The most arrogant in history

Ye Kun chuckled: "Are you feeling itchy? Let me help you scratch it..."

This was a private box with no one else there, so Ye Kun acted without restraint.

Ayiman rolled her eyes: "You can't see my heart, how can you tickle it?"

"I can……"

Ye Kun wanted to say that he could touch her, but he held back and held Ayiman's hand: "Maybe I understand your heart. You are a great queen who only wants your people to live a good life. Don't worry, I will help you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

This time, Ayiman did not pull her hand away, and even leaned closer to Ye Kun.

After the train has traveled a hundred miles, there is a transfer station, which is also a small train station.

Ye Kun got off the car, inspected the construction of the railway station, and stretched his arms and legs.

The station has a waiting hall, a canteen, a toilet and a maintenance center.

There is also a small supermarket where passengers can buy some small commodities.

Huang Ye came over and asked, "Your Majesty, lunch is ready. Do you want to eat in the car or at the station?"

"Let's move it to the car. We'll eat in the car."

Ye Kun took Ayiman back to the box.

The train starts again.

Huang Ye also brought lunch and a pot of wine.

Ye Kun and Ayiman had dinner together, it was very warm.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived at Fanyang County Railway Station.

Ye Kun inspected the area, inquired about the relevant situation, and said to Sang Buyi and Wu Qiong:

"I think this railway construction is very good. The reason you are talking about losses is mainly because there are fewer trains and more staff. If we increase the number of trains in the future, we will make money."

This 200-mile railway line has thousands of people maintaining it, and the cost is very high.

In addition, the trains often broke down and the load capacity was not much, so the company suffered losses.

However, with the improvement of technology and the increase of management experience, efficiency will become higher and higher, and making money is a matter of time.

Sang Buyi smiled and said, "Lord Wu Qiong has calculated that even in a hundred years, we won't be able to earn back the money we spent on building the railway."

Ye Kun laughed: "Master Wu Qiong said that because he didn't see the potential of railway transportation. We won't need a hundred years, but within ten years, the railway will pay off and make a lot of money!

Because after the railway is built, merchants will no longer evade taxes, and our tax revenue will increase greatly!"

Railways, like canals, were expensive to build.

Once built, taxes will flow like water.

Because of the transportation cost issue, merchants can only choose railway or canal transportation and have no way to evade taxes!

Wu Qiong smiled and said, "I believe what the emperor said. For now, I still have money and food, so I support the emperor's project. Once I have no money and no food, your majesty, don't blame me for not giving you face, I will cut off some major projects."

Ye Kun laughed.

Wu Qiong added: "As long as the weather is favorable, there will be no major problems with the current projects. What I am most worried about are droughts, floods, locust plagues, and plagues... So I am desperately saving money and food, just in case."

Ye Kun nodded and asked, "Our Han Canal is now fully open to navigation. Has the tax revenue increased now?"

"It has indeed increased a lot, quadrupled."

Wu Qiong smiled and said, "Now, I support digging a canal. I support it very much."

Ye Qingyang rolled his eyes: "I dug the canal and you made money, so of course you supported me."

Digging rivers and building roads are the responsibilities of the Ministry of Water Resources and Transportation.

Wu Qiong smiled and said, "Master Ye, don't say that. If you dig the river, our Finance Department will pay you, and we will also transport food and distribute supplies to you."

Ye Kun waved his hand and asked, "Are there any problems with the current canal construction? Are there many casualties among the civilians?"

"No problem. There were very few casualties among the civilians, and they were all given pensions."

Ye Qingyang reported his work: "The Yongji Canal, Tongji Canal, and Jiangnan Canal are all under construction. Fortunately, the emperor invited hundreds of thousands of foreign laborers, who didn't need any money, as long as they had food to eat. This is the labor force foundation for building the canal, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to build it."

The Tongji Canal, Yongji Canal, Han Canal and Jiangnan Canal are the four major sections of the Grand Canal.

By connecting these four major sections, the entire Grand Canal will be connected.

The main force in digging the canal were all foreign laborers.

The workers on the Chinese side are responsible for design planning, on-site command, technical guidance, management patrol supervision, and logistical support.

Moreover, the workers of the Chinese people all get wages!

So there is no objection from the country.

I ask you to work and pay you a salary. What do you think about that?

The unlucky ones were the foreign laborers and the prisoners of war, who had to do the heavy physical work and could only get enough food to eat.

There are now three sections of the Grand Canal, and construction is progressing steadily.

There are about 150,000 people on each section of the canal.

Among them, there are 100,000 foreign laborers and 50,000 Chinese technicians and managers.

Fifty thousand people managing one hundred thousand people is just right to ensure absolute control.

Ye Kun said: "Don't mistreat those foreign laborers. Make sure they have enough to eat. Don't let any of them die of cold, starvation or exhaustion. After the canal is built, we will ask them to build the road.

It’s okay if the project is slow, we can wait.”

Emperor Yang of Sui was too hasty in building the Grand Canal, which led to the collapse of the empire.

Therefore, Ye Kun repeatedly emphasized that we should not pursue progress too much and should ensure the health and safety of workers.

Ye Qingyang said: "I can't guarantee to take care of everyone, but I can ensure that most of the workers are well fed and clothed. Working hours are nine hours a day, and they can also be guaranteed to rest."

Ye Kun nodded: "It seems that by the end of next year, the four major sections of the canal will be almost completed."

Ye Qingyang sighed: "But the remaining projects are even more difficult. If you want to connect the four major sections together, you need a lot of clever designs, a lot of locks, and a lot of bridges. Among them, the amount of stone required is a very huge number."

Sang asked without question: "Can we use cement?"

Ye Kun shook his head: "The lifespan of cement is only fifty years, not as good as stone. And our current cement production can't keep up."

The Grand Canal is a permanent structure with a designed service life of one thousand years.

If the locks and bridges were built with cement, they would need major repairs every few decades.

Stone is eternal.

The fact that the pyramids can exist for five thousand years is an example.

Wu Qiong smiled and said, "That's easy. Once the four major sections of the Grand Canal are excavated, we can send those foreign laborers to the quarry. They don't need to be paid anyway."

Ye Kun couldn't help but smile: "That's exactly what I meant."

It is easier to manage foreign workers by sending them to coal mines, iron mines, gold and silver mines, cement plants, brick kilns, and quarries.

It’s a closed venue and they can’t escape.

After walking around the Fanyang County Railway Station, Ye Kun said:

"We must keep our trains and railways running. Even if it means losing money, we must keep going. Half a year later, we will conduct another study to see if we can extend this railway line into the Central Plains and directly to the north of the Yellow River."

Sang Buyi and others nodded.

Now that steel production is huge, building a railway is no longer a problem.

The problem was still the quality of the steam engine, which was too unstable to run for a long time.

Ayiman came over and asked, "Your Majesty, aren't we going back to the capital today?"