Where did Zeng Guanlan think that his words would lead to so many thoughts of the emperor. He just felt that there was no need to invest heavily in a new railway in Siberia, and although this decision was made by Emperor Feng Yunshan, out of loyalty to the emperor, he felt that it was inappropriate, so he bluntly admonished. Of course, he also knew that it would definitely not be a one-time investment of 1.2 billion, but once the project was launched, it was necessary to follow up on the investment of funds and manpower, and in case of any difficulties or changes, it was likely that additional investment would be required, and then it would be more than 1.2 billion holy yuan.

He believed that if Yan Jingming, the minister of finance and taxation, was here, he would definitely speak out to stop it. And in his absence, as the prime minister of the cabinet, he should remind the emperor that good iron is used on the blade, and now the Chinese empire is facing the end of the second five-year plan, and the third five-year plan is about to be formulated, according to his understanding of the emperor, the third five-year plan must be more grandiose and more huge than the previous two five-year plans. By the time the Second Five-Year Plan was implemented, the treasury of the Chinese Empire had been almost exhausted, and some of the rest was left behind by him and Minister of Finance and Taxation Yan Jingming for emergencies.

In his opinion, instead of investing in Siberia, which basically has no return, it is better to put it on the construction of railways and other projects in the country, and the same 1.2 billion holy dollars can build at least more than 20,000 kilometers of railways in the country, and can also promote rapid economic development, while in Siberia, except for the military road, there is almost no other role, and it is likely to pay huge maintenance costs every year, and it is bound to lose money. Therefore, he had to remind His Majesty.

Feng Yunshan looked at Zuo Zongtang, Wu Ruxiao and the others next to him and asked, "What about you?" Do you also think that Siberia should not build a railway in the short term? ”

Wu Ruxiao was silent. But his silence undoubtedly has a disapproving implication in it, otherwise His Majesty would have blurted out a sentence a long time ago.

Zuo Zongtang hesitated for a moment before he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks it should be built!"

I heard that the American side had been discussing the construction of a railroad across the American continent, but the American Civil War had interrupted the plan because the Hexi region was in the hands of our Chinese Empire. It can be seen from this that the construction of a transcontinental railway is not the idea of our Chinese Empire. I believe that once the construction of this railway is completed, it will greatly develop the whole of Siberia and even the western Xinjiang region, facilitate the immigration of the empire, and especially greatly improve the empire's governance of these newly occupied areas.

Wei Chen speculated that His Majesty's eagerness to build the Trans-Siberian Railway must have been aimed at completely consolidating the Empire's rule over this newly occupied territory. It can be expected that if there is a railway, once the war starts, the empire can quickly gather troops to the frontier areas, and logistics and supplies can be delivered in time, without fear of any enemy invasion or local rebellion. ”

When Feng Yunshan heard this, his face looked much better, and he secretly said in his heart that Zuo Zongtang understood himself.

Zuo Zongtang continued: "In addition, the huge Siberian region, especially the vast Kazakh steppe, must have a lot of minerals that we have not yet explored and discovered, and after building a railway, we can explore and develop along the way. At the same time, it is extremely advantageous for immigrants. On the one hand, the sooner the railway is built, the better it will be for local development.

But Your Majesty, from the mouths of Lord Cheng and Lord Zeng just now, Wei Chen knew the huge construction cost and cost of this railway. Weichen thought that he had to think about it.

Even if the investment is not all at once, if the construction progress is to be accelerated, it will be implemented in several sections according to the sub-ring line, and each section must be invested, and the imperial treasury should not know how long it can be supported, after all, once the investment is made, it can no longer be suspended, which will cause huge losses. And if it is not divided into several sections, it will not make much difference if one end of a line is built for the time being.

In this case, Weichen's suggestion is to only focus on military purposes for the time being, ignore the development factor for the time being, and only build from Lanzhou to Wulumuqi, Ili, Kashgar, Kokand, Bukhar for the time being, and pass through the Aral Sea City to Orenburg, and then build this section first, and then build from Orenburg to Yekaterinburg in the later stage. As for the other section of the railway line to the north, it can be left out for the time being. After all, as long as Orenburg and Yekaterinburg were occupied, the foreign enemy, that is, Tsarist Russia, could not bypass the Ural Mountains, which were guarded by these two castles, to the Siberian region. The Northern Railway, which is not under military threat, can be postponed for the time being.

In this way, the mileage is only less than 6,000 kilometers, and the railway itself from Lanzhou in Gansu to Ili in Xinjiang and even Kokand and Bukhar is itself a plan that His Majesty has made a plan to build last time, and now it has also started to build Liangzhou City. Omit the 3,600 kilometers of this section, and there will only be a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers.

In this way, Your Majesty and Wechen suggested that it would be better to build only this section of the railway for the time being, which would not only achieve military use, but also allow the timely transportation of troops and war materials to the Kokand Khanate, the Aral Sea, and Orenburg, and the development of this western region, so as to completely stabilize this newly occupied territory. After all, this route has been the Silk Road of our Chinese nationality since ancient times, and in addition to the fact that many Han people who migrated from the interior to Xinjiang a few years ago, especially in the areas of Ili and Kashgar, and built railways, it is extremely beneficial to their development and return to their hometowns to visit relatives.

Moreover, Siberia is currently almost uninhabited, and the railways are being built purely for military purposes, and there is no need for immigrants for the time being. In addition to the immigrants and Vultures in Xinjiang, for the original Kokand Khanate and Bukhar Khanate, since our Chinese Empire has decided to rule directly, we need to treat them as our own people, build railways to strengthen their control, so that they have no possibility of rebellion! At the same time, it is also a kind of wake-up call to the Kazakh Khanate, forcing it to obediently serve our Chinese empire and dare not have any abnormal intentions. ”

As soon as Zuo Zongtang said this, Zeng Guanlan immediately agreed: "Your Majesty, what Lord Zuo said is reasonable, and Weichen is exactly what he meant, seconding it." ”

Feng Yunshan shouted: "Do you mean this? You just wanted me to withdraw my will to build this Trans-Siberian Railway, right? As he spoke, he turned to the other Wu Ruxiao, Fan Ruzeng and others: "Why, you don't speak?" ”

Luo Xuan, Wu Ruxiao, and Fan Ruzeng hurriedly responded: "Your Majesty, Weichen and others all seconded Lord Zuo. ”

Feng Yunshan had no choice but to say to Zuo Zongtang: "Okay, you Zuo Zongtang, change the way to persuade me not to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, right?" ”

Zuo Zongtang didn't dare to respond. Cheng Hengsheng on the very edge wanted to speak and stopped, but Fan Ruzeng, who was beside him, gently pulled him with his hand, as if asking him not to speak, but no one saw it.

Feng Yunshan sighed helplessly and said, "That's it, that's it!" As Aiqing said, maybe I was in a hurry. Siberia is too inhospitable for the common people to live in, so it is better not to develop it for the time being and leave it to future generations.

Zuo Aiqing's idea is not bad, it not only saves me face, but also solves the fundamental military hidden dangers in the northwest frontier, and helps the treasury reduce expenses.

Cheng Aiqing, let's do it according to this meaning. ”

Luo Xuan, Zeng Guanlan, Zuo Zongtang and others hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty is wise!" Hooray, hooray, hooray! ”

Feng Yunshan waved his hand: "Wise ghost, it's not that you have put it together." However, I am still very relieved that Zhong Aiqing can think that I also have a time when I am inappropriate, and it is very rare to help correct my inconsiderate points, and I will continue to carry it forward in the future. ”

Feng Yunshan's joke made everyone's expressions relaxed, and the atmosphere at the scene eased a lot, and Feng Yunshan completely resolved the turmoil that was not easy to clean up.