Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 217: Earning the Money of the Rich, Zhu Di Lands on Jeju Island [Please Subscribe]

The average cost of food and drink of more than one guan per person per meal is naturally unacceptable to ordinary people, but it is nothing to Fu Rang and Huang Xinyi - if they dine in high-end restaurants in the capital, a meal will cost more than ten or even dozens of guan.

Huang Xinyi rushed to pay the money, and Fu Rang didn't stop him.

Then the eight masters and servants started to eat.

Perhaps because they were hungry or influenced by the environment, Fu and Huang actually thought the meat lunch boxes on the train tasted pretty good.

As for the followers, they naturally enjoyed the food even more.

After finishing their lunch boxes, Fu Rang and Huang Xinyi drank their favorite drinks and continued chatting.

It didn’t take long before we arrived at Chuzhou Station.

The clerk with the name "Conductor" on his chest badge came over again and announced loudly, "We will arrive at Chuzhou Station soon. The train will stop for 25 minutes. Passengers can use this time to get off the train to use the restroom or take a walk around the station."

"But it's best not to leave Chuzhou Station. If you walk too far, you won't hear the boarding announcement when the time comes, and if you miss the train, you'll have to find your own way."

"The doors are open. Passengers who wish to get off please do so in an orderly manner. Do not crowd or cut in line."

The conductor got off the train after saying this.

Some passengers looked out the window at the situation at Chuzhou Station outside and got off the train out of curiosity.

Fu Rang said, "Brother Huang, let's get off the bus and take a look. Let's use the restroom?"

"Right on my mind."

After getting off the train, the two discovered that Chuzhou Station was even more simple than what they had seen on the train. There was neither a building like the Beijing Railway Station nor a cement square. There were only a few cement roads and some warehouses and government offices.

The group followed the instructions on the text and signs to go to the toilet, and then they had no interest in strolling around any longer, so they went straight back to the car.

After sitting down, Huang Xinyi couldn't help but think:
"I wonder if merchants are allowed to move into this train station and open liquor stores, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. If they are allowed, it would be a good business."

'The prices of food and drinks in the station may be higher than outside, but they are cheaper than on the train, so many people are willing to eat and drink in the station.'

"However, the trains must be further opened up to civilian use so that more passengers can travel to and from the train station."

"If it continues like this, with only a few dozen passengers per carriage, the train station business will be unprofitable."

Train No. 3 B stopped in Chuzhou for a quarter of an hour. When it started again, there were a few more passengers in the carriage, and the three leading ones were either rich or noble.

In fact, after learning about the people's livelihood in the early Ming Dynasty, Liu Kuan knew that it would be unrealistic to allow ordinary people to travel by train for quite some time.

In ancient times, even if the imperial court did not strictly restrict the movement of people, many common people might not leave the county in their entire lives - even if they performed labor service, it was mostly within the county or prefecture.

Those who have the experience of leaving the county, prefecture or even province are either rich people or a few heroes from the common people.

Knowing this, Liu Kuan restricted the railway's civilian use to wealthy groups like merchants, landlords, and gentry. Consequently, not only were train tickets high, but so were the prices for food and beverages on board.

Liu Kuan predicts that within ten years, the passenger and freight transportation of Ming Dynasty railways will only make money for the rich...
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When the Xu-Dan section of the railway was opened to the public, the Peking to Xuzhou section had also been mostly built and was expected to be completed before the New Year.

Liu Kuan then ordered the Locomotive Manufacturing Bureau to open a branch in Peiping to manufacture trains locally, with the goal of opening the Pingxu section of the railway to traffic by the spring of next year.

While Liu Kuan was busy with the operation of the railway and the establishment of a railway transport company, Zhu Di led two thousand guards and a squadron of the Beiyang Navy to land on Jeju Island.

Speaking of which, when Zhu Di went to Beijing to be enfeoffed, Zhu Yuanzhang gave him 12,000 guards.

But now his guards have been reduced to 5,000, and people who don't know the truth think that he has fallen out of favor with Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, during the time Zhu Di returned to the north from the capital, he was in high spirits and showed no sign of falling out of favor.

Because he knew in his heart that the more than 10,000 guards before him were all from the imperial court, and they were only ordered by Zhu Yuanzhang to protect his safety and obey his commands.

But now the 5,000 guards are all his - these 5,000 guards and their families will follow him to establish a fiefdom overseas in the future!

Despite this, these 5,000 soldiers were supported by the court until he went to sea to establish his fiefdom.

How could he not be happy when such a good thing happened?

Among these 5,000 guards, there were 1,000 naval guards he trained in Haijin, 1,000 cavalry, and the remaining 3,000 Zhu Di originally planned to use to build a Shenjiying with a very high rate of firearms equipment.

But after communicating with Liu Kuan in the capital, he decided to send these 3,000 people to Guangzhou.

One thousand of them were sent to the Nanhai Navy for training, while the other two thousand were trained in climate adaptation in Guangzhou as the foundation of the Shenjiying.

Because the climate in most parts of India is similar to that of Lingnan, or even hotter, if he wants to establish a vassal state there, his army must adapt to the local climate in order to be combat-effective.

Therefore, the escort force that accompanied Zhu Di to Jeju Island this time consisted of one thousand cavalry and one thousand navy.

The navy did not disembark, and the only people who actually landed with him were a thousand escort cavalry and several thousand garrison troops.

At a water fortress on the island, once part of the Goryeo navy, the Goryeo Kingdom's chief officer and garrison commanders, along with their respective subordinates, numbering over a hundred, knelt in greeting, their faces reverent. They knew that the one representing the Ming court in reclaiming Jeju Island was the Ming Emperor's fourth son, Prince of Yan, Zhu Di.

According to China's system of vassalage, the status of Prince of Yan Zhu Di was equal to that of the King of Goryeo. Both were kings, and Zhu Di's status was even more honorable.

Choi Jin, the military commander stationed on Jeju Island, was a descendant of the Choi clan, a noble family of Goryeo. When he learned that the imperial court (Goryeo) was going to hand over Jeju Island to the Ming Dynasty, he was very unwilling because Jeju Island was conquered by the Choi clan, and several members of the clan had died in the battle.

In the past few months, he had wanted to lead the warships, pretend to be pirates at sea and teach the Ming navy a lesson.

However, the warships of the passing Ming navy were not only tall, but they also mostly traveled in groups, and almost no one was alone.

In addition, the Ming army's warships seemed to be equipped with a lot of powerful guns (cannons) - he once secretly sent several pirate ships to test them, but the pirates didn't even touch the side of the Ming army's warships, and were easily destroyed by the Ming army's navy.

Seeing that the Ming navy was so powerful, Cui Zhen gave up the idea of ​​a naval battle with the Ming army and prepared to create some trouble on the island for the Ming army officials and generals who came to take over, so that they would know that Jeju Island was not so easy to take.

However, seeing that the Ming cavalrymen who disembarked were all strong and capable, and that their horses looked in good health, Cui Zhen suddenly felt that his months of preparation might not cause any trouble for the Ming army that landed on the island.

While the Goryeo civil servants and military officers on the dock were secretly watching the Ming army landing on the island, each with their own thoughts, Zhu Di, wearing cowhide boots, a short gun and a sword on his waist, a suit of armor, and a bright red cloak, came to Cui Zhen and others, surrounded by hundreds of guards.

Zhu Di first looked at the Goryeo official and asked, "Are you the governor of Jeju appointed by Goryeo?"

The civil servant kowtowed again and replied, "Li Yifu, the governor of Jeju, Goryeo, pays respect to His Majesty the Prince of Yan, the great Ming!"

Zhu Di was a little surprised - Li Yifu actually spoke Chinese quite well.

It should be noted that this is not the Han and Tang Dynasties. The Central Plains has been ruled by the Mongols for nearly a hundred years. The Han Dynasty has declined. Given the nature of the Goryeo Kingdom, it is not surprising for officials to know Mongolian, and those who know Chinese are definitely a minority.

But Zhu Di did not develop a good impression of Li Yifu because of this.

He came here to carry out a mission, not to recruit talents.

So he said, "Get up and tell me about the situation on the island."

"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Yan."

Cui Zhen, who was standing by, saw Li Yifu stand up, but he and the rest of the people were still kneeling. He felt even more dissatisfied with Zhu Di and other Ming troops, but he did not dare to show it. He could only continue to kneel and lower his head to prevent Zhu Di and others from seeing his resentful look.

Li Yifu said: "Although the Mongol Yuan Dynasty returned Jeju Island to Goryeo twenty years ago..."

"Asshole!" Zhu Di suddenly interrupted Li Yifu, "What do you mean the Mongols returned Jeju Island to you, Goryeo? Does Jeju Island belong to the Mongols or Goryeo? Neither!"

"As far as I know, Jeju Island was originally the Kingdom of Tamra. During the Tang and Song dynasties, it was a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. When the Han Dynasty declined, it was stolen by you and later occupied by the Mongols."

"It's only been over two hundred years since the fall of Tamra, and there are still many Tamra people on the island. Yet, you, Goryeo, are so complacent as to claim this island as yours. How shameless!"

Li Yifu's face turned red when he heard this.

Not only did he speak Chinese, but he also had a good command of Chinese literature. Because of this, Zhu Di's words were more lethal to him.

He really wanted to say, "Didn't you Han people also seize your land?", but he didn't dare to, for fear of angering Zhu Di or even the Ming Emperor.

Why did they give up Jeju Island, which they had conquered ten years ago? Wasn't it because they didn't dare to go to war with the Ming Dynasty?

If he allowed the Ming Dynasty to take Jeju Island due to his momentary impulsiveness and could find an excuse to attack Goryeo, he would be a sinner to his family and Goryeo.

Li Yifu then took a deep breath and said, "This humble servant made a slip of the tongue. I beg Your Highness the Prince of Yan to calm down."

Zhu Di snorted, "Since it was a slip of the tongue, don't make the same mistake again... Let's continue to explain what happened on this island."

"Yes."

Li Yifu was given a warning by Zhu Di and no longer dared to have any evil thoughts. He explained in detail all the information he knew about the island.

For example, how many people are registered on the island, how many fields and pastures there are, etc.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhu Di separated half of his 1,000 cavalry guards and went with the Ming Dynasty guards to take over the only city on the island, as well as important government offices and warehouses in the city.

After Li Yifu finished his instructions, Zhu Di's eyes flashed slightly, and he led the remaining guards to the city.

After Zhu Di and others had gone far away, Cui Zhen and others, whose knees were aching from kneeling, dared to stand up.

Looking at the backs of Zhu Di and other Ming troops, a cold light flashed in Cui Zhen's eyes and his heart was filled with murderous intent.

"This man is a prince of the Ming Dynasty. If he dies on the island, even if the royal court wants to kowtow to the Ming Dynasty and compromise, it will be impossible, right?"

'Perhaps I should give the Selemo gang a little more support!'

Thinking of this, Cui Zhen led a group of Goryeo soldiers towards the city...

　Second update.

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(End of this chapter)