Ming Zuo

Leaving Yili, heading east all the way, there are lively large construction sites along the way.

Zhang Jimeng is a ruthless man, and he actually started to build a railway between Xijing and the provincial capital of the Western Regions.

This was not within the country's plan, and he did not ask for help from the country. It was built purely with the strength of the Western Regions itself.

Zhang Jimeng's reason is also very good.

The Western Regions are too vast. Without convenient transportation, it is difficult to effectively control the vast area by walking on two legs of people and mules and horses.

In addition, the Western Regions are rich in mineral resources, and agriculture will also usher in great development in the foreseeable future.

And all products need to be shipped in a timely manner in order to be of value.

This reflects the role of the railway.

It doesn't matter if the country doesn't care about this for the time being, even if the belt is tightened, the Western Regions will build their own railways.

Of course, he also has confidence.

It is the more than 40 prisoners of war.

The Battle of the Western Regions went very smoothly, eliminating one local regime after another, and one rebel force after another.Especially in religious disputes, there are more prisoners.

Naturally, with so many people, they would not be able to support them in vain.

Zhang Jimeng decided to squeeze all the value out of these prisoners of war.

For the more than 1000-kilometer railway line between Xijing and the provincial government, it is best to lay bones under each sleeper.

Regarding this, Zuo Menggeng couldn't say anything.

Although it is cruel to kill two birds with one stone, it can only be done like this.

Returning to the Hexi Corridor, this place is no longer desolate, but rather lively.

On the long Gobi, the caravans shuttling back and forth were actually connected in a line, and they couldn't see where the breaks were.

Merchants in the Western Regions traveled eastward carrying commodities such as spices, furs, gems, and seeds, and their faces were full of longing for wealth.

Today's Silk Road, apart from bad weather conditions, there is no other risk.

In order to keep this commercial road unimpeded, the National Defense Forces plowed and swept the caves here, and carried out hundreds of bandit suppression operations back and forth.

There is no living space for bandits and thieves here.

Today's caravans walking on this road don't even need to bring their own force, and they can feel safe.

After the National Defense Forces, the local government is also very strong.

The supply points along the way have become more and more perfect, and some roads have even been opened in places with complex terrain.Even in the event of a terrible sandstorm, the caravan has a place to take refuge.

The most important thing is that all the tax cards along the long Silk Road have been cancelled.

This greatly reduced the cost of commerce and trade, and led to the rapid prosperity of the entire Silk Road.

It can be said that the empire gave the best conditions to this ancient trade route.

Merchants from the Western Regions entered the Central Plains from here, not to mention a lot of hardships, and received fair treatment that they never had before.

The reputation quickly spread, and it also caused a boom in business and trade in the Western Regions.

And only when the commercial roads were fully opened, did people realize how huge the market was.

For example, the spices of the Western Regions are very popular in the Central Plains, and they are also the top products of merchants in the Western Regions.

The amount of spices transported to the Central Plains through the Silk Road every year even accounted for more than 50.00% of the output of the Western Regions.

But when the Silk Road was fully opened, the merchants suddenly discovered that even if all the spices from the Western Regions were transported to the Central Plains, it would not be able to meet their needs.

This brings about a result.

That is, the spice planting industry in the Western Regions began to flourish, and large tracts of spice plantations sprang up in the Western Regions.

Not only that, agricultural experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences also came over to give professional guidance to the spice planting here.

According to the estimates of the Xijing government, the output value of spices in the Western Regions will exceed 1 million yuan in five years, comparable to cotton, wool spinning, minerals, agriculture, etc.

The changes on the Silk Road are most evident here in Lanzhou.

This emerging city, which has just been established as the provincial capital of Gansu Province, is now unbelievably prosperous, with a permanent population of more than 50, and it is still increasing rapidly.

The most obvious feature is that the population here is diverse, and all ethnic groups gather together and are harmonious and unified.

Today, Lanzhou has become the largest trade distribution center in Northwest China.

Merchants from the Central Plains, the grasslands, and the Western Regions will all trade here, and then bring various commodities to the ends of the earth.

According to the statistics of the Gansu government, last year alone, the commercial tax here exceeded 2 million yuan, and it is still increasing steadily.

The local people in Gansu got rid of poverty directly by relying on this fiscal revenue.

The local officials were ambitious, and they also wanted to build a railway.

They planned to build a railway network connecting Lanzhou to Xi'an and Yinchuan, and extending westward to Jiayuguan.Then wait for the right time, and then connect with the railway in the Western Regions to form a traffic artery in the Northwest Region.

This plan was strongly supported by Mao Yuanyi. For this reason, he even detained 15 retired engineers, and has already started preliminary geological exploration.

For the enthusiasm of this kind of place, Zuo Menggeng communicated with the center, not letting the center stop it.

The country is so big, if it relies on the center to operate and plan, it will really delay things.If you want to achieve railway connectivity across the country, it may not be possible to achieve it in a hundred years.

Getting locals involved and tapping into local energies can save a lot of trouble.

Although this requires the center to transfer certain benefits, a win-win situation is definitely better than eating alone, and it will not dampen the enthusiasm of the localities.

Chen Zhi humbly accepted Zuo Menggeng's proposal, and after discussing with the central government, she issued an official document encouraging all regions to build railways by themselves.

This is a big deal, and indeed, there is a surge of enthusiasm in various places.

Among them, Liaoning Province is the most active and the fastest.

Liaoning's own resources are very rich and concentrated, and it has entered the development stage very early.

After obtaining the permission of the Central Committee, the original Anshan, Benxi to Shenyang to the railway began to be fully rolled out.

A route connecting Shenyang, Jinzhou, Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan, and a route connecting Shenyang, Liaoyang, Yingkou, Dalian, and Lushun have all begun to be planned.

Once these rail networks are completed, Liaoning will become the first province in the entire country to have trains throughout the province.

As for the core hinterland of the empire, the progress is even faster.

Now in Shandong, the triangular railway network from Jinan to Dengzhou and Qingdao has entered the stage of commercial operation.

The lines from Jinan to Linqing, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Tianjin, and Beidu are also about to be completed, making the entire North China region closely connected.

In addition, Linqing, Jining, Xuzhou, Huai'an, and Yangzhou lines will also be completed within three years.

Once the Nandu Yangtze River Bridge is completed, the railways in Jiangnan and Jiangbei will be integrated into one.

The journey time from Jinan to Songjiang Mansion will be shortened by two-thirds, which will provide great convenience for the empire to control the southern region.

The railway industry led by steam engines made people deeply feel the vigorous progress of the empire.

In this era, many people are in a trance, with a sense of urgency that cannot keep up with the pace of the times.

And this is the tide of the times, waiting for no one, unstoppable, driving the old empire to revitalize. (end of this chapter)