Chapter 3409
Time Limit
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In a country where people believe in gods, even to the point of a morbid degree, the effects of relying on divine pronouncements are extremely noticeable.
Lu Qi orchestrated the entire operation, deciding the overall direction of the actions and the specific personnel to be deployed; that much was sufficient.
As for the specific water conservancy construction and renovation work, there were corresponding family members to provide guidance and assistance.
Especially in the field of water conservancy construction, the Yizhou family's capabilities and expertise are outstanding.
Especially with the Li family involved, their technical capabilities are quite reliable.
For these established families, water conservancy construction is an essential task if they want to continue to cultivate their territory in the Wenga region.
Even if the initial investment is large, it's no big deal for these aristocratic families; they'll still do it anyway.
In a sense, undertaking such water conservancy projects and constructions is a good thing that benefits future generations.
Just like the Li family of Yizhou, who have been living happily for many years thanks to their contribution in directing the design and construction of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.
It can be said that as long as they don't make any major mistakes, the Li family of Yizhou can really live off the Dujiangyan Irrigation System and survive along with it.
These are real, tangible achievements; which aristocratic family wouldn't want them if they were mentioned?
As for the hardships and fatigue during the cultivation process, that's nothing.
It's just about expending physical energy and using up brain cells to think and design; it's not like you're eating grass. How difficult can that be?
However, if one could achieve the same level of consuming grass as the Li family of Yizhou, there would certainly be quite a few noble families willing to do so.
For established families that still hold an open mind, hardship and difficulties are nothing; the real problem is the lack of direction and goals.
Now that the direction and goals are set, all you need to do is put in the effort and you'll reap the rewards. Who would refuse that?
Especially the labor force provided after the divine decree was issued, which was truly free labor.
The aristocratic families, who hadn't enjoyed such treatment in a long time, were initially very wary when they accepted these laborers, both in their words and actions, and were highly suspicious that this was a sting operation.
Within the present-day Han Empire, hiring laborers is legal, but hiring must be accompanied by corresponding wages, and failure to pay on time will have significant consequences.
Of course, the financial cost is nothing to aristocratic families. What matters most is the impact on their reputation, and the cost of this impact is something most aristocratic families cannot accept.
In this day and age, any family with dreams and ambitions naturally wants to make the family stronger, so expanding their territory has become a medium-risk, high-return option.
A family that is neither short of manpower nor capital will naturally not let go of this opportunity, nor will it jeopardize the family's future for some petty gains.
Therefore, after a series of hesitations and repeated inquiries and confirmations, the noble families began to take over the labor force of the Brahmin people on a large scale and use this labor force.
As ordinary people in the Brahmin class, they were divided into different jobs, and naturally belonged to different classes depending on the nature of their work.
The Brahmanical system, which assigned jobs based solely on social class and social status rather than talent or ability, also produced a large number of qualified artisans and laborers.
The participation of these individuals also largely filled the gap in the number of artisans within the aristocratic families. In the past, for the aristocratic families of the Han Empire, there was no such thing as a shortage of artisans and labor.
There was never a shortage of people, only exclusion due to a large number of people. Although the main reason for this was that the demand was not that great, it also shows that the aristocratic families were indeed prepared in terms of manpower reserves.
However, once they left the Han Empire and came to the outside world, even the well-prepared aristocratic families realized the corresponding manpower shortage.
In addition to the population shortage in the Han Empire itself, there was also a lack of a large number of artisans and laborers.
The former is the solid foundation of a place, while the latter is the key to development and the basis for construction.
After leaving the Han Empire, many people realized that the water conservancy and road construction within the Han Empire were not the norm throughout the world.
On the contrary, the norm outside the Han Empire was the absence of road construction, water conservancy projects, and even intensive farming.
Faced with this situation, the established families who went out to work basically cursed the barbarians while recruiting large numbers of craftsmen and laborers to develop the newly reclaimed lands and enable them to have continuous production capacity.
The demand for this segment is enormous, and far-sighted aristocratic families have already taken action.
Compared to the aristocratic families in the Central Plains who were more aware of the situation earlier, the aristocratic families in Yizhou were indeed less capable. By the time they realized this and began to recruit artisans and laborers on a large scale, there were already not many artisans and idle people left.
In this situation, the aristocratic families naturally made different choices. On the one hand, they increased the corresponding labor remuneration to further attract the craftsmen who had not yet made a choice. On the other hand, they strengthened the training of their internal staff and directly cultivated the corresponding craftsmen.
It was under this demand pattern that not only did the income and compensation of artisans within the Han Empire increase significantly, but even the regular working population had a large number of employment opportunities and jobs.
With powerful families willing to sacrifice short-term gains, or even cut their own flesh, for long-term interests, the national output of the Han Empire changed every year.
This transformation led to a greater number of artisans, more specialized tools, and more sophisticated designs emerging in the Han Empire at this time.
The larger output of goods further depressed prices, while the market demand for labor led to an increase in wages.
As a result, despite the large-scale expansion of territory and the conquest of new lands, the people within the Han Empire actually lived better than before.
However, such growth and environmental changes are ultimately limited by the times.
According to Lu Qi's estimate, this special growth model can only be sustained for about one generation, or about 20 to 30 years.
Beyond this point, the new generation may not be able to understand the unique aspects of this situation, nor will they be as genuinely diligent and hardworking as ordinary people are today.
Even if they continue to work hard, their inner attitude and mental state will inevitably undergo some changes.
Therefore, for Lu Qi, territorial expansion is time-limited… (End of Chapter)