For Lin Tian's idea, the others were unaware.
However, many people were paying attention to Lin Tian's pig-raising endeavor.
After tasting the pork, the ministers understood its deliciousness.
Therefore, they wanted to know how Lin Tian planned to promote pork.
Currently, Lin Tian's priority was breeding.
Thus, he had people collect wild boars and domestic pigs once again.
This collection naturally made the common people even more expectant.
"It's edible, pork is really edible!!"
"I never thought His Highness would actually know how to raise pigs, this is truly astonishing!!"
"Indeed, with these farmed pigs, perhaps the people of our Qin kingdom might truly be able to have a bite of meat!!"
Although the common people had not tasted pork, they were already curious about it.
Especially after knowing that pork was edible, some people even wished to raise pigs themselves.
Of course, they also knew that with their capabilities, it would be difficult to raise pigs successfully.
Therefore, most of them sent their pigs to Lin Tian, hoping that when the time was right, Lin Tian would teach them the methods of raising pigs.
However, just as they were about to submit their pigs, Lin Tian had already publicized the pig-raising methods.
This was something no one had expected.
"His Highness just released the pig-raising methods??"
"It seems so, His Highness has truly released them!!"
"Merciful! This is His Highness's benevolence! This is His Highness's concern for us common people!!"
When pig-raising was publicized, the direct beneficiaries were naturally the common people.
For the nobles, it made no difference whether they ate pork or not.
They had lamb, beef, duck, and other meats.
As long as they had sufficient wealth, their meat supply was never lacking.
But for the common people, it was entirely different.
Ordinary people could not afford to raise cattle or sheep. The cost of a single ox or sheep was high, not to mention the vast amount of time required to raise them to maturity.
Because of this, ordinary people simply could not afford to raise cattle or sheep.
But pigs were different.
Pigs at this time were not high-cost animals; many were unwanted pigs.
They were even considered a menace because they destroyed crops.
People wished to get rid of such creatures as quickly as possible.
Now, to raise these creatures, they only needed to capture them.
For many common people, this was essentially a cost-free endeavor.
Although not all common people could raise pigs, some could.
Apart from a small number of pigs kept for breeding, all other pigs were to be culled and prepared for meat.
Lin Tian also had similar preparations.
However, he only kept a few dozen pigs for meat, and all the others were used for breeding.
In Lin Tian's estimation, it would take about another year for the number of pigs under his care to be sufficient.
At that time, he would not only be able to distribute piglets to the military camps but also to the common people.
This implied that within a year, the people of Great Qin would be able to eat meat.
Such a year would undoubtedly bring about a tremendous transformation for Great Qin.
However, at this time, another event also occurred in Great Qin.
The steam engine that Lin Tian had envisioned was developed.
The principle of the steam engine was not difficult. Although the artisans of Great Qin had not previously researched such machinery,
once Lin Tian explained the general principle, the artisans of Great Qin understood.
Consequently, they spent a considerable amount of time researching and manufacturing it.
After nearly half a year, they finally developed the steam engine.
Although it was a rudimentary steam engine, it was already capable of driving machinery. With further improvements, it could be made to run.
This news directly electrified Lin Tian.
"Excellent, this is too excellent! With such a steam engine, our Great Qin can reach anywhere in the world rapidly!!"
"Whether it's on trains or ships, travel will be swift!!"
"However, before that, we still need to lay down railway tracks and research whether they can truly be used for passage!!"
To realize the value of the steam engine, laying down railway tracks was crucial.
After all, only when the tracks were laid would the resistance for the vehicles be small, and they could travel faster.
The ministers of Great Qin were unaware of this.
When they heard that Lin Tian needed to expend significant manpower and resources to lay down railway tracks, they were very puzzled.
"Doesn't Great Qin already have our roads? Why do we need to lay down railway tracks??"
"Yes! I also don't understand. Those railway tracks must consume a lot of materials. Such massive consumption would be a burden for our Great Qin!!"
"Indeed. Although the railway tracks are only iron, not copper, and not extremely valuable, refining iron, forging iron, and laying down tracks all require significant manpower and resources. Is this not somewhat unwise??"
Many ministers did not understand the matter of laying down railway tracks.
On one hand, they felt it was unnecessary, as Great Qin already had its own roads, and creating a completely new one would incur immense costs.
On the other hand, it was due to the consumption of resources.
Although Great Qin had unified the world and all its resources belonged to Great Qin,
refining those resources required a large amount of manpower and materials.
With insufficient manpower and materials, it would be difficult to achieve this.
While Great Qin had enough manpower and resources, who would be willing to expend so much effort on a thankless task?
Countless people opposed this.
If it were not for Lin Tian being the one undertaking this endeavor, they might have collectively attacked him.
Because Lin Tian was the one doing this, their attitude became much more docile.
Their words to Lin Tian turned into advice.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, is this matter truly necessary? Those railway tracks are roads of metal. Think of how much wealth it would cost to build such roads!!"
"Yes! Your Highness the Crown Prince! Great Qin already has its own roads, why do we need to build a railway? Are Great Qin's roads not sufficient??"
"Your Highness, are those railways truly so convenient? Do we really need to spend a vast amount of wealth to build them??"
These ministers were unaware of the convenience of trains.
The only thing they knew was that making railways consumed a lot of wealth.
And that wealth, naturally, was finite.
Therefore, in their minds, they still hoped that Lin Tian would not build such railways.
...