Yang Shixun looked at Zhan Tianyou in front of him, he was not wearing an official uniform, just an ordinary cotton clothes, he didn't look like an official, but more like an ordinary ordinary person in the capital, it was really not easy to find him, he spent a lot of effort.

It's been almost half a month, and before he can sort it out, the task was directly issued from Baotou, asking him to contact Zhan Tianyou, there are many officials in the capital, up to the princes and nobles, down to the waiter to the clerk, thousands of officials, large and small, Baotou, there are not many prompts, just the person in charge of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. This is a big one, if you say that the various departments are still in charge of the book, the squire, this is easy to find, everyone knows it, but it is a small railway leader, in the locality, it may be considered a big one, but in the capital, it is definitely an inconspicuous petty official.

Fortunately, the Yang family has some roots in the capital, plus the help of several other families, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway has just been completed, and some other conditions have been contacted.

Ben didn't think about succeeding immediately, he was thinking about how to take the next step in the teahouse, but he didn't expect that Zhan Tianyou would really come.

"You want to build a railway?" Zhan Tianyou looked Yang Shixun up and down, and almost blurted out and asked, "Do you know how much the Zhangbao Railway costs?" ”

Yang Shixun was confident, about the cost of the Zhangbao Railway, Baotou sent it, of course, there is a price in Baotou, there is also the current market price, he said calmly: "If according to the previous standard of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, it is about 13 million taels of flat silver to 14 million taels!" ”

Zhan Tianyou was stunned, if the other party didn't know, but just recklessly wanted to build, this question would stop him, or talk nonsense, say something millions of taels, or even hundreds of thousands of taels, because in the eyes of many laymen, the cost of the railway is so much, the other party actually replied, it may not be accurate, just compare it with Beijing and Zhang, about 14 million also makes sense, it will not be too different, and the precise numbers are said, which means that the other party has the ability to come up with 14 million, and has done quite homework.

The railway has never been able to be built with a small investment, and the Sichuan-Han Railway, which is about to lay the foundation, is to borrow 6 million pounds from the bank group of the four countries under the guarantee of many gentry, which is converted into a total investment of 60 million silver dollars, which is from Wuhan to Sichuan, which also has to pass through many mountains and mountains in Sichuan, and the mileage has also grown a lot, Beijing and Zhang are a little less, but it has also reached 7 million, a small businessman, how can he say such a number so lightly, is it difficult, he looked away, This is another figure like Hu Xueyan, but such a person has not revealed any rumors!

The expression on Zhan Tianyou's face kept changing, Yang Shixun didn't say much here, he knew that it was useless to say more, the other party was a professional in the railway, if he really talked about the railway, it would be enough to get rid of him a few streets, but he was prepared, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to Zhan Tianyou.

Zhan Tianyou was slightly surprised to take this piece of paper, which was very simple with the name of the grounding, he didn't know why, but when he was about to open his mouth to ask, a name flashed in front of his eyes, his eyes lit up, the place names on the paper, it looks very simple, a little thought, are all on the road from Zhangjiakou to Baotou, the plan of the Zhangsui railway, there is no pass in the ministry, the basic exploration in the early stage has already begun, but the most basic, but some important locations, he is also confident, these, They are all more suitable for setting up stations, and there are also some important railway bridges, and it is clear that the other party is not talking nonsense, it is prepared, and even down to these details.

Zhan Tianyou wouldn't know that these were all prepared by Yang Yuanzhao, and he didn't even go to those places to see more, but the national highway and railway map of Tongguò in later generations is clearly marked with various stations, including the smallest station, because this is a general map of a province, and under the province, at least some small stations will be marked.

There is a lot of difference between this era and more than 100 years later, but the development of railways always has its general law, and many later railways are developed on the basis of the original railways.

Zhan Tianyou pondered for a long time, opened his mouth and was about to ask, but was blocked by Yang Shixun, he said: "Lord Zhan, I am just a messenger, I won't say anything superfluous, the above things are also asked by others to show you, and the rest I can only say two points, first, Baotou has enough money to build this Zhangbao Railway, and second, Baotou has a steel mill that can produce steel rails, which is enough to support the consumption of the Zhangbao Railway!" ”

Two points, like two thunderbolts, exploded in Zhan Tianyou's mind, the first one is just down, China is vast, there are countless strange people and strange things, maybe among the people, there are characters like Hu Xueyan, or a few unions, millions of taels are nothing, especially the Jin merchants with deep roots, maybe there are some characters, vertical and horizontal, and concentrate the strength of each family together, but the second, when did a steel mill appear in Baotou, it can also produce steel rails, enough for the consumption of Zhangbao railway.

Zhangbao railway, even if it is 350 kilometers, the rail needs 700 kilometers, taking a meter of 12 kilograms of light rail as an example, a kilometer of railway, it takes 12 tons, 700 kilometers, close to 10,000 tons, such a huge number of rails, Baotou can produce, when, Baotou pops up such a large steel mill, this is not money to be able to build.

Yang Shixun saw that the heat was enough, and hurriedly continued: "Lord Zhan, we in the northwest are very sincere, so don't worry, as long as you go to the northwest!" ”

"To the Northwest? Baotou? ”

"Yes, there are professionals there, explain to you your doubts, Beijing and Zhangtou are through, it is not difficult to get from Zhangjiakou to Baotou, at most 2 days, you can arrive in Baotou!"

"Two days?" Zhan Tianyou looked at Yang Shixun in amazement, the road of about 600 kilometers, even if Jingzhang saves a lot of time, it will take almost a day, and it only takes one day from Baotou to Zhangjiakou, which is impossible.

"Yes and no, you'll know when you go!" Yang Shixun said with a smile: "The tea has been paid, this is a little bit of our heart in Baotou, it can be regarded as Sichuan capital, please Lord Zhan must go!" ”

After Yang Shixun finished speaking, he couldn't help but go out, so unfathomable that Zhan Tianyou didn't know what to do, leaving an envelope on the table, Zhan Tianyou reacted, Yang Shixun had already left for a long time, opened it and saw that this was a small stack of dollars, brand new dollars, 20 yuan face value, a total of 10 sheets!

Zhan Tianyou recognized these dollars, and was very familiar with them, he was a student in the United States, studied in the United States, obtained a degree, and also had an experience in the United States, which opened his industrial road, and the railway was on a certain Cheng dù, which had been engraved in his bones, from the very beginning of the customs railway, for more than ten years, he was associated with the railway, and the railway that he commanded and built almost occupied a considerable part of the Chinese railway, and sat in the Qingshui Yamen in the Ministry of Posts and Communications, the reason why he was depressed was not that he had no money, but because there was no railway to repair.

Now, the center has no way to give the funds of the Zhangsui Railway, a small border land is actually clamoring to be built, and even the steel rails are ready, you know, even the Hanyang Iron Works of the First Iron and Steel Plant, the steel rails he produced are absolutely unqualified.

In order to fight for the opportunity to enter the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, Hanyang found his fellow villagers to persuade him, and even offered a high price of 200,000 taels, but without exception he refused, the quality can be passed, the quality is not good, no matter what, this is the most basic principle, and therefore the Zhang Zhidong family, he was transferred back and could not participate in the Sichuan-Han Railway, on the one hand, because the other party values foreign experts more, on the other hand, it is not the previous revenge.

I heard that the rails of Hanyang Iron Works have entered the catalog of Sichuan-Han procurement, God knows, what will this Sichuan-Han Railway be ruined, is it possible, this Baotou, is it the same?

One doubt after another, flashed in Zhan Tianyou's heart, but in the end he couldn't explain it, the other party didn't leave a lot of money, if he left, he would definitely not accept it, 200 US dollars, about 400 silver dollars, if according to Sichuan capital, it is considered abundant, but if the operation of railway materials, it is absolutely very rare, what is the purpose of the place, what is the purpose of inviting him to Baotou, what is it for.

For a whole morning, Zhan Tianyou didn't figure it out, and he didn't think it through until he returned home, but after his wife found out, he didn't explain anything, but just said plainly: "It's true or not, if you go, you won't know!" ”

A sentence woke up the person in the dream, Zhan Tianyou, who was entangled in himself, suddenly became enlightened, decades of Huan Hai, more than ten years of railway construction, things related to the railway, nothing has been seen, if the other party is sincere, it is fine, if it is ulterior motives, it can also be seen with his experience, the big deal is to refuse, it is difficult to be a dignified official, it is difficult to be afraid that a businessman will not succeed.

In the envelope, there was Yang Shixun's contact information, and after Zhan Tianyou decided, he immediately sent someone to summon him, and he would visit Baotou within a week.

After receiving the information, Yang Shixun did not dare to slack off, even if he did not understand the new learning, he also knew the benefits of the railway, such a railway through, for the operation of the commercial bank, it can definitely be called a tiger with wings, the radio waves crossed thousands of rivers and mountains, and finally converged into the hands of Yang Yuanzhao, Yang Yuanzhao, who had been waiting for a long time, showed a knowing smile, and the description of Zhan Tianyou in the future, once he came to Baotou, once he saw the mountains of steel rails and heavy rails of extremely high quality in Baotou, he would definitely accept Baotou's arrangement, After Baotou's plan in the steel mill was carried out, the railway would also be created from scratch, and the railway, the most important transportation invention in modern times, would carve the first imprint in the northwest, and the butterfly wings in the northwest would become bigger and bigger. R1152