"1.2 billion Holy Dollars, why is it so much?" Before Feng Yunshan could speak, Zeng Guanlan next to him questioned it, he was the prime minister of the cabinet, and he was very clear about the main data of various ministries, so he said directly to Cheng Hengsheng: "Lord Cheng, I remember that when the railway from Guangzhou to Shaozhou was built, it was still less than 10,000 taels of silver per kilometer, even if the Shengyuan had not been issued on a large scale at that time, the silver was worth more, and when converted, it was at most the cost of 2 to 30,000 Shengyuan, why is it that the cost of building the railway is so much higher in just a few years?" It's going to be 100,000 S.A. a kilometer? Even in Siberia, which is in the alpine region, the labor cost will not be so much higher, right? ”

Cheng Hengsheng explained: "Your Majesty, Lord Zeng, these are only estimates at present. But it shouldn't be lower than that. The cost has increased significantly, mainly from three blocks. First, the price of steel rails has increased significantly.

The world's main steel-producing country is the United Kingdom, but now because Britain has two successive expeditions to the Chinese Empire, both ended in fiasco, and there have been two civil strife in its country, a large number of cheap laborers in Great Britain are Irish, and now they have returned to live in their own country on the island of Ireland, and the labor movement in Britain has not stopped, and the turmoil in Britain caused by these factors has still affected its domestic steel production. In recent years, steel production in the UK has barely increased compared with previous years, and even a lot lower. Moreover, Britain used to have more than one-third of the steel production was exported, mainly in Europe and North America, as well as our Chinese Empire and India and other places, but now, because our Chinese Empire declared war with it, Britain imposed a trade ban on our side, resulting in a serious reduction in steel imports, and we can only purchase steel through European countries such as France and Prussia, which has caused steel prices to rise significantly!

In fact, we have been eagerly purchasing steel all these years, so that those foreign steel merchants have made a lot of money, so that the price of the whole world's steel trade market has been rising.

From the time when the empire was just established, when the Quren Coal Mine to Wushi Town and the Dabaoshan Iron Mine to Wushi Town, the two short-distance freight railways, because the American Central Railway Company established by John and the United States at that time was very eager to cooperate with the Nanyang Company and enter the domestic market, so the quotations were very low, and at that time they purchased steel from Britain and France, and the price was much cheaper than that of the United States, which had high tariffs. At that time, the steel rail was only 60 silver dollars a ton, which is equivalent to the current inflation, that is, the price of more than 70 is less than 80 saint yuan a ton, but now, the price of steel has risen to the level of 150 US dollars per ton, and the price of standard steel rail has risen directly to 165 US dollars a ton. ”

"In addition, in the past, in addition to the workers of the Nanyang Construction Engineering Company, the construction of railways was carried out on a large scale from the villagers along the line to provide cheap stones in the form of almost free labor, excavate mountain earthwork, build roadbeds, and buy sleepers from the cheap timber provided nearby, everything is very cheap. But now it is different, in the distant frontiers, especially in Siberia and other places in the extremely cold land, the cost of employing labor, as well as the mining of stones, the mining of sleepers and transportation, are all large and expensive expenses, which are calculated, 100,000 Shengyuan per kilometer is already relatively economical. ”

After listening to Cheng Hengsheng's explanation, Zeng Guanlan was speechless, and he couldn't refute it.

And Feng Yunshan also nodded, he knew the difficulty of building the Trans-Siberian Railway. Historically, the United States built the Pacific Railroad across the western continent, a total of just over 3,000 kilometers, and it was still a relatively suitable place for human life, and it took three companies six years to complete it. But now, the historical process of the American Civil War was forcibly interrupted for its own reasons, and President Lincoln, who originally presided over the demand for the construction of the Transpacific Railroad in the West, was assassinated in advance, and everything has changed.

Today's Trans-Siberian Railway is in a much more difficult environment than the Pacific Railroad in the United States. The environment is difficult, which naturally causes all kinds of expenses to increase exponentially, so Feng Yunshan accepted Cheng Hengsheng's explanation.

Feng Yunshan said to Cheng Hengsheng: "1.2 billion holy yuan!" Although it is a very large astronomical amount, for our Chinese Empire, it can still be obtained, but it is just a little difficult. But as long as Aiqing can build this Trans-Siberian Railway, 1.2 billion holy dollars will be 1.2 billion holy dollars, and I will be out! It's just that these 1.9 million tons of steel rails, can we make up the Chinese Empire now? Speaking of this, Feng Yunshan looked at Zeng Guanlan and asked, "Zeng Aiqing, how much steel production is within the empire, and how much is imported every year?" ”

Zeng Guanlan cried with a sad face, and replied: "Your Majesty, 1.2 billion yuan is not only a struggle for our empire, but it is about to move the foundation. Last year, the Ministry of Finance and Taxation had a total tax revenue of nearly 520 million holy dollars, while the non-tax revenue of the major trade and transportation companies and state-owned factories, mines and factories in which it had a stake was 340 million holy dollars, totaling 860 million holy dollars, and the expenditure was 780 million holy dollars, of which nearly 500 million billion were spent on military expenses and the salaries of officials at all levels, with a surplus of 80 million holy dollars. If it weren't for the wealth confiscated from the Manchu Qing Dynasty and other nobles a few years ago, as well as the seizure of more than 200 million holy dollars from the capture of Beijing City, and the subsequent seizure of more than 200 million Shengyuan from India, America, and other places, we would not have even had the principal to invest in state-owned companies such as the major trading companies and the Chinese Imperial Holy Oil Corporation.

In recent years, His Majesty has invested more than 2 billion holy dollars in the first five-year plan and the second five-year plan. Of course, production is slowly beginning to take place, and the Empire's fiscal and other non-fiscal revenues have also increased substantially. But after all, it was taken out of the treasury with real money. Now that there is such a big investment, 1.2 billion holy yuan at one time, Your Majesty, will it be too much? In fact, Siberia is too desolate to be ......" Speaking of this, Zeng Guanlan stopped.

Feng Yunshan's face became gloomy.

Although this Zeng Guanlan is his confidant, he has always been cautious and cautious, and he is shrewd and meticulous, but he is too cautious, and to be honest, he does not have the talent to be the prime minister of the cabinet. But because after all, he has followed him for the longest time and is the only rare scholar, so he promoted him and forcibly pushed him to the position of prime minister. But I didn't expect that after all these years, he was still so unbearable, without the overall situation of the whole country and the whole world, and he couldn't keep up with his pace more and more, it seemed that it was time for him to change his position.

Feng Yunshan thought to himself. Originally, he put him in the position of deputy prime minister of the cabinet, that is, the meaning of deputy prime minister, and did not put him in the position of prime minister at once, in fact, there was some consideration. In the past few years, it seems that he has been conscientious, although it is not significant, but at least it is okay, and the general work of all cabinet ministries can be maintained and coordinated to operate normally, and last year he was turned a regular and promoted to prime minister, but he did not expect that he still stayed on the most basic responsibility of maintaining the operation of the empire, and did not open his mind to vigorously develop, so it is undoubtedly not suitable for the development rhythm of the empire.

But speaking of which, I don't have it. Feng Yunshan began to examine himself.

At the beginning, he should not have let Zeng Guanlan become a regular, or even appoint Zeng Guanlan as the vice premier of the cabinet, after all, he himself refused several times, and he reluctantly asked him to serve, and this honest man carried this position that he was not good at, and before that, he was just his staff and did not go through too much training.

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