Convinced that within the next five to ten years, Datang could welcome at least one million to five million immigrants in Datang, the cabinet officially began to formulate Datang's first five-year plan. At the beginning of the establishment www.biquge.info of the Tang Dynasty, all the industrial development was actually planned, including the adjustment of the national strategy, and the Tang people strictly implemented the plan, but obviously, the people who had just crossed the country did not have the ability to formulate an all-encompassing and large-scale national economic development plan.

But now, the country is thriving, not counting the population and industry of Hawaii, Borneo, and Guwei Islands, at the beginning of 1780, the Tang Dynasty had a registered population of 81 in Jiazhou, Luanzhou, Gangzhou, British Columbia, and Yuanzhou, as well as Pengzhou, Florida, and Yuzhou in the east. 50,000 people. It took six years to open up more than 2 million square kilometers of land in North America, and built a relatively comprehensive industrial category including iron and steel, metallurgy, chemical industry, automobile, shipbuilding, military industry, and light textile.

The Tang people have stood on a higher platform, a platform that they have built with their own hard work and sweat, and at the same time they aim to point to some higher places.

All the ministries and meetings of the National Council were a little excited, especially those newly appointed cabinet members, who had the intention of burning three fires when they took office. They laid out a variety of development plans, some unrealistic, some challenging, but the self-confident and bold Don, having repeatedly defeated the British and reaped epic victories in the Far East, dared to try anything difficult with them.

Holding in his hand a copy of the detailed rules for the development of the five-year plan drafted by various ministries, Bai Nam was a little skeptical that he had traveled to the republic at the end of the fifties of the twentieth century. One of the development plans that he has been working on for the longest time has not come from a new cabinet member. It is Bao Xun, the former general manager of China Railway, who was re-elected as Minister of Transportation for the second term.

"Plan for the Southern Section of the Pacific Railroad...... Minister Bao's heart is too big! Bai Nan, who was squatting at home, couldn't help but sigh.

Xu Xin, who was playing with her daughter, asked, "What's the matter?" Makes you all so surprised. If our country is fatter than guts, can there be anything better than our family Bai Nan? ”

The youngest daughter can also speak now, and shouts with her mother: "Daddy is the fattest, Daddy is the fattest." ”

Bai Nan couldn't help but laugh when he reported that his daughter was on his lap and teased her to giggle, and then joked with his wife: "I'm afraid, audacity is an infectious disease, and I'm just one of the original carriers." Now this disease has infected many people, and I think our Minister Bao is one of the infected. ”

Xu Xin asked, "What the hell is going on?" ”

Bai Nandao: "Just listen to the name, Minister Bao thinks the time is ripe, and hopes to build a railroad through the entire North American continent, connecting our West Coast and East Coast, starting from the Port of Long Beach, Los Angeles, passing Eagle Mountain in Jiazhou, crossing the Colorado River, passing through Phoenix, Tucson, and then El Paso. Continue east through San Antonio, Houston, and end in New Orleans, Pengzhou. Well, we haven't established an administrative division here yet, but if this plan does get underway, it will have a new name. ”

Xu Xin frowned delicately, and said: "This is a good thing, the three southeastern states are being developed, isn't it, I heard that the cabinet is ready to increase the intensity of immigration to the three southeastern states in the five-year plan, and the merchant ships we are now going to the east coast all rely on the merchant ships that cross the Strait of Magellan, the distance is far away, if there is a railway that can connect the east and west, then the capacity will be saved a lot." It's just that although we occupy the east and west, the large area in the middle does not belong to us, it is the territory of Spain. ”

Bai Nan nodded and said: "So, Minister Bao, on behalf of the Ministry of Communications, came up with two ideas, one of which is for us to start another war and take down the millions of square kilometers of land in the middle." ”

Although Xu Xin is a woman, because her husband is a political dignitary and is also from an official family, she is more sensitive to these things, she said: "If I remember correctly, between Jiazhou and Pengzhou, although a large area of land is claimed by Spain, there are basically no colonies, the more famous ones are probably Tucson and El Paso, and most of the famous cities in later generations have not even been established, and there are no decent defenders at all in these places. The problem is that we have an agreement with Spain, and it is certainly impossible to go to war rashly. And there are many aborigines along the railway, and they will affect the safety of the railway. ”

Bai Nan agreed with Xu Xin's analysis and said: "So, in fact, Bao Xun is planning to take the second path. The Spanish Minister to Don officially proposed to us in December last year that we would provide the technology to build a railway in the Iberian Peninsula to promote the economy of Spain itself. The cabinet has not replied to this matter, and Minister Bao plans to make a fuss about this matter. Railroad exports are an established policy of ours, and the Ministry of Transportation means that we attach the condition that we can help the Spaniards build the Iberian Railroad, but the Spaniards must agree to us building a railroad through the North American continent in their colonies. Of course, it is much more complicated than this, and Bao Xun proposed a series of ways to equalize interests, including the establishment of new colonies along the railway line, the naturalization of the indigenous people along the line, the help of Spain to develop the colonial economy, and so on. ”

Xu Xin couldn't help but widen her eyes when she heard this, and said, "Is our Minister Bao's thinking really still stuck in the 21st century?" ”

Bai Nan smiled and asked, "What would you do if you were an adult?" ”

Xu Xin said: "This railway, we can use it, so we will build it, even if the Spaniards do not agree, what can they do, the population of the entire area may not be enough for a thousand." The Spaniards must be afraid of us to death now, we fought across the ocean, sent more than 20,000 soldiers to participate in the war 10,000 kilometers away, the Mexican colony is right under our noses, and now the war in the Qing Kingdom is basically over, if Spain offends us, then it will be good to send troops directly, and then they will lose the whole of Mexico. ”

Bai Nan took his wife's hand and said, "I can't see it, my wife has a unique vision." ”

Xu Xin said nonchalantly: "This is just the basic thinking of this era, after staying for so long and reading a lot of books, I should understand what is going on." ”

Bai Nan nodded: "That's right, so in this matter, we won't give the Spaniards too much choice, because the Spaniards can't refuse." The Spaniards and the French had just suffered defeat at Gibraltar, and the fleet for the island of Britain had failed, so the Spaniards could not afford to go to war with us in the colonies. Therefore, what we should be more concerned about is some specific matters. I think this railroad is actually a good start for us to penetrate New Mexico and Louisiana, and we're going to have colonies along the way. The Spaniards will not like this, we will force them to accept it, and the Spaniards will probably compete to get immigrants over, and there are already some Franciscan and Jesuit evangelies on this route, and we are obviously not happy to see Catholicism operating on our soil. Spain is a conservative Catholic country, and if this problem is not dealt with properly, it may be more troublesome. ”

Xu Xin smiled and said: "You just said that Minister Bao is bold, but in fact, you don't agree with it very much?" ”

Bai Nan pointed to his nose and said, "Because as your wife said, I am the fattest one." The Pacific Railroad, we are bound to win, diplomatic negotiations are almost starting now, and our construction work will be carried out simultaneously. We are already in operation on the railroad from Los Angeles to Eagle Mountain, and further east, the Spaniards have no control over the desert and the basin, so we can leave them alone and wait until the diplomatic negotiations are basically over, just a matter of us putting a few cherries on the line. ”

――――Dividing Line――――

The whole thing actually went very fast, the Tang Legation in Spain proposed the plan for this railway to King Carlos III of Spain, Carlos III was shocked, of course, his main shock point was the national strength of the Tang Dynasty. The construction of the Iberian Railway was a wise decision for him, but the cost of laying the railroad tracks, labor, and trains after operation was a huge expense, and he even had to borrow money from the nobles and merchants at home, after all, Spain was at war with England at this time, and the cost was very large.

The Pacific Railway was several times larger than the Iberian Railway, and it crossed the Rocky Mountains, and was dozens of times more difficult to build than the Iberian Railway, and Carlos III could imagine the cost. But the Tang people seem to have no hesitation, and they have a careful plan and sufficient financial resources to maintain it.

Originally, Carlos III did not want the Tang Dynasty's railroad to pass through New Mexico, but his ministers reminded him that the Spaniards could not stop the railway that the Tang wanted to complete. Carlos III had no doubt that the Dons would take this opportunity to infiltrate New Mexico and Louisiana, but the Dons also offered some good terms. Spain was given a certain amount of profit from railway operations every year, and more supplies were promised to be sent from Jiazhou by rail. This allows Spain to better exploit the region.

On the other hand, the Tang people would enter the area and even colonize it. Carlos III wanted to stop them, but he knew that the Spanish army could not do it.

The Tang also promised to provide a loan for the construction of the Iberian Railway and buy a batch of Spanish railway bonds, which also solved Carlos III's most troublesome problem of financing the construction of the railway. At least it seems like a win-win situation.

In the end, a batch of discounted arms sales was sold, and Carlos III formally agreed to the Tang Republic's request to build a cross-border Pacific Railway. (To be continued.) )