Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 161: Private Discussion of Future Generations, Rumors in the Capital [Request for Subscription]

Ru Taisu listened to the people's discussions and gained some understanding of trains. As an official with experience in both central and local government, the first thing he thought of was naturally the issue of food and grass transportation.

"If it really takes just over a day to reach Xuzhou from the capital, it would be more convenient than transporting food and fodder via the canal."

When Ru Taisu was thinking this, she heard a whistle sound coming from a distance.

Suddenly the people shouted.

“The train is coming!”

"Where?"

"Isn't that right? It's coming from the north of Loujiang Gate!"

Ru Taisu looked to the northeast and saw a thick column of smoke and a long figure running on the railway under the smoke.

I saw that the figure had twelve sections, and each section was estimated to be several meters long, which was much larger than an ordinary carriage.

Ru Taisu's eyesight was not very good. In addition, the train was more than a mile away and there were some people taller than him in front of him who occasionally blocked his view. Therefore, he could not see more details of the train until it entered the lower level of the cross-river bridge (railway bridge).

I feel quite regretful.

At this time, the people started talking enthusiastically again -

"This train is truly amazing! It doesn't even require oxen or horses to pull it!"

"That's right—they say it uses coal to heat the train, so that's why it's called a train."

"Do you think there's a coal-eating or fire-eating monster hiding inside that locomotive?"

"If there are, they should be called divine beasts or immortal beasts, how can they be called monsters?"

"I really want to go up and see what's going on."

"Go up and take a look? Aren't you afraid that the beast will eat you?"

"What's there to be afraid of? Have you ever seen cattle and horses eat people? Since the divine beasts have been tamed by the court, they certainly won't eat people."

Most people's discussions tended to focus on supernatural theories. Ru Taisu came from a Confucian family and believed that a man should not talk about supernatural things. Moreover, he knew that this train was built by the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and that it was driven by a machine called a steam engine, not some mythical beast.

So after listening to a few words of discussion from the people around him, he turned and left.

Before entering the city, he couldn't help but look back several times, but unfortunately the train had disappeared.

"Since the Science and Technology Department can build this train, I wonder if they can build that railway? If they can, I'm afraid the court will build a large railway in the future. I have to say that using trains and railways for transportation is indeed superior to canals."

"I just don't know how much this railway will cost, and how much manpower will be needed to build it..."

···
Zhu Yuanzhang had a lot of things to deal with every day. Seeing the train disappear into the distance, he didn't plan to stay at the Beijing Railway Station for long.

On the way out of the train station, he asked, "When will this train return to the capital?"

Liu Kuan said, "The railway from the capital to Xuzhou is about 700 miles long. At the speed of the Zouwu, even including the time spent stopping in Chuzhou, Fengyang, and Suzhou to refuel and add water, it would only take a little over a day to reach the destination."

"Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, the Zouwu will be able to return to the capital in about three days."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to Zhu Biao on the other side and said, "Biao'er, I remember you mentioned a few days ago that to facilitate this train's first launch, you've sent people to Xuzhou to guard it. Are you going to transport the 2,000 shi of cotton there back to the capital by train?"

Zhu Biao nodded, "This son has made such an arrangement."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Su Quan, Liu Kuan, if the people arranged by the Crown Prince can really bring back the two thousand shi of cotton to the capital in three days, I will commend all those in the Science and Technology Department who participated in building the train!"

Liu Kuan and Su Quan looked at each other when they heard this, feeling both happy and nervous.

The reason for his happiness was Zhu Yuanzhang's promise - to announce the commendation in advance was definitely not a small one, but a big one.

The anxiety is that I am worried that something might happen to the train during this first transport.

In fact, Liu Kuan originally wanted to take the train to Xuzhou, but no one agreed, from Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao to the officials of the Science and Technology Department.

In desperation, he could only let Zhang Jinrao, Guo Tianwen, and Qiu Qichi lead the team to go with the car to deal with possible emergencies...
···
Bang, bang, bang.

Zhang Jinrao hasn't had a good night's sleep for two or three days because of the first train departure. He has been sleeping at the train station these days, but he can't sleep well. He wakes up several times a night, and every time he wakes up he has to check all the preparations.

Now that he was on the train, listening to the special clanging sound of the train moving and feeling the cold wind blowing in from the window, he was not sleepy at all. Instead, he felt extremely excited.

Since he took office as the head of the Railway Bureau, he has been busy for more than four months, all for the operation of this train.

Now that the time has finally come to verify the results, how can we not be excited?
Qiu Qichi sat opposite Zhang Jinrao, his expression equally excited.

It was a while after the train passed the cross-river bridge that he looked away from the window.

Noticing Zhang Jinrao's heavy eye bags and slightly dark circles, he said, "Master Zhang, you haven't rested in a few days, have you? This train will take several hours to reach Chuzhou. Why don't you rest in the carriage?"

Zhang Jinrao shook his head. "This train's first run is extremely important to the Railway Bureau. How can I sleep?"

Qiu Qichi said, "This train has been running between the capital and Dantu for ten months now, with very few breakdowns and no accidents. It should run to Xuzhou without any problems this time."

"Besides, Director Guo and I have brought along capable members of the project team. If any problems do arise, they can be resolved without causing any delays."

Zhang Jinrao said helplessly, "I really can't sleep, Master Qiu, there's no need to persuade me anymore."

At this time, a strange wind blew in, and it turned out that the door connecting the carriage to the front of the train was opened, and Guo Tianwen came back from the front of the train.

Only the two carriages near the front of the train at both ends are designed as passenger carriages, while the eight carriages in the middle are all freight carriages.

Even the passenger compartment wasn't enclosed at the locomotive's entrance, though it was spacious and had chain-link railings on either side. Guo Tianwen knew this train's inaugural departure was important, so he stayed at the locomotive's entrance from the moment it started.

But the front of the train was hot and dirty, so when he saw the train had crossed the bridge and was running smoothly, he returned to the passenger compartment.

Guo Tianwen, Qiu Qichi and others had been conducting train trial experiments for more than half a year, so they were more mentally prepared. Therefore, although they were busy preparing for the first launch in the past few days, they did not lose sleep.

At this time, both of them were in better condition than Zhang Jinrao.

Guo Tianwen washed his face with the water and towel provided in the carriage before sitting down next to Qiu Qichi. He said with emotion, "We've been busy for over a year, and the train is finally ready for use. It wasn't easy."

Qiu Qichi was slightly surprised to hear Guo Tianwen say such sentimental words, and then he said, "We have all kinds of information provided by Deputy Liu, and even personal guidance. The railway is also ready, so we don't need to build it ourselves. Realizing railway transportation is already relatively easy."

"Think about it, if it weren't for Vice-President Liu and this railway, even if we knew it existed, or even knew how to build it, it would probably have taken us years to realize the sight of trains running today."

Zhang Jinrao came into contact with Liu Kuan later, but it had been several months since then. He had some guesses about Liu Kuan's background and had even heard some rumors.

After listening to the two people's conversation, he lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Deputy Liu is not a banished immortal from heaven, but comes from the afterlife?"

If it were any other day, Qiu Qichi would definitely not participate in the discussion of this matter, and neither would Guo Tianwen.

But today was the first train to depart, and the two of them were excited. Plus, they were now inside the train, and the other people were at least a few steps away from them. With the clanging sound covering up the noise, they couldn't help but start chatting.

Guo Tian asked, "Although Deputy Liu has never admitted it to my face, I can conclude that he is from the future."

"How did he come to Ming Dynasty? How many years later was he from? What happened to Ming Dynasty later?" Zhang Jinrao, who was in his forties, had also become a curious baby at this time.

Qiu Qichi remained cautious, glancing around before whispering, "Who knows? I'd guess it'll be at least several hundred years from now."

Zhang Jinrao asked again, "Then these trains, railways, and even the cross-river bridges are all creations of later generations?"

"That's right," Guo Tianwen replied affirmatively. "Just like we in the Ming Dynasty had fire lances and bowl-mouth cannons, things from later generations will always be more advanced—the word 'advanced' was also coined by Deputy Minister Liu."

Zhang Jinrao said, "Even if things in the future are better, and they can build trains, railways, or even a cross-river bridge, it's still too incredible."

"How many thousands of years has the Yangtze River stretched between north and south? So many dynasties have passed, and yet no one has ever managed to build a bridge across the river."

Guo Tianwen asked, "This is all due to science and technology. That's why Vice Minister Liu founded the journal 'Natural Science' and suggested that Your Majesty include natural science and various crafts as subjects for the imperial examinations."

"He also teaches science classes to the princes in the main hall... All of this is done to promote science and technology—the merits of this path are enough to change the world!"

"Keep your voice down." Qiu Qichi was taken aback by Guo Tianwen's words. "What do you mean by changing the world? It means making the Ming Dynasty even more powerful."

Guo Tianwen smiled and said no more.

Zhang Jinrao was fascinated and murmured, "I really want to see what the future world that Vice-President Liu lives in is like."

The three people's discussion about Liu Kuan and later generations was brief.

Two hours later, the train arrived at Chuzhou Railway Station.

Officials and other personnel at the railway station were also prepared long ago to assist the train crew in adding coal and water. Some people took the opportunity to get off the train and go to the toilet in the station to relieve themselves.

About half an hour later, the train started and continued to move forward.

In this way, at noon the next day, the train arrived safely at Xuzhou Railway Station on the south bank of the Yellow River.

Zhang Jinrao, Guo Tianwen and other passengers got off the train to rest, and asked the people at Xuzhou Station to load the two thousand shi of cotton from the warehouse onto the train.

After two or three hours, all two thousand shi of cotton were loaded onto the truck.

Zhang Jinrao and others conducted a comprehensive and detailed inspection of the train, confirming that all pre-departure preparations were correct. Only then did they start the locomotive at the south end and take everyone back...

···
November 1st, afternoon.

Capital.

Ever since the Zouwu left the capital via the cross-river bridge, many people have been waiting near the bridge during the daytime over the past two days, wanting to see if and when the train would return.

Perhaps it is because people are more relaxed in winter, or perhaps there are people with ulterior motives, but in the past two days, some bad remarks have been circulating among the people.

For example, there were reports that the train overturned on the way, or that the train burned down in Fengyang, or even that the train was struck by lightning and split into several sections on the way, and so on.

Although such remarks were not widely spread, they still caused the atmosphere in the capital to become inexplicably tense.

Forbidden City, Fengxian Hall.

Jinyiwei commander Mao Xiang is reporting his investigation into the matter to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, I have dispatched ten teams to investigate, and ultimately discovered that these rumors of train accidents stem from the private gossip of the people."

"For example, the first person who said the train was struck by lightning was actually discussing with others whether the train was suspected to be pulled by a demonic creature and would be struck by lightning."

"Then the word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until it became like a train being struck by lightning and split into several sections."

Mao Xiang stopped talking here.

The results of this investigation had been written into a memorial and submitted, which was being read by Zhu Yuanzhang.

How to judge the nature of these remarks was Zhu Yuanzhang's business, and Mao Xiang did not dare to advise or try to influence anything.

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)