Every year on the first day of March in the lunar calendar, grain transport ships from Beizhili, Henan and Shandong provinces arrive in Tongzhou along the canal.
After that, from Anhui in April, to Zhili in May, to Zhejiang and Huguang in June, and continuing until October, boat gangs from various provinces and regions arrived in Tongzhou one after another according to the prescribed days.
This was the day stipulated by the Ming Dynasty when grain from various provinces arrived in Tongzhou and then transported to the capital.
Although the materials purchased by the Jiangnan Purchasing Office, now headed by Zheng Sen, are now transported by sea, the original grain shipments are not affected.
It was originally possible to go from Tongzhou to the capital via the Tonghui River. However, the Tonghui River had not been dredged for many years, resulting in a serious siltation phenomenon. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, grain ships and the like could not travel by water at all, and had to go through Tongzhou.
Disembark and then take the overland route to Beijing.
There is a 40-mile road from Chaoyang Gate of the Capital to Tongzhou. Of course, it cannot be a cement road. If the original historical development is followed, it will not be until the Yongzheng period that this road will be expanded and built on a large scale and changed to a stone road.
At this time in the late Ming Dynasty, the imperial court had no money at all, and even the most important military pay was in arrears. Naturally, it was impossible to spend money to build roads. Therefore, heavy trucks such as grain trucks would cause some damage to the dirt roads if they traveled for many years.
, resulting in a low-lying situation.
This road from Tongzhou to the capital is usually fine, and at most it eats dust. However, if it rains in summer or the snow melts in winter, the wheels will often get stuck in the mud and make it difficult to move forward.
If a car is stuck there, dozens of people will be needed to pull it out, and it will also block the movement of the cars and people behind it. It can be said that it is very inconvenient.
Emperor Chongzhen chose the first real railway to be built on the 40-mile road from Tongzhou to the capital, in order to solve the problem of inconvenient transportation from Tongzhou to the capital.
In order to build this railway as soon as possible, we really had to risk our lives to death. Except for a day off on New Year's Eve, we were building this railway regardless of whether it was windy or rainy.
This is really not to allow the prisoners to celebrate the New Year, but to supervise the prisoners and the people of the Railway Department who need to celebrate the New Year.
Throughout the Ming Dynasty, these prisoners were not treated as human beings at all, or even if they were treated as human beings, they were still enemies. If the imperial court had not won the Battle of Jizhou, these prisoners would have been the executioners who brought harm to the pass! At least the first few times.
When entering the pass, the miserable scene inside the pass was vividly visible to my mind.
Besides, this railway will be built along the original official road, which is parallel to the original official road. It is just that a fence will be built between the official road and the railway.
By the time the Chinese New Year was over, the construction was almost completed because there were enough manpower for the construction.
Travelers traveling between the capital and Tongzhou through the official road could clearly see the construction of the railway. Naturally, they talked about it and were very curious.
"This road is built in a weird way. It's impossible for a carriage to go on it. Even walking is very inconvenient. What kind of road is this?"
"That's right, have you seen it? It's gravel, wooden sticks, and iron bars on top! It is said that it seems to be made of fine steel produced by the War and War Bureau. The court has a notice, who
If you dare to steal this fine steel privately, that is a serious crime of confiscating your family and exterminating your family!"
"This is such a waste! If you build a weird road like this if you can't build a good road, is it still a road?"
"..."
Most travelers know nothing about railways, so their first reaction after seeing the appearance of railways is pity and confusion.
Even some imperial censors have questioned this, saying that although the Railway Department belongs to the palace, it is so wasteful. Is it better to consider using manpower and material resources to improve official roads?
Regardless of whether they thought it or not, under the personal attention of Emperor Chongzhen, no one interfered with the construction progress of this railway. Soon after the year, the railway was basically completed, and only the railway stations in Tongzhou and Beijing were left to be constructed.
.
At this time, Liu Weichao had already given Emperor Chongzhen the method of firing cement at the end of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, that is, after winning the Battle of Jizhou.
Therefore, the construction of railway stations is mainly made of cement materials.
In addition, after careful consideration, Emperor Chongzhen used the captives who had built the railway and requisitioned part of the labor force, and ordered that the official road from Tongzhou to the capital be built and paved with cement.
Because of what Liu Weichao had told Emperor Chongzhen before, this time the labor conscription did not require the people to bring their own dry food. Instead, the imperial court would provide and manage the food.
The benefits of cement construction have been seen in some places. Therefore, this cement official road is more accepted by the world than the railway. Everyone praises it and thinks it is a good governance.
During the Yongzheng period, the construction of this official road took about ten months. However, after Emperor Chongzhen switched to using cement to build the road, it is expected to be completed in about two months. The capital and Tongzhou will build it together and finally close it.
After reading the feedback from the people and some memorials from the Yushiyanguan, Emperor Chongzhen was not angry. Instead, he revealed intentionally or unintentionally in all formal or informal situations that building this railway was really expensive.
Look, I don’t know how much it will cost to transform the guard station into a railway corps, and I don’t know how much it will cost to raise so many railway corps. It’s really a waste of money to build the railway. I lament that there is not enough money!
In response to this, most of the officials in the outer court pretended to be deaf and dumb and pretended not to have heard.
Since the emperor originally proposed that the guard station should be reorganized into the railway department and be placed under the control of the inner palace, now that he is talking about it in a literal way and wants the Ministry of Revenue to interfere with it again, he will definitely not be happy with it.
.
The officials of the outer court just have a little worry: the emperor complains every day. If he really runs out of money, will he find a rich family to confiscate his family and exterminate his family?
In early February, seeing that the railway station was about to be repaired, Emperor Chongzhen held an imperial meeting. In the Wenhua Hall, he first began to complain and settle accounts with the ministers. He talked about the restructuring of the guard station. Now it was only the capital.
Part of it is actually just the capital and its surroundings, so much money is spent that it is difficult to make ends meet. Under this situation, it is foreseeable that the restructuring of health centers across the country will cost no one knows how much money it will cost. It is difficult!
The six ministers and nine ministers of the cabinet, etc., all remained in the state of clay bodhisattvas below. If the emperor didn't name them, they would pretend they couldn't hear them.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at their reaction and seemed a little unhappy on the surface, but in fact, he was already laughing in his stomach, so he bullied them for not understanding, and it was this misunderstanding that they wanted.
So, he changed the topic again and continued: "The official road from Tongzhou to the capital has been repaired with cement. You should be able to see it. It is smooth and there will no longer be the pain of mud. Just this cement,
I don’t make any money at all. Originally, I was hoping that the cement I invented could make some money to subsidize the railway company. As a result..."
At this point, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Huang Zongzhou of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He sighed and continued: "But you also said that this cement is of great use, for the country, the people, and the world. This cement
It is coordinated by the Ministry of Industry and the income goes to the Ministry of Household Affairs, so that it can be utilized to the maximum extent..."
When he said this, all the officials in the Wenhua Hall raised their heads and looked at him.
Yes, as soon as cement was invented and used in the construction of the two banks in the capital, someone had already keenly discovered that this kind of cement had huge benefits. After seeing the advantages in road construction again, the cabinet, the six ministries and the governor
The hospital and so on, together they reported to Emperor Chongzhen, saying that now everything is waiting to be done, and that this cement is an excellent material and should be sold exclusively like salt and iron.
Of course, since most of it was related to fortifications, they wanted to go to the Ministry of Industry, but the income still had to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs. They all used their righteousness to suppress Emperor Chongzhen.
Generally speaking, this is correct. If it goes into the inner treasury, it is the emperor's personal wealth. If the emperor is good, the money from the inner treasury will also be used for civil affairs, but if the emperor is content with enjoying himself, the money from the inner treasury will
For eating, drinking and having fun, there is nothing the outer court can do.
If all the money can be put into the national treasury, it will naturally benefit the country and the people.
But the key point is that at this stage, Emperor Chongzhen cannot trust the integrity of the officials in the outer court. He has a lot to do, and he can't do it without money. If the money is all in the inner treasury, he can use it however he wants, and the outer court has no right.
Inquiring.
The same is true. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, he made an arbitrary decision and used most of the money he received to strengthen the army. If the money was in the Ministry of Household Affairs, it would be impossible to do this, even if he was
Even the emperor is impossible.
At this time, I heard Emperor Chongzhen continue to say to the ministers: "I think there is a certain truth in what the ministers said. I can agree or not share it. However, the Ministry of Household Affairs must allocate funds from the cement income, and it must not be less than
10% will be given to the Royal Academy of Ming Dynasty. In addition..."
Having said this, he paused and then said: "The Railways Department will charge fees for operating the railway, which will be used to support the Railways Department. The foreign court cannot interfere with this money! Sir, do you agree?"
In other words, he could give the cement money to the foreign court, but the foreign court could not intervene in the railway charges. This was considered a negotiation between Emperor Chongzhen and the foreign court.
After hearing what he said, to be honest, the officials in the outer court couldn't help but be overjoyed. They never expected that it would be such a good result.
They were also afraid that Emperor Chongzhen would hold the cement in his hands, so there was not much they could do.
After all, this cement was invented by the emperor. Now with the great victory in Jizhou, the emperor's prestige was so high that they did not dare to fight against the emperor. They just saw the huge benefits brought by the cement and wanted to fight.
Just a fight.
Unexpectedly, the emperor was so reasonable and agreed. As for giving 10% to the Ming Royal Academy of Sciences, it was equivalent to giving to the emperor's inner treasury, so of course they had nothing to say.
As for the money the Railways Department wants to collect from the railway, it’s only a few dollars!
So, headed by Chief Assistant He Fengsheng and all the civil servants under him, they all called the Emperor Shengming and did what the Emperor said!