As soon as Wang Fengyuan left, Zhang Xingsheng was brought to Chongzhen. After listening to his ideas for the Shandong Peninsula Railway and the idea of setting up a new industrial base in Zibo.

Zhu Youzhen was quite happy in his heart, and he was able to take the initiative to think of developing an industrial base and building a railway connected to the port to facilitate the transportation of goods and raw materials.

After instructing Wang Chengen to take the map of Shandong, Zhu Youzhen looked at it for a while before he said to Zhang Shengsheng: "The idea of building a railway from Zibo to Jiaozhou is indeed good, this area does not seem to have any big mountains and rivers, and it will not be very difficult to build a railway."

However, only such a section of the railway is built, the pattern seems to be a little smaller, Shandong is not Gyeonggi after all, we still have to respect the local gentry class. Otherwise, if someone makes trouble for you in the middle of such a long railway, it will be enough for us to be anxious.

From Jiaozhou further up, go around to the upper protrusion of Jiaozhou Bay, which seems to be called Qingdao. I heard that Qingdao is an excellent port, but because the surrounding economy is relatively underdeveloped, it was not selected as an open port.

Since the railway is to be built to the hinterland of Shandong, it is better to simply put the end of the railway in Qingdao. In addition, Jinan is the capital of Shandong, both economically and population, is the leading city in Shandong, and the other end of the railway should be extended to Jinan.

In this way, this railway can not only transport Shandong's products to the sea, but also receive materials from Qingdao at home and abroad into Shandong.

Finally, between Jinan and Tianjin, there will eventually be a need for a railway, after all, the canal is now out of navigation longer and longer, and the capacity is getting less and less. Of course, this railway is not considered for now.

In addition, the construction of this Jiaoji railway, by the way, the development of Zibo's coal, iron and other mines, but just enough to receive a number of canal workers north of Shandong, to lay the foundation for the rectification of the canal.

With that in mind, your original plan was too inadequate. I would suggest that the project be divided into three parts: the mine, the iron works, and the railway.

It is better to start a mine and repair the factory, and comprehensively survey the topography and soil conditions along the railway, as well as the mineral deposits near the railway, and then build the railway and wharf.

I thought that you could ask that Wu Nanfang to go back and revise the plan, and the scale of the mine and iron plant would be doubled. The investment of the whole project is divided into three years, and the annual investment should not be less than one million taels.

Thirty percent of the share capital can be given to the local gentry, King De of Jinan, King Heng of Qingzhou, and the feudal kingdom are all on this railway line, and they are also given two percent of the share capital. ”

When Chongzhen was racking his brains to consider the distribution of share capital, Zhang Xingsheng finally couldn't help but say with a bitter face: "But Your Majesty, the funds that the Wensi Institute can use at hand are only 150,000 taels at most, if it is according to Your Majesty's assumption, I am afraid that the Wensi Institute will be difficult to support such a large project."

If we can't come up with the money, those Shandong gentry and the two royal palaces of the feudal lords will not easily take out the money and invest in this project.

Can you ask Your Majesty to give an order for the central bank to borrow this shortfall, or to sell the cement formula publicly? ”

"Well, there is some pressure on the financial side, but don't look for the central bank this time. The Ministry of International Trade and Postal Affairs is going to open a postal bank, and after a while, you can talk to Tian Yang about the loan in my name.

As for the cement formulation? What is the current production status of the cement workshop under Wensi Academy? Why did the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War complain to me that the cement workshop has been unwilling to increase production and has always maintained high prices? ”

"This, this is really wronged, although the fuel coal, slag clay, limestone, and gypsum required for cement are all produced in Xishan, but they are not evenly distributed.

And the area of Xishan is a ravine, and the transportation is extremely inconvenient, and even the railway cannot be repaired. In addition, the amount of water flowing through the river is not stable, so the production of crushed ore becomes high and low.

In fact, as far as Chen can see, if these raw materials can be transported to the downstream of Tianjin, and the water and wind power can be used for grinding and processing, maybe the output can be higher.

Now for every ton of ordinary cement, the cost is about 22,; The cement with 38% volcanic ash added can be used for waterproofing projects such as wharves, and the cost is 25 yuan per ton.

The cement plant now produces 100 kilograms of cement in barrels or 50 kilograms in bags. The market price of ordinary cement is 60 yuan per ton, and the market price of pozzolana cement is 80 yuan per ton.

The price at which the workshop was sold to the various ministries of the imperial court was 6% of the market price. However, the minister heard that some officials in various ministries resold cement to the market. Each package of cement varies from 4 taels and 2 yuan to 7 taels and 5 yuan, which is still in short supply.

Some wealthy businessmen in the south even offered a reward of 1,000 yuan a barrel for 1,000 yuan. It's not that cement workshops are unwilling to sell more cement, but they are really constrained by the supply of raw materials and transportation capacity. And even if we increase the supply of cement to the ministries, it may not get to where it should be. ”

"What are they doing with buying cement at such a high price?" Zhu Youzhen was a little surprised by the high price of cement in the market.

"Most of the northerners lay the ground to control rats and ants; The southerners used it to drain the courtyard and harden the ground in the house. In addition, it is used to build a large house. Zhang Xingsheng told the facts he had heard.

After Zhu Youzhen cleared up his doubts, he continued to ponder for a moment before saying to Zhang Xingsheng: "I will let them check the situation of stealing and selling cement in various departments. However, on Jiang Zhongbao's side, the project of controlling the Haihe River is particularly important, and the amount of cement he needs must be met first.

As for the issue of cement formulation, you have published an advertisement in the Daming Times for a public tender for cement formulation. In the form of public tenders, the top 10 merchants with the highest bids will be authorized to produce cement..."

The west gate of Puzhou City is called Pujin Pass again, the city wall here is three zhang eight feet high, and the wall is also seven feet high. The outer side of the city wall is made of blue bricks, and the horse path on the wall is made of large bluestone stones. There is also a three-story brick and stone wooden building with heavy eaves on the city gate.

As the most important place between Qin and Jin, the city of Puzhou was built magnificent and strong. Hong Chengchou, the new governor of Shanxi, was standing on the tower of the West Gate, looking at the scenery outside the city, while more than a dozen civil and military officials were surrounding him, accompanying the Ming upstart to talk.

Xu Rencheng, the governor of Puzhou, stood beside Hong Chengchou and was explaining the local human geography to this Fujianese with a smile on his face, "... In ancient times, this place was Pusaka, the capital of Emperor Shun. There is a river canal called Yongji Canal in the east of Puzhou City, which is said to be dug in the Northern Zhou Dynasty...

It is based on the fact that Hezhong has been an important town since ancient times, and since the founding of the Emperor and the Ming Dynasty, the local literary style has gradually flourished. Those who live in this state, the alleys are often full, both many eunuchs, a house with clouds, Cui Wei on the floor, and a high eye.

Beyond the southern outline, the villa is secluded. Guijia Pond Pavilion, Qi Belt Xiaying, Guancheng gathered, goods lined up, Baijia Piaozhen, Hedong Counties, this is the most. ”

Seeing that the new governor of Shanxi couldn't help nodding and smiling, a local retired official also joked and said: "Yes, the prosperity of the literary style in this city is by no means comparable to other places.

There is such a local folk song that says: Standing in the drum tower and looking south, there are twenty-four Hanlin courtyards. Three pavilions on the opposite door, one lane and nine books. Large and small state and county officials, three buckets and six liters of rapeseed officials.

It can be seen that there are many local eunuch families and profound heritage. The fathers and elders of this city also begged us to ask the adults for a favor. This is a good thing for the victims, but please consider the lives of the local people. We can't let Puzhou suffer because of the disaster in Shaanxi. ”

Hong Chengchou glanced back at the officials behind him, and then said with a smile: "From Longmen to Tongguan, it is the place where the water flow in the middle section of the Yellow River is the gentliest, and it is also the section with the most ferries on the Yellow River.

Among these ferries, Longmen Ferry, Mengjin Ferry, the Pujin Ferry below us, and the Fengling Ferry downstream are the most suitable for a large number of people to cross the river.

Compared with other ferries, the conditions of the city's Pujin ferry are the best. Although the Yellow River is the widest in the upper and lower reaches of the river, the water surface is only 2 or 3 miles wide, and the river is ten miles wide.

However, because the water flow is gentle, it is the most suitable place to build a pontoon bridge. With the eight pairs of iron oxen handed down in the Tang Dynasty as anchor piles, there is a perennial iron cable pontoon bridge.

Together with two temporary pontoon bridges, the number of people in the transition here can reach thousands every day. Pujindu has Puzhou City to the east, and Tongzhou is known as the Sanqin thoroughfare to the west.

With these two important towns guarding this ferry, whether it is receiving the victims on the opposite side or relocating the victims locally, it will not be too short of supplies.

Therefore, it is not that this official must choose this place as the main channel for the victims of the Shaanxi disaster to enter Jinjin, but only the local conditions can arrange the disaster victims in Shaanxi on a large scale, so that His Majesty's order can be implemented.

As for your concerns, the gathering of the victims near Puzhou after crossing the river may cause unspeakable disasters. I also ask all the fathers and elders to rest assured, this official personally rushed to Puzhou, precisely to arrange the life of these victims after crossing the river..."

Under Hong Chengchou's warm words and persuasion, the local retired officials and the leaders of the local gentry finally went down to the castle tower with half-belief and returned home.

After waiting for these people to leave, the smile on Hong Chengchou's face suddenly disappeared, he stared coldly, and Xu Rencheng, the Zhizhou who stayed behind, reprimanded: "It's been almost 3 months, and only 20 disaster camps have been built near Puzhou City.

Each camp originally had a capacity of 3,000 people, but now it is crammed into 4 to 5,000 people. And just like that, thousands of people are still living in the wilderness. Not to mention, the camp is full of sewage and filth, aren't you afraid of a plague outbreak in the camp? ”

Xu Rencheng hurriedly defended himself with a sad face: "It's not that the lower officials don't do their best, it's really that there are a few nearby mountains and forests in the local area, all of which are owned by the rich family. The timber needed to set up the camp had to be cut down in the mountains deep to the south.

This felling of timber requires not only a variety of tools, but also a lot of strong labor. However, the adults issued strict orders several times, requiring that the victims of the river crossing must take their families as the smallest unit, and that all young and middle-aged people who are alone are not allowed to cross the river for the time being if they are not insured.

Most of these young adults with families are reluctant to leave their families to go deep into the mountains to cut wood. As a result, the camp for the victims of the disaster has fallen behind.

Besides, these disaster victims are difficult to control, and there are only more than 100 people in Puzhou County, and if you take care of the city, you can't take care of the outside of the city.

And the sergeants appointed by the adults, who were busy guarding the order of the pontoon bridge at the ferry every day, were already too busy to take care of themselves, and they dared to disperse their manpower into the camp to rectify the order. ”