Accompanied by the sound of the train, a train from the capital of the Ming Dynasty to Houzhao City in the west of the Ming Dynasty was moving forward on the railway track.
This railway across Europe and Asia is currently the longest railway in the world. It stretches from the capital of the Ming Dynasty to the west to Houzhao City on the Baltic Sea coast. It is tens of thousands of miles long. It is the most important railway in the Ming Empire.
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The opening of this railway greatly strengthened the Ming Empire's control over many provinces in the western region, and also strengthened the exchanges between the East and the West in Europe.
In the past, the exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Europe relied more on sea routes, but since the opening of this railway, goods from the Ming Empire can be continuously transported to Europe through the railway, which greatly facilitates the connection between the East and the West.
of business dealings.
This long railway spans many important geographical areas, from the Great Plains of North China through Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Western Regions, Central Asia, Northwest, Black Soil Province, and has experienced plains, plateaus, deserts, grasslands, swamps, etc.
Series of geographical areas.
In order to build this railway, the Ming Empire invested more than 1 billion taels of silver in it. In this era, except for the Ming Empire with such huge financial resources, manpower and technology, no other country can
Build such a railway.
Of course, although this railway cost a lot, its importance to the Ming Empire cannot be explained by money at all.
With this railway, Ming Dynasty's local industrial and commercial products can be continuously sold to Persia, Ottoman, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Europe and other regions.
Similarly, the products produced in these provinces in the western region of the Ming Dynasty can also be continuously transported back to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty.
Such as cattle and sheep, wool, fruits from the Western Region, grain, cattle and sheep from Hezhong Province, cattle and sheep from Central Asia Province, wood and fur from Northwest Province, grain and cattle and sheep from Black Earth Province.
Because of this railway, the price of beef and mutton on the dining table of the Ming Dynasty plummeted, and it became a very common dish that every household could afford. Beef and mutton cost ten cents per catty, and pork cost several cents per catty.
The large ones enriched the Ming Dynasty’s dining table.
In addition, wealth from Persia, the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe also continuously flowed into the Ming Empire through this railway, allowing the entire Ming Empire to benefit from it.
Zhu Zaiji put down the "Geography of the Ming Dynasty" in his hand. What he had just read was an introduction to the railway in front of him. This geography book written by the Ming Dynasty New School College introduced in detail a lot of geographical information of the Ming Dynasty, including the key points.
Several major railways in the Ming Dynasty.
Looking at the scenery outside, we have been walking along the road for more than 10 days. Calculating the time, we will soon enter Ryazan Mansion.
The scene in front of me has completely changed.
Different from the bustling scenes seen in the Ming Dynasty, everything here seems so desolate. You can't see any human habitation or city for a long, long time.
Outside the window is an endless wilderness, with extremely dense virgin forests, extremely clean lakes and rivers, and even more, endless vast grasslands.
There are no herdsmen or immigrant towns on the grassland. Instead, there are groups of wild horses, wild sheep, and howling wolves standing on the hillside. Occasionally, you can see a blind bear scratching its itch on a big tree.
The air here is filled with the scent of wilderness, and only the railway in front of you reminds you that there are still traces of people here.
A gust of cold wind blew, and Zhu Zaiji closed the window.
Although summer has begun now, the temperature here is still very low. Because of the relatively high dimension, summer here always comes late, and winter always comes early.
Even though it's almost summer, there's still a bit of cold here.
"well!"
Zhu Zaiji couldn't help but sigh.
In fact, he didn't want to be a vassal king or build a vassal state at all.
This vassal state, at best, means freedom, but at worst, it means giving you some money to go to a wilderness area, where you can settle down and take root from now on.
There are no people here, and it doesn’t matter what you want. How can it be compared with the prosperous capital city.
In Beijing, the roads are all spacious cement roads. You can go wherever you want by driving. Electric lights illuminate every place. You can listen to songs, watch football games, horse racing, yo-yo, etc., not to mention how comfortable it is.
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But when you go to the feudal country, everything has to start from scratch. The roads are muddy and dirt roads, and your beloved Mercedes-Benz may not be able to drive on them.
As for lighting, we must use kerosene lamps or essential oil lamps. As for electric lamps, we don’t know if they will only be available in the Year of the Monkey. Let alone football games, listening to songs, and watching movies. From now on, I will hug women when it gets dark.
The rhythm of sleeping has stopped, and there are no entertainment items left.
Zhu Zaiji, who had long been accustomed to life in the capital, did not want to go to any vassal country at all, but it would be impossible not to go. This was the rule of the Ming Empire.
Zhu Zaiji did not have too many ambitions, because he knew that just from his appearance, he was destined to have no fate with the throne of the Emperor of Heaven.
Although he has the blood of the Ming Dynasty, his appearance is very different from that of the Ming Dynasty. Since childhood, he and his younger brother Zhu Zaitan have not been taken seriously.
The Ming Dynasty people have their own pride flowing in their bones!
I look very similar to Europeans, which has caused me to suffer a lot in all aspects since I was a child, and I have often been looked down upon by others.
Even his own princess did not come from a famous family, but just came from a very ordinary Ming Dynasty family. This was all because of his status as a prince, otherwise he would not have thought of marrying a Ming Dynasty wife.
If you can marry a noble lady, you will definitely be able to get a lot of help if you establish a vassal state.
For example, many of my younger brothers are married to the ladies of the Ming Dynasty. When they go overseas to establish vassal states, they only need money to give money and people to give people to people, which directly saves a lot of effort.
While they were still on the way, the father-in-law's family had already sent people to the feudal country to arrange everything.
Sometimes there is really no way to compare people.
Even though he is the son of Emperor Ming Dynasty, he is not taken seriously because of his appearance.
Sometimes Zhu Zaiji is very jealous of Zhu Zaicheng.
Zhu Zaicheng has received countless attentions since the day he was born. Not only his grandfather liked and valued him very much, but also the ministers in the government and the public paid great attention to him.
They are both the emperor's sons, so there is a huge difference in status.
It's just that his mother is the queen, he is the eldest son, he has a standard Ming Dynasty appearance, and his talents in other aspects may not be much better than those of his other brothers.
With all kinds of reluctance and reluctance, Zhu Zaiji continued to move westward.
Finally, the train stopped here in Ryazan City.
Ryazan City, the former capital of the Ryazan Principality, is now the capital of Ryazan Prefecture, Black Earth Province, Ming Dynasty.
The city wall, which was not originally very tall, has long since been demolished, and the entire city of Ryazan has expanded several times in size.
The buildings in the old city still retain the architectural styles of the previous Slavs and the Byzantine Empire, but the newly expanded new city is entirely in the Ming Dynasty architectural style.
There are not many high-rise buildings, nor are they very tall. They only have five or six floors, and the highest one only has seven or eight floors. They are actually similar to the small counties in the Ming Dynasty.
However, the roads here are very well planned and very straight. You can also see many cars and a large number of motorcycles and bicycles on the roads.
Among the pedestrians on the road, almost half were Han and Slavic. They all wore the clothes of the Ming Dynasty, had their hair and beards cut short, and spoke the Mandarin of the Ming Dynasty.
Only occasionally can you hear some Slavs talking in Slavic, but most Slavs, even if they can speak Slavic to each other, basically speak Ming Mandarin now.
The Ming Empire has ruled here for more than 20 years. From the beginning, it has enforced the policy of comprehensive Chineseization and Ming Dynasty. A large number of nobles were also slaughtered, leaving behind serfs with little culture and inheritance.
The Ming people liberated these serfs and gave them land, houses and property. Naturally, they forgot long ago that they were a country of Slav people and gradually transformed into people of the Ming Dynasty.
Especially young people, who have received relevant Chinese education and Ming education since childhood, and enjoyed many benefits of the powerful Ming Empire, have long forgotten that they are Slavs. Now to them, they are Ming people, you
If you say they are Slavs, they will still be jealous of you.
Grand Duke Ivan V of Ryazan, who was already in his 60s, was waiting patiently at the station exit while looking at the city of Ryazan in front of him. It had changed so much.
The only people here who still respect their status as a Grand Duke are some old people here. They still remember that they were loyal to the Grand Duke. As for the young people, who would care about themselves as a Grand Duke?
Fortunately, his two daughters married the Emperor of Heaven, became his concubines, and gave birth to several children. As a result, he was given the title of earl because of the wealth of his children.
After all, he is also a noble of the Ming Empire, and in the three-thirds of an acre of land in Ryazan, the Grand Duke of Ryazan is still a prominent person here, and his words are still very useful here.
But as time goes by, his influence has become weaker and weaker.
"Well, maybe I should find time to go to the capital to see Yelena and Avrona, otherwise I may be buried with regrets in my life."
Thinking of his daughter, Ivan V felt a lot of longing in his heart. For people in Europe, daughters are also heirs, and their status is similar to that of sons. He has not seen his daughter for more than 20 years.
