Simultaneous travel: City, infinite evolution

Chapter 275 A Living Sage – Chen Hong [Requesting Recommendation Votes]

There are still too few new high-yield crop seeds available.

We need to further cultivate superior varieties in Guanzhong first, and then gradually expand their planting.

The promotion of new crops is a gradual process; it's impossible to switch crops nationwide all at once.

There simply aren't that many seeds, and people wouldn't accept suddenly switching to a completely unfamiliar crop.

When the new crops began to be trial-planted in Guanzhong, and when the people witnessed firsthand the terrifying yields of these new crops...

Without being forced by others, once the reputation spreads, the people will vote with their feet and compete to plant high-yield crops.

"In addition, Guanzhong has only 11% of the country's arable land, yet it has to support the central government and the army, which is too heavy a burden for Guanzhong."

Your Majesty should extend the pressure across the entire country, and through a network of straight roads and canals, transport grain from various regions to military camps to supply the army.

In this way, Guanzhong can be relieved of the heavy burden of supplying the army.

Ying Zheng and Li Si pondered, "The immortal's words make sense, but won't the loss of grain during transportation be too great?"

Chen Hong could only say, "There are losses when transporting grain from Guanzhong, so we should try to transport it by water as much as possible."

Grain losses during water transport are far lower than those during land transport.

I will also design more inland waterway boats for grain transport.

There is demand for development.

Whether it's the canals that need to be dug for water transport or the straight roads that need to be built for land transport.

The metropolis was transformed into the advanced transportation system of the Qin Dynasty, propelling the Qin Dynasty to further prosperity and development.

"The immortal's words make sense."

"As the immortal said."

The First Emperor made the decision and did as the immortal said.

Chen Hong quickly designed the structural shapes of many inland river vessels and seagoing vessels.

Shipyards were built near the coast and riverbanks.

At that time, the south was still a barbarian land, with many tall ancient trees and forests.

Those trees, which have grown for countless years, are the perfect timber for building ship keels.

Especially for seagoing vessels, the requirements for ancient trees are even higher, and at this time there just happened to be a large number of ancient trees that could be felled.

After these ancient trees are felled, they need to be soaked in tung oil or similar substances for three to five years, or even ten years, before they can be used to build ships and sail out to sea to withstand the corrosion of seawater.

The requirements for ocean-going vessels are extremely high, so we need to start planning now.

Riverboats don't have such high requirements, so we can start gradually increasing production now and build more riverboats to meet the needs of river transport.

Soon, the enormous machine of the Great Qin Dynasty began to rumble and start running.

With Chen Hong's technical support, the conquest of the Baiyue was accelerated.

Chen Hong invented a prescription and built medicine workshops in various places to collect local medicinal materials and mass-produce medicines to prevent and treat miasma and insect poisoning, as well as to prevent heatstroke and acclimatization problems.

Especially in the south, near the lands of the Bai and Nan peoples, they used local materials and poison to fight poison, building large-scale medicine workshops to manufacture medicines and sell them to the army.

The Lü family also took the opportunity to get involved, investing in and building many medicine shops, and making a lot of money.

With reinforcements and medical supplies, coupled with the court's enticing policies, the southern expeditionary army actually managed to persuade many of the Baiyue barbarian tribes who were struggling to survive to submit.

They didn't want to fight anymore either. Going head-on against a unified dynasty would be very taxing for them too.

As long as people can make ends meet and the court doesn't engage in rampant exploitation, who would want to fight wars every day?

With the support of the collaborators, conquering the Baiyue suddenly became much easier.

The local aborigines are native to the area and know how to avoid poisonous insects and wild beasts, use natural herbs to detoxify and dispel miasma, and prevent insect and mosquito bites.

They also had a thorough understanding of the mountain terrain, knowing how to locate the tribes of the Baiyue people in the mountains, thus improving the efficiency of conquest and avoiding danger.

The court's strategy of sowing discord was indeed effective; the Baiyue barbarians were not a monolithic group, but rather a loose alliance of interests.

The original tribal alliances alone were divided into Dong'ou, Minyue, Nanyue, Xi'ou, and Luoyue.

The most powerful of them was naturally the Southern Yue.

Each tribal alliance is further divided into many smaller tribes.

The strong farmed the plains, while the weak relied on slash-and-burn agriculture or hunting in the mountains.

Under the powerful military force of the Qin Dynasty and its strategy of dividing and recruiting smaller tribes, the Baiyue tribes, which had been holding on for a long time, could no longer withstand the pressure from the imperial court.

Most of them surrendered, only a small number refused to surrender and were exterminated, and the remaining few hid in the mountains, avoiding the world.

Thus, the Baiyue region was settled in one battle.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang established three commanderies: Nanhai, Guilin, and Xiangjun, bringing the entire south under his control.

This place is extremely important; its naturally hot climate is ideal for producing grain.

The coastal location is also suitable for developing maritime trade.

The Qin Dynasty began to focus on developing the south, including the Jiangnan region and the Baiyue region, selecting fertile alluvial plains and starting large-scale farming.

They brought the high-yield grain varieties cultivated by Chen Hong to plant there, where they multiplied and gradually expanded the planting area.

Upon witnessing such terrifyingly high-yield grains, the Baiyue barbarians ceased their resistance.

They obediently submitted to the Qin Dynasty and happily farmed the land.

Such a terrifying output would be enough to feed the tribes, even under the tyrannical rule of the imperial court which collected "two taxes and one tax".

Moreover, the imperial court only levied a meager tax of "one-fifteenth of the total tax."

Why are you still hesitating?
The profits from farming for the imperial court are far greater than those from hunting in the mountains.

The Baiyue tribes voted with their feet, choosing to submit to the imperial court.

From then on, the people of Baiyue were settled.

With the continuous spread of high-yield varieties, the Baiyue people were destined to be unable to cause any trouble.

In order to build water conservancy projects and increase production, Chen Hong designed various waterwheels that could draw water from rivers to irrigate farmland.

A dragon-bone waterwheel, suitable for plains and near-water farmland, uses a hydraulic chain plate to circulate and scrape water.

Waterwheels are used to draw water from inclined cylinders on banks of fast-flowing rivers or in mountainous areas.

A lever-operated well-drainer, suitable for shallow wells and ponds, is used to balance the water flow.

A high-speed waterwheel with a double-wheeled chain is used to lift water onto a suitable high bank or steep slope.

There are also dredging and river management tools such as mud-driving and river-diverting dragons, river-mixing dragons, and sweeping shovels.

As for the manpower for water conservancy projects.

Chen Hong did not allow the First Emperor to suddenly conscript a million laborers like Yang Guang did, and to frantically dig the Grand Canal.

Instead, the high-yield crops were first introduced to the area. Once the people tasted the benefits and the reputation spread, the villages and towns that grew these high-yield crops naturally developed a need for water conservancy projects.

Once there is demand, everything else will follow naturally.

Large-scale projects, such as digging canals, can be undertaken by the imperial court by conscripting local landowners and farmers to contribute money and labor. The government can take the lead, allocate funds and supplies, and ensure the successful completion of these projects.

The remaining task of directing traffic to villages, towns, and cities will focus on who benefits and who contributes money and effort.

For example, the river water needs to be diverted to a village to irrigate farmland.

Then the local landlords would have to pay for it, and the local villagers would have to provide the labor to dig the irrigation canals and build the waterwheels.

Whoever benefits the most contributes more money and effort.

In this way, the government and the imperial court can save a huge amount of money and at the same time improve the water conservancy and irrigation facilities.

This would prevent the Qin Dynasty from undertaking too many tasks at once, which would lead to financial difficulties and waste of resources and manpower.

This process will certainly be accompanied by many contradictions, but it is better than building another Great Wall project.

Moreover, this process was gradual, with water conservancy projects being built slowly as high-yield crops spread.

This way, too many social conflicts won't accumulate all at once, and they can be resolved gradually.

Ordinary people will still actively participate in and support projects that benefit them.

After all, these are real benefits, not just empty promises.

Once the water conservancy project is completed, it will benefit everyone.

Even the stingiest landlords would support the construction of water conservancy projects.

With the spread of high-yield crops, Chen Hong's reputation as a sage was completely solidified.

In an agricultural society, if Shennong, who created a divine being capable of feeding countless people, wasn't a saint, then who was qualified to be a saint?

Even Confucianism cannot deny the contributions of a super Shennong.

Countless people witnessed the terrifyingly high yields of many crops and wept with joy.

Everyone rushed to sculpt a statue of Chen Hong and build a temple dedicated to Shennong.

Then they bowed and worshipped in front of Chen Hong's statue, burning incense to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, Sage Chen Hong, for ensuring my child won't starve this year."

"Thank you, Sage Chen Hong, for allowing my mother to have enough to eat."

"Thank you, Sage Chen Hong, for saving our village from famine. We no longer need to flee."

"Thank you, Sage Chen Hong, we won't have to drown infants this year."

"Thanks to Sage Chen Hong, I can finally have enough to eat and have the strength to farm."

"Thanks to Sage Chen Hong, my wife, who is heavily pregnant, can finally eat her fill and nourish herself."

"Thank you, Saint Chen Hong, my child no longer has to be skin and bones."

"Thanks to Sage Chen Hong, my family can finally afford salt again."

……

The prayers and expressions of gratitude from the people reached Chen Hong's ears.

It brings threads of faith, coming from all directions and converging into a river.

Moreover, this power of faith is extremely pure, almost without any impurities, pure to the extreme, and stems from heartfelt gratitude.

This is the heartfelt gratitude of the people of the world to him, the living Shennong.

"Refining!"

Chen Hong made a hand seal, guided his mental energy, and formed a rune in the void, gathering the power of faith and condensing it into a halo of faith, which he hung behind his head.

The power of faith, emanating from all corners of the world and transcending time and space, continues to flow like milky white silk threads.

Moreover, as time goes by and high-yield crops spread, the faith and spiritual power that Chen Hong receives will only become more and more terrifying.

Over time, the power of this faith becomes terrifying.

When quantity reaches a certain threshold of qualitative change, the power of faith can even leverage the rules and rewrite the laws of the world.

It's not impossible for him to ascend to the divine level, ignite the divine fire, and proclaim himself a god.

As long as there is enough faith, a heavenly court can be established and all gods can be appointed.

This is the immense, essential power hidden deep within the souls of all beings.

Under the illumination of the halo of faith, Chen Hong's accumulated wisdom was finally stimulated and inspired.

Deep within Chen Hong's sea of ​​consciousness, his spirit sat serenely on the spiritual platform, like a Buddha, smiling as he held up a flower.

In an instant, the Bodhi flower bloomed.

"I have a bright pearl, which has long been locked away by worldly troubles."

"Today, the dust has settled and the light shines forth, illuminating countless mountains and rivers!"

A brilliant light of wisdom emanated from Chen Hong's soul.

In compiling the "Great Qin Law," he read through countless ancient books from the pre-Qin period and discussed the wisdom accumulated by various schools of thought. All the wisdom he had accumulated from learning countless things in the past burst forth in an instant.

Countless brilliant lights of wisdom, like threads, intertwined and condensed into a transparent halo.

Pure, clear, as serene as the sky, as crystal clear as the sea.

It is a kind of wisdom that comes from witnessing the surging flood of history, drawing on the great wisdom of the ancients, merging all schools of thought into one, and unifying all methods.

It is substantial, yet clear and serene.

Do not contend, yet do not contend with those who can.

It's a shortcut.

Under the illumination of wisdom, Chen Hong's mind and soul were clear and free from demonic obstacles and hindrances. He could understand himself, things, and people, and he could avoid misfortune and seek good fortune. He acted in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people, and he was free from disasters and calamities, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Chen Hong's wisdom increased significantly, his understanding of the laws of the world deepened, and he also gained a more profound understanding of the cultivation techniques, supernatural abilities, and magical powers of many worlds.

Behind Chen Hong's head, a transparent halo of wisdom and a milky-white halo of faith shone, their two wheels rotating and illuminating the world.

The sea of ​​consciousness begins to open, the endless fog dissipates, liquefying into spiritual droplets that nourish the soul within the sea of ​​consciousness.

The space of consciousness seemed to open up from chaos, starting from a diameter of 50 meters, then expanding to 60 meters, 70 meters, 80 meters, 90 meters, and 100 meters!
The sea of ​​consciousness directly expanded into a mental space with a diameter of 100 meters.

With the widespread acclaim for Chen Hong as the Divine Farmer, his position as a sage throughout the ages is truly unshakeable.

The officials in the court were extremely respectful to Chen Hong, and even believed that Chen Hong's achievements were not much different from those of the sages of the Hundred Schools of Thought, or even greater.

Calling him a living saint is not an exaggeration at all.

(End of this chapter)