Bringing the Railway to Daming

After listening to Zhu Biao's questions, Liu Kuan patiently introduced.

"A refrigerator, as the name suggests, is a box-shaped appliance that can produce cold air and ice. It is mainly used to store cooking ingredients and food that cannot be eaten immediately."

"Generally speaking, the top half is for keeping fresh, and even in summer, the temperature inside can be maintained at around 5 degrees Celsius; the bottom half is for freezing, with the temperature at around or even dozens of degrees below zero, which can quickly freeze things into ice."

The Zhu family had a lot of contact with Liu Kuan and knew the concepts of temperature and degrees Celsius.

Therefore, after hearing Liu Kuan introduce the refrigerator, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but say: "This thing is great, can we make it in the Ming Dynasty now?"

Liu Kuan shook his head, "I'm afraid not."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked again: "When can it be built?"

Liu Kuan vaguely remembered that someone in history seemed to have invented a refrigerator that used steam engine compression refrigeration, which seemed to be in the 19th century.

Not to mention how many physical science and technological breakthroughs are involved, the refrigerant required alone is not something that the Ming Dynasty, which has no chemical foundation, can produce in a short period of time.

Therefore, Liu Kuan hesitated for a moment and said, "We'll have to wait at least 20 to 30 years."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked disappointed after hearing this.

If he were to live another ten years, he would have some confidence, but if he were to live another twenty years, he wouldn't even dream of it.

After all, he was already sixty-four years old, which was considered a very old man at that time. As for living to eighty-four, it seems that no emperor since the Qin Dynasty has lived so long?

Zhu Biao saw Zhu Yuanzhang's disappointment and asked, "Where are the washing machines and running water?" to divert his attention.

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "These two are easy. A washing machine, as the name suggests, is a machine that washes clothes by itself. It is generally divided into drum type and rotary type. With tap water, it can wash clothes by itself and even dry them halfway."

"As for tap water, it's actually similar to how some places in the Ming Dynasty use bamboo and pottery as pipes to bring water down from higher places. It's just that with the help of a water pump, it can send water from lower places to higher places."

Washing machines and tap water are indeed easy to understand. The Ming Dynasty had "tap water", so Zhu Biao didn't ask any more questions.

Liu Kuan continued speaking without hesitation, "As for the 'travel' aspect, it actually mainly refers to transportation. I don't need to explain the convenience of transportation in later generations. Your Highness the Crown Prince has also learned about it from those videos and movies."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Xiongying couldn't help but recall the videos and movies they had seen before, in which China in later generations had a dense web of railways and highways.

With the addition of airplanes and ships, one can imagine how convenient transportation will be in later generations.

However, the Ming Dynasty now also has railways and trains, and there are even more than ten railways built, so there is no need to envy the convenient transportation in later generations.

Thinking of the railway, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Liu Kuan, how long do you think it will take to build the two railways in the north, one in the east and one in the west?"

Although the Railway Bureau is now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, Liu Kuan is considered the "advisor" and "supreme leader" of the Railway Bureau, so he is still very clear about railway affairs.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Although the railway from Shanhaiwei (the predecessor of Shanhaiguan) to Shenyang is somewhat difficult to build, it's not very long after all. It's estimated to be completed in two to three years."

"As for the western artery from Xi'an to Jiayuguan, it's not only long but also requires many difficulties to be overcome. A conservative estimate is that it will take four to six years to complete."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Actually, the Shanshen Railway is not a bad thing. After it is completed, it will only make it easier for the court to send personnel and transport supplies to Liaoning and Jilin."

"Our Ming Dynasty currently has no hostile forces worth noting in the Northeast, so it doesn't matter if the railway is completed later."

"But the Xijia Railway is related to the imperial court's control over the two major provinces of Gansu and Anxi, as well as the Beiting Military Commission. It also concerns the imperial court's layout in Central Asia. The sooner it is completed, the better."

"Do you think it's possible to speed up the construction of the Xijia Railway by allocating more manpower and material resources?"

Liu Kuan said helplessly, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the Railway Bureau has already allocated sufficient manpower and material resources for the construction of the Xijia Railway. Even if more manpower and material resources are added, the efficiency will not increase much, and it will only cause waste."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Even if it causes some waste, it will be worth it as long as the Xijia Railway can be completed sooner."

Liu Kuan was stunned as he didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang, who was known for his frugality and even "stinginess" in governing the country in history, would actually say this.

After coming to his senses, he nodded and said, "Okay, I will go to the Railway Bureau later to see how many additional manpower should be dispatched."

At this time, the sound of guards talking to someone was heard downstairs, and then a eunuch was brought up. It was Zhao Cheng, who was now in charge of the Imperial City Telecommunications Group.

Zhao Cheng presented three translated telegrams and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Lu, the Prince of Yong, and the commander of Xuanguanwei have sent telegrams one after another, saying that the two princes have arrived at Xuanguanwei and are reporting that they are safe." "As long as they have arrived safely," Zhu Yuanzhang took the telegram from Li Gui, shook his head and smiled, "These three people are also wrong. Why are they sending telegrams at night?"

Liu Kuan laughed and said, "Your Majesty forgot that there is a time difference between Ming Dynasty and America. Calculating it, it should be eight or nine in the morning there now."

"We really forgot about the time difference."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled indifferently, and then, using the light from the eaves of the top floor of the Meridian Gate Building, he carefully read the three telegrams...
···
Central America.

Xuanguanwei, Xuanxi Qianhu Suo, port.

On the Zouyi, the flagship of the Lu Fan Fleet, Zhu Tan got up, washed, and went to the deck. The salty sea breeze made him feel more awake.

They arrived at Xuanguanwei yesterday evening.

Because the immigration fleets of Lu and Yong arrived one after another, there were too many boats and too many people on board, and it was evening, it was difficult to settle down quickly, so they all slept on the boats last night.

Logically speaking, with Zhu Tan's identity, he could go to Qianhu City to rest.

But since setting sail in early February, he had been on the ship for more than three months and had become accustomed to it. He found it difficult to sleep well on land, so he continued to sleep on the flagship.

His cabin was well furnished, and the ship was at anchor in the harbor, so he slept very comfortably last night.

After stretching, Zhu Tan took out the telescope as usual and looked around.

I saw that Xuanxi Port was very large and well-built, with more than a dozen docks. Of course, the Lu and Yong vassal states had more than 300 ships in total, most of which were large sea vessels, so a dozen docks were not enough. Therefore, immigrants from the two vassal states would probably have to queue up to land today.

The site of the Xuanxi Qianhu Suo city was not far from the port, only about three miles away. The city was not large, with the western wall facing the port being about three hundred steps long.

There is mostly open space between the city and the dock, with very few fields. This is probably because this area is easily attacked by sea storms and is not suitable for farming.

Dozens of warehouses have been built on the dock, each of which is quite large and can probably accommodate quite a few people if vacated.

"It seems that Xuanguanwei should have no problem arranging for us to stay for a few days - I hope my second brother and his immigrants can leave quickly."

After breakfast, Zhu Tan got off the boat and asked someone to contact Zhu Chong to go into the city together.

The first commander of Xuanguanwei, Pang Ze, was promoted and returned to Ming Dynasty a few years ago. Now it is the second commander, Li Dun, who came here a few years ago.

When the two princes arrived, he went to the dock with Xuanxi Captain Long Qing to greet them early in the morning.

The military position of commander-in-chief is nothing in the Ming Dynasty, but in America, he is a real frontier official who is in charge of the military and civilians, and his power is almost half that of a military governor in the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, Zhu Tan and Zhu Chong were both vassal kings, and they had to trouble the Xuanguan Guard with a lot of things. After Li Dun greeted them, he exchanged a few casual words and then got down to business.

"Your Highness Prince Yong, according to the court's arrangements, Xuanguanwei has prepared dry food, fruits and other supplies for the Yong clan. Therefore, you and your subjects will rest in Xuanguanwei for three days, load up the supplies, and then continue your journey south."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Chong immediately felt a little displeased.

The meaning of Li Dun's words was very clear. The Xuanguan Guards only allowed people from Yong Fan to stay for three days.

However, he had been tempered in the "lower level" of the capital for several years, and he was already in his thirties, so he had become a bit shrewd.

Considering that the nearest garrison that their Yong clan could contact in the future was Xuanguanwei, and Li Dun was the commander of the Ming Dynasty, not his Yong Kingdom, so he could not be offended.

He suppressed his displeasure and nodded, saying, "Thank you for troubling Commander Li and the soldiers and civilians of Xuanguanwei."

Li Dun said, "Your Highness Prince Yong is too polite. We are under the orders of the court and have received orders. This is our duty."

Zhu Chong added, "My vassal state is closest to Xuanguanwei, so we'll have frequent exchanges in the future. I hope Commander Li can talk to me more about Central America and the current situation of Xuanguanwei in the next two days."

"Yes." Li Dun nodded in response, then looked at Zhu Tan and said, "The Xuanguan Guards have prepared the sea vessels that His Royal Highness Prince Lu needs. They are now anchored at Xuandong Port."

"Once His Royal Highness Prince Lu has rested well here, we can take the immigrants over to change boats. The supplies that Xuanguanwei prepared for the Lu clan are also in the warehouse over there." (End of this chapter)