amaotonovel Chapter 739 Are you two deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?
Chapter 739 Are you two deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?
Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting, while Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled.
The craftsmen in Ningyang County have already invented a steam engine that can drive small wooden wheels. Do you, Yang Dianfeng, think I don't know that?
Don't be silly. I am, after all, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. Even if that old scoundrel Liu Bowen didn't know about something as important as the steam engine, I would know it perfectly well.
In a way, Lao Liu turned misfortune into blessing this time.
Although he was inexplicably penalized with a three-month salary reduction, he had at least risen from Earl of Chengyi to Marquis of Chengyi, not only gaining a rank in the title but also receiving a draft of the Censorate's reform. It was quite a bargain.
The thought of Liu Bowen obtaining the draft of the Censorate reform made Li Shanchang feel vaguely uneasy.
Why is it that Liu Bowen can get something ready-made, while I can only slowly figure it out by referring to the structure of Dengzhou Prefecture and Ningyang County?
Was it because Liu Bowen was incompetent?
Or is it because I'm easy to bully?
Neither the father-in-law nor the son-in-law is a good person!
Li Shanchang also entered a frantic mode of internal grumbling.
Emperor Zhu grunted in agreement, pushed aside the memorial he had painstakingly marked with names, and picked up another memorial as he read it, saying, "The steam engine is indeed a good thing, and the steam locomotive he proposed is the best of the best. It can not only save the national treasury a lot of money and grain, but also speed up the transportation of goods between the north and the south."
Li Shanchang was slightly taken aback, and unconsciously asked, "Steam locomotive? You mean using a steam engine in a vehicle? To save money and food?"
Emperor Zhu grunted again and pointed at Yang Shaofeng: "Let this scoundrel tell you the details."
Yang Shaofeng coughed.
Everyone, make way! I'm about to perform a divine act in front of everyone!
He had someone bring over a few pairs of chopsticks and teacups, roughly arranging them to resemble tracks and a train. After describing the train and tracks to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "As we all know, the transportation of goods between the north and south requires a great deal of manpower, resources, and time."
"Taking the journey from the capital to Liaoyang Province as an example, the journey involves food and drink for both people and horses, and the need to stay overnight for rest. A convoy carrying ten carts of goods would take at least three to five months."
"The manpower and resources spent along the way may very well exceed the value of the goods themselves."
"If merchants want to make money, they either raise the price of their goods or specialize in doing some particularly profitable business."
"But with this steam locomotive, the situation would be very different."
"This thing doesn't need to eat grain, it just needs to burn coal and drink water, and it can pull much more cargo than a horse-drawn carriage."
"The goods that would normally require at least ten horses, ten drivers, and some guards to be transported, could be done in just one or two carriages on a steam locomotive."
“One person is in charge of driving, two people take turns burning coal and adding water, and two people are in charge of escorting. Five people can complete the transportation.”
"Most importantly, because this thing doesn't need to consider resting on the road, even if it can only travel 100 li per hour, the distance it can travel each day will far exceed that of a horse-drawn carriage."
Yang Shaofeng spoke smugly about the advantages of steam locomotives, while Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen listened and nodded, their eyes practically gleaming with envy.
This is obvious.
Moreover, it follows a similar principle to the transfer of taxes from the imperial court.
For example, the escort of money, grain, and other physical goods.
Even when escorting tax grain and other goods from Ningyang County to Jinan Prefecture, the costs incurred along the way would be considerable.
If the steam engine could be successfully developed, the taxes collected by the imperial court could be reduced by the cost of transportation, effectively increasing the national treasury's revenue without increasing taxes.
The more Li Shanchang looked at those chopsticks, the more envious he became.
"This is not just a matter of saving money and food."
Li Shanchang blinked, stroked his beard, and said, "If we could build a bridge to the northern desert, we could use this thing to deploy troops there..."
Yang Shaofeng glanced at Li Shanchang sideways.
What?
What are you trying to do, you old scoundrel?
I'm showing off my divine power in front of everyone, what are you showing off by jumping out here?
Li Shanchang ignored Yang Shaofeng's expression and instead stared intently at the chopsticks.
Reaching out to straighten a few slightly misaligned chopsticks into a straight line, Li Shanchang continued, "The tracks must be of uniform width, the carriages must be of uniform size, and the wheels must be made of good steel."
"Wood is easily rotten. If it is to be used to make railway sleepers, it must first be roasted over a fire, then coated with tung lacquer, and then soaked in petroleum. In this way, it will not easily rot."
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Liu Bowen frowned slightly and began to add to the story.
"This thing needs to burn coal and add water, but no matter how powerful the steam engine is, it can't carry too much coal and water. We also have to consider the coal and water supply along the way."
"In this way, the track cannot be built too straight; it is best if it can pass through prefectures and counties."
"It not only facilitates the replenishment of coal and water, but also promotes the transfer of goods and wealth in the counties and prefectures along the way."
"..."
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen began to discuss how to build a steam locomotive, one after the other.
"We can't build railways between every state and county; otherwise, even emptying the entire national treasury wouldn't be enough. We can only build one or two main lines first."
Li Shanchang directly proposed the name "railway" and, incidentally, introduced the concept of railway lines.
“Building a railway will definitely take up farmland. In my opinion, we might as well learn from the Prince Consort and take up as much land as possible. We should build two lines, with two lines running back and forth.”
Liu Bowen began to propose the concept of double-track railways.
"Didn't they say they were going to abolish the garrisons? Just reorganize those soldiers who were laid off into another army and send them to build railways."
Li Shanchang went a step further and began to propose the concept of the Railway Corps.
"Soldiers belong to the Grand Military Commission, railways belong to the Ministry of Works? Then who belongs to the trains? Should we create a separate department for them?"
Perhaps because repeatedly using the term "steam locomotive" was too much of a waste of breath, Liu Bowen creatively proposed the term "train," and incidentally began to study the management issues of trains and railways.
Since steam locomotives burn coal, and burning coal is like burning fire, calling them lighters is perfectly reasonable.
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen got more and more excited as they talked, while Yang Shaofeng was completely dumbfounded.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
Damn it, I should be the one showing off my divine power in front of everyone, so why are these two old bastards showing off instead?
Are you two going to discuss how many vertical and horizontal lines there are next?
No.
The steam engine is still just a prototype, it hasn't even been built yet, you bastard!
"If it were really as the prince consort said, traveling a hundred li every hour, even if it were only during the day, it would only take about ten days to travel from the capital to Liaodong."
"Furthermore, considering that trains can carry far more goods than horse-drawn carriages, and also save manpower..."
"We have to get this done, and we have to get it done as soon as possible!"
Li Shanchang made the final decision, saying, "I'll have the Ministry of Works survey suitable locations for road construction and test the sleepers and rails. We'd rather let the road wait for the train than let the train wait for the road."
Yang Shaofeng was dumbfounded again.
You two are insane!
Are you two deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?
Just as Yang Shaofeng was cursing those two old bastards in his heart, Emperor Zhu laughed.
It’s rare.
It's so rare.
How long has it been since we've seen Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen work together so harmoniously?
He really has to be our good son-in-law!