"If you two don't understand yet, I can give you an example."

"For an item to arrive thousands of miles away from the place of departure, if it travels by land, even if there is a concrete straight road, it will still take at least two days and two nights. And that's assuming the journey goes smoothly."

“But if you take the water route, although the total mileage may be longer, since you don’t need to change horses and rest midway, the time consumed will only be shorter than that of the land route.

The most important thing is the transportation capacity. The transportation capacity of inland ships is more than a hundred times that of horse-drawn carriages, and if it is a sea-going ship, it can even reach a thousand times."

"In this case, if there is a waterway, will you choose the land route?"

After Ying Yu finished speaking, Meng Yi said directly:

"Then naturally choose the water route, but water routes will also give priority to shortcuts, and there must be enough local supplies to transport."

Meng Yi raised his doubts.

Ying Yu waved his hand after hearing this, "So, you still don't know enough about business."

"Nowadays, our country, Da Qin, is no longer in the earliest era where we only had a few simple commodities such as silk."

"Now all the counties and counties in Daqin have their own specialties and have formed an industrial chain."

"Taking tea as an example, tea from different regions can be differentiated into black tea, dark tea, green tea, white tea, etc. These teas have different tastes and prices, which can meet the needs of different people."

"The paper depends on the raw materials that are easily available in the local area. There are also bamboo paper, wood paper, mulberry paper and so on."

"Even white sugar has different raw materials such as sugar cane and sugar beets introduced from Rome."

"Under such circumstances, if the commercial demand in a region cannot develop, it only means that local officials have not done enough research."

"The simplest thing is, just plant whatever is in short supply elsewhere. Once the harvest is good, merchants who are out of stock will naturally come to buy it."

"At this time, the importance of transportation is also reflected. Only by improving the trade routes can materials be transported in time and economic development can be driven."

"With convenient transportation, it is more convenient for local people to go out to work. After the people make money and return to their hometowns, won't it also drive economic development?"

"Therefore, in my opinion, there is no need to choose among the current plans for building the Grand Canal. Once they are all built, it will be done.

Even if you create three vertical and three horizontal lines, this is not too much for me."

"And not just in the north, the Jiangnan Grand Canal can also choose a route and continue to expand, so that it can drive the development of an additional area."

Ying Yu said a lot in one breath.

Why do future generations need to build so much infrastructure, high-speed rail, and highways continue to expand?

It's because leaders all know that only by improving transportation and other infrastructure can we drive the economy.

With the continuous development of the economy, projects that originally seemed to require huge investment can later bring benefits that far exceed the investment.

Especially now that Da Qin's population is skyrocketing.

The growth of population and the increase of wealth are all inseparable from transportation.

In the absence of railways, all Ying Yu could think of was making full use of water resources.

Three vertical and three horizontal, Ying Yu is not just talking about it casually, but a goal that he really wants to achieve.

And Ying Yu's ultimate goal is to connect the North and South Grand Canal and run it through the entire Qin Dynasty.

As for the investment, it seems to Meng Yi and others that it is indeed a lot, but for Ying Yu, the problem of money is the easiest to deal with.

The Royal Trading Company controlled by Shen Wansan alone could easily spend tens of millions, which was enough for Da Qin to build several canals at the same time.

And with the rapid development of business, Da Qin will only make more and more money.

To Ying Yu, money is really just a number.

After all, the entire Great Qin belongs to him.

"His Royal Highness is far-sighted and I admire you."

"It's just that the construction of several grand canals is starting at the same time, which puts great financial pressure, and the Ministry of Industry and the Academy of Engineering are also short of manpower."

After pondering for a long time, Meng Yi said with a sad look on his face.

"Compared with the benefits brought by the completion of the Grand Canal, the current difficulties are simply not worth mentioning."

"What's more, balancing the economic development of the north and the south is also the next national policy of our country."

Seeing that Meng Yi and Xiao He still looked sad, Ying Yu said calmly:

"For the construction of the Grand Canal, the Royal Chamber of Commerce will first provide 10 million yuan as the starting capital, and you can figure out the rest."

"Investing in the Grand Canal is a sure-fire business. If you have spare money, you can consider it or ask your relatives and friends to participate."

Ying Yu smiled and gave everyone a heads up.

"Your Highness, how will this investment be implemented specifically?"

Xiao He asked.

After following Ying Yu for such a long time, Xiao He naturally understood the prince's character.

What this man must have decided must be beyond doubt.

Instead of worrying about whether it is appropriate to start construction of several grand canals at the same time, it is better to think about how to get businessmen and people to invest in it.

And in Xiao He's opinion, what Ying Yu said is indeed reasonable.

Not to mention anything else, just to balance the north-south economy, the Grand Canal must be built.

Unbalanced development means that there will be a gap between rich and poor.

Once the gap between the rich and the poor becomes too wide, it will be a huge hidden danger for Da Qin.

It is easy to form a monopoly class, where wealthy businessmen have too much say.

Although the merchants of Great Qin are very obedient now, this is because of the First Emperor Ying Zheng and Ying Yu.

Who can guarantee that they will not change in ten or a hundred years?

If in the future Great Qin has a weak heir who cannot suppress these merchants, it will be great fun.

The dangers of businessmen are no less than those of wealthy families.

In other words, those giant businessmen are actually aristocratic families in a new sense.

The best way to solve this problem is to balance the economy so that all parts of the Qin Dynasty can develop and the people have enough say.

Only with the support of the people can Da Qin go further.

The stronger Da Qin is, the better off the people will be, which in turn will support Da Qin even more.

The relationship between the two is complementary and indispensable.
Chapter completed!