Chapter 226: Creating an Economic Special Zone in Another World!
In just four days, they had built a large and sturdy house. How could they not be satisfied? It was simply shocking, a heartfelt and profound shock! No words could describe the astonishment in their hearts!
“It’s incredible!” an old minister exclaimed, his mouth trembling with shock. “A strong and durable house built in just four days! With this, how can the common people not afford homes?”
“Yes, and the process of making cement is so simple, much easier than making blue or red bricks. It saves time and money! With a little effort, the common people can build their own houses!”
“No wonder Sir Lin dared to boast! With such a powerful tool like cement, how could anything be impossible?”
“With cement, building houses becomes so simple!”
Everyone praised repeatedly.
Lin Beifan modestly said, “Gentlemen, you overpraise me. I am not worthy of such compliments.”
Even the Empress was greatly astonished. Only when she witnessed it herself did she understand the magic of cement. If building houses was so simple, then what about using it for bridge construction, road paving, or repairing city walls? What if it was used for other projects, like water conservancy?
Unthinkable and startling!
If these projects used cement, think about how much material, labor, and food could be saved! And with the money and food saved, how much more could be accomplished? For the imperial court, it was definitely a matter where the pros outweighed the cons, and it could rapidly strengthen the Great Wu’s power!
No wonder Lin Beifan said that cement was as extraordinary as airships and hovercraft. Now, looking at it, it was indeed the case!
The Empress’ gaze at Lin Beifan softened. This little rascal had once again surprised her greatly!
She really didn’t know how to reward him!
“This cement can be regarded as a national treasure!” The Empress said excitedly, “With cement, everyone has the opportunity to live in good and durable houses! Moreover, for road bridges, city walls, and other projects, cement can be used! As long as it’s laid with cement, it will become extremely solid! With this, how can my Great Wu’s territory not be secure?”
“What Your Majesty said is absolutely correct!” The officials nodded with smiles.
“But, Sir Lin, you said before that the houses could be built in three days, and now it takes one more day!” the Empress said with a smile.
Lin Beifan calmly replied, “The reason it took one more day is that this is the first time everyone used cement to build houses, and they are not familiar with it, so they were slow. Once everyone becomes familiar with how to use cement, they can dig the foundation and build the walls in one day, and then wait another day for the walls to solidify. On the third day, the roof can be sealed. So, three days will be enough!”
Everyone nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.
“Furthermore, our cement workshop has just been built, and cement production is limited! When our cement workshop expands and produces more cement, the speed of building houses will undoubtedly be faster! Building a thousand or even ten thousand houses in one day will not be a problem!”
“It must be expanded, and the imperial court fully supports it!” The Empress said loudly.
Then, Lin Beifan led everyone to continue touring and visiting. Along the way, they marveled and were amazed. They were becoming more confident in Lin Beifan’s promise to allow a million disaster victims to afford homes within two months and to build a city within three months.
Even if three months were not enough, it could still be accomplished within a year! Building a city within a year was not any less magical!
Finally, Lin Beifan led everyone to several large pictures.
“Sir Lin, what is this?” The Empress was puzzled.
Lin Beifan smiled and said, “Your Majesty and all honorable guests, please take a look! This is the plan I’ve designed for the city after its construction!”
The Empress and the officials were stunned after looking at the drawings. In the pictures, houses were arranged neatly and densely, roads were wide and straight, and connected with each other. The city walls were tall and sturdy, capable of defending against external enemies. How could they describe this feeling?
It was like a modern person looking at a futuristic science and technology city!
“Sir Lin… Can this really be achieved?” The Empress was so excited that her words became incoherent.
“Of course it can!” Lin Beifan was also extremely excited, raising his arms and saying loudly, “Just give me three months, and this miraculous city will rise here, standing tall and unshakable!”
“Good, good, good!” The Empress cheered excitedly.
At this moment, Qian Yuanshen, the Minister of Households, who had a worried expression, stood up and said, “Your Majesty, it’s good, but building like this, our imperial court’s resources simply won’t be able to sustain it! Especially food, it’s really not enough!”
Everyone was instantly poured with a bucket of cold water, and their joy disappeared.
Qian Yuanshen turned to look at Lin Beifan and said, “Sir Lin, you said that you can build this city without using the resources of the imperial court, but why is there no movement now?”
Everyone turned their heads to look at Lin Beifan, waiting to see how he would respond.
“Since Sir Qian is asking, I’ll tell you!” Lin Beifan smiled and said, “Although the imperial court doesn’t have resources, many wealthy merchants and clans do! We can just get them to contribute money! Isn’t that enough?”
“No, no!” The old ministers shook their heads. “This kind of thing goes against morals and laws! We can’t do this unless we are left with no choice. Otherwise, it will lead to people’s resistance against the government!”
Lin Beifan made a motion of reaching into his pocket, smiling, “Gentlemen, rest assured, I can make them willingly contribute money and food! Moreover, they will be very enthusiastic, competing with each other, eager to do so, fearing that they will be one step too late!”
“Really?” Everyone was shocked and curious.
To actually make wealthy merchants and clans willingly contribute money?
And they would be competing with each other, eager to do so, fearing that they might be late?
They found it hard to believe!
You see, this group of people never gets up early for anything unless there is a big benefit involved. They only put money in their pockets!
If there were no great benefits, they would never willingly part with their money!
“Sir Lin, what is your plan?” The Empress asked.
“Your Majesty, look at the excellent quality of this cement. Once it solidifies, it’s as durable as stone! Its uses are extensive; it can be used to build houses, repair bridges and roads, and for any kind of engineering project! The most important thing is that the price is not expensive. If we sell it, who wouldn’t want it?” Lin Beifan said proudly.
“Sell cement? No, no, this is a national treasure and should be used for the country. How can we sell it to private individuals?”
“Yes, it cannot be sold. It should also be prohibited from being used or produced by others!”
“Such a good thing should only be held in our hands. It’s beneficial for the country!”
…
The officials and the Empress shook their heads, and the Empress held a negative attitude as well. They believed that good things should be kept in their hands, just like the airships and hovercraft. They thought that if they had it and others didn’t, they would maintain a leading advantage.
Lin Beifan shook his head, “Your Majesty, esteemed officials, I understand your thoughts very well! However, keeping it to ourselves won’t work. The method of producing cement will eventually leak out! Once it does, others will be able to produce cement, and we won’t be able to stop it!”
“Why can’t we stop it?”
“Because cement is not as technologically complex as airships and hovercraft. It doesn’t create a technological barrier. The process of making cement is simple; you just need to dig up clay and limestone, burn it into clinker, and mix it with iron slag. It’s easy for ordinary people to learn!”
“The materials needed are also simple: clay, limestone, and iron slag. Apart from iron slag, which might be a bit difficult to obtain, the other two are easy to collect! In this way, how can we stop it?”
“We have a million laborers here, with people coming and going every day. It’s very possible that the method has already leaked!”
Everyone fell silent, accepting this fact…
“In that case, why not use it to make money?” Lin Beifan smiled, “Cement is in high demand and has a wide range of uses! So, we can make cement a monopoly of the court, just like salt and iron. It will definitely bring continuous benefits to our court!”
“I’ve already thought about it. We can make this place the main production base for cement! We produce cement here and sell it throughout the country! Selling cement will require distributors! For such a useful building material, which merchant wouldn’t want it?”
“At this time, we can establish a contribution system!”
“We are in a large-scale construction here, lacking food, clothing, and money, we lack everything! As long as they contribute their money, grain, clothing, and other materials to the construction, the one who contributes the most will be granted the exclusive distribution rights for our court’s cement!”
“In this way, won’t our material problem be solved?”
Everyone’s face was full of shock!
Lin Beifan continued, “The ones who can get the cement distribution rights will be only a few! Even if they don’t get the rights, it doesn’t matter. As long as they contribute greatly, they will still get rewards!”
“We can set up numerous tax incentives in the city to reward these contributors! For example, three years of tax exemption or five years of halved taxation, which will definitely attract many merchants to set up factories and do business here, driving the economic development and solving the livelihood problem for many people!”
Everyone was shocked once again!
Lin Beifan smiled faintly, “Your Majesty, esteemed officials, in this way, won’t our material problem be solved? Not only that, it will also solve the future livelihood issues of the million disaster victims. Our court can also earn a lot from it. Isn’t that great?”
The Empress applauded first!
The officials followed suit!
The Empress said excitedly, “Wonderful! It’s truly wonderful! Sir Lin, if this plan is executed properly, it will definitely solve the problem of a million disaster victims. At the same time, it will allow our court to profit from it. It’s a win-win situation!”
The officials were also very excited.
“Yes, even if we rack our brains, we couldn’t come up with such a strategy!”
“If handled well, all the problems can be solved!”
“And if the contributions are large enough, they can make up for our previous losses!”
“This plan is excellent!”
The Empress looked at Lin Beifan with shining eyes, as if she was looking at a priceless treasure, “Sir Lin, sometimes I really want to split your head open. Why do you always have so many ingenious ideas? You are simply the lucky star sent by the heavens to save my Great Wu!”
“Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I am humbled.” Lin Beifan replied modestly.
The Empress exclaimed loudly, “One task does not trouble two masters! Sir Lin, since you proposed this plan, you shall take charge of it. I fully support you! After the matter is done, we will discuss merits and rewards!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan smiled.
The economic special zone in another world will rise under my control!
Thinking about it, I’m a little excited!
