Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 497 The First Railway
In November of the third year of the Chuli period, all the money from Wei arrived. Liu Ye couldn't wait to carry the warship... No, he left Chu on the warship and could finally go home for the New Year!
In the fourth year of the Chu calendar, the Marquis of Shu needed to pay a 30% deposit for ordering salt and brocade, which had already been prepared and sent over via the Three Gorges last month.
The State of Chu also kept its word. After the ship carrying Chu currency left Kuimen, the 1st Division of Xinye organized its evacuation from Badong County.
However, the layout of the Three Gorges area is not a waste at all, because... all kinds of goods need to be continuously transported to Yizhou, especially the official salt and brocade!
As expected, Liu Zhang finally agreed to Chu's conditions.
He even thought that with the price the State of Chu offered him, the Shuhou Mansion would be completely profitable!
Zhang Song, who was able to see that something was wrong and was the only one who had a chance to stop Liu Zhang, was at the Han court on behalf of Liu Zhang to "report on his work" and also to ask for help.
Zhang Song did not return to Chengdu until the State of Chu had invested the Shu Marquis's deposit into the railway.
However, Liu Zhang had already paid a high deposit, and... it was impossible for the State of Chu to renegotiate now. If it wanted to break the contract, it could only prepare for war, which Liu Zhang absolutely could not accept.
Zhang Song had no choice but to compromise and advised Liu Zhang not to be greedy for the profits from Chu salt and Chu brocade, and to share the risk of this business with other nobles!
The so-called "risk" is not the risk brought by the profits of Chu salt and Chu brocade, but... the dangerous actions that the big players in well salt and Shu brocade may take after learning the news and seeing their own markets shrinking.
Even so, Zhang Song still felt that something was wrong. It was a pity that Chu Yan and Chu Jin could not be stopped from entering. While sighing secretly, he also exclaimed: He is worthy of being His Royal Highness the King of Chu!
In fact, Zhang Song's "patch" of this level was within Bai Tu's expectations, but it doesn't matter...
As long as a large amount of Chu salt and Chu brocade entered Yizhou, it would inevitably suppress Shu brocade and well salt, which were originally the pillar industries of Yizhou. Even if Liu Zhang cooperated with the original salt and brocade families so that he would not be immediately hated by the salt and brocade families, it would also cause a reduction in salt and brocade production in Yizhou.
The original salt and brocade families directly obtained Chu salt and Chu brocade at a profitable cost. It seemed that the loss was not large, but next, a large number of original salt workers, weavers, a series of middlemen, and small workshops would be affected!
Backlash is inevitable, the only difference is whether it comes from the upper and middle levels or from the lower and middle levels.
Of course, as a man who cares about the people and the suffering of the people in Yizhou, the King of Chu had already notified Zhao Yun and Fa Zheng who stayed in Badong County in advance - to recruit experienced salt workers and weavers in Badong County, and not only to accommodate them in Badong County, but also to provide help for their families to move to the mainland of Chu.
Especially for those with superb skills, after finding out the relevant situation, we can send people to invite them and give them favorable conditions for immigration.
If the State of Chu wants to stay ahead, it must continue to absorb foreign talents and constantly improve itself.
No matter how strict the confidentiality of the salt field is, there are already signs of leakage now - and it cannot be ruled out that a pattern has been inferred.
Along the coast of Qingzhou and Jizhou, the navy discovered that Qihou and Wei were both trying to dig salt fields, but they were obviously not very clear about many key points. There were no steps or pools, and no finished salt had been produced yet...
But at least they already know that Chu salt is "dried" out, and if they continue to explore, they will get results sooner or later.
Of course, if you want to reach the level of Chu in a short period of time, you must poach a few core experts!
In fact, well salt, that is, salt extracted from underground brine, also has great potential, whether it is the method of digging wells or the method of collection.
Even if Yizhou had learned something when Bai Tu dug deep wells to fight drought, the well salt production would have increased greatly by now.
In fact, in modern times with a huge population, most of the salt used in China comes from well salt rather than sea salt. The peak of sea salt was only during the Ming and Qing dynasties - after the demand for salt skyrocketed, well salt received a greater "bonus" from industrialization!
After all, the salt-drying process, even with the combination of modern technology, has only limited improvements. In comparison, well salt has undergone "earth-shaking changes."
Of course, that is what will happen after Chu conquers Xichuan. However, it would be beneficial for Chu to gather the salt workers and weavers from Yizhou in advance.
…
By the end of November, the first to fourth railways built by the State of Chu were completed.
It’s not that the construction speed of the Chu State was so incredible, but these four routes were all transit routes from the mining area to the nearby areas. The longest one was more than ten Chu li, and the shortest was only six Chu li - each Chu li was equivalent to one thousand meters, based on the height of the King of Chu being 1.8 meters.
The medium-sized Qi machine can already operate with a load of more than ten tons, which has greatly improved the efficiency of mineral transportation and the entry of materials into the mining area...
But it is still more of an experimental nature!
When they were in the Ministry of Works, the scale of the experiment was too small after all. After seeing that this railway of several miles could indeed be operated and had greatly improved transportation efficiency, the officials became more confident in the railway.
Of course, for the sake of ceremony, after several tests, December 1 was set as the first day of official operation, and Bai Tu also personally attended the opening ceremony...
For this reason, Liu Ye and Qin Mi were unable to even see Bai Tu when they left.
The four short railways were all built in Kuaiji County - a place with abundant ore!
Furthermore, due to the traffic restrictions between Kuaiji County itself and the northern part of Chu State, building a railway here would take a little longer for the news to spread out of Chu State.
However, even though the Qi Train is now spread among the people, there is still a strange rumor that "a steel auspicious beast appeared in the mountains, providing transportation for the State of Chu". However... now that it has been officially put into use, the magic of the "Qi Machine" will surely be presented to other princes one after another.
Even in Kuaiji, it would take at least a year or even several months for the Duke of Qi and the State of Wei to get the news. However, how they would "receive" it would depend on their subsequent reactions.
History has proven time and again how important railways are to a country with such a vast territory.
In the history without the white rabbit effect, this land missed almost all the development opportunities in the early and even middle stages of the Industrial Revolution. When the railway was finally started, it was completely used as a tool for the great powers to divide interests. In the early 20th century, they all "helped" to build it.
During the most concentrated ten years, the great powers built more than 8,000 kilometers of railways in China.
Later, after the Qing government and private activists discovered the importance of railways, they began to plan to build railways on their own. However... the Qing government's subsequent outrageous operations on railways also indirectly led to the Wuchang Uprising.
It can be said that the history of railway construction is the history of the country’s destiny in the early 20th century, at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
More than 30 years later, when New China was founded and everything was in ruins, more than 8,000 kilometers of railways were built in one year.
And now Bai Tu has started the first attempt at a "railway" in Kuaiji County - although the total distance is only thirty Chu miles.
Bai Tu and Lu Lingqi also insisted on standing in the first carriage...or rather, the bed of the carriage during the first run!
Now, except for the huge locomotive that houses the medium-sized Qi machine, the rest of the trains are large cargo boxes without roofs and loaded with goods.
The first generation of trained train drivers were still a little nervous after learning about this.
Seeing this, the other accompanying officials felt it was inappropriate to just stand there, so they accompanied Bai Tu into the simple carriage. Moreover...only those with certain status and key personnel related to the operation of the railway could enter the first carriage. The others were in the carriage at the back.
After the train started, some civil servants could not help but stagger, but a general like Bai Tu naturally stood firmly!
It must be said that today's Qi trains are not very comfortable at all - they are not passenger trains to begin with.
The Qi machine is very powerful, and its design in mechanical engineering is already leading in terms of energy. It is basically comparable to the speed of trains in the late 19th century, and can reach a speed of fifty to sixty miles per hour!
This was already the burst speed of a naked cavalry charge, and even slightly exceeded...
And you should know that this type of Qi train powered by Qi machine can carry up to more than ten tons.
For the miners in the mine and the residents of the small town that has "developed" because of the mine and the water source, this is a "miracle" that is more inspiring than any other wonder.
The effect of calming the hearts of the people around is no less than that of the promotion of Shennong Essence, but the scope is not as wide as that of the promotion and harvest of Shennong Essence - it perfectly covers all promotion areas!
Even Ji Zai from Kuaiji and Ji Zai from two other counties with railways were given an extra set of "skin" as attendants.
The successful trial run of the Qi Train further boosted the morale of the Chu State, but it was more concentrated in the several counties of Kuaiji Prefecture where the train was laid, as well as among the core government officials of the Chu State.
This time, the Chu court did not deliberately publicize it, and nominally issued a "gag order", but the enforcement was not strong...
After all, there is such a big train here, and most of the people who usually use it are ordinary laborers. The range stretches for several miles, and it will even be used in more and more places. The confidentiality is not as good as the salt field that has been concealed for several years. It is impossible to keep it completely confidential no matter what.
It is just delaying the exposure of the Qi Train by not promoting it and not encouraging its spread.
The only thing that is actively promoted is the active popularization of law - stealing railroad tracks is regarded as "robbery of tax silver", and if it causes consequences, it will be treated as intentional injury or murder and will be severely punished!
Therefore, in some places where there is no railway yet, or where railways are being laid, but where people know about the true Qi train, it is like the Chu State laying steel on the ground...
This move undoubtedly made the other princes even more indignant - you, the King of Chu, are really very bad!
To promote Qi to ordinary people for the sake of food prices, and now to spread steel directly on the ground for the sake of steel prices? tui!
Because there was no radio yet, the speed of information dissemination was still greatly restricted by transportation - and the places where railways were built first were places where transportation was not very convenient. Real long-distance lines also require a period of time to accumulate technology and experience, and... laying also takes time.
After all, Bai Tu only had data on a hard drive, not that he had actually built a railway!
It is estimated that unless someone specifically comes to investigate, it will take at least a year for the information to reach the Central Plains through word of mouth. After that, more people from the Central Plains will probably come to confirm and investigate the principle. After two years, it will be good enough for them to know what the concept of the Qi machine is...
