In the noisy gongs and drums and deafening firecrackers, the train parked on the platform let out a long whistle, spewed billowing smoke, and slowly drove away from the station.

There is a way is better to hear than to see, although it is easy to know that the benefits of the railway are listed in the "Eighteen Articles of Railway Rejuvenation", although the "Xiguan Daily" has repeatedly introduced the advantages of the train, but that is all false, today to witness the train is incredible, everyone is full of shock.

For them, the train is completely beyond imagination, just such an iron lump, it can pull millions of catties of goods, and it can run fast, not to see it with their own eyes, and no one believes it.

Lin Zexu beckoned Yi Zhishu over and said, "Have you ever thought about contentment, as soon as the railway train opens, how many people will lose their livelihoods?" Boatmen, coachmen, post inns, tea shops and wine shops along the route will be greatly affected. ”

This is one of the main reasons for opposing the construction of the railway, Yi Zhizhi reacted as soon as he turned his mind, Lin Zexu asked him to refute it in public, and he immediately said aloud: "The lord of the ministry can't look at the problem one-sidedly, as the lord said, there will be many people who lose their livelihood because of the opening of the railway, but the adults should also see that the construction of the railway has provided a livelihood for countless people."

Railway construction requires a large number of railway workers, train drivers, conductors, dispatchers, maintenance workers, wrench workers, etc., which is only superficial, in fact, railway construction is not simply to repair the railway, it contains a complete industrial chain, such as, iron ore mining and smelting, rail forging, machine manufacturing, etc., which require a large number of workers.

Carefully calculated that the construction of railways provided at least ten times the livelihood, and perhaps even a hundred times the number of people who lost their livelihoods, and, most importantly, the construction of railways could create a great deal of wealth, stimulate the local economy, and pay a steady stream of rich taxes for the imperial court. ”

Hearing that it can bring rich taxes to the imperial court, Mian Xing became interested and said, "Can Master Yi explain it in detail." ”

"I hope Lord Qincha will forgive me, this is not the place to talk about it in detail." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Railway transportation is not only better than the large quantity, but also the advantage is fast and the freight is low, and the material can be transported in a wide range on land, taking Guangzhou as an example, Guangzhou now needs a lot of high-quality coal, but there is no high-quality coal nearby."

Where does Guangzhou's high-quality coal come from? From Annam by sea, not only slow, but also limited the amount of transportation, freight is therefore high, we are not without high-quality coal, in Shanxi is a large reserve of high-quality coal, if Guangzhou to Shanxi through the railway, Shanxi coal can be transported to Guangzhou in a steady stream.

This will greatly promote the mining of high-quality coal in Shanxi, and will also greatly promote the consumption of coal in Guangzhou, because the price of coal has come down and sufficient supply can be guaranteed. So what benefit did the imperial court get from it? Shanxi mining coal, the imperial court can collect taxes, coal railway transportation, the imperial court can also benefit, Guangzhou because of Shanxi's cheap and abundant coal, promote the development of industry and commerce, in turn for the imperial court to provide more taxes. ”

Hearing this, Qi Shan asked: "Guangzhou has a great demand for coal?" ”

"Not only Guangzhou, but all provincial capitals and counties in the Qing Dynasty will need a lot of high-quality coal in the future." "Guangzhou is now gradually promoting high-efficiency and energy-saving coal stoves, and if the price of coal is low and sufficient supply can be guaranteed, coal will completely replace firewood," Yi said. In addition, the factory also needs a large amount of high-quality coal, and all steam engines are fueled by high-quality coal, and the supply of high-quality coal in Guangzhou is now in short supply. ”

Hearing this, Lin Zexu smiled, "The high-efficiency and energy-saving coal stove that Contentment said is the honeycomb coal that Yuanqi provides to all sizes of yamen for free, it is indeed convenient and easy to use, neither smoke nor coal smell, and clean, but I heard that the price of coal is expensive, more expensive than firewood, and it turns out that the coal is transported from Annan." After a slight pause, he continued: "If the price of coal can be lowered, it is really worth vigorously promoting." ”

"There are quite a few families in Beijing who use coal." Wu Qijun, the left attendant of the household department, said: "If this honeycomb coal does have such benefits, Jingshi can implement it, and the price of coal in Jingshi is not high. ”

"It seems that Lord Wu is usually a chef from afar." Lin Zexu said with a smile: The honeycomb coal should also be used in the back kitchen of the Yamen of the Domain, and Lord Wu can check it carefully when he goes back. ”

Seeing a few people to talk about coal, easy to be content with natural reluctance, such a good opportunity today, is to vigorously promote the construction of the railway opportunity, can not be diverted from the topic, he immediately did not hurry to say: "In the West, coal has been widely used in industrial fuels and domestic fuels, our Qing Dynasty for the application of coal can be said to have not started, there is no doubt that the wide application of coal will greatly promote the local economy of the Qing Dynasty." ”

As he spoke, he turned his head, "Railway transportation is not only used for transporting coal, the superiority of railway transportation will greatly promote the rapid circulation of commodities in the southeast and northwest, what does commodity circulation mean?" Meaning wealth! Means paying taxes! Let's just say that Shanxi's coal, coal is not valuable in Shanxi, but it is valuable when it is transported to Guangdong, and this circulation, Shanxi, Guangdong, and the imperial court have benefited from all three aspects.

In addition, railway transportation not only speeds up the circulation of goods, but also accelerates the circulation of money, whether it is commodities or currency, the faster the circulation, the more wealth will be generated, and the more taxes the imperial court will get from it. ”

"If you talk about the way of economy, I am afraid that no one in the Qing Dynasty can be satisfied." Lin Zexu said and glanced at Mianhe Qishan, and said: "The construction of the railway, the controversy is quite big, this time taking the opportunity of the opening of the Fozhou-Guangzhou Railway, it is best to be satisfied with the "Eighteen Articles of Railway Rejuvenation" to be elaborated and cited, so as to get more support." ”

The words fell, a long "woo" sound attracted everyone's attention, a couple of passenger trains slowly drove into the platform, waiting for the train to stop, Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a passenger train, if you are interested, you can get on the train and take it, and go to Foshan to turn around and come back." ”

Mian was the first to get up and said with a smile: "Naturally, you have to experience it yourself in order to know all the benefits of the train." ”

Lin Zexu followed: "Lord Qincha has this Yaxing, and the lower officials should accompany him." ”

"The last general will also have fun." Guan Tianpei followed.

Seeing Mian Xing, Lin Zexu, and Guan Tianpei all had to take a test ride, Qi Shan smiled silently, he couldn't all go for a test ride, after all, he didn't know whether this foreign thing was safe.

Naturally not only a group of officials were invited to take a test ride, Guangzhou's slightly famous gentry and businessmen were invited, and the gentlemen and scholars of several universities in Guangzhou were also invited.

Boarding the train, Lin Zexu and others visited the familiar carriage with great interest under the leadership of Yi Zhicontent, and there was also a toilet with running water to wash their hands, and he couldn't help but smile: "The design is really thoughtful." ”

"It's not okay if it's not thoughtful." Yi Zhizhi said: "The Foguang Railway is a short route, the long route has to sit for several days, or even more than ten days, eat and drink Lazar to solve the problem, and will increase the sleeper car in the future, you can sleep, this wooden chair should also be improved, changed to an upholstered chair, otherwise you can't stand it for a long time." ”

"Not bad." Lin Zexu praised lightly, and the group returned to the carriage, and sat down separately in twos and threes, this carriage was specially prepared for a group of officials, and there were not many people coming up, and it was empty.

After sitting down, Lin Zexu looked up for a moment, then looked at Yi Zhi, and said: "Contentment knows that Shu Dao is difficult, Min Dao is difficult, but have you heard that Jin Dao is more difficult than Shu Dao?" In Shanxi, the mountains are heavy, deep ravines and ravines, and the hills are continuous, but it is not comparable to the Ma Pingchuan in Guangzhou, and it is not easy to build a railway out of Jin. ”

"It's hard to go to Jin, I've heard of it below." Yi Zhizhi said: "However, Shanxi produces good coal, and the reserves are huge, even if it is difficult, it is necessary to build a railway to enter it." ”

Lin Zexu said worriedly: "The railway is expensive, the Fozhou-Guangzhou Railway is only more than 30 miles, and it is a flat river, and it still costs millions of silver dollars, Shanxi." ”

"Shanxi is an old pick, rich in the world." Yi Zhizhi said: "What does it mean for Shanxi people to build a railway into Shanxi, Jin merchants know better than anyone else, as long as they really see the benefits of building a railway, it should not be difficult to persuade Jin merchants to build a railway." ”

As soon as the words fell, he felt a slight flicker, and he hurriedly reminded: "The car is driving, adults pay attention." ”

That is, with a slight flicker, the train slowly slid forward, towards the platform that was backwards outside the window, Lin Zexu said with some surprise: "So smooth? ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said with a smile: "The train is not bumpy, you can read the newspaper and drink tea." ”

"Oh, that's a lot of work."

Out of the platform, the train gradually accelerated, looking at the scenery outside the window regressing rapidly, Lin Zexu said with emotion: "This seems to be no slower than a galloping horse, but it is not bumpy, if it can really be popularized in the Qing Dynasty, it is much more convenient to travel." ”

"It's not just convenient, it's fast."

"It's really fast." Lin Zexu changed his head as he spoke, "How many years will it take for this railway to recover its costs?" ”

"It's hard to say." Yi Zhizhi pondered and said: "Looking at the location, like the Foshan-Guangzhou Railway, the construction difficulty is small, the cost is low, and it is a prosperous economic place, with a large freight passenger volume, and the investment can be recovered in five or six years." If it is a remote and desolate place, it is estimated that it will not be able to recoup the investment in 20 years. ”

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "The construction of railways in the West is rarely paid by the imperial court, and the railway companies are built by businessmen, after all, the return on investment in the railway is quite rich, just like the Foguang Railway, no matter how you calculate, it can return to its original cost in ten years, but the good maintenance of this railway can be used for a hundred years, and the return is rich and extraordinary." ”

So much of a return? Lin Zexu was shocked for a long time and did not say anything, and after a long time, he said: "How does the imperial court benefit?" ”

Yi Zhicontentment said: "It is the greatest benefit to establish a railway network in the Qing Dynasty without spending money, and furthermore, the annual tax and silver of the railway company is not a small amount, and the economy driven by the development of the railway, which is considered an indirect benefit, in addition, considering the huge role of the railway, the imperial court can set up a department to manage the railway company in a unified manner, approve the fare, freight, tax and silver, in wartime or major emergencies - such as major natural disasters, the imperial court has the right to temporarily requisition dispatch vehicles and so on." ”

After pondering for a long time, Lin Zexu bowed his head and said: "What contentment says is not unreasonable, but it is not impossible to try. ”

Yi Zhishu didn't want to talk to him all the time, so he smiled and said, "My lord, sit down, the back carriage is mostly famous gentry and businessmen in Guangzhou, so I have to go down and say hello." ”

Lin Zexu smiled when he heard this, waved his hand and said, "Today you are also the master, let's go." ”

The carriage in the back section is a famous businessman in the city of Guangzhou, merchants, ticket numbers, tea merchants, silk merchants, salt merchants, rice merchants, iron merchants, etc., easy to be content with most of them are familiar, into the carriage, all the way to greet the greetings, to the Shanxi ticket number of the shopkeepers, he stood on his feet and said: "The first time to take the train, how do you feel about the shopkeeper?" ”

"Okay, pretty good." Wang Dechang, the shopkeeper of the Rishengchang ticket number, said and got up and stretched out his hand to give up his seat, and then said: "This train in the West is really incredible, originally read the "Xiguan Daily", and some will be suspicious. ”

Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "You shopkeepers should be aware of the coal price in Guangzhou, Shanxi produces good coal, so you don't have any ideas?" ”

Zhicheng ticket number teller Tsuji said quickly: "Yida shopkeeper is planning to build a railway in Shanxi to pull coal to Guangzhou?" That's a bit too far, isn't it? ”

"As long as Shanxi's coal can come out of Shanxi, it will be silver." Yi Zhishu said and glanced at the shopkeepers of the West Ticket, and said, "If the Jin merchants are not interested, Yuan Qi is very interested." ”

As a group of ticket number shopkeepers of Shanxi people naturally know that Shanxi's coal mine reserves are widely distributed, the biggest limitation is that it is difficult to transport coal, the car pushes the boat, and the output is really limited, and the strong and fast transportation capacity of the train They have just seen, listening to this, they are all a little excited, and the staff Tsuji Kuan said in a deep voice: "Our Shanxi is not as good as Guangdong, to the east and south can be full of mountains, can build railways?" ”

"Absolutely." Yi Zhi said confidently: "It's naturally good to be able to dig holes through the mountains, no, it's okay to take a long detour, the train is fast, and it can be continuously improved, the speed will be faster, and there will be more loads, and it won't get in the way." ”

Hearing this, the shopkeepers were very excited, if Shanxi can build a railway, what does it mean for Shanxi? Shanxi will be rich in flowing oil! Wang Dechang coughed lightly, and then said: "I heard that the railway costs a lot of money, and the distance of the Fozhou-Guangzhou Railway costs four million silver dollars." (To be continued.) )