Chapter 261 I wish to bring the railroad tracks to the world

After retiring from the dynasty, Li Rui returned to Li Quan's mansion.

With his current status, he could have had his own mansion, but Li Quan resolutely disagreed, saying that their relatives were originally few, and if both of them opened a mansion alone, the family would be really deserted. So until now, Li Rui still lives in his uncle's house.

Li Quan found him a few servants and maids, both the various ethnic groups who originally lived in Liaodong, and the Goryeo people who were plundered from Goryeo, the maids were all beautiful women, but Li Rui had no interest in them. After returning to his house, Li Rui did not play the speech in the main hall in a chic manner, on the contrary, after he sent away the servant maid, his eyebrows were tightly locked, and his eyes were full of worry.

The copy of the Great Song Times was thrown on the table, and the sun outside the window was shining on it, dyeing it golden.

It didn't take long for the sound of footsteps outside the house, which did not surprise Li Rui, and then he heard Li Quan's voice: "Is Rui'er there?" ”

"Uncle."

After meeting Li Quan and inviting Li Quan into the upper seat, Li Rui accompanied him at the next head. Unlike his uneasy expression, Li Quan's face was full of spring breeze, Li Rui's performance today was really good, and he came back late after the next dynasty, the reason was that Liu Heima, Shi Tianze and others congratulated him, saying that he had a successor. Therefore, at first, he didn't notice the uneasiness of his nephew's expression, but said with a smile: "Rui'er, today's court meeting is really brilliant, even my uncle can't believe it, this is the naughty nephew who pointed out the country." ”

"Uncle praised it." Li Rui did not show joy because of his uncle's praise, on the contrary, the wry smile on his face became stronger: "Today's words, although my nephew's words have been brewing in my nephew's heart for a long time, my nephew always feels that things are not so simple. ”

Li Quan also thought that the emperor of the Song Kingdom was really an opponent he had never encountered, and when he was less than ten years old, he began to lay out, taking away countless red jacket troops from his hands, and after ascending the throne, except for Shi Miyuan, he destroyed Temujin, and really turned his hands into clouds and covered his hands for rain, playing with the heroes of the world in the palm of his hand.

"Besides......" Li Rui looked at Li Quan again, and then lowered his voice and said: "Uncle and child have no military power in their hands, if the child's strategy is successful, the first person who will make the first contribution is also the general who has the power to tie the hand, if it doesn't work, the child will be the scapegoat." ”

Li Quan's eyebrows raised slightly, he was known as Li Tiegun, and he had an instinctive hobby for charging into battle, but now he has been transferred to a civil official, if it is in the Great Song Dynasty, this is a great joy, but in Dayuan, the status of civil officials is obviously inferior to that of military generals.

Indeed, as Li Rui said, if he really fought with the Song State, then the merits of Yan Shi, Liu Heima, Shi Tianze and others, who had military power in their hands, would be far above those like him who worked hard to supply grain and grass. After a few years of events, although Li Quan is more calm and mature, it does not mean that he has given up his heart of fame and fortune, on the contrary, his heart of fame and fortune has become stronger, but he has hidden it well in the bottom of his heart.

Now, Li Rui's words seem to have opened the top of a volcano, revealing the boiling magma inside.

"What do you mean?" Li Quan asked with some hesitation.

"My nephew is also at a loss, if there is a way, my nephew doesn't need to worry about it here." Li Rui smiled bitterly.

After all, manpower is sometimes poor, and Li Rui cannot have a solution to everything. After a pause, Li Rui said again: "Fortunately, if today's son listens to his nephew's words, and postpones the time until the cold season, if he allies with the Jin State in September, then he will send troops after the Yellow River freezes in November at the earliest. ”

Li Quan nodded, now there is only that.

"Don't talk about this matter, uncle, I will open a department in September, although the child is supervising this matter, he doesn't understand the scriptures and strategies of Na Laoshizi, and the uncle who called Li Zhi, why not reconcile with the child?"

Li Quantuntian is quite meritorious, and his subordinate named Li Zhi is inseparable, this person was originally a descendant of the Jin State eunuch, after Menghu fell south, he fled to Henan, and then returned to his hometown in Hebei to live in seclusion to study, once served as a county commander, and was taken captive when Temujin invaded the south. Li Quan learned that he was good at calculating the number of Great Yan, so he asked him to help him. Hearing his nephew say this, Li Quan hesitated slightly: "In the past few years, I have made meritorious contributions to Uncle Tuntian, thanks to this person, Rui'er, if you want to go, what should you do for your uncle?" ”

"Uncle, the matter of Tuntian has been on the right path, and it doesn't matter if there is such a person, but in the matter of the imperial examination, the nephew will not be able to do it without this person." Li Rui salivated and laughed: "Good uncle, let's help my nephew do this." ”

"So...... So be it. Li Quan is helpless, although he has many women, but none of these women has given birth to a boy and a girl for him so far, if he really has no descendants of his own, Li Rui is his only heir, everything will be Li Rui's in the future, why be stingy with a subordinate!

Just as the top brass of Menghu were planning for the coming war, so did the Jin and Song kingdoms. The fragile peace, with the growing national strength of the Song State, people with a little foresight realized that it could not last long. The only question now is when the war will break out and which side will strike first.

The innovation of the Jin Kingdom has come to a complete halt, and Wanyan Shouxu is desperately trying to collect every penny, accumulate every grain of rice, drill the army, and repair the equipment. To the outside world, he only said that he was going to attack Menghu, preparing to recapture Huanglong Mansion and drive Menghu away from the hometown of Jinguo. In order to achieve this goal, Wanyan Shouxu even did not hesitate to promise the people that he would suffer for another one or two years, and he would never give more money after defeating Menghu.

The newspapers he controlled also began to fulfill their will, waving their flags for the coming war, and issued a call to eat one less meal a day to donate a bowl of grain to the country - God is pitiful, when the people of the Song Dynasty had three meals a day, the people of the Jin Kingdom had two meals a day and could not continue.

The preparations of the Song State were completely different from those of the Jin State, and long before the news spread in the newspapers, boatloads of military supplies had already been transported along the Yangtze River and canals to Xuzhou, Xiangyang, and Chengdu. The 120,000 forbidden troops who completed their training in Lin'an City were also sent to these three places, nominally under the banner of rotation, but in fact they replaced the ordinary defenders on the border with elite troops. In terms of material preparation, the Song State has an innate advantage, food and ordnance, are fully prepared, the only problem is that Shu Road is difficult, although the materials have now arrived in Chengdu, but Zhao and Ju estimate that in a few months it may not be able to be transported from Chengdu to the front line in Hanzhong.

Unlike the fanfare of the Jin State, these preparatory measures of the Song State, hidden in the increasing logistics, are simply inconspicuous.

Among the newspapers of the Great Song Dynasty, the most concerned issue now is not these problems, but the railway to Huating Mansion. Every day there will be reports on the progress of the construction, some interesting facts about the construction site, and some prospects for what the future will be for the railway.

Although the prospect of the railway is still very optimistic, but for things that often cost millions, Wei Liaoweng is still very vigilant to hold the money bag, Ren Zhao and Ju tongue rotten lotus, and refused to take out a child from the household treasury, and finally Zhao and Ju had no choice but to use their own private money to build this Great Song Dynasty is also the world's first railway.

He believed that it would not be long before Wei Liaoweng would regret it.

Because the Son of Heaven attaches the most importance to this matter, the number of people, craftsmen, and sergeants used for this purpose exceeds 60,000, and Lin'an to Huating, according to the Song system, is only about 300 li, with the support of the railroad tracks that flow to come, the laying speed is surprisingly fast, and on July 16, the third year of Yanhuang, the whole line is through.

This is sensational news, it is said that in order to build this railway, the Son of Heaven spent more than 10 million yuan, and almost exhausted his savings for many years. The newspapers kept mentioning the matter of this railway, so Lin'an City was full of interest in this railway from the civil and military officials to the ordinary people.

Lin Yuhui is also one of the people who are full of interest.

He was not originally a Han Chinese, it is said that his ancestors were once Xianbei people, but he has been sinicized for a long time, so whether it is relatives and friends or himself, he regards himself as a Han person. Originally, I had studied for a few years, but because of my livelihood, I gave up the pride of a scholar when I recruited managers to build railways.

Over the past year, he has followed behind the principal from Liuqiu, doing some things to record survey and accounting, and has learned a lot of skills, such as the Tianzhu numbers used by Liuqiu people for convenience, and he is now using them very neatly.

"Lin Zishen, what are you thinking about?"

It was already noon, Lin Yuhui was still holding an abacus standing on the paved sleepers and laughing happily, someone behind him called him loudly, he turned around, and saw that it was the steward who came from Liuqiu, so he replied with a smile: "The student is thinking, can the train really run fast on this track with an iron wheel?" ”

"That's natural, I've seen it in Liuqiu, at first one train didn't run as fast as a horse-drawn carriage, but the next few are amazing!"

The steward from Liuqiu also had a smile on his face, he was not very old, he was born in Liuqiu Primary School, and his life in Jingdong in his early years has gradually faded away, and his memory seems to have been living a novel and happy life in Liuqiu since he was a child.

After thinking about it, the steward cheered up again: "I'm going to test the car tomorrow, this is not a joke, Lin Zishen, check this road with me again!" ”

The two of them got on a two-horse special inspection car, which could also run fast on the rails, and Lin Yuhui felt a sense of accomplishment when he listened to the clatter of the iron wheels rolling on the rails.

In front of him, the straight track stretched forward, Lin Yuhui remembered that the next bend had to be five miles away, and on a whim, he simply stood up and looked around.

On both sides of the railway, there is a one-person high miscellaneous wood fence, which can prevent people and animals from penetrating the railway, and it is said that a layer of barbed wire will be added in the future, but now the flow of iron and Xuzhou iron production can not keep up with the application, for the time being, it can only be supported by this miscellaneous wood fence. Beyond the fence is a road parallel to the railway, which sometimes crosses the railway, either by flybridge or by culvert, so that people on both sides of the railway do not have to climb over. In the past few years, with the silk reeling mill and the silk weaving factory blooming everywhere, the demand for silkworm cocoons in the Great Song Dynasty has grown very fast, and the railway is not suitable for paddy fields, so the government is half under the compulsion, Lin Yuhui's eyes are full of green mulberry trees. In the gap between the mulberry forests, you can occasionally see the hills and fields in the distance, and the waterfowl glide in mid-air and fall into the distant paddy fields from time to time, their slender legs make their steps very graceful.

An indescribable emotion floated in Lin Yuhui's heart, and he was happy with everything in front of him, which he loved. In the words of the newspaper, it is the land that gave birth to and nurtured him, and it is the country that is worth his sweat to build and protect with blood.

The wind blew in his face and poured into his open arms, like a naughty child, making him feel itchy and very comfortable. Lin Yuhui couldn't help but look up to the sky and let out a long roar, and the Liuqiu steward looked at him in surprise, and then shook his head with a smile.

"No wonder others say that you are a Lin madman, Lin Zishen, what are you thinking again?"

"I wonder when I'll be able to get on this train." Lin Yuhui hid his thoughts, because he felt a little surprised, he was just a down-and-out scholar, who came to this construction site to beg for a living because of food and clothing, but he even wanted to build this land and protect this land - that should be a meat eater, who has to put his beak in a person who is not literate?

Thinking of meat eaters, Lin Yuhui was stunned again, if meat eaters are used as the standard for whether to care for their homeland, I am afraid that they should also be counted among meat eaters. Since joining this strange business, known as the "First Construction Bureau of the Great Song Railway", not to mention the money he has saved in the bank, it is enough for him to start dreaming of buying a house in Lin'an City and marrying a small family of Jade as a lady.

In this way, it is no wonder that he has that kind of thought, and the newspaper also said that those who have permanent production have perseverance, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment to love the country and protect the country.

"Steward, this railway is finished, what should we do next month?" Thinking of this, Lin Yuhui couldn't help but ask again, this kind of life is not easy to come by, and he doesn't want that when this railway is completed, it will be the day when he loses his livelihood.

"Naturally, I will continue to repair, and this time I will repair from Huating to Jiankang Mansion." The steward said casually: "Our Great Song Dynasty is very big, and if we repair to our grandchildren, we may not be able to get all roads on the train." Why, you're afraid you won't have anything to do? Hugh don't worry, I remember you signed a contract when you came, and I'll hire you for at least three years! ”

"It's been more than a year now." Speaking of this, Lin Yuhui was a little sullen, the First Construction Bureau of the Great Song Railway gave him three contracts, one for three years, one for five years, and one for life. At that time, he was clever, thinking that he was just doing it for a few years and saving enough money to continue to take the fame test, so he only signed the shortest three years, but now he has long left what fame behind, and what he is most happy about now is to watch this parallel railroad track extend in his sight, until it reaches the end of the sky.

Even in his dreams, he always dreamed of this kind of scene.

"You're very good, I think I'll consider renewing my contract with you." The steward understood his thoughts, and said with a slight smile: "What we lack is people, especially like you, I expect that it won't be long before you will be promoted to be the steward, and then give you a longer contract, but before that, you have to study well, and there will be a place in the crash course next month, I will help you fight for it, if you can get in, Lin Zishen, you have to invite me." ”

"That's nature, that's nature!" Hearing the news, Lin Yuhui said with joy.

After a pause, he counted his pockets, then straightened up and patted his chest and said: "Although the salary of students is not high, it is always affordable to go to Lin'an City to ask the steward for a meal, let's go back to Lin'an after the repair, right?" I'll invite you when I get back! ”

"Although the dishes in the Qunying Club are good, but most of them are from the Liuqiu, I have long been tired of it, so please invite me to Sanyuan Building, the price is cheaper than the Qunying Club." The steward was unceremoniously authentic.

Lin Yuhui nodded hurriedly, looking ahead, only to feel that between the land and the sky, there were thousands of rays of light, reflected on the bright railroad tracks. This track leads to the front, although Lin Yuhui can't name the place, but he knows that it is an excellent future.