Daming: I, the emperor who trains the carpenter

Chapter 730 Beijing and Tianjin are running, success! !The world is a sensation!

Completed and open to traffic!

Following Sun Qifeng's words, there was a sharp and piercing siren from the locomotive.

A shovel of coal was fed into the boiler, and the burning boiler represented that the monster made of steel was about to start.

Click, click, click.
The power wheels under the locomotive rotated, and the wheels drove forward on the running rails, driving the huge monster that was a foot high.

The front of the car alone is more than seven meters long and three meters high. Together with the carriages at the back, it looks like a giant dragon lying prone on the ground.

Right now, the giant dragon started to move. Amidst the sound of the siren, the wheels began to roll on the rails, driving this behemoth forward.

At first the speed of the train was not fast, but then the train began to increase in speed, faster and faster until it was at the same speed as the horses on one side, and then the train maintained this speed and began to move forward at a constant speed.

When the whole train started to move, the surrounding people in the capital, officials and merchants, foreign envoys and tourists couldn’t help but screamed and screamed. They watched this giant made of steel moving on the track in disbelief. Beyond people's cognition.

"My dear! It's unbelievable that such a big thing can run as fast as a horse!"

"What kind of train is this made of all iron? How many iron ingots were used from the beginning to the end, and how much did it cost? The imperial court is really rich!"

"Who says it's not? This three-hundred-mile road costs a million taels of silver. If it continues to be built, the imperial court will not have the money to apportion it to the people, right?"

"Since the current Majesty ascended the throne and Mr. Zhang assisted the government, how can there be any need for apportionment? Moreover, the money for building this road is all offered by the merchants. This road can make a lot of money!"

"Who says it's not? This one road has attracted more than 700 million taels of silver, and seven or eight roads can be built!"

"Look at this train. Each carriage is one foot high and three feet long. How much cargo can it hold? If it runs day and night, it will not be much better than King Zhou's logistics!"

"That's reasonable. The goods are sold. One can check the time and the other can read the news. With this road and train, some goods in short supply can be sent to other places to buy. What a profit."

"Let's see, the imperial court will definitely continue to repair it. How can the imperial court not repair it if it makes so much money?"

The common people are talking about it, but the people of insight are thinking about other aspects. They don't just look at Chidao to make money.

As for the merchants.While marveling at the magic of the train, everyone has already started to stare at the carriages and start to calculate the carrying capacity.

This train has more than a dozen carriages, and it is [-] meters long from end to end. Each carriage is eight meters long and two meters high. How much cargo can it carry?

Look at the speed of the train. Although it is equal to the horses, it is not the pack horses that drag heavy cargo, but the horses that only carry one person. Being equal to the horses is enough to show that the train is extremely fast.

Especially when the train is running at a constant speed, the businessmen are more aware of the most critical point: the train does not need to rest, it will not slow down unless it arrives at the station, and the horse needs to rest to recover its strength, but from this point of view, the train does not sleep Galloping day and night, this is something that horses are completely unable to do.

The speed per hour is nothing like that of a horse, but it is completely different if you can maintain this speed and move forward without sleep.

Not only the businessmen are feeling calculations, officials, foreign envoys are aware of the importance of the train.

As long as anyone who can be an official, whether it is in Ming Dynasty or North Korea, Toungoo, Ayutthaya and other Southeast Asian vassal states, or the Western Regions, Indian states, being an official means that you have a certain vision and knowledge.

Perhaps due to limited vision or the limitations of the current era, it is impossible to judge something advanced, but when something is placed here, these absolute elites of this era can immediately judge its importance.

The train, which runs at a constant speed and never sleeps, can run through the important places in the east, west, north, south, and north of Daming, and can even reach grasslands, North Korea, Jiaozhi and other places by laying the tracks. The armed forces arrived at these hotspots in the shortest possible time with sufficient supplies and maintained Ming's rights.

There is no need for long-distance army raids, no need for light vehicles, and a train with sufficient capacity can provide sufficient logistics for the army. This is a stable place in Ming Dynasty and a sharp weapon to suppress the frontier.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the speeding train on the track with a satisfied smile. For the train and the track, he spent a lot of energy. For the power system of the train alone, he and the most outstanding craftsmen of Ming Dynasty in the Academy of Engineering, The bachelors have studied it for several years, throwing large sums of money into it every year, completely using money to create today's trains.

does it worth?
Of course it's worth it!

In Zhu Youxiao's opinion, this is a very cost-effective deal. With a little money, you can get a powerful weapon for the country, which can maintain the stability of the Ming Dynasty and even expand the territory. Is there anything more cost-effective than this?
"This Chidao, I will continue to build this year, build more, build more, I am not afraid of spending money, let the Chidao Yamen go to various places for field investigation and calculation, I want to see this Chidao spread all over the great river north and south of Ming Dynasty." Zhu Youxiao said .

Huang Liji at the side stroked his beard and smiled and said: "With such a fast way, the great Ming Dynasty will last forever."

Zhang Haogu smiled and nodded. He really wanted to say that it is the emperor, the sages, the ministers and the virtuous who can maintain the Ming Dynasty forever. Tuan living water can last for a long time.And if there is a foolish king, the court is full of corrupt officials, the new law changes the old law, and the people's lives are difficult and the people are not able to make a living.

Although Zhang Haogu didn't say anything, Zhu Youxiao did. "The long-term peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty can't just be based on this road. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty is not here, but in the world and in the hearts of the people."

Everyone bowed their heads together and said: "Your Majesty is innocent."

The completion and opening of Chidao has brought a lot of talk to the people of Zhili, especially those who saw the locomotive that was one foot high and two feet long dragging a dozen carriages galloping all the way. Te talked endlessly, as if the train had really become some kind of dragon, able to carry mountains forward.

And when the train arrived in Tianjin, it attracted thousands of people. The major families, merchants, common people and merchants from all over the Tianjin watched the train slow down and enter the station, and then the carriages opened to transport countless goods. Putting it down, the businessmen who watched this scene were completely red-eyed, the quantity and speed of the train carrying goods is really too fast!

How long does it take to come and go?
Not half an hour after the first train arrived in Tianjin, the second train came again, with the same dozen or so carriages, also fully loaded with goods.

The goods carried by these two trains piled up like a mountain, filling the warehouse of the railway station.

The businessmen who invested in the Beijing-Tianjin Chidao and the businessmen who bought shops and warehouses in Tianjin were all smiling. After the Chidao was completed, the money invested began to pay back!

The merchants even began to calculate that now it is only a passage between the capital and Tianjin Prefecture. When Taiyuan Prefecture is connected to Zhili Prefecture, Tianjin Prefecture is connected to Jinan Prefecture, and Zhili Prefecture is connected to Datong Prefecture.
What would that be like?
The important towns in the north are connected by the roads, forming a network of roads covering the north of the Ming Dynasty. The trains run endlessly, day and night, and carry countless goods to various places.
what is this?
This is the mountain of gold and silver, an inexhaustible treasure!

On the same day, the news that the Chidao was completed and opened to traffic spread all over the north. After all, interested people are paying attention to the progress of the Chidao.

And in the next three days, the news of Chidao's opening to traffic spread all over the country. People were talking about the Chidao in Beizhili, the train that could carry ten thousand catties of cargo running day and night, and the See how Chidao makes money.

In the past few days, the carrying capacity and profit of Jingjin Chidao have also been calculated by some interested people. After getting the astonishing figure, they were pleasantly surprised and wanted to buy more shares of Jingjin Chidao.

For a while, Jingjin Chidao's stock rose again.

At the same time, the construction of the three roads connecting Taiyuan, Datong and Kaifeng that the imperial court started has also attracted the attention of interested people.

For a while, various forces took action one after another, hoping to get a piece of the action on these several roads.

Datong Prefecture is connected to the outside of the customs. If there is a fast road to transport the goods in the customs to Datong Prefecture at a faster speed, it is equivalent to making more money. The importance of this speedway is self-evident.

The coal and iron in Taiyuan are important materials needed by Northern Zhili, and there is no need to mention the road connecting Taiyuan. As for Kaifeng, as the center of Henan Province, it is an important town in the Central Plains, with developed commerce and dense population. It is bound to be profitable.

All these paths mean interests, the long-term development and status of the family.

But roads are not something that you can participate in if you want to. Now only the imperial court can build roads, and not every road built by the imperial court requires private funding, especially some important roads, and it is impossible to hand them over easily. For private investment, as far as Chidao in Zhili and Datong is concerned, the nature of this Chidao is more military than commercial, and its main function is to allow the imperial court to transport the soldiers and horses of the three major battalions of the capital to the outside of the pass as quickly as possible.

In fact, the main roads built by the imperial court today are all to stabilize the local area and connect the capital with the local important towns to form a whole. Therefore, the role of politics and military affairs is greater than that of commerce.

On the other hand, the rich families of the people value their profits more. Merchants are eager to invest in other opportunities, so they find officials they know each other. channel.

All of a sudden, the calls for building roads came one after another. The big guys shouted to build more roads. It would be best to connect all the important towns in the north and south of the river. .

For example, Wuhan and Kaifeng are thoroughfares in several provinces, connected by water systems and land routes, connecting the north and the south. Local families are an insurmountable hurdle for businessmen from all over the country, and it is not easy to do local business.

But if Chidao is built, the track will be different, and it will not be so easy for the local gentry and aristocrats to stick to their interests as before.

As for whether they will obstruct the court's construction of Chidao, the Yang family in Tianjin is an example.

I didn't mention it myself, and even an elder in the cabinet was beaten down. Who didn't know that Chi Dao was promoted by the current emperor and the chief assistant. Didn't you slap the emperor and Xiangye Zhang in the face when you obstructed Chi Dao?

Therefore, a lot of papers from various places requesting the construction of Chidao and merchants jointly requesting to share the concerns of the court are piled up in the cabinet.

Not mentioning the cabinet, Zhu Youxiao heard a lot of deaf ears.

Although he is gratified that the people in the world are so optimistic about Chidao, these things still annoy Zhu Youxiao very much.

"Recently, the folks have asked to share my worries and are willing to spend money to repair Chidao. What does Master think?" Zhu Youxiao sat in the small pavilion in the Imperial Garden, holding a porcelain bowl in one hand and feeding some fish food in the other. The colorful koi gathered around the pavilion.

Zhang Haogu sat on the stone bench drinking the good tea in the palace, with a very leisurely expression: "I think that since the people have such filial piety and are willing to share their worries for His Majesty and the court, we might as well give them a chance. After all, they are willing to invest. It also saves a lot of money.”

Zhu Youxiao heard what Zhang Haogu meant, and he handed the porcelain bowl to the court lady, looked at the leisurely Zhang Haogu and said with a smile: "Master, this is to use the money of the people in the world to do things for the court." .”

"The affairs of the imperial court are not for the selfish desires of your Majesty or ministers. Since the imperial court is for the sake of the world, and people in the world are unwilling to pay for it, it is naturally the best if they are willing to pay." Zhang Haogu said with a smile. Put down the teacup.

Zhu Youxiao nodded: "That's true. Master thinks that merchants like folks can participate?"

Zhang Haogu said: "Your Majesty, don't worry about Chidao, let them go for a while. It's not that the court has no money, and it's not that it can't do without these merchants and wealthy families. The current situation is that the court has money and people If they have the skills, they can do it on their own, but they are the ones who begged the imperial court to take a share, and begged the imperial court to take their money, so what is the imperial court anxious about? Let’s see how capable they are.”

"What's more, this matter of Chi Dao can also be linked to other things, such as some new policies of the imperial court, industrial standards and employment requirements, the implementation of the New Deal in the South, equal distribution of land and integrated grain payment, etc. If you want to buy Chi Dao Dao shares, not only depends on how much money they have, but also depends on their sincerity."

Zhu Youxiao smiled even happier: "Leave this matter to Master, I don't worry, Master will do it. I want to see how much money the families in these places have."

Apparently, Zhu Youxiao also had this idea in mind, and wanted to invest in Chidao, yes, but the imperial court was not short of money. If you want to invest, you have to look at other aspects of sincerity besides investing more money.

As for whether Chidao will change its nature after merchants invest, it will not at all!
Chi Dao was built by the imperial court, and the merchants invested in it only to occupy some shares. The imperial court holds more than [-]% of the shares. What can these merchants do if they unite?
To put it more shamelessly, even if they own [-]% of the shares, so what?
If there is a real situation, the imperial court will hold a special meeting with these merchants to discuss whether to requisition?
It was requisitioned directly after an approval document.

Of course, the money that should be given will still be given, after all, Chidao is also the property of the imperial court.

Therefore, although some people clamored that merchants should not be allowed to participate in the development of Chidao and industry, so as to prevent these merchants from affecting the operation of the imperial court's policies, neither Zhu Youxiao nor Zhang Haogu cared at all.

This is Daming, the feudal era, and the words of the emperor mean everything.

In the last years of the dynasty, regardless of the situation where the monarch was weak and the ministers were strong, the will of the current Ming Dynasty Zhu Youxiao is enough to represent everything.

What's more, both Zhu Youxiao and Zhang Haogu are obviously strongmen in power, and the policies of the imperial court will not be influenced by capital.

In the final analysis, this is the difference between the East and the West. In the Eastern court, everything is everything. If your wealth can influence one party, it is nothing more than a small ant in front of the court.

Capital in the East must submit to politics, not capital that can influence politics like in the West.

Zhang Haogu is very relaxed at the moment. Whether it is the progress of the industry or the implementation of the New Deal, all aspects are good news. Daming is advancing steadily according to the established route. There is nothing more gratifying than this thing?
After returning to the cabinet, Zhang Haogu asked people to let the wind out quietly, saying that the imperial court would build more roads and also consider private investment, but he was hesitating for some reasons.

For the rest, Zhang Haogu depends on the sincerity of the wealthy gentry and merchants worth hundreds of millions in those places.

When this news spread in the capital, the big businessmen and wealthy families in the capital immediately realized that this was some information from the imperial court.

Soon these businessmen confirmed the authenticity of the news through their own channels. At the same time, after receiving the news, the businessmen and wealthy families in the south also began to gear up for preparations.

A Chidao means that a family will continue to prosper, even if other industries of the family have problems, as long as the Chidao is still there, the family can rely on the Chidao to survive, and the children of the family will not lose their way of life.

The importance of every road built by the imperial court is self-evident. Being able to participate in it is not only a symbol of financial resources, but also a symbol of status.

Being able to participate in the construction of Chidao means that you have a certain voice and influence in the local area, and the imperial court will consider letting you participate in the shares.

After all, whether it is the Chidao in Taiyuan, the Chidao in Datong, or the Chidao in Henan, or the planned Jinan Chidao, these Chidaos all connect places and function as hubs of operation, and the families of these important northern towns are here Having been entrenched for hundreds of years, each of them has a very deep circle of contacts and a deep family background. If they want to keep all of them, they must have a relationship with the imperial court.

After all, there are not many backers behind you. If you don’t mention whether your business continues or not, your wealth may not be preserved.

Now, a new opportunity is in front of them. For the sake of profit and the long-term future of the family, they must win Chidao shares!
(End of this chapter)