Open an aircraft carrier to fight against Japan

Zhan Tianyou said: "Master Lin, you'd better invite someone else to be smart. I will never be able to lay the railway within 20 days."

Lin Yuan asked, "What's the matter? Master Zhan, is there any difficulty?"

Zhan Tianyou said: "From Shanhaiguan to Panjin, no matter how you go, you have to pass through the Daling River. To allow the railway to cross the river, you need to build a railway bridge, put the bridge piers into the river, and lay slabs on the bridge piers." Beams, laying rails on slab beams, 20 days, no matter what."

Lin Yuan asked, "Why can't it be done?"

Zhan Tianyou said: "When we were building the Luanhe Bridge, in order to drive the pier into the water, we sent divers into the water to locate the pier, and then used a steam pile driver to drive the pier into the water. It was summer at that time, but now it is summer. In winter, at this temperature, divers don’t have enough time to prepare for the pier after entering the water? Even if they enter the water, the steam piling machine must be installed on the boat for piling. The river is frozen in this season, how can the boat pass by! "

Lin Yuan asked: "Then have you tried gravity piers?"

Gravity piers are piers that are fixed in the water by their own gravity. Usually, such piers are made of concrete and have a large self-weight. They will not be washed away by the water flow or damaged by floating objects in the water.

Seeing that Lin Yuan knew about gravity piers, Zhan Tianyou couldn't help being surprised, and thought, "It seems that this Lin Yuan is not all an amateur."

Zhan Tianyou said again: "This method is fine, but such a bridge pier can only be poured in a factory in Tianjin, and its self-weight can reach dozens of tons. How can it be transported to Daling River with such a weight?"

Lin Yuan said: "Tens of tons? Is it necessary to be so heavy? The water depth of the Daling River section on the railway line we selected is only a little over three meters, so the bridge piers can be made shorter, and the water flow speed in that place is not very high. Therefore, the self-weight of the pier does not need to be very large, so the weight must be controlled within ten tons."

Seeing Lin Yuan's seriousness, Zhan Tianyou didn't understand why it was ten tons, and said, "Well, we will follow this when designing, but there is one problem, and it is also the most difficult one."

Lin Yuan asked: "What? Please tell me!"

Zhan Tianyou said: "We don't have any silver! There are many things that we can't produce in the Qing Dynasty. We can only buy foreign ones, such as railway tracks and concrete, which don't need a lot of silver!"

Lin Yuan asked: "How much silver do you need? Give me a count."

Without thinking about it, Zhan Tianyou said, "For such a long railway, 10 taels of silver will be used as a base first, and if it is not enough, more will be added."

Lin Yuan frowned, thought for a while, and said, "You guys plan it first, and I will also find a way about the money."

Lin Yuan came out and walked on the road, thinking: "10 taels of silver is not a small amount. You can't rely on those wealthy businessmen. Who has the most silver in the Qing Dynasty? The Ministry of Households is in charge of the national finance, and their treasury has a lot of money. Silver, but those silver coins are useful for disaster relief and military pay, if you spend 10 taels all at once to repair the railway, it is really difficult!"

Lin Yuan suddenly thought: "Isn't there a lot of silver in the royal family? There are tens of thousands of people living in the Forbidden City, and their annual food and clothing costs several 10 taels of silver. It's better to go to them to search, but how to search it? ?”

When Lin Yuan returned home, he finally came up with a clever plan. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Guan'er kneeling in the middle of the room with tears in his eyes.

Lin Yuan went up to pull her and asked, "What are you doing?"

Guan'er said: "After my lord came back, I left without even looking at my servant, thinking that my servant did something wrong to make my lord unhappy, but I couldn't figure it out after much deliberation, so I wait here for my lord, please Your Excellency will punish you!"

Lin Yuan wondered whether to laugh or cry: "This is where and what!" He said softly: "Guan'er, when you talk to me in the future, you are not allowed to call yourself a slave, just say 'I'."

Guan'er suddenly trembled slightly as if she had heard something terrible, and said: "This breaks the rules, and it must not be allowed."

Lin Yuan pulled her up from the ground, pushed her to sit on the bed, sat beside her, and asked, "Do you know how many concubines and maids there are in the palace?"

Guan'er said: "I don't know too well, there must be several thousand."

Lin Yuan asked again: "Among these people, is there anyone who doesn't wear make-up?"

Guan'er let out a "puchi" laugh, and said, "How is that possible, they are all very good at dressing themselves up, one is prettier than the other."

Lin Yuan suddenly said seriously, "Guan'er, I want you to do me a favor."

Guan'er asked suspiciously: "Help? What can I help you with?"

Lin Yuan said: "Don't say 'servant' again."

Guan'er quickly changed her words and said, "Okay, I won't say that again, how can I help?"

Lin Yuan said: "Can you tell them not to put on make-up, and give me the saved money to repair the railway."

Guan'er widened her eyes in surprise, and said, "How is this possible! I don't have that ability."

Lin Yuan said to Guan'er: "We'll all go to the palace in a while, I'll go to see the emperor, you go to see the Empress Dowager Cixi, and then you..."

After agreeing on a plan, the two of them entered the palace. After Guan'er entered the palace, she went to look for Emperor Guangxu's Concubine Jin. Concubine Zhen's half-sister, the two entered the palace together and were granted the title.

As soon as Guan'er entered the Yonghe Palace, she saluted and said, "Guan'er pays respects to Concubine Jin."

Guan'er was the Empress Dowager Cixi's favored maidservant, and was given to Lin Yuan, so even though she was a court lady, no one in the palace dared to underestimate her. She is no longer a noble concubine." A few months ago, Concubine Zhen was reprimanded by Empress Dowager Cixi for donating money from Governor Yu Chang of Henan Province, and Concubine Jin was also implicated, and the two were demoted to nobles together.

Although Concubine Jin said so, she was very pleased with Guan'er calling her "Concubine Jin", and she was very happy. Said that the Holy Majesty prefers precious people, let me go out and find out if there is any way to make the Holy Majesty change his mind?"

When Concubine Jin heard Guan'er call Concubine Zhen a "precious person", she was very pleased.

Concubine Jin lowered her voice and said, "Have you found out the solution?"

Guan'er smiled and whispered something in her ear, which made Concubine Jin nod her head repeatedly. At this moment, the eunuch who announced the news outside shouted: "The emperor is here!" Guan'er hurried away.

After Lin Yuan met Emperor Guangxu, he talked about the construction of the railway. Emperor Guangxu readily agreed, but when he mentioned 10 taels of silver, Emperor Guangxu found himself in trouble. .

Concubine Jin saw Emperor Guangxu's sad face, knelt down on the ground and asked, "Why is Your Majesty unhappy?"

Emperor Guangxu sighed and said: "The front line needs money, but now that there are wars for years, how can there be free money?"

Concubine Jin followed Guan'er's words and said, "Your Majesty, if you take out the harem's makeup money and clothing weaving money for this year, there is still 10 taels, right?"