Speeding up the construction of the track, after the parallel line was put into use, became the consensus of the Zaifu.

The benefits of the track have long been confirmed in Fangcheng Mountain, and in the years since it was completed, the cost of maintenance and renewal has been a lot, but the imperial court has received more.

Every year, the imperial court has to invest a huge amount of maintenance expenses in the water transportation of the Bianhe River: the maintenance of the water gate sluice, the addition and repair of the embankment, the repair and new construction of the boats, the daily expenses of the river management army, and the expenses of requisitioning and distributing the people, all add up to an astronomical amount. This does not include the thousands of leeches attached to the water transportation under the huge and bloated yamen of the Sixth Route Shipping Division. What the imperial court received was 7 million stone grains transported by the government every year, as well as nearly 10 million silk and silver money. A larger number of private commercial transports is merely tax-collected, and the amount received is far less than the amount that is stolen.

And rail transportation, in addition to taxes, the freight alone makes the imperial court smile. For the same length, the maintenance cost of the track will not be less than that of Bianshui, but it can be transported at any time in winter and summer. Unlike Bianshui, which has to be cut off in winter, whether it's a sled or an ice sled, that bit of capacity can only be used as a supplement.

But Han Jiang and Zhang Qi are optimistic about the track, but it is because of the ideas that Han Gang once revealed to the public.

The state controls the main lines, and the local tyrants control the branch lines, thus forming a net that envelops the four hundred military states.

Both Han Jiang and Zhang Qi coveted the track. Leaving a road to children and grandchildren is far more stable than 10,000 acres of land.

How is a mountain of silver like silver water? There is always a time when the mountains are dug up, and the water flows forever.

A railway track is a river of gold and silver. Sitting on the track, there is no hardship in farming, and there is no need to worry, there must be an income every year, as long as the track can be maintained well, this is a lifetime. What's more, for the construction of the track, the land on both sides of the track must be expropriated. In the name of the imperial court, many taboo things can be done.

From the very beginning, he planned to pull all the wealthy families from all over the country into the water, Han Gang was only afraid that Han Jiang and Zhang Qi would not be moved, but now that they finally couldn't bear it anymore, he was mostly happy in his heart. When the railway track merger line has been completed and successfully put into use, the construction of the Beijing-Si line will start as soon as possible, so that the railway track can replace Bianshui as the main force of transportation, which is the top priority at present.

"Xianggong is talking about the track?" Han Gang asked Han Jiang rhetorically.

"Yes, yes."

"Speaking of which, this is indeed the cure for the root cause." Han Gang nodded, "There is no shortage of treacherous people on the track. But if they want to make money, they can make money by hanging an extra carriage in private, and there is no need to overturn the car. Turning over on the road, no more than water, you can report the damage of a boat, and the goods on it can be completely wiped out. Whether it's grain or silk, it's impossible to fall to the ground and disappear. ”

"Yukun is right." Zhang Qi patted the case and said, "That's why the situation in Fangcheng Mountain is so good, and the track from Bingzhou to Daizhou is also not bad, if the track from Beijing to Sizhou is repaired, and it can be as Yukun said, the Queen Mother and I will no longer have to worry about the matter of Bianshui day and night." ”

"The track from Beijing to Sizhou is indeed time to be built." Han Gang said, "Actually, this road has already begun to be prepared soon after the Fangcheng track runs...... It's just that it was delayed by various things, but let the parallel railway go first. ”

"It's a good thing to delay a bit. For the king's precursor, there is a parallel generation of railways for hundreds of miles in front, the capital to Sizhou, that is, the Beijing-Sizhou railway is laid, and there are skilled hands to use. Han Gang's name for the track was simple and straightforward, and Han Jiang appreciated it very much, "The track in Hedong has been in use for a while, and in the past few months, the problems that should have come out have been solved, and how to solve them has been solved." This is not a sixty-mile Fangcheng track that can be compared. Yukun, do you say yes or no? ”

"Xianggong is very right." Han Gang nodded, Han Jiang was indeed right. In the six months since the operation of the railway, in addition to the catastrophe and chaos, all the problems that can arise have indeed occurred.

However, as a parallel railway, the operation is not good, and there are often accidents. Early arrivals, late arrivals, collisions and derailments, all kinds of problems, emerge every day.

And then there's theft – from the rails on the tracks to the goods in the containers, there are thieves reaching out. Along the way, the prefectures and counties killed a group of people and hung them on poles on both sides of the railway, which only suppressed the arrogance of the thieves in Hedong a little, and more manpower needed to be invested in chasing and suppressing them.

However, the operation team transferred from Fangcheng Railway, coupled with more than half a year of practice, the situation of frequent problems at the beginning has gradually changed to a better direction. This is the reason why Hangang dared to start building the Beijing-Si Railway.

"It's just that Han Gang's previous idea was to extend the parallel railway to the south and lead to the Yellow River in Hezhongfu, and the Jingsi Railway plans to wait a little longer."

"Yukun is talking about Li Jie's previous book?"

"Exactly!"

After only a few years, after participating in the construction of the Fangcheng track and personally presiding over the construction of the railway, Li Jie has accumulated merit and turned into a court official, which is a speed that Jinshi is far behind. You must know that before the completion of the Fangcheng track, Li Jie was only Han Gang's staff.

After the construction of the parallel line was completed and delivered, Li Jie had become a well-known construction master in the court, and his name was directly resistant. The fame is not inferior to his father, Li Nangong, the transfer envoy of Jingbei Road. The last time Li Nangong entered the Hajj, the Queen Mother also praised Li Jie for being green and blue, and the world also thought that he was a young phoenix and a young phoenix. If it weren't for Li Jie's lack of literary names and writings, a Jinshi would have been given to him a long time ago.

Half a month ago, Li Jie wrote a letter to the imperial court, asking for the permission of the imperial court to extend the parallel railway connecting Daizhou and Taiyuan Prefecture [Merge Prefecture] from Taiyuan Mansion to the south, through the Fenhe Valley, leading to Jiezhou and Hezhong Mansion in Guanzhong, and reaching Fenglingdu in Yaojin. Here, you can take the Wei River waterway to Chang'an Jingzhao Mansion.

Li Jie's letter on the construction of the track naturally aroused the attention of the imperial court. This railway, in fact, is the Tongpu Railway of later generations, but it only avoided the most difficult section of Daizhou to Datong. Through this railway, the two major economic zones of Guanzhong and Hedong can be connected. Although there are no steam locomotives yet, the transportation volume will be ten times that of the previous one, which will have an immeasurable effect on the business and personnel exchanges between the two places.

Han Jiang couldn't know all the benefits of connecting the first line of Guanzhong Hedong, but he understood that the reason why Li Jie proposed to extend the railway to the south and replace it must have been allowed by Han Gang, and even upheld Han Gang's intentions.

"Li Jie's proposal is not bad. It's just that Taiyuan to Hezhongfu is added, and this track runs through the entire east of the river and reaches Guanzhong, with a length of almost more than 1,500 miles. ”

"In a word." Han Gang sighed, there is nothing to shy away from in this matter, "Speaking of which, there is still a shortage of talents." ”

"It's also a lack of experience. With the addition of another Beijing-Si railway, more talents can be trained. Zhang Qi said.

"From the current situation of the Sixth Road Shipping Division, we can see how useful talents are. In just one year, the law of the Shipping Division has been corrupted to such an extent, not only because of Xue Xiang, but also because of the talented officials he promoted...... The transfer of this generation is justified and beyond reproach, but there are no qualified officials to fill it, which shows that there is a lack of people in the court. ”

Han Jiang nodded again and again at Han Gang's statement, "Yukun is right. Military, financial planning, criminal names, water conservancy, and transshipment all require specialized personnel to manage. Ordinary Jinshi is a nerd, without going through training, rashly sitting in the position of the Zhengya, if you don't say that it will be done, it will only be bad. ”

Han Gang said: "There are 400 Jinshi on the list, most of them only understand the meaning and countermeasures, and they can be good at practice, not even one-tenth." ”

Zhang Qi shook his head again and again, "Auxiliary Liangcai, how can there be so many?" There are only three or five people on the list, and there are one or twenty people who can do practical things, and that's all. The rest are mediocre people, and when they are old officials, they may be able to accumulate some governance. ”

Although the selection of officials in the imperial court cannot be said to be meritocracy, all the jinshi who can be promoted to the golden and purple ministers have a skill.

The worst is also some literary level, as for those who have a skill in military, financial planning, and other practical aspects, the speed of their promotion is much faster than that of ordinary jinshi.

Don't talk about others, just say that Cai Jing, who is now finished, was able to enter the high school for five years, and then successfully transferred to the official position, and entered the Zhongshu service, and in ten years, he became a palace servant. It is not his looks and calligraphy that he relies on, no matter how strict the standards are, his talents are first-class.

"Yukun, the difficulty of winning people in the imperial court is well known, I don't know what you think about it?" Han Jiang didn't want to go around in circles anymore, and wanted Han Gang to have a showdown.

"According to Han Gang's little opinion. Now there is a Ming Law Department, there is a Ming Calculation Department in the Tang Dynasty, and a Ming Engineering Department can be added in the future. Jinshi is the best choice, and the rest of the subjects are to recruit specialists for the use of the imperial court. ”

"Ming Engineering, what are you going to take?" Zhang Qi asked. Although there is no Ming Arithmetic Department now, it has historically, but it does not need to be explained by Han Gang.

"Water conservancy, river defense, and rail are mainly in the hands of the Ministry of Industry."

This is a tailor-made subject for Qi science.

Compete for Jinshi, Westerners can't compete with Southerners. The Ming Law Department, known for its good lawsuits, and the Jiangxi people who took "Deng Sixian" as a Mongolian book have the most in the examination, and seven-year-old children can quote the law in the court, which is not comparable to Shaanxi people. If you set up a Ming arithmetic department, the Jiangnan with a strong commercial atmosphere is far stronger than the north.

Only the students who are taught by the Ming Engineering Department and the Qi Studies, at least in water conservancy, river defense, track and other construction talents, will not lose to anyone, and they will not be inferior in military affairs. This is the promotion level of Westerners, and it is also Han Gang's quid pro quo.

As long as you can be an official, a serious background is still much stronger than that of special fame.

If you fail to pass the tribute a few times, you can get the opportunity to participate in the special performance name exam, and then mix a professor and assistant teacher of a state school or county school, but in fact, you don't even have a grade, but the court gives you food.

If you pass the examinations, although you can't compare with the officials who are born in Jinshi, you can skip the grade and be promoted in the selection stage, but if you are in the forefront, you can have a high-quality official to do it, even if you can't enter the stream, as long as you do practical things, you will not have a shortage of chances to get into the stream.

Han Jiang chuckled, "Yukun is really hardworking." ”

Han Gang owes himself, "This matter is beneficial to the country and the people." ”