Chapter 1 In Ye Tao's View

In Ye Tao's view, the biggest problem now is that, due to the imbalance of technology and policy, Yunzhou's development far surpasses that of the Central Earth Continent and any other place in this world. Ye Tao didn't deliberately control the technological process. As technology becomes increasingly complex, Ye Tao's direct guidance, while still playing a huge role, is no longer decisive. A large number of technological achievements, and the speed at which these technological achievements are produced, depends on how much manpower and material resources Ye Tao is willing to invest in these things, and how many times he is willing to stumble in those repetitive and constantly failing experiments. While the research institute is constantly producing new results, it has also become a gold-devouring beast for the Ye Family Workshop.

In Yunzhou, many achievements are quickly put into use, even round after round of replacements, allowing the evolution of technology to be integrated with business models from the very beginning. The telegraph line network of the Communication Bureau has evolved from the initial single line to four lines, and some places with busy communications have even expanded to sixteen lines. The telegraph service open to the public has become one of the significant symbols of Dongping's lead over other countries. The telegraph network in the entire Yunzhou has been basically completed, and the network in the entire Dongping is also under active construction.

Now, even airships have been put into commercial operation. The Inner Treasury, Kyushu Trading Company, and Qihai Trading Company jointly funded the establishment of Dongping Aviation, which has established a total of six civil aviation routes. Because the payload of airships is still quite limited, ticket prices are very expensive. Moreover, because wealthy people travel with many followers and luggage, most use chartered airships. However, judging from the current operating situation, the huge investment in Dongping Aviation is expected to recover all investment within five years and obtain considerable profits. In fact, the Ye Family Workshop has already developed hydrogen airships, but because the safety of this thing is really unflattering, Ye Tao has no intention of putting this thing into civilian use. Now, hydrogen airships are only equipped in small quantities in the military, and the vast majority of equipment is still the hot air airship. Simple internal combustion engines have been developed, and they are struggling to improve power and reduce size and weight. As soon as small engines are qualified, they can be installed on the biplane fixed-wing aircraft that have already been developed for test flights.

More efficient wind, thermal, and hydroelectric generator sets are being improved regardless of the cost. Substations and other equipment, finally relying on terrifying investment, have developed a usable and scalable model and embarked on a path of smooth development... Starting from Gondor, Yunzhou will gradually become electrified.

Because of the continuous surge in Dongping's steel production and the continuous reduction in costs, Yunzhou can finally have a large amount of steel to squander. The steam engine, which already had a prototype, was installed on the locomotive, railway tracks began to be laid, and various prototype tests and supporting systems began to gradually take shape. On the day Gondor is officially completed, the first railway with practical value, the line from Gondor to Ningyuan, will be officially open to traffic.

These are naturally commendable feats, but in the current situation, they have also become a source of worry for Ye Tao and others.

There is no doubt that Yunzhou is very different from other parts of Dongping. Regarding this point, impeachments, attacks, and slanders against Ye Tao have never stopped, but anyway, Ye Tao is not someone who cares about this kind of thing. However, the consequences of this unbalanced development will be very serious if it continues to develop. Tan Xiaopei and the important officials of Dongping also realized this. In the future, Yunzhou will mainly focus on continuously improving the existing system, while the entire Dongping will invest heavily to catch up with Yunzhou. The entire Dongping will enter a period of large-scale construction and development in the next three to five years. This arrangement also allows Ye Tao to slightly alleviate the problems after the completion of Gondor City.

What are the problems with Gondor City? For ordinary people, Gondor City is a miracle floating on the ground of Yunzhou, the future center of Dongping in the north, and a city full of hope. However, Ye Tao and Tan Weixin cannot think so easily. Because the various industrial chains driven by the construction of Gondor involve all kinds of people, accounting for 20% of the total population of Yunzhou. Once the construction of Gondor City is completed, where will such a huge system and so many people involved go? Yunzhou can naturally digest this part of the labor force, but this will take more time. However, it is not so easy to arrange for many professionals in technical and service positions. Some people can naturally be directly invested in the construction of the new capital city of Danyang, but most people still need to be resettled locally. Although Yunzhou will have railway networks and other series of projects to consume this part of human resources for a period of time, it is not a solution to rely on these government-built projects to ensure that not too many people are idle.

Now, Ye Tao and Tan Weixin are starting to plan for the various problems that may occur after the completion of Gondor. All kinds of measures, plans, and various government-invested and private development plans require them to constantly invest time and energy to read, modify, and then try to implement them. Ye Tao and Tan Weixin do not respond well to this kind of work. After all, these things are trivial and there is no sense of accomplishment, just picking up the slack. Fortunately, whether it is Benlang Plain requesting further strengthening of the integration with Dongping's governance system, or this plan for the northern tribes, it can make Ye Tao and Tan Weixin a little easier. A vast territory, a group of people eager to join Yunzhou and Dongping's system and obtain a better life, nothing is better than these.

"Lord, Chief Meng Su'er is requesting an audience." When Ye Tao rubbed his nose tiredly, Liu Yong walked into the tent, took away the cold milk tea on the table, and said calmly.

Ye Tao smiled and said, "What time is it now?"

"Around midnight." Liu Yong said nonchalantly, "Chief Meng Su'er said he saw the lights in the tent were still on, so he wanted to come over and chat with you, knowing that you haven't rested yet."

"Okay." Ye Tao nodded and said, "I'll wash my face and come over."

Although Ye Tao washed up a little, he couldn't change his tired face for a while. Meng Su'er became even more respectful because of this. Meng Su'er is the chief of the northern tribe who showed up with his retinue to participate in the hunt, and also gave a lot of gifts, including that very cute little loli, to Ye Wenxuan. The guy who wanted to compete with Ye Wenxuan's team with the hunting team was Meng Su'er's grandson. That little loli, a descendant of the grassland royal family, will be sent here early tomorrow morning.

"Chief Meng Su'er, let's have a drink together." Ye Tao greeted Meng Su'er casually and sat down at the table at the entrance of the tent. On the table were Bai Lingtan and Grey Goose Fine Wine produced by Grey Goose Winery. Meng Su'er was obviously no stranger to these things. After all, these things were not too difficult to obtain for the tribe he belonged to, which was a little north of Benlang Plain.

"Lord Ye, I've been watching you work so late every day these days, aren't you tired?" Meng Su'er toasted Ye Tao and said very naturally.

"In a position, there is a responsibility for a position. Aren't you also taking the risk of being tricked and killed by us, and also taking the risk of being pursued by the Ke'erka tribe, to come here? This time, when you go back... no, maybe it won't be long before your tribe will have to risk going to war. Aren't these the things you are doing as a chief?" Ye Tao complimented implicitly.

"Hehe, Lord Ye and Lord Ge Lan have excellent reputations. Since you invited me, it would be disrespectful for me to bring my subordinates. It's just that if I came alone, I wouldn't be able to bring so many gifts. As for the Ke'erka tribe, I'm afraid neither you nor I would really take it too seriously, right? Moreover, our tribe is not completely unprepared... Also, if I remember correctly, a team of Frost Wolf Army knights should have set off north a few days ago, right?" Meng Su'er said calmly.

Ye Tao smiled faintly. Chi Lei reported to him about the Frost Wolf Army's northward advance. This is also a typical military operation with clear political implications. Since Meng Su'er and others came to Benlang Plain to participate in this important consultation, they should be guaranteed safety no matter what. There are not many Frost Wolf Army troops entering the northern grasslands, only about a thousand people, just one battalion. However, the Frost Wolf Army is capable of fighting and running, and has very high battlefield efficiency. Moreover, even if the Ke'erka tribe knows that the Frost Wolf Army came to the northern grasslands to deter themselves, they may not dare to attack the Frost Wolf Army casually or be placed within the protection range of the Frost Wolf Army. The current Ke'erka tribe does not have the confidence to start a war with Yunzhou. In fact, they are very worried about Yunzhou's attack on the northern tribes, which seems not too far away.

"What do you feel these days, Chief?" Ye Tao asked.

Meng Su'er hesitated for a moment and asked, "Lord, can we... live like these warriors on Benlang Plain?" Meng Su'er and the warriors he led were not only surprised these days, they were simply shocked. Although they knew in the past that under Ye Tao's rule, the lives and combat effectiveness of the tribes in Yunzhou and the entire north, those who had always been bullied by them, had increased significantly, they did not expect that in this slightly ostentatious hunt, the enormous wealth and powerful combat power displayed by the various tribes were simply unimaginable. Meng Su'er also knew very well that relying on Yunzhou's policy of combining agriculture and animal husbandry, relying on Benlang Plain's efforts to develop the wool textile industry in recent years, and increasingly integrating into the economic system of the entire Central Earth Continent, these herders who originally struggled to survive could also obtain such a life. As a chief, he could not be unmoved by this.