Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 788 Enjoying the Railway
The idea of ​​rail carriages, also known as horse-drawn trains, had already burst into the emperor's mind when he went south to Beijing.

Don't engage in trains, are you still a time traveler?

Just like holding a gun, as an absolute killer in the era of cold weapons, it is not on the table in the era of hot weapons.

The same goes for horse-drawn trains, which were not even worth mentioning in the industrial age.

But there is no way, now it is only the feudal era, and the real industrial revolution will have to wait until the middle and late eighteenth century.

The horse-drawn train is the product of compromise.

After all, the steam engine is still in its infancy and has been slowly improving.

But Zhu Yixi couldn't afford to wait.

From Jilin in the east, Turpan in the west, Yinshan in the north, and the South China Sea in the south, such a vast land was taken during his reign.

The high cost of ruling makes it difficult to maintain it, because it is too big after all.

So the train is an indispensable thing.

Since the locomotive has to wait, add the tracks first.

Pillow, rails, locomotive, three elements of train.

If the locomotive doesn't work, then use a horse-drawn train to make do with it. When the time is right and the steam engine can be used, it will happen naturally without any hindrance.

Of course, as far as Zhu Yixi knew, the original track was not made of iron, but made of stones.

Later, the wooden tracks that are very common in British coal mines appeared. Of course, at that time, it was not trains that drove on them, but horse-drawn carriages.

He didn't think about these, and used the rails directly.

Anyway, with the massive mining of coal mines, fuel is no longer restricted, and the output of Zunhua Iron Mine is quite acceptable, so it is natural to use rails.

In order to get more iron, he even let go of the operation of the iron factory, thereby stimulating more private capital to pour in.

Of course, if there is no accident, most of the bureaucrats and nobles participated.

The emperor was not surprised by this.

Without a new aristocracy, how to replace the old aristocracy?

Isn't the so-called revolution in Britain just a traitor among the nobles?Cromwell was originally of noble birth.

This is the law of history. Those who uncover the tombs of old dynasties are often their own people, Tang Zhisui, Yuan Zhiqing.

"First from Yuquan Mountain to Beijing, then from Yuquan Mountain to Xuanfu, and then to Datong."

Looking at the map, Zhu Yixi outlined the railway layout of the Ming Dynasty in his mind.

In the case of insufficient pig iron production, it is very necessary to lay frontier railways.

"Your Majesty, there are many people in the capital who are curious about the railway track."

Zhang Qi said with a smile: "After hearing that you can take a walk in the carriage for only a few coppers, many people are willing to do so. It is much cheaper than renting a car."

"That's inevitable."

Zhu Yixi's spirit was pulled back. He turned his head and looked at Zhang Qi: "As long as it is popularized in the capital, those common people accept the railway and know its convenience, and it will naturally be passed on to the north and south."

"At that time, there will be no worries about sales."

That's right, Zhu Yixi didn't completely regard the railway as exclusive to the army at the beginning, but planned to relax it to the civilians, so that the common people can appreciate the charm of transportation development.

As long as the money is received and the capital can be recovered, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not lose money.

At that time, after years of age, the continuous collection of money will be enough to make the railways cover the whole of China.

Benefits are eternal and perpetual motion machines.

Moreover, for the emperor, mastering a series of railways is equivalent to mastering a series of financial resources. Although the initial cost is a bit higher, it cannot stand to collect money over time.

"If it is open to the public, just from Yuquan Mountain to Beijing, and back and forth every day, you can charge hundreds of dollars!"

Zhang Qi squinted his eyes and said in detail: "About a hundred thousand princes and nobles in Beijing City, they all eat spring water from Yuquan Mountain. They only charge ten coppers for a bucket of water, which means tens of thousands of buckets a day?"

"That's true."

Zhu Yixi is also very happy that the first railway will be profitable.

"How much does it cost to repair a mile of railroad track?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, every catty of pig iron in Beijing is now worth ten coppers, and a mile would cost at least 200,000 catties, which would be 2000 yuan silver dollars..."

Zhang Qi said casually, and a string of numbers popped out of his mouth.

It is conceivable that with the increase of iron consumption, the price of iron will inevitably increase, and its cost will become higher and higher.

But compared to future earnings, these are not worth mentioning.

It is estimated that from Yuquan Mountain to Beijing City, it will take half a year to pay back the cost, and the rest will be pure profit.

The emperor's finger suddenly pointed to the map.

Zhang Qi's eyes moved with his fingers, the capital, Tianjin Mansion, wandering back and forth.

"Your Majesty, do you want to?"

Seeing the name of Tianjin Mansion, Zhang Qi's heart beat instantly.

It is only three hundred miles from Tianjin to Beijing, but due to the factor of sea transportation, there are countless merchants crossing, and tens of thousands of goods are loaded.

It can be said that if a railway is built.Its profit is immeasurable, at least ten times that of Yuquan Mountain.

This is no way, this is clearly saved by using mountains of gold and silver.

Thinking of this, Zhang Qi was full of jealousy. It would be great if he managed it.

"How much should it cost?"

Zhu Yixi squinted and asked directly.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to go directly to Tianjin for repair."

Zhang Qi took two steps closer, and after being warned by the eyes of the eunuchs, he came back to his senses and trembled a few times.

The emperor waved his hand, signaling to come over.

He raised his head, pointed to Tianjin, and said, "Sea merchants disembark from Dagu Port, rent ships to Sanjiaodian Lake, and then go directly through the canal to Chongwenmen to unload."

"The most congested one is the road from Sanjiaodian to Chongwenmen. The canal is shallow and narrow, and there are many congestions. There are too many ships passing through, and there are many checkpoints for tax collection, which is very inconvenient."

"And if we build a railway track along the canal in Sanjiaodian, the railway only needs to be about [-] miles away to transport a large number of merchants."

"Wait, you mean a businessman?" Zhu Yixi interrupted suddenly, puzzled, "Where's the goods?"

"Your Majesty, the capacity of the horses is not enough, so it's enough to pull some people. The light goods can only be picked up, and the heavy ones can only go through the canal."

Zhang Qi explained softly, after all, there is some helplessness in his heart, the emperor is still not very close to the people!
"As long as those merchants arrive in Beijing first, the goods will be escorted by friends and managers."

"Besides, just transporting students to Beijing for the exam, as well as officials and merchants traveling to and from the capital, can earn a lot of income..."

Understood, the steam engine has to be put into real use before the capacity can be released on a large scale.

Zhang Qi suddenly felt that the emperor had calmed down, and when he looked up, he was looking at the map.

However, Zhang Qi looked more and more frightened.

The emperor's eyes moved from Beijing to Liaodong, and then from Liaodong to Nanjing...

Money, a lot of money will come from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

(End of this chapter)