Xishan Railway Station.

The train arrived at the station that day, and a group of people got off the train, most of whom were factory guards. The leaders were Zhang Zuo and Huang Jin. Zhu Hao personally went to the train station to greet them.

After Zhang Zuo saw Zhu Hao, he was very excited and said: "Mr. Zhu, this is the train? After getting on it, I didn't feel any bumps during the journey. In less than an hour, the train arrived at the station. It was really fast and steady.

, so convenient!”

For Zhang Zuo, the experience of riding a train for the first time was very good, and he couldn't help praising and complimenting Zhu Hao.

Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Nowadays, trains are mostly used to transport coal from Xishan to the capital. When returning to Xishan, they are basically empty. Naturally, they go faster... Eunuch Zhang, Eunuch Huang, let's talk in another place."

Then they invited the two of them to a hotel near the train station.

Zhang Zuo looked at the towns that had sprung up around him and was filled with emotion. Huang Jin on the side couldn't help but said: "But you said this was originally a barren mountain? In just a few years, it has become a large town with dense crowds. Should we build around it?"

A wall to protect the town?"

The thinking of people in this era is that if there is something good, it must be closely protected. Probably because they are afraid of invasion by foreigners and taking away the treasures of Xishan Mine.

Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Coal mines need to be mined for many years to accumulate wealth. Outsiders cannot take away the things here... The two of you looked in the distance. The railway to Juyongguan is being built over there, and the route has been designed.

, I estimate that in about half a year, the train will be able to go directly to Juyongguan."

Zhang Zuodao: "This progress doesn't seem to be very fast."

Zhu Hao looked back at Zhang Zuo. After taking the train once, this guy seemed to be more eager than anyone else to build the railway farther.

"Eunuch Zhang, there are currently four groups of people building the railway. The front group is just one of them, and there is another group building it back from Juyongguan. The middle two groups are responsible for building the bridge. Fortunately, the road from Xishan to Juyongguan is quite flat.

It shouldn’t be a big problem. But in the future, it will take some time for the train to pass through Juyongguan and go directly to Xuanfu.”

In order to meet the construction deadline, Zhu Hao used all the resources at hand to build the railway.

Very little of the output from the steel plant and supporting timber and stone factories established by Zhu Hao was used for armaments, and most of it was invested in railway construction.

Anyway, for Zhu Hao, making cold weapons was not a fulfilling task. The arsenal he opened in the capital was only responsible for researching and manufacturing hot weapons, and the remaining resources were used to improve the transportation conditions of the Ming Dynasty.

"That's great, that's great."

Zhang Zuo didn't know what to comment on. After all, he didn't have much knowledge.

Facing a man of action like Zhu Hao, whose status is far above him, apart from a few compliments, he can't do anything else...

...

Arrive at the hotel where you are staying.

Entering the guest room, Zhang Zuo sat down, looked around and said with a smile: "I didn't expect the furnishings here to be so comfortable, and the windows are so bright. It seems that Mr. Zhu has taken care of this place in order."

The guest rooms here adopt the configuration of later star hotels, especially the toilets are designed with flush toilets, which are very comfortable.

Zhu Hao said: "There must be a place to entertain guests, just in case His Majesty wants to come and have a look one day... Well, you see I shouldn't say this, but you have to be prepared."

"hehe."

Zhang Zuo smiled and said, "It only takes a few hours to come here from the capital, and your Majesty will definitely come here in the future. If your Majesty can see everything here... Oh my, I don't know what to tell your Majesty when I get back.

I'm afraid of arousing His Majesty's interest. If you insist on coming, our family can't stop you."

"Ha ha."

Huang Jin on the side was so happy that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear.

Zhu Hao smiled and said, "Eunuch Zhang is here in person. He has something important to do, right?"

Zhang Zuo asked Huang Jin to hand over all the important memorials that had to be handled recently to Zhu Hao, and then solemnly took out a promotion list drawn up by Zhu Si. Among them was the promotion of Zhu Hao to Hanlin bachelor's degree.

"Mr. Zhu, Your Majesty attaches great importance to the discussion of etiquette. You have never shown your face in court before. Now it is an emergency. If you don't come forward at this time, Your Majesty will

I will be very disappointed next time.”

Zhang Zuo was simply engaging in moral kidnapping. Zhu Hao frowned: "Isn't it good now?"

Zhang Zuo sighed: "Many old ministers in the court have retired. What Your Majesty wants is to lay the foundation for stability in the court early, just like building a railway. Wouldn't it be more smooth to do things like building a railway when you have full control of the court?"

How can we do it if the imperial court doesn't allocate money and we just rely on our own money to fill it in?"

Zhu Haodao: "The position of Hanlin Bachelor is a bit high for me. If His Majesty wants to use me, he can downgrade me by one or two levels and then use me. It will not affect..."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Zuo's eyes lit up.

Obviously he also felt that if Zhu Hao became a Hanlin bachelor, he would encounter a lot of backlash in the court. However, this was the goal that Zhu Si was eager to achieve. If Zhu Hao was willing to leave the mountain directly, even if he was demoted one or two levels, he would be in the imperial court.

It seems feasible for Zhang Zuo, after all, there has been a precedent for a bachelor's degree student to join the cabinet.

Zhu Hao said: "Well, I will analyze the situation in detail with Eunuch Zhang... After you go back, tell the truth to His Majesty. Your Majesty should be able to understand. The matter of the ceremony discussed years ago should be concluded."

"well."

Seeing that Zhu Hao was no longer limited to being a hermit, Zhang Zuo agreed to come out of the mountain, and he would no longer force himself after achieving this.

Zhu Hao stood up and said: "Eunuch Zhang, Eunuch Huang, why don't I take you around the market town? It's a rare trip to see the scenery that is different from the capital city. It's not bad. There is another bus this afternoon, that is

Passenger car, you can just follow it back together."

"Passenger car?"

Zhang Zuo doesn't quite understand what's so special about it.

Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Even if Xishan produces coal, it is impossible to continuously transport coal to the capital every day, and the consumption in the capital is not that big.

"In addition to transporting coal, the train also has a special passenger car every morning and night. It does not carry coal buckets, but only carries people. The reason why Xishan is so lively now is probably because after the train was opened, people came here to work and life was much more convenient.

, and mornings and evenings are the peak flow of people, and many times it will be full.”

Zhang Zuo laughed and said, "Well, I'd like to see it first."......

······

Zhu Hao took Zhang Zuo and others around the market town at the foot of the Western Mountain.

Zhang Zuo was impressed by the liveliness of the town. At noon, he and Zhu Hao found a restaurant and had dinner. Then Zhang Zuo wanted to take a look at the train station.

For Zhang Zuo, the most amazing thing is the train. This thing has not existed in all dynasties. It was born in the Ming Dynasty and was completed under the leadership of Zhu Hao. Zhang Zuo is fortunate to be a witness of the times, so he naturally feels a sense of pride from the bottom of his heart.

"... Smooth roads are the prerequisite for commercial reform. Just like Xishan has always been poor and backward, but with coal mines and convenient and fast transportation by trains, it has become a prosperous place around the capital. This

This is also the reason why I have always pushed to continue building the railway.

"If you want to get rich, build roads first. Only when more places are accessible by railways, people will feel the convenience, and the transportation of goods and goods will be more convenient, can a larger-scale market effect be formed.

"However, railways and markets alone are not enough. The court needs to provide policy support to ensure the interests of business people. Only in this way can more people integrate into the flow of the times and contribute to the progress of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Hao expressed his ideal.

Zhang Zuodao: "Mr. Zhu has great ambitions, but in today's situation, how can businessmen have any status? If you support them, you are afraid that the ministers in the DPRK will not agree, so you still have to get to a high position quickly, so that you have the opportunity to make changes, right?"

"

After all, Zhang Zuo wanted to persuade Zhu Hao to leave the army earlier, or even be promoted to a high official position, so that he could implement changes.

Zhu Hao smiled and said: "With your Majesty's support, everything will be fine. Speaking of which, I also want to see prosperous places everywhere in the world." Just as he was talking, Huang Jin next to him suddenly pointed to a large workshop not far away.

Asked: "Why are there so many women coming and going over there?"

Huang Jin was surprised because in this era, women seldom left home, and it was difficult for them to participate in this market economy. After all, in an agricultural society, physical strength was more valued, and only physical work made money, and women had many disadvantages due to physical strength.

hour

It can only become a vassal of agricultural society.

Zhu Haodao: "That's the weaving workshop over there. There are abundant coal mines in Xishan to drive steam engines, making large-scale weaving possible. Some of the cloth produced here is shipped directly to the northwest for military supplies, and some is shipped

After arriving in the capital, some of it was left to supply the people of the capital, while the rest was loaded on ships at Jishuitan and transported to various parts of the Central Plains via the Grand Canal."

Huang Jin asked in confusion: "The south is the main land for silk production. In the past, there were few people engaged in sericulture in the north. Why is it the other way around now?"

Zhu Hao explained: "What is produced here is not silk, but mostly woolen cloth and cotton cloth. Woolen cloth is a new variety, and its raw materials mostly come from wool that is not needed by herdsmen on the grassland. It was developed not long ago, while cotton cloth was only available to civilians in the past.

They can be worn, but because they keep warm and keep out the cold, even wealthy families now wear some cotton clothes. Coupled with the low price, it is no longer an empty talk for the people to have food and clothing. "

"ah?"

Huang Jin was still surprised, "So it turns out this place doesn't just produce coal?"

Zhang Zuo said with a smile: "You don't know this, right? This is a major industrial town. Mr. Zhu's talent is astonishing. If used, it can completely change the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, why can he be able to work in Prince Xing's Mansion at such a young age?

Becoming a very important figure? Look at it now, everyone in the court is looking up to Mr. Zhu."

Zhu Hao said: "Eunuch Zhang, you really praise me."

"No, I just felt it, haha." Zhang Zuo was also easy-going.

Comparatively speaking, Zhang Zuo and Huang Jin are still different from those eunuchs who have grown up in the palace since childhood. Perhaps they are from the local prince's palace, and they have a sense of inferiority in their bones.

As a result, during the Jiajing Dynasty, the eunuchs did not disrupt the government, but had a good reputation.

Zhang Zuodao: "Mr. Zhu, if the size of the market town here further expands, a city wall will still need to be built to enclose it."

Zhu Hao nodded: "I mentioned to your majesty before that we would build an outer city in the capital, of course not on the Xishan side, but in Nanyuan. This will not only increase the defense of the capital, but also make the capital more prosperous...

····With the increasing development of commerce, the capital city today seems a bit cramped.”

"But that will cost a lot of money, right?" Zhang Zuo was a little embarrassed.

The emperor's biggest headache now is lack of money.

Otherwise, why would the emperor choose a commander of the Royal Guards to see who would make money?

Zhu Haodao: "Speaking of which, the bank's business has expanded a lot. Next, the court will make a fuss around the bank. I will discuss this matter with your majesty in detail, and then the shortage of money in the court may be fundamentally solved.
Chapter completed!