If you want to be rich, build roads first!

The first thing Li Mu settled down was to build roads and build roads. As a time traveler with modern ideas, Li Mu advocated the construction of roads, so naturally he could no longer use the standards of the Qin Dynasty. Qin Chi Dao was a flat place with a road of fifty steps wide. Li Mu tried it himself. With his pace, the width of fifty steps was about 65 meters. How much does it cost to build such a wide road? The total budget was only 400,000 jin, and it was impossible to repair it at all.

And there is no need. The wider the road, the longer the construction time is, and it will be too late to waste money. This road is of great use. It must be built quickly and put into use.

In order to promote rail transit more conveniently, Li Mu decided to set the next standard, similar to the "cars and rails" in the Qin Shihuang period. This standard he designed would be a sample of all rail transits in the Tang Dynasty in later generations. In later generations, the width of the rail transit was 143.5 cm. It is said that this width was determined by carriages. During the Industrial Revolution, the British rail transit was the most developed. They built rails for transporting coal mines. However, the steam engine was not invented at that time, so they used carriages to transport coal. Therefore, the width of the carriages determined the width of the rails. Later, the steam engine was invented, but because the modification of the already laid rails was too expensive to afford, the rails were designed according to the width of the carriage.

Although the standards of rules were spread by the British, this distance was not designed by the British. As early as the ancient Roman period more than two thousand years ago, the Romans paved many roads for the army in Europe, and the trajectory size was 143.5 Li Mi. This size is the width of the Roman chariot, and the average number is determined based on the distance between the butts of the two war horses. Li Mu found two horses and tried it, and it was almost the same.

But in the Tang Dynasty today, all the standards have not been determined. There is no need to be with the standards of the British and Romans. One hundred and forty-three-five is difficult to understand for the weights and measures implemented by the Tang Dynasty today. Li Mu carefully considered it and decided to set the gauge with four feet and five inches.

Three feet one meter, four feet five inches are exactly one meter five. This width is a little wider than the standards of the Romans and British people, and the load capacity can also be improved. For horses, the fault tolerance is also higher, and they will not be unable to get in just because the horse is a little fat. Moreover, even two slightly thinner horses can be adjusted to make it suitable by adjusting the reins, so there is no need to worry about not being able to use it.

Li Tai set out from Chang'an two days later than Li Mu, and today he also arrived in Luoyang. He had all the information about Chidao that Li Mu asked him to collect, as well as the construction methods recorded. Li Mu asked him to sort out the information, and then gathered Gongsun Kang and the craftsmen to study and determine the construction plan. Outside the Xicheng Gate of Luoyang City, several huge tents were built and a temporary "command center" was established. The personnel were in constant contact, which was really a scene of a major work.

I hired six chefs to cook all day long. This is because the construction is done for three shifts day and night. Every shift has to eat, so the meal becomes a "buffet". I eat as much as I come and go to bed after I finish eating. When I wake up, I go to work.

Of course, not everyone can eat it. People who work have a wooden sign to prove their identity. The wooden sign has a number on it, and the number corresponds to the name of the person. When starting a wage, you don’t look at the person, but look at the work number on the work card, and get the money with the card. Therefore, this card becomes the life of the work person, but you must not lose it.

In order to avoid heat stroke, at noon every day, Li Mu also prepared to learn about the sour plum soup and mung bean soup. Four doctors were at any time to serve them and had all the logistics support.

In this era, nine out of ten percent of the work for the court was corvee. Even if it was not the court's corvee, the officials had to do the untouchables. It would be good to be able to eat food and eat with food. Like Li Mu, he settled his wages every day, had two full meals to serve, and had mung bean soup and sour plum soup, and had to be treated even if he got sick. These workers had never encountered this in half their lives. Some of them had participated in the construction of Luoyang City more than ten years ago. At that time, corvee was levied and worked slowly, and they had to be whipped by knights who supervised the work. By contrast, Li Mu was wearing short-dressing every day and wandering around the construction site, smiling, and was like a saint.

Li Mu's people's expectations soared. These people who are willing to work hard are all from poor families. Before Li Mu started a high-level work, they were in the market and it was difficult for them to make a living. Now that they have this job, they work for four hours a day, and they also have an investment of 80 yuan. They also bring out their own two meals. The young and old at home can support them and have some savings. They are grateful to Li Mu.

However, Li Mu's move caused dissatisfaction among merchants. As the owner, merchants would definitely be able to spend less money and not willing to spend more money. In the past, they hired people to move goods, and when they were in a good mood, they could give 50 to 70 cents of rice regardless of food, but when they were in a bad mood, they gave a few steamed buns. Most of the time, they would give rice. Two liters of rice to work for a day was considered a conscience price. The rice price in Luoyang was three cents per dou. In other words, the wages of a strong man for a day were less than sixty cents.

The wages are so low that they don’t even have food. People who work are eating too much, and it’s good to eat a liter of rice. After a day, they will earn more food for one person. If they have a wife and children at home, they will have to drink porridge to eat enough.

The eighty-month given by Li Mu is enough for the mother and mother to have enough food and still have extra money. The people who work are not stupid, so they naturally go to Li Mu to work, and no one works for them.

Businesses must be done. If the price is lower, the wages will be increased. But even if the price is mentioned as Li Mu, these laborers are unwilling to work for them. It is not that they cannot afford to pay, but that these merchants refuse to hire long-term workers to save money, and they are all short-term workers, while Li Mu works for several months. If they lose their position there for the sake of short-term workers in the past few days, it will be more than worth the money.

The merchants were so angry that they had to raise the price to a hundred cents a day, so that they could barely hire people. At this moment, a businessman who returned from Chang'an brought news that when Li Mu was in Chang'an, the wages he gave were the lowest of 100 cents, and occasionally 130 cents or even 300 cents a day. The merchants were as if they had treasures, so they quickly spread the news, trying to arouse public anger and let the workers go on strike. They also asked Li Mu to add more money to bleed. He was unhappy and could not let him be free.

The abacus was well planned, but it was useless. After receiving the news, Li Mu set up a notice on the construction site the next day, explaining in detail how the wages were set. It was concise and there was no nonsense. There were three reasons why the wages were set at 80 pm. One was that the road construction budget was limited, and the budget would be overspent if it was higher than 80 pm. Second, the eighty pm was already more than the general wages in Luoyang City, and the price was not low. Third, why it was twenty pm lower than Chang'an City, the reason was that the prices of the two places were 20 pm. The grain price in Chang'an City was expensive, and it was too low to support the family. Luoyang City was well connected and the grain price was stable. There was still a leftover of eighty pm besides eating. In this regard, the two places were actually the same. As for those who earned 130 pm and 300 pm, it was because they had skills, not laborers but technicians. The wages were worth a lot and there was no comparison.

The notice clearly stated that wages will not increase any further, and this is the standard. If someone thinks it is not cost-effective, he can settle the wages and leave. It is natural to go wherever he gives more money, and he doesn't have to worry about being embarrassed about face-to-face.

Li Mu's explanation is not perfect. In the end, it is twenty cents less than that in Chang'an. But Li Mu was frank and had no intention of coercion. Instead, he pushed the ball to the workers. Should he leave? Should he stay? After leaving, he would have lost his work of bringing two meals for 80 cents a day, and there was nothing left. Those merchants could not have work every day, and they were still short-term workers. And the Marquis said it clearly that this work was not for him to do himself, but for the court. The work of the court was corvee service. Corvee service was not money. The Marquis did not treat it as corvee service, but instead hired workers. He had done his best. If he asked too much, he would just give him a face and not ask for it.

If the marquis is really forced to force the marquis, wouldn’t it be necessary to collect labor service if one order is taken?

Thinking of this, I felt no resentment. Only a few left, Li Mu did not stop him, settled the wages and paid. Those who stayed were still working, and the project progress was not delayed at all.

...

As soon as he arrived in Luoyang, there were a lot of things waiting for Li Mu to preside over the meeting. He could not always stay on the construction site of Chidao. After watching for a few days, he passed the battle and handed over the matter to Gongsun Kang. This was his job.

Ma Zhou arrived on the third day after Li Mu sent the message eight hundred miles away. Calculated the time, he almost received the order and immediately packed his bags and set off. Li Mu thought he would be a little angry. After all, he is now a little popular man in front of Li Shimin. When he walks in front of the emperor, he often sees the emperor. One day he can't say it right. Long Yan was very happy and entered the three provinces, and his success is just around the corner.

But after meeting, he saw Ma Zhou's attitude, and there was no resentment at all. He also did everything Li Mu told him very seriously, which made Li Mu very happy and would take him with him occasionally when he went out.

But the two of them are not very compatible. So Li Mu rarely talks about private matters except for official business.

Wei Yingluo came a little later. She was a female official in the palace, and her affairs were complicated, and she was quite loved by Empress Changsun. If Li Shimin had not insisted on letting her go to Li Mu, Empress Changsun might not have been able to bear such a capable person.

I don’t know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but Wei Yingluo came with Li Tai. Although the two did not take the same car, they did travel along the way. When they set off, Empress Changsun specifically asked Li Tai to take care of Wei Yingluo. The intention was already very obvious, which is not surprising. Wei Yingluo is not the daughter of ordinary people. She is Wei Zheng’s daughter, and she is also a match for Li Tai. Li Tai has not yet married. If Wei Yingluo married, with Wei Zheng’s current status in the court, it would not be considered as a humiliation at all.

The problem is, Li Tai dare not.

He is Li Mu's disciple. Li Tai doesn't know what happened to Wei Yingluo and Li Mu. For Wei Yingluo, Li Mu vomited blood and verbal battles on the hall. Although he hasn't seen what the two of them have, what if? I can't one day become a master's wife, will he dare to think about that?

Therefore, along the way, Li Tai was very respectful and did not dare to make any moves. When he arrived in Luoyang City, he was sent to Li Mu's mansion overnight, and ran away as if he had thrown away a hot potato.

Li Mu knew that Wei Yingluo had thoughts about him. But he now had too many emotional debts. There were only five people who were actually husband and wife. There were one here and one there, and the whole family couldn't get it all together. He really didn't have the energy to talk about these things anymore, so he kept pretending to be stupid and pretending that he didn't understand or talk about that topic. Wei Yingluo wanted to express his feelings several times, but with Jin Chen and Zhang Tianai there, she didn't dare to say it. She had to put her mind in her heart and do things silently, hoping that Li Mu would express something on one day, or wait for an opportunity to break the window paper.

Tang Guan is in Shuzhou, and the journey is long and difficult to walk. It will be half a month later, and Wang Pu has no hope. It will take a month to send the message to you 800 miles in a hurry. When he settles down, it will be two months later. The things in front of him will have to be done by Li Mu.

Dugu Jiu chose a place in Xicheng without much effort. As Li Mu expected, there was indeed a pair of invisible hands in Luoyang City. Judging from the progress of the matter, the owner of these hands obviously did not expect to start a war immediately, so he did not make things difficult for himself in the details. After buying the house, Dugu Jiu immediately took all the secret guards over, and he didn't know where he found the craftsman, and he sealed the door and started the transformation. Li Mu went to see it and did not express any opinions. Dugu Jiu always made him very worried. He was the only heir of the Dugu family, and Dugu family was also the top three boss among the nobles of Longyou. Although it was not enough to be included in the seven sects of the five surnames, it should not be underestimated. Therefore, when Dugu Jiu was doing things, as long as he wanted, he wanted people and money, and he didn't need anything.

Who doesn’t like such a guy? If it weren’t for being embarrassed, Li Mu would have wanted to borrow some money from Dugu Jiu.

He is really poor now.

The Bashang winery was broken into pieces, and all the "production lines" were transported to Luoyang. We have to find a suitable place to rebuild it, right? The place is built with particular attention. There must be water and good water, otherwise how can we make good wine? Li Mu chose several places around the Luo River, but none of them were suitable. He was not easy to grab, but the money on hand was not enough. In the end, he had no choice but to choose a place next to the "Wild King's Pool" given to Li Tai by Li Shimin, and rebuilt the winery.
Chapter completed!