The train departed from Liangshan County at 10 a.m., passed through Dong'a, Pingyin, and Changqing, and finally arrived in Jinan at 8 p.m.
For Zuo Mengeng, time is really too long.
Fortunately, he has adapted to the rhythm of this era and can still endure it.
But the impact on other people is too great.
Seeing the huge crowds of people and the brightly lit Jinan Railway Station in front of me, Mr. Hou Xun was chatting like a teenager.
"It took only ten hours to travel more than three hundred miles. It was so fast that it was simply unimaginable."
Li Banghua was also extremely excited.
"In the past, this kind of journey took at least three to four days, and if it was by water, it would take five or six days. The benefits of railways must be promoted on a large scale."
Everyone in the carriage was having a heated discussion, but Qin Luo, Li Meizhi, Wei Zihua and others were living like a year.
During these ten hours, they didn't even dare to blink. They were afraid that something unexpected would happen and cause immeasurable consequences.
Now seeing the train slowly entering the station, several people finally let out a sigh of relief. Then they felt weak and dizzy.
But the mood is even better, soaring into the sky, making people excited.
"Haha, it worked, we succeeded!"
Qin Luo held the door of the cab and shouted loudly to the people outside.
Although the roar of the steam engine covered up his voice, he didn't care and just wanted to share the joy thoroughly.
Wei Zihua was even more gearing up, and at the same time his mind was racing.
As the Minister of Transportation, he understands better than anyone what the emergence of railways means.
How this project will operate in the future, he, the leader, must come up with a proper plan as soon as possible to prove his ability.
Whether you can make further progress in the officialdom depends on this.
At the train station, it seemed like everyone from Jinan was here.
People had already heard about it when the railway was being overhauled some time ago.
There are those who are novel, there are those who question, there are those who criticize, there are those who obstruct, and there are also those who expect.
In short, in this era of great change, people's ideas are diverse.
But no matter what, what exactly happened to railways and trains will all be answered today.
Seeing the long steel dragon spraying thick white mist and black smoke rushing towards them, many people were so frightened that their faces turned green.
Some of the unbearable ones even prostrated themselves on the ground and kowtowed to the slowly approaching train.
Apparently steam trains have become a monster in their eyes.
Especially as the train got closer and closer, the shaking of the earth became more intense, which was obviously beyond their understanding.
But most people are still normal.
After all, the empire is changing with each passing day, and all kinds of new things are emerging one after another. The people of the world have also been exposed to the impact, and their ability to accept it has also been tempered.
Especially when I saw someone on the train, I knew it was not some wild beast.
What has to be mentioned is that the education that the empire worked so hard to popularize played a huge role in this. Nowadays, many ordinary people have a deep understanding of mechanical knowledge and can casually express some opinions.
Now when people see the train made with this knowledge, they feel excited and want to board it immediately to experience it.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the train finally stabilized in front of the platform.
When they saw the emperor, empress, and prime ministers of the cabinet walking out of the carriage, people finally let go of their last worry. They stretched their necks to get a better understanding of the train.
It's a pity that trains have just been introduced and have not yet come into close contact with the general public.
After Zuo Mengeng and others left, the train station was immediately surrounded by heavy troops and no outsiders were allowed to approach.
Qin Luo and Li Meizhi, together with engineers and technicians, immediately began to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the train and conduct technical statistics at the same time.
Technological progress is accumulated bit by bit through such tedious and boring methods.
The people who returned to the center would not care about these specific tasks.
They had seen the strategic value of railroads and steam trains.
"I propose to establish the Ministry of Railways to be responsible for the construction and operation of railways. This is a long-term, costly and major project related to the national destiny. It is really insufficient to place it under the Ministry of Transport."
No one expected that Wei Zihua did not ask for credit, but instead put forward surprising suggestions based on the overall situation.
But precisely because of this, everyone's eyes on him inevitably contained admiration.
How can superiors not love such subordinates in their hearts?
"This proposal is undoubtedly correct. If everyone agrees, we can start preparations immediately."
Zuo Menggeng's thoughts on the railway became even stronger, and he wanted to spread the railway network all over the country immediately. It was obviously appropriate to set up a separate department to take charge of this matter and improve work efficiency.
"The cabinet will come up with a specific plan within half a month."
Faced with the general situation, Hou Xun did not give in and gave an answer.
Seeing that the emperor and prime minister had set the tone, Jiang Wei, the cabinet minister in charge of industry, put forward specific plans.
"Once the Shang (Du) Liang (Mountain) Railway is verified, the next thing to do is to connect Dongping and Dongchang through the railway to initially form the interconnection between the capital and the industrial zone."
There are both Liangshan Coal Mine and Dongping Steel Plant near Dongping Lake. Most of the production capacity is to meet the needs of the capital. If there is a complete railway network for transportation, it will greatly save costs.
However, Zuo Mengeng's thoughts still seemed a bit conservative to him.
"Your vision must be completed within two to three years, and in the next three to five years, a railway trunk line connecting Shangdu to Dengzhou and Qingdao must be built to connect the most important centers in Shandong Province.
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In addition to the capital Jinan, Dengzhou and Qingdao are the most important domestic and external seaport cities. Materials and products shipped from various places are basically unloaded at these two places and then transported to various parts of Shandong.
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As long as the two main railway lines mentioned by Zuo Menggeng are completed, the economic situation of the entire Shandong will be completely revitalized.
Zuo Mengeng was not even satisfied yet.
"In addition, there are large-scale coal and iron ore deposits discovered in Fushun, Weiningying (Benxi City), and Anshanyi in Liaoning Province, all the way to the Empress Palace (Yingkou City). We strive to mine them within five to ten years.
The main railway line was established and then extended to Jinzhouwei (Dalian)."
Everyone understood as soon as they heard that Zuo Mengeng planned to increase the connection between various mineral resource areas and the outside world and strengthen the manufacturing capacity of coal-steel complexes.
Steel is the foundation of a strong country. Once the layout he mentioned is completed, the empire's strength will reach a higher level and become the crushing overlord of this era.
At that time, the world order can be established in accordance with the empire's wishes.
