Chapter 505 Railway

On August 15, the eighth year of Yuanzhuo, the Boxue Hongguo School was held as scheduled in the Ganqing Palace. The emperor personally attended the examination and took two hours. On August 18, the more than 400 participating in the examination were admitted to the Communist Party of China, and all of them were included in the Hanlin Academy and were awarded the position of editorial and review. At the same time, the emperor issued a clear edict: Hanlin Academy proofreads the historical books and scriptures, and compiled the "Siku Quanshu" to distinguish scriptures in order to clarify the historical records.

On the seventh day of the ninth month of the eighth year of Yuanzhuo, Yun Qi, who was encircled in Shangsiyuan, died of illness at the age of forty-five. On the eleventh day of the eighth year of Yuanzhuo, the deposed crown prince Yunreng died in Shangsiyuan at the age of forty-three. Although the two had been encircled for a long time, the emperor was so sad that he was so angry that he issued a clear edict to posthumously award Yun Qi as Prince Liyan, and posthumously awarded Yun Reng as Prince Limi, and was buried with a grand funeral.

On the ninth day of the 10th day of the eighth year of Yuanzhuo, the First Fleet Expedition to the South China Sea returned with honor. The emperor ordered the Grand Prince Hongli to go to Qingdao, Shandong to welcome the triumphant army and move inward to the Sultan of Malacca. The Fourth Fleet stationed in Fujian prepared to set off for Malacca to escort the people of Jiangxi who immigrated to Malacca and replace the Third Fleet, which was in charge of the alert mission in Malacca.

On October 15, the eighth year of Yuanzhuo, the emperor issued an edict to give generous rewards to the army expeditioning to the South China Sea. Prince Yun-jeong of Jin Yong was the Prince Yong, and the princes were rewarded with the princes. Liu Yaojin, the commander of the First Fleet, and the second son of Yin, replaced Liu Shuangcheng, who had retired and retired, as the Minister of the Navy; Liu Ninghai, the commander of the First Fleet of Jin, was appointed as the commander of the Third Fleet of Jin, and was appointed as the commander of the Third Fleet of Shanghai; Xiao Sanlang, the commander of the Second Fleet of Jin, was promoted to the commander of the First Fleet; Zoronso, the commander of the Third Fleet of Jin, was appointed as the commander of the Malacca garrison. The rest of the soldiers participating in the war had rewards, and all the soldiers who fell into the battle were listed on the Hero Monument. Prince Cheng Yunzhi led officials of the Ministry of Rites to arrange a memorial ceremony. The emperor personally visited to summon souls for the fallen soldiers.

On November 7th of the eighth year of Yuanzhuo, it was sunny. While it was not the day before morning court, Yinzuo slept a little lazy. He didn't get up until the sun was noon. He then walked to Yangxin Hall with the newly-entered Guiren Ning, and then walked to Yangxin Hall. As soon as he arrived at Yangxin Hall, he saw Ma Qi, the chief military minister, holding a memorial, waiting in the hall. Yinzuo was immediately embarrassed - for so many years. Yinzuo had never been so lazy, and said with a hurried smile: "Does Ma Aiqing have something to do with me?"

"The Master once said: It is an important matter for the matters related to the Academy of Sciences. The old minister remembers it in his heart and dare not forget it. This memorial was a secret memorial submitted by Minister Lin. I dare not neglect it. I came to ask the Master for advice." Ma Qi respectfully raised the memorial above his head.

"Oh?" Yinzuo was stunned for a moment, not understanding what was wrong with the newly established Academy of Sciences. He did not call Gao Nianying to pick up the memorial. He walked up and took the memorial. He was ecstatic when he saw it. He couldn't help laughing out loud: "Okay! OK! Great! I want to reward all the meritorious ministers!"

Ma Qi read the memorial in advance and also knew about the steam locomotive, train, speed, etc. mentioned in the memorial, but he did not understand what was wrong with this new thing. At this time, he was so happy that he was a little dissatisfied. He couldn't help but feel curious and asked tentatively: "Is the Master planning to promote this thing?"

Promotion? Hey, that's of course, haha, those brats have been working on it for more than twenty years and finally made it happen. Ha, with such convenient transportation facilities, the Qing Dynasty can be truly connected. Not only economic, but also political and military significance is extraordinary. Yinzuo was as beautiful as drinking honey water in the summer. He didn't care about answering Ma Qi's question, and waved his hand and said, "Issue: All Ministers of Military Affairs, President of the Academy of Sciences, Prince Lin Qi, Prince Cheng, Prince Yong, Prince Yi, and Prince Yong to meet immediately."

Ma Qi was keenly discovered that the person summoned by Yinzuo had lost Hongli's name, and suddenly blew up in his heart, but he did not dare to ask the reason. He could only secretly guess what Yinzuo's intention was to do this. His face turned pale and he was in a position. Fortunately, Yinzuo was in excitement at this time and did not notice this point. Otherwise, Ma Qi would not be able to escape from the ranks.

Today is not the day of morning court, and the government affairs are not busy lately. Most of the ministers who are not on duty are idle at their homes at this time. As soon as they receive the imperial edict, they all rushed to the Hall of Peace. When they see the unstoppable smile on Yinzuo's face, everyone was puzzled. No one could guess what the emperor was happy about, but they didn't dare to ask. They all stood honestly, waiting for Yinzuo to speak out.

"My dear friends, I have good news to tell you, well, this is the first contribution since the founding of the Academy of Sciences, so let Mr. Lin give it a say." Yinzuo glanced at the ministers with a smile, nodded to Lin Qi, the president of the Academy of Sciences, and said.

Lin Qi, a native of Quanzhou, Fujian, was a Jinshi in the first year. Due to his poor family, he studied in Shanghai Technical School in his early years and worked in a Shanghai Shipyard. Because of his outstanding talent and diligence and studious, he studied hard, so he became a scholar, a juren and a Jinshi for three years with his strength. He was once praised as a good story. Because of his technical background, he was assigned to the Ministry of Works as the head of the fifth rank as soon as he entered the court. He was promoted to the position of Minister of the Secretariat in just eight years. He was called the first person in the same class of Jinshi. Even the third-class people at that time were far inferior to those of him. Although Yinzuo was taking care of him, it was the truth.

Seeing Yinzuo name, Lin Qi calmly left the line. He was not panicked because the sage was around him, and he knelt respectfully and kowtowed, "I obey the order. Master, all the masters, this time, the Shanghai Steam Engine Research Institute, which belongs to the Academy of Sciences, reported to the court that the institute has completed the design and trial operation of the steam locomotive. This item is tentatively named as a train, which uses coal as fuel and fixed rails as the tracks to operate, and runs on two parallel rails four feet apart. Each train can have eight cars, and can carry more than 400 tons of cargo.

, the full load speed is about 180 miles per hour; the construction cost of each locomotive and carriage is about 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. If it is built on a large scale, the cost can be reduced to about 23,000 yuan; if it is built on a large scale, the cost per mile is 10,000 yuan. If it is built on a large scale, the cost can be reduced to about 7,000 yuan. The existing Tianjin Iron and Steel Plant can complete the supply of required rails, and the need for sleepers can also be obtained from various places. If the manpower is sufficient, the costs can be further reduced. Xiaochen has a quotation list for reference by the emperor and all the adults.

All the ministers present were smart people. They roughly understood the basic function of the train is to carry cargo and transport people. However, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they were so expensive. Taking the Grand Canal as an example, the total length is 3,548 miles. To build a Beijing-Hangzhou Railway, the railway cost alone would cost about 250 million yuan. In addition, the cost of the train itself, the manpower investment and the possible land acquisition and demolition cost, such a railway alone would have to consume nearly half of the annual income of the Qing Dynasty. No one can guarantee whether such as astronomical figures are meaningful to invest in railway transportation.

Fan Shijie himself also has a technical background. When he built the Jiangnan Shipyard, he was the number one hero. He naturally knew the reason for the Steam Engine Research Institute originally located in the Jiangnan Shipyard. At this time, he saw that all the ministers were sucking in the cold air, and immediately stood up and said, "Mr. Lin, what you said is just two rails with sleepers. The cost is not too much. Why is the cost more than the motorcycle itself?"

Although Lin Qi has not participated in the research and development of steam locomotives, because this matter is the first achievement since the founding of the Academy of Sciences, he has already done his homework without wanting to make a fool of himself. At this time, when he saw all the ministers showing a puzzled look, he replied calmly: "Mr. Fan asked well, this railway track and sleeper were not worth much, but it was actually just a fraction of the cost of the railway. However, due to the principle of the train running, it is necessary to open roads across mountains and meet water to build bridges. The bridges on this road must be specially reinforced to ensure that the train can pass smoothly. Therefore, the original bridge along the way is not enough and must be rebuilt. The construction cost is mainly here."

The court officials did not understand the things that Lin Qi said, so Yinzuo naturally understood. Yinzuo, who had already made up his mind to build a railway, had not waited for the ministers to ask more questions. He smiled and waved his hand and said, "I understand what Lin Aiqing said. Although the investment in these things is huge, once it is completed, the benefits will be huge. Regardless of the convenience of material circulation in the north and south, even if the troops are transferred in a timely manner. Once there is a riot, the army can be mobilized north and south, so that there will be no embarrassment. I decided to build this railway, which can also ensure that my Qing Dynasty's foundation will be permanent. "

As soon as Yinzuo finished speaking, Shi Shilun, the Minister of Revenue, could not stand any longer and immediately stepped out and said: "Sage, due to overseas wars, overseas trade volume has dropped sharply this year, which is less than 70% of the land in previous years. Although the domestic annual income has increased by nearly 30% after the military expenditure, the annual fiscal revenue this year is only the same. Although the national treasury still has more than 400 million yuan in savings, it is for the needs of time. Even if the weak ministers can squeeze out some, it will be at most 100 million yuan. No matter how many ministers have, they will not dare to accept it. I hope the emperor will think twice."

"Master Shi said so much. I think things like trains sound good, but they have not been verified after all. If you blindly invest huge amounts of money, if you lose money, you may damage the foundation of the country. I hope the master will clearly observe it." Zhang Tingyu hesitated for a moment and stood up to persuade him.

As soon as Zhang Tingyu finished speaking, the ministers of the same son made suggestions one after another. Even Yunzhen, who had never been in charge of the matter, spoke up and expressed his opposition. The opposition of the ministers was like a basin of cold water to make Yinzuo feel a little headache - money, money, nothing can be played without money, but the war has just passed, and the commodity market has not yet started yet. What should I do if I don’t have money?
Chapter completed!