Wang Guojun was so frightened that he coughed when he heard that he wanted to connect the Western Regions and Xiliang by railway. Not to mention the railway network. A straight railway would be thousands of miles away. With so many railways, he would rather build a railway network in the Central Plains. At least it can connect 4-5 states, and daily maintenance and upkeep can also be earned through freight. It will only take more than ten years to pay back the investment. However, if the railway is built in Xiliang, not only will it be a bottomless pit now, but the subsequent maintenance will also be a bottomless pit. I'm afraid It is impossible for Xiliang’s finances to support the operation of this railway!
"Don't even think about the railway. Even if you repair it, you won't be able to maintain it! And the court can't afford so much money!" Wang Guojun bluntly interrupted Lu Yao's delusion!
Then he said again: "You can safely expand the planting area of cotton and vineyards in Xiliang. If you really want to make money, expand some pastures and raise more large livestock such as cattle and sheep. Wool and cotton can develop the textile industry, and beef can also Can sell for a high price!”
The only advantage of Xiliang is that it has a vast land, sparsely populated areas, and a lot of pasture. After the people of Daqian become rich, their consumption of beef and mutton is very high. This is their industrial advantage!
Lu Yao was unconvinced and said: "But how much money can you make!"
Now everyone knows that industry makes money, and they all want to invest in industrial production. The development of breeding industry seems to be relatively backward.
Wang Guojun said: "The most important thing in Xiliang is stability, not making money, and the imperial court has already planned to connect Xiliang and the Western Regions. The first allocation will be 1 billion!"
Then he said solemnly: "This is just the first stroke. Judging from the current situation, maybe there will be war in the Western Regions. By then, Xiliang will become the most important road for the imperial court to the Western Regions. In the past few years, you have transformed the Western Regions." Liang's track is well constructed, more food is stored in the granary, and the weapons in the arsenal are well prepared for future use!"
When he heard that there was going to be a war, Lu Yao was not only not afraid, but was pleasantly surprised. Fighting in Xiliang was also a way out, not to mention that this battle was still being fought in the Western Regions thousands of miles away. When the cannon went off, thousands of taels of gold were awarded. This war cannot be ended without spending tens of billions of money, and as Xiliang is the only food route to the Western Regions, most of this money will be obtained by Xiliang, so Xiliang will not take off!
After this good news, Lu Yao left with satisfaction!
After Lu Yao left, several more governors found the Prime Minister Wang Guojun!
The imperial court has strengthened local management. Although this has a sense of restraint for the governors and prefects below, it has strengthened the centralization of power and strengthened the power of the prime minister Wang Guojun! His prestige as the prime minister has also been enhanced!
When several people saw Wang Guojun, they immediately said: "Prime Minister, it should be our state's turn to build the railway now, right?"
Wang Guojun said: "Don't worry, in the next few years, the imperial court plans to connect the railways from Qingzhou to Xuzhou, Yanzhou to Yuzhou, and Sili, and also build three railway bridges on the Yellow River, so as to facilitate the connection between Hebei and the Central Plains. The imperial court will probably spend a lot of time Build 15,000 miles of railway in ten years to connect the entire Central Plains and Jiangnan!"
Although Wang Guojun has great power, he must try his best to keep the water level. In the construction of infrastructure and factories over the years, he has tried his best to let all states have a share. In this way, although it is difficult to form industrial clusters, it can make each place develop more smoothly. average!
The words of Wang Guojun shocked these governors. Over the past ten years, there have been some industrial zones in the Central Plains states. At this time, the sales of products in their industrial zones have become a big problem. The farther away they are, the higher the price of industrial products.
The more you can’t sell it, the more you can sell it, but it’s different with the railway. As long as there is a railway connection, any place can become their commodity production, so the technical railway issue they are most concerned about!
But building railways is really not possible without the support of the imperial court. They have the financial resources to build tracks and cement roads, but they can't do anything about railway tracks that cost tens of millions of dollars per mile. The financial resources of their states cannot support such a gold-eating beast.
Wang Guojun also had a plan for the construction of the Central Plains Railway. He would first find a way to connect the prefectural offices of Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Sili, etc., and then the counties and cities, and try to form a railway network that connected the prosperous cities in the entire Central Plains.
Wu Renhang, the governor of Yuzhou, thought for a while and said: "Isn't the 1,500 miles of railway a year a little less? The role of railways is so great, shouldn't the court try to build more railways?"
Yanzhou has the most advantage in the imperial court's plan, because Yanzhou is not only the smallest state in the Central Plains, but also has a long strip adjacent to the Yellow River. The most likely railway must be connected to Yanzhou first, and their Yuzhou is in a miserable situation. It is located in the southernmost part of the Central Plains. According to the
This plan must be the last state to build a railroad!
When Wang Guojun heard this, he said angrily: "One mile of railway costs tens of millions, and 1,500 miles costs 15 billion. This already accounts for 20% of the court's expenditure. If you are willing to use your salary to buy railway bonds, I will
Find a way to build more railways!"
Everyone was extremely embarrassed. Although their salaries were large, their family business and expenses were also huge, and most of these governors did not receive commissions from meritorious officials, so their wealth was not that great!
Wanyi, the governor of Yanzhou, thought for a while and said: "Prime Minister, you see, our local government has also raised a sum of funds. The imperial court will build the main railway, and the remaining branch lines will be built by our local government. The imperial court only needs to provide the machinery for railway construction!"
In Wan Yi's view, the imperial court's funds are limited, and the railways built must not be too dense. However, the impact of railways on discussions is visible to the naked eye. He wonders if they can build branch railways in their place!
Wang Guojun hesitated and said: "You all know the price of the railway. Even if the Central Plains is flat, the construction cost that can be reduced will not be much. You don't want to run out of finances halfway through the construction."
Compared with the Daqian imperial court, the local governments will only have less fiscal revenue! They can't spend too much money to build railways!
Wan Yi thought for a while and said: "The people in the Central Plains are eager to see the railway, but it took 10 years for the imperial court to build the railway before it began to enter the Central Plains. The convenience of the railway is known to the people in the Central Plains, and everyone wants to get the convenience of the railway as soon as possible.
!Many of my merchants in the Central Plains want to raise money to contract a section of the railway, as long as the imperial court gives them 30 years of operating rights!"
Railways have long been a hot spot for wealth in Daqian. Unfortunately, the imperial court of Daqian has always maintained state-owned railways, which made many wealthy businessmen want to get started, but they were unable to get in!
Especially when they saw the commercial prosperity brought about by the popularization of railways in Hebei, they were even more enthusiastic. However, due to the price of railways, the railways had not yet been laid in the Central Plains. This made the merchants in the Central Plains extremely anxious. The rise of Daqian led to the rise of Hebei, and sea trade also It led to the rise of Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou and other coastal states. The Central Plains, which was originally the richest in the world, began to slowly decline in recent years. The railway gave them hope, so the merchants of the Central Plains found these governors and wanted to contract the Central Plains. Railway construction accelerated the development of the Central Plains.