On that day, Du Zhongxiao was sitting in the back yamen. Officials came to report that Ma Zun, the judge of Jianghuai Transportation, came to visit. After hearing this, Du Zhongxiao hurriedly sorted out his clothes and came out. When he saw Ma Zun, he saluted himself and welcomed the flower hall of the yamen.

Although he is also a judge of the road-level supervisory department, the status of the JAC Shipping Department is much higher than that of the Transport Authority, and Ma Zun's status is higher than that of Du Zhongxiao. At this time, the transfer of funds was higher than that of the governor, and then he could be sentenced to the third department. The judge of the Sansi was about to be equivalent to the Transport Authority, and the deputy envoy of the Sansi was equivalent to the Jianghuai Transport Authority. As for the higher level of the Sansi, he was already an important official second only to the Prime Minister, and was beyond ordinary officials.

However, in terms of his own official position, Du Zhongxiao is far superior to Ma Zun's supervisory censor. Ma Zun has a heavy position, while Du Zhongxiao has a high position, and the two have similar status.

When he arrived at the flower hall, he took a seat and Du Zhongxiao bowed: "I'm here to send a verdict, I don't know what's going on?"

Ma Zun said: "This year, several states in the southwest of Jingxi have recruited civil servants and laid railways from Tangzhou to Xiangzhou. The civil servants have been working for several months and have now been paved to Xinye City. A few days ago, there was a document business in Baitingjian. The old steel was used up and the iron supervisor was busy. If the railway tracks were used there, the price would be increased. The Transportation Commission Department would not make up for the time being, and Deputy Envoy Li discussed with me and asked the shipping department to help."

The official name of the shipping department is Huainan, Jiangnan, Jinghu, Liangzhe, and the main transport commissioner of tea, salt and alum tax, and the main transport commissioner of the southeastern routes is in charge of the transport transport from the six southeastern routes to the capital. Liangzhe and Liangzhe go to the Bian River. If the railway leads to Xiangzhou, Jinghu and Jiangnan routes can go to the Yangtze River to Xiangzhou. The shipping department learned about the convenience of the railway and actively participated, and wanted to divide the transport part from Xiangzhou to Kaifeng Prefecture. Unexpectedly, just after it was built to Xinye, the steel accumulated in the railway supervision was used up and the price was raised, otherwise the railway tracks would not be sent. The Transport Department had no choice but to ask the shipping department for help.

In fact, there is no such thing as steel that has been used up every day. The steel for the Iron Supervision is that it is necessary to undergo time-consuming and place it for a long time after it is refined to ensure stable mechanical performance. There have always been a large number of refined steel piles in the Iron Supervision, and this time it is just a pretext to raise the price. Ye Qingchen was transferred from the Third Division to the Third Division. Now the Third Division is Zhang Yaozuo. He is eager to make political achievements and collect the power of the Iron Supervision from the Transfer Department. The Third Division is directly under the control of the Third Division. The Iron Supervision has not only iron classes, but also taxes, and he has to settle accounts with the Transfer Department.

Zhang Yaozuo was the uncle of Concubine Zhang. Concubine Zhang wanted to raise her family. In recent years, she kept asking for office for her uncle and was promoted very quickly. As a foreign relative, Zhang Yaozuo was not out of the ordinary. The Zhang family was a poor family, and only Zhang Yaozuo could take action. She was born as a Jinshi, and she had both the status of a foreign relative and her own qualifications. Zhang Yaozuo's status at this time was not much higher than that of the father, brother, son and nephew of Empress Cao's family.

But at this time, officials often praise the people of the Cao family and constantly attack Zhang Yaozuo. Zhang Yaozuo was also very distressed. He was obviously cautious in his work and did not dare to show off, so he was wrong no matter what he did. This time, he was a commander of the Sansi, and he was determined to achieve results and not to make his niece too embarrassed. The Sansi wanted to increase the money and food in his hands, and what else was more suitable than the Iron Supervisor.

These relatives are very interesting. Zhang Yaozuo is the prototype of the great villain Pang Taishi in later Romance, while Empress Cao's younger brother Cao Qi is the uncle of Cao Guojiu in the legend of the Eight Immortals.

At first, Du Zhongxiao didn't understand why the officials in the court did this. After the officials were in office for a long time, they gradually understood. Zhang Yaozuo's problem actually had little to do with what he did. The biggest problem was that he was a civil servant and had always held important positions. If he was a military position and was in charge of the military, Zhang Yaozuo would not even say anything, let alone the envoy of the Three Divisions, even the military governors would not say anything. But Concubine Zhang was very thoughtful and wanted to get his uncle to be promoted to the civil servants. I wonder if she really didn't understand, or was she proud of her favor and did not compromise, and tried her best to ease Zhang Yaozuo to those vital positions. The prophet Kaifeng Prefecture and then served as the San Division, the next step was to be the prime minister. How could the officials in the court tolerate him? If he became a magistrate in a big county and was promoted to the Duke in a few years, he would not have so many people to cause trouble for him.

In the Song Dynasty, relatives of the foreigners could be in charge of the army and lead troops to fight, but they could not report to the government, otherwise they would repeat the mistake of the foreigners of the previous dynasty abusing power. If they were prime ministers outside, their nieces in the palace or even their daughters were the lords of the harem, that would be great. The emperor's balanced position in the center would be threatened. In addition, the prime minister and many relatives in the foreigners would control military power, and the entire power structure had completely changed.

Understanding this, Du Zhongxiao knew that the better Zhang Yaozuo did in the Three Divisions, the greater the resistance. No matter how many political achievements were, the officials in the court did not allow a foreign relative and prime minister, nor did the emperor allow it. No one dared to take this responsibility and set a precedent.

After listening to Ma Zun's introduction to the situation, Du Zhongxiao said: "So that's it. I'm here to send a verdict. I wonder what I want to do?"

Ma Zun said: "The Transport Department does not have that much cash now, so the Delivery Department naturally does not. Our idea is to use alum to mortgage it, or directly exchange alum for rails. The Iron Supervisor was built by the Transport Department. I also asked to send a letter to make it easier for Baiting Supervisor to make it easier."

When Du Zhongxiao heard this, he remained silent for a moment. Li Cheng, the deputy envoy of Transportation, did not come forward, but asked the departing judge Ma Zunlai to come forward. Li Cheng's status is above Du Zhongxiao and it is a business matter. He cannot do anything and let his subordinates come forward, so he really can't stand it.

Du Zhongxiao’s principle for the Iron Supervision is to try to collect cash no matter who does business with. He will pay the money and deliver the goods with one hand, not do physical trade to avoid unnecessary trouble. Unexpectedly, there is still one day when he has to break the rules he set himself.

After pondering for a moment, Du Zhongxiao said, "Is there no way to exchange alum for cash?"

Ma Zun shook his head: "Jinghu is a place where alum is produced. If it is not transported to the capital, how can it be exchanged for money? There are many merchants in Baitingjian, and it is easy to sell it if it collects alum. At worst, we make the price lower."

Seeing Du Zhongxiao hesitating, Ma Zun said again: "Running judgment is the first one you built, and you know the benefits of it best. You can't see that you are stuck in Xinye City, you can only reach Xiangzhou for more than a hundred miles. The shipping department can only take out salt, tea, fragrant alum, etc., and there is really no cash."

After thinking about it, Du Zhongxiao sighed: "I'm not hiding the verdict. When I was in the Iron Supervision Bureau, I told the officials that they do business and no matter who they do, they only charge cash. Now they are self-reliant, which is a bit difficult to deal with. Let's discuss with Su Zhijian, how can I think of a way to achieve the best of both worlds?"

Ma Zun said: "What is the best way to achieve both worlds? Time is urgent. When the rice is harvested after autumn, construction must start. Otherwise, I will have to wait for the previous year. I have reported the shipping envoy that the Jinghu grain will not go through the Bian River next year, and even the transfer warehouse will be demolished."

Of course, Du Zhongxiao did not believe that the shipping warehouse would be dismantled, but it is possible to cut manpower.

After thinking about it, Du Zhongxiao said, "It's better to do this. I'll send a letter to Baitingjian and ask them to send the railway tracks first, which is considered as credit. It's inappropriate to pay the debt with alum. It's broken the rules of the Iron Supervision, and there will be endless troubles."

Ma Zun smiled bitterly: "But in this way, we still have no money to pay it back."

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's better to do this. The Transportation Department and the Shipping Department have no money. How about raising funds from the public?"

Ma Zun shook his head repeatedly: "How to raise money from the people? Even if you are a member of the science and technology, there is no reason. You can't suppress tea and salt from passing states in order to build roads. Doing so will probably cause impeachment from the censor."

Du Zhongxiao said: "It cannot be done. Since it is for the purpose of building roads, then think of solutions on the road. It is better to set a deadline. The railway must be built in the fall of this year. The Transportation Department and the Delivery Department will determine how many cars will run on this road and how much goods can be transported. Now, the tickets for these cars will be sold in advance and the merchants will be able to buy them. Promise them that on what day to load and what day to transport, compensation will be given if the default is paid. How about the money collected for the tickets to be used to buy the railway tracks at the Iron Supervision?"

After hearing this, Ma Zun's eyes lit up: "This is a solution! - But is the ticket collected enough?"

"More than a hundred miles, there are not many rails left, so it should be enough."

After Zhang Yaozuo took office, he immediately ordered the construction of the railway from Xiangcheng to Kaifeng Prefecture, and the railway tracks used were counted as iron courses. The efficiency of the three departments was not comparable to that of the Transport Department, and it could be completed before autumn. The railway supervision had to give priority to supplying the other side, so the railway tracks on Jingxi Road were cut off.

When the construction of Kaifeng Prefecture was built, not only increased transportation capacity, but also increased the value suddenly. In a few days, this shop from Xiangzhou to Kaifeng Prefecture saved not only freight, but also time. It saved time, and a large amount of goods that were not suitable for long-distance trafficking changed suddenly, opening up a large market.

In the winter of Xiangzhou, some vegetables and fruits can be produced, which can be transported directly to Kaifeng Prefecture by railway. In the winter, the prices of fresh vegetables are amazing. This item alone can make a lot of money, not to mention others.

There are more than one million people in Kaifeng Prefecture, plus the prefecture troops along the way, the railway has opened up a huge market for Jinghu Road, with unlimited business opportunities. As long as the publicity is good and the measures are effective, there is still a worry that no businessman is eyeing this piece of fat.

After listening to Du Zhongxiao's introduction, Ma Zun nodded repeatedly and gradually gained confidence. Hundreds of thousands of chunks of money are indeed a big number, but as long as the businessmen in the private sector take action, it is not difficult to get them together. There are still many rich people in the private sector these days.

After discussing it over and over again, Du Zhongxiao said: "The most important thing is to have enough transportation capacity. After the road is built, the cars running above should try to transport the goods we sold tickets. To do this, the shipping department will come forward."

Ma Zun said: "This matter is easy. Then I wrote a letter to the shipping envoy, and the shipping department submitted it to the court. From then on, the railway freight will be unified under the shipping department, and the Bian River canal transportation will be compared with the Bian River.
Chapter completed!