The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 71 The Evolution of Social Conflicts

When the railway was born more than 50 years ago, when engineers in Qi were designing passenger carriages, the only thing they could use as a reference was the horse-drawn carriage.So the early passenger trains were actually a long line of horse-drawn carriages strung together, dragged along the rails by a steam locomotive.

The train carriages designed in this way have a clear imprint of class differences from the beginning.After a period of development, train compartments are still closed and luxurious spaces. The second-class carriages are relatively simple but still maintain necessary comfort. The third-class carriages provided for most ordinary classes are just open tops with fences. The train has drafts from all sides and is soaked in rain on rainy days.It was not until the 26th year of Qianwu (1668) that the roof was installed, and then transparent glass windows were installed.

The luxury boxes in the carriage are independent spaces divided into separate long carriages.Outside the doors of these boxes, there is a long corridor where conductors can patrol, provide room service, and even rescue passengers when they are in danger.The box itself is fully equipped, has its own space, and is far more comfortable and luxurious than a carriage.

However, the user experience when traveling in such a box is "bad". First of all, the greatest pleasure of traveling in a carriage-conversation is deprived.Regarding this closed and lonely space, many wealthy people riding in private compartments complained self-deprecatingly: being on the train is simply the most boring way to travel, and there is no other feeling during the entire trip except boredom and boredom. .

The seats in the third-class carriage are back-to-back. Both the seat backs and the bottoms of the chairs are only covered with a layer of canvas, which is hard and not comfortable at all.From a row of windows as long as the carriage, you can look out at the scenery and enjoy the boring and long journey.

Of course, if you don’t want to sit and study other people’s faces for three or four hours in a row, or if you can’t find a better pastime, you can also hold a book and read in depth, or try to interact with the passengers opposite or next to you. A long exchange.

On the surface, railroads simply changed the speed of human travel.In a spiritual sense, increasing speed actually means shrinking the world.

Once space shrinks, time will naturally change accordingly.Before the railway age, jet lag did not exist strictly between different time zones as it does now.In fact, standard time itself is a product of railroads.The predecessor of standard time was the "railway time" determined by various railway companies in Qi.

Before the railway era, there were certain time differences between various regions in Qi. For example, Jianye time was one hour later than Daxing (today’s Brisbane, Australia) time, and another hour later than Guizhou (today’s Perth, Australia) time. More than an hour early.Such time differences did not matter to people in the pre-railway days.A businessman taking a merchant ship from Jianye to Daxing will experience a series of subtle differences in time along the way.When he arrived in Daxing, he only had to look up at the clock tower in the center of the city, calibrate his pocket watch as usual, and he could continue to be a punctual businessman.

The distance of space offsets the discomfort felt by those who move slowly between areas.However, the railway shortened their travel time and shortened the distance between different regions in space, which would naturally force them to be consistent in time.

As early as decades ago, every place in Qi had its own time.Trains are speeding on the railway, and any time difference may have serious consequences, so the railway company can only introduce its own unified time, which is "railway time".

The clocks hanging in train stations do not show local time, but "railway time".Different railway companies have different "railway times".When several railway companies share a train station, it is simple and crude to hang a few clocks for each railway company. Passengers can wait according to the time of which company they bought tickets for.

Amid this chaos, railroad companies and passengers began calling for a unified standard time.In the third year of Hanxing (1673), under the unified coordination of the Ministry of Transport and Industry of Qi State, all railway companies and railway lines controlled by government investment reached an agreement to use Jianye time as the standard time for the entire railway network.

When all railway companies depart according to Jianye time, the time in various places is forced to compromise with "railway time".In the fifth year of the Han Dynasty (1675), the cabinet government of Qi State accepted the railway company's choice and made Jianye time the standard time of Qi State.

From then on, under the unified time scale and the sharp compression of time and space, the process of people's movement became less and less like a journey and more like moments.

In the days of horse-drawn carriages or hiking, travelers had to go through a long process to reach their destination.The feelings of travel destinations are gradually observed by travelers in a gradual manner.The destination itself is just a stage in the journey, and the process of traveling between the destination and the starting point is the main body of the journey.

But the emergence of railways changed this kind of travel. As the speed increased, passengers seemed to turn into packages. Before the train stopped, passengers went through a process that was neither controllable nor adaptable.The only good thing is that this process does not last long, so whether people sleep, daze or read between the starting point and the end point, objectively speaking, they have spent a period of time that has nothing to do with travel.

When people arrive and appear at their travel destinations by train, the gradual integration process of traditional travel does not happen at all.After an experience of becoming "cargo" that lasted for more than ten or dozens of hours, a person suddenly appeared at the end of the journey.At this time, he was not ready either physically or mentally.

However, this feeling does not exist for Li Yanliang, who is eager to return home. He is now full of longing, wishing that the train could go faster and the time could be shorter, preferably in the next moment, to reach Daxing.In this way, he returned to that warm and comfortable little home and met his mother after four years of absence.

As the train slowly moved forward, the noisy and bustling carriages gradually calmed down. Some passengers lay in front of the windows, watching the homes, factories, and large tracts of farmland passing by quickly, while others took out a bag of food from their luggage bags. They ate piles of food to fill their stomachs that were hungry due to getting up early. Some of them took out a book or newspaper to prepare for this long journey.

Last night, he drank and chatted with Cao Ge and several invited officers until late at night, barely able to fall asleep. By this time, Li Yanliang's eyelids were heavy and his expression was extremely depressed, so he lowered his hat slightly, folded his arms, and fell into half sleep. A half-awake state.

Originally, Cao Ge wanted to take the initiative to buy a first-class box ticket for Li Yanliang to make his four-day journey a little more comfortable.However, this move was declined by Li Yanliang.

Are you kidding me? I, a low-ranking captain, ride in a first-class luxury box. If others see it, it will have a great impact on my status as a soldier.Unless you advance to the rank of general, then you can enjoy the treatment that only senior officers have with peace of mind.

Of course, if he took off his military uniform, as a wealthy man, he would not be unable to ride in a first-class luxury box, but Li Yanliang did not want to accept Cao Ge's favor in vain.A rough calculation shows that they have known each other for less than two months. Although they have similar aspirations and similar interests, they are not really close to each other.

Besides, riding in a third-class carriage is not particularly strenuous.As a soldier, how can you not have a bit of hard-working spirit?
In the past 20 years or so, the number of passengers taking third-class trains has increased fivefold, while the number of passengers on first-class trains has basically remained the same, while the number of passengers on second-class trains has decreased significantly - because, for ordinary people, the cost At a higher price, it is extremely uneconomical to enjoy services similar to those of third-class carriages.Under this circumstance, many domestic trains simply canceled second-class carriages and only provided first-class and third-class carriages.Of course, there is still a huge difference in ticket prices between the two.While he was drifting off to sleep, Li Yanliang felt a sudden sway in his body and woke up in an instant. Then he looked up and looked around. The carriage was already noisy. People stuck their heads out and looked out the window. The train seemed to have stopped.

Li Yanliang couldn't help but glance out the window.Well, it seems that the train did not enter the station, but was in a wilderness, with green grassland, cattle and sheep all over the place, and dense mountain forests in the distance.

What, the train broke down?
"Haha..., it's probably the train that hit and killed the cattle and sheep that broke into the tracks!" A middle-aged man with a fat body and a short beard on the other side saw Li Yanliang's confused look and said with a smile: " It is estimated that the nearby shepherds will have to argue with the motorcycle crews about this."

Li Yanliang glanced at the other party and nodded blankly, not fully awake for a while.

In Qi State, both residents along the railway lines and train passengers have long been accustomed to railway transportation, and the number of casualties and casualties has been decreasing day by day.According to statistics, only one in every 40 passengers is injured, and only one in every 300 million people dies.This statistic also includes railway employees involved in accidents and suicides committed by lying on the tracks.

However, along some open railway lines, collisions between trains and animals still occur from time to time, either by cattle and sheep crossing the railway and failing to avoid them, or by various small animals that are stupid.Under normal circumstances, as long as the normal operation of the train is not affected, the train will not stop easily after hitting an animal or livestock, so as not to miss the arrival time at the station.

But the train was not only forced to stop, but stayed there for more than two hours.Although all the carriage doors were not opened, so that the passengers on the train could not get down to see the cause of the incident, the military police and railway armed patrol police who arrived one after another showed that the sudden train stop was unusual and serious.

"It seems that nearby herdsmen have blocked the train track and are trying to get some explanation." The short-bearded man put his head back from the window with a look of watching the fun, "The military police and railway patrol are driving away the herdsmen. More than a dozen people. This is causing such a fuss, what are they all trying to do?"

"It should be that half a month ago, a freight train derailed and capsized after passing through this place, causing many toxic chemicals in the carriage to leak, causing the death of a large group of cattle and sheep of nearby herdsmen." A middle-aged man who looked like a scholar said with an expression. He solemnly said: "However, after this kind of accident happened, the Northern Railway Company blindly shied away from its responsibility and did not pay any compensation to the injured herdsmen. Therefore, these unhappy herdsmen took the extreme action of stopping the train today. You guys Tell me, the dead cattle and sheep are the lifeblood of those herdsmen! Toxic chemicals have leaked, and no warning measures have been taken to nearby herdsmen, causing them to suffer in vain. Why don't you worry about it!"

"Then the local government of Kaiyuan County (now Hampstead City, Australia) just watched the herdsmen under its jurisdiction suffer harm and did not take any targeted measures against the Northern Railway Company?"

"What can we do? The Northern Railway Company is planning to invest 80 yuan to carry out large-scale renovation and expansion of Kaiyuan Station. It is a major investor in Kaiyuan County." A thin man sneered and said: "They plan to build a large-scale renovation and expansion project at Kaiyuan Station." A new vehicle maintenance shop was added, various machines and equipment were added, a large number of local railway station maintenance and management personnel were recruited, and the gas, lighting, coal filling, communication and processing capabilities of the original small maintenance workshop were comprehensively transformed, making the station It can repair all types of steam locomotives, and even use spare parts to assemble a locomotive for temporary emergency use. Calculate how much tax revenue this construction can provide to Kaiyuan County. As for the dozens or hundreds of cattle and sheep lost by herdsmen Livestock is not worth mentioning at all.”

"Hey, when you say that, the Northern Railway Company is wearing the same pants as the local government! If we work together, those herdsmen will lose money in vain? A few thousand dollars, which may be insignificant in their eyes, but it must fall on It will definitely be a heavy loss for us ordinary people, and we may lose most of our net worth!"

“Why don’t those damaged herdsmen go to the Dali Temple Court to sue them?”

"Huh, do you think Dali Temple will take care of things that the local government doesn't care about?"

"What about the local supervisory office? ... The local government doesn't care, and it's probably taking the benefits of the railway company. If we investigate carefully, we might catch a few corrupt officials!"

"..."

Nowadays, when there is a conflict between the government and the people in Qi State, the simple people will naturally tend to the weak ordinary people. When the government does nothing in the face of the damage to the people's rights and interests, it will believe from the bottom of its heart that the officials are corrupt and perverting the law. Regardless of the interests of the people at the bottom.

During this period, many people still miss the political and social environment when Emperor Taizu was in power decades ago.At that time, under the leadership of Emperor Taizu, the officials of Qi State fulfilled their duties, were diligent in political affairs, and devoted themselves to every bit of progress and development of the country. The common people in the country worked hard and fought hard for the Han Dynasty in an environment of poverty and wilderness. The continent is prosperous and willing to be an ox and a horse.At that time, everyone had positive thoughts and believed that with their own efforts and hard work, they could have a good life with food, food, clothing and a bed to sleep.

80 years have passed. It seems that the vast majority of the people in Qi have lived a good life with three meals a day and no worries about food and clothing. However, many people feel that their current life is not as satisfying as the "happiness" that they had during the founding of Qi. Feeling.

Especially in recent decades, the income growth of farmers in Qi has continued to be sluggish, urban workers have toiled day and night, the cost of living has increased day by day, the social gap between rich and poor has widened, and the relationship (collusion) between government and business has become increasingly close. , the arrogance and licentiousness of the powerful class... all of which make too many ordinary people feel dissatisfied and lost.

Therefore, any conflict between the government and the people in Qi State, or conflicts between different classes, will arouse public anger and vent their dissatisfaction.

The powerful son at the train station who claimed to protect the dignity of our Daqi royal family, and now the herdsmen in Kaiyuan County who stopped the train, all touched the people's sensitive psychology.

The train started moving slowly again, and Li Yanliang couldn't help but let out a long sigh as he looked at the herdsmen, heavily armed military police, and railway patrol police who were still gathering beside the railway.

What happened to our Daqi Empire?
(End of this chapter)