The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

It was November 20th in the third year of Qianyuan.

The Holy Spirit drove north to inspect Huainan and Henan.

Among those accompanying him were Concubine Shu (Li Xiangyun), Concubine Hui (Bai Taiwei), and some civil and military officials.

Among the many attendants, one person was the most special, that is, Yang Weizhi, the former Ming Dynasty minister who was a prisoner.

The imperial fleet sailed up the Yangtze River to Yuxi County, walked along Ruxushui, crossed Chaohu Lake, and passed Feishui to Hefei.

Then at Hefei Railway Station, we boarded the train and headed to Shouzhou.

The Shouhe section of the railway was opened to traffic a few days ago.

It stands to reason that it should run for a few more months before safety can be completely ensured.

However, the speed of trains these days is so fast. Even if there is an accident, it will not cause too many casualties.

Unless someone planted a bomb on the railway and hit the carriage Liu Sheng was sitting in, Liu Sheng's life might be threatened.

However, apart from the yellow explosives tightly controlled by the Da'ei court, with the current power of black powder, it is almost impossible to install enough black powder on the railway without anyone noticing.

Therefore, even if he takes the train, Liu Sheng's travel safety is very guaranteed.

After boarding the train, Liu Sheng asked Yang Weizhi to be called to his compartment.

Although Yang Weizhi had not yet agreed to surrender, he did not look coldly at Liu Sheng - maybe he did not hate Liu Sheng, or maybe he already had the intention to surrender.

Of course, he was not enthusiastic about Liu Sheng either.

"See Your Majesty."

Liu Sheng smiled and said, "Jiefu (Yang Weizhi's courtesy name) takes a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After following the basic etiquette, Yang Weizhi sat down opposite Liu Sheng without ceremony.

This train is considered temporary. The tables and chairs in the carriages where Liu Sheng lives have been rearranged, so they are naturally different from other carriages.

Not only is the carriage carpeted, tables, chairs and other equipment are also arranged according to bedrooms, study rooms, etc.

The current carriage is used as a temporary study room with furniture.

Therefore, although Yang Weizhi said he was sitting opposite Liu Sheng, he was actually more than ten steps away from Liu Sheng.

woo-

The long whistle sounded and the train started.

"What does Jiefu think of this train and railway?"

Yang Weizhi arrived in Nanjing not long ago. He didn't know about trains or railways before, but today was his first time seeing them.

At the train station, he had been stunned for a while looking at the long railway and trains.

Just now the train started moving forward slowly along the tracks, and he couldn't help but look out the window.

After listening to Liu Sheng's inquiry, he came back to his senses.

Although he had only recently learned about trains and railways, he heard some discussions among his attendants at the station and learned that the railway was built from Hefei to Shouzhou, a length of more than two hundred miles!

And this is just one section of the railway!
When completed, the total length may be thousands of miles!
Yang Weizhi thought about this and said: "The train is wonderful and ingenious; the railway is even more of a spectacle."

"However, both trains and railways are probably expensive to build. At the beginning of the new dynasty, it is time to rest and recuperate with the people."

"Your Majesty's great construction work, don't you know that the Qin and Sui Dynasties were not considerate of the people's strength, which led to the death of the second generation?"

This is quite serious to say.

But Liu Sheng didn't care - he was not a small-minded person.

He said: "The railway is indeed very expensive, but Jiefu doesn't know the construction process, so how can he conclude that it will be a waste of people's energy?"

Based on his past experience, Yang Weizhi said of course: "Building a thousand-mile official road will harm the people's power, let alone this kind of railway?"

Liu Sheng looked at the secretary who was standing aside and said, "Zhang Jiayu, tell Yang Jiefu how we built the railway in Dawei and whether it harmed the people's power."

"Yes."

Zhang Jiayu responded and faced Yang Weizhi.

Zhang Jiayu, twenty-eight years old, was born in Dongguan, Guangzhou, and was elected in the 11th year of Chongzhen.

He was proficient in classic poetry, calligraphy and painting, and was good at fencing, horse riding, and being a knight. He was one of the Three Loyalists of Lingnan in later history.

At this time and space, Zhang Jiayu participated in the first audition organized by Dawei last year and was awarded the top prize in high school.

He was first selected as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and later promoted to the Hanlin Academy to await imperial edicts. This year, he was promoted to the secretariat and became the seventh-rank secretary.

Staying in this position, Zhang Jiayu naturally has sufficient understanding of trains and railways, which have been discussed for a long time by both the government and the public this year.

"When we build railways in Dalian, we mainly use railway engineers and soldiers, supplemented by migrant workers and hard laborers."

"The railway engineering corps is affiliated to the Military Academy. They are actually soldiers of our country, specializing in railway construction."

"The monthly salary is three yuan, which is three taels of silver, and the daily food is similar to that of the local civilian brave troops."

"As for the migrant workers, they recruit local young people and are paid one yuan a month, including three meals a day."

"So during the construction of the railway, local people were eager to apply for jobs, hoping to become railway migrant workers."

"As for hard labor, it may come from prisoners of war or criminal prisoners. Although these people are not paid, the food is similar to that of migrant workers, and they can accumulate merit and reduce their sentences."

"It can be said that our efforts in building the railway in Da'ei were more generous than those of previous dynasties. Not only did it not harm the people's power, it also enriched the people!"

Yang Weizhi was surprised at first after hearing this.

He was originally from Shaanxi. He had been in Yunnan since he embarked on his official career in the 13th year of Chongzhen. He knew very little about Damei and the Yi army.

Although I have heard a lot of news about the Wei Army in the past two years, it is difficult to tell whether it is true or not.

It wasn't until the Yi army invaded Yunnan that he was certain that the Yi army was not only strong in combat effectiveness, but also in good military discipline, and could be called the army of kings.

Even though he knew something about Wei Jun, what Zhang Jiayu said was still beyond his expectation.

Because in all dynasties, no matter what was built, civilians were recruited.

This kind of recruitment was basically compulsory. After the civilian husbands were recruited, not to mention paying them, if they could prevent the civilian husbands from going hungry, the court at that time could be called benevolent.

It is almost unthinkable to pay wages to civilian husbands.

As for raising an army dedicated to road construction according to military treatment, it is even more unthinkable.

However, Yang Weizhi immediately thought of a key question after being surprised.

"As Secretary Zhang said, how much money does it cost to build a railway?"

"At the moment, Da'ei may have enough treasury because it was newly established. But once the treasury is empty in the future, won't we have to increase taxes on the people?"

Zhang Jiayu is a savvy person.

After working in the secretariat for more than half a year, I gained a lot of knowledge, but I was not stumped by Yang Weizhi's question.

He said, "The country can acquire wealth through more than just taxation. Perhaps you don't know, but our current annual expenditure is indeed much higher than before. But the income other than taxes is also far higher than before, and it is enough for the country."

Yang Weizhi showed doubts, then thought of something, and hummed: "Relying on the nobles of the previous dynasty to increase the revenue of the treasury is neither the right way nor a long-term solution."

Yang Weizhi approved of the extermination of the Ming Dynasty nobles and some evil gentry who bullied the family property in Da'ei, and even applauded it.

He had borrowed money from Mu Tianbo more than once in Yunnan, hoping to train more elite soldiers to deal with future wars.

But Mu Tianbo just refused to give up.

Now Yunnan has fallen into the hands of Damei, the Duke of Guizhou has been overthrown, and tens of millions of properties have been confiscated by Damei's court. He felt happy after hearing this.

But as he said, this is not a long-term solution.

The Duke of Guizhou is already the last Ming Dynasty noble. Who will the Damei court try to suppress next?
Is it possible to confiscate the property of Da'ei Xungui?

If Liu Sheng does this again and again, it will definitely destabilize the world and even cause war again.

At this time, Liu Sheng said: "National financial matters cannot be explained clearly in a few words."

"The financial management of the previous Ming Dynasty was not only far worse than that of Dawei, but also far worse than that of the Tang and Song Dynasties."

"It is naturally difficult for Jiefu to judge our affairs in Dawei based on his previous knowledge. It is naturally difficult for Jiefu to understand our finances in Dawei in the future. Jiefu will be able to clear up his doubts."

"However, with Jiefu's talent, can he only see the huge cost of railways?"

When Yang Weizhi heard this, he subconsciously glanced out the window.

They suddenly discovered that while they were debating, the train was getting faster and faster, and now it was as fast as a galloping horse.

Thinking back to his previous visit to the locomotive and what he learned about the running principles of trains, Yang Weizhi suddenly understood something in his heart. Looking back, he said sincerely: "I have to say that compared to the horse-drawn carriages, trains and railways are faster, more stable, and can carry more. They do have many conveniences."

"If the cost can be reduced and it can reach the whole country like an official channel, it may become a weapon for the military and the country!"

Liu Sheng smiled after hearing this and said, "If Jiefu can understand this, it means that I am not wrong about the person."

Why did Liu Sheng bring Yang Weizhi with him?
Don't you just want to conquer this last loyal and capable minister of the former Ming Dynasty?
As far as Liu Sheng knew, Yang Weizhi had not only become the mainstay of the Ming army during the Wubikui and Shadingzhou rebellions in history.

He was also a key figure in the later "fusion" of the Great Western Army and the Southern Ming Dynasty.

When the Daxi Army entered Yunnan from Sichuan, Yang Weizhi led the troops to resist, but was defeated due to the huge disparity in strength. He threw himself into the water and survived.

Sun Kewang was very ambitious at that time, but he felt sorry for Yang Weizhi's talent, so he said that the Great Western Army was willing to "unite the Ming Dynasty to fight against the Qing Dynasty", and hoped that Yang Weizhi would cooperate with him, and he broke an arrow as an oath.

At that time, Yang Weizhi put forward three conditions.

Daxi's military supplies went to Zhang Xianzhong's reign, but he still respected the Ming Dynasty; he did not kill the people and did not take women captive.

Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, and Liu Wenxiu agreed to this matter, thus starting the road for the two sides to jointly resist the Qing Dynasty.

In the end, Sun Kewang's ambition became clear and he even placed Zhu Youlang and some Yongli court ministers under house arrest.

Yang Weizhi respected Zhu Youlang and openly opposed Sun Kewang.

Finally, Sun Kewang summoned Yang Weizhi to Guiyang to scold him. In anger, Yang Weizhi took off his crown and hit Sun Kewang on the spot.

Dare to do this in the presence of Sun Kewang, which shows Yang Weizhi's bravery.

As for its ending, you can also imagine it.

He was killed on the spot by Sun Kewang.

Liu Sheng naturally wanted to take such a talented person who could be called both civil and military and had the integrity of a courtier for his own use.

So, during the rest of the train journey, Liu Sheng continued to chat with Yang Weizhi calmly.

First, I talked about a lot of the benefits of railways.

Then he talked about some financial matters.

Finally, he also talked about the establishment of the "Da'ei Railway Transportation Company" to raise part of the railway construction funds through shares.

Finally, Yang Weizhi had some understanding of Da'ei's finances, and he generally believed that building the railway was not a waste of national power, but would benefit the country and the people.

The train stopped at Shouzhou.

Liu Sheng and his entourage changed to boats and sailed up the Huaihe River.

Arriving at Minggang, we disembarked again and took a train to the immigration town at the foot of Tianmu Mountain.

The resettlement town was the former temporary resettlement camp for disaster victims.

It emerged due to the Da'ei immigration policy and became more prosperous after the construction of the railway this year, so a town-level administrative unit was established.

After Liu Sheng arrived at the immigration town, he still made an inspection first to understand the living conditions of the victims here.

Yang Weizhi was surprised and didn't understand when he saw that the Da'ei imperial court had set up such a large camp for disaster victims on Tianmu Mountain.

But this time he learned wisely and didn't rush to make any remarks.

Two days later, Liu Sheng led his entourage to Tianmu Mountain.

Passing Liujiazhai, we came to North America.

Only then did Yang Weizhi understand why Damei placed the victims at the foot of Tianmu Mountain. At the same time, he also believed the popular rumor that "Emperor Damei was an immortal and descended to earth."

After following Liu Sheng on a tour of Weichu County, Yang Weizhi no longer held back. In the former political hall, where Liu Sheng was now, he took the initiative to express his surrender and allegiance to Liu Sheng.

After conquering Yang Weizhi as he wished, Liu Sheng was very happy for the next few days. Even though it was the rainy season in North America and the rain continued, it did not affect his interest in touring various places.

···
A few days later.

The weather is rarely sunny.

Longshou County, North America.

Liu Sheng arrived in a large boat with Zhang Jiayu, Yang Weizhi and other entourage and landed at the fishery wharf.

Longshou County Magistrate Yang Minghe, County Magistrate Xie Yipeng, Fishing Town Mayor Yu Hengfeng, Deputy Town Mayor Gongsun Tai and other officials welcomed the arrival.

"See Your Majesty!"

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The ceremony is over.

Liu Sheng then looked at Longshou County in front of him.

Because there is no need for it and the urban area is expanding rapidly, no city has been built yet in Weichu County.

The city wall in Longshou County was built this year.

First, because Longshou County is located on the seaside, it may be attacked by enemies from the sea.

Secondly, the expansion rate of the "urban area" in Longshou County is relatively slow. Building a city wall should be able to control it for many years.

However, Longshou County is not big.

The city wall is in the shape of an irregular pentagon, but its circumference is only more than four miles, and its height is only one foot.

But its towering position in the wild wilderness of North America still seems quite abrupt.

According to reports from Liu Sheng's embroidered clothes guards in North America, some nearby natives came to worship Longshou County as a miracle.

However, the scale of this kind of building may not even be comparable to that of many remote small counties in China.

But if we really encounter enemies from the sea, such as the European colonists Liu Sheng guessed, this city wall will be very important.

Enough to keep tens of thousands of people safe.

After looking at the city wall, Liu Sheng entered the city.

Yang Minghe knew Liu Sheng's habits, so he followed behind him to report on his work as before.

"Currently, Longshou County has two towns and eight camps under its jurisdiction. Yuchang Town has a population of more than 36,000, Yanchang Town has a population of more than 20,000, and the population of each camp ranges from 6,000 to 9,000."

"Among them, Yuchang Town has four camps, Yanchang Town has three camps, and there is an independent camp on the grassland."

"In addition, in order to welcome this new batch of immigrants, we have prepared five new camps in accordance with the requirements of Weichu County..."

Following Yang Minghe's report, Liu Sheng learned more about the situation in Longshou County.

It can only be said that Yang Minghe is worthy of being the most outstanding among the first batch of camp managers in Weichu County (original officials like Liu Dachuan do not participate in the comparison).

He served as the magistrate of Longshou County for just over a year, but he brought about considerable changes here.

Among them, there are two things that satisfy Liu Sheng the most.

First, Longshou County was built.

The second is to establish the Longshou Shipyard in accordance with his will.

Although the craftsmen in the shipyard were all selected and dispatched by Liu Sheng from Nanjing.

But to be able to build the Longshou Shipyard so quickly, Yang Minghe definitely put his heart into it.

Because I miss you in my heart.

After patrolling the county town, Liu Sheng led everyone straight to Longshou Shipyard.

"Your Majesty, please see that the Longshouwan Shipyard covers an area of ​​more than 60 acres when it was first built."

"The middle is the working area, the east is the office area, the west is the craftsmen's living area, and the south is the canteen."

"There are currently four working ponds in the operation area, and four sea-going ships can be built at the same time..."

After arriving at the shipyard, Yang Minghe personally introduced the situation in the factory to Liu Sheng.

From his words, it can be seen that he is extremely familiar with this shipyard.

The shipyard in Hebian Town mainly builds river ships, while the Longshou Shipyard mainly builds sea-going ships.

Because North America had been stocking up on large timber for shipbuilding from the very beginning, the construction of seagoing ships started at the same time as the Longshou Shipyard built a working pond.

Liu Sheng looked over at this time.

I saw several sea-going ships moored on the pier outside the shipyard.

Even the smallest ship has a thousand materials! (End of chapter)