Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1239 Private railway?

"Our Wuhu is located on the banks of the Yangtze River, and it is only more than 200 miles away from Nanjing City, which is only half of the distance from Nanjing City to Suzhou City. If we can have a railway to reach Nanjing City via Dangtu, the fastest time between Wuhu and Nanjing City Two hours, you can go back and forth in one day, faster than the dawn and the evening.”

"I predict that the next section of the government's railway is likely to be from Suzhou to Hangzhou. I don't know when it will be our turn in Wuhu. I wonder if we in Wuhu can raise funds to build the railway and connect it to Nanjing City in advance? If it connects to Nanjing City With the railway network, our Wuhu may be much more prosperous than it is now."

"So I want to propose to the government to build a railway from Wuhu to Nanjing, so that the railway and the golden waterway will complement each other and promote the development of our Wuhu."

After Wang Changyuan returned to Wuhu, he called together a group of Wuhu businessmen, talked to them about the convenience of trains, and proposed the idea of ​​organizing the construction of a railway from Wuhu to Nanjing.

When other Wuhu businessmen heard that Wang Changyuan wanted to privately take over the railway construction project from Wuhu to Nanjing City, they couldn't help being slightly surprised.

"Treasurer Wang, you have to know that building a railway is a big project. First, it requires a lot of money. Second, none of us folks know how to build railways and trains." Many Wuhu businessmen said.

"As long as we have money, the government may be able to provide us with technology and talents. It's just that I can't afford such expenses alone. Why don't we work together to contract the railway project from Wuhu to Nanjing City and win glory for Wuhu. You know Zhenjiang, Wuxi and other places may benefit from the passage of the Ningsu Railway, while our Wuhu has been left out in the cold.” Wang Changyuan said.

Merchants in Wuhu realized that the appearance of the railway might change the previous business pattern. Many cities developed because they were located in the water and land docks of the world, such as Tianjin Wei and Yangzhou.If the connection between Nanjing City and Suzhou City is closer, the economic center of gravity will be more inclined to the area east of Nanjing City.

Wuhu is located to the west of Nanjing City, and it may decline because of this.Wuhu, which is also under the jurisdiction of the Jianghuai Province, regards the completion of the Ningsu Railway as a crisis of its own.

Why did the Yamen of the Jianghuai Province want to build a railway to the east?Apparently, the provincial yamen believed that connecting the city of Nanjing, where the provincial yamen was located, with the city of Suzhou, the economic center, would speed up the development of the Jianghuai province.

There is a lot of competition within the 21 provinces of One Capital, especially the addition of the Dongying Province puts great pressure on other provinces. After all, Dongying used to be a vassal state with a population of tens of millions.As a large coastal province in the south, Jianghuai Province, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, and Guangdong Province all made efforts in the age of great navigation, competing with each other for the title of the first province of the empire.

The Jianghuai province was the first to build the first railway in the south, so it naturally poured resources into the most prosperous areas.

"As long as we pay, is the government really willing to provide us with talents and the talents needed to build the railway? And how much money is needed to build the railway? How will it operate after it is completed?"

"I saw that when they built the railway, they would erect wooden poles on both sides of the railway. It seems that they are installing some kind of line, which may be the supporting facilities required by the railway."

"And the construction of the railway is so expensive, how can we make a profit from it? It is good to shine on the hometown, but it is easy to spend several 10 taels to millions of taels of silver. It is better to open a few more workshops in Wuhu and sell more goods."

Businessmen gathered in Chizhushan, Wuhu, complained about the difficulties in building and operating the railway.

For private businessmen, railways and steam locomotives were still unknown at this time, and they could not estimate the cost of building and operating railways.The complex structure of steam locomotives is no different from ordinary people, making steam locomotives priceless.

"Ji Yuyong, a salt merchant in Taixing County, Yangzhou Prefecture, led people in the capital to directly ask the military leader to contract the official road from the capital to Tianjinwei. The military leader easily agreed, and the government even provided free assistance for the technology and talents to build hard roads. Now the new The official road is half built. Their profit model is to get the right to set up tolls on the official road to recover the cost of building the road. I think we can imitate this model, whoever wants to transport through the railway we built and All the goods need to be paid to us." Wang Changyuan said.

Many Wuhu businessmen are pondering the gains and losses.The railway investment is huge, but if it can really recover the cost and make a profit, it is also a safe investment plan.

"If you think about it again, building a railway to connect Nanjing City is equivalent to shortening the distance between us and the provincial capital. We will be the first to know the news if there is any disturbance, which is a step ahead compared to Suzhou City."

"Also, if we build a railway from Nanjing City to Wuhu, we can build another railway to Hangzhou City, a railway to Luzhou Prefecture, a railway to Jiujiang Prefecture, and a railway to Jingdezhen. Our Wuhu is a land hub, even if it is not as good as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing, it is still the number one county in the empire, this is a century-old plan." Wang Changyuan said his plan.

Maybe even he didn't realize how important a railway hub is, and often railways can change the fate of a region, as the saying goes, "To get rich, build roads first."

"As businessmen, we still have to weigh the pros and cons. With such a huge investment, even if the railway is built, it will not be able to recover the cost within ten or eight years. I think we should elect a representative and ask the government whether it is possible to contract the construction of the railway. What is the cost of railroad tracks and steam locomotives, and then find a profitable strategy?" A businessman suggested.

"I have always dealt with the government. I can go to the government office of Taiping Mansion to report this matter, and ask the magistrate and us to jointly inquire about the contracting of the railway to the provincial government office. The magistrate will also hope that the government will make achievements, and he will definitely do our best to us. Help each other. If we estimate that we can make a good profit, there will be a lot to do." Wang Changyuan volunteered, intending to use the magistrate of Taiping Prefecture as a stepping stone, and then try to get in touch with the officials of the provincial government.

"That's very good." The merchants replied.

"However, in order to let the magistrate understand that I am not playing tricks on him, please sign your name for those who are interested in Wuhu's future prosperity in the next century, so as to prove that we are serious about our actions." Wang Changyuan unfolded a booklet and asked the apprentices to prepare their pens for grinding.

The Wuhu businessmen present looked at each other in blank dismay. Wang Changyuan brought up the name of revitalizing his hometown of Wuhu County. Almost all of them were from Wuhu. If they didn’t sign their names on this booklet, they would lose face in front of fellow villagers.

People live in this world for fame and fortune.

Almost all of the more than 40 Wuhu businessmen present signed the paperwork requesting the construction of the Nanjing-Wuhu railway.

(End of this chapter)