However, after arriving at the inn, Hong Chengchou took the pen and muttered for a long time without writing a word.

People like Hong Chengchou, if they use it well, are a knife, an invincible knife, a knife with their own thoughts.

The biggest difference between him and Xu Xianchun and others is that Xu Xianchun and Tian Ergeng will not have their own thoughts at all.

If the emperor is tough, they will be tough, and if the emperor is weak, they will be weak, and even in the Ming Dynasty, there was a matter of Jinyi Wei commanding the envoy being beaten to death by Wenchen.

Hong Chengchou is different.

This kind of person is destined not to join Jinyiwei, but in the Wenchen system, this is a role very similar to Wen Tiren.

In some ways, he was even more terrifying than Wen Tiren.

After all, Wen Tiren still has some bottom limits, and he still needs face.

And Hong Chengchou is a completely bottomless, completely shameless shit-stirring stick - it can be seen through his killing of prisoners in Shaanxi.

But now, Hong Chengchou is also starting to have difficulties with his pen - how to write will make His Majesty the Emperor pay attention to it, and he can take himself out to the greatest extent.

This letter, as long as you write it yourself, you will never be able to pick it up, and after the last impulse faded, Hong Chengchou also hesitated.

But if you don't write, how can you highlight your usefulness? How to get His Majesty the Emperor to pay attention?

This is a problem.

Hong Chengchou's chapter was not written in the end, but after settling down, he went to the vicinity of Yongding Gate.

This time, Hong Chengchou decided to play the way of visiting to see how the people reacted to things like trains.

But the result was a bit unexpected by Hong Chengchou.

At the beginning, when I heard that there were many things like trains, which was convenient for the people, the big guys all held an attitude of approval.

But when they heard that there might be less conscription in the future, the faces of the people changed.

No conscription?

If this were to be replaced by any dynasty before Emperor Chongzhen, this would be a proper benevolent government.

After all, no one likes to work for nothing, and there is a possibility that their family's work will be delayed.

But now that Emperor Chongzhen is in charge, this conscription is not as good as before.

The first is to get paid for your work.

For ordinary people, when they can get enough money to support their family, what kind of work can't they do?

If you don't levy it, it means that you can't get it.

This is not good, this is a major matter related to whether the family can have enough food or even whether there is meat to eat, and it is not okay not to levy conscription.

It wasn't until Hong Chengchou said that this was also his worry that he was let go by the people around him.

After entering the capital in the morning and settling down, Hong Chengchou sat at Yongding Gate for a whole afternoon.

Even the food was bought by the housekeeper and eaten at Yongdingmen.

Watching the train go, watching the train coming, and then watching the train go.

It is equivalent to running from Yongdingmen to Tongzhou, at least two round-trips a day.

And what was in the carriage was very different.

Sometimes it is full, and when the locomotive is at the beginning, the sound of sizzling is like being out of breath.

Sometimes it's a large part of the carriage empty, and there isn't much to pack.

But the back and forth is fixed.

It wasn't until it was getting late, and the train coming back from Tongzhou entered Yongdingmen Station and never left again, that Hong Chengchou left Yongdingmen Station.

Hong Chengchou's actions for a day reached the ears of Emperor Chongzhen that night.

After sending Xu Xianchun away, Emperor Chongzhen laughed.

There is nothing wrong with his decision, it has to be Hong Chengchou who is the most suitable to be the first secretary of the Ministry of Railways.

This guy who can climb up by any means in order to fight for his favor, even did the killing of prisoners in Shaanxi, and he resisted all the infamy, this kind of person is not easy to use, then Emperor Chongzhen can only say that he is a fool.

After all, above the court, there is not so much black and white and right and wrong.

If the entire court is full of officials like Hai Rui, what will happen, Emperor Chongzhen himself has no bottom in his heart.

There must be a few officials like Wen Tiren and Hong Chengchou, and even just a gentleman.

For example, Gu Bingqian's is shameless, but it is not ruthless enough. It's no problem to get the secretary of the Ministry of Communications, after all, there is a ready-made skeleton.

But if he wants to go to this Ministry of Railways, it will be a hell if he doesn't get into problems.

Hong Chengchou is very suitable.

As for saying that this guy has a black history of surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, after all, it is another matter of the Ming Dynasty, if he lives for a day, Hong Chengchou is really captured, and it is estimated that he will die without surrendering.

The more intelligent a person like Hong Chengchou is, the more he will not dare to surrender while he is still alive.

After the court meeting the next day, Emperor Chongzhen summoned Hong Chengchou directly on the platform - Emperor Chongzhen wanted to see what this stupid guy who had been working at Yongdingmen Station all day had to say about the railway.

Looking at Hong Chengchou, who couldn't hide the haggard look in front of him, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "Aiqing did a good job in Shaanxi, I remember it in my heart." ”

Hong Chengchou, who was secretly scolding in his heart, had to thank him - from the prefect of a prefecture to the court Shangshu, there is not a little difference here, and many people have no hope in their lives.

After Hong Chengchou thanked him, Emperor Chongzhen said with a smile: "What does Hong Aiqing think about the railway?" ”

Hong Chengchou secretly said that the drama is here - this drama is not good to sing today.

If his answer satisfies Emperor Chongzhen, then he didn't say that his freshly baked secretary of the Ministry of Railways is stable, and it is not impossible to sneak into the cabinet if he goes further in the future.

If his answer does not satisfy His Majesty the Emperor, then his own Shangshu of the Ministry of Railways is also stable - just be a mouthpiece honestly and do everything according to His Majesty's instructions.

As for the rest, it can only be hehe—at least, there is no possibility of further progress.

After thinking about it, Hong Chengchou bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the matter of the railway is the first thing to be Guang. That is, in the land of our Ming Dynasty, all railways should be laid to every state and county.

The second is speed.

Weichen had entered the capital yesterday, and observed for a long time at Yongdingmen Station, and found that from the capital to Tongzhou, it could go back and forth twice a day. It's not as fast as a galloping horse.

However, after all, it is used to transport goods, which is much more than usual. ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and motioned for Hong Chengchou to continue.

Hong Chengchou continued: "The minister thinks that if the speed is improved, whether it is transporting troops, or even allowing the people to travel through this thing, it will greatly facilitate communication between the north and the south. ”

After finishing speaking, Hong Chengchou gritted his teeth again, and simply bet on all the gamblers at one time: "The minister thinks that as long as the communication between the north and the south is convenient, then there is no such situation in the south as it is now." ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded with a smile, indicating that he agreed with Hong Chengchou's statement.

The current situation in the south, to put it bluntly, is that it relies on the development of commerce and the extremely stable land output, so it has always looked down on the north.

Although it is said that on the battlefield, the north has completely abused the south, but in terms of economy, imperial examinations, and people's lives, the south has completely abused the north.

It's like the south can give birth to the Zhejiang Party, the Chu Party, the Donglin Party, and the Fushe and other messy things, but there are basically none in the north.

Since Wu Zetian snatched his son from the throne and did it himself, the original generals in the north, or the Guanlong forces, have been devastated.

And the creature of Shandong Civil Official Group still smiled, forget it.

This problem, not to mention that Emperor Chongzhen himself is clear, even the civil and military officials up and down the Ming Dynasty are clear.

But no one has ever dared to poke this problem in front of Emperor Chongzhen.

The reason is very simple, once this problem is pierced, it is equivalent to artificially creating a confrontation between the north and the south.

No one can afford this responsibility.

And the reason why Hong Chengchou is picking up this topic now is to put it bluntly, it is still a gamble.

Anyway, according to Emperor Chongzhen's current emphasis on railways, coupled with his own foolishness, as long as the problem of communication between the north and the south is solved, the problem of the south will no longer be a problem.

And he can use the impression of loyalty and outspokenness to fight for whether he can enter the cabinet in the future.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou is gambling, betting that Emperor Chongzhen is not satisfied with the south now, and he is betting that Emperor Chongzhen has enough attention to the Ministry of Railways.

Emperor Chongzhen actually knows this mentality of Hong Chengchou.

It's like the starting point of the traverser training base in later generations, how many people are writing books with the mentality of raising young models and not going to the sea to work when they are on fire?

Although most, or even 80 percent, of the authors cannot avoid the fate of going to work in the sea, there are always some top authors who have realized the bold words of raising young models at the beginning.

Of course, there are many who just can't go up or down, some money is earned, and some food is eaten, but if you want to raise a young mold, the money is still not enough.

Hong Chengchou is now in this mentality.

If you take a gamble and win, you will be able to hold the Ministry of Railways in your hands, and even strive to enter the cabinet in the future.

If you lose, you will be a puppet Shangshu if you die, or you will go home to farm.

And even if Hong Chengchou has gone home to farm, it is also called Zhishi, and the benefits are indispensable.

Even as long as this guy offered to go to Xinming Island to follow Tang King Zhu Yujian and a few of them, then Emperor Chongzhen would have to give more benefits.

For example, a large number of rewards and promotions, these are also due meanings.

After all, now Xinming Island doesn't even have a complete understanding of the Taiwei Taishi and the Prime Minister - those who have gone to Xinming Island have no suitable candidates, and no one who can take on the position of Taiwei and Prime Minister wants to go to Xinming Island to mess around.

Hong Chengchou dared to bet and bet, and Emperor Chongzhen dared to accept it, not to mention that Hong Chengchou had already expressed his position like this, so he almost dug out a piece of his loyalty and let Emperor Chongzhen take a look.

After laughing a few times, Emperor Chongzhen spoke: "Okay, it is worthy of my favorite candidate, Aiqing's words are indeed the way of Lao Cheng to seek the country." ”

After Hong Chengchou thanked him, Emperor Chongzhen smiled again: "After Aiqing, how should this railway be built?" ”

Hong Chengchou said: "Your Majesty, the minister has never seen the results of the surveying and mapping of the Ministry of Industry, and he does not dare to say where to build, but in his heart, the minister also has a little idea. ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "Aiqing, just say it, come and listen." ”

Hong Chengchou said: "Your Majesty, the construction of the railway is first of all convenient for transporting troops, secondly for convenient freight, and again for the convenience of the people.

Now that the construction of this object has just begun, the speed is still more than that of the horse-drawn carriage, so it is not considered for the convenience of the people, only for the transportation of troops and freight.

And the land of soldiers, in terms of the current situation of my Ming Dynasty, is nothing more than Mongolia in the north, Jiannu in the northeast, the land in the southwest, and the countries of the South Seas.

If there is a time when the railroad needs enough rails to produce enough rails, then it should be spread all over the Ming Dynasty, and now only the Mongols and Jiannu should be considered. ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and asked, "What about the countries of the South Seas and the southwest?" ”

Hong Chengchou said: "The countries of Nanyang originally served me like a father, and now there are no people who dare to raise swords, so we can slow it down first." In the southwest, there are many toasts, and there are many people who do not accept the king, and the rebellion of luxury is an example, so it cannot be delayed.

In the current situation, the railway leading to Shanhaiguan should be built first, and then the railway should be relied on to continuously build forts to advance in the direction of Jiannu.

Secondly, it is to build a railway to Nanzhili, and then from Nanzhili to branch into three roads, one to the southeast, all the way to Sichuan, and the other road to the land of Yunnan and Guizhou.

The railway to the southeast was to facilitate the transportation of grain and other goods from the southeast to the north, and the railway to Sichuan and Yunnan and Guizhou was to facilitate the delivery of troops to the other side and suppress the Tusi rebellion.

Even if it is feasible, the railway from the capital to Shanxi and Shaanxi should be built, and when the grain production in the southeast is abundant, it can be transported to the capital by rail, and then to the land of Shanxi and Shaanxi.

Although this thing is slower, it is still faster than manpower transportation, and there is no fire consumption. ”

Listening to Hong Chengchou's words, Emperor Chongzhen simply stood up, applauded and smiled: "Okay, what Hong Aiqing saw is slightly the same as me, and I am very relieved." ”

After finishing speaking, Emperor Chongzhen smiled again and said: "However, the construction of the railway, even after the production of the cloud rails and the locomotive car, there is still a problem, I don't know if Hong Aiqing has thought about it?" ”

Hong Chengchou bowed and said, "Please make it clear to Your Majesty." ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said: "After all, the railway is not like the construction of a straight road, and the inconvenience can be detoured, which involves many vassal kings, and there are more people and people, what should I do?" ”

When Hong Chengchou saw that Emperor Chongzhen had raised this question, he smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, there is actually another big problem that is not easy to solve. ”