"Railroad? What is that? This new term surprised Jiang Hong. [No pop-up novel network]

Railways are literally easy to understand, but it's hard to believe that they are paved with iron. But in that case, how much iron will be needed to travel hundreds of miles from Beijing to Tianjin! What's more, if the road is paved with iron, can you walk on it faster? He couldn't figure it out.

"It's just to cast rails with iron, and then drive on them, ......" explained a few words, seeing that his companion was still puzzled, Yan Song could only spread his hands and said with a wry smile: "The official doesn't know very well, but he just mentioned a few words in the letter from Liaodong, so he just read the book according to the book." At the right time, the experts in Liaodong are almost arriving today, and they will know when the time comes. ”

"Lord Yan, a ship is coming, it should be from Liaodong." Hearing Yan Song's words, Jiang Hong had no choice but to suppress his curiosity, and when he raised his eyes, he saw a black spot on the line between the sea and the sky, cutting through the wind and waves, and a series of bright spots came from afar, like a pearl necklace, which is the unique sailing trajectory of a flywheel battleship, Jiang Hong shouted excitedly.

"That's right, Brother Jiang Xian, let's go up and greet you." Yan Song said with a smile on his face.

"Yes." Jiang Hong responded.

The two officials in charge went to greet the craftsmen with a smile, which is also a unique phenomenon in Tianjin officialdom. This habit was developed in the seowon, and although the seowon was divided into different disciplines, as in later schools, the branches often communicated with each other.

Due to the guidance of the academy and the fact that the identities of the students of the academy are similar, an atmosphere of equality and mutual respect has been created in the entire Ivy League, even if the students in the School of Political Science and Law have entered the palace to participate in politics one after another, it still has not had any impact on this atmosphere.

Of course, there is no complete equality in the academy, and according to each person's knowledge and character, it also determines whether and to what extent each person will be respected.

In addition, there are differences between various disciplines, and the most important is the branch of natural sciences, which of course has Xie Hong's exemplary role, but to a greater extent, this is due to the influence of Xie Hong's ideas passed on through the two principals of Tang and Wang.

Officials only do to gather social resources and redistribute them, and there is no real role in promoting social progress, while natural science can improve production efficiency and change people's lives, so the latter should be respected.

This concept is quite deviant, not to mention in the Ming Dynasty, even in later generations, there are many people who will disagree.

But the situation of the Ivy League Academy is more special, and the people who come here to study are either the children of ordinary people, or the scholars who have fallen into the imperial examination, and there are a few down-and-out nobles. They themselves are not on the same position as the scholars, and they are full of gratitude to the two monarchs and ministers who opened the academy and provided them with opportunities.

Of course, it is much easier to draw on a blank piece of paper, which is why Xie Hong has set an age limit at the academy, which he hopes will be on the right path from the beginning and not be distracted by any traditional and conservative ideas.

For more than a year, although the academy has not been able to provide much talent support, Xie Hong is pleased that the academy has been running according to his ideas, and the ideas he wants to implement have been perfectly conveyed to every student, and have been supported by a relatively large number of students.

Now, in the pilot project in Tianjin, these ideas have begun to be reflected in the leadership headed by Yan Song. If it weren't for the influence of the academy, Yan and Jiang would have been a little reluctant even if they wanted to show Xie Hong on their faces, and they could welcome a few craftsmen in their identities.

"Master Guo, Master Yang, why are you here? Didn't you say that it was an engineering master who came? Among the craftsmen who joined Xie Hong's team, Guo and Yang are the earliest and most famous people.

Just as Zhao Sheng played an exemplary role in promoting the New Deal in Liaozhen, the changes in the circumstances of Guo and Yang are often used as examples, serving as an example for the craftsmen who joined later, and leaving them with a great hope.

Yan Song has been in Xie Hong's system for a long time, so he is also familiar with these two people, and he recognized them in person. Now that he knows the roots, his doubts also follow, with the qualifications of these two people, the eight achievements are the leader, but their careers don't seem to have anything to do with road construction projects?

"Hehe, I am a blacksmith, Lao Yang is a carpenter, unless Master Hou or Master Dong comes in person, otherwise this matter is really the most suitable for the two of us." Blacksmith Guo smiled and said, "It's been a long time for the two adults, so I'm really sorry." ”

Xie Hong's influence on the academy is indirect, and his impact on the people around him is even more direct, so Guo and Yang have long ceased to be cowardly, even in the face of a third-grade servant like Yan Song, they can talk eloquently, and this change alone is enough to surprise their acquaintances in Xuanfu City.

"Master Guo, as soon as you say that, the younger generation is even more curious about the railway." Yan Song stepped forward to hold the two of them, and asked urgently: "The juniors have already prepared a banquet in the yamen, just to pick up a few people to wash the dust, and on the way, just ask a few people to relieve our doubts." ”

"It's still early in the morning, let's go to see the scene first, explore and understand the early start of construction, and complete it a moment earlier, so it will be more convenient, as for what is going on with the railway, I will slowly explain it to a few people on the way."

After taking out his pocket watch from his arms and looking at it, Blacksmith Guo rejected Yan Song's proposal, but decided to go to see the scene first, efficiency first, etiquette and politeness second, which is also one of the typical styles of Xie Hong's system.

"That's fine." Yan Song also knows this very well, and of course he will not be entangled.

"Railway, in fact, is to lay rails all the way, sleepers under the tracks, and then drive on it, the current design is to use horse-pulled, and ...... in the future" People who have stayed by Xie Hong's side for a long time will generally have a greater improvement in their mental endurance, Guo Blacksmith is like this, he described this new thing to everyone with relish.

"Ahem......" Master Yang saw that he had forgotten what he said, and hurriedly coughed twice as a reminder. The steam engine is currently a classified project, until the utility has reached a certain level, and there is no mass production.

"Really driving on the tracks? Master Guo, how thick are the rails? "Jiang Hong was born in arithmetic, and he also made up some statistical foundation in the School of Mathematics, so in Tianjin, he is equivalent to the role of a housekeeper, and he is the most sensitive to all kinds of expenses.

"It's about two inches tall and about the same width, two in parallel at first, and then it will increase to four." Blacksmith Guo compared the width and explained.

"Phew!" Jiang Hong gasped, in this era, there is no indicator to measure the country's industrial strength by steel production, but the important surname of iron is self-evident, and iron is the first in the ban list on the grassland. Without iron, there would be no weapons and armor, and no matter how powerful the so-called Mongolian iron cavalry is, it will be useless without these.

Therefore, when he heard that such a road was going to be paved from Tianjin to Yanjing, Jiang Hong's brain immediately buzzed, how much iron does this take! If you don't use it to pave the way, but build weapons, you should be able to arm tens of thousands of troops, right?

"Master Hou is really generous, this kind of consumption ......" Yan Song's eyes were also a little straight, to get such a way out, the cost is not only materials, but also the amount of labor required is not a small amount.

What's more, according to Master Guo, laying a railway also requires leveling the land, which is equivalent to paving an official road and laying a railway on it at the same time...... Just for that convenience, is it worth it?

"Don't worry, Master Hou already has a comprehensive plan, we just need to execute it." Master Yang didn't speak, but as soon as he spoke, his style was reflected, he was a stuffy and hard-working person.

"Lao Yang is not bad, Hou Ye has found a big iron mine again, the mineral deposit is huge, and he is planning to build a large smelter nearby, so there is no need to worry about materials or anything, just do the errand in front of you well." Blacksmith Guo also said with a smile.

"I see." Although he still felt wasteful in his heart, Yan Song no longer delved into this problem, Hou Ye has always done things unexpectedly, maybe there are other deep meanings in this I don't know.

Guo Blacksmith didn't explain much, the big iron mine he said was of course Maoshan Iron Mine, it was an open-pit iron mine, very large, after exploration, Xie Hong decided to expand the scale of the smelting workshop, expand it into a smelter, and the location was chosen in Maoshan nearby.

Is it too wasteful to build a railway, at that time, Blacksmith Guo also reminded Xie Hong of this question, Xie Hong replied very confidently, so, out of trust in Hou Ye, although Blacksmith Guo did not fully understand the answer given by Xie Hong, he was still determined to support the other party's decision.

Because he didn't understand it himself, he naturally couldn't explain it at this time. However, he still understands some of the truths, if you want to improve your skills, you have to practice your hands, and the production of rails, and the number is still so much, obviously it is very beneficial to the honing of skills, and when this railway is completed, plus the armaments produced in the same period, a large number of skilled smelting workers will emerge in Liaodong.

As for the others, such as building a railway can create jobs, accelerate the circulation of wealth, and even improve the farts of chickens, although Hou Ye explained, but Guo Blacksmith still heard it with a blank eye, especially the last one, what does the chicken butt have to do with smelters and railways?

"The railway has already begun to be used in Lushun, and now the scale is not large, but it is laid in the dock and industrial area, but it is quite convenient...... The workshops can be connected directly by rail cars instead of transporting accessories through the water flow, and it is much easier to carry and unload goods from the docks, which makes the railway easy to use. ”

Although I can't explain the deep-seated reasons, but as far as I see and experience, Guo Blacksmith can also say a lot about the benefits of the railway, and when it comes to the outside of the Tianjin Acropolis, Yan Song and other officials also have relevant concepts, and they have even begun to look forward to what kind of scene it will be after the completion of the railway.

(To be continued)