I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1199: The Prelude to Steel and Coal
After a long preheating process, the modified 89-horsepower steam engine on the locomotive finally began to emit wisps of white smoke.

The onlookers were no strangers to this – who in Nancy hadn’t seen a steam engine?
However, when the steel behemoth trembled slightly for the first time, shaking off the small insects huddled in the weeds on both sides of the tracks, the onlookers immediately gasped and retreated.

The locomotive, engraved with "Future," trembled again and emitted a piercing screech, then began to slowly move, dragging eight carriages with it.

That enormous steel body exuded a terrifying force that struck the very soul of every person.

“Almighty God!” Father Weina stared at the sparks flying from the train chimney, his hands clutching the silver cross to his chest, and murmured, “Could this be the red horse that breathes fire in the Book of Revelation…”

The young man working at the ironworks next to me smiled and waved his hand: "No, no, this is actually a kind of machine that uses a steam engine..."

A fry vendor chimed in, “I have a relative in Paris who says it’s a monster with a copper stomach, and he’s even seen the blueprints.”

The young man at the ironworks rolled his eyes: "This is an industrial creation, not alchemy. It's powered by coal and is said to be able to travel 800 kilometers a day."

Another gasp rippled through the crowd: "800 kilometers! How is that possible?"

"My God, even the best carriage isn't that fast!"

"You braggart! Look how slowly it walks; it's not even as fast as my cow..."

The woman who had been speaking suddenly fell silent, because the "Future" was still accelerating, and in just one minute it was almost as fast as a galloping horse.

Two children peeked out from under her skirt, their eyes still filled with fear as they curiously watched the departing steel "monster."

A man in a long black coat approached the young man at the ironworks and asked, "Can this thing really travel 800 kilometers a day? I see it has a carriage in the back. Do you know how much cargo it can carry?"

The young man shook his head; he was just an ordinary worker and didn't have many sources of information.

"It must be at least thirty or forty tons, I guess."

The man in the long coat immediately showed a look of ecstatic joy, rubbing his hands together and muttering to himself, "Wonderful! This is simply a blessing from God!"

He's a wine merchant, and previously, transporting wine from Bordeaux to Nancy cost roughly 2.5 times the price of the wine itself. But with this steel behemoth, 200 barrels of wine could be transported to Nancy in just one day. And these are standard-sized barrels!

In other words, the price of wine will inevitably drop significantly.

The number of people who can afford good wine will increase several times over. This is a huge business opportunity!
He was about to send his attendant to inquire about the train's owner when he caught sight of the railway tracks not far away. He frowned slightly and asked the young man at the ironworks, "Do you know if they're building a railway in Bordeaux?"

The latter laughed and said, "Of course not, sir. It's said that it will only be repaired up to Paris."

“I heard from the manager that repairing this thing is very expensive, costing over 1 francs per kilometer.”

The wine merchant was somewhat disappointed, as the journey from Paris to Nancy only took about a third of the total distance he needed, saving him roughly a quarter of the cost per barrel.

Wait a minute, his business instincts kicked in and he quickly realized something else. Since this machine has such a strong transport capacity, there will definitely be many people who need it to transport goods in the future.

In other words, the train rental business will be booming, and trains depend on railway tracks. So wouldn't investing in railway track construction be incredibly profitable?
He narrowed his eyes, summoned his attendant, and whispered, "Vasiello, go and find out immediately which gentleman is in charge of the railway construction."

More than an hour later, the "Future" came back with a whoosh, screeching as it braked, and came to a steady stop on the overgrown open ground.

The citizens of Nancy, having been exposed to steam engines for many years, quickly accepted this iron contraption and immediately cheered as they swarmed around it.

Just then, the front of the car suddenly made a "poof" sound, and a large amount of white steam spewed out from all directions, scaring people into screaming and backing away.

Joseph was very satisfied with the trial run. Although the "Future" was empty and only reached a speed of 28 kilometers per hour—this was just the initial prototype, and the mechanical parts still needed a lot of adjustments, so it could only reach this speed at present—it was already far superior to the performance of the "Rocket," the first truly practical train in history.

He exhaled deeply, feeling his heart surging with emotion.

From this moment on, France's industrial revolution has officially entered the fast lane, and in the future, it will use the power of steel and coal to leave all its competitors far behind!

Trevichk and his assistant jumped out of the driver's cab, and before they could even wipe the coal dust off their faces, they were surrounded by dozens of reporters. "Mr. Trevichk, how did you come up with the idea to design this machine?"

"Sir designer, I'm a reporter from the Nancy Morning Post. Could you please describe the features of the train..."

"Sir designer, this was truly a successful presentation. Do you have anything to say now?"

Trevich didn’t hesitate to gesture towards the Crown Prince’s entourage in the distance: “I only dug up a stone; it was His Highness the Crown Prince who sculpted it into a work of art.”

Joseph came to participate in the train's trial run in order to increase the train's influence.

Seeing a large number of reporters rushing over, he simply pulled together the manager of the steam locomotive manufacturing company, as well as Murdoch, Trevithik, and others, and held a "press conference" to begin detailing the various features of the train.

Trains, being such a high-investment equipment, must rely on a broad civilian market to quickly recoup funds and continuously expand into new railway lines.

When the railway network spread throughout France, that was the moment France reached the pinnacle of Europe!
It wasn't until 5 p.m. that Joseph got into his carriage and drove out of the crowded area through the passage that the guards had been desperately parting.

Three days later, as soon as he returned to Versailles Palace, he was greeted by Pierre Jérôme Tressaud, the French Minister of Transport, who greeted him with a beaming smile, quickly bowed, and said excitedly, "Your Highness, we have received a large number of applications in the past two days for investment in railway construction, totaling nearly two million francs!"

Yes, there were many shrewd investors like that wine merchant from Nancy. They frantically approached steam locomotive manufacturing companies with bank slips, demanding to invest in railways.

The steam locomotive company then forwarded these applications to the Ministry of Transport.

Joseph was also somewhat surprised, as he had thought the news would take a month or two to spread.

He suddenly realized that the policies and regulations related to railways seemed to be seriously outdated. This was a vital national asset, and it absolutely could not be handed over to the Ministry of Transport to handle haphazardly.

He pondered, “First, the Ministry of Transport needs to establish a ‘French Railway Company’.”

(End of this chapter)