Daming: I help my wife be the empress

Chapter 611 What I saw in the car, the prisoner was shocked

Tang Datao was shocked, and began to look for his seat according to the number on the train ticket.

The seat number is written in Arabic numerals and posted on the corresponding position of the carriage, so it is easy to find.

As for the fact that he can recognize Arabic numerals—there are no scholars who do not know Arabic numerals. It must also be admitted that in many respects, Arabic numerals are more convenient to use.

Seeing that there was already someone at the same table, who seemed to be in a car elsewhere, Tang Datao immediately went over to greet him, but after a closer look, he found that he was an acquaintance.

"Cungu?" Tang Datao was full of surprise, "I didn't expect to meet you on this train, you and I are still at the same table."

Xia Wanchun got up and bowed his hands to return the salute, and said with a smile, "I'm quite surprised to see Brother Zhu Wan here."

The two met before the provincial examination. They were about the same age and admired each other's knowledge, so they became friends.

Last year, Qiu Wei and Sun Shan lost their names together. After that, Xia Wanchun left Nanjing, and the two didn't have much contact.

Tang Datao said: "The first railway in the south of the Yangtze River was opened. I came up to experience the feeling of riding a train. But Cungu seems to be much thinner than last year. I wonder what he has been busy with in the past few months?"

"Brother Zhu Wan, sit down and talk." Xia Wanchun asked Tang Datao to sit down together, and then said: "After Qiu Wei, I went to Taiping Prefecture to open an iron factory. This time the Gudan section of the railway opened, I took the train from Gushu of.

One is to experience how it feels to take a train, and the other is to transport the iron produced by my Xingming Iron Works to the North Station and sell it to Nanjing Iron and Steel Works. "

Tang Datao was surprised when he heard this, "You actually went to set up an iron factory?"

He heard Xia Wanchun mention the matter of setting up an iron factory in response to the imperial court's call for large-scale steelmaking, but he didn't expect that Xia Wanchun didn't talk about it, but actually did it.

Xia Wanchun said: "I don't like empty talkers the most in my life. Of course I wouldn't be that kind of person. If I talk about building an iron factory, I will definitely do it. What's more, my father and teachers are supportive of this matter, and even contributed money to help. "

Tang Datao studied literature and was too interested in science and engineering. At this time, he couldn't help asking: "How is your iron factory doing? Is there any profit from selling iron to Nanjing Iron and Steel Factory? Don't make money at a loss, right?" ?”

When talking about the Iron Works, Xia Wanchun talked a lot.

Immediately said enthusiastically, "To be honest, running an iron factory is many times more difficult than I imagined. When I first came to Taiping Mansion, even with letters from my father and teachers, I encountered many obstacles and even fell down a few times. Somersault.

Later, with the joint efforts of several friends, the iron factory was slowly set up.

When we set up an iron factory, we set out to sell iron to the court from the very beginning to help my Ming Dynasty increase steel production.

However, Nanjing Iron and Steel Works has several standards for the purchase of private iron materials. The higher the quality, the higher the price, and the lower the quality, the lower the price.

The quality of the iron materials we produced at the beginning was quite poor, and we could only sell them at the lowest price, which was really a loss.

Later, I consulted a professor who is good at chemistry in the Academy of Natural Sciences, and found out that the content of sulfur and phosphorus in iron was too high. Through the chemical knowledge in the special issue of natural science, after removing sulfur and phosphorus, the quality of iron immediately improved.

Today, our Xingming Iron Works not only makes money by selling iron materials to Nanjing Iron and Steel Works, but even some by-products are bought by the ammunition factory over there. "

Seeing Xia Wanchun talking endlessly about the iron works, Tang Datao was very moved.

Xia Wanchun talked about profit when he opened his mouth, but he talked about artisans when he closed his mouth. Such behavior, in the past, he must have despised it.

But he knew that Xia Wanchun was also from a famous family, and he even worshiped famous people like Chen Zilong as his teacher. Now, in response to the imperial court's call, he devoted himself to business and industry, so he only had admiration.

It's a pity that he is not interested in the facts of science, engineering, and business, otherwise he might devote himself to it and make a career.

While the two were talking, the train started.

Just as Tang Datao saw from the outside, although the train was slow at first, it ran faster and faster. After a while, it felt like a galloping horse, and the scenery outside the glass window was flying backwards.

This made many passengers cast their gazes out of the car windows, experiencing an unprecedented novelty.

Immediately, many people excitedly discussed——

"This train is really stable, even more stable than a boat."

"It's much more stable than a boat—a train runs on rails, while a boat runs on water. Can it compare?"

"The biggest advantage of this train is that it doesn't need animal power or manpower. As long as there is coal and water on the train, it can run along the railway all the time."

"We became the first batch of passengers on the first railway in the south of the Yangtze River, and we will be proud of it in the future, hahaha..."

While the passengers were chatting and laughing, a young man wearing a uniform similar to that of a railway soldier came over pushing a small trolley and shouted as he walked: "Melon seeds, red dates, chestnuts, haw jelly, haw candy, boiled water, loose tea, thirsty water..."

Tang Datao followed the prestige, and saw that the small trolley was divided into three layers, with multiple grids, and there were all kinds of Jiangnan fruits, cakes, drinks, etc. on it.

The other passengers were stunned when they saw it suddenly, probably because they didn't expect that there were food sellers on the train.

Immediately, they all asked about the price with great interest.

The price is obviously more expensive than outside, and some are even two or three times higher, but those who can get on this train don't care about the price, and they all try to buy something new.

Even Tang Datao couldn't avoid it, bought two cans of sour plum thirst water and two or three kinds of fruits and pastries, and invited Xia Wanchun to eat and drink together.

Xia Wanchun said while eating: "I will get off at the North Railway Station in a while, so I won't be able to accompany Brother Zhu Wan.

By the way, there is a lunch box on this car, just like a restaurant, where you can have hot meals. Brother Zhu Wan can ask the flight attendant to take a look during lunch. "

"Really?"

"Of course." Xia Wanchun said with a smile, then looked out the window, "Brother Zhu Wan must have already realized the beauty of trains and railways.

But now, there are still only a handful of Daming Railways in my country—I heard that among the second batch of railways, the Xinyang Railway in Chengdu opened last year.

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was also opened a few days earlier.As for the Xigu Railway in Shaanxi, it may take a few months to open.

Even if they are all opened, it is still too little for my vast territory of Ming Dynasty.

Because of this, my generation needs to respond to the call of the imperial court to smelt steel and build railways, so as to make our Ming Dynasty more prosperous! "

Speaking of this, it happened that a ray of sunlight came in through the car window and sprinkled on Xia Wanchun's body, making him feel like a layer of golden light, making Tang Datao unable to look directly at him for a while.

···
Woo~!

In the past few days, the loud and long siren also resounded through Zhangjiakou, Xuanfu.

Outside the horse market, even though it was not the first time that a group of Mongolian businessmen saw the train galloping along the railway, they were still shocked out of their wits.

Some of them even got down on their knees and worshiped the train as if they were worshiping the Immortal God.

It is because of the existence of the train that it is completely beyond their imagination.

They couldn't figure out how such a long and big iron cart could run without seeing the oxen and horses, and how it ran so fast and with such amazing momentum, so they could only attribute it to the mighty power of heaven and earth and the gods of nature.

From a distance, I saw a group of Ming soldiers with helmets and armor coming out, and the cannons and spears emitting a gloomy light and cold light were also carried down from the carriage. Even more awed.

Hadan, who was also lying on his stomach, took a few glances at the train and then lowered his head deeply, his eyes full of bewilderment.

He is not an ordinary Mongolian businessman, but a Qing spy from Eight Banners Mongolia. This time he came to Zhangjiakou to do business is just a cover-up, in fact, to find out information about the Ming Dynasty.

However, he never expected to see such a shocking existence of a train.

Originally, the Mongols who had joined the Eight Banners didn’t know what to do in the face of the Ming country that suddenly became extremely powerful and blessed by the gods, because they were too closely tied to the Jianzhou Jurchen, and now they are too tightly controlled , can only follow one step at a time.

As a spy, Hardan couldn't help but hope that one day the Ming court would return to the chaotic and incompetent state it was before. If this were the case, they might not be able to enter the customs once again following the Qing Dynasty.

But seeing the train in Zhangjiakou this time, Hardan suddenly felt that it was impossible for the Qing Dynasty to enter the customs again.

Even, how long the Qing Dynasty can exist is a question.

　First more.

　　[Tang Zhen: a native of Dazhou, Sichuan, born in 1630, originally named Tang Datao, later renamed Tang Zhen, with the character Zhuwan.Together with Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi, and Gu Yanwu, he is known as the Four Enlightenment Thinkers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. 】

　　
　
(End of this chapter)