eyes?
Maybe too avant-garde?

"This look is quite unique." Jin Mao would not say inappropriate words in public, so he wanted to just say something to fool people.

Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang quickly stood in front of Huang Yueying, put the veil on her again, and explained: "My wife caught a cold the other day and was feeling unwell. I want to apologize to Your Highness."

Huang Yueying didn't understand her husband's behavior, but she was very well-behaved and obedient. She pretended to cough twice, apologized, and then left.

Jin Mao glanced at Zhuge Liang suspiciously. Could it be that this kid saw through my uncle's intentions?

Although Huang Yueying's appearance was unacceptable to people of that era, he could accept it.

Forget it, a friend’s wife should not be bullied. For the sake of unity, Cao the thief should stop being a thief.

After a month of testing, the wooden ox and flowing horse were perfect in all aspects. Jinmao immediately launched the product and ordered all manufacturing plants and workshops to devote all their efforts to the production of these two models.

In the future, these two types of land transportation will be the main ones.

Besides, the driveway was put on hold while arrangements were made for the stone road. This time the stone road would mainly serve the wooden ox and horse, so it did not need to be built too wide, as long as it could allow a wheelbarrow to pass through.

Although the progress of the project will be slower, it will not be difficult to hire millions of people to take charge of all matters including stone mining.

In August, construction of the first section of stone road from Chang'an to Longxi began.

As the Construction Bureau's functions increased, Jin Mao added tasks to Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang respectively.

Pang Tong was responsible for planning the balance between the stone road and the driveway. This stone road was only a temporary substitute for the driveway, and the driveway would still have to be built when the time was right.

After all, although the wooden ox and flowing horse are good, there are too many uncontrollable factors, and overall they are not as convenient, fast and efficient as driveways.

Zhuge Liang was responsible for supervising the quality inspection of the wooden ox and horse, as well as the selection of materials and construction of the stone road. He was both an engineer and an inspector.

Zhuge Liang never got tired of this. Even if he was busy until late at night every day, his enthusiasm did not diminish at all. It was obvious that he was a workaholic.

Correspondingly, Pang Tong was no less capable. In order to make the road planning as practical as possible, he would conduct on-site inspections of almost every section of the road and would never be careless.

It is worth mentioning that Huang Yueying was also promoted to honorary deputy director of the Construction Bureau, mainly responsible for inventing and creating tools with practical effects, including but not limited to sea, land and air themes.

Even so, the incident still caused a certain sensation.

It’s not that there were no female officials in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but most of them worked in the palace. This was the first time I heard of female officials outside the palace.

This incident also alarmed Huang Chengyan. This old man, who was half buried in the ground, saw his daughter enjoying herself so much that he couldn't help but feel itchy and wanted to show off his skills. However, he felt it was too embarrassing, so he ran to Jinmao to ask for an official position.

Jinmao doesn’t care who you are. You can be an official as long as you pass the exam.

But Huang Chengyan had never suffered such humiliation in his life, so he flatly refused.

After failing to get the official position, Huang Chengyan changed his mind and put aside his pride to help his daughter.

In his words, "There is no shame in being a family."

From then on, Huang Chengyan had a new nickname "Huang Jiadiu".

(End of this chapter)