I want to be emperor

Luo Zhixue wanted to go to various places in the north and south of the river for inspection very early on, but considering the huge impact of the tour, it would cost a lot to mobilize teachers and people, so he had to give up.

Be it the ancient emperors or Luo Zhixue, it would be very troublesome for them to go on tour.

The size of its entourage will be very large. There may be thousands of civil and military officials, and there will be a large number of soldiers accompanying it. The size of the entire patrol team is tens of thousands at every turn.

If these tens of thousands of people are all soldiers, it’s fine. The army is marching, as long as the supplies along the way can keep up, then it’s not a big problem.

But the emperor's tour... There are many rules and interests in all aspects.

For example, on the way of the emperor's tour, all the places he passes along the way need a palace for accommodation... You can't let the emperor stay in a hotel, right?

The construction of this palace is not a small amount. Even if the existing official or private buildings can be used to convert it into a palace, it still needs to be modified in order to meet the emperor's palace specifications in terms of etiquette.

And on the way, you can't let Yujia walk on the dilapidated ordinary official road, which means that the road along the way needs to be repaired, and before Yujia passes, you need to sprinkle loess and water to avoid dust.

Adding up these items, the amount of money required is not a small amount, and it takes a very long time.

Therefore, before the opening of the railway, Luo Zhixue's inspection trips generally did not take land, but more waterways... The waterway is faster, and the pressure on the way is relatively small, and the overall cost is relatively small.

For example, in the 17th year of Chengshun, Luo Zhixue went to inspect Zhejiang for the first time. His inspection route was to go down the Yangtze River to Zhenjiang, then go to Suzhou through the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, and then arrive in Hangzhou.

After arriving in Hangzhou, I changed to a horse-drawn carriage and went to Ningbo. By the way, I also inspected the Zhoushan Naval Base stationed in Ningbo.

But after the opening of the railway, it is more convenient to go out for inspection. In the 24th year of Chengshun, Luo Zhixue took the special train for the first time to inspect Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai.

In the 26th year of Chengshun, Luo Zhixue traveled west along the Jiangnan Railway and inspected Dangtu, Chizhou, Anqing, and Jiujiang.

Although these two inspections did not go to many places and the distance traveled was not too far, they finally allowed the Great Chu Empire to accumulate a certain amount of experience in special inspections and established a complete set of inspection systems.

For this reason, the Railway Corporation has built a number of special trains for the emperor's travel. These patents are not all in Jinling City, but actually in many places. This is because of the railway lines in many places. Look at the map. It seems to be connected together, but because of the obstruction of the river, the railway does not go through directly, and train ferries or barges are needed.

Among them, the Yangtze River blocked the north-south railway network of the Great Chu Empire!
The wide Yangtze River and the need for navigation made it very difficult for the Great Chu Empire to build a cross-river railway bridge on the Yangtze River Bridge.

Chengshun has been conducting demonstrations and designs continuously since more than ten years, but until now there is no reliable design plan.

And with the passage of time, the tonnage of ships navigating in the Yangtze River has become larger and higher, and the height has become higher and higher, which has also made the Yangtze River Bridge more and more difficult...

Xu Chongzhi, the co-organizer in charge of Yangtze River flood control, irrigation, shipping and other affairs, clearly requested that the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge must be capable of navigating 27-ton ocean-going ships in the new round of Jinling Yangtze River Bridge demonstration meeting in the [-]th year of Chengshun. At that time, it was still necessary to have the ability to navigate [-]-ton seagoing ships.

Otherwise... don't expect to pass the approval of the Yangtze River Management Administration.

The construction of a railway bridge several thousand meters long means that it is extremely difficult for the infrastructure construction capabilities of the contemporary Great Chu Empire. This also requires the addition of such a huge navigation capacity requirement, which means This requires a very high navigable clear height and a longer span.

It is precisely because the requirements are too high and the technical ability cannot keep up temporarily, so the Great Chu Empire is short of building bridges on deep-water rivers, especially rivers with large tonnage requirements.

If there is not much demand for navigation, and the water depth is not too excessive, it is not a big problem if the simple bridge is longer.

Not to mention the wrought iron bridges developed in recent years, even stone arch bridges can be repaired...

Unfortunately, many railway bridges in important areas cannot be repaired in this way.

This has also resulted in the railway lines in many places being blocked by rivers in the middle.

For example, the Central Plains Railway and Jiangnan Railway in Jinling City cannot be connected together.

Similarly, there is the Chubei Railway on the Hanyang side, and there is no way to connect with the Jiuheng Railway.

The Jiuheng Railway in Jiujiang has no way to connect with the Jiangnan Railway.

The railway from Hangzhou to Ningbo in the north of Zhejiang was also cut off by the Cao'e River.

There are many similar situations. In the early years, there was no good way for the railway company. It directly set up special connection platforms on both sides of the river to transfer goods and passengers across the river by steam ships. Then change to the train on the other side.

In the past two years, the Railway Corporation has also tried to develop train ferries.

By directly building a special large-scale steam train ferry, and laying rails on the ferry, the trains that need to cross the river can be directly driven onto the train ferry, and then they can be carried across the river and then enter the railway line on the opposite bank.

Before the first ferry, Chengshun took the lead in trial operation in Jinling City in 27 years, but because of the new technology, the loss would be extremely huge if there was an accident.

Therefore, this kind of train ferry is currently only used in Jinling City, and it is only used to transport freight ships, and will not be used to transport passenger trains full of passengers.

If there was an accident when the passenger train was crossing the river, hundreds of people would be killed or injured at every turn. No one could bear the responsibility for such a major accident.

Therefore, whether it is the Railway Corporation, the General Administration of the Yangtze River, or Yingtianfu, the officials of these competent departments are very cautious... they dare not let the train ferry be directly used for the transportation of passenger trains.

This ordinary passenger train is not dared to operate, let alone the imperial special train, no official has the courage to let Luo Zhixue's imperial special train run on a train ferry that is still in the experimental stage and the technology is not mature.

If something goes wrong, the whole family's heads are not enough to chop off.

Therefore, on the special train for the imperial use, the Railway Corporation simply prepares a separate train in an independent railway network.

These imperial special trains have been ordered and built successively in the past few years. At present, the northern railway network is planned to be used and deployed on different railway networks. A total of more than 30 imperial special trains have been put in place one after another. At present, various follow-up rigorous tests and trial runs are underway.

Naturally, the special trains for the imperial use will not travel like ordinary trucks, but need to formulate a special operation schedule, and at the same time require the close cooperation of railway stations along the way, local patrol agencies, etc.

For the upcoming inspection of the North in 29, the Railway Corporation and various local governments have already carried out various preparations early.

The various preparatory work lasted for about half a year, and it was not until the end of June in the 29th year of Chengshun that all the preparatory work was completed.

So Luo Zhixue first took the ferry across the river, and then boarded the imperial train at Jiangpu Railway Station, and started the northern tour with more than 1000 officials of various types and the First Guards Division.

Before boarding the imperial special train, Luo Zhixue took a little look at the special train. Just from its appearance, it could be seen that it was different from the special train he took during his previous inspections in the Pan-Jiangnan area.

The special trains I took before were built in the few years when the train first came out, and the overall technical level is still in the early stage of train development.

The locomotive looks very primitive and simple. Although the carriage seems to use a lot of luxury materials such as gold and precious wood, the core technology such as the chassis of the carriage is actually not good.

After all, even if it is an imperial special train, the railway company can only rely on the existing locomotives and train carriages to carry out design and transformation. Most of the transformation is only the exterior and interior transformation, and then add more safety measures.

Cost was not a concern in design and construction, allowing for better quality components, tighter assembly, etc.

After all, it is not to redesign and build a whole set of train technology, so the overall look is very primitive.

But the imperial special train Luo Zhixue has seen now is quite different from the original train even in appearance.

The locomotive as the power is larger than the original locomotive. The entourage said that this locomotive is the Guangsan type locomotive that was mass-produced and put into service in the last year.

Designed, developed and produced by Guangzhou Machinery Company, it adopts the latest steam engine for trains produced by Guangzhou Machinery Company. It is also the company's third-generation locomotive. higher efficiency.

After adopting this kind of locomotive, the train does not need to add coal and water to advance tens of kilometers like the early trains.

To put it simply, it carries the same amount of coal and fresh water, and its cruising distance is longer, which increases the average running speed of the train and reduces operating costs.

And more powerful horsepower can also pull more cargo or passengers.

On the carriages, a single carriage is longer than the old-style carriages... The earliest trains seemed to carry more than ten carriages when they were running, but in fact each carriage was very short.

But now, the number of new-style trains is mostly maintained at around ten cars, and short-distance passenger cars are often only seven or eight cars.

But the length of each carriage is several times longer than that of the early carriages.

This means that the same train can transport several times more goods or passengers than before, greatly increasing the train's transport capacity.

And these are all brought about by the Guangsan series locomotives.

Without the surging power of this new type of locomotive, there is no way to greatly increase the transportation volume of the railway network.

Just from the appearance, Luo Zhixue can see the rapid improvement of train technology in the past eight or nine years.

After entering the interior of the car, the feeling is even more profound.

Even the width of the train carriage, due to the influence of the railway gauge, the size of bridges, tunnels, etc., will not change even if the technology advances, and it will still be as wide as the original carriage.

However, the increase in the length of the carriage directly increases the space of a single carriage.

Although there are more seats in the conference car, it can still accommodate dozens of courtiers.

Luo Zhixue's dormitory compartment is also very spacious.

With the advancement of technology and the change of design concepts, the length of the train carriages has increased. This is the most obvious feeling for ordinary people about the technological progress of trains.

When the special train for the imperial use started to run, although the carriage under Luo Zhixue's feet was shaking slightly, the vibration was not large. If he sat on the spring sofa in the imperial carriage, he would basically not feel the slight vibration of the carriage.

This is much better than the previous imperial special train...the previous imperial special train vibrated a lot, even sitting on a spring sofa or even laying thick velvet, but there was still a very obvious sense of vibration.

However, Luo Zhixue, who was seated on the current new imperial special train, could hardly feel any vibrations, and the overall riding experience was better than those of the imperial carriages built with the latest technology.

This shows that the shock absorption technology level of the imperial special train has made great progress.

Luo Zhixue walked around the different carriages of the imperial special train, and felt that the imperial special train was better than he expected.

Of course, this goodness does not mean how gorgeous the decoration is or how expensive the furnishings are. Luo Zhixue doesn't pay much attention to these things. Anyway, he knows with his toes that his imperial special train will definitely use the top decoration and furnishings.
What Luo Zhixue paid more attention to was the train itself, whether it was the locomotive or the carriages, he was very concerned about it.

While watching, he also found that there are two sets of brake systems on the imperial special train... one is an old manual brake system with each carriage independent.

That is, each car is equipped with a braking system and a brakeman. After the train driver sends out a signal, the brakeman pulls down the brake handle to brake.

However, in addition to the manual braking system, an air braking system controlled by the driver is also used on the Queen's Special Class.

The engineer of the Railway Corporation said that this is an air brake system developed and produced by Huating Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. of Songjiang Prefecture. It is composed of a high-performance air compressor independently developed and produced by them, cylinder pistons, and connecting pipes.

The principle is very simple, that is, the power of the locomotive drives the air compressor, and the air compressor transmits the compressed air to the air piston of each car through the connecting pipe, and the air piston pushes the brake shoe to brake under the pressure of the compressed air. .

This system is only used on a small number of newly built new trains for the time being, and this new braking method is also adopted for the imperial special trains.

However, air compression braking is a new technology product after all. In order to avoid accidents caused by failure, even trains using compressed air braking will still retain the independent manual braking of each carriage to ensure safety.

Luo Zhixue also nodded slightly to this, the cautious attitude of the Railway Corporation is very necessary.

After all, if a train can’t stop the car, then the problem will be serious. If the passenger train does not move, hundreds of people will be killed or injured. Even if the truck rolls over, it will be a big trouble, for example, it will cause the railway to stop for a period of time, etc. wait.

Therefore, on the issue of safety, there is no problem at all.

Sitting on the safe and comfortable special train, looking at the wilderness outside the railway line, although Luo Zhixue knew that along with his special train, the local officials along the way would definitely improve the wilderness conditions he could see.

The Internal Affairs Department of the Imperial Academy reported to him last month that many local governments along the railway line were carrying out face-saving projects along the railway line.

For example, to decorate the appearance of the railway station passing by the special train, and the buildings along the way...

Some officials even organized a lot of manpower and material resources to carry out large-scale development of some farmlands around the railway line, in order to let Luo Zhixue see an orderly and fertile wheat field.

As for the few cities that are scheduled to get off the bus to inspect, they have been making various preparations since last year, renovating the basic transportation in the city, renovating the appearance of the buildings in the city, and carrying out repairs on some areas in the city where there are more poor people. Concentrate on rectification, build some major face-saving projects, etc.

Luo Zhixue was well aware of these things, but he didn't say anything, he just informed that no large-scale construction projects should be carried out in various places, let alone extravagance and waste just to welcome the driver.

But the word has been passed on, and the documents have been distributed, but the local officials are restrained at most, or proceed in a more secretive way.

Many people were waiting for Sheng Jia to arrive to leave a good impression on Luo Zhixue so that he could get promoted and get rich.

This is the case with Chuzhou, the first stop that the imperial class arrived at... Just entering the train station, Luo Zhixue could see that the train station must have been renovated...not to mention spotless, and almost everything that can be seen and easily replaced all new...

This is a train station where people come and go, and it has been in use for six years, it is impossible to guarantee such a new look.

If you want to achieve the brand new look that Luo Zhixue saw... then you must change from the beginning to the end.

Seeing this scene, Luo Zhixue sighed!
Even if I have ordered that extravagance and waste are not allowed, let alone to welcome the large-scale construction, but it still can't stop the local officials from wanting to show their ambitions in front of me.

It's just that many officials are clearly misdirecting their efforts.

For Luo Zhixue, if you spend a lot of money to renovate the train station and replace everything that can be replaced, Luo Zhixue will not only not like it, but will think you are incompetent...

With this money, it will be more realistic if you build one more road, build one more bridge, and run one more elementary school.

It's a pity that many people know this truth, but they may not be able to do it.

During the inspection in Chuzhou, Luo Zhixue didn't stay for long, it only took half a day, and soon the special train hoped to leave for Fengyang.

Before he left, he did not criticize the local officials in Chuzhou. At least he spent the funds on the renovation of the railway station. After all, the railway station is a public facility, and it can barely be justified in the name of renovation... At most, it is a renovation The timing was a bit of a coincidence, just before Luo Zhixue came to inspect!

If this is a criticism, wouldn't he want to kill him on the spot when he saw those face-saving projects later?
Not so!
After leaving Chuzhou, the imperial special class continued to move forward and arrived in Fengyang.

When I arrived in Fengyang, the train station here was much more normal. Although it was also cleaned spotlessly and had some simple renovations, it was not as exaggerated as Chuzhou Railway Station, and everything that could be replaced could be replaced.

Luo Zhixue smiled at this, and nodded slightly to a group of Anlu provincial governor, chief envoy and other provincial officials as well as local Fengyang government officials who came to greet him.

After comparing this, Luo Zhixue felt that the local officials were not so exaggerated.

That's why I gave a smiley face.

The follow-up inspection of Fengyang lasted for a day. Although it was just like watching flowers on horseback, it only saw a local industrial area in Fengyang, entered two major local large-scale enterprises, and then stopped by to see a piece of farmland on the outskirts of the city. A newly established large bazaar in the city is said to be very lively and has driven the livelihood of many small traders.

However, this kind of observation, coupled with some previous documents and reports, can still make Luo Zhixue feel that the economic development of Fengyang in the past ten years is not bad.

With the artificial diversion of the Yellow River, the situation along the Huaihe River Basin, which was frequently damaged by floods in the past, has improved a lot, and agriculture has developed rapidly.

After the opening of the Central Plains Railway, although Fengyang is not a railway hub, it still has an important large-scale railway station, Fengyang Railway Station, and subsequent river transportation through the Huaihe River Basin can radiate most of the entire prefecture.

Therefore, after the opening of the Central Plains Railway, it has brought obvious transportation advantages to Fengyang Prefecture. In the past five years, the local industrial output value of Fengyang Prefecture has grown gratifyingly.

With the increase in industrial output value, a larger group of workers, and more urban residents, the tertiary industry will naturally develop.

Therefore, in the evening after the inspection, Luo Zhixue affirmed the abilities of the local officials of Anlu Province and Fengyang Prefecture in a small-scale meeting held in the special meeting room of the imperial driving train, and encouraged them to continue to work hard and try their best to To take the development of the local economy to a higher level.

After finishing the inspection in Fengyang, resting for one night, Luo Zhixue's royal patent continued to leave for Xuzhou early the next morning.

Xuzhou in the past may have been a transportation node on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and at the same time, its strategic position as the gateway to the southern country is more important.

Well, the Great Chu Empire Army has deployed a second-class division here all year round to defend Jiangbei.

But the economy and people's livelihood are very average. Although they have also obtained some conveniences from the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, before the Ming Dynasty and even the railway era of the Great Chu Empire, the main hubs of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the Jiangbei area were Yangzhou and Huai'an. City.

However, after the Central Plains Railway and Longhai Railway crossed here, Xuzhou instantly became an extremely important transportation hub.

There are not only the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, but also two main-line railways crossing, making Xuzhou Prefecture a thoroughfare of five provinces in terms of transportation. The Ministry of Industry has drawn up many investment plans here, many of which are relatively important national defense projects. industry and the livelihood of the people.

Such as steel, chemical industry, machinery and then to the weapons industry.

At the same time, after the artificial diversion of the Yellow River, the floods in Xuzhou, a city along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, have also been greatly reduced, and agricultural production has increased rapidly.

The combination of the two made Xuzhou one of the fastest growing cities in the Great Chu Empire in recent years.

Xuzhou, as a strategic transportation hub, the gateway to the southern country, and the future industrial center and economic center of the Jiangbei region, is also the key inspection city for Luo Zhixue's northern tour.