Bringing the Railway to Daming

As the historical King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty, Lee Bang-won strengthened his original belief and landed at Wusong Port with the Goryeo delegation and set foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty.

Then he discovered that the land of Ming Dynasty seemed to be different from that of Goryeo.

"Hey, how is the land at this port so flat? Looking over hundreds of acres, the dock looks like a single slab of stone."

The chief envoy of the Goryeo delegation this time was still Zheng Mengzhou.

This person had originally been at odds with Lee Seong-gye, believing him to be a traitor plotting to usurp the throne. He had never imagined that Lee Seong-gye would actually be a powerful official, using his power to facilitate Goryeo's annexation of the Ming Dynasty.

In recent years, Zheng Mengzhou has made several diplomatic missions to the Ming Dynasty and is well aware of its power. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty is now conquering everywhere and its territory has far exceeded that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, he knows that it will be difficult for Goryeo to remain content in one corner - during the Han and Tang Dynasties, most of Goryeo was brought under their rule.

Since the Ming Dynasty was more powerful than the Han and Tang dynasties, how could it allow Goryeo to sleep soundly beside its bed?
Given the current national power and military strength of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the temper of the Hongwu Emperor, if Goryeo were to fail to understand and start a war, the Goryeo civilians might not be affected, but most of the royal family, aristocratic families, and powerful families would probably not have a good ending.

Therefore, on the issue of Goryeo's submission to the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Mengzhou and Li Chenggui rarely stood on the same side.

Lee Bang-won was the most outstanding among Lee Seong-gye's sons, but Jeong Mong-ju knew that he did not approve of Goryeo's submission to the Ming Dynasty.

Lee Seong-gye sent Lee Bang-won to study because he wanted Lee Bang-won to understand the Ming Dynasty on his behalf, and even to gain certain benefits and status for the Lee family after Goryeo surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.

In short, Lee Bang-won has many "tasks" to shoulder.

Seeing Lee Bang-won's surprise at the dock's pavement, Chung Mong-ju explained, "This is called cement pavement. It's made of a building material called cement."

Li Fangyuan stomped his foot first, then drew his sword and scratched the concrete floor, but only a white mark was left.

It was too late for Zheng Mengzhou to stop it, and he could not help but look nervously at the Ming officials in charge of welcoming them, as well as the Ming soldiers standing guard and patrolling police around.

Fortunately, the Ming official just smiled, as if he was used to this kind of thing.

Li Fangyuan stared at the concrete floor beneath his feet in shock, unable to help but exclaim, "This concrete is as solid as a rock! If we were to build a city or a fortress out of this, I'm afraid even the Ming Dynasty's artillery wouldn't be able to break it, right?!"

Zheng Mengzhou said, "This material can not only be used to build fortresses and cities, but also to build bridges, roads, and water conservancy projects. It is truly a powerful tool for construction."

"However, precisely because this cement is so easy to use and so crucial to military construction, its production remains, to this day, in the hands of the imperial court and a few local governments."

"Private citizens cannot produce it. If you want to buy it, you need to apply for a certificate from the government before you can pay for it."

"It's very expensive, and generally only the rich and powerful would buy some to build their houses."

Lee Bang-won's eyes had been shining brightly as he stared at the cement floor, but after hearing Jung Mong-joo's final words, his expression darkened and he sighed, "What a pity."

He thought to himself that if Goryeo could obtain the method of cement production and use large amounts of cement to build cities and fortresses in dangerous places, it would be possible to stop the Ming army.

He had heard from Zheng Mengzhou and other people who had been sent as envoys to the Ming Dynasty that the Ming Dynasty now advocated scientific principles and valued strange and ingenious skills. The status of a few craftsmen was equal to that of Juren, Jinshi and even Hanlin, and the status of Confucianism had plummeted.

Although in his opinion, the Ming Dynasty was putting the cart before the horse and would suffer as a result.

But now that he has come to Ming to study, if he can learn from the scientific principles of how to make important military tools like cannons, muskets, and cement, perhaps there is still hope for Goryeo to restore its independence in the future...
After leaving Wusong Wharf, the Goryeo delegation, under the guidance of Ming officials and the "protection" of the Ming army, boarded prepared four-wheeled carriages and drove along the wide cement road towards Shanghai County.

The Ming Dynasty's four-wheeled carriages were not only spacious, but also ran smoothly on cement roads, making people feel more comfortable than riding on a boat.

Lee Bang-won, however, looked puzzled and asked, "Ambassador Zheng, if I remember correctly, our delegation entered the river by boat and could have sailed up the river directly to the Ming capital, right? Why does the Ming insist on us traveling by land?"

Zheng Mengzhou said, "Although the boat is fast, it is not as fast as the train going upstream. The Ming Dynasty wants to arrange for us to take the train to the capital."

"Train?" Lee Bang-won was surprised and puzzled. "Does the train Ambassador Zheng mentioned back home really exist?"

Zheng Mengzhou smiled bitterly when he heard this.

Since he had made several diplomatic missions to the Ming Dynasty, he naturally informed his country of some things about the Ming Dynasty. However, some things were too bizarre, so many people said he was making it up. Trains were something that many people in Goryeo found difficult to accept.

He had explained this many times before, but now he didn't want to explain any more, so he said, "When we get to the train station, the Fifth Young Master will know (although Lee Bang-won is the second eldest son, he is the fifth in the family)."

Although the train looked real, Lee Bang-won still found it hard to believe before he saw it in person.

It moves automatically without being pulled by oxen or horses, and it eats neither grass nor meat but coal. It can pull a dozen carriages and run day and night - how could there be such a car in the world?

Wouldn’t that be no different from the legendary chariots of immortals and gods?
There is a wide cement road from Wusong Port that leads directly to Shanghai Railway Station, so the Korean delegation arrived there in no time.

After getting off the bus, the first thing everyone saw was a brick and concrete building. Although it only had two floors, it covered a large area. Coupled with the concrete square in front of the station and the glass windows on the building, the Koreans who came to Ming Dynasty for the first time were shocked again.

Li Fangyuan stared at the glass windows for a while and couldn't help saying, "Those are the glass that Ambassador Zheng mentioned, not crystal, right?" "Yes." Zheng Mengzhou nodded.

Afterwards, the Goryeo delegation was brought into the train station, where they were naturally surprised and amazed. When they saw the train, they were even more amazed.

Because there are now special passenger trains running from Shanghai to Xuzhou and Wuhu, the train carrying the Goryeo delegation to the capital is a passenger train.

Not only are most of the carriages of the passenger train equipped with glass windows, the appearance is also better looking, with a sense of technology that is ahead of its time, while also incorporating some of the aesthetics of the time.

After Li Fangyuan and others boarded the train and were arranged to sit in the guest car, he still felt something was unreal - he had just gone to the front of the train to take a look, and there were indeed no oxen or horses pulling it. Instead, there was a large pile of coal in a car behind the front of the train.

Each carriage was several meters long, and this train had a total of sixteen carriages. He doubted whether the coal-eating monster in the front of the train could pull so many carriages.

This suspicion lasted until the distinctive whistle sounded and the train slowly began to move.

But to save face, Lee Bang-won couldn't help but say to Chung Mong-ju, who was sitting next to him, "Is this the train Ambassador Chung was talking about? It's amazing that it can travel without the need for oxen or horses, but it's a bit too slow."

"It's ridiculous that the Ming Dynasty, a great country, would show off its train and not let us take the faster water route."

After he finished speaking, he found that Zheng Mengzhou was looking at him as if he were a fool.

This made Li Fangyuan very uncomfortable. "Why, did I say something wrong?"

"Fifth Young Master, remember what I said before: taking the train from Shanghai to the capital is much faster than going up the river. Would I lie about that?" Zheng Meng said this, then added in the tone of an elder, "Fifth Young Master, when you arrive in the capital, you must study hard. Observe more, listen more, and talk less. Otherwise, you'll make a fool of yourself."

After all, Lee Bang-won was young and came from one of Goryeo's most powerful families. He was so angry that he was about to confront Chung Mong-ju when he found that the train was obviously faster than when it first started.

He looked out the window and saw the scenery outside receding, faster and faster... Li Fangyuan finally remembered the feeling of riding a horse, and his face suddenly became redder. He seemed to think that the Ming officials farther away had heard his previous remarks and were secretly laughing at his ignorance.

After this blow, Lee Bang-won behaved himself from then on.

However, when the train arrived outside Nanjing the next morning, Li Fangyuan saw through the window a bridge on the river bank that spanned several miles of river surface, connecting the north and the south. He could not hold back and almost leaned on the window to watch.

"Is this the Immortal Bridge?!"

Other Koreans who returned to the capital of the Ming Dynasty were also attracted by the cross-river bridge and looked at it through the car windows without caring about their image.

"Immortal Bridge!"

"Such a magnificent bridge must be a fairy bridge that only exists in heaven!"

"The Celestial Bridge fell upon the Ming Dynasty. The Upper Kingdom is indeed under the control of Heaven!"

"···"

When the train turned and the cross-river bridge was no longer visible, a few Koreans actually knelt down in the carriage towards the bridge and kowtowed as if they were worshiping a god!
Although Zheng Mengzhou and Li Fangyuan also thought that the cross-river bridge was a miracle, they still felt ashamed when they saw their companions in such a state, and hurriedly shouted at them to get up.

However, the Ming officials who were in charge of receiving them and the soldiers who were protecting them were watching with a smile on their faces, as if they were accustomed to this scene.

They were really used to it - in the past few years, many delegations from small countries in Southeast Asia came to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute, and they also disembarked at the Yangtze River and were arranged to take the train to the capital.

Those people from Southeast Asia would bow when they saw a train, and they would naturally kneel down when they saw a cross-river bridge.

When the King of Luzon, who had annexed the Ming Dynasty, later visited the cross-river bridge, he even prostrated himself on it and wanted to burn incense and place tributes on the bridge, but was stopped by the accompanying officials from the Ministry of Rites.

After seeing the cross-river bridge, the passenger train quickly entered the Beijing Railway Station.

The building here is more magnificent than the Shanghai Railway Station. In the past few years, several three-story buildings have been built next to it, serving as warehouses, shops, and inns. This makes the main building, which was built first, appear shorter. Fortunately, it covers a large enough area, so it still retains its grandeur.

The Beijing Railway Station is now the most prosperous railway station in the Ming Dynasty. Although martial law was imposed this morning due to the arrival of the Goryeo delegation, Li Fangyuan and others could imagine how prosperous this place was when martial law was not in effect just by looking at the shop signs on the first and second floors of the surrounding buildings.

The concrete square outside the train station is three or four times larger than the one in Shanghai.

Lee Bang-won followed behind Chung Mong-ju, walking on the large cement square. Looking at the three-story buildings around him built mainly of bricks, stones and cement, and the Ming soldiers wearing helmets and armor and standing like pine trees on the square, he suddenly felt very small.

Although he had not yet met Zhu Yuanzhang, his thoughts had completely changed at this moment.

"A glimpse of the whole picture reveals the great power of the Ming Dynasty. We must not be its enemy!"

"I later wrote a letter to my father, urging him to completely give up that temptation..." (End of this chapter)