Chapter 1262, reminds me of a man named Li Hongzhang
At the VIP exit of Xincheng Railway Station in the southern district of Beijing, Li Dongyang, Liu Jin and Fu Han, the Minister of Rites, and some officials were waiting for Ali Pasha's arrival.
After all, the other party is the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, so where does his identity lie? Although the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the Ming Dynasty is not good, the two countries are still at war with each other, not to mention that this time the other party comes with a big order.
Some respect is still needed.
So Emperor Hongzhi sent Li Dong, Liu Jin and Fu Han with some officials to greet him at the train station, which was considered as giving Ali Pasha enough face.
"Liu Jin, can the train from Beijing to Guangzhou in Guangdong pass through our Huguang side? Huguang is the central area of our Ming Dynasty. Jiangxi is relatively more remote, and it is also closer to the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway.
Isn’t this a bit of an overlap?”
Li Dongyang whispered to Liu Jin.
Throughout the 19th year of Hongzhi, the Ming Dynasty was peaceful and there was nothing to worry about. The ministers in the court were all red-faced because of the railway construction.
Railways are of great importance and have a strong driving effect on the economy and transportation of areas along the way. The imperial court is planning to build railways, and almost every railway will cause controversy among the ministers above the court.
Almost all the ministers in various places want the railway to pass through their hometowns. The ministers in the court, the local feudal officials, etc. are almost all quarreling about this matter.
Even Li Dongyang, a cabinet minister, is unavoidable. Recently, the Ming Dynasty has released a new railway plan, planning to build a north-south railway artery from the capital of the Ming Dynasty to Guangzhou, Guangdong.
For this railway, the ministers at the court started fighting again.
The railway from Beijing to Guangzhou, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, is an important railway artery that connects the north and the south. Everyone knows its importance, so the provinces along the way want to fight for it and want this railway to pass through their hometowns.
The most intense dispute among them is whether to travel from Huguang to Guangdong or from Jiangxi to Guangdong. Officials from the Huguang area and Jiangxi area have been arguing for several months, so that they have not been able to make a decision.
Some people may ask, how can Jiangxi win over Huguang? In future generations, let alone Huguang, any province can defeat Jiangxi, and everything must go around Jiangxi.
But this was the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and Jiangxi during this period was very good. Some people say that Jiangxi was half a court official. Jiangxi not only produced a large number of candidates and Jinshi, but also had a very large number of senior officials in the court.
In comparison, officials from the Huguang area are far inferior to officials from Jiangxi. Li Dongyang is a cabinet minister from Hunan. Naturally, officials from the Huguang area will come to him, hoping that Li Dongyang will fight for his hometown.
"Li Gong, I can't say anything about this. If I speak for you in Huguang, the princes in Jiangxi will have opinions. If I speak on behalf of Jiangxi, the princes in Huguang will have opinions."
"So, let your Majesty come and judge this matter."
When Liu Jin heard this, he felt a slight headache. He had been annoyed by people a lot because of this matter. Many people came to Liu Jin, and everyone knew that Liu Jin's words worked.
But how could Liu Jin go back and intervene in such a matter? No matter where he passed, the railway needed to be repaired, and it was the same to him. There was no need to wade into muddy waters.
"Liu Jin, you can't say that. This railway is of great importance, so we need to consider it carefully. It is obviously better to go to Huguang than to go to Jiangxi. How can you not see it?"
Li Dongyang was naturally unwilling to give in. He had no choice but to fight for what was necessary in order to be able to return to his hometown with dignity after retirement.
"Gong Li, the prime minister of the Ottoman Empire has arrived~"
Liu Jincai would not discuss this issue with Li Dongyang. He looked at the time and then at the exit. He saw several foreigners at once and immediately reminded him.
"You, you~"
Li Dongyang had no choice but to tidy up his clothes slightly, took Liu Jin and Fu Han forward to greet Ali Pasha and Moses.
"Your Excellency, Li Dongyang, welcomes the Prime Minister of the Ottoman Empire to our Ming Dynasty!"
Li Dongyang, dressed in a crimson robe, stepped forward to say hello.
When Ali Pasha, Moses and others saw Li Dongyang, Liu Jin, and Fu Han, they thought it was something, but soon Rustu also translated and told Ali Pasha the identity of Li Dongyang.
"Sir, this Lord Li Dongyang is an important minister in the Ming Dynasty's cabinet, and his status is equivalent to our Ottoman Grand Vizier."
"In addition, the person next to him is Liu Jin, the Minister of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty who you have always wanted to know, and the other one is Fu Han, the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty. There are six in total in the Ming Dynasty, and the ministers of each of them have high positions.
He is the real decision-maker of Ming Dynasty."
Rustu's general introduction was also translated while also emphasizing the identity and status of the three people.
"Thank you very much Mr. Li, Mr. Liu, and Mr. Fu for coming to greet me. I am really flattered."
After hearing this, Ali Pasha and Moses responded quickly and politely, and at the same time looked at the three of them carefully.
Li Dongyang and Fu Han didn't pay much attention to it, but Liu Jin surprised them. They originally thought that Liu Jin should be older. After all, he was the son of an elite and held a high position, but who knew that Liu Jin was so young.
"Master Liu Jin Liu's name has always been familiar to me, but I didn't expect him to be so young."
Ali Pasha looked at Liu Jin and sighed.
"Haha, the Prime Minister has given me a reward."
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, has come a long way. I am sorry for not being able to welcome you from afar. We will prepare a little wine to welcome you and wash away the dust. Please give me your blessing."
Liu Jin was also looking carefully at Ali Pasha and Moses in front of him. Ali Pasha was dressed in a typical Ottoman Empire style. He held a turban, liked to wear gold and silver, and had a big beard. As for Moses, he looked more like
He was a European. After thinking about it carefully, he immediately guessed that this Moses was most likely a Jew.
Soon, everyone left the train station in a luxurious four-wheel carriage and headed towards a well-known restaurant in Xincheng, South District.
Liu Jin and Li Dongyang rode in the same carriage with Ali Pasha so that they could explain to him some things in the capital.
The four-wheeled carriage drove forward on the spacious cement road, with the windows open, Ali Pasha curiously looked at everything in the capital.
Before coming here, he was full of longing for the capital. He wanted to visit the capital of the Ming Dynasty and see the capital of this powerful empire.
Ali Pasha looked at everything in front of him. The road was very spacious and divided into two sides. Each side could accommodate seven or eight four-wheeled carriages at the same time. A large number of trees were planted in the middle and on both sides of the road, and many sidewalks were divided. Some
A flyover was also built there.
The number of four-wheeled carriages on the road is very large, far exceeding the four-wheeled carriages seen here in Xi'an, and all kinds of luxurious four-wheeled carriages can be seen everywhere, and the horses pulling the carriages are everywhere.
The horses are of the highest quality, and many carriages even use horses of the same color at the same time.
Horse-drawn carriages flowed endlessly on the spacious road. On the sidewalks on both sides, there was also a very large flow of people. They were walking in a hurry, and the hurried Ming Dynasty people seemed very busy.
Looking a little further, there are many high-rise buildings, and the glass windows reflect the dazzling light.
These high-rise buildings are even taller than the high-rise buildings seen here in Xi'an. Many high-rise buildings are even more than ten or twenty stories high. They look down on the earth like giants. When you look downstairs, they seem to reach straight into the sky.
These are high-rise buildings that have only recently emerged. There are not many of them, but there happen to be some here in Xincheng, South District of Beijing. These high-rise buildings use elevators, pulleys and manpower to lift them up and down. Therefore, a new profession has emerged here,
A person who specializes in lifting elevators.
Take a closer look at the Ming Dynasty people on the street. They all look very good in their clothes, and they give people a sense of fashion. They are completely different from the Ming Dynasty people seen in places like Hezhong and the Western Regions. They look more fashionable.
,Fashion.
Especially the girls here in the capital, all of them are dressed in beautiful clothes, rouge, gouache, etc. They all look like rich ladies from aristocratic families.
There are many shops on both sides of the road, and most of them are merchants with large glass windows. You can see the products inside and the lively sales scene inside.
Ali Pasha was so fascinated by everything in front of him that he forgot about Li Dongyang and Liu Jin sitting next to him, and even forgot to talk to them.
Liu Jin and Li Dongyang were naturally used to everything here in the capital, so they had no interest in seeing it. They would look at Ali Pasha in front of them from time to time.
The Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, the prime minister of a country, was also a man of the times and an outstanding person. He is worthy of studying, studying and communicating with each other.
Especially Liu Jin, looking at the Grand Vizier in front of him, he immediately saw the surprise and shock in his eyes, which reminded Liu Jin of a person, a powerful person for future generations.
"Liu Jin, what are you thinking about?"
Li Dongyang immediately noticed that Liu Jin seemed to be thinking about something, and asked with a smile.
Since Ali Pasha is busy looking outside, he can have a chat with Liu Jin. It is best to persuade Liu Jin to help him in Huguang and make the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway pass through the Huguang area.
“Seeing the prime minister of the Ottoman Empire reminded me of a man named Li Hongzhang.”
Liu Jin came back to his senses, smiled and said.
"Li Hongzhang?"
"Why haven't I heard this person's name?"
"What kind of person is he?"
When Li Dongyang heard this, he realized that this was still a member of his old Li family, but after thinking about it carefully, he seemed to have never heard of it.
"He was a man of great ability and wisdom, but it was a pity that he was born at the wrong time!"
