The real difficulty lies in what fuel should be used to propel the internal combustion engine.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, engineers have tried to create internal combustion engines powered by gunpowder, steam, gas, and even air, but they all failed because they could not last long.

This situation did not continue until Karl Benz and Daimler invented the gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine, which marked the true emergence of the internal combustion engine in the world.

So many times a machine is difficult to manufacture not because it is complex.

The difficulty lies in materials and power.

Just like the wooden kite in the Mohist mechanical techniques recorded in ancient Chinese books such as "Mozi" and "Han Feizi", the conception is also extremely exquisite.

Both Mozi and Lu Ban did it, making wood fly, even for three days and three nights.

But what's the use?

No matter how ingenious the design is, it will ultimately be just a decoration without a power source.

Therefore, the statement that the essence of human development is to boil water is actually correct.

Steam was first used as a power source to boil water, then gas, coal, and then oil.

It can be said that apart from electricity, the rest of the power is mainly based on combustion.

So now that the Song Dynasty has solved the power problem of the internal combustion engine, other problems can basically be solved as well.

The excitement of the internal combustion engine in the room only lasted for a short while.

Zhao Zhen felt quite regretful when he learned that he would not be able to see the car in the short term, and then he started talking about other government affairs.

Judging from the fiscal revenue, various data, educational development, and improved agricultural productivity in the first half of this year, machinery factories and construction companies have sprung up everywhere, and both state-owned and private enterprises have also gradually risen.

Especially private enterprises.

The official seal companies had a foundation in officialdom, and with the guidance of the imperial court, they were able to quickly take root and expand their business scope to all parts of the country.

Like all the large steel mills currently in operation, almost all of them are state-owned, especially the Wuan Iron and Steel Plant, and then the Tangshan Iron and Steel Plant that Zhao Jun had previously designated in Tangshan, two state-owned steel mills directly under the central government.

There are also salt companies, grain and oil companies, shipping companies, construction companies, etc., which almost monopolize most of the basic manufacturing industries developed in the country.

Private enterprises have gradually developed in recent years.

The source was Zhao Jun’s policies at the time, which forced a large number of landlords to sell their land to the government.

In ancient times, fields were registered, and apart from the fields, all other land belonged to the imperial court. If it wanted to be reclaimed, it had to be approved by the imperial court.

Although the imperial court generally allowed it and even encouraged the people to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land, it also provided many tax exemptions.

But by the Song Dynasty, most of the fertile land was owned by others, and even if the people wanted to reclaim wasteland, they could only cultivate some inferior land with very poor quality.

Therefore, after the landless landlord class was forced by the court to hand over their land, it was difficult for them to reclaim new land or buy land from farmers, so they could only use the money in their hands for other purposes.

At this time, as the Industrial Revolution unfolded, steam engines gradually became popular, and opening factories and investing in manufacturing became a trend.

At one time, a large number of brick factories, cement factories, and even small steel processing plants emerged.

Landlords who entered the manufacturing industry bought steel from various steel mills and purchased steam engines, processing the steel in factories to make farm tools, kitchen utensils, and other parts.

Various daily necessities such as iron pots, iron bowls, and iron basins began to appear widely among the people.

Although cooking in iron pans has been around since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and gradually became commonplace during the Tang and Song Dynasties, as seen in "Dongjing Menghualu", it was not truly popularized in every household.

It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties, when productivity reached the peak of the feudal dynasty, that iron pots truly became popular as household kitchen utensils.

So the current situation is that this kind of utensils have become widely popular. From then on, the people of the Song Dynasty no longer cooked mainly by boiling, frying, steaming and baking as before, but now stir-frying has been added.

In the future, when there is enough edible oil, fried foods may appear.

According to statistics, the people of the Song Dynasty had a relatively abundant supply of edible oils, including lard, soybean oil, sesame oil, and peanut oil.

Especially with the popularization of steam engines, the output of squeezed soybean oil, sesame oil and peanut oil increased significantly.

Therefore, the court's development focus in recent years has been on agriculture, increasing the production of soybeans, sesame seeds and peanuts so that the people can afford to eat and use oil.

Unlike before, when the face often looked pale due to lack of oil or water.

"Um."

After listening to the statistical data report for the first half of this year, Zhao Zhen was very satisfied and said, "Now our Great Song is thriving. Every citizen can afford to eat and wear warm clothes. This is truly a prosperous country."

Yan Shu sighed, "Yes, not long ago, the people suffered from poverty and hardship, and these things are still vivid in my mind. Who would have thought that in just over a decade, such earth-shaking changes would take place."

"That's why I've long said that increasing productivity is the foundation of a country's prosperity. You've also said before that since sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts, and the like can't be used as staple foods, why go to such great expense to bring them back from America."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Now you know, sweet potatoes, sweet potato vines, and corn can all be used as pig feed. Peanuts can be used to extract oil. They're all good things. They indirectly help increase pork and cooking oil production. Isn't that equivalent to a major increase in grain production?"

"Hmm."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Then what should we do next, Great Sun? You've said before that this level of productivity can only satisfy a population of 400 to 500 million at best. As the population increases, we'll need to improve crops again. Currently, the population of the Great Song Dynasty has reached 150 million per year."

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