Methwold held the sketchbook in his hand and looked at the steel bridge not far away for a long time, before he frowned and said to a young man beside him who was creative and simple: "Mr. Riley, can you draw more finely, and it is better to draw the example ruler on the side." If the Chinese don't stop you, you can get closer and draw him the junction of the iron beams, and I hope that the British engineer can copy the bridge exactly according to your sketchbook, can you do it? ”

The young painter said with some displeasure: "This is a bit troublesome, those Chinese people don't understand me at all, their attitude towards foreigners is not friendly, I don't plan to be sent to the prison of Chinese people..."

Methwold took out his purse, then took out three 10 yuan bills and sandwiched them in his sketchbook and handed them to the young man, "The country is a country that pays attention to people's feelings, if you buy some food and wine to communicate with them, I believe that the guards guarding the bridge will not refuse you to draw a few pictures."

I don't care if you draw well or badly, as long as your sketches meet my requirements, I will pay one pound and three shillings for each sketch, and if it is an oil painting, it is thirty pounds a pair. This remuneration does not count towards your annual salary. The company hired you for 3 years, but the fact is that you have only been working for us for one year in the country. If you want to make a lot of money with this year, do what I tell you to do.

I have a lot of work with my hands, not only to draw the bridge and the railway here, but also the docks in Tianjin, the steel mills in Tangshan, the textile factories in Beijing, and so on. I believe that as long as you are able to complete the task I have assigned, you will have enough savings to open a studio of your own when you return to England. When the time comes, I will also recommend a few customers with status.

So Mr. Riley, you should fight for your own future. According to the Chinese people, after this village, there is no such shop. ”

Riley carefully took his sketchbook, pressed the banknote on his face, and said earnestly: "Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will be able to complete your task and ensure that every part of the bridge can be copied..."

Riley said his goodbye to Methwold, and then turned and walked towards the village below the high ground, apparently going to get in touch with the bridge guards as Methwold had said.

Robert, who was standing beside Methwold, watched the young painter walk away, before he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Is it worth it to paint a bridge at all costs?" I think Riley was able to draw this bridge perfectly, and Britain could not afford to build such an iron bridge.

It is said that the cost of this bridge is as high as 870,000 yuan, and I think these Chinese people are simply crazy. If such an iron bridge were to be built in England, it would cost at least 400,000 pounds, which would be enough to build 20 Morris, and I don't think either the king nor the parliamentarians would allow such an iron bridge to be built. ”

Methwold didn't seem to heed Robert's words, and watching the Luanhe Bridge, 5 or 60 meters to the northeast, glitter in the sunset, already made him addicted to it.

The total length of the bridge is said to be less than 700 meters, but it took more than two years to build, and the construction of the piers alone failed twice. In the end, the Chinese people took the diving method to explore the foundation of the river bottom before re-selecting the foundation of the bridge pier, and used the European diving bell technology to transform it into a pneumatic caisson to complete the piling and pier construction tasks.

The cement piers were connected by steel beams to create a single-track railway bridge. If you look closer, you can see the dense rivets of the steel trusses. This bridge essentially represents the highest level of craftsmanship and engineering science in the Ming Dynasty.

Methwald looked at it for a long time before turning back to Robert and saying: "Yes, for Britain now, 20 Morris is definitely a big iron bridge that is much more valuable, but this does not mean that it will be the same in the future."

Britain is not just about seaports and London, we also have vast inland plains and rivers, and one day we will need the same railways and iron bridges to bring commerce into the outback.

And when we were at war with the nations of Europe, a railway to London would be worth more than 20 ships. Look at the railways built by these Chinese people, and know that the completion of this iron bridge has connected Beijing with their front line outside the border. Even in winter, the Tatars do not want to rely on the help of the weather to cut off their supplies to the front..."

Although Li Zicheng, who came out of the Xiyuan Essence House, his face did not change, but his feet were undoubtedly a little lighter. The two people who went to Jin to see the emperor with him, after stepping out of the gate of the house, one of them said with a smile on his eyebrows: "To be summoned and rewarded by His Majesty, this is really a blessing for the three of us, since we are all Shaanxi villagers, and we have been to Russia together, why don't we go to have a drink together to celebrate?" ”

Li Zicheng lowered his head and thought about it, then accepted the invitation of his companions. His resentment towards the court had not been completely eliminated, but in the current situation, he felt that this hatred could be put on hold for a while. After leaving the Ming Dynasty for three years, he found that the control of the imperial court in Shaanxi had been strengthened even more before he left. And the further he went east, the better the people he saw along the way, and this was obviously not a good time to continue to be an enemy of the imperial court.

After a long journey of thousands of miles, Li Zicheng's vision is obviously much higher than before. When he realized that there was such a vast world outside the Ming Dynasty, his intention to overthrow the imperial court had faded a lot. Therefore, he rejected the emperor's proposal to keep him in Beijing, but did not refuse to accept the official position that the emperor had rewarded him.

And after Li Zicheng and the others left, Zhu Youzhen in the fine house suddenly asked Lu Qi on the side: "Which of the three of them do you think is better?" ”

Lu Qi thought silently for a moment before replying: "The minister is stupid and can't tell which one is better, but the commoner named Li Zicheng, when he sees His Majesty, it seems that the other two are more calm. ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at Lu Qi and smiled and said, "Let the Social Investigation Department set a file for him, with a level of B, and send it to me every three months in the future." ”

Lu Qi asked with some kindness: "Did Your Majesty hear about this person from somewhere?" Is it to arrange for someone to investigate his past experience? ”

Zhu Youzhen shook his head and sat down and said, "No need, it's okay to pay attention to his future performance." Who's next? ”

Lu Qima replied: "It is Tian Yang, Minister of Postal Affairs and Transportation, to report to Your Majesty the smooth opening of the Luanhe Bridge and discuss the planning of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. ”

"Then call him in." Zhu Youzhen nodded and said.

Tian Yang, who was brought into the living room by Lu Qi, seemed a little confident in front of the emperor today. Of course, he was initially frustrated when he went from a dismantled department to the head of a new department, because he didn't understand what this Ministry of Posts and Communications did.

However, by the eighth year of Chongzhen, the Ministry of Postal Communications had become an extremely important department. In the past year, Daming Post has delivered more than 8 million letters, and the number of letters delivered in the first half of this year has increased by 10% last year, and the impact of the postal service on the lives of Daming people has become more and more great.

In addition to the postal service, the road and railway construction managed by the Ministry of Communications has allowed this department to grasp a large amount of project funds, and the Ministry of Postal Communications has become a fat yamen with rich oil and water for a while, so that many officials have looked at Tian Yang's location, which once made Tian Yang very uneasy.

However, with the completion of the construction of one road after another and the railway, Tian Yang, who was backed by practical achievements, finally had some confidence in front of the emperor. A person with self-confidence can naturally be more convincing to Chongzhen when explaining the engineering plan.

Originally, Zhu Youzhen wanted to choose to cross the Guangou line of Jundu Mountain, although the 33% ascent made people feel hopeless, but he had heard of the herringbone railway, and he did not think that it was an incomplete.

However, Tian Yang opposed this line and insisted on taking the Fengsha line, that is, against the Yongding River, this line winds through the high mountains and deep valleys, by the mountains and rivers, twists and turns, but the slope is relatively flat. It's just that there are many tunnels and bridges to be built along the way, so the cost is more than twice as high as the ditch line.

After Zhu Youzhen listened to Tian Yang's reasoning, he realized that he had made a big mistake, Zhan Tianyou's era already had a steam engine, and now he can only use horses to pull the train. With a 33% gradient, it is difficult for horses to pull both uphill and downhill. Therefore, he has no choice at the moment, either not to build, or can only choose the Fengsha line.

Looking at the railway planning map in front of him, Zhu Youzhen held his chin and said hesitantly: "The budget of the Guangou line is 7 million yuan, but the Fengsha line is 13 million yuan, this is only the budget, if the construction encounters some problems, I am afraid that this budget will be broken soon." ”

Tian Yang looked at the emperor's face, and couldn't help but say cautiously: "Although the Chuansha Line is expensive, once the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is repaired, the capital to Zhangjiakou, Datong, Fengzhen, and Naturalization are all connected, according to our calculations, the annual profit of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway will not be less than 1.3 million yuan, and it will return to the cost in ten years." In addition, the firms in Zhangjiakou are also very interested in injecting capital into the railway. ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at the planning map and thought for a long time, and felt that this railway still had to be built, in addition to the great economic benefits, the time from the capital to Zhangjiakou could be shortened to 3-5 days, and the military value was also great.

Zhu You checked the railway planning map in front of him, looked up at Tian Yang and said: "This railway still needs to be repaired, and it can be used to raise funds, but the equity of the imperial court should account for 51%. When you go back, discuss with the governor of the Central Bank how to sell the shares of this railway, and you can also start arranging for the formation of a headquarters..."

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