Out of the post house, with Li Fugui, everyone arrived at the state office. As soon as he arrived at the back office, several governors came out.

Yan Shu walked a few steps quickly, held Fan Zhongyan's hand and said, "Xiwen, I haven't seen you for many years, but it's always good?" ”

Fan Zhongyan arched his hand: "It's okay, it's okay." Since the farewell of the capital, a few years have passed, alas, unconsciously, you and I are already in the last years. ”

Ouyang Xiu stepped forward and said, "Fan Xianggong should be strong and strong, why do you say this!" After a few years, the imperial court should still be reused. ”

Fan Zhongyan smiled and shook his head, greeted Song Qi and Liu Zhi, and walked to the courtyard together.

In late spring, the grass grows and eagles fly, and the flowers and trees in the yard are blooming. A few birds hung among the trees, ripping open their throats and singing incessantly.

The guests and hosts sat down, and Li Cheng, the deputy envoy of Jingxi Road, said: "After waiting for a few days, all the governors have finally arrived. Tonight, Du Yunju and the five governors will pick up the wind, and tomorrow, we will discuss the affairs of the camp together. ”

And they all said yes. Du Zhongxiao is a transfer judge, and here, he and Li Cheng are their own people.

Li Fugui said: "The ministers went to the disadvantage, specially prepared some wine and food, and drank it tonight. Small place, poor hospitality, no wonder. ”

Ouyang Xiu said with a smile: "Where did Li Zhizhou say, we came all the way from the iron prison, and the scene of Tangzhou was in our eyes. I think a few years ago, when I went to the capital from the Guanghua Army, I took this road. At that time, the fields were open, sparsely populated, and depressed. This time it was different, the road was densely populated, and the rice mulberry was everywhere, which was not the same. It seems that such a rich place will not treat a few ministers badly. ”

Li Fugui said: "This is all the credit of the camp and field work in charge of Du Yunju, and in more than a year, the number of households has doubled and countless fields have been opened. At present, the camp is still directly under the transfer department, and the local government is not allowed to interfere, and it is still not easy for Tangzhou. ”

Du Zhongxiao and Li Cheng looked at each other and smiled, but did not speak.

In more than a year, Yingtianwu has resettled more than 10,000 households in Tangzhou, built countless villages, and opened up large tracts of fertile land. Not only that, but Yingtianwu has also developed commerce, and now the prosperity of Qingtai Town is no less than that of Tangzhou City. Li Fugui only took up his post in Honju after the New Year, and when he saw it, he was extremely hot-eyed, and he strongly advocated that the camp should be handed over to the local government after the construction was completed. As soon as these resources arrived, Tangzhou's population and economy immediately doubled, and the political achievements were not small.

Du Zhongxiao discussed with the Transit Department and advocated that the practice of opening the land for tax exemption for three years should be followed by the imperial court, and then handed over to the local government after three years of stability. Otherwise, like in the past, Tangzhou and other places also operated farmland, all because the state and county looted too much, causing the people to flee and fail. Regardless of whether the local farmland is under the auspices of the prefecture or county, how can the local landlords collect more land rent than the local landlords in order to make achievements during their term of office?

After a while, the food was served and everyone drank happily.

After three rounds of drinking, Ouyang Xiu said, "Everyone, have you ever taken the train?" ”

Li Cheng said: "The day before yesterday, we went to the station to see that there were several carriages in the front of a locomotive, and there were a lot of things. And it can run faster than a horse-drawn carriage, which is extremely easy. ”

Ouyang Xiu said: "Dare to stop like this." As long as this car is added with water and coal, it can travel thousands of miles in one go. With a horse-drawn cart, you have to prepare forage and drink water on the road, and you have to rest, how can you compare! We came from the Iron Prison, more than 300 miles away, and arrived in more than three hours. Except for Yan Xianggong, who was a little depressed because of motion sickness, the others didn't feel anything at all, so they arrived. ”

Wang Zhu smiled: "Will you still get motion sickness?" I've only heard of seasickness, how can I get dizzy when I ride in a car? ”

Song Qi waved his hand: "You can sit down and know." The car was swinging around, not like a boat. The good thing about this car is that it burns coal and does not need cattle and horses. Listening to Du Yunju, as long as there is a place to add water and coal on the road, you can run thousands of miles away in one go. ”

Fan Zhongyan nodded slightly, and said, "We saw the day before yesterday, pulling several cars, each of which was full. I wonder how many stones this train can pull in one trip? A hundred miles in an hour, can you really run thousands of miles at this speed? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Back to Xianggong, the current train is to pull 6,000 stones in one trip." An hour of 100 miles is on flat land, if the mountain is uphill, it will naturally be slower, but it will not be less than an hour and 50 miles. As long as the roads are paved and there are stations to add coal and water, thousands of miles will of course not be a problem. In fact, wherever the railroad is laid, the train can run. ”

Fan Zhongyan nodded again: "If the railway is paved to Jingzhao Mansion and Qinzhou, the train can be reached in a few days?" ”

"The road is paved, of course you can get there. However, when you go to Qinzhou, you have to climb Liupan Mountain, and this road is not easy to repair. I have considered this matter, and I want to go to the northwest, and Lu Dang will go north from the Zhenrong army to Lingzhou. Then cross the Yellow River and turn to the west of the river. ”

Fan Zhongyan nodded: "Also, you don't have to go over the mountains to go to Zhenrong, the place is flat, and it is easy to build roads." ”

After speaking, his expression was gloomy and he shook his head slightly. Peace with the party has been discussed, these things can only be thought about, the Jin Ge Iron Horse of the year has long been gone. Even if the railway is laid to the northwest, Fan Zhongyan, who is over 60 years old, is unlikely to go to the frontier again.

Several of the old ministers here, such as Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan, as well as Song Qi, have always been obsessed with the party. The war with the party was exactly when they were in power, and in the end it ended in this way, and everyone was not reconciled. What if you are unwilling? Fan Zhongyan fought in the northwest, and if he can't win, he can't win, and if he is optimistic, he has more than enough defense and insufficient offense.

If there had been such a railway, and troops and supplies could have been transported to the northwest in a steady stream, what would have been the result? As one of the Northwest coaches of the year, Fan Zhongyan couldn't help but think so. Perhaps, it won't be so embarrassing, but if you want to defeat Yuan Hao, you always feel that it is still insufficient.

Seeing that everyone was interested, Du Zhongxiao said: "In fact, laying railways and connecting trains not only shortens the time for transporting people and materials, but also saves freight. What's more, with this means, you can save a lot of money from other conveniences. ”

As the deputy envoy for transshipment, Li Cheng was most interested in this, and when he saw Du Zhongxiao talking about it, he hurriedly said: "Judgment, the railway and the train are produced by your iron supervision, you are in charge, and you can see it more clearly than us." What are the benefits, you might as well talk about it. ”

Du Zhongxiao arched his hand and said, "Let's take the northwest as an example." If there is a railway, the Central Plains army can reach it in a few days. Not only that, but the army on the Shaanxi Road can be adjusted to hundreds of miles away in a few days. In this way, there is no need to build forts everywhere and fortify everywhere. There are police all the way, and the army within a radius of thousands of miles can gather to face the enemy, so that it will not be broken by the western thieves because there are not many soldiers and horses on each side of the defense. This is of military significance. In terms of the cost of the imperial court, the materials of the Central Plains can be easily transported to the northwest, so there is no need to rely on merchants, and there is no need for Yanbian to enter China and France. This alone can save more than tens of millions. Moreover, if it is easy to transport, the price of goods at the front line will not be too expensive, and a lot of money will be saved. ”

Li Cheng nodded: "That makes sense." A few days ago, Tian Ji's envoy wrote a letter, saying that many people are talking about the benefits of the railway, and they want to lay the railway from Xiangzhou to Luoyang in the autumn and winter season this year, let us discuss it. What does Yun Juan think? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "From Xiangzhou to Luoyang, there are two roads. One is to take Dengzhou, Nanyang, Lushan Pass, and go to Luoyang through Ruzhou. There is also a way to go to Tangzhou, through Ye County to Ruzhou. The west route is short, and it goes without saying that it is more convenient to pave than the east route. But the sixty miles of Lushan Pass are all in the mountains, whether they can pave the road, the lower officials say it is not good. For the sake of safety, go to Tangzhou and pass through Ye County, although it is a little farther, and the whole road is flat, it is possible. ”

Li Cheng nodded: "Makes sense." Lushanguan has always been unable to pass through the big car, and it is not easy to pave it, so it is safe to go to Tangzhou. If such a road is paved, I wonder if it can be completed in autumn and winter? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Deputy envoy, just paving the road, of course it's not difficult." However, after such a long road, all the iron accumulated by the iron supervisor was used up. If you pave another road, the iron supervisor will not be able to move the steel, and it will have to use money. ”