Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 56: Old Zhu Determines the Bridge Toll and Reports to the Emperor [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

When returning to Beijing, Liu Kuan and his group took the same route they came.

Although sailing upstream along the Yangtze River is slower, it is still more comfortable than walking.

In just two hours, Liu Kuan arrived at the north end of the bridge.

It was seen that there were still many government troops "standing guard" on the bridge road and its surroundings, but there were also more pedestrians on the bridge.

Some rode horses, some took cars, and some walked.

From a distance, Liu Kuan saw many people stopping on the bridge, seemingly admiring the scenery.

At the north end of the bridge, officials and soldiers set up a checkpoint and collected bridge tolls.

There were also many people queuing up, waiting to cross the bridge.

"It seems that Lao Zhu has listened to my advice and allowed people to pay to cross the bridge."

"However, judging by the clothing of the people on this bridge, most of them are obviously wealthy people, and there are not many who are actually in a hurry to cross the bridge."

"If this continues, I'm afraid that in the future, the bridge will become a tourist attraction for Ming Dynasty tourists, and its transportation function will be neglected."

While thinking this, Liu Kuan and others had already arrived at the "toll station" on the bridge road.

Because there were many pedestrians and tourists on the bridge, Captain Zhou Tao was worried that an accident might happen when the army crossed the bridge, so he first communicated with the officials at the "toll station".

"The army is about to cross the bridge. Please do not allow anyone on the bridge for the time being, so as not to hinder the army's passage."

"Yes."

The clerk responded and stopped collecting tolls, asking the people lined up on the road to move aside.

Now is the Hongwu period, not the period after the Battle of Tumu.

At this time, not only were the nobles who came from military backgrounds domineering and arrogant because they were influenced by the style of the Hu Yuan Dynasty, but even ordinary military generals were not people that civil officials were willing to provoke.

In addition, matters related to the military were given high priority during the Hongwu period, so minor officials naturally did not dare to delay the emperor's personal army from crossing the bridge.

Because there were fewer pedestrians on the bridge and it would take a while, Liu Kuan took the opportunity to talk to the clerk at the "toll station".

"Excuse me, when was the bridge reopened?"

"Replying to the superior officer, the ban was lifted four days ago."

Liu Kuan nodded and asked, "How are the bridge tolls collected?"

Although the clerk did not know Liu Kuan, he knew that he must be an important person because he was guarded by thousands of the emperor's personal troops, so he answered the question with great concern.

"Sir, the toll rate for crossing the bridge is set by His Majesty. A single person only needs 30 coins to cross the bridge; riding a horse, donkey, mule, or ox, it costs 100 coins."

"If we take a carriage, it's going to be expensive. In addition to the 300 wen bridge fee, each person in the carriage will be charged an additional 30 wen."

"Of course, if officials are here on orders, or soldiers are here with military orders, they can all cross the bridge for free."

"Also, if you want to stay on the bridge and enjoy the river view instead of just crossing it, you must pay double the toll and get a viewing sign so you won't be driven away by the bridge guards."

Liu Kuan was surprised when he heard this.

He didn't expect that Lao Zhu would set the bridge toll so high!

According to his understanding, it only costs ten cents for one person to cross the river by boat at this time.

Based on this, the bridge toll set by Zhu Yuanzhang was three times the boat fare for crossing the river!
Coming to his senses, and looking at the large number of wealthy tourists on the bridge, Liu Kuan understood why Lao Zhu did not set the bridge toll according to his suggestion.

Obviously, people's curiosity about the "Immortal Bridge" at this time far exceeded his expectations.

Even though Old Zhu set the toll so high, so many people still come to enjoy the scenery. If he had just set it twice as much as the boat fare, as he suggested, the crowds of tourists who heard the news would probably overwhelm the bridge!

"It seems I still know too little about the customs and people of the Ming Dynasty."

Come to think of it, there was a lack of entertainment in the early Ming Dynasty. With such a "fairy bridge", I wonder how many people would want to go up and take a look.

Even though the toll for crossing the bridge for one person is as high as thirty cents now, it is estimated that during festivals, ordinary people in the capital will grit their teeth and bring their families to the bridge to enjoy the river view. At that time, the pressure on the soldiers guarding the bridge to maintain order will definitely be even greater.

However, Old Zhu and Little Zhu will take care of this matter themselves, so it is not his turn to worry about it.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, when there were fewer people on the bridge, Liu Kuan and his party crossed the bridge.

As he crossed the bridge, Liu Kuan noticed that most of the people enjoying the view were on the non-motorized lanes of the bridge. A few horse-drawn carriages were parked on the motorized lanes, but pedestrians and vehicles generally followed the advice in his memorial, traveling on their respective sides.

Although most of the vehicles and pedestrians on the bridge moved very slowly and did not cause traffic accidents due to disorderly driving, following the traffic rules of later generations greatly facilitated the soldiers guarding the bridge to maintain order and protect the bridge.

After crossing the bridge, Liu Kuan found that there were more people queuing up next to the "toll station" at the south end waiting to get on the bridge.

"It seems that there are indeed many more wealthy families in the capital than in other places."

After sighing in his heart, Liu Kuan returned to the city.

According to the rules, the first thing that Beijing officials had to do after returning to Beijing from their business trips was to see the emperor and report on how the mission went.

So after Liu Kuan returned home, he took a bath, had a quick lunch, and took a nap for half an hour. He guessed that it was time for Zhu Yuanzhang to go to work, so he went to the Forbidden City.

Arriving at Fengxian Hall and finishing the ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Kuan and said, "Finally, you have decided to return to the capital. If you delay for another two or three days, I will send someone to bring you back."

Liu Kuan said seriously, "The matter of the Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant is extremely important. In order to start the relevant work as soon as possible, I must go there and keep an eye on it for a few days."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted in dissatisfaction, "No matter how important it is, can it be more important than your wedding with Huilan?"

'This question is difficult for me to answer.'

Liu Kuan muttered to himself, then smiled and said, "My wedding with the Third Princess is certainly important, but so is the matter of the Liuhe Steel Plant. Besides, I'm keeping track of the time. Isn't it time to return to the capital?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was actually very satisfied with Liu Kuan's attitude of putting official business first.

However, seeing Liu Kuan comparing the steel mill to the wedding, he couldn't help but ask, "Is this steel mill really that important?"

Liu Kuan regained his composure and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the Liuhe Ironworks previously only produced 610,000 kilograms of iron a year."

"Once converted into a steel mill, as long as there's an adequate supply of ore and coal, the annual iron production will be at least ten times greater than before!"

"Ten times?" Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked. "Is the output really that high?"

Liu Kuan nodded affirmatively and continued, "Your Majesty, please note that what I am talking about is at least. This means that the annual iron production of Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant can be even greater, even reaching tens of millions of catties is not impossible."

Ten million jin is only 5,000 tons. Normal steel mills in later generations have an annual output of millions of tons.

Zhu Yuanzhang had a complicated expression after hearing this.

"According to what you said, the annual iron production of the Liuhe Steel Plant is almost equal to the current annual output of the entire country... It's really incredible."

"But is it really necessary to produce so much iron? Besides building trains, constructing railroad tracks, and making swords, guns, armor, muskets, and farm tools, what else can this iron be used for?"

Obviously, although Zhu Yuanzhang had heard the importance of steel production to the country in future generations during his previous conversations with Liu Kuan, he found it difficult to understand the reason.

In his opinion, if Ming Dynasty had to build trains and railways, the thirteen iron smelters across the country could produce more than eight million kilograms of iron a year, which was almost enough for Ming Dynasty's needs.

Historically, in the 20th year of Hongwu's reign, he lifted the ban on iron and allowed private individuals to mine iron ore and build ironworks for this reason.

At that time, a local official said that there was rich iron ore in a certain place and suggested that the court set up an ironworks to mine and smelt iron. However, he was even reprimanded by Zhu Yuanzhang, who said that this move would waste national strength and compete with the people for profits, which was really inappropriate.

This situation occurred because at that time, the Ming Dynasty had enough iron in its warehouses and the iron it could obtain every year (the iron produced by the state-owned ironworks plus iron tax).

Moreover, iron is not immortal. If pig iron is not properly maintained, it will rust if stored for a long time.

However, under the conditions in the early Ming Dynasty, it was impossible to maintain and store large quantities of pig iron.

In this way, when Zhu Yuanzhang's court had sufficient iron materials, it made sense to reduce iron smelting.

Although Liu Kuan did not know about the change in Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude towards iron smelting in history, he knew that the uses of steel were far more than what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

He said, "Your Majesty, steel can be used to make not only trains but also bicycles, various machines, and ships..."

"Wait!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but interrupt Liu Kuan. "You said steel can be used to build ships? Do you think I'm uneducated and inexperienced, and are you just talking nonsense again?"

"When have I ever lied to you, Old Zhu?"

Liu Kuan mentally rebuked Zhu Yuanzhang, then said slowly, "Your Majesty, steel can indeed be used to build ships. Your Majesty, you must have seen a copper basin. Can a copper basin float on water?"

"From this we can see that if we build a large ship out of steel, as long as it's leak-proof and has a scientific and reasonable structure, it can sail on rivers, lakes, and seas just like a wooden boat!"

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　　Thanks to [yhbing] for the reward of 500 Qidian coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)