Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 325: Let the herdsmen get rich, the train shocked the emperor and his ministers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty [Please subscribe]

I think?
Liu Kuan thought to himself, you said that moral cultivation alone is not enough, and you still ask me what I think?

Liu Kuan then said, "Your Majesty, before the grassland tribes are completely assimilated and fully integrated into the Ming Dynasty, we should indeed take precautions and deter them."

"Besides that, I believe it can also help accelerate the naturalization and integration of the various tribes on the grasslands."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't expect that even after several years of getting along with Liu Kuan, his words could still arouse his interest.

Fortunately, he was not a tyrant and Liu Kuan was not a flatterer, otherwise he would probably obey Liu Kuan's orders.

After some strange thoughts flashed through his mind, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Tell me, how can we guard against and deter the various tribes on the grassland, and how can we use benefits to accelerate their naturalization and integration?"

Liu Kuan paused for a moment before saying, "In terms of prevention and deterrence, we can build cities in strategic military and resource locations on the grasslands, have the naturalized nobles of the tribes live in the cities, and use the cities as strongholds to establish garrisons."

"In addition, in the future, railways and cement roads can be built on the grasslands, and military stations can be built along the way."

"The ultimate goal is to create a garrison, transportation, and post network covering the entire prairie using garrison towns, post stations, railways, and official roads."

"In this way, the nobles of various tribes are inside the city. As long as we monitor them more closely, we won't have to worry about rebellion. Even if there is a rebellion, it will be difficult to capture the city in a short time."

"And the Ming troops stationed elsewhere on the grasslands can rely on their transportation and postal networks to quickly receive news of rebellion and quickly dispatch troops to quell it."

Having said this, Liu Kuan stopped.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded frequently at first, but when Liu Kuan finished, he couldn't help but wonder, "Why does your method sound so familiar to me?"

Liu Kuan was stunned for a moment, then said with a bit of embarrassment: "Your Majesty, please understand. This humble minister's strategy is actually imitating your deployment in Guizhou."

At this, some of the other ministers and chancellors who understood what was said laughed unkindly.

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the table and said, "How dare you laugh? Liu Kuan at least imitated our deployment in Guizhou, but you can't even imitate. Do you think our salary is easy to get?"

Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. The Earl of Science and Technology is extremely intelligent and gifted with talent. He knows how to flexibly apply Your Majesty's policies. We mere mortals are naturally far less intelligent than Your Majesty and the Earl of Science and Technology."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, "Stop talking about these useless things. You should think about how to improve the plan Liu Kuan mentioned."

"Yes."

Zhu Yuanzhang said to Liu Kuan again, "Go on."

Liu Kuan felt that Yang Siyi was harming him by putting him on the same level as Zhu Yuanzhang, but he didn't know what to say - perhaps in other people's eyes, he really was a "goddess"?

He continued, "Regarding your second point, we can consider having the Machinery Manufacturing Bureau develop efficient wool spinning machines and then establish wool spinning mills in Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and other places in the north."

"If woolen mills could achieve the same efficiency as the cotton and silk mills in Beijing, it would provide a significant source of income for the herders, and thus strengthen their relationship with the Central Plains."

"In addition, we can also open mines on the grasslands and recruit herders who need work as miners, making them employees of the Ming Dynasty's official yamen. This will also quickly win the herders' hearts."

"By the way, we can also try to build dairies, cheese factories, candy factories, leather factories, etc. - in short, if we can make the vast majority of ordinary herders prosperous under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, they will naturally return to the Ming Dynasty more quickly and integrate into the Ming Dynasty more quickly."

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, cabinet ministers and chancellors all listened thoughtfully.

Then, Li Yuanming, the Minister of Rites, said, "Guanzi said, 'When the granaries are full, people learn etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they learn honor and disgrace.' What the Lord of Science and Technology said is in line with this principle and is truly a good strategy for assimilating the barbarians."

"If we continue to follow His Royal Highness's advice and combine it with Confucian moral education and enlightenment, we might be able to achieve lasting peace and stability on the grasslands, and prevent them from becoming a threat to the northern border."

The others reacted and immediately agreed with Liu Kuan and Zhu Biao's suggestions.

Liu Kuan had been in court for several years and now had some understanding of the characteristics of the civil officials of the Hongwu Dynasty.

The most important common characteristic of the civil officials in the Hongwu Dynasty was their ability to get things done. Secondly, a large proportion of them were tactful and knew how to adapt, while a small number of them were upright but knew how to adapt when facing Zhu Yuanzhang.

This is especially true for important positions such as cabinet ministers and ministers of various ministries.

This is actually very easy to understand - what Zhu Yuanzhang needs are officials who can get things done. Those who are not capable of doing things are not in his eyes at all. As for those who are too upright and do not know how to adapt, Zhu Yuanzhang does not want them either. They will either be sent home or simply killed for angering him. They will not be allowed in the court.

Therefore, Liu Kuan was not surprised to hear the voices of praise from the cabinet ministers and chancellors.

Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "It seems that military precautions and deterrence, combined with benevolence and righteousness, education, and the ties of common interests, are the best strategies for maintaining long-term peace and stability on the grasslands."

"Then, please discuss these three aspects in detail. Biao'er, first, how can we practice benevolence and justice and educate the tribes of the grasslands?"

Zhu Biao said, "Father, I believe that in order to accomplish this, we must first distinguish the nobles of the grassland tribes from the vast majority of ordinary herdsmen."

"The nobles of various tribes can be given honorary titles, and only a few capable and loyal nobles can be selected to be given real positions. Then, in the name of showing favor, the nobles of various tribes can be allowed to send their sons to study in the official schools of the capital or Peking, or even the Imperial Academy."

"As for the vast majority of ordinary herdsmen, official schools must also be established on the grasslands to enable their children to learn to read and write, and to understand the principles of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness..."

···
When the Ming Dynasty's emperor and his ministers were discussing how to maintain long-term peace and stability on the grassland, the former ruler of the grassland, Emperor Tianyuan Toghon Temur, now a prisoner of the Ming army, was sent to Peking along with captured concubines, Northern Yuan ministers, nobles, etc.

Standing outside the tall walls of Beiping, everyone from Emperor Tianyuan and ministers like Shiliemen, Yaozhu, and Nairbuhua to unknown Northern Yuan nobles stopped for a moment, their eyes reddening uncontrollably.

In their eyes, this city is not Beijing, but the ancient Yuan Dynasty capital.

When Toghon Temur thought that he had become a prisoner and might even be killed by Zhu Yuanzhang with a cup of poisoned wine in the near future, he couldn't help but burst into tears and wanted to cry bitterly.

However, before he could calm down, the Ming generals escorting him shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry and get into the city! Don't delay us from getting to the camp and resting!"

After saying this, some of the escorting Ming soldiers whipped the air.

The captives, including the emperor and his ministers, were so frightened that they quickly put aside their grief over the loss of their country and lined up to enter the city. Afterwards, the emperor and his ministers stayed in Peking for only two days, during which they were escorted to meet Xu Da and then taken to Peking Railway Station.

It is said that the Beijing-Shanghai Railway has appeared in the Ming Dynasty for five or six years. The emperor and his ministers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty had heard some news, but they all regarded it as unreliable rumors and never thought that there were really "railways, trains, and fairy bridges" in the Ming Dynasty.

So, when they were sent to the Peking Railway Station, they were all shocked and confused.

Emperor Tianyuan secretly asked Shiliemen, "Prime Minister, where is this? Didn't Xu Da say he would send us south to the Ming capital today? Why didn't he go to the canal dock, but came here instead?"

The Peking Railway Station now also has a two-story building made of cement, bricks, and steel bars, which is second only to the Beijing Railway Station in size.

At this time, the emperor and his ministers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were in the square in front of the station.

The Shilie Sect was also greatly shocked by the concrete building and the square. It was only after hearing Emperor Tianyuan ask several questions that they came back to their senses.

He swallowed his dry throat and said, "Your Majesty, look at the Chinese characters on the building. This place should be called 'Beiping Railway Station'."

The five big characters "Peking Railway Station" were on the second floor, carved from cement and painted red. They were extremely conspicuous, and Emperor Tianyuan had certainly seen them a long time ago.

But he was exposed to too much information in his daily life and did not connect these five words with some rumors he heard five years ago and laughed them off, so he was still confused.

Shi Liemen had no choice but to explain in detail, "Your Majesty, do you remember the many rumors that came from the south back then? There were railways, immortal bridges, and trains in Ming Country that could travel thousands of miles a day, day and night."

"This doesn't sound credible. I originally thought it was just a rumor, but now it seems to be true."

Shi Liemen's words finally made Emperor Tianyuan remember some vague stories about railways, fairy bridges, and trains.

He then trembled and said, "If those rumors are true, doesn't that mean that the Ming Dynasty really has divine help?"

Now that the emperor and his ministers were captives, Shi Liemen had no further reservations. He sighed and said, "Your Majesty, if the Ming Kingdom had not received divine help, how could it have replaced the Yuan Dynasty and taken over the world?"

At this time, another prime minister was stomping on the concrete floor of the square.

He had noticed this strange road surface when he was approaching the city of Peking. Now that he saw that the entire square seemed to be paved with a single piece of stone, he was even more shocked and puzzled.

Yaozhu was the one who surrendered with his troops. He was not a prisoner but a surrendered minister. Naturally, he was treated better and was not as anxious as Emperor Tianyuan.

He asked Wang Bi, who was in charge of "escorting" them south, "May I ask, Marquis Dingyuan, how did the Ming Dynasty build roads like this? Why does such a large square appear to be one continuous entity?"

Wang Bi was stunned at first, then he couldn't help laughing.

Think about it, weren’t they also curious when they first saw the cement road?
Then he said with a hint of pride, "So that you know, this floor is not made of stone slabs, but of cement."

"Cement?" Yize became even more curious. "What is cement?"

Wang Bi shook his head. "That's not something a simple guy like me can explain clearly. All I can say is that cement is a new type of building material invented by the technologist."

"Nowadays, cement can only be produced in the Ming Dynasty's government factories, and almost only the imperial court and government offices can use it. Even we can only rely on Your Majesty to give us some cement to build our own residences and follow the trend."

Wang Bi's words sounded very strange to the former Northern Yuan Dynasty Prime Minister, who was well-educated in the Han Dynasty. There were many new words in them, and although people could guess the meaning at once, he was still not used to it.

However, he remembered a name - Uncle Technology.

After the Northern Yuan Dynasty's rulers and ministers were shocked in the square in front of the station for more than half an hour, an even more shocking scene occurred.

"Ugh——!"

A long whistle sounded from a distance.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a strange vehicle consisting of nearly twenty iron carriages. It was running towards them without any oxen or horses pulling it, and a column of smoke was spewing out from above!

Because the railway was located at a low position and there were guardrails on the side, the Northern Yuan Dynasty's emperor and his ministers could only see the train but not the railway.

This made them feel that trains were even more magical.

Emperor Tianyuan kept staring at the train until it went behind the building and disappeared from sight. The clanging sound also stopped, and then he barely came to his senses.

Then he couldn't help but ask, "Prime Minister, could this be the train mentioned in the rumors?"

Shi Liemen finally came to his senses and nodded, saying, "Back then, the rumor said that Ming Dynasty trains were the reincarnation of celestial beasts, so they didn't need oxen or horses to pull them. Instead, they were fueled by coal and water, and pulled smoke. That's why they could travel thousands of miles a day, day and night... So, it seems that the train that just passed by was undoubtedly that train."

Emperor Tianyuan exclaimed in admiration, "This immortal beast can pull so many carriages, and it's likely capable of transporting thousands or even tens of thousands of dan of grain at a time. With the Ming Kingdom receiving this immortal beast's assistance, our defeat is truly justified."

Shi Liemen nodded, "It's indeed not unfair."

At this moment, Emperor Tianyuan remembered something and asked, "Could it be that the Ming Kingdom wants this immortal beast to take us to Jiqing (Yingtian Prefecture)?"

Shi Liemen thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, that's probably the case."

Emperor Tianyuan suddenly became nervous. "Will this immortal beast be hostile to us? Will it eat us on the way?"

No wonder Emperor Tianyuan thought so.

In Chinese mythology, immortal beasts are all intelligent, and with intelligence comes emotions, and they can distinguish between friends and enemies. So it is reasonable for them to be hostile to him, the emperor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)