My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 267: It Takes a Miracle to Get Out

"According to your opinions, where should we start building the first section of the railway?" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"From Yingtianfu to Maling Iron Mine!"

Li Min, Yang Siyi and Wei Zuoqian said in unison.

After saying that, the three of them looked at each other, then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, and finally they all burst into laughter at the same time.

"As the saying goes, great minds think alike. I think that the main steel mill of the Ming Dynasty is in Yingtian Prefecture, and the source of iron ore in Yingtian Prefecture mainly comes from the Maling Iron Mine. Therefore, the first railway should run from Yingtian Prefecture to the Maling Iron Mine!

What do you think, my dear ministers? "

"Your Majesty, what you said is exactly what I think in my heart!" Wei Zuoqian said hurriedly.

"Minister Wei is right. Moreover, the distance from Maling to Yingtian Prefecture is about 100 miles. According to Minister Yang, the cost of the railway should be around 500,000 guan. With the revenue from the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue plus the revenue from the Haimao Joint-Stock Company, it won't be too much of a burden."

Li Min also started thinking along the same lines as Yang Siyi.

"Not only that, the Maling area has been a key point for east-west transportation since ancient times, a throat for going north and south, surrounded by rivers and lakes, bordering Jinling, close to Yangzhou, and rich in resources. It has always been a battleground for military strategists, so the first railway from Yingtianfu to Maling Iron Mine should be considered the first choice."

"Minister Li is right. I think that in addition to this, the industry and commerce in the Maling area are also relatively developed. Once the railway is opened, the trade between the city and Yingtian Prefecture will increase frequently. By then, the freight alone will be able to recover the cost within a few years!
Moreover, judging from the design drawings, the difficulty of railway transportation lies in the manufacture of rail materials and steam locomotives, but the technical content of laying rails is relatively low, so laying rails does not require professional skilled workers. "

At this point, Yang Siyi showed an intriguing smile on his face, making it hard not to suspect that he was up to something.

"Your Majesty, didn't the Duke of Wei bring back a large number of captives during this southern expedition? The total number should be around 100,000. Using these people to build the railway will save us from having to conscript civilians. This can save us a lot of money!"

Well, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sigh again, it seems that he was right when he said that Yang Siyi was the number one accountant in the Ming Dynasty.

This guy's calculations are really shrewd.

Soon, the decision to build the railway was made. Li Min was in charge of all matters related to the manufacture of steam locomotives and railways, Wei Zuoqian was in charge of supervising the construction, and Yang Siyi was responsible for the budget and paying the money.

Although the matter had been settled, it still needed to go through the court meeting procedure. Naturally, Li Min would be responsible for submitting the memorial, which would then be discussed at the court meeting.

After discussing the railway construction, Li Min took the opportunity to ask, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and said, "Lord Li, please speak frankly if you have anything to say."

Li Min then summarized the memorial he had written at home and presented it in detail.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and others fell silent. Building a new school was a good thing, and dividing technical academies into several levels could indeed select talents of different levels and types for the Ming Dynasty's industry.

However, as Li Min mentioned, the study of industrial technology has been added to academies across the country, and technical learning has even begun in the early childhood enlightenment stage of private schools. The resistance will be so great that no one can imagine!

Although Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to do this very much, he immediately started to reform the education system and even added scientific and technological content to the imperial examinations, but...

If they did so, they would be digging at the roots of the literary world, and it would even be possible to force the entire literary world to the opposite side. Although after the academic conference, the Ming Industrial Party won an overwhelming victory, shutting up the entire literary world, and also won the support of some literati, even contemporary great scholars such as Wu Daoxing and Lan Zhi began to study the subject of science.

But this does not mean that Confucian scholars and literati will watch the path of science interfere with the Confucianism they have adhered to all their lives.

Moreover, although industry is developing in full swing nowadays, secretly, there are still many literati and scholars who oppose the academy built by craftsmen in the capital. However, they dare not speak out and challenge the court openly due to the general trend.

Li Min naturally knew how difficult it was, but he couldn't care less. He just proposed it first, and as for whether it would work or not, he would leave it to His Majesty to decide.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and felt that education reform was still imperative. After all, with the development of industry, more and more technical talents would be needed, and the lack of talent must not become a shackle on industrial development!
But how to make the changes to minimize the impact on the literary world cannot be rushed.

Yang Siyi was also thinking hard. To some extent, he was more anxious to resolve the worker issue than Li Min, because more skilled workers meant more goods could be produced, which also meant more revenue from fiscal revenue!
Suddenly, Yang Siyi had an idea and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, I have an idea, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not."

Zhu Yuanzhang got anxious when he heard this. "Hey, Minister Yang, if you have any good ideas, just tell us. Why are you hiding anything from us?"

Yang Siyi cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, I have an idea. Why don't we ask the extraordinary person? Ever since the academic conference, I have felt that he is the best person to deal with those Confucian scholars who only know how to talk nonsense all day long!"

Yes, these words really awakened Zhu Yuanzhang. He was instantly overjoyed. With Lao Li's extraordinary talent, wouldn't it be easy for him to deal with the literary world?

When Li Min heard Yang Siyi's suggestion to ask Qi Ren for his opinion, he immediately felt relieved. In his eyes, Qi Ren was really omnipotent. If you don't believe it, just look at the changes that have taken place in the Ming Dynasty today. These were all brought about by him!
Soon, the three said goodbye. They had to hurry to prepare for the construction of the railway.

On the way out of the palace, Wei Zuoqian asked curiously, "My Lords, does that strange man really have a way to deal with the literary world?"

After the previous Vice Minister of Works retired due to his old age, Wei Zuoqian was promoted to the new Vice Minister of Works because of his outstanding performance in the shipyard.

Although he had participated in the industrialization process of the Ming Dynasty from the very beginning, he was not in a high position at that time and was not familiar with some of the secrets of newspapers and academic conferences, so he raised such questions.

"Haha, Minister Wei, it seems that you really don't understand strange people!"

Yang Siyi smiled and said, "Do you know about the academic conference?"

"Master Yang, I naturally know about the big event of the Academic Conference. It was the strange man who gave out the hot air balloon, which flew up into the sky and opened everyone's eyes. It is still fresh in my memory.

I was at the scene at the time, and watching the faces of Hong Wenchang and his people change from elation to shock and then to frustration, it was really refreshing! "

"Hahahaha, Minister Wei, you only know one side of the story." Li Min laughed.

"Please help me solve this doubt, Lord Li!" Wei Zuoqian said respectfully.

"Then do you know who came up with the clever idea of ​​using newspapers to create momentum before the academic conference?" Li Min asked.

Wei Zuoqian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, and said in disbelief:
"I see. It seems that to deal with the literary world, we really have to rely on extraordinary people!"

(End of this chapter)