Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 1535, The dispute between Huguang and Jiangxi
"Fix the railway?"

Liu Jin looked at Wei Ying and Gao Jiang, but in his heart he already guessed their purpose of coming to find him.

Daming's railway construction is in full swing. The longest railway has been built from the capital to the Western Regions and Hezhong. To the south, the railway has been built to Nanjing. It will continue to be built to the south, running through Songhu, Zhejiang, Fujian.

In addition, on the central line, the construction of a railway from Henan to Guangdong in the south is also being considered. Among them, whether to go to Guangdong via Huguang or Jiangxi to Guangdong has been arguing endlessly, and it is difficult to determine.

In addition, there is still the Yangtze River, which runs from east to west, and the problem of building a bridge on the Yangtze River has to be overcome, so it has not been settled.

But Daming's bridge-building technology is very advanced. It was originally a leader in the world. Now there is a special school of architecture to study bridge repair and pavement, as well as cement. Therefore, construction technology has also improved by leaps and bounds. Several bridges have been built on the Yellow River. Through the north and south.

It is technically possible to build a bridge on the Yangtze River. The key is whether it is necessary and the funds needed to build the bridge.

The importance of the railway is now clear to the entire Ming Dynasty.

Once the railway is completed, it is as if the meridian for the development of the railway along the line has been completed, and the economy and transportation will usher in an explosive development.

In the past, the sky was high in the Western Regions, and the emperor was far away, but there were many cattle and sheep that could not be sold at a price. Once the train was connected, no matter how many cattle and sheep could be transported to the customs, they could be sold at a good price, which benefited the herdsmen and pastures in the Western Regions.

The provinces all over the Ming Dynasty are desperately fighting for the court to build railways here, especially the main artery line. Once they can settle in their own provinces, not only can they win the praise of the local people, but after driving the economy, their political achievements can also be improved. Brush it up.

Huguang and Huguang are very close to each other, and they are both important provinces in the middle of the south. As the north-south traffic artery, it is also possible to go from Huguang, and there is no problem from Jiangxi.

For this matter, officials in Huguang and Jiangxi have argued countless times at the court. After the opening of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, everyone realized the importance of the railway. Officials in Huguang and Jiangxi are desperately trying to get the north-south artery through. own hometown.

"Yes, Mr. Liu~"

"We in Jiangxi have raised [-] million taels of silver to build a railway that runs through the north and south of Jiangxi, from Hongdu to Ganzhou."

Seeing that Wei Ying also interrupted, Gao Jiang hurriedly revealed his plan.

"Jiangxi is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the middle is a plain area. The terrain is relatively flat. It is more advantageous to build a north-south railway, and it is more convenient to go south to Guangdong."

"To the north, you can connect with the railway line of South Zhili, connect Nanjing and Songhu, and in the future, you can also connect Zhejiang and Fujian. It can be said that it is the thoroughfare of six provinces. A railway that runs from north to south will definitely drive the entire southeastern provinces of Ming Dynasty. Rapid development."

"For this reason, tens of millions of people in Jiangxi will give their full support and are willing to make any sacrifices for the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty."

Gao Jiang stated his position very solemnly, expressing his attitude to Liu Jin on behalf of the fathers and folks in Jiangxi.

We want to build the railway is not just a slogan, but we can actually take practical actions. Before the court made a plan, we raised [-] million taels of silver to build the railway.

If the imperial court is willing to approve it, it will be the best. If not, we will fix it ourselves. Even if we tighten our belts, we must fix it.

"Hmm~"

Liu Jin also nodded slightly after listening.

I have to say that the Jiangxi people are still very good at this matter. They not only attach importance to education, but also set up a large number of education, and they are also so active in road construction.

The imperial court has not yet planned, and they have already raised a huge amount of [-] million taels of silver to build the railway. Based on the cost of [-] taels of silver per mile, [-] million taels of silver can almost repair [-] miles.

If all the people in Jiangxi participate and contribute their own efforts, the cost can be lowered, and two tens of millions of taels of silver can build a relatively long railway.

And what Gao Jiang said is also very reasonable. Jiangxi's geographical location is indeed very important, and it also has some advantages in building railways. Connecting Nanzhili, the railway has already been built to Nanjing, and it is not very far from Jiangxi.

If the road to Guangdong is opened up in the south, it will be even more serious. Jiangxi's goods can be continuously transported to Guangdong by rail and then shipped to the world. Global goods can also pass through Guangdong and then arrive in Jiangxi by rail. Convenient, the cost of railway transportation is very low, much, much lower than the cost of any previous means of transportation.

"Mr. Liu~"

"We in Huguang are also actively planning to build a railway that runs through Huguang from north to south. Huguang is located in the central area of ​​the south, connected to Henan and Shaanxi, and can directly connect to the Jinghe Railway."

"It leads to Guangdong and Guangxi in the south, then to Jiaozhi and Xianglin, and to Yunguichuan in the west. These places have always had inconvenient transportation, and the sky is high and the earth is far away. My Ming Dynasty will definitely build railways to these areas in the future to strengthen I am a Ming Dynasty's connection to the Southwest Territory."

"Taking our Huguang line is definitely the best choice. It can save a lot of money in the future and lay a good foundation."

When Wei Ying heard this, she became anxious immediately, and hastily revealed the necessity and many favorable conditions for building the railway in Huguang.

"It's not so easy for you to build a railway in Huguang. There are lakes and rivers everywhere. I don't know how many bridges need to be built. To build a railway in an ordinary place, [-] taels of silver is about the same. On your Huguang side, it may turn over a few times." It is even more difficult to repair, lakes, rivers, and bridges have to be repaired until he vomits blood, and when [-] million or [-] million taels of silver are thrown in, they may not even see their shadows."

"And the southwest region you mentioned, the southwestern Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region, not to mention building railways, even building roads is very difficult. Even if there is money, it is impossible to say that the train will be repaired now."

"Going south to the Guangdong and Guangxi areas, the Nanling is so majestic and steep, God knows how much money will be poured into it, with such a huge amount of money, let alone build a railway, ten railways can be built."

Gao Jiang also immediately counterattacked with beard and stare.

"Isn't it true that you have to go through Nanling to go to Guangdong from Jiangxi, and you also want to go to Fujian? The Wuyi Mountains are so easy to go through?"

"It still costs a lot of money, and Fujian and Zhejiang are all coastal areas. They have sea transportation, so where do they need railways? The Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan area in the southwest is the place that needs railways the most."

Wei Ying was also impatient, and immediately turned back.

He knew that what Gao Jiang said was very reasonable. There were so many lakes and rivers in the Huguang area. If the railway was really built, the bridge alone would not know how much it would cost. The funds needed would be huge.

As Gao Jiang said, in plain areas, [-] taels of silver can build a mile of railway, but in Huguang area, maybe [-] taels or [-] taels of silver may not be able to build a mile of railway. It's not a matter of money, but the current technical level, it is impossible to repair it, these areas are too steep, and it is difficult to pave the way with money.

You must know that Daming is now building cement roads all over the country, including the cement road connecting Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. However, not only is the construction speed very slow, but the cost is also very high.

In the plain area, a few hundred taels of silver may be enough to build a long cement road, but in the Yunnan-Guizhou-chuan area, a few million taels of silver may not even be seen, and the traffic is really inconvenient.

The road to Shu is harder than going up to the blue sky, and the entire Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan regions are similar.

Cement roads are everywhere in many places, especially in Beizhili. Every county has cement roads, but the cement road leading to Sichuan has not yet been completed, let alone the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan area.

"Return to Yunguichuan. The cement road in Yunguichuan has not been repaired yet. Do you know how much money will be invested to build the railway?"

"[-] million or [-] billion may not be enough to fill in. With so much money, it is better to build a few more railways in other places."

"What's more, the population in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan area is very small, and the large-scale migration out, there is no need to build this railway at all."

Gao Jiang glared at Wei Ying and said immediately.

"Who says it's unnecessary, isn't this Yunguichuan the territory of my Daming?"

"Isn't the people of Yunguichuan the subjects of my Son of Heaven? There's no reason to ignore them."

"Building the railway from Huguang was a must. Even if we don't do it now, we will still have to do it a hundred years later, no matter how much money we spend."

Wei Ying argued.

Liu Jin kept silent, watching the two of them blowing their beards and staring.

Among them, the railway must be repaired, whether it is Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan or other provinces, the railway must be repaired, and the role of the railway is irreplaceable.

However, what Gao Jiang said is also very reasonable. Now Daming's technology and national strength actually do not allow the construction of railways in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan area, where the terrain is too steep.

Even in later generations, when the technology is quite mature, the railway in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan area was built very late, let alone now.

Although Daming has hundreds of millions of taels of silver in tax revenue each year, which seems huge, there are also many places where the money is spent, and it is impossible to say that all of it will go to the southwest region at once.

Daming is now building railways, part of which is funded by the imperial court, and the rest is raised from the private sector. There must be no one investing in the construction of railways in the southwest, because all fools know that it is definitely a business that will lose money, that is, at the national level In other words, losing money also has to be repaired.

(End of this chapter)