Emperor Guangxu looked at Xu Jingcheng with inquiring eyes, and Xu Jingcheng said: "Qiqi Sheng, what Lord Lin said is true, and the countries of Taixi do use tin as soldering materials."

Emperor Guangxu asked, "Then we can't produce this material?" ”

Xu Jingcheng replied: "Of course we can produce this material, as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there was already this material, but the tin we produce cannot be used for welding, because the phosphorus and sulfur contained in it are too high, and it is easy to crack after low-temperature solidification. ”

Emperor Guangxu looked at Lin Yuan and said, "Then can we produce qualified tin?" ”

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded, and said, "Of course you can, but to produce tin, you must first build a railway, Lord Xu must know where the tin ore comes from, right?" ”

Xu Jingcheng said: "Yunnan has the most old minerals, as early as the Tang and Song dynasties, it was a place where tin was produced. ”

Lin Yuan replied: "That's right, this place is the old Yunnan, but our shipyard is in Dalian, thousands of miles away, and there are high mountains and mountains in between, it takes a month to come out of Yunnan alone, and the transportation volume is very small, people carry vehicles, it is difficult to supply shipbuilding." ”

Emperor Guangxu asked, "Then what should we do?" ”

Lin Yuan replied: "It's very simple, we can build a railway, our railway comes out of Beijing, then enters Shanxi, enters Shaanxi from Shanxi, and then goes down from southwest Shaanxi, through the Qinling Mountains, into Sichuan, and from Sichuan to Yunnan, we call this railway 'Beijing-Yunnan Railway'." ”

The three people present were stunned when they heard this, according to Lin Yuan, this railway will run through Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, which involve high mountains and mountains, and it is even more difficult to build such a railway than to climb to the sky.

Everyone stopped talking, and Lin Yuan smiled: "Do you think that it is difficult to build this railway?" ”

Emperor Guangxu said: "The construction of the railway, let's suspend the implementation, this railway is not a good thing." ”

Lin Yuan asked, "How can the railway not be a good thing?" In the past few decades, almost all the steel refined in Taixi countries has been used to build railways, and an average of more than 200,000 kilometers of railways have to be built every year, equivalent to 400,000 miles. ”

"Taking the United States as an example, it took only one year the year before last to build 260,000 kilometers of railways, equivalent to 520,000 miles, while I, China, the Celestial Empire, did not build many railways, isn't it ridiculous and generous?"

Emperor Guangxu asked: "I also know that the railway needs to be built on a smooth road, but the landform is not the same, many places are stacked with mountains, rivers and rivers, if you want to build a railway, you have to meet the mountains to open the road, build a bridge in the water, this mountain has a mountain god, the water has a dragon king, a railway, the train is day and night, the roar is not stopped, if it disturbs the mountain god and the dragon king, they will not rain a catastrophe?" ”

Lin Yuan heard this reason and thought: "A historian once said that among the advanced technologies faced by the Qing government, the railway is the most tricky, and it seems that what this historian said is not false at all, in the hearts of the top leaders of the Qing government, superstition is deep-rooted. ”

Lin Yuan looked at the three of them, Emperor Guangxu and Weng Tongyi both looked at themselves with serious faces, they thought that the mountain god and the dragon king were masters who could not be provoked, Xu Jingcheng had accepted Western scientific thoughts, and he did not believe in the things of the mountain god very much, but he also put on a posture that he would rather believe in what he had than believe in it.

Lin Yuan thought to himself: "If I tell them that there are no immortals in this world, it will definitely not work, they have believed in those things for so many years, how can they be changed by my words?" I'd better take a different approach. So Lin Yuan said: "I have built a long railway in the Northeast, and at present, the entire three provinces in the Northeast are covered by railways. ”

Everyone looked at Lin Yuan with curious eyes, and Lin Yuan smiled: "I know the true secret method, which can appease the gods, so the construction of the railway is not a hindrance." ”

The three of them looked at each other and nodded, Emperor Guangxu looked embarrassed, and said: "This weights and measures and timing methods are all good to say, but only this railway matter is difficult to discuss." ”

Lin Yuan asked, "I've already said it, I have a way to appease the gods, do you still have any concerns?" ”

Emperor Guangxu sighed lightly and said: "The problem is my mother, let me tell you one thing, at that time I was still young, the court was ruled by the queen mother, there was a British merchant in Shanghai, the name is Jardine Matheson, this foreign company built a railway in Shanghai, from Shanghai to Wusong Town, the total length is not more than thirty miles. ”

"After the queen mother heard that this railway was completed, she was very angry, and immediately ordered the Shanghai Daotai Yamen to demolish the railway within a time limit, and the Shanghai Daotai Yamen spent 280,000 taels of silver to buy the railway, and on the day of the purchase, it was dismantled by craftsmen.

Lin Yuan thought for a while and said, "Why don't I come forward to persuade the Queen Mother." ”

When Guangxu heard this, he laughed and said: "Lin Aiqing, you have met my mother a few times, and she has promised you everything you want to do, but it is a major event to recover the lost land of your ancestors, so she can promise you, but this time it is to build a railway, Lin Aiqing, Rao is that you have sharp teeth, which makes the diplomats of the Taixi countries frightened, and they can't convince my queen mother." ”

Lin Yuan smiled faintly and said, "Not necessarily." ”

Emperor Guangxu nodded and said, "Okay, I will arrange a meeting for you, but whether you can convince her depends on your ability, Lin Aiqing, how much time do you need to prepare?" ”

Lin Yuan smiled: "Do I still need to prepare?" You can go now. ”

This sentence made Emperor Guangxu happy, he smiled: "Not today, today the queen mother found a few princesses to see the trick, this trick is heard to come from the northeast, the ability is very good, the queen mother loves to see it, this look, you have to get the night to be empty." ”

Lin Yuan said: "Then I'll go see her tomorrow, just ask the emperor for one thing, that is, don't talk about this matter with the Queen Mother." It turned out that Lin Yuan thought clearly: everyone has a rebellious mentality, and if Guangxu goes back and says to Cixi: Lin Yuan wants to persuade you to build a railway, then it will not be possible.

As soon as he arrived the next day, Lin Yuan was taken to Cixi's residence, Chuxiu Palace, and when Lin Yuan came to the palace, Li Lianying came over with a smile and asked with a smile: "Lord Lin, did you offend Xiao Dezhang?" ”

Lin Yuan remembered what happened in the Northeast, so he smiled and said, "When we were in the Northeast, we had some unpleasant trouble, and we can't talk about offending. ”

Li Lianying said with a smile: "This little Dezhang relies on his own drama and singing, and is favored in front of Lafayette, but now there is no one in his eyes, it is good for you to teach him a lesson, otherwise his dog's tail will really go to the sky." ”

Li Lianying laughed twice, and then said to Lin Yuan with a serious face: "Lord Lin, I have to remind you, after you enter the palace, don't say anything related to the railway." ”