In fact, it is never money that limits railways, but pig iron production.
The reason why pig iron is used instead of wrought iron or steel is that pig iron is produced in large quantities, is cheap and durable.
In the early years of Hongwu, the iron tax was 1 in 15 taxes, and the national taxable pig iron output reached 20 million jins, and in the Yongle period, it reached 30 million jins.
If you include those who have concealed it, if you calculate it ten times, the national output exceeds 300 million jin.
During the Shaowu period, wine and iron were included as special commercial taxes, reaching 1 out of 10 taxes, but the price of pig iron did not rise but went dark.
Otherwise, the large-scale mining and application of coal has led to lower fuel prices, coupled with the convenience of transportation, resulting in small profits but quick turnover of pig iron.
The government-run iron yards are even cheaper, costing only ten cents per catty.
Due to the application of coal, the output of Zunhua Iron Mine has expanded rapidly, with more than 1,000 blast furnaces and more than 10,000 craftsman apprentices.
Zhu Yixi accidentally took a look and found that the annual output of the government-owned and private companies exceeded five million kilograms.
One mile of railway track weighs 200,000 jins, and the 60 miles from Yuquan Mountain to Beijing consumes more than 12 million jins of pig iron.
Needless to say, it is definitely necessary to purchase pig iron from various places for support.
"Zunhua and Yongping Prefecture (Tangshan) must have a lot of coal and iron ore. If more exploration is done, this output is far from enough for the railway."
The emperor saw his serious expression and his voice was slightly higher, which startled the latter.
"Yes, Wei Chen understands."
Zhang Qi quickly reacted.
"Also, I heard that there are quite a lot of iron mines in Liaodong, especially in Fushun."
Zhu Yixi became interested and spoke: "The Emperor Cheng granted the order to 'Fusui border and guide the barbarians', so Fushun became Fushun, and the slaves under it, Hetuala, falsely claimed to be Khan, because of its important position."
"Since private businessmen are hesitant to move forward, the Ministry of Internal Affairs should take a step forward and be the pioneer."
The importance of Liaodong was widely valued during the Sui and Tang Dynasties due to the rise of Goguryeo, but the Central Plains dynasty was easily ignored.
The name of the Khitan people in the background means the tribe of iron and iron. It is because of the iron and coal mines in Liaodong that they are like a fish in water, and they have gradually grown up and become prosperous.
The Ming Dynasty paid the most attention to Liaodong, not only relocating hundreds of thousands of military households, but also setting up a large number of official iron smelting facilities.
It's a pity that all of this was used as a wedding dress for the Manchus.
Suddenly, Zhang Qi came to his senses and asked: "Your Majesty, the railway is long after all, ranging from dozens of miles to hundreds of miles. Pig iron is worth a lot of money. There are many unruly people among those mud-legged people. You can't tell me."
Railways sell money..."
"You can build the railway along the official road, so that the movement of people coming and going will be smaller."
Zhu Yixi thought casually: "In addition, it is like an inn. Every twenty or thirty miles, there are stopping points where a large number of horses and livestock are kept for people to get on and off."
"Place ten or twenty people at the station and let them patrol along the road. I don't believe there are people who would dare to dig up the rails halfway."
The biggest advantage of horse-drawn trains is that the horses never rest, and a new batch of horses is replaced after traveling twenty miles. Each batch of carriages is about a quarter of an hour or two apart. In this case, scraping the rails is tantamount to courting death.
The carriage collided with him and he had to be crushed into pulp...
"Besides, the patrol teams at those stations recruit more villagers from the villages along the way. With them as internal agents, who can escape by grabbing the train tracks?"
There are too many ways to prevent track scraping.
Raise dogs, recruit people, warn people with severe punishments, etc. In today's feudal society, ordinary people cannot leave their villages for hundreds of miles throughout their lives. Most of those who can pull the railroad tracks are people from nearby.
Besides, even if the rails were removed, the stolen goods would still have to be sold. Asking various blacksmith shops, the truth would immediately come to light.
"How long will it take for the road in Yuquan Mountain to be repaired?"
Suddenly, the emperor turned around and asked.
"I guess it will be around the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Seeing that the emperor's expression was wrong, Zhang Qi immediately said: "Half of it has been repaired now, and it will be able to be repaired to forty miles by the end of May. If you move about ten miles, you can ride on it."
"That's good."
Suddenly, Zhu Yixi thought of something: "You shouldn't be able to cultivate directly from Xishan to Beijing, right?"
Zhang Qi looked confused, wasn't he?
"You have to repair the road first, pave it with pillows and stones, and then lay the rails. At this time, can't you just repair it from both ends of the west mountain in Beijing?"
"There is no shortage of manpower and rails, so the speed can be at least twice as fast."
Zhu Yixi hates that iron cannot become steel.
Zhang Qi suddenly realized it and went to work.
Sure enough, after such deployment, the speed has nearly doubled, and the work that was originally done at the end of August can be completed at the beginning of June.
For more than a month, Zhu Yixi endured it in Beijing.
On the eighth day of June, there was a sea of people outside Xuanwu Gate. Tens of thousands of people stood on tiptoe and looked out.
"Hey, melon seeds -"
"Candied dates, candied dates!"
"Orange, orange——"
The vendors also took advantage of every opportunity, carrying goods and shouting constantly, making it as lively as a market.
"I'm coming--"
With a crash, under the sticks of the government officials, everyone stopped what they were doing and knelt down together, not daring to raise their heads.
First there is a group of guards, wearing armor, bright clothes and angry horses, which is particularly majestic.
Then there were flags and signs one after another, and finally carriages came slowly.
At the end, a wooden station rises from the ground. Although it is not a luxury, it can also protect against wind and rain.
On the railway track, a carriage about three feet long and only about five feet wide was parked.
If I had to use a metaphor, it would be an extended version of the carriage, with larger windows, the same luxury, and inlaid with a large number of gold and silver agate.
In front, six docile white horses were strung up, and two grooms were sitting in front of them holding the reins and whips.
"Is this an iron carriage?" Zhu Cunqu, the king of Wu who was getting older, was eager to try. He got out of the carriage under the guidance of his wet nurse, and he was particularly active.
The eldest son of the concubine Zhu Cunming, who was nearly nine years old, glanced at the endless railway tracks, his eyes full of curiosity.
One after another, the princes and princesses also got out of the car, and the inquiry in their eyes could not be stopped.
The princes got out of the car right behind the emperor and followed closely behind him.
Due to etiquette reasons, the queen and concubines could only peek in the car.
"It's not a train, it's a train."
Zhu Yi corrected his son's words.
"Father, I didn't see the fire!"
Zhu Cunqu was used to being pampered, and he couldn't help but start laughing at this time.
The nuns, wet nurses, eunuchs and maids on the side were startled and their faces turned pale.
But their worries were unnecessary. The emperor always had a good temper, especially towards his son.
"Hahaha, not for now, but there will be in a few years."
Zhu Yixi laughed and said.
Afterwards, the emperor, Zhu Cunqu and Zhu Cunmai, as well as the serving maids and eunuchs, and about ten people boarded the carriage.