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

night.

Liu Sheng stayed at Kunning Palace.

After the clouds and rain, the red lady suddenly said, "There are still a few people in the emperor's harem. Including me, there are only six people."

"I think the four princesses from North Korea are pretty good this time. Why don't the emperor choose one of them as his concubine?"

Liu Sheng asked strangely, "Why did you suddenly say that?"

Liu Sheng was indeed surprised.

Although under the influence of feudal ideology at this time, it was normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. As the founding emperor of Damei, his harem of only six women was indeed a bit small.

But if the matchmaker wanted more women to share her husband, he didn't believe it.

Therefore, the red lady must have a reason for saying this.

The red lady smiled and said, "I just sleep and discuss the matter. The emperor does not have to doubt anything. Besides, this is also for the royal family to have more heirs."

"Didn't the Emperor say before that if we women are pregnant every year, the damage to our bodies will be greater?"

"So after one or two children, they will intentionally use contraceptive methods during intercourse and cultivate themselves for a few years before getting pregnant again. In this way, if you want to increase the number of the emperor's heirs as soon as possible, you will have to add a few more people to the harem."

Liu Sheng was a little speechless, "I now have three sons and three daughters, which is quite a lot."

The Red Lady said, "For ordinary people, it is indeed not that little, but for the royal family, it is still a little less."

After hearing this, Liu Sheng said: "Even if you accept a concubine, now is not the time to accept a North Korean woman."

"Let's wait two or three years. Firstly, we can clearly see the character of the four North Korean princesses. Secondly, in two or three years, we may not be able to annex North Korea."

"At that time, in order to integrate the Korean people, it would be appropriate to accept a Korean princess as a concubine."

The red lady smiled inexplicably after hearing this and said: "Since the emperor has an idea, let's do it this way."

"Why do I feel like you've set a trap on me?"

"How dare I, my concubine?"

"Why don't you dare?"

"what."

The red lady suddenly exclaimed.

Kunning Palace scored twice.

···
Time enters June.

This day.

Liu Sheng convened two officials from the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Finance in the Wenhua Hall, but several people from the Government Affairs Council participated in politics and held a meeting.

The purpose is to initially determine the second batch of railway construction plans in Dawei.

"Since the completion of the Nanjia Railway in April this year, our country has not only improved its railway construction technology a lot, but also trained tens of thousands of railway engineers."

"Therefore, the total length of the second batch of railways planned to be built in the next two to three years will be four or five times that of the previous railways."

"In addition to military considerations, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is planned to be built, and the Jingshan (Beijing to Shanhaiguan) Railway is already under construction."

"Where should the rest of the railway be built, and where should the starting point be, please discuss it."

After hearing Liu Sheng's words, all the ministers present at the meeting immediately began to communicate in low voices.

"There are many business travelers and prosperous trade in the south. Maybe we should build a few railways first. For example, if there is a railway from Hangzhou in Zhejiang to Ningbo, the flow of goods will be faster."

"Zhejiang is very mountainous and hilly. If you want to build a railway, I'm afraid the current technology is not up to it, right?"

"There is a plain area from Hangzhou to Ningbo. If the Nanjia Railway can be built, there will be no problems with the Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway."

"I think one or two railways should be built in Sichuan and Huguang now to facilitate the mobilization of manpower and material resources in these two hinterlands."

"Both Sichuan and Huguang have large plains, so it is easier to build railways than in Zhejiang."

"If we talk about the vastness of the plains, isn't it the vastest between the Huanghuai River and the Huaihe River? In my opinion, a railway from Zhengzhou to Ruyang should be built, which can just connect with the Ruyang Railway."

"With the construction of this railway, it will be faster and faster from the south of the Yangtze River in the central region to the north of the Yellow River." "···"

Since the completion of the first batch of railways in Dalei, the Nanjia Railway with the shortest opening time has also been in operation for about two months.

Those that have been open to traffic for a long time, such as the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, have been running for more than half a year.

Therefore, today, people of insight in the north and south of Da'ei have realized the convenience and benefits brought by the railway.

Therefore, although not many ministers were present in the Wenhua Hall, they were all arguing over the second batch of railway construction plans.

Although there are considerations from an overall perspective, most people still hope to build a railway that will benefit their hometown first.

Of course, they will definitely not directly say that they are thinking about their hometown, but will find reasons that are beneficial to the court and the overall situation.

Liu Sheng didn't pay much attention to this.

There are very few selfless people in this world, and the vast majority of people have selfish motives.

As long as selfishness does not interfere with official business, he will not be harsh.

In fact, as the Emperor of Damei, it didn't make much difference to him where to build the railway first.

Moreover, he believed that the railways that were truly of great use to the state had already been decided on, namely the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and the Jingshan Railway.

Among them, the Jingshan Railway has been under construction for a long time.

It can actually be classified as one railway, that is, from Zhangjiakou to Beijing and then to Shanhaiguan.

Once this railway is completed, Da'ei's control over the Monan Grassland and Liao Dynasty will be greatly increased.

After communicating with the ministers, they each made formal suggestions to Liu Sheng. It was finally decided that the second batch of railways would include four main lines in addition to the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and the Jingshan Railway.

The Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway from Hangzhou, Zhejiang to Ningbo is about three hundred miles.

The Shuangjing Railway from Jingmen, Hubei to Jingzhou is about 160 miles.

The Chengdu-Hezhou Railway from Chengdu, Sichuan to Hezhou is more than 500 miles long.

And the Zhengru Railway from Zhengzhou, Henan to Ruyang, more than 400 miles.

In addition, the nearly 200 miles of Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and the more than 600 miles of Jingshan Railway.

The total length of the second batch of railways planned to be built in Da'ei will be more than 2,000 miles!

Among them, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, Jingshan Railway and Shuangjing Railway are planned to be completed within three years.

The remaining three railways are planned to be built within five years.

Nowadays, the cost of building railways in Da'ei has been reduced to about 8,000 silver dollars per mile.

In addition to the money spent on building railway stations and producing trains, it is estimated that a total investment of nearly 30 million silver dollars will be needed to open all six railways!
However, through the construction of the first batch of railways, the Dalei Railway Transport Company's previous model of absorbing private funds has been perfected.

Therefore, it is not necessary that all the nearly 30 million silver dollars came from the Da'ei court.

As for how much money will be needed in the end, it depends on how much funds the "Da'ei Railway Transport" can raise from the private sector...
Not long after Liu Sheng returned to Tianxin Palace from the meeting in Wenhua Palace, Zou Runniang, director of the Telecommunications Department, personally sent a telegram.

"Your Majesty, the telegram from North America forwarded by Tianmu Mountain is about the results of the exploration of the southward detachment of the Sea Dragon Guard Squadron."

After saying that, he handed over the telegram.

Liu Sheng took the telegram and read it immediately.

The so-called Hailongwei squadron refers to the Hailongwei regiment he brought to Longshou County at the end of last year.

According to the mission he assigned at that time, the Sea Dragon Guard Squadron will dispatch fleets to explore in the north and south directions along the west coast of North America.

Those heading north are called "Northbound Detachment" and those heading south are called "Southbound Detachment".

About two months ago, the northward detachment returned and sent a "Northward Exploration Report on the West Coast of North America" ​​to Nanjing via telegram.

The southbound detachment set off almost at the same time, but came back nearly two months late. Either they explored further south, or something happened and was delayed.

Liu Sheng urgently wanted to know what the situation was. (End of chapter)