My Brother-in-law is the Prince

  Chapter 359 A Great Happy Event

   It was Yang Pu who was in charge of the railway.

  He, the Shaoyin of the Taiping Mansion, is quite weak in local governance and is a bit powerless.

   Therefore, Zhang Anshi simply arranged special affairs for him first.

  The construction of the railway must be led by a person with a high enough level. On the other hand, this person also needs to have such a willingness to work tirelessly.

  Of course, the most important thing is that Yang Pu still has a lot of administrative experience. He may not be able to handle the intricate local affairs, but he is still good at recruiting labor and supervising projects.

For Yang Pu, the railway construction is actually the river control project of this era. As long as the principle is understood, the common people are enlisted, and then divided into many sections, and some skilled people are called together, and let them take the common people to go Construction can be done.

Of course, there are still a lot of troubles, because there are too many people involved, and it is very complicated, and the difficulty of construction in different sections is different, and the steel, sleepers, and equipment ordered may not arrive at any time as scheduled. Shao Yin had to coordinate in the middle, and the complicated things encountered were countless.

Fortunately, Zhang Anshi gave enough money and food, and he has already trained a group of young engineering talents. After all, many workshops are merchants. Merchants in this era, after all, are humble, but they are not bold enough to dare to act like Yang Pu. Fu Shaoyin's head is short of weight.

   So things are going well.

  For more than half a year, Yang Pu shuttled around various construction sites, and he lost a lot of weight in the wind and rain.

  This time, he returned to Qixia from Jing County. Jing County is one of the counties in the Ning State Prefecture. The terrain there is relatively complicated, so he made a special trip there.

   Just returned to Fu Yin Ya.

  It just so happened that Liu Ji, the magistrate of Wuhu County, came to Fuzhong on business, and came to visit Yang Pu specially.

   This Liu Ji met Yang Pu and said, "Bachelor Yang..."

  Yang Pu was very happy to see Liu Jilai, swept away the tiredness of many days of hard work, and said with a smile on his face: "Haha, Wenchang is here. Why, what's going on in Wuhu?"

   "For the approval of the mines in the county, another large mine was discovered. There are quite a lot of mines in Wuhu." After a pause, Liu Ji continued: "Just waiting for the government to publish."

  Yang Pu nodded.

  This Liu Ji, like Yang Pu, was a person who came down from the Zhan Shifu. Like Liu Ji, he was often selected from the Hanlin Academy to enter the Zhan Shifu. This Liu Ji also has another identity, that is, the editor of the Imperial Academy.

  At this moment, Liu Ji still looks like a traveler, and his complexion is not as fair as before.

  The majestic Hanlin, the assistant officer of Zhan Shifu, is actually a county magistrate in the county, I am really aggrieved.

  Yang Pu took a deep look at Liu Ji at this time, and then said: "How about it, have you gained experience in Wuhu County?"

  Liu Ji smiled wryly and said: "Thousands of things are really disturbing, and I have only just glimpsed the door until now."

  Yang Pu smiled and said: "There is still a lot to learn."

   "Mr. Yang, I heard that Mr. Yang has been running around recently..."

Before Liu Ji finished speaking, Yang Pu waved his hands and said, "For official business, it's not considered running around, but walking around, I saw many colleagues from Zhan Shi's mansion. They are in various prefectures and counties. , it was quite hard work.”

Liu Ji couldn't help feeling: "Hey... When I was in Hanlin and Zhan Shifu, I always felt that doing things is easy, as long as I can do whatever I want. Now it's really down, and I don't know what I said casually in the temple, but in the place... It will take countless officials to work on it for a year and a half, and it may not be successful."

Yang Pu said: "The things in the world are generally like this. Those who don't do things think that things are easy, and those who do things know that things are difficult. I heard that you did a good job in Wuhu County, and the local county magistrate was full of praise for you. Finally, we didn't embarrass Zhan Shifu."

  Liu Ji said: "Mr. Yang...you railway...I heard that you have raised a lot of debts...this...would it be..."

  Yang Pu looked at Liu Ji worried.

  He immediately understood that Liu Ji had unknowingly entered the role of the Dudu Mansion.

   As a Hanlin, I looked down on these things.

   Now that I have gone deep into it, I probably already know the operating rules here. Although there are still people full of complaints, at least they don't hold too much hostility towards the New Deal.

  Of course, there are also many people who are worried that the New Deal will be unsustainable. For example, the railway is too scary. With so many debts, the money invested, in previous years, was the cash income of the court for several years.

   Just to fix this... what a horrible thing to do when these debts blow up.

  People in an agricultural society cannot imagine borrowing like this, and only those who are desperate will borrow.

  And under normal circumstances, once debts are raised, the end will be extremely miserable!

  Because most of them couldn't pay back, the whole family was enslaved and exploited for generations.

  Yang Pu restrained his smile, and said: "Speaking of which, the old man is actually a little worried. There are many people who are worried about this matter."

Liu Ji hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Many of my colleagues in the Imperial Academy have mentioned this matter, but quite a few of them are gloating, saying... they are living without food, and they have never heard of a good end. "

   As he spoke, he shook his head.

Yang Pu didn't pay much attention to these words, but cheered up and said: "In any case, we must do our own thing well. We have only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg in terms of the operating rules of the New Deal. Now that we think about it, there is another What's the use?"

  Liu Ji had no choice but to nod: "Mr. Yang is right. I am in Wuhu County...but I can feel the benefits of the New Deal. Speaking of it... hey..."

  Yang Pu smiled and said, "Oh? Come and listen to me."

Liu Jidao: "Don't talk about other things, let's just talk about these people... Finally, they have a livelihood, they have land, they can farm, and if they want to earn money, they can also work during the slack season. Now that the New Deal is booming, the wages are also rising. With the prosperity of business and industry, the market There are also a lot of things for sale on the Internet, to be honest, in Wuhu County, which is a lower official, children, teenagers, and teenagers aged nine to fifteen are enrolled, and 50% of them are enrolled, which is really unimaginable."

  Yang Pu smiled and said: "If the old man remembers correctly, you had a lot of complaints about the New Deal back then."

  Liu Ji smiled wryly and said: "Xiaguan's native place is Shandong, and his family has quite a few land properties. When you think that they want to search and confiscate Xiaguan's property, can you not be anxious?"

   "But how do you figure it out now?" Yang Pu cheered up and looked at Liu Ji with piercing eyes.

Liu Jidao: "When I was studying, I had a brother of one year. He was a gentry in the village, but his luck was not good. When he was thirteen, his father died early, and there was another accident in his family. In the end, he was reduced to a beggar, and the officials visited him and wanted to help him, only to find out that he had died of illness."

  Yang Pu: "..."

Liu Ji seemed to be a little melancholy because of the memories of the past, and continued quietly: "At that time, I only thought that his luck was bad, but now when I am in Wuhu, I think about it carefully. Who can guarantee that their family will be prosperous forever? Not to mention other things, even the many descendants of the royal family in the Song Dynasty were at the end of the road at the end of the Song Dynasty. Then Liu Xuande, who was even after Liu Bang, didn't his family also fall into ruin when he was born? "

"It can be seen that people can't just think about the wealth and honor of the present, but they need to think about what the descendants of future generations will look like when they are reduced to the most difficult time. Even if the land at home is not confiscated due to the New Deal, who can guarantee it?" , have belonged to my Liu family for generations?"

  Yang Pu nodded after hearing this.

When Liu Ji said this, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief, so he smiled and said: "So, I am thinking about it now, but this is better. Instead of giving the children and grandchildren a lot of land, it is better... to give the children and grandchildren a piece of land. Poverty in the world! No matter how difficult the family is, you can rely on farming to support yourself, so that your children can go to school and study, and they can go to the city to work, so that you don’t fall into the situation of poverty and disease. This is better than guarding some land now."

  Yang Pu couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "You have such insight, I never thought of it... If I knew this, I would teach you to learn and teach you the benefits of this new policy."

  Liu Ji smiled and said, "Don't dare, dare not."

Yang Pu sighed: "But having said that, it's not easy to make people think about it. Taking people's money is ultimately a matter of killing their parents, so... we must be more careful in our actions, and we must not make any mistakes. , give someone a handle."

   Liu Ji said: "Yes."

   Now Liu Ji said goodbye and had to rush back to the county.

Yang Pu didn't see him off. At this time, what he was concerned about was the issue of steam locomotives. The first railway in Taiping Mansion was about to be completed. This railway was convenient to build, as it connected the original Taiping Mansion and Ningguo Mansion. , connected Qixia again.

   This is the first railway to be connected, and it is very important. If the purchased steam locomotives cannot be delivered in full at the time of the connection, then the previous labor rush will be in vain.

  The manufacture of steam locomotives is in charge of the military workshop.

  The military workshop is placed under Qixia Academy of Sciences.

  This Academy of Sciences was established under Zhu Di's instruction, and gathered scholars from various disciplines, and Xu Jingchang was in charge of the steam power.

   These days, Xu Jingchang tried a way to increase the power of some steam locomotives. After repeated improvements, the steam locomotive was finally stronger than the original version.

  Of course, this is also due to his strictness on various material suppliers. The higher the strength of steel, the greater the amount of steel used can be reduced.

   To some extent, the weight of the steam locomotive was greatly reduced and the capacity was increased.

  In addition to this, we still started with boilers and cylinders. After repeated experiments, this latest steam locomotive was finally finalized.

  The next step is to manufacture. How to mass-produce some components has become a problem again. This requires the mechanical workshop to improve the lathe.

  Naturally, in the face of the innumerable demands at present, both workshops and research institutes are now willing to find ways to improve the process. After all... any progress means cost reduction and more order returns.

Xu Jingchang spends almost every day in the Academy of Sciences. He may not be interested in these things at first, but...in the process of studying and researching...he found an unprecedented feeling from it, that is, an indescribable sense of accomplishment .

  After being an honored minister, relatives of the emperor, Xu Jingchang spent his childhood almost in play.

  Perhaps it was because the accomplishments of his fathers were too great. From Xu Jingchang's point of view, no matter what, he couldn't stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

  Since you can’t compare it, then don’t compare it. Isn’t it delicious?

But when he started to study steam power, he suddenly began to find an indescribable sense of accomplishment. He saw this big guy moving in his hand, and then he received the envious eyes of countless people. , as if suddenly opened a box deep in his heart.

  It turns out that...I...can actually...

  In the past half a year, no one has locked him in the military workshop anymore.

  But Xu Jingchang devoted his thoughts to this almost day and night, leading dozens of students, repeating experiments again and again.

   Occasionally, he came up with a new idea, and then went to the research institute to ask for funding.

  Sometimes he disliked the speed with which the research institute approved funding was too cumbersome, so he simply paid the money directly.

  He has always taken money very lightly. After all, for a noble son who is born with no worries about food and clothing, and who will always have countless servants and clothes, these belongings are not worth mentioning.

  It’s early summer…

   Zhang Anshi has already received a copy of the report.

  The first railway will be completed soon.

   Zhang Anshi took the report, and hurriedly said at the first moment: "Ask people to prepare horses and enter the palace."

  This first railway is of great significance, and Zhang Anshi dare not take it lightly.

  Therefore, Zhang Anshi rushed into the palace to have an audience.

   When he arrived at Wenlou, Zhu Di was discussing matters with various ministers.

   "Chen Zhang Anshi has seen His Majesty."

  Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi with a smile, and said with a smile: "Say Cao Cao, Cao Cao will be there..."

  Zhang Anshi's expression changed, and he said, "Your Majesty, the subject is Xun Yu, not Cao Cao."

  Zhu Di laughed and said: "Look, Zhang Qing's family seems to be good at literature and history."

  Everyone laughed dryly.

  Zhang An Shidao: "My minister also reads occasionally..."

   "Speaking of which, what's the matter today?"

  Zhang An Shidao: "Your Majesty has been on the throne for twelve years, and the government is well-organized and the people are harmonious. Now the minister has a great joy to play..."

  Hearing that there was a happy event, Zhu Di raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "What happy event?"

"The railways in the counties of Taiping Prefecture... have been completed! This is the first railway in the world since the creation of the world by Pangu. The whole of the right-hand governor's mansion is grateful to His Majesty. Therefore, to build this railway, everyone has worked hard and died. Now... the railway Guantong, this is the blessing of the common people, the luck of all the people, and it is a proof of His Majesty's great rule of the world. This grand event, unprecedented in the ages, will surely last forever..."

  After Zhu Di heard this, he also came to his spirits: "The matter of laying steel on the ground... Are you serious about spreading this iron to the counties?"

  Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty has seen the railway with his own eyes, how can he say that the iron is laid on the ground?"

  Zhu Di said: "It's nothing, it's just that someone... also appeared in the memorial..."

  Zhang Anshi then said: "I don't know what memorial it is?"

   "They said that what I did was... imitating Emperor Sui Yang."

  Zhu Di didn't hide from Zhang Anshi either.

  Zhang Anshi looked surprised: "Emperor Sui Yang...your majesty...this...what is this allusion?"

Zhu Di said: "It seems that you only read half of your mother's books. There is an allusion that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty used to wrap a tree with silk to show the prosperity of the Sui Dynasty. He wrapped a tree with silk, but I spread iron on the ground. It is meant to ridicule me for being overjoyed."

  Zhang Anshi said heartily: "Your Majesty, since you know that they are mocking you, why don't you kill them?"

   "This..." Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, these people... have no knowledge. They only know how to find chapters and extract sentences, and show off the so-called words.

  Zhu Di said: "I didn't pay attention to it...but..."

  Zhu Di specifically mentioned this matter, which actually implied it.

You know, steel is a luxury in this era, and using steel to pave roads makes even Zhu Di feel heartbroken. Thinking that Zhang Anshi borrowed the money, he is even more worried, and even sleepy for a few days no.

  You borrow money, even if you give me the borrowed money, that's fine.

   Now hearing Zhang Anshi's response, Zhu Di couldn't help but smile: "Since the railway is completed, it should be completed, but...how much did it cost?"

   Well, this is what he wants to know the most.

   "This railway?" Zhang Anshi said.

  Zhu Di nodded.

   "If it's just this one, the total length is 430 miles, and the cost... is probably between 2.90 and 3.2 million taels."

  After Zhu Di heard this, he immediately took a deep breath.

  Yang Rong and others were obviously taken aback by this number.

  This is just one piece...and it cost so much?

Zhang Anshidao: "But this is the first one. On the one hand, the construction period is overdue, and on the other hand, it is not yet proficient, so the initial cost is huge. In the future... if we continue to build, these costs can be spread out, and the cost will gradually increase. low."

  Zhu Di hummed, holding back the pain in his heart.

  Seeing that Zhang Anshi is in high spirits, it's not easy to pour cold water on him: "Your work, I can rest assured."

"The reason I came here is to hope that His Majesty will announce the auspicious date for the opening of the traffic. At that time... I plan to hold a grand opening ceremony on the auspicious day for the opening of the traffic, so that everyone in the world will know such a feat. If Your Majesty can go to Qixia to observe the ceremony in person, It would be even better, in this way, the officials, merchants, and civilians who will build the railway this time will definitely be able to boost their morale when they see His Majesty's love."

  Zhu Di glanced at Yang Rongren and the others and said, "What do you think? Forget it, let the Jin Qing family make up their minds about such matters. The Jin Qing family is good at such feigned tricks."

  Jin Zhong: "..."

  Jin Zhong felt a little speechless, His Majesty seemed to have misunderstood his major.

   But at the moment, he is really in a dilemma, so he said: "Your Majesty, is the opening of the railway a happy housewarming, or a relocation, or opening a market, praying for blessings, or opening a warehouse?"

  Yes, there were no railways in the past. From the concept of auspicious days in the zodiac, I have never heard that it is appropriate for the railway to run through.

   It can be said that it is a housewarming, which is wrong, because this thing can move.

  But if it’s about relocation...it’s not right, as for the opening of the market...it seems a bit out of date, you can’t pick a day that is suitable for getting married, right?

   All of a sudden, everyone was in trouble.

  Zhu Di frowned and said, "Are you asking me this?"

Jin Zhong thought for a while and said: "The ninth day of the next day is the day when Yi's bed will be installed. I think this is the same as setting up the bed. Setting up the bed is the last step before the housewarming, the new house is fixed, and the housewarming is the last step. The railway is running through... Then, the second quarter of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. It is an auspicious day for the zodiac.”

  Zhu Di said: "That's how it is, what does Zhang Qing think?"

  Zhang Anshidao: "That's very good, Duke Jin is really professional, but...Since this auspicious date was chosen by Duke Jin, why not ask Duke Jin to write an announcement in his hand and announce it to the world?"

  Jin Zhong's face is very ugly, do you really regard the old man as a character tester?

  He said sternly: "I am the Minister of the Ministry of War, how can I do such nonsense in a grand manner."

  Zhang Anshidao: "It's okay, it's okay, let's take the next best thing, let me find someone to write for me, and then only add Jin Gong's name, and don't bother Jin Gong."

  Jin Zhong: "..."

Zhang Anshi continued: "I implore Your Majesty to go to Qixia in the future and personally preside over this piercing ceremony. Your Majesty... this is a first-class event in the world, and it will surely last forever. pity…"

  Zhu Di was a little hesitant. He still feels sorry for the silver, but in the end, he still said: "In any case, after spending so much money...how can I not go? I have approved this matter."

  Seeing that Zhu Di agreed, Zhang Anshi was overjoyed, and Zhu Di was a little tired, so he ordered all the officials to leave.

   Zhang Anshi left the Wenlou, and the Wenyuange scholar had to go to Wenyuange to be on duty, while Zhang Anshi and others went outside the palace.

  Jin Zhong looked depressed.

  As for Jin Chunren and others, Zhang Anshi is not very familiar with them.

  But Zhang Anshi muttered to himself when he saw Xia Yuanji also put on a bad face.

  So he walked side by side with Xia Yuanji unhurriedly, and said in a low voice, "Duke Xia, your complexion is not good."

  Xia Yuanji raised his head and forced a dry smile: "Hmm..."

  Zhang Anshi said again: "Aren't you sick?"

  Xia Yuanji couldn't bear it anymore: "You're the only one who is sick!"

  Zhang Anshi was shocked. its not right. In his memory, Xia Yuanji has always been a modest gentleman, why is he acting like a tiger and wolf today?

  So Zhang Anshi said innocently: "Grand Xia...what's wrong with you, I'm kind..."

  Xia Yuanji frowned, as if trying hard to hold back something, and said, "It's nothing, don't ask."

  Zhang Anshi said: "If you have any difficulties, just tell me, don't worry, I, Zhang Anshi..."

   "There is one difficulty." Xia Yuanji looked at him seriously, and said, "I'm just afraid of this matter... Will Duke Wei really be willing to solve it?"

  Zhang Anshi patted his chest and said: "What are you talking about, Xia Gong said, I, Zhang Anshi, will go through fire and water..."

Before he finished speaking, Xia Yuanji said: "The thing is like this, I don't know if the emperor's grandson was ordered by some wicked guy whose ancestral graves are smoking, to sell the land by force. My son happened to be on duty in the young army , was actually bought dozens of acres according to the head, Wei Guogong, you know this old man... old man..."

   This time Xia Yuanji hadn’t finished speaking, Zhang Anshi’s face tensed, and he hugged Xia Yuanji and said, "Wait a minute, Mr. Xia, I just thought that the soup fire at home has not been extinguished, so I have to go home and turn off the fire, goodbye!"

  (end of this chapter)