The train arrived in Yangzhou at about 21:30 in the first three quarters of the Hai Dynasty, and "Yangzhou" at this time was the economic and cultural center of the southeast of the Great Song Dynasty at that time, which was almost the same as the capital "Kaifeng". Yangzhou is a hub for land and water transportation, where the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yangtze River meet; the throat of the north-south water transportation, the salt transportation center; The commercial economy is extremely developed, and the market is quite prosperous, so there is a saying that "Yang Yi Yi Yi" at this time. Yangzhou is also the capital of Huainan East Road, which includes 10 prefectures: Yangzhou, Chuzhou, Zhenzhou, Tongzhou, Sizhou, Haizhou, Taizhou, Chuzhou, Bozhou, Suzhou; Yangzhou Zhizhou also served as the chief official of Huainan East Road to pacify the envoy, so most of the officials sent to Yangzhou were famous ministers of the Great Song Dynasty, such as Wang Yuyan in the early days, and now the imperial court is ready to send Li Di as the governor of Yangzhou, and it is estimated that he will go to his post in August this year.

The railway winds its way along Slender West Lake to the south, one of which is a freight line, which extends southeast to a wharf on the Grand Canal, where a freight station is built; The other is the passenger line road, which goes south from the North Gate (Ying'en Gate) and follows the longitudinal street to the north of the South Gate (Anjiangmen). The train station is located in a bustling area, and its layout is similar to that of Tokyo Station, which also faces north and south, but the square in front of the station is larger than that of Tokyo Station.

The imperial court has decided to build a railway from Yangzhou to Hangzhou (Hangzhou-Yangzhou Railway), so Du Yan, the pacification envoy of the Liangzhejiang Road and the governor of Hangzhou, also led officials of all sizes to participate in the briefing on the preparation of the railway, which is also related to the overall coordination of the two roads. The scope of the Liangzhejiang Road basically inherited the Liangzhejiang region at the end of the Tang Dynasty, roughly including the whole territory of today's Zhejiang Province, the four cities of Suxichang Town in the south of Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, and the administrative office of Hangzhou. The group had already arrived in Yangzhou three days ago, and Sheng Ming had already sent people to settle down.

At this time, although Yangzhou was late at night, Yangzhou was still brightly lit at this time. The passengers got off the train and out of the station, and most of them dispersed as their relatives and friends picked up the station one after another. All that was left was the empty square, lit and dark in the night. Yangzhou Zhizhou Shengjing led officials of all sizes to greet Lu Yijian and other important ministers of the imperial court, and for a while the carriages and horses were noisy, so they first arranged everyone to the post house, and then set up a banquet to entertain. Since the train was relatively stable and not bumpy along the way, everyone was able to rest well in the carriage, and although they had been doing it for so long, they did not suffer from the fatigue of the saddle horse. After everyone freshened up and rested at the inn, they went to the banquet.

At this time, Meng Ming and Lu Yijian, Qian Weiyan, Yan Shu, Kou Zhun, Fan Zhongyan and others were at the same table, and Yangzhou Zhizhou Shengjing and Hangzhou Zhizhou Du Yan were the first to accompany them. During this period, Lu Yijian asked Sheng Jing and Du Yan about the relevant political affairs of Yangzhou and Hangzhou, and he was more concerned about the problem of dredging the Taihu Lake and the sea channel, which was related to the smooth flow of water transportation. Although there are many malpractices in the current Cao Yun, there is no substitute for it at present, and it is necessary to strengthen management to ensure the smooth supply of goods and materials in Tokyo. During the meeting, Fan Zhongyan proposed to build a weir to move the seawall slightly westward to protect the farmland and salt fields of Tongzhou and Taizhou. Lu Yijian and Du Yan were interested, and the three of them discussed it at the banquet, Fan Zhongyan is a person from Suzhou, so he knows the situation in Yangzhou well, so he has written such a plan before, and he is easy to build a plan to build a dam to defend the sea.

Fan Zhongyan said: "Lu Xiang, Sheng Taishou, I think we should build a 150-mile sea weir, the sea weir can be one zhang five feet high, the top is one zhang wide, and there is a culvert under the weir in order to eliminate the water in the weir, and over time the embankment enters the sea and retreats, and the farmland and salt fields in the weir can be protected." ”

He added: "This is indeed a big project, but it is good for the present and good for the future. Now you can use work for relief during the slack time, give them money and grain, and gather 40,000 or 50,000 people to build it, which can be completed in three years; Now it can be poured with cement, and you can get twice the result with half the effort. Of course, this is inseparable from the support of the imperial court, this is my humble opinion, please Lu Xiang, Sheng Tai Shou Mingjian. ”

After hearing this, Lu Yijian and Sheng Ming both applauded, and they both said that it was excellent good governance and could be built. Lü Yijian immediately drafted a proposal and asked Sheng Jing to write a list of proposals for the construction of the Hanhai Dam, and put it on to the imperial court to build it as soon as possible.

Lu Yijian was very happy at this time, and he said with a smile: "Fan Xiwen is a powerful person, and he will definitely worship the prime minister in the future, and his fame and achievements will be above me." However, this time it also made a free advertisement for Meng Yuma's cement. Fan Zhongyan knew that Lu Yijian was half-serious and half-joking, and he didn't say anything.

At this time, Lu Yijian said to Meng Ming: "Meng Yuma, it's hard for Fan Xiwen to advertise your cement." I heard that you have a large cement factory in Yangzhou, and Fan Xiwen's plan is very likely to be adopted by the imperial court, so when purchasing your cement, you must be preferential, preferential and preferential. ”

When Meng Ming heard this, he hurriedly agreed. Sheng Ming finally discussed some details of the construction plan with Fan Zhongyan, so as to check and fill in the gaps, after all, Sheng Ming is the governor of Yangzhou, and he is the executor and supervisor of the weir construction plan.

Finally, Lu Yijian spoke highly of the results of the trial operation of the railway, and announced that the trial operation was a complete success and achieved the expected results. Finally, Qian Weiyan and Yan Shu also made speeches, and they both praised the achievements of this trial operation. At the meeting, Meng Ming asked Du Yan about some of the situation in Huating County (Songjiang District, Shanghai in the previous life), and the current Huating County is located in Jiaxing County, Haiyan County, and Kunshan County; In the previous life, the location of Shanghai, especially the Pudong area, was still in the sea, and there was an unknown small fishing village by the sea. Meng Ming proposed to Du Yan to acquire land by the sea to build a shipyard and develop shipping, Du Yan immediately agreed, and issued a document to the state capital during the banquet, so that Liu Yuanpeng, the magistrate of Huating County, could handle it as soon as possible.

He asked Du Yan about the situation of the Liangzhejiang Road Division. The City Shipping Division was an official government established by the Great Song Dynasty in various seaports to manage maritime foreign trade, which was equivalent to the customs office of the previous life. It is the authority that regulates foreign trade. The duties of the Municipal Shipping Department mainly include: (1) issuing official certificates (public documents, public inspections), that is, permits to go to sea, according to the goods declared by the merchants, the personnel on board and the places to be visited; (2) Sending people on board the ship for "spot checks" to prevent the entrainment of weapons, copper coins, women's mouths, fugitive soldiers, etc.; (3) "Reading" the ship returning to the port; (4) Implement a system of sampling for imported and exported goods, that is, the goods are divided into thick and thin colors, and the government will draw a number of copies according to a certain proportion, which is actually a kind of municipal tax in kind; The goods pumped should be sent to the capital (extraction); (5) Buying certain goods transported by ship at a prescribed price (Bomai); (6) The remaining goods after the drawing, extraction, and Bo purchase shall still be issued to the public certificate according to the standards of the Municipal Shipping Division before they are allowed to be shipped and sold elsewhere. The Great Song Dynasty has municipal offices in Guangzhou, Mingzhou (Ningbo, Zhejiang) and Quanzhou.

Du Yan visited Yangzhou Railway Station earlier, and he was shocked by the strong capacity of the train, and also realized that the railway transportation was going to flourish and the water transportation was going to decline. He also wanted to build a railway along the canal, which was not the intention of the imperial court, and he was overjoyed when he heard it. He knew that Meng Ming was the inventor, promoter, and builder of the railway, so he couldn't wait to ask Meng Ming for advice. Meng Ming also gave him a detailed answer, Du Yan also had a preliminary grasp of the relevant knowledge of railway construction, and Meng Ming also promised to send 300 experienced students from the University of Tokyo to assist in the construction of the railway. Du Yan hurriedly thanked him, and finally the two of them talked happily.

The train will stay in Yangzhou for a day tomorrow, so Meng Ming decided to visit Yangzhou tomorrow, and asked Lu Yijian for leave, and also declined the banquets of various families.