Lu Ming

Chapter 607 Crowley's Fantasy Journey ([-])

Roads are the foundation of a regime.

Just like human blood vessels, the more developed the road, the smoother the blood flow, and the full mobilization and utilization of various nutrients will naturally strengthen the body.The reason why industrial countries have social resource mobilization capabilities that far exceed those of agricultural countries is that the upper limit is determined by the construction of basic transportation.

From the old city of Guangzhou to Macau, the straight line is 110 kilometers.This distance is not too long for a country with a territory of thousands of miles.But if the foundation of this 110-kilometer road section was dug and paved with gravel asphalt in the seventeenth century, the road would be too long.

In ancient times, the county magistrate wanted to make political achievements, even if he only planned to build a dirt road several miles long, he had to put down his dignity and go to a wealthy family to beg for alms.

The future is not easy either.The cost per kilometer of a standard plain expressway is 3000 million.When building bridges and drilling tunnels in mountainous water towns, the cost will still be rolled upwards.

In fact, even in the future of economic globalization, there are still many countries that cannot afford to build a highway.Only 200 of the nearly 80 countries in the world have highways.Among the 80 countries, the top two accounted for most of the road mileage.

Yes, the combined mileage of all the countries behind is not as much as that of China and the United States combined.

Such a huge investment in highways means that the new generation of citizens after the country is prosperous and powerful will be used to it, thinking that this thing is probably the same as the vegetable market at the door, maybe it is the county magistrate or the government?If you want to fix something, you can fix it. Gou Ri must have approved two bids for my brother-in-law.

However, what most citizens don’t know and don’t care about is that in many impoverished third world countries, a 110-kilometer expressway cannot be built with all the efforts of the country. This is really expensive, and it really doesn’t exist.

Such an expensive road, in the new world, naturally, Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in history, could not repair it.However, Lu Xun said that there is no road at first, but when more travelers come, there will be a road.

The Guang-Ao Expressway, which started to break ground today, is only a two-way, two-lane county-level asphalt and gravel road, but it was a proper high-speed standard in the [-]th century.

The benefits of building roads to the country and the political power will be known to future generations.In this era, the so-called "official roads" that connect the country's urban and rural areas are actually just concave dirt roads that sink below the water level, and the road surface is full of deep ruts and mud.Only in the city can you see some sidewalks paved with stone slabs.

So once the road is completed, then in the Pearl River Delta region with the wealthiest population and the largest population in the late Ming Dynasty, the "benevolent act" of crossing the forces is tantamount to making an indelible advertisement for oneself.Whether it is the poor who have never seen the world, or the landlord class who is often forced by the government to spend money to build roads and bridges, there will be a huge psychological shock in the future.

Coupled with the road's ability to promote the regional economy, the ability to gather resources, and the ability to mobilize military forces. The benefits of all aspects will increase the power of the crossing regime to control the basic market to a large level.

But still the same sentence: the fruit is delicious and the tree is hard to plant.

To be honest, the time-traveling regime was able to announce the groundbreaking of the Guang-Ao Expressway today, which was planned for a long time by the decision-making circle. After many rounds of online and offline arguments, meetings, and mobilization, it finally made a big decision.

Walking in a straight line from the Great South Gate of Guangzhou to Macau, the natural conditions along the way are harsh, with primitive vegetation and water swamps all over the place.The most daunting thing is the Pearl River system.

Where there are water systems, bridges must be built.In the early field surveying and mapping, the dense cobweb-like water system in the Middle Ages indicates that the Guang-Ao Expressway will be built with a number of temporary bridges far exceeding the number of future generations.

There is a saying in later generations who do engineering: golden bridges, silver roads, copper buildings.A bridge costs far more than a road of the same length.

Bridge repair has many benefits for the construction units that take over the work.But for Party A to pay for money, it is a heart-wrenching thing.

This is also the reason why a certain force has repeatedly considered it seriously.Although the many bridges in the plan are convenient bridges with the simplest structure, they are also not cheap, because these bridges must at least be able to pass small steam agricultural machinery in the design requirements.

This passing standard has reached the level of later generations of farmers driving walking tractors to cross the bridge.

That is to say, on the basis of using red bricks, stones, wood and other building materials as much as possible, the planned bridge must use reinforced concrete, at least for key positions such as foundation piles.

A certain force is in the midst of building a modern city with massive construction projects. The price of reinforced concrete with impressive production has already skyrocketed, and then they want to come to the highway. Insensitivity, the passage of this road is really the result of countless internal quarrels.

In addition, in addition to expensive materials, most of the time in the early stage of bridge and road construction, it is necessary to cut off water drainage and dig the foundation. This is also a large-scale labor movement that consumes human resources extremely, and it is not cheap.

In the seventeenth century, the only way to build roads that was easier and cheaper than later generations was demolition.

Not to mention the official land along the Guang'ao Expressway, as long as it is on the county government's register, whether it is real wasteland or land occupied by tyrants, it will be unconditionally taken back in the future.

And for real private land, there will also be a unified standard purchase price. There will definitely be no nail households here. Being a nail household these days is much more dangerous than later generations.

In a word, the Guang-Ao Expressway, which was solemnly laid at the Great South Gate of Guangzhou today, is an important means adopted by the crossing forces to integrate and enhance the comprehensive strength of the actual ruling area with a view to the future.

This is also the reason why the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as many people who traveled across the country were invited to a groundbreaking ceremony: Only those who traveled through the road can understand the significance of this road to the regime.

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The host knows what he is doing, but the guests may not, let alone foreign guests.

Crowley, the gentlemen sitting on the viewing platform, watched the groundbreaking ceremony in a daze, and then left in a daze, in a daze the whole time.

But Crowley and the others are still very happy, because what they care about is not some inexplicable ceremony, but a series of activities in Guangzhou after the meeting.

Before that, only Portuguese businessmen had entered the city of Guangzhou.Today, as representatives of European businessmen, the guests attending the ceremony took this opportunity to visit the city of Guangzhou as a pilot of the "reopening" policy.

Soon after the ceremony was over, someone came to make arrangements.Crowley and the others sat in a beautiful four-wheeled carriage, sandwiched between the convoy, and entered Guangzhou City for the first time.

The grand and famous city of Nantian is no worse than London in this period in terms of size and population.People like Old William are a little better, they have been to other Chinese towns before.It was the first time for Crowley to come to a "regular" Ming Dynasty city. The unique architectural style of medieval cities in the south opened his eyes.

After that, the red-haired and blue-eyed concierges went to the famous "Juxianlou" in Bushikou to have a meal according to the established procedures.

Finally, against the curious eyes of passers-by, the concierges were able to go around the city.The merchants visited many silk and satin houses with great interest, and learned about the fabric market in Guangzhou.

Finally, before the city gates were closed in the evening, the guests left the city of Guangzhou and returned to the new district by boat.

All in all, this trip to Guangzhou City has yielded a lot, but not much.

Prior to this, European businessmen did not hesitate to fight among themselves, just to compete for an opportunity to enter the city of Guangzhou.At that time, people who entered the city of Guangzhou represented that they could buy raw silk and porcelain, which were specialties of the Ming Dynasty, and make a fortune.

But now, as long as the merchant ships berthing in the port of the new area, they can easily buy all kinds of goods in the port wholesale market at any time without worrying about encountering scammers.At present, there are notary offices, tax bureaus and insurance companies endorsed by travelers in the port.As long as the contract is stamped there and the deed tax is paid in full, there will be Lord Dongfang Earl to ensure the transaction between the buyer and the seller.

Everything is so safe, fast and wonderful.

Therefore, the core attraction of the old city of Guangzhou to European businessmen has disappeared.The rest, at best, is just a fresh look at travel.

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On the third day after returning from Guangzhou City, Uncle and Nephew Crowley received another invitation to watch the ceremony.

The invitation was more important this time because the concierge narrowed the scope. Only Europeans on a certain list of "international friends" were eligible to go to inland Zengcheng County to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the cement plant.

Yes, after a three-year construction period, the Zengcheng Cement Plant, which was established as a joint venture between the time-traveling forces and the progressive gentry, is finally about to officially go into operation.

But this time when we went to the inland of the Pearl River Delta, the international friends really saw part of the hidden power of the crossing regime.

First of all, at the entrance of the waterway from the Pearl River to the Zengjiang River, the friends were able to observe the large fleet stationed at the Huangpu Military Port at close range.

Among them, the latest ship "Kaiyuan" used to maintain overseas territories shocked all witnesses.

The Kaiyuan has a huge hull, with a full-load displacement of more than 3000 tons. It is a verification-type sail warship that mainly uses steam power to sail.

In the near future, this large ship will take advantage of its high self-sustainability and high transportation capacity to become the flagship of the fleet heading south to the Philippine Sea.

Next, the ceremonial team sailed along the Zengjiang River. In the end, Crowley became the first European to set foot in an inland county of Guangdong.

Not long after, the guests saw a small city with high walls from a distance by the river.

Entering a tall and thick iron gate, the next moment, various pronunciations of "selling cakes" came out of the guests' mouths.

What caught Crowley's eyes at this moment was a castle made of steel.

Crowley swears that even in his deepest dreams, he has never seen such a hideous and terrifying city of steel: all kinds of towering towers, all kinds of ladder frames, and the huge "iron pillars". Everything They all exude a dark metallic luster, and Crowley seems to be in a region. Only demons can build such a steel fortress, right?
Wait, didn't you say that this is a smelting workshop for making "cement", why did it become a demon fortress?What do the Orientals want to do to me?
Crowley thought in horror.

(End of this chapter)