Gao Ligong looked at Cai Huaishui, and Cai Huaishui stood up.

He waved his hand to the two civil servants at the door, who came out with a large map out of the door, climbed into a chair and hung it on the wall behind the rostrum.

Seeing the map, the businessmen in the conference room gasped one by one.

The map is also drawn with great rigor and detail, as if it is accurate to every centimeter, even millimeter.

The map was drawn statistically by Li Zhi over the years by continuously dispatching surveyors to all parts of the country, using relatively advanced surveying and mapping instruments and methods, and the accuracy has been similar to that of the maps used by later generations.

On the map, different colors are used to represent the geography of the mountains and rivers of Daming and one town and nine provinces, and the high places are represented by yellow or even dark yellow, and the low places are represented by green or even dark green. As soon as the entire map is hung up, it is clear that the terrain of the whole of East Asia is clear.

A breath of modern science and technology is blowing in the face, with precision and tension far beyond this era. As soon as this map was revealed, the last trace of dissatisfaction in the hearts of individual merchants was completely suppressed.

In the face of the prince's heavenly means, who would dare to be dissatisfied?

Cai Huaishui held a small wooden stick, pointed to the map and said: "At present, we have built a railway network in Liaodong Province, and the railway in Jilin Province is under construction. ”

"In Shandong, our railway has connected the port of Dengzhou with the city of Jinan, and the railway from Tianjin has been built all the way south to Henan, and is currently awaiting the completion of the steel bridge across the Yellow River. After the bridge is fully completed this month, the railway line from Tianjin to Kaifeng will be completed. ”

"In Jianghuai Province, our trunk railway plan is to connect the railway extension of Shandong to Yangzhou City. However, the railway is still in the planning and mapping stage, and construction has not yet begun. However, on the whole, the construction plan of this trunk railway has been planned, the production of personnel and materials has entered the schedule, and the funds have been secured. If there are no surprises, the government will also be responsible for this trunk line. ”

The merchants below heard Cai Huaishui's pointing, and only then did they notice that there were some black and white lines on the map, which were the trunk railway routes that had been built. There are also some dotted lines, which are the trunk railways of Jianghuai Province that are still in planning.

Cai Huaishui looked at the businessmen below and said: "At present, these trunk railways have greatly reduced the logistics cost of one town and nine provinces, and presumably many of the goods from your factories are transported to Shandong by rail. “

"With the further development of the commodity economy, the transportation demand in various places will further increase in the future. We need not only mainline railways, but also feeder railways. For the railway network of one town and nine provinces, the prince has a more ambitious plan. ”

Cai Huaishui was about to continue the introduction, when Li Zhi suddenly stood up. He walked over to the map, patted it and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the development of our one town and nine provinces is leapfrogging. The construction of infrastructure will catch up with and surpass the actual demand, and provide conditions for the economic circulation of commodities to the greatest extent. We hope to build a railway in every prefecture in one town and nine provinces, so that every factory and farm can be within 300 miles of the railway station. ”

Now, through various inventions and creations, Li Zhi has brought the level of commodity economy in one town and nine provinces to the level of the nineteenth century, at least the level of the nineteenth and fifties. The mid-19th century was the time when European countries began to build railways in a big way. For example, in the United States, since the thirties of the nineteenth century, 409,000 kilometers of railways have been built in a few decades, which is equivalent to 200 railways from Beijing to Guangzhou. These railways are the internal support for the United States to surpass the British Empire and become the world's hegemon.

Today's one town and nine provinces are also facing the same railway demand.

Li Zhi is ready to make a big effort to bring the infrastructure of one town and nine provinces up to the level of Western countries in the mid-nineteenth century.

Hearing Li Zhi's words, the merchants below looked at each other for a while, and said one by one: "Lord Wang Shengming!" ”

"The king is from a high position!"

"The prince is wise!"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "The construction of this branch railway cannot be done by the government. The government can't manage it, and it's also financially struggling. I hope that a considerable number of these feeder railways will be built by firms. ”

Li Zhi drew a map and said: "For example, this branch railway from Yangzhou to Luzhou is more than 500 miles long, and it costs about 12 million taels of silver. If a company limited by shares is formed under the leadership of Fanjiazhuang businessmen, I estimate that it will be completed and opened to traffic within five years, profitable within two years of opening to traffic, and a cost recovery within 15 years. ”

After Li Zhi said these words, he paused for a while and let the merchants below digest and digest them.

The businessmen were really shocked by Li Zhi's large-scale project, and they got together in twos and threes to discuss.

A business that costs 12 million taels is really big business. The turnover in a year is at least more than one million taels, which has exceeded the scale of Hua's Agricultural Machinery Factory, the largest private enterprise in Fanjiazhuang.

In the end, Tang Chongdao stood up and said: "Lord Wang, how risky is it to build a railway?" ”

Li Zhi smiled: "As long as it is properly managed, the risk is relatively low. We allow private railroads to levy higher tolls, so as the economy grows, the railroads will definitely be profitable eventually, the only question is the timing of profits. Whether the cost will be recovered in 10 years or 15 years depends on the local economic development and the speed of material circulation. ”

"However, in today's towns and nine provinces, the factories generally use new machines, steam engine power and assembly line structure, which completely defeat the handicraft industry. Increasingly, all kinds of goods were concentrated in factories in big cities and transported from place to place. Coupled with the transportation of raw materials, we still have a great demand for rail transportation. According to our experience in Liaodong, generally speaking, the cost will be recovered within 15 years. ”

"If you feel that the capital occupation is too large, you can also issue railway construction bonds to the people."

When the businessmen below heard Li Zhi's words, they began to talk about it again. If the railway companies are allowed to issue bonds, as long as the interest rate on the bonds exceeds 5%, then funding will not be a problem at all.

After a pause, Li Zhi said: "Railway construction is related to the people's livelihood and is a project that contributes to the country. Therefore, for the businessmen who took the lead in the construction of the railway, our government will give certain honors. ”

"We have designed seven levels of merchant's medal of honor, which will be awarded to businessmen who have participated in the construction of the railroad to varying degrees. These merchants' medals of honor, like military medals, are evidence of meritorious service to the country, and individuals who hold medals will be respected and courteous by the whole society in life! ”

Hearing Li Zhi's last words, the eyes of the businessmen below suddenly lit up.

The Merchant's Medal, which is really what businessmen want most.

Although this thing is not an official body, it has no administrative power and privileges, but in Fanjiazhuang, this medal is very respected. Where do those meritorious soldiers wearing medals or the families of martyrs go to be looked down upon? Even if you buy a grocerie and line up, someone will let them go to the front, even if you fall while walking, a bunch of people will come up to help you.

With this medal, even the police will be enthusiastic about you, and those who extort businessmen will naturally retreat.

Although Li Zhi is not ready to give the merchants official status and privileges, if he gives the merchants a medal, it will be enough to give the merchants a sense of security and achievement.

The merchants below were all short of breath.