Although it would be at least a decade or even decades before a train powered by a steam car would appear. But another advance in the transport industry pleased the emperor.

The horse-drawn railcar, or horse-drawn railcar, which the emperor referred to as "horse-rail", has been successfully tested and began to be popularized and used in various provinces.

The first "Ma Tie" is from the Mentougou Coal Mine to the Beijing Fuchengmenwai Coal Plant, with a total length of 140 miles, and it took more than a year to complete.

The speed of construction is not fast, because it is the experimental stage, and the engineering and technical personnel have no experience, and the construction is completed before the Qianqiu Festival.

Sleepers, road spikes, crushed stone for buffering, and slabs and rails were built according to the standards of future trains.

Although there are still areas that need to be improved, through the construction of this horse railway, the corresponding standards and specifications have been formulated, and the technical foundation for the promotion and construction of this horse railway has been established, and a group of engineering and technical personnel have also been trained.

In fact, the construction of the railway itself was not very difficult.

Thanks to advances in steel smelting technology, key technical problems can be solved, whether it is rails, vehicles with steel axles, and whale oil for lubrication.

In the Hereafter, the horse-drawn train might make people laugh.

However, in history, the "horse-drawn train", which is called the "urban animal rail public transportation system" in foreign countries, has existed for a long time.

In the early days of the development of the city's power system, the "horse-drawn train" was well placed to assume the role of today's trams and urban light rail.

And in Daming, horse-drawn trains were first used for transportation. As for the construction of the station and the pulling of people and goods, it is already in the next stage of the plan.

In the first trial operation, Ma Tie showed the convenience and speed of transportation. Even the emperor was a little surprised, he did not expect that on the railroad tracks, the strength of the horse was so amazing.

Even the carriage with coal, at least a ton up, only two horses were used. Moreover, it is still fast.

The emperor was surprised, but also satisfied. The development of the Ming Dynasty has accelerated again, don't look at it is not a steam locomotive, just a horse rail.

"Emperor, this is a letter from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and I am willing to fund the construction of the railway." Li Chengcheng presented the sorted documents to the emperor and said with a smile: "There is also the Maritime Association, which is willing to fund the construction of the railway from Tianjin to Beijing." ”

The Emperor took the document and looked at it, smiled at it, and said, "Well, the rails have just been successfully tested, and they are very positive. ”

"It's profitable, and they naturally want to fight for it." Li Chengcheng commented briefly, and then was hugged by the emperor into his arms, and asked with a smile: "Tell me, what profit are they trying to gain?" ”

Li Chengcheng is already accustomed to the affection of the emperor, he has long been the emperor's woman, and it is only a matter of time before he is promoted to the concubine, only to blame himself for his lack of anger, and he has fallen behind Fan Xiaohui.

Letting the emperor's hand roam around his body, Li Chengcheng calmed down his emotions and said with a smile: "It's all in the newspaper, that horse and iron transport coal is fast and economical, isn't it the same for transporting goods?" They have to give some benefits when they invest in the construction of railways, that is, preferential freight, and in the long run, it is also a lot of money! ”

The Emperor's hand stopped, gently pinching and crushing a ball of softness, revealing a thoughtful expression.

Without him, the emperor thought of an event, or rather a story.

The progress of science and technology means a change in lifestyle, but also means a revolution, which will affect the lives of millions of people.

The opening of the horse railway from the Mentougou mining area to Jingshi has reduced the transportation cost and the natural low price of coal, which has made it convenient for the citizens of Beijing, but it has also smashed the jobs of many people who sell coal back and forth.

Of course, this effect will not cause unrest, it will only take time to digest, and those who are in a hurry will change careers and find their own livelihood.

However, when such behemoths as the General Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce entered the construction of the railway, the emperor felt that it was necessary to plan in advance and not to rashly promise conditions.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the western development of the United States came to an end, and the huge difference in the industrial structure between the east and the west gave rise to the demand for transportation efficiency, and also contributed to the frenzy of railway construction in the United States.

Railroads brought more than speed and efficiency: massive construction gave rise to a large number of "railroad towns" that rapidly urbanized the Midwest.

At the same time, various fund-raising and mergers and acquisitions in railway construction have also outlined the prototype of the capital market.

With the roar of steam locomotives, the railroad connected the vast and sparsely populated continental United States into a huge domestic market, and it can be said that capitalism spread wherever the railroad tracks were laid.

The burgeoning oil industry benefited most from the construction of the railroads, and the rail network throughout the United States became the lifeline of oil transportation, and the railroad companies became tax collectors along the way.

Oil magnate John Rockefeller once went to great lengths to increase production to 1,500 barrels per day in order to get a 15-cent-per-barrel discount from railroad companies.

The year after the Pacific Railroad was completed, Rockefeller, who had suffered from freight costs, decided to turn over and become the master, and he spent a lot of money to establish the Standard Oil Company and persuaded other refineries to form a secret alliance with the railroad.

The alliance took control of the Ohio and Pennsylvania shipping routes and implicitly stipulated that the public price of crude oil freight was 80 cents per barrel, but the internal members would only have to pay 40 cents.

The agreement has been called "the most brutal death pact in the history of American industrial development", and small and medium-sized enterprises that have not been able to enter the interest group have only two paths: wait for death in the face of high transportation costs, or bow to the Rockefeller-led alliance.

In this way, Rockefeller pocketed almost all of the oil refineries in Ohio and Pennsylvania, laying the foundations for his oil empire.

The emperor thought for a long time, kissed the woman in his arms, and then let go of the claws of Lushan.

The judgment has been made, and although it is not yet complete, it is not much different.

The two chambers of commerce are willing to fund the construction of the railway, on the one hand, of course, they want to curry favor with the emperor, and on the other hand, they also have interests to consider, which is understandable.

But the emperor thought of more than that, the budding capitalism, and his mind was occupied by these words.

On the one hand, it is seizing and developing land, striving to let the cultivators have their own land, and alleviating the social contradictions caused by land annexation; On the one hand, the development of industry and commerce wants to make the traditional agricultural society progressive.

This seems to be a bit of a contradiction, the tiller has his land, so where do the workers come from? Industry and commerce make great profits, will the cultivators abandon the land?

The Emperor stood up and walked slowly around the hall, thinking.

After a long while, the emperor let out a sigh of relief, narrowed his eyes slightly, and made a decision.

The stage of social development is still natural and good.

Moreover, progress is certain, and labor pains are inevitable, which in itself is part of the reform, and even, it can be called revolution.

The revolution is not a dinner party, just as Ma Tie will eliminate many coal traffickers, and the popularization of machinery will smash the jobs of many dock workers, and development and progress will inevitably pay a certain price.

You can't do everything, just let people adapt to change!

As for the Chamber of Commerce's investment in railways, this is a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people. As for monopolies, it is too early to worry about them. Besides, taking precautions, since the emperor has thought of it, he will take precautions in advance.

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