(In the past two days, my wife and daughter came to Weihai to play. Rong Yanyu asked for leave. I only have about 4,000 words per day these days. I hope you can understand.)
Since the popular sales of bicycles in Yizhou last year, a wave of bicycle craze has been triggered throughout Datang and even in surrounding countries.
And bicycles have also become a symbol of wealthy people and status.
However, due to the low sales volume, many wealthy people who acted a little late had no place to buy them if they had money.
This year, Chung Hwa Commercial Bank finally launched bicycles again.
Moreover, the bicycles launched this year are still new.
The style is more novel and more beautiful.
Of course, the price is also quite high.
Last year's bicycle price was 10,000 yuan, but this year's new bicycle price has reached 15,000 yuan.
But even if the price was half as high, it was still being robbed.
"Hey, have you heard? China Commercial Bank has launched another bicycle!"
"Really? Really? Laifu, Laifu, take 10,000 yuan and follow me!"
"Oh, ten thousand yuan? That was last year's price. This year's price has risen to fifteen thousand yuan."
"Huh? Why has it increased so much? Didn't you pay back 10,000 yuan last year? Why did the price suddenly increase by half this year?"
"Don't you know? The bikes launched this year are new models. Compared with this year's new models, last year's bikes are just like rubbish!"
"Really? Really? That's great, haha! Laifu, Laifu, take 30,000 yuan and come with me!"
Such dialogues were taking place everywhere in the Tang Dynasty.
Even because the price is half as expensive, it only further stimulates the desire of the rich to buy it.
Even wealthy people who bought bicycles last year will buy a new bicycle this year.
There is no way, because a new model has been launched this year.
And the new model is more expensive and the style is better.
If you still ride an old bicycle from last year when you go out now, wouldn’t it be too outdated?
Since there are new models, you must ride the new models, so as to gain face.
For a time, the new bicycle once again became a beautiful sight in the entire Datang territory.
At the same time, a kind of small cart quietly appeared in Datang.
Its appearance is not as eye-catching as the bicycle, it does not attract such high attention, and it does not attract the attention of the upper class at all.
However, it also caused quite a stir among the people.
The body of this small cart is made of iron, but the tires are made of rubber.
The body is not big, but the weight of the whole vehicle is very light, making it easy to push.
Compared with the cumbersome wooden wheel carts they used before, I don't know how much energy they save.
And the price of this kind of small cart is not expensive, only 500 yuan per cart.
Although five hundred yuan is a little expensive, compared with the price of fifteen thousand yuan for a bicycle, it pales in comparison and is not worth mentioning at all.
This price is now affordable to most families in Datang.
And after their experiments, they found that this kind of stroller is really practical, practical and flexible.
Therefore, this kind of small cart quickly became popular among the people.
What Li Min told Wu Meiniang to use half of the rubber and use it for other purposes was actually used to produce tires for trolleys.
In fact, the profits of strollers are simply incomparable to those of bicycles.
The cost of a bicycle is only about 200 yuan, but the selling price of a bicycle is 15,000 yuan. The profit here is amazing.
The price of a small cart is only 500 yuan. In terms of profit alone, there is no comparison with a bicycle.
But bicycles are just tools used by rich people to carry their wealth, while trolleys can actually improve people's lives.
Therefore, Li Min did not hesitate to use half of the rubber to produce the trolley.
Well, this year, the planting area of rubber trees has further expanded.
Because the profits brought by rubber are very huge, most of the land suitable for planting rubber trees in Yunnan and other places is now planted with rubber trees.
Wait until next year, rubber production will reach a new high, and by then, it will be possible to produce more new products.
…
By the end of the year, the construction of the entire train line from Hangzhou to Yizhou will be completed. As long as the inspection is completed, the line will be completed.
The railway line from Chang'an to Hangzhou will probably not be completed until next year.
However, as long as the railway route from Hangzhou to Yizhou is opened, if people in Hangzhou want to go to Chang'an, they can first detour to Yizhou and then go to Chang'an.
This is only three days.
And if they go directly from Hangzhou to Chang'an, it may not take several months.
As long as the railway line from Hangzhou to Yizhou is open, it can greatly save their time.
The inspection of train lines is a very troublesome and tedious matter and cannot be completed overnight.
However, these troubles are not considered troubles in front of the system.
Li Min checked the system and found three abnormalities. Only minor modifications were needed before the line could be connected.
The stations along the way have been built, and everything is ready now. All we need is the east wind.
Because the traffic route of this line is really too long, and most of them are within the sphere of influence of Wu Xing Qi Wang.
Li Min cannot completely protect the safety of this route.
Therefore, Li Min gave up control of this railway route.
Instead, control was handed over to Tang Emperor Li Shimin.
After all, this railway route was built with funding from the imperial court, and the Chinese Commercial Bank did not invest a penny in it.
After it was handed over to the imperial court, the railway safety was naturally the responsibility of the imperial court.
If something happens, he can't be blamed.
Li Min believed that if something went wrong with this railway route, his father would not hesitate to raise his butcher's knife against the family.
This was his father's bottom line, and Li Min believed that the family would never dare to break through his father's bottom line.
And as long as the aristocratic family does not take action, the power of the imperial court will be enough to protect the safety of this route.
However, although Li Min did not fund the construction of this railway, he must provide the locomotive.
This locomotive can give China Commercial Bank a 10% dividend.
With this 10% dividend, Li Min feels that he can earn back his investment in just a few years.
After the line was completely renovated, Li Min quietly exchanged a steam train from the system and placed it on the railway track from Yizhou to Hangzhou.
The Minister of Railways, Su Pengcheng, needs to worry about the next thing.
Now, in the entire Tang Dynasty, there is only one all-around expert on railways like Su Pengcheng.
Regarding railway safety and management capabilities, Su Pengcheng is even better than Li Min.
Therefore, the new railway line colleagues naturally need Su Pengcheng to be at the helm.
Originally, Su Pengcheng was just the Minister of Railways of Jiannan Road.
Now, Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty officially established the Ministry of Railways in Datang, and Su Peng became the Minister of Railways, with a rank of 5th grade.
If the official rank of the fifth rank is promoted step by step through formal imperial examinations, it may take ten, even fifteen or more years.
And now?
It only took Su Pengcheng just four or five years, and as the Minister of Railways, he had real power.
This fifth level is just the beginning.
Li Shimin plans to build five railway lines in Datang within ten years, striving to connect the entire Datang.
Once these five railways are completed, the transportation capacity throughout Datang will be significantly improved.
By then, the central government's control over local governments will be further strengthened.
For example, Datang's current ability to control its borders is actually very weak.
For example, Anxi Protectorate and some border areas.
Where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, the people may not even know about the existence of the emperor, but only know about the local magistrates.
However, after the train is introduced, this kind of thing will no longer exist.
What Su Pengcheng needs to do now is to train railway talents for Datang as soon as possible.
Now there are only two railways to pass, and the manpower required may reach thousands or even tens of thousands.
The talent gap is very large.
Moreover, these talents must be able to read and write.
Those scholars who studied hard were dedicated to the imperial examination.
And those who can afford to study are basically from well-off families, and it is unlikely that they will work on the railway.
Therefore, for a while, the people of Jiannan Road became the most popular people.
Because throughout the entire Tang Dynasty, only Jiannan Road had the best education and the highest literacy rate among the people.
As for the job in the railway department, even if you are a railway maintenance worker, it is an iron rice bowl with high salary. Those ordinary people, who don't envy them?
However, even in the entire Jiannan Road, it would be difficult to find so many people at one time.
However, it is enough for the time being in the early stage, and recruitment will need to continue later.
In the next ten years, Datang will continue to build railways, at least five more.
After the construction of these five railways is completed, how many manpower will be needed?
Knowledge alters your fate!
As a result, throughout the Tang Dynasty, more and more people began to read and read.
Because of the Chinese Pinyin and several enlightenment books with Pinyin, annotations, and punctuation marks, the threshold for self-study has been greatly lowered.
As long as you learn Chinese Pinyin, you can learn by yourself with these enlightenment books.
However, if you want to study further, you will need a dictionary.
Fortunately, the price of a Datang dictionary is not expensive nowadays, and ordinary families can afford it.
Therefore, after this incident, a learning trend suddenly emerged throughout the Tang Dynasty.
Not to mention that it is a national study, it is almost the same.
This change surprised Li Shimin and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.
It turns out that educating the people is so simple.
There is no need for them to do much propaganda, and there is no need for them to promote the theories of saints.
As long as the threshold for reading is lowered and the benefits of reading are increased, people will flock to it.
After many years of hard work and effort, they tried to educate the people but failed.
But now, King Shu doesn't need to do it at all.
It just lowers the threshold for reading and increases the benefits of reading, and people will learn spontaneously.
Situations like this have to make them reflect.
…
The locomotive is already here, and the next step is to pass.
But selling tickets now is not like in later generations. Before the train came, you could buy tickets at every station.
Now, except for the departure station, other stations have to wait until the train arrives to determine whether there are empty seats and whether tickets can be sold.
When the ticket sales started from Chang'an to Hangzhou, at the departure station, there were not many tickets sold, only one-tenth of them.
This made Li Min frown greatly.
How come there are so few?
This is the first time that the train has been launched. If there are only so many people, I am afraid that the train will lose money on this trip.
However, the more you earn, the less you earn. Li Min didn't expect to make money from this anyway.
Even if it cannot make money, it is still very necessary for Datang to open this railway line.
Princess Qin Mengxin has been feeling depressed since she came back from Chang'an, so Li Min is going to accompany her.
As soon as Li Min walked out of the door, a chubby little guy rushed up and hugged his leg.
Li Min looked down and saw that it was Panpan the panda.
This little guy has grown very fast and is now about one meter long.
Li Min's weight is estimated to be over one hundred kilograms.
The little guy hugged Li Min's legs and didn't let go, as if he was complaining that Li Min hadn't been able to play with him for so long.
Li Min, dumbfounded, knelt down, stroked its head and said, "Okay, okay, if I have time these days, can I take you out to play?"
Panpan seemed to understand what Li Min said and nodded with satisfaction.
Then he released his paws holding Li Min's legs and followed Li Min unsteadily towards the princess's courtyard.
The little guy is black and white and furry all over.
Then there are big dark circles under the eyes and a pigeon-toed walking pattern, not to mention how cute she is.
The maids I met along the way were all adorable by Panpan.
Even though we see it almost every day, we are still immune to it.
Not long after, Li Min came to the courtyard where the princess lived and found that the princess Qin Mengxin was in a daze in the courtyard.
Li Min walked over, grabbed her catkins, and asked: "Meng Xin, are you worried about grandma's health again? If you are really worried, why not bring grandma to Yizhou."
"Let her come here to relax. The medical conditions here are more developed than in Chang'an City. I believe she will like it here."
Hearing Li Min's words, Qin Mengxin couldn't help but shook his head and said: "Grandma is used to living in Chang'an, I'm afraid he won't come to Yizhou. And, the most important thing is that I am not only worried about grandma's health, but also what grandma mentioned.
I really can’t fulfill the request, and I still don’t know how to explain it to her next year!”
Hearing Qin Mengxin's words, Li Min couldn't help but patted his chest and said: "Mengxin, what request did grandma make? Tell me, I don't believe it, and there are things that I can't do!"
Qin Meng couldn't help but said quietly: "Grandma told me to go back next year with my great-grandson or great-granddaughter. Otherwise, I won't go back."
Ga?
Hearing Qin Mengxin's words, Li Min couldn't help but feel embarrassed for a while.
This old lady is so funny.
Meng Xin is so old now, it is still too dangerous to have a child now!
There is really no way to fulfill this requirement... bdshare();
