The most direct consequence of this huge project is that the price of iron has soared all the way out of control for a while, so iron ore mines near the capital have begun to be excavated.

And that's not all...... People who collect scrap iron have also begun to appear in the market, and it is said that the business is excellent.

The Tianjin Wei railway, the steel cost is still amazing.

Almost the entire resources of the Ming Dynasty were smashed into it.

So much so that the steel workshop in Fengqiu sent a large number of carriages and horses, and it took nearly three months to send a batch of iron materials, which was actually profitable.

Zhang Jingyi still felt that the iron was not enough.

There was actually a bad idea, that is, to inspect the arsenals of the armies in various places.

Check to see if there are any obsolete weapons.

But this investigation, really scared the military attaches in the Beijing camp to death, after all, the arsenal is the hardest hit area for everyone to bend the law, although the imperial court also sent people from the military department to take a look, but everyone is a nest of snakes and rats, purely a formality.

But this time, Jinyiwei came to investigate, but it was a real investigation, and everything was really exposed.

Weapons that were supposed to be in storage were not put in storage at all.

These are okay, but what's worse is that many of the weapons that were even from the Chengzu and Yingzong periods are still sitting there, rusty and unmaintained.

Zhang Jingyi was like a treasure, confiscated, and confiscated all of them as scrap iron to support the construction of the railway.

Seventeen steel mills were not enough, so they continued to build, so that three months later, there were 72 steel mills near the capital, and many of them were expanded.

In order to find skilled workers, the frantic steel workshop actually went hundreds of miles away to recruit blacksmiths, in order to fool people to come, but also prepared a sedan chair, as long as people are willing to come to the capital to make iron, don't clean up the broken things at home, people come, directly into the dormitory, living utensils are ready for you, I carry the sedan chair to pick you up.

There will always be exaggerations, but in general, countless workshops and trades around the railroad have sprung up.

So much so that fools know that they can make money by following the railway, which once made the entire capital and the economy begin to overheat.

The immediate consequence of this is...... Inflation has intensified.

Fortunately, silver is hard currency after all, and no matter how inflationary and rising prices are, it is also within a limited range.

Because of the shortage of materials and goods in the market, especially iron and wood products, and after a large number of labor, these workers were paid, they needed to eat and drink, and inevitably created prosperity, but ...... This price increase is still within an acceptable range.

On the contrary, Zhang Jingyi is very happy to see it.

Because the most anxious about inflation is precisely those high-ranking officials and gentry and old wealth.

Seeing that arable land is no longer profitable, even if it is profitable, now the risk is huge.

The silver in your hand...... Half a year ago, if one hundred taels could buy twenty cows, now, they can only buy sixteen or seventeen heads, a direct loss of three, they really have cattle at home.

So...... Many people lamented that they no longer dared to let go of their spare money, and the investment channels in this era were very narrow, they could not do business, the risk of lending was high, and buying land was now becoming more and more unprofitable, and there was even the danger of confiscation after the new deal was continued.

The shares of the railway company were eventually sold out.

The funds raised are unimaginable.

Zhang Jingyi, if not for the sake of stability, has even planned to launch a plan to build six railways at the same time.

Fortunately, he was still reasonable, after all, this was the first time, and he didn't dare to take too many risks.

Finally...... The railroad was opened.

This railway, which cost 12 million taels of silver, runs from the port of Tianjin Wei to the port of Tianjin Wei Canal Wharf, then passes through the Tongzhou Canal hub, and finally reaches the capital, where it passes through the Guangqu Gate in the capital, and finally bypasses the inner city and reaches the railway in the new area.

In fact, the railroad tracks are very poorly built, and even at each station, there is no special decoration.

It's a very simple railway line, but it's still a record for the current track laying.

For example, several engineering teams competed and set a record for a certain engineering team laying three miles of railroad tracks in one day.

The railway is through.

The Emperor of the Apocalypse was overjoyed when he heard the news.

Subsequently...... I couldn't wait to order someone to test the car.

At the sound of an order, the latest steam trains immediately set off from the station in the new area, rumbling and rumbling, and finally, within seven hours, arrived at the terminal of Tianjin Wei unharmed.

More than 300 miles, only seven hours, which is in the later generations, is probably the level of battery cars.

But in this day and age, good fellows...... This is the speed of a man on a horse, galloping all the way, and hardly carrying any baggage.

After all, people and horses get tired, but the steam engine doesn't get tired, people and horses need to rest halfway, but the steam engine doesn't need to rest, and most importantly, the steam engine can also carry goods.

Although everything is good, there are still many things that need to be adjusted, such as the maximum number of steam locomotives that can run on the line, for example, how to ensure the maintenance of steam engines, and the problem of loading and unloading goods at various stations.

All kinds of problems need to be tirelessly debugged again and again.

Fortunately, before that, Zhang Jingyi drafted a charter and trained a group of personnel a long time ago.

Next, it's everyone's main concern.

If you want to ship the goods, how much should you charge?

This is crucial, for this distance, you first have to calculate the cost of other people's shipments.

Zhang Jingyi also had preparations, he had visited a lot of merchants, so he got a data, probably thinking that if it is a thousand catties of goods, if it is from Tianjin Wei to the capital, then at least thirteen people need to be hired, and if you turn back and forth, it will take about half a month, in addition to wages, there are also food and drink along the way, and even the cost of staying in the store, as well as the loss of animal power, and the final number is ...... If you don't count the time, then it is twelve or thirteen manpower, and you may even have to take two or three cows and horses, the daily consumption is fifty catties of grain, a small amount of vegetable gold, and about fifty catties of materials, and half a month, it is eight hundred catties of grain, and the horse feed is also about eight hundred catties, of course, it may also include the cost of beating the tip of the accommodation, and some other losses.

And the reason why so much manpower and animal power is needed is because people and animals not only need to carry goods, but also need to carry the food eaten along the way.

Of course, if you stay in a hotel along the way and eat at an inn at the same time, it's another matter.

In addition to this, there are various loading and unloading costs, as well as the possibility of bad weather or illness along the way, all in all, this is the cost price.

In this way, the conversion of seventy-seven eighty-eight pounds, even if a thousand catties of goods are sent from the capital to Tianjin Wei, the silver is about fifteen taels, because the price of grain has risen sharply recently, and the price of manpower is getting higher and higher.

On this basis, Zhang Jingyi worked out the price of transportation very realistically, one hundred catties and one tael.

This price is scary in later generations, and it is basically similar to robbery, because one or two pieces of silver in this era are actually not much different from the six hundred yuan in later generations.

Of course, the currency of later generations is not the same as the currency of this era, and can only be regarded as a rough valuation.

This 100 catties of goods, 300 miles, actually cost 10 taels of silver for transportation.

But in fact, in view of the high transportation prices in this era, Zhang Jingyi's pricing is very reasonable.

At least as soon as this price was announced, the eyes of many businessmen lit up.

If you compare everything, you will know what is better!

Hiring manpower by yourself is fifty percent higher than this price, and the risk is even greater, and there are many delays in hiring manpower.

Where can this be?

Cargo zones have now begun to be set up at various stations.

All the merchants who need to transport the goods only need to bring the goods to the station and then load them onto the steam train board.

The so-called car board is an open-air transport car, hanging behind the steam engine, more than a dozen cars, no carriage, all the goods are fixed, and then covered with a large felt cloth, and the train departs directly.

Dismantling the carriage is actually a last resort, because at this time, the power of the steam locomotive is limited, and all the things that may increase weight can be dismantled.

On the first day of departure, the station was already full of cars and horses.

There are many businessmen who come to try the new ones, and some people feel that they have made a big bargain, so they ...... The site personnel who are responsible for receiving the goods here are already in a hurry.

The first steam locomotive directly pulled eleven trailers, and one trailer was 5,000 catties of goods, which was directly 55,000 catties of goods.

This is in the later generations, that is, thirty tons of goods directly departed, this kind of carrying capacity, in the later generations is simply not worth mentioning, the carrying capacity can be said to be even a fraction of the normal freight train, but in this era, it is a staggering enough number.

Immediately afterwards, the steam locomotive hissed hysterically, and then slowly walked away as if it was eating nai.

On the first trip, I got five hundred and fifty taels of silver.

Of course...... The first train is followed by the second and third steam trains in the loading and unloading area.

Whether it is Tongzhou, Beijing or Tianjin Wei, it is the distribution center of goods, gathering a large number of merchants, and countless goods from the south to the north are distributed here.

Thus...... There is no shortage of people to transport goods here, not to mention that many merchants who originally thought it was troublesome to transport goods now seem to want to try, after all...... Rail transportation is far more convenient than everyone thinks, and it is more expensive than before. All of a sudden, one car after another began to send out, and then ...... The steam train at the back began to continue to load the cargo.

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