Chapter 401: Changes in Great Qin

"Boom! Boom!"

Seven-colored fireworks bloomed continuously in the sky; even in broad daylight, one could see the magnificent sight.

On both sides of the wide boulevard, countless heads were craned, gazing into the distance.

"It's His Majesty."

"His Majesty has arrived."

Following closely was a pitch-black army, like a long, black dragon. A massive land-vehicle followed behind, the Son of Heaven's dragon flag fluttering atop it.

"Minister Su, this final boulevard connecting Xianyang to the Northern Lands has also been successfully constructed. You can rest now."

The land-vehicle, resembling a fortress, was like a small palace. Inside, Ying Zheng sat in the main seat, surrounded by core ministers of the empire. Among the white-haired elders, there was one young face.

"Over these past few years, Marquis Su has truly worked hard."

Several ministers looked at Su Fan, feeling a bit of jealousy in their hearts, though on the surface, they maintained an amiable expression.

"Haha! Minister Su has indeed worked hard. Great Qin having you is Great Qin's fortune, and it is also My fortune."

Ying Zheng looked through the glass at the spirited people of Great Qin on both sides of the boulevard, feeling very satisfied.

In just a few years, Great Qin had undergone earth-shaking changes. First, the emergence of new agricultural technologies caused Great Qin's grain harvest to increase every year.

Moreover, various agricultural implements, and even the later appearance of machinery, made land reclamation easier, so Great Qin's fields were constantly increasing, and grain was accumulating more and more.

As long as one had strength, there would be no situation of starving to death.

The lives of the old Qin people were becoming better and better, and the same was true for the people of the former six states. Naturally, the previously turbulent situation in Great Qin had also calmed down.

After all, if they could survive, these commoners at the bottom would not stir up trouble. Except for a few restless ones, most were honest and law-abiding; thus, the world had become much more peaceful.

Even if many people felt the Qin laws were harsh, as long as they didn't commit crimes and lived in their villages, they felt it was even better than before.

After all, grain income increased every year; even if they handed over more to the government than before, what remained was still more than in the past.

Such days were far better than before.

So gradually, the people of the former six states began to accept Great Qin. They were very simple; under whose rule they lived better, everyone had an answer.

Therefore, in the local areas, those officials of the Great Qin government also discovered that the people in their regions were starting to become obedient.

Ying Zheng naturally understood all this information. With people's livelihoods gradually improving and the populace stable, Great Qin had stabilized.

Originally, he thought that stabilizing the world would take at least several decades, but the increase in agricultural grain production achieved it in just a few years.

And all of this was the work of the young man before him.

Of course, the other party did not only contribute this; the changes in Great Qin over these years were all related to this person.

Even this hard boulevard, over ten zhang wide beneath their feet, was built under his direction. From south to north, from east to west, Great Qin had sixteen main trunk roads connecting Great Qin's thirty-six commanderies, which were wider and more solid than the old Qin imperial highways.

In this way, the connection between Great Qin's central government and the localities became much tighter, and the central government's power was greatly enhanced.

Especially these sixteen main trunk roads, which allowed Great Qin's army to gallop through smoothly and quickly.

Unaffected by any weather, carriages and horses could travel freely, and the army's speed was increased by at least fifty percent, or even doubled, compared to before.

The hard boulevard allowed Great Qin to build larger carriages, making logistics more rapid. Ying Zheng was also very clear about what this meant.

In addition, the carriages, carts, and a series of transport vehicles he built in collaboration with the Mohists also greatly enhanced the army's strength.

Great Qin's comprehensive strength had skyrocketed in just a few years. He could feel Great Qin's national destiny surging every day.

Truly worthy of being Great Qin's Qilin Son.

"What is Minister Su thinking about?"

All the ministers had left the land-vehicle, leaving only Ying Zheng and Su Fan inside.

"Is Your Majesty preparing to take action?"

Su Fan looked at Ying Zheng and suddenly asked. Over these years, he had been rushing about; building roads was his main occupation.

Coming from a later age, he knew a proverb: "If you want to be rich, build roads first; have fewer children and plant more trees."

Great Qin's previous imperial highways were not bad, but they naturally could not compare to the concrete roads of later generations.

The Mohists' technology was good, and coupled with his concepts, Great Qin's steel production skyrocketed. Thus, road construction was put on the agenda.

Cement and concrete materials were simply too common and easy to mine. Even without the advanced mining machines of later generations, don't forget what kind of world this was.

This was a supernatural world; those non-humans had destructive power far more terrifying than those mining vehicles.

Profound Mastery martial artists, when erupting with power, could break small hills.

Some strong individuals could even shatter a hundred-meter mountain mass quite easily. So, without advanced machines from later generations, they used manual labor.

The efficiency was not a bit inferior to machines.

So in just five years, under Su Fan's leadership, the Highway and Housing Construction Department built sixteen main trunk roads, each about fifty thousand li long, totaling nearly six hundred thousand li.

Perhaps it could not compare to the total length of highways in later generations.

And the quality might not be comparable either, but this was only five years. In the future, Great Qin could build slowly, and sooner or later, it would surpass later generations.

After all, Great Qin's territory was larger than the Earth of later generations.

These sixteen main trunk roads only connected Great Qin's thirty-six commanderies. As for below the commandery and county levels, there was no way. To achieve road access to every village, it would likely take at least twenty or thirty years.

However, even so, Su Fan could feel that Great Qin's national destiny had surged again in these five years.

The benefits of building main trunk roads were truly too many, because the main roads were unaffected by weather, and coupled with the fast carriages specially built by the Mohists, the speed of travel was faster than warhorses.

Rune power was once again displayed in this world.

With smooth passage, the central government's control over the localities became even firmer due to Great Qin's special rules, and central power could be said to have reached its peak.

Naturally, Great Qin's national destiny was also skyrocketing.

And in these five years, with agricultural production climbing steadily, the population also began to skyrocket. After all, there were no entertainment activities in ancient times; with enough grain, the commoners at the bottom only had to make children.

It could be said that in these five years, every household in Great Qin added at least three or four children.

How many households did Great Qin have? No less than one hundred million. This meant an increase of hundreds of millions in population.

And twenty years later, the population would likely continue to increase.

There was no need to worry about not being able to support them. Following Su Fan's concepts, the Mohists and Agriculturalists were constantly reused by Ying Zheng, and land reclamation became Great Qin's new policy. In just a few years, Great Qin added two billion mu of fields. ===== CHAPTER 402 =====