mesbooks Chapter 138: Emperor Shizong's Yanjing Railway
Chapter 138: Emperor Shizong's Yanjing Railway
On the busy Hangzhou train platform, several servants surrounded a young man.
They held their tickets in their hands and looked at the steam train nervously.
They came from Wenzhou and rode for several days to get here.
When they saw this train for the first time, they were immediately shocked by this huge steel dragon.
So big!
Is this a steam train?
Can you take it to the capital in just one day?
It's amazing!
They followed the crowd onto the train, found their seats according to their tickets, sat down, and then began to look around.
These chairs are so comfortable!
Wow! These windows are all made of glass!
How could glass be made so big and so transparent?
This little table is so pretty. I shook it with my hand, but it didn't move...
Several people looked at all this excitedly.
It’s so novel!
This young man is called Lin Xu, the son of a wealthy businessman in Wenzhou who sells dried seafood.
He heard that there was a magical car in Hangzhou that could reach Bianjing in one day.
You know, it’s nearly two thousand miles from Hangzhou to Bianjing, how can you get there in one day?
Can this car fly?
Bianjing City!
The imperial city under the feet of the emperor!
He has never been there before. If he could really go there one day, he would definitely go and see it.
Bianjing City is home to the largest number of high-ranking officials in the Song Dynasty. If we can sell our products to the capital, it will definitely be very beneficial to our family's business.
So he set off for Hangzhou with a few servants.
With a shrill whistle, the train rumbled and started slowly.
Then I ran faster and faster, faster and faster...,
Lin Xu and his companions were so nervous that their faces turned pale and their bodies stiffened. They held onto the handrails and dared not move.
An old man nearby saw this scene and couldn't help laughing and said, "Young man, don't be so nervous, it's very safe here."
Lin Xu finally relaxed and smiled awkwardly, "Uncle, this car is quite scary."
"But it runs so fast, much faster than a carriage!"
“Haha~,”
"How can a carriage compare to this?"
"This is called a steam locomotive. I heard that it was a skill taught by gods who came down to earth."
When Lin Xu and the others heard this, they opened their eyes wide in disbelief.
"You don't believe it?"
"Look, this lump of iron that can run on its own, is it something a mortal can make?"
"This is the prosperity of our Song Dynasty. God sent the gods to the earth to benefit the people of our Song Dynasty."
"Oh, the old man is right,"
"That makes sense, that makes sense,"
They chatted while sitting in the car, and after eating two meals of dry food on the train, they finally arrived in Bianjing City in the middle of the night!
It really is just one day away.
Amazing!
The station was built outside the city, and they followed the crowd out of the station.
Go out and take a look.
Wow!
Although it is pitch black in the distance, it is brightly lit here, just like daytime!
Rows of buildings stand on the large open space, including hotels, restaurants, inns and shops.
When the master and his servants were worried about where to stay in the middle of the night, a few servants came up to them and asked enthusiastically,
"Sir, would you like to stay at the hotel?"
"It's the middle of the night now, the city gates are closed, and you can't enter the city."
"The inn is clean and hygienic. It won't be too late for you to stay for half a night and have a full breakfast tomorrow morning before going into the city."
The master and his servants thought it made sense, discussed it with each other, and chose a waiter they liked to stay in the hotel with him.
The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Xu and his companions planned to enter Bianjing City.
The waiter told them that there were several carriage shops over there, which sold all kinds of mule and horse carriages, and if they were willing to spend money, they could even rent the most popular Fei Chi brand carriage.
Lin Xu thanked the waiter, and the group went to one of the horse and carriage shops, where many people were renting cars.
He had heard of the reputation of the Fei Chi brand carriages a long time ago. It was a rare trip to the capital, so he had to try one. He then spent two taels of silver to rent one.
The master and his servants sat in the carriage and excitedly set off towards Bianjing City!
Everything in the world is for profit!
The world is bustling with people all seeking profit!
On this Beijing-Hangzhou railway, countless merchants like Lin Xu come and go every day.
They used this convenient route to look for new business opportunities everywhere.
Not only Beijing and Hangzhou, but also Suzhou, Hefei, Xuzhou and other stations along the way, these stations radiate outwards,
Because of this steam train, the local economy over thousands of miles was revitalized.
More importantly, it was of great help to the imperial rule.
……
……
In the spacious conference room of the Shangchao office in Yanjing City, Cheng Yu leaned back in his chair and looked at the Liao Emperor opposite him.
The big round table was full of people, who were negotiating.
Cheng's Industry planned to build a railway from Bianjing City to Youzhou.
Two thousand miles in one day,
This steam locomotive had long caused a sensation in the Song Dynasty. How could Yelu Ruan not be aware of such a grand occasion?
He couldn't believe it at first, but later the guards he sent came back and reported that it was true. They really took only one day to get from Bian Jing to Hangzhou, and they also brought back a lot of local specialties.
This time he had no choice but to believe it.
That day, he locked himself in the imperial study and thought for the whole day.
It has always been rumored that Cheng Yu has a god behind him, and now it seems to be true.
If it wasn't a miracle, who could have created so many incredible things?
Now, he even wants to build a railway from Bianjing City to Youzhou!
After it’s repaired, won’t it be possible to travel between the two places in one day?
Suppose, we want to go over there to hunt for grass and steal some things...
bah bah bah!
Yelu Ruan immediately shook this thought from his mind.
He thought, now my Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are no worse than Bianjing City, some places are even more prosperous. What they have I also have here, so is there a need to go out to forage for grass and grain?
……
"Imperial sister-in-law~,"
This railway will take up a lot of our land, and all the houses along the route will have to be demolished and compensated. As you know, land here is very expensive nowadays."
"You only give us 20% of the shares?"
"This is too little. We can't sustain our expenses~"
In the meeting room, Yelu Ruan was arguing with Cheng Yu in the tone of an emperor.
Over the years, his knowledge has improved a lot and he is no longer the poor guy who would just accept whatever the other party offered when negotiating the price of wool.
"How much does your majesty want?"
"It has to be half at least. Think about it. We are responsible for expropriating the land, and you are responsible for building the railway. Shouldn't we split the profits in half?"
The lion's words made Cheng Yu laugh. He said, "Your Majesty, can the cost of your land expropriation be compared with the cost of our railway construction?"
"It took us more than ten years to develop steam locomotives. The money we spent is more than enough to buy your entire Liao Kingdom."
"For this money, how many times has my wife scolded me?"
"You're saying it's half and half now?"
"Am I worthy of the hard work of so many people under me?"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice rose involuntarily.
Seeing this, Yelu Ruan immediately tried to smooth things over by saying, "Oh! My brother-in-law, please be patient."
"I know you have put a lot of effort into this, but you should also understand my difficulties,"
"Look, the land price here is so high now. If we want them to move out, do we have to pay them a higher price?"
“This funding is very impressive,”
"And I won't take all the profits for myself. I have so many people under me, so I have to share them with them."
"Brother-in-law, 20% is not enough."
Yelu Ruan spread his hands and looked helpless.
Cheng Yu sneered inwardly.
I thought to myself, I’m really promising now, I know how to bargain for the best price!
Then he said, "Your Majesty, you can have a 50% stake."
"If you pay half of the money that Cheng's Industry has spent on developing steam locomotives over the years, I will give you 50% of the shares."
When the Liao emperor and his people heard this, they looked at each other in bewilderment.
You want us to pay half?
How much is this?
"Uh~ then, how much is that?"
Yelu Ruan asked,
Cheng Yu gestured to the side, and someone immediately took out a thick stack of account books from a box and placed them on the table.
"Your Majesty, please take a look,"
He opened it and saw all kinds of materials and objects, as well as their prices, quantities and dates, written densely inside.
Just a few pages of paper cost tens of thousands of taels of silver.
The expenditures summarized in the thinnest account book amounted to more than 800,000 taels.
The account books here are several feet high!
Cheng Yu said to them again, "These are just a small part of it. Most of it is still in the box. Do you want to take a look?"
Everyone looked at the dozen boxes on the ground.
At first I didn't know what it was, but it turned out to be all account books, and I gasped inwardly.
Want them to pay half?
How much does this cost?
After bargaining, the Liao Kingdom finally obtained 25% of the share profits and the naming rights of the railway - Shizong Yanjing Railway.
After the Liao people left, Cheng Yu asked his men to send these boxes to Yanjing College.
The captain of the guards was very puzzled. Why were these account books sent to Yenching College?
……
"Who said these were account books?"
"These are books, placed in the library for students to read,"
"Ah?!! Then, then?"
"What then?"
"I don't have the time to bring all the account books here, so these are all I have."
"……Oh."