Daming: Refining zombies at the beginning, Lao Zhu was shocked

Chapter 263 Chapter 263: Experience the steam train and the officials were shocked again!

Half a month later.

In addition to the fourth child Zhu Xiaye, there are several more people around Zhu Xiafeng, Zhu Xiaqiu and Zhu Xiaxuan!
Either about the same age as them, or a young man in his twenties.

These people were all descendants of the important officials in the court, and were sent to Zhu Xifeng and the others to act as bodyguards or companions!

And these children who can be sent to the Han Palace to accompany the crown prince and princes or serve as guards are all carefully selected within the family. It can also be said that they will all be the second or second generation of key training within the family. Third Generation!

Not everyone can be qualified to study with the prince or be a chamberlain. In other words, this group of people will grow up with Zhu Xifeng and the others, but those who can persevere to the end will definitely be able to do so in the future. He will be a dragon and a phoenix among people, and he will also be a close friend of Zhu Xifeng and others!

But if they have bad conduct and insufficient abilities, they will not only waste opportunities, but may also cause trouble for their respective families, or even suffer disaster!
This is a double-edged sword, so the disciples who can be sent to it must have been strictly screened!

Zhu Li is quite satisfied with these disciples who were sent.

In other words, I am indeed quite satisfied with the ones that can stay, but at the same time, I have also eliminated a few that failed to meet Zhu Yue’s requirements!

As for the withdrawal, it is not against anyone, it is simply that you have not met my requirements, so those ministers do not dare to have any dissatisfaction!

When Zhu Yue and Zhu Biao led a group of ministers to the locomotive, except for the few important ministers who had traveled through time, all the other ministers had a look of astonishment on their faces!

Immediately, some ministers asked Zhu Biao their questions.

What's the point of this?

During the previous power test, there was actually only one locomotive running on this railway track, and it did not pull the carriages, or in other words, it only pulled a few carriages for testing. It was just breeding, and no design and interior design of the carriages were carried out. put up!
Also in order to allow a group of ministers to have a good experience this time, Zhu Yue temporarily had two train cars modified to make them rideable!

In other words, if you start from Hanzhong in the morning and take a round trip from Xi'an in the evening, it's not a problem to get back to Xi'an, and you still have a whole afternoon to spare!
When Zhu Biao told these data, except for a few ministers, all the other ministers had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Zhu Biao said with confidence on his face.

But if they just looked at the stationary train, they still couldn't believe that such a huge thing could actually run on its own!
And even if you can really run, your speed must be only a turtle speed, right?

What they saw in front of them really shocked them!

Because Zhu Yue is already a bowl of water, all the children from these important ministers' families have been selected, and this is enough!
After handling this matter, Zhu Biao took a group of officials to Hanzhong Mansion in person. The purpose was naturally to build the railway!
Nowadays, only Hanzhong Prefecture has a section of railway track for testing and a steam engine train. It is okay for these officials to experience the feeling of riding a train!

"All we can say is that not only can this train run, but its speed will never be slower than a carriage!"

"Your Highness, the train you mentioned is so huge that it really doesn't need horses and only needs to burn coal to run?"

"This time I let you experience the train, just to let you experience it for yourself. You will get the answer to this question yourself later!"

This is just the normal driving speed. If it is fully loaded and driven at the fastest speed, it can reach 80-90 kilometers per hour!
Of course, under normal circumstances, it is impossible to drive at the highest speed, which will affect the life of the locomotive and also pose safety risks!

He had already asked Zhu Yue how fast the train could run now, so he did not panic at all when facing various inquiries from ministers!

One is a seat car and the other is a sleeper car!
Since we want these ministers to experience the feeling of riding a train, let’s just do it in one step and let them experience it whether they are sitting or lying down!
When Zhu Biao led a group of ministers onto the carriage, except for Zhang Yan and a few others, the other ministers had a look of shock on their faces!
There are more than a hundred seats in this large carriage, which means that this carriage can seat at least more than a hundred people!

But even at a speed of about 60 kilometers per hour, taking Hanzhong Prefecture to Xi'an Prefecture as an example, even if a railway of about 200 kilometers is built, it will take about three hours to arrive, and the entire journey will take no more than two hours. In other words, it takes four hours to reach Xi'an from Hanzhong!

Although this is the first locomotive built, the speed can already reach 50-70 kilometers per hour!

No wonder these ministers have such thoughts in their minds. Things like steam trains are beyond their thinking and cognition!

Such a big iron lump weighs several thousand kilograms at least, right?

No need for horses to pull, just burning coal to run?
Are you sure this isn't a joke?

The figure-eight-shaped closed track, although the actual track length is only a few kilometers, can still test the speed of the train, even if you want to ride for a long time, there is no problem!

Although they thought it was unbelievable or impossible, no one dared to question it in front of Zhu Biao.

In fact, there is no need to raise doubts. Those who have doubts think that if the train starts running at all later, or if it runs at a slow speed, then it will naturally be more effective than any doubt!
Soon, Zhu Yue also came to the carriage, and everyone's eyes were focused on His Highness the King of Han.

"Lao Jiu, can the train start?"

Zhu Biao asked Zhu Yue directly.

"Everyone, please choose a seat and sit down. You can stand if you want. The train will start moving soon!"

Zhu Yue smiled and nodded, and then sat down directly in one of the seats. Zhu Biao also sat next to him. The two brothers said something as if no one was watching.

When the other ministers saw this, they all looked at each other, but they didn't say much, and they all found a place to sit down.

There were only about a hundred ministers who came to Hanzhong with Zhu Biao this time, and the whole carriage could fit in them.

Outside the compartment, there was the dull sound of the train's whistle. Zhu Biao had already greeted them before, saying that the train would whistle, and asked them not to make a fuss when they heard the noise.

But after a group of ministers heard this news, their expressions changed unconsciously, but no one did anything extraordinary!

At this time, the carriage suddenly moved, and then a mechanical friction sound of "click, click" was heard, and this sound also accelerated rhythmically and regularly!

"Why do I feel like the trees and mountains outside are receding?"

"Why is the mountain retreating? How could it be possible that the mountain is retreating?" "Everyone looked at it with wide eyes. It is obvious that this carriage is going forward!"

"..."

As the train started, many ministers began to talk about it!

The initial startup speed of the steam engine train is not very fast. It can indeed be described as a turtle speed. After all, speeding up requires a process!
"This speed...why is it so slow?"

"Didn't the prince say that it's not slower than a carriage?"

"Let me see, even if I run, it will be faster than this train!"

Several ministers also questioned the speed of the train.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the minister's expression changed again, because the speed of the train was obviously gradually increasing!
Although the speed of the steam engine train is relatively slow, it is also relatively speaking. The whole process of speeding up can also be clearly felt by people sitting on it!
"This... is getting faster and faster!"

"How can something so big run so fast?"

The expressions of many ministers suddenly changed!

"I have lived a lifetime, and today is my eye-opener!"

"I didn't expect there to be such magical things in this world!"

"I just don't know how long this train can keep running like this?"

In the carriage, the ministers expressed surprise and emotion one after another.

"This train is powered by coal, so in theory it can keep running as long as there is an endless supply of coal!"

"When railway stations and railway tracks are built in various places in the future, the coal needed for trains will also be sent to various stations!"

"The coal reserves stored in a normal locomotive are enough to run from Hanzhong to Xi'an!"

"If we take Hanzhong and Xi'an Prefecture as an example, the train only needs to add coal once in Hanzhong, run to Xi'an Prefecture, and add coal again when it comes back, and it will be able to come back!"

Zhu Biao stood up, looked around at everyone present, and said with a smile.

When all the ministers heard this, their faces showed shock!
In other words, as long as every station has coal reshipment, the train can reach anywhere in the Ming Dynasty as long as it relies on the railway tracks?

Of course, first of all, railway tracks must be laid throughout the Ming Dynasty, and train stations must also be built throughout the Ming Dynasty!
"At the current speed of the train, as long as the tracks are built in advance, it will only take two days to arrive at Yingtian Prefecture from Xi'an Prefecture, and a round trip can be made in four days!"

"I believe all of you ministers must also know what this speed means!"

"This is also the reason why the imperial court wanted to build railways throughout the Ming Dynasty!"

"This train can not only carry people, but also things!"

"Ordinary people, businessmen, officials, the army, and all kinds of goods can use the train to get where they want to go as quickly as possible!"

"So, do you think this railway track should be built?"

Zhu Biao looked at the shocked expressions of these ministers and felt that the time was almost up, so he smiled and asked.

At that moment, more than half of the ministers present immediately began to express their opinions, and each one of them began to brag that this train was simply an artifact, and they almost blew this thing to the sky!
As for the others who have not spoken, they only account for a small part, and in this case, no matter what they think, it doesn't matter whether they say it or not!
At least within the imperial court, from today on, the opposition to the construction of the railway has become a thing of the past!

Because the proportion of support will only be greater!
This is the general trend!
This train experience was undoubtedly a success. Even after getting off the train, many ministers were thinking about how convenient and comfortable it would be if they could take the train when they returned to Xi'an.

But now I can only think about it. According to Zhu Yue, the construction of the railway from Hanzhong Prefecture to Xi'an Prefecture will take at least a year to complete!

In other words, it will take more than a year at the earliest before they can enjoy the convenience brought by trains, and it is only limited to traveling between Hanzhong Prefecture and Xi'an Prefecture!

As for other places that want to take trains, they have to continue laying rails!
For example, when laying the railway tracks to Yingtianfu, we have to consider various terrains and rivers!
Just like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, Ming Dynasty currently does not have the ability to build such cross-river bridges, so even if it builds railway tracks, it can only be done on land!

Of course, the segmented railway line is also a compromise plan, but it only requires ferrying in places like the Yangtze River or Yellow River, and then getting on another train, which will undoubtedly increase the time consumption of the journey!
But there's nothing you can do about it. After all, you don't have the technology to build a cross-river bridge!
For example, if you build a railway to Yingtianfu, you can only build it to the north bank of the Yangtze River. It is impossible to build a railway directly across the river to Yingtianfu!
But it just adds the relief of crossing the river. After crossing the river, you will reach Yingtian Mansion!
Even so, the entire journey can be compressed into two days, which was something that was unimaginable before!

But now, as long as the rails are laid, it can be realized!

After staying in Hanzhong Mansion for two days, Zhu Biao returned directly to Xi'an Mansion with a group of ministers.

At another court meeting, the proposal to build a railway from Hanzhong to Xi'an was supported by most people in the court, and the Ministry of Household Affairs planned to start construction after the beginning of spring, and preparations had already begun years ago!

In fact, Zhang Yan had already asked some people from the Ministry of Revenue to carry out the preparations in private!

Of course, just building the railway from Hanzhong to Xi'an is obviously not enough!
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed that with the current financial resources of the treasury, in addition to building a railway from Hanzhong to Xi'an Prefecture, it is not a problem to build a railway from Xi'an Prefecture to Yingtian Prefecture!

If the railway from Xi'an Prefecture to Yingtian Prefecture can be built successfully, it will shorten the distance from the northwest to the south of the Yangtze River, which will be of great benefit to the economic development of both places!

As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Yan felt a little pained, but he also felt that this plan was indeed feasible, so he also arranged for officials from the Ministry of Revenue to start planning and investigating the construction of the Xi'an to Yingtianfu railway!

But what I didn't expect was that because of this planned railway line, the government and the opposition began to turmoil again!

(End of this chapter)