Bringing the Railway to Daming

Two hours later, Liu Kuan and his wife, along with Lao Zhu and his group, boarded a train from Beijing to Suzhou.

Given Zhu Yuanzhang's status, he could have easily had the railway bureau arrange a special train for him. However, he didn't use that authority; instead, he simply booked several carriages, just like Liu Kuan's family.

In the carriage that served as a living room, Liu Kuan and Zhu Yuanzhang sat facing each other, watching the scenery rushing past the window, sipping tea and chatting.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "How long will it take for this train to reach Suzhou?"

Liu Kuandao said: "Now the speed of trains in the Ming Dynasty has reached 70 to 80 li per hour (equivalent to the level of the early 20th century), and the distance from the capital to Suzhou is about 400 li."

"Including the time the train stops at stations along the way, we should arrive in Suzhou in about six or seven hours."

Zhu Yuanzhang smacked his lips and said, "It takes six or seven hours to travel more than four hundred li. Although it is indeed much faster than traveling by carriage or even boat in the past, it is still very slow compared to later generations, isn't it?"

Liu Kuan thought to himself: Aren't you just asking a question you already know the answer to?
But he still replied, "If you take the high-speed rail, it will only take one or two hours. If you drive yourself on the highway, it will probably take two or three hours."

"As for taking a plane, such a short distance is generally not necessary—however, before I came to the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou did not have an airport, and I do not know if it still does now."

Zhu Yuanzhang already had a considerable understanding of transportation in later generations, and upon hearing this, he asked in surprise, "Suzhou would be considered a large city in later generations, right? How come it doesn't have an airport?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Suzhou is indeed a large city in later generations, but the cities around it are even larger, such as Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou."

"All three cities have airports, and it's quick to get to these three places from Suzhou by car or train."

"Therefore, considering the utilization rate of infrastructure, the country has never built an airport in Suzhou."

Zhu Yuanzhang recalled the map in his memory and found that Suzhou was indeed located between the three major cities of Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou, and was surrounded by a ring of smaller cities, making its geographical location quite unique.

After regaining his composure, he asked again, "Why did you decide to go to Suzhou for sightseeing?"

Liu Kuandao said, "There is a saying in later generations: 'Above is heaven, below are Suzhou and Hangzhou.' Suzhou and Hangzhou are both places with beautiful scenery in Jiangnan, with many small towns and gardens, and pleasant climate, making them very suitable for travel."

"In addition, as far as I know, Suzhou has always been a very developed light industry, such as silk weaving and cotton spinning. Now it can be called the light industry center of our Great Ming Dynasty. So I thought I would take advantage of my vacation to go and see it for myself."

There is a saying: "Above is heaven, below are Suzhou and Hangzhou."
Zhu Yuanzhang found this statement quite novel.

This phrase originated from the Yuan dynasty song "Toad Palace Song: Ode to West Lake," and only became popular in the mid-to-late Ming dynasty, becoming a well-known saying in the Qing dynasty.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly shifted his attention and laughed, "You little rascal, even when you're out traveling, you're thinking about understanding the people's conditions. It's not for nothing that we and Biao'er have given you high-ranking positions and generous salaries."

Liu Kuan smiled.

To say that he wasn't interested in high-ranking positions and generous salaries would be absolutely false.

But the main reason he did these things was from his heart—as various scientific and technological achievements continued to emerge in the Ming Dynasty and industrialization continued to improve, he was very curious about how large cities outside the capital like Suzhou were developing.

After a six- or seven-hour drive, Lao Zhu didn't linger at Liu Kuan's place chatting. He went to rest after lunch.

The remaining few hours were basically spent with Liu Kuan, Zhu Huilan, and Su Caiwei. Both Zhu Huilan and Su Caiwei were quite excited and enjoyed the experience of going out for a trip with their husbands without their children.

When the train stopped at Suzhou Station, it was already dusk when Liu Kuan and Lao Zhu got off.

However, Suzhou Railway Station was brightly lit. Suzhou had built a thermal power plant and connected it to electricity in the past few years. Although the light bulbs were not very powerful, some craftsmen combined multiple light bulbs together like flowers to invent a street light that was both beautiful and relatively bright.

Nowadays, the platforms and surrounding plazas of Suzhou Railway Station are filled with these flower-shaped streetlights.

In addition, the inns, restaurants, teahouses and other shops around the train station square are all decorated with lanterns or even have electric lights on, giving it the feel of a city that never sleeps.

Although the capital city was much brighter at night, Liu Kuan, Zhu Yuanzhang, and others were still taken aback when they first arrived in Suzhou and saw this scene.

Stepping out of the train station and looking at the numerous vendors and tourists around the square, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Just from the scene around this train station, one can tell that Suzhou's commerce is very prosperous."

Liu Kuan nodded—he sensed it too.

"I plan to stroll around the train station with Huilan and Caiwei first, and then go there after my servants have arranged our accommodations. I wonder what Your Majesty's plans are?"

Old Zhu said, "Since you are traveling incognito, you don't need to address him as Your Majesty anymore. Just call him Father-in-law."

Liu Kuan smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, "Your son-in-law greets your father-in-law."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Our accommodations have already been arranged. If you don't mind, we'd like to go for a walk with you."

Liu Kuan thought to himself: What good would it do if we minded?

Then he led Lao Zhu, Zhu Huilan, and Su Caiwei towards the outside of the train station square.

This put the imperial guards, embroidered guards, and imperial guards responsible for protecting them in a difficult position. These guards had all changed into civilian clothes and needed to infiltrate the crowd in advance. The challenge was to protect Liu Kuan and Zhu Yuanzhang in time without affecting their normal sightseeing.

Even today, train stations throughout the Ming Dynasty still adhere to the rules originally set by Liu Kuan: non-passengers are not allowed to enter the train station square, let alone the train station itself. Therefore, tourists and night vendors all stay around the square, and the shops are naturally located outside the square.

As Liu Kuan and Zhu Yuanzhang walked out of the square, they felt as if they had entered a bustling city. The surrounding area was filled with the sounds of vendors hawking their wares in Suzhou dialect, but occasionally people would shout in Mandarin.

"Steamed buns!"

"Pan-fried buns, mute pan-fried buns~"

"Crab roe soup dumplings, shrimp shumai!"

"Red date paste sesame cakes and red bean porridge!"

"···"

It was dinnertime, but Liu Kuan's stomach started growling as he smelled the aromas of various snacks and heard the vendors' calls.

The same applies to Lao Zhu, Zhu Huilan, and Su Caiwei.

Liu Kuan didn't care about anything else and immediately took out his banknotes to buy some shrimp shumai.

On the other side, Old Zhu, not to be outdone, also wanted to buy some. Li Gui and another guard officer quickly helped Old Zhu buy some, and Li Gui even tried one first before giving the snacks he bought to Old Zhu.

Next, Liu Kuan took Lao Zhu for a walk and a meal.

"We never expected that Suzhou would have so many delicious foods. No wonder Zhang Shicheng stayed here and refused to leave."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Suzhou has a lot of delicious food, but Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an and other places are also famous for their cuisine. Father-in-law, you can go and try them if you have the chance."

"We can."

After strolling around for a while, the group sat down in a roadside food stall that mainly sold porridge, and chatted while drinking porridge.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I didn't expect that there would be so many women among these stall vendors and tourists. It seems that Suzhou is more open-minded than the capital."

Liu Kuan noticed that among the tourists were some young women whose hair was clearly still styled in a bun, yet they came to the night market to play. At this time in the early Ming Dynasty, it could indeed be described as an open-minded society.

Originally, Liu Kuan and Lao Zhu planned to go to their lodgings after finishing their porridge, wash up, and rest, since they had been on the train for half a day.

Just as the group was about to finish eating, three young men walked in. The one in the lead had a large mole on his face but was dressed in brocade.

Upon arriving, he went straight to the landlady and said, "Sister Wen, it's time to pay the tonight's fee."

Wen Si Niang was a woman in her thirties or forties, with some good looks, and she made delicious porridge, so her business seemed to be doing very well.

She wasn't surprised to see the young man with the large mole asking for money. She took out the banknotes she had prepared beforehand and handed them over, smiling, "Why are you so late tonight, Third Master Liu?"

The young man with the mole said, “The head price has gone up, and those stall owners are unwilling to pay. It will inevitably take some effort and time. Wen Si Niang, your head price has also gone up. Starting tonight, you will have to pay eighty coins.”

Wen Si Niang's expression changed upon hearing this, and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, why has the price gone up again? Didn't it just go up last month? Besides, look at what I'm doing, Master Liu, my little stall might not even earn eighty coins a night. If I have to pay this much, I won't be able to keep it running."

The young man with the mole said, "Does Miss Wen think I can't count? I finished elementary school too. I've had someone check out your business. You can earn at least one or two strings of cash a night. What's wrong with paying eighty coins for peace of mind?"

Wen Si Niang continued to complain, "Look at what Master Liu is saying, my stall also needs capital, and I have to pay hundreds of coins to the government every month, so I really don't make much money."

The young man with the mole turned cold and said, "If you won't listen to reason, then don't worry about us interfering with your business. We might just teach you a lesson you won't be able to do business in the future!"

"Oh dear, this, this..."

Wen Si Niang looked frightened, hesitated for a moment, and then took out a few more banknotes and gave them to the young man with the mole.

The three of them then left.

Before leaving, as he passed by Liu Kuan and his group, he glanced at Zhu Huilan and Su Caiwei several times—perhaps realizing that Liu Kuan and his group were of extraordinary status, but he did nothing.

Liu Kuan looked strange, but Old Zhu's face had darkened.

He greeted the proprietress and asked, "What was that all about when I heard those people collecting upfront fees?"

Wen Si Niang could tell that Liu Kuan and Lao Zhu were people of high status, but after hesitating for a moment, she smiled and said, "It's just a matter of needing some money, nothing else."

Old Zhu frowned, but didn't ask any further questions.

But he whispered something to Li Gui, and then a plainclothes imperial guard from the crowd quietly followed the young man with the mole... (End of this chapter)