Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

A silver steam train was driving slowly on the rails, and the intersection between the wheels and the rails was making a rhythmic clanking sound. As the train travels to the countryside, the fields, mountains and streams outside the window pass by one by one.

The passengers in the car looked outside at this moment, still feeling like they were dreaming.

With just a straight railway and this weird car, as long as they sit here quietly, they can reach hundreds, thousands, or thousands of miles away.

Tie Xiangshan, Marquis of Ping Liao, was a master who feared neither heaven nor earth, but at this moment, sitting upright and clenching his fists, he felt an unprecedented sense of nervousness.

"What a marvelous workmanship!"

"It's more than just a miraculous workmanship, it's groundbreaking!"

"If it is officially opened to traffic, I will definitely take this car to Tianjin!"

…

The chief minister of the cabinet, Yin Zhi, and other important ministers looked away from the window. At this moment, they felt that their whole bodies were indeed moving, and they all expressed emotion.

Although they were suffering from the impact of technology in their hearts, after they came to their senses, a heated discussion started in the car.

"This car is amazing, but the imperial court really invested a lot of money into this railway!" Liu Xuan, Minister of War, thought of the imperial court's reduced military expenditure, but felt sorry for the money.

Naturally, Chen Kun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, spoke for his own yamen of the Ministry of Industry. He immediately stood up and explained: "Liu Shangshu, this is wrong! We have indeed invested a lot of money, but once this railway is completed, all overseas goods in Tianjin Port can pass through. Railway transportation saves a lot of labor costs, and it can also solve the problem of road cargo congestion between the two places in one fell swoop!”

The Beijing-Tianjin Railway indeed invested a lot of manpower and material resources. Especially in order to solve the problem of needed steel, the Ming Dynasty not only mobilized the power of the whole country, but also forced other vassal states to pay tribute to pig iron.

However, once this railway is completed, the transportation cost from Tianjin to Beijing will be greatly reduced, and it will also solve the cargo congestion problem that has been plaguing the two places.

This is exactly the case. Although the Beijing-Tianjin Railway did bring a heavy financial burden to the Ming Dynasty in the short term, it was beneficial to long-term development and was a real century-old foundation.

"Chen Kun, as you are the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, you naturally hope to carry out such a big project, but agriculture is the foundation! If this money is used for water conservancy, Ming Dynasty will produce more food!" Liu Zhong of the Ministry of Agriculture also has his own His attitude seemed very regretful.

The Ministry of Agriculture is in charge of the country's agricultural production, and agricultural production is inseparable from the support of water conservancy infrastructure. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture under his supervision hopes that the court can invest more financial resources in water conservancy construction.

Ever since the Ming Dynasty incorporated Japan's Kyushu Island and Shikoku Island into the Ming Dynasty's territory, placed Shimaoka Island and other southeastern islands under military control, and added the southern part of Myanmar to the Indian Ocean Governor's Palace, these new lands have always been on his mind.

Unfortunately, the always wise emperors were very stingy in investing in water conservancy in these new lands, and even did not allow Kyushu and Shikoku to develop agriculture.

Likewise, he always believed that it was the Ming-Myanmar Highway and the Beijing-Tianjin Railway that delayed water conservancy construction, so he was opposed to the Beijing-Tianjin Railway in his heart.

Chen Kun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, could see through Liu Zhong's thoughts at a glance, and seemed to take the problem deeper and said: "Dare you ask if the people of the Ming Dynasty do not have enough food to eat now? Where are the disasters that the imperial court has just ignored? Now the Ming Dynasty is not short of food at all. ! You only saw that the imperial court spent 10 million silver dollars on the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, but do you know how many people got wages from this project and how many people were able to support their families? "

this……

Officials such as Liu Xuan, Secretary of the Ministry of War, knew that something was wrong between these two people, but they did not expect that sparks would fly here. However, this time it was Chen Kun who saw the problem more thoroughly.

"Okay! Today is a major change that has not happened in the Ming Dynasty for a hundred years, and it is also a happy day!" He Cong, the Minister of Household Affairs, stood up to mediate, and then expressed his own opinion: "The Beijing-Tianjin Railway is a resolution passed by us at the Supreme Council , and things have proven that our choice is correct! If this railway really encounters any financial problems, we will sit down together to discuss solutions. I believe that all of you are the pillars of Ming Dynasty!"

When hearing the last sentence, everyone nodded silently.

If the phenomenon that they are most proud of in recent years is not the Ming Dynasty's repeated victories in foreign wars, it is the fact that the Ming Dynasty is now in the government, and the high-ranking officials in the government are not mediocre people.

Yin Zhi, the chief assistant of the cabinet who assisted the emperor in handling government affairs, was a moral gentleman. Wang Yue, the chief assistant of the military aircraft cabinet who assisted the emperor in handling military affairs, was a rare talent in a century, and the ministers in each ministry were all capable ministers.

Although their current financial expenditure is indeed an astronomical figure, with the wisdom of their group of important ministers, it may not be impossible to solve the holes in government affairs.

You know, the current Ming-Myanmar Highway and the Beijing-Tianjin Railway are indeed almost draining the Ming Dynasty's finances, but the Ming Dynasty's grain tax, salt tax, luxury tax, commercial tax and customs are all rising.

In particular, the Ming Dynasty's foreign wars were not just about promoting the country's prestige. Luzon in Southeast Asia has been continuously transporting gold, and today Japan also sends a large amount of silver jewelry and seafood.

Because of this, they may encounter financial problems, but they are also confident that they can solve them.

The steam train has entered the fields, and the roaring sound echoes in the empty fields, as if the pace of history is advancing rhythmically.

They were all wearing Ming Dynasty official uniforms or official uniforms, which formed a sharp contrast with this modern vehicle, as if they were a picture of the intertwining of ancient and modern times.

"Just now I was outside the east gate of Beijing, and now I am in the fields. How amazing!"

"It is truly a great blessing for the world to have such a divine creature in the world, and it will arrive in the morning and evening!"

"Although this thing is lifeless, it can travel thousands of miles in a day. It's really God who has helped me become enlightened!"

…

In addition to the high-ranking officials riding together this time, there were also a number of military honors invited, and the Duke of Jing, Zhao Chengqing, and other nobles could not help but sigh with emotion.

Ten miles is already a huge achievement for this steam train.

As the silver steam train entered the platform, the steam train rubbed against the rails, and then slowly stopped, completing this historic journey.

The car door opened, and Zhu Youtang, who was wearing a dragon robe, walked out like a dragon and a tiger.

Although this was the slowest train he had ever taken, it was undoubtedly a huge breakthrough in this era and the beginning of the real takeoff of the Ming Dynasty.

The commander of the Jin Yiwei made Wang Xiang accompany him all the way, but this was his first time riding a train, and he suddenly found that his feet felt trembling when they touched the ground.

"Your Majesty, I respect you, long live my emperor, long live, long live!" Magistrate Wanping, as a representative of local officials, had already arrived here first, but he saluted respectfully.

This train station is not big, but as a standard building of this era, it is enough to receive the emperor and many important ministers who come here.

Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon chair in the waiting hall and held a meeting here.

"Your Majesty, the Beijing-Tianjin Railway is expected to be completed in another three months!" Yu Ming, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Su Bonian, the new Nanzhong Bo, faced the emperor's questions and respectfully stepped forward to answer.

Although Ming Dynasty devoted almost all of its efforts to this railway, it also kept up with the progress of the project. It's just that nothing can be accomplished overnight, and they still have the last section of railway that has not been repaired.

However, there is no big problem with the Beijing-Tianjin Railway. After all, the most difficult steam train has been launched, and the entire railway only needs to be connected to complete the construction.

Zhu Youtang has been paying attention to this project and nodded with satisfaction: "Although it is already in the final finishing stage, don't take it lightly! The Beijing-Tianjin Railway not only shoulders the mission of solving the freight problem between the two places, but also is a century-old foundation of the Ming Dynasty. So nothing is allowed!”

"Please keep this in mind!" Yu Ming, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Su Bonian, the uncle of Nan Zhong, straightened their faces and immediately expressed their opinions in a dignified manner.

Zhu Youtang looked at the senior officials present, but smiled slightly and said: "My dear friends, you all took the train just now, what do you think of the train?"

"Amazing!"

"To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I still feel like I'm dreaming!"

"When the construction is completed, please grant your Majesty one day's leave so that I can take this car to Tianjin!"

…

Faced with this problem, the officials present expressed their opinions one after another, and they did not hesitate to praise this magical steam train.

Zhu Youtang's eyes fell on Liu Zhong, but he smiled slightly: "Liu Aiqing, I just heard that you have some complaints about your investment in this project, but is this true?"

"I have no objection to this project, but I still feel that Ming Dynasty can spend more on water conservancy and agricultural development!" Liu Zhong hesitated and expressed his thoughts.

Zhu Youtang looked around, and finally his eyes fell on Liu Xuan, Minister of War.

"I also agree with this project, but even though I am the Minister of War, I naturally hope that your majesty can increase the military budget!" Liu Xuan did not hide it, but also said what he said.

Zhu Youtang glanced at Wang Hua and others who were offering sacrifices to the Imperial Academy, and said bitterly: "I know what you have in mind! The imperial court only has so much finance, and everyone hopes to share more, but is this the case?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Liu Zhong and other officials from the Ministry of Agriculture said in succession.

Facing the officials present, Zhu Youtang changed the topic: "If you want to be rich, build roads first! When Li Taibai was talking about the difficulty of the road to Shu, he already pointed out that if there were no roads, there would be no communication between Shu and the Central Plains for three thousand years. . I have discussed the road issues with you many times before, so we decided to build the Beijing-Tianjin Railway and the Ming-Myanmar Highway! But I find that you seem to be content with the status quo, and you will not really be satisfied with the Ming Dynasty. Is this the only railway?”

As soon as these words came out, they immediately penetrated the hearts of many people.

They really feel that building the Beijing-Tianjin Railway is already a huge achievement, and it is not appropriate to do any other major projects for at least ten years, but this idea is undoubtedly too conservative.

Some officials who originally regarded themselves as reformists suddenly realized that they wanted to stagnate and had indeed not considered the idea of ​​a second railway.

Zhu Youtang saw their reactions in his eyes and reiterated: "I remember I made an agreement with you ministers! We, the monarchs and ministers, want to create a truly prosperous age and bring the Ming Dynasty to unprecedented heights. Since we can now make Beijing and Tianjin are connected by railway, why not continue to promote it? Railways do cost a lot of silver dollars, but can we stop and leave it to future generations just because it costs money? "

"I am guilty!"

"The Beijing-Tianjin Railway should not come to a standstill!"

"We must fight for our children and grandchildren!"

…

Senior officials such as Shi Wanyi, Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, had firm opinions and made honest statements one after another.

In their position, doing nothing is actually the most comfortable. It's just that they have already set the goal of becoming a powerful country. Now that they know that the railway can deepen the integration of the two places, why should they stop?

"Your Majesty, please specify the new railway line. I am willing to go through fire and water for your Majesty and the Ming Dynasty!" Liu Xuan, Minister of War, firmly thought about it and stood up to express his position.

The officials present expressed their opinions one after another and looked at Zhu Youtang curiously.

If it is centered on Beijing, then the most important are two routes. One is naturally the connection between Beijing and the Northeast Granary, and the other is the connection between Beijing and Jiangnan.

But from a cost perspective, the best route is undoubtedly to connect to the Northeast, so that Beijing's food supply will be more strongly guaranteed.

Facing everyone's gaze, Zhu Youtang smiled slightly and said: "How should the new railway be built? You should not ask me, but ask yourself! Where should we build it? It can not only meet the needs of the court, but also It can benefit the people!”

Unlike the arbitrary emperor, Zhu Youtang is now more willing to leave the issue to the officials below and then make the final decision himself.

Now that it has been decided to continue building the railway, we must consider not only the needs of the country, but also the core issue of cost recovery.

Although the investment in the Beijing-Tianjin Railway is huge, the freight demand in Tianjin is there. Once it officially starts operation, it may not be able to recover the cost.

"Your Majesty, I think the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway can be built!" Chen Kun, Minister of Industry, stood up with a big belly and looked extremely serious.

ah?

As soon as these words came out, the officials present looked at Chen Kun in shock.

Calculated based on the investment in the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to build the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway, the court would have to invest at least 100 million silver dollars.

No one thought that the Beijing-Tianjin Railway had not yet been completely completed, but Chen Kun actually dared to start planning the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway, a super project that would cost 100 million silver dollars.

"That's ridiculous. Do you know how much financial expenditure this will require?"

"Not to mention whether the imperial court can afford it, how should we deal with this pig iron?"

"Beijing and Hangzhou are thousands of miles apart. Do you know how many years it will take to complete the project?"

…

Faced with Chen Kun's scary proposal, officials such as Liu Zhong, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, stood up to strongly oppose it and criticized Chen Kun personally. (End of chapter)