With Zhu Youzhen's comparison on the map, Huang Liji quickly converted the emperor's words into the dotted railway line that could not be seen on the map. With Henan as the center, the cross-shaped railway network that connects the entire Ming Dynasty is a huge project comparable to the Grand Canal.

Huang Liji subconsciously blurted out: "How much does it cost to build a railway line from Beijing to Hankou, plus from Sanmenxia to the coast of the Yellow Sea." ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at the map beside him, and said nonchalantly: "It should be between the ten thousand taels of the railway in Shanxi, and the biggest trouble is the two bridges across the Yellow River and a bridge across the Han River." ”

Huang Liji's gaze shifted from the map to the emperor's face, and he asked with some surprise: "Could it be that the Ministry of Industry has been able to build a bridge across the Yellow River?" ”

Zhu Youzhen shook his head and said a little unwillingly: "According to the geological and geographical survey of the Yellow River section near Zhengzhou by the surveying and mapping team sent by me, although we have found several suitable locations for building bridges, the length of the bridges must be about 3 kilometers.

According to the calculations of several academicians of the Academy of Sciences, even if the quality of the materials used to build the bridge is not considered, such a Yellow River railway bridge will cost at least 13,000 tons of wrought iron and more than 60,000 cubic meters of high-grade concrete, that is, 19,000 tons of cement.

However, the iron produced by China next year will only be just over 70,000 tons, the good wrought iron is estimated to be less than 40,000 tons, and the annual output of cement will be just over 3,000 tons.

Every day, I heard those officials in the court boast, saying that my Ming Dynasty was rich in products, and there was no need to trade with those overseas people. Some people also say that the iron produced by the private iron-smelting workshop alone is enough for the Ming Dynasty to use, and the restoration of the official ironworks in Zunhua, Daye and other places, and the construction of new ironworks in Xishan and Tangshan are completely laborious and costly.

Now it's a good thing, I want to build a few bridges to facilitate the people to travel between the north and the south, but I can't even get the materials together. If I hadn't been too lazy to talk to them, I'd have wanted to slap them in the face with this data. ”

Listening to Chongzhen's complaints, Huang Liji was extremely shocked, not because the cost of building a railway bridge over the Yellow River was so amazing, but that Chongzhen had already sent someone to investigate the hydrogeology of the Yellow River and planned to build a bridge on the Yellow River.

He turned his gaze to the map again, thinking about the illusory railway network on the map, and couldn't help but think in his heart that this railway network was not Chongzhen's temporary idea, but had long existed in his heart.

At the beginning of the year, the construction of the Beijing and Jingxi Railway, as well as the Shanxi Railway, transferred Sun Chuanting to Luoyang to build the road from Luoyang to Sanmenxia, it turned out to be premeditated.

When Huang Liji connected these clues, just like the railway network on the map, he suddenly understood in his heart that Chongzhen sent Xu Xianchun and Yang Suoxiu to Henan to investigate the case and engage in land and grain requisition, which was not as good as he said before, so in order to help the victims of Shaanxi Province, he had to make some sacrifices for the gentry in Henan.

The real reason is also that on this railway network, after the completion of the Jingxi Railway, the land along the railway line suddenly began to become valuable. In the past, selling vegetables and pickles to the capital was the power of the people in the outer city or near the city wall, and the people in places like Xishan and Mentougou would not think of going into the city to do business in these vegetable markets, because they couldn't get it.

However, after the completion of the Beijing-West Railway, the people in the Mentougou mountain area suddenly realized that the mountain goods they got in the mountains could now be easily transported to the city, without waiting for the merchants to buy them at a low price.

Like the Dongshan pear of Mentougou, the flesh is delicate, sweet and sour, and the flavor is unique, but it takes a lot of effort to pick it up to the capital, and if it is transported by camel or carriage, it is easy to rot on the road. Therefore, although there are good pears, they can only satisfy their own cravings.

But now that there is a smooth and fast railway, a basket of pears can be transported to the capital to cover their harvest for half a year, mainly because of the large population of the people in the capital and the lack of fruits. At this time, most of the consumption of the noble families came from their estates in the countryside, but there were still a few people living in the capital of more than 700,000 people who could own estates in the vicinity of Gyeonggi.

Therefore, most people still have to consume in the market, and food and most daily necessities used to come from the south, also called southern goods. Vegetables come from the suburbs, but fresh fruits, which are difficult to preserve, are rare.

When the Beijing-West Railway opened, many businessmen and officials with a keen sense of smell immediately realized it. The railway is not just a road, its appearance has completely changed the lives of people in the area near the railway. If they buy land near the railroad to grow cotton or grain, they can save seven-tenths of the freight alone than in areas without railroads, which is an attractive profit.

Not to mention the shareholders who previously invested in the Mentougou coal mine, iron works, and cement plants, the benefits brought by the railway far exceeded those of the landlords who farmed the land.

If the goods transported from Mentougou to the capital every day were one in the past, then now the amount of goods that can be transported to the capital in a day is thirty. In other words, the daily volume of goods transported to the capital by the Jingxi Railway can be covered by the past month. If the production capacity keeps up, Mentougou will be able to complete the output value of the past year in half a month, but unfortunately, it can't be done now.

However, after the completion of the railway, the prospect of investing in industrial and mining industries has been seen by many people. As long as the railway is opened, the idea of developing a gold mine has faintly appeared in everyone's minds.

In Huang Liji's view, the cross drawn by Zhu Youzhen at random is equivalent to the development of two golden avenues in Henan. If these Henan gentry were not suppressed first, the benefits of building these two railways might not be able to fall into the hands of the emperor and the imperial court, and in the end they would just be a coolie for those Henan gentry.

Huang Liji weighed it in his heart for a long time, and finally asked gently: "Your Majesty, more than 700 taels is not a small amount, and the treasury will definitely not be able to take it out."

Thinking that these two railways must still go through the method of recruiting private shares, but I don't know, what is Your Majesty's plan in mind about recruiting railway shares? ”

Zhu Youzhen was silent for a while, and then replied: "This railway from Beijing to Hankou is planned to be called the Jinghan Line. The railway was intended to be divided into two parts, one was the Jingjiao Line on the north bank of the Yellow River. Because this line is an extension of the line from Beijing to Zhuozhou, I will first give a part of the shares to the original railway shareholders, and then take out the rest for public recruitment.

As for the Zhengzhou-Hankou section of the railway, I will convert the land and grain expropriated by Xu Xianchun and Yang Suoxiu in Henan into a part of the equity, and then take out the remaining railway equity to recruit. The same applies to the Zhengzhou-Sanmenxia section of the railway.

In addition, I plan to set up a Jinghan Railway Supervisor to be fully responsible for the repair of these two railways, Mr. Huang, do you have anyone to recommend? ”

Huang Liji only froze for a moment, and then knew that this was Chongzhen's reward for his support. There are really not many people in his bag, and he knows that this Jinghan Railway Supervisor is a beautiful shortage, but it is difficult for him to pick out the candidates.

He thought about it for a long time and found that there were only two suitable candidates, one was Liu Zunxian, who was the squire of the military department, who was his fellow countryman in the same year.

The squire of the military department was originally a good position, but Liu Zunxian and Wang Zaijin did not agree, and after the establishment of the General Staff, Sun Chengzong, who was highly qualified, seized most of the functions and powers of the military department, and the current military department is more like an empty shelf.

Huang Liji originally wanted to support Liu Zunxian to take over the position of secretary of the Ministry of War, but now it seems that Wang did a pretty good job after Jin returned to Beijing. Not only did he firmly control the armies of Shanhaiguan, Jizhou, and Guangning Zhonghou in accordance with the emperor's intentions, but also adopted an attitude of active support for the establishment of the General Staff.

In Huang Liji's view, Wang Zaijin, who suffered a loss, obviously learned a lesson after returning to Beijing this time and chose to follow the emperor's pace. In this way, the position of the secretary of the military department is basically difficult to shake.

Therefore, it is obviously a waste to let Liu Zunxian continue to stay in the military department. As for another friend, Wang Jiazhen, the left waiter of the household department, although the relationship with him is more intimate. However, the second person in the household department under Guo Yunhou, Wang Jiazhen has a great chance of taking over as the secretary of the household department.

Today's household department is no longer an empty shell sub-department that has an empty reputation and is difficult to maintain. And the status of the household department in the cabinet is also the help that Huang Liji hopes to get.

Therefore, Huang Liji thought for a while, then raised his head and saluted Chongzhen and said: "Liu Kequan, the squire of the military department, is cautious and honest, and the minister thinks that he is the right person for the minister of railway supervision. ”

Zhu Youzhen readily agreed: "Over there, according to Mr. Huang's meaning, you find a suitable time to submit a letter and recommend it, and I will naturally approve it." ”

Huang Liji agreed, but asked with some concern: "The minister's side can start acting according to His Majesty's orders, but this scholar Sun is friendly with Yuan Dasikou, will the bachelor's side support those Henan gentlemen?" If that's the case, it's not going to be able to go on. ”

Zhu Youzhen turned his head to look at him and said lightly: "After I went to the camp in the northern suburbs to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers the day before yesterday, I have already talked to Mr. Sun, including Mr. Sun, all the personnel of the General Staff will remain silent about the matter in Henan.

So Mr. Huang can do things with confidence. In addition, Lu Qi, you go and bring the letter of Uncle Fu and King Chu for me. ”

Lu Qi, who had been standing in the corner and didn't dare to look up, quickly agreed, and walked to the east bookshelf to rummage through.

Soon, he bent his body in front of Chongzhen with two copies of the music. Zhu Youzhen took the fold from his hand and handed it to Huang Liji.

"Mr. Huang, you can also take a look, Uncle Fu Wang is impeaching Uncle Rui Wang for being disrespectful and forcibly buying and selling good daughters on the way to Beijing, so he asked to cut off his 5,000 acres of fiefdom.

Although King Rui is my uncle, he still has to be punished for his mistakes. And my uncle often complained that Hanzhong was too remote and inconvenient.

My suggestion is to agree with Uncle Fuwang's opinion, and at the same time let King Rui stay in Beijing, and Hanzhong can be reorganized. ”

Huang Liji flipped over the fold in his hand slightly, and then nodded in agreement with the emperor's opinion. Since King Fu can stay in the capital, then the number of King Rui is nothing now, so as not to have any thoughts that King Fu should not have.

Zhu Youzhen then continued: "As for this King of Chu? Because of the serious disaster in Shaanxi, he voluntarily reduced his salary and donated half of his land and property. I think the King of Chu deserves to be commended..."