Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 789
In fact, it was never money that restricted the railway, but the production of pig iron.

The reason why pig iron is used instead of wrought iron, or steel, is nothing more than the large output of pig iron, which is cheap and durable.

In the early years of Hongwu, the iron tax was one tax per fifteen, and the output of pig iron taxed nationwide reached 20 million catties, and in the reign of Yongle, it reached 30 million catties.

If you count those who concealed it, counting it ten times, the national output exceeds [-] million catties.

During the reign of Shaowu, wine and iron were counted as special commercial taxes, reaching one tax per ten, but the price of pig iron did not rise but went down.

Without him, the large-scale mining and application of coal has led to lower fuel prices, coupled with the convenience of transportation, making pig iron small profits but quick turnover.

The iron yards run by the government are even cheaper, less than ten yuan per catty.

Due to the application of coal, the output of Zunhua Iron Mine has expanded rapidly, with more than a thousand blast furnaces and more than [-] craftsmen and apprentices.

Occasionally, Zhu Yixi took a look, and the combination of government, private and private companies has an annual output of more than 5 million catties.

One mile of rail tracks weighs 200,000 catties, and the sixty miles from Yuquan Mountain to Beijing consumes more than 2 million catties of pig iron.

Needless to say, it is definitely necessary to purchase pig iron support from various places.

"There must be a lot of coal and iron mines in Zunhua and Yongping Prefecture (Tangshan). If there is more exploration and mining, this output is far from enough for the railway."

The emperor saw that his face was solemn, and his voice was slightly higher, which frightened the latter.

"Yes, I understand."

Zhang Qi quickly reacted.

"In addition, I heard that there are quite a lot of iron mines in Liaodong, especially Fushun."

Zhu Yixi became interested, so he said, "Cheng Zu gave the order of 'Fusui Frontier, Shun guides the barbarians', so Fushun became Fushun, and Jiannu called himself Khan because of its important position."

"Since private businessmen are hesitant to move forward, the Ministry of Internal Affairs should go one step further and be the pioneer."

The importance of Liaodong was widely valued during the Sui and Tang Dynasties because of the rise of Goguryeo, but the Central Plains Dynasty was easy to ignore.

The Khitan people in the background, whose family name means the family of iron and iron, it is because of the iron mines and coal mines in Liaodong that they are like fish in water, so they gradually got up and became big.

The Ming Dynasty paid the most attention to Liaodong. Not only did it relocate hundreds of thousands of military households, but it also set up a large number of official iron smelting.

It's a pity that all of these were made into wedding dresses for Man Qing.

Suddenly, Zhang Qi came to his senses and asked, "Your Majesty, after all, the railway is long, ranging from tens of miles to hundreds of miles, and the value of pig iron is very high. Those mud-legged people have many troublemakers. Railroads sell for money..."

"You can build the railway along the official road, so people come and go, and the movements are smaller."

Zhu Yixi thought casually: "In addition, it is like a post station. Every twenty or thirty miles, a stop is set up, and a large number of horses and livestock are raised to allow people to get on and off the car."

"Set up a group of 20 people at the station and let them patrol along the road. I don't believe there are people who would dare to cut the railway tracks halfway."

The biggest advantage of the horse-drawn train is that the horses don't stop, and they can change a batch of horses every [-] miles, and each batch of carriages is separated by about a quarter of an hour.

The carriage bumped into it and had to be crushed into meat paste.

"Besides, the patrol teams at the post station recruited more villagers from the villages along the way. With them as internal support, who can escape by grabbing the train tracks?"

There are too many ways to prevent car rails from being scraped.

Raising dogs, recruiting people, harsh punishments and legal warnings, etc., in today's feudal society, ordinary people cannot live without their villages for a lifetime, and most of the people who can pull the railway tracks are nearby people.

What's more, even if the railroad tracks were stripped off, the stolen goods would still have to be sold. When asked by various blacksmiths, the truth would be revealed immediately.

"How long will it take for the road on Yuquan Mountain to be repaired?"

Suddenly, the emperor turned his head and asked.

"It's estimated to be around the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Seeing that the emperor's expression was not right, Zhang Qi immediately said: "Now it's half repaired, and it can be repaired for another [-] miles by the end of May. You can take a ride by walking about ten miles."

"That's fine."

Suddenly, Zhu Yixi thought of something: "You shouldn't be cultivating directly from Xishan to Beijing?"

Zhang Qi is at a loss, isn't he?
"You repair the road first, lay pillows, stones, and then lay the rails. At this time, it will be enough to repair from both sides of the West Mountain in Beijing?"

"There is no shortage of manpower, no shortage of rails, and the speed can be at least doubled."

Zhu Yixi hates iron but not steel.

Zhang Qi suddenly realized, and went to work.

Sure enough, after such a deployment, the speed has nearly doubled, and the work that was supposed to be done at the end of August can be completed in early June.

For more than a month, Zhu Yixi endured in Beijing for the time being.

On the eighth day of June, there are huge crowds of people outside Xuanwumen, and tens of thousands of people stand on tiptoes and keep looking out.

"Hey melon seeds, melon seeds—"

"Candied dates, candied dates!"

"Oranges, oranges—"

The peddlers also saw the needles, picking up the goods, shouting non-stop, as if they were going to a market.

"I'm coming--"

Crashing, under the sticks of the yamen servants, everyone stopped their movements and knelt down together, not daring to raise their heads.

First there was a group of guards, wearing armor, fresh clothes and angry horses, extraordinarily majestic.

Then there were banners, signs, and finally carriages, slowly approaching.

At the finish line, a wooden station rises from the ground. Although it is not luxurious, it can also provide shelter from the wind and rain.

And on the rails, a carriage about three feet long and five feet wide was parked.

If you have to use a metaphor, it is an extended version of the carriage, the windows are bigger, the same luxury, inlaid with a lot of gold, silver and agate.

In front, six docile white horses are strung together, and two grooms are holding the reins and whips and sitting in front of them.

"This is the iron carriage?" Zhu Cunqu, the king of Wu, who was getting older, was eager to try, and got off the carriage under the guidance of the nurse, and he was extraordinarily active.

The eldest son of the concubine, Zhu Cunhao, was nearly nine years old. He glanced at the railway tracks that could not be seen, his eyes were full of curiosity.

One after another, the princes and princesses got out of the car one after another, and the exploration in their eyes couldn't be stopped.

The princes got out of the car right behind the emperor, and followed closely behind the emperor.

And because of etiquette, the queen and concubines could only watch secretly from the car.

"It's not a train, it's a train."

Zhu Yi corrected his son.

"Father, you didn't see the fire!"

Zhu Cunqu was used to being spoiled, so he couldn't help muttering at this moment.

The nurses, wet nurses, eunuchs and maids at the side were startled, their faces turned pale.

But their worries are superfluous, the emperor has always had a good temper, especially towards his son.

"Hahaha, not yet, but in a few years."

Zhu Yixi laughed.

Afterwards, the emperor, Zhu Cunqu, Zhu Cunhao, three people, as well as the court ladies and eunuchs who served them, and a dozen people boarded the carriage.

(End of this chapter)