1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3808

Even though Shi Diwen explained clearly the convenience brought by building railways, it was still difficult for the general public who had never enjoyed such convenience to imagine that it would usher in a whole new era for the flow of people and materials along the railway, and would have a direct or indirect long-term impact on everyone's life.

But even for those who have no idea about this, it is not difficult to imagine how huge the construction of a road over 500 miles long is. Moreover, it is said that this railway got its name from the fact that the track is paved with fine steel throughout the whole route, and the steel required is millions of kilograms, which is indeed an unprecedented investment.

Ordinary people cannot calculate how much ore is needed to be mined and how many furnaces of iron are needed to produce so much fine steel.

A country's steel production is one of the manifestations of its national strength. Hai Han was the first to realize industrialized mining and smelting in this era, and its steel production capacity has long surpassed that of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, it would not have been able to provide the amount of steel required for such a large-scale project.

However, because the steel mining and smelting industries are mainly located in Liaodong and Hainan, people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions know little about the related industries and have no personal experience with them. It was only when they heard the introduction of the Hangzhou-Nanjing Railway that some people realized this.

The diplomats from various countries who were invited to attend the event had different feelings at this time. Most of these diplomats had been to Sanya before and experienced the convenience and efficiency of trains, so they knew more about the railway system than the ordinary people watching on the scene.

The several vassal states that had close relations with Hai Han were naturally very envious of this. While the Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway, a huge investment, was still under construction on the south bank of the Qiantang River, Hai Han actually had the spare capacity to start a new railway project of the same scale. Such national strength made them look up to it.

Countries like Portugal and the Netherlands had more complicated feelings about this. On the one hand, they were jealous of Hai Han's national strength and advanced engineering technology, but on the other hand, they were also worried that these projects would make Hai Han's development even faster, widening the gap in strength.

After all, they had witnessed with their own eyes that after the construction of the Sanya-Danzhou railway on Hainan Island, the villages and towns along the way evolved into small cities at a very fast speed. The originally sparsely populated Changhua coast became an industrial center of astonishing scale within a few years, contributing massive amounts of steel products to the rise of Hai Han.

The steel rails needed for the construction of the Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway and the Hangzhou-Nanjing Railway will most likely be produced by the Changhua Steel Plant.

The population density and richness of resources in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are far from comparable to Hainan Island. The role of building long-distance railways in this region will obviously be much greater than the birthplace of railways. The wealth created by the construction of these two railways will be incalculable.

At this time, Shi Diwen's speech had entered the final stage. He passionately thanked the engineering and technical personnel who participated in the planning and design of the Hangzhou-Nanjing Railway, the industrial workers who manufactured the rails and trains, and the tens of thousands of laborers who were about to step into various construction sites. He praised them for being the real cornerstone of the train's operation.

Of course, Shi Diwen did not forget to add the names of a number of sponsors at the end of his speech, calling them patriots who are highly loyal to the Executive Committee and worthy of being recorded in history.

These gentry and celebrities who spent a lot of money to subscribe to railway bonds actually wanted to leave a good impression on the Executive Committee. Being able to receive such praise from Shi Diwen at the groundbreaking ceremony was worth the price of the ticket.

Those who had been privately received by Shi Diwen this morning seemed even more proud. After listening to Shi Diwen's speech, they could feel that they were valued more than others.

Although there must be many people present who have visited Shi Diwen before, there are probably only a handful of people who have been actively invited by Shi Diwen to meet them like they were.

After Shi Diwen finished his speech, a group of guests, including officials, came to a fenced-off construction site to prepare for the final groundbreaking ceremony. There was a five-foot-high and ten-foot-wide rectangular stone tablet with five large characters "Hangzhou Railway Station" engraved on it.

The station name on the stone tablet was written by Tao Donglai himself, which shows how much importance he attached to this project. After the railway station is completed, the station name written by Tao Donglai will be made into larger metal letters and installed on the roof of the waiting hall.

The final ceremony was that a group of dignitaries held shovels and symbolically shoveled the soil, indicating that the Hangzhou-Nanjing Railway project had started.

The sound of celebratory gongs and drums rang out at the right time, and hundreds of fireworks from the periphery rushed into the sky and exploded, triggering a round of cheers.

After the public groundbreaking ceremony, there was a thank-you banquet hosted by the Executive Committee.

As the name suggests, it is the official way to thank the financiers who enthusiastically subscribed to railway bonds and officials from various countries who were invited to attend the groundbreaking ceremony.

For the gentry and celebrities who are qualified to attend the thank-you banquet, this is the real highlight of the day.

At the previous groundbreaking ceremony, they could only sit on the sidelines and watch the ceremony, and had little chance to approach and talk to the high-ranking officials. However, at the banquet, without so many irrelevant onlookers, the atmosphere was more relaxed, and they could finally boldly approach and make friends with the bigwigs.

For several senior officials of the Executive Committee, the thank-you banquet is not just a perfunctory occasion. Those present are all celebrities, and the senior officials also need to take this opportunity to sort out their own personal connections and grasp various social trends.

As the governor of the East China Sea region, Shi Diwen could be said to be the host. In addition, he was now a respected member of the Executive Committee. Therefore, he had the most people who came to him to toast and greet during the banquet.

What concerned Shi Diwen more was that several people, after introducing themselves, said that they also had many industries in Nanjing and hoped to have more opportunities to contribute to the country.

Obviously, these people are also aware of the situation of Shi Diwen's eldest son Shi Chengwu in Nanjing. This so-called contribution to the country is actually just to see if there is a chance to get on Shi Chengwu's good side.

Although Shi Diwen also hoped to seek more help for his son, he was experienced and knew that these people must have something to ask for when they offered help, so he was not in a hurry to express his opinion and just simply asked about their situation.

The people he really needs to pay attention to are those who are introduced by colleagues in person. These people are either very influential in a certain field, or are relatives of a colleague and have some good projects to cooperate with.

Nowadays, Hai Han's interest groups have begun to split. Needless to say, those who lie flat in the south are the most important, but there are also many who are constantly branching out and expanding the influence of their own families through marriage and other means.