Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 374 This is the truth behind their opposition to railway construction

Afterwards.

Hall of Martial Arts.

Zhu Gaoxu sat behind the royal table, and Prince Zhu Zhanyu sat on the armchair at the bottom left of the royal table.

Jian Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Yu Yanzhao, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Husbandry, and Cai Xin, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, were seated on the right side of the hall.

Xu Huizu, the left governor of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, Li Jinglong, the right governor of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and Qitai, the Minister of War, sat on the left side of the hall respectively.

At this time, Emperor Qianxi of the Ming Dynasty was discussing with seven important officials of the dynasty about building three railways at the same time.

"Your Majesty, I and the ministers from the Ministry of Industry agree that the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty is enough to bear the pressure of building three railways at the same time."

Cai Xin, the minister of industry, bowed slightly and said: "As for the cost of hiring workers to purchase materials, it does not have to be completed within one year. It can be done in batches. In this way, the national treasury's expenditure on railway construction will be reduced by at least [-]% compared to the budget."

In September of the fourth year of Qianxi's reign, Song Li, the former minister of the Ministry of Industry, died of illness while inspecting the progress of cable telegraph construction at the age of 73.

He lived five years longer than in history. Because of his upright character and strict control of his subordinates, although he accomplished many practical things for the court, he was not loved by others. After his death from illness, his family did not even have much money left.

Zhu Gaoxu wanted him to manage Huitong River and facilitate water transportation, so he ordered him to be posthumously given the title of "Prince Shaobao" and the posthumous title of "Wen Jing", and his eldest grandson Bu was the son of the country.

In addition, in order to commend Song Li and the former minister of the Ministry of Justice, Jin Chun, and the director of the Ministry of Industry, Zhou Chang, who cooperated with Song Li to manage Huitong River and dredge the old Yellow River, Zhu Gaoxu also specially issued an edict to build the Song Gong Temple on Nanwang Lake to commemorate Jin Chun. , the circumference is matched with the sacrifice.

After the funeral of the Song Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu promoted Cai Xin, the former left minister of the Ministry of Industry, to the position of minister of the ministry.

Cai Xin, a native of Yanghu, Wujin, had an ingenious mind and had little experience in craftsmanship. He was taught the job of repairman and was promoted to the head of the Ministry of Engineering.

During the Yongle period, the imperial court built the Forbidden City, and all the world's finest artists were recruited to the capital, and all followed Cai Xin's rope ink.

In the fifth year of Qianxi's reign, after Cai Xin was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry, in order to gain a reputation during and after his death like Song Li, he tried his best to make some achievements in his office.

When Zhu Gaoxu issued an order to the Ministry of Works in June of the seventh year of Qianxi's reign, requiring five years to build three railways, Cai Xinhui discussed with officials of the sixth grade and above from the Ministry of Works overnight and formulated a work plan for the construction of railways.

As a result, the Ministry of Industry sent more than 70 officials and recruited more than 300 students majoring in construction and engineering from major academies as surveyors.

These people were divided into three teams by Cai Xin, each team was responsible for exploring a railway line.

Ten months later, each exploration team produced a detailed railway construction plan.

Zhu Gaoxu was overjoyed after reading the three railway plans submitted by Cai Xin. He specially wrote the words "reliable in work" with his imperial pen and gave them to Cai Xin as a reward. He also gave royal tributes such as ten jins of Nanyang rock sugar and ten jins of pepper as rewards. .

Nowadays, the opposition to the simultaneous construction of three railways in the court is particularly loud. Even Zhu Gaoxu, who personally conquered the desert and wiped out the Oara and Tatars in the First World War, and whose reputation is as good as that of Zhu Di, is quite scrupulous and dare not make an easy decision.

In order to strengthen Zhu Gaoxu's determination to build the railway, Cai Xin did not hesitate to take the lead.

"Your Majesty, what Da Sikong said does make some sense."

Qi Tai, Minister of the Ministry of War, first agreed with Cai Xin’s words, but then changed the subject and said: “But I feel that one or two railways should be built first, and after mature experience is gained, other railway lines can be built. "

"According to Da Sima's words, which railway should the court build first?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked seemingly casually.

"Your Majesty, I believe that if the financial resources are sufficient, the Jingtong Railway and Yutong Railway should be built first. As for the reason, it is to strengthen the court's control over the grassland." Qitai is a veteran minister, so he naturally does not really think so. The emperor just asked casually. The things involved here are very deep and ordinary people cannot grasp it at all.

Just now in the court hall, the emperor gave an order to remove the black gauze from the eleven courtiers on the spot. Among them, Li Xin, the censor of Youqiandu, had the highest rank, being the fourth rank.

Li Xin was charged with colluding with Shaanxi businessmen, smuggling grain into the grasslands, earning huge amounts of money, using power for personal gain, and accepting bribes.

However, what is hidden under the surface is that eleven courtiers including Li Xin, Tao Gui, and Xie Jun all have properties in Shaanxi and Shanxi.

They were the most vocal among all the officials who opposed the imperial court's construction of railways.

Their reasons for opposing railway construction are also varied.

The "stupid and absurd" statement that "if the enemy invades, we can use the railway to reach the capital" was made by this group of people headed by Li Xin.

Qi Tai thought carefully and could understand why Li Xin and others strongly opposed the construction of the railway.

Because after the railway is repaired, it will be more convenient for the imperial court to transport supplies to the grassland, and to transport cattle, sheep, horses and other "taxes" from the grassland, and the time required will be greatly shortened.

In this way, the imperial court could organize or hire fewer caravans to transport "tax revenue" back from Mobei, and merchants in Shaanxi, Shanxi and other regions would lose at least half of their profits.

The businessmen had no "surplus grain", and Li Xin and others' financial path was naturally cut off.

Although Qi Tai knew that this was the truth behind Li Xin's opposition to the railway construction, he did not intend to tell the truth, but immediately said some well-founded words.

"The official road from Longcheng to the capital is about 3000 and two hundred miles, divided into two sections, the north and the south."

"The northern line is more than [-] miles long. It starts from Longcheng to the southeast and passes through Junji Youwei and Jiuyuan Shangwei before arriving at Jiuyuan Youwei. Then it changes eastward and passes through Yulong Zuowei to reach Yulongwei (Erenhot)."

“The southern route goes south from Yulongwei, passes through Yulongyouwei (Sunit), Xinghe (Jining) to Datong Prefecture in Shanxi Province, and then passes through Xuanfu, Baoan, Yanqing and other places from Datong to Wanping, Shuntian Prefecture From the county to the capital, this route is about [-] miles long."

"Affected by weather changes, caravans from Mobei to the capital mostly choose summer and autumn."

"If there are not many goods to be transported, and all members of the caravan ride on shock-absorbing carriages, they can travel hundreds of miles a day unless the weather is bad. A trip from Dragon City to the capital will take a month and a few days."

"If a lot of goods are transported, in addition to daily stops and rests, all members of the caravan must rest for one or two days at each post station, otherwise it will be too much for both people and horses."

"It will take one and a half months to travel from Dragon City to the capital. If you are unlucky and encounter heavy rain or strong winds on the way, it will even take two months."

"Among the three railways that His Majesty plans to build, the Jingtong Railway is the route from Datong to Beijing, and the Yutong Railway is the route from Yulongwei to Datong."

"In other words, if these two railways are repaired, the southern route from the capital to Longcheng will be completely converted into a railway."

"As far as I know, Mo Qiaosi's latest improved steam train can travel thousands of miles a day, and the train does not need to stop to rest like a horse. As long as the fuel is sufficient, it can continue running without interruption."

"If there is a war in Mobei and the imperial court sends reinforcements, it will only take two days to transport the soldiers and horses to Jade Dragon Guard by train. If you rush from Jade Dragon Guard to Dragon City, you can use the cavalry to march quickly and you can arrive in seven days."

"If the caravan uses horse-drawn carriages and trains, the journey from the capital to Dragon City can be shortened to eighteen to twenty days."

"In this way, the imperial court's control over Mobei and Moxi will reach an unprecedented height, and the five provinces of Puchang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi and even Liaoxi will truly become the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)