Chapter 335 From Now on, the North-South Canal Is Connected

In November of the sixth year of the Qingli reign, the imperial court recruited some civilians to build some tracks in the south of the capital.

By December, the track had been built to a length of 20 kilometers.

There was a small steel plant in Bianliang, which was now supplying rails like crazy. Tens of thousands of civilians were constantly laying roads along the line, extending all the way to the south.

This track was naturally not a spectacle in Zhao Jun's design, but part of the north-south railway.

As mentioned before, the East-West Canal in Bianliang was very convenient, but the communication between the north and the south was very difficult.

If you want to take the canal, you have to take a long detour from the Yellow River ferry to enter Biankou.

So Zhao Jun had always planned to connect the north and the south, so that the economies of Hebei, Henan, Nanyang and other places could be connected.

But unfortunately, due to limited conditions, he could not dig a canal.

The main reasons were cost, space, terrain and other factors.

Although it was not impossible to forcibly dig a Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal connecting the north and the south like the Yuan Dynasty.

But firstly, the Yuan Dynasty set its capital in Beijing, and the ruling class of the Yuan Dynasty needed a canal that runs through the north and south to connect the economic and political centers.

Secondly, the Yuan Dynasty was still an ancient feudal dynasty, and the only way to communicate between the north and the south was the canal.

Therefore, the Yuan Dynasty could only spend a huge amount of money to build canals.

But the Song Dynasty was different.

The capital of the Song Dynasty was in Bianliang, and the land of Yanyun was not even the territory. To connect the north and the south, there was no need to directly build a canal to Beijing, as long as it connected Hebei.

In addition, the Song Dynasty was in the early stages of the first industrial revolution and was about to officially enter industrialization.

After the development of industrialization, the steel and textile industries in various places will develop greatly.

It happened that the steam locomotive was perfected, and rubber became the last link of this layout.

Therefore, Zhao Jun actually did not need to dig rivers like the Yuan Dynasty, which was time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly.

Finally, after careful consideration, Zhao Jun believed that the canal and the railway should be carried out simultaneously.

Bianliang was built northward to the Baima Ferry of the Yellow River, so that the canal in Hebei was connected, and Hebei would no longer need to go upstream of the Yellow River and turn to the Bian River.

As for the south, a railway can be built from Bianliang first, passing through Henan and Nanyang Basin to Xiangyang on Jinghu North Road.

In this way, the Nanyang Basin, a large coal and iron mining area, can be connected to Bianliang.

At the same time, part of the goods transported by the Yangtze River no longer need to enter the Grand Canal from Yangzhou downstream, then transfer to Huainan and Jingdong Road, and finally to Bianliang.

It is completely possible to transfer from Wuhan to Hanshui, unload in Xiangyang, and transfer by train all the way to Bianliang.

After some operations, not only will the transportation time of goods from Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong and other places be greatly reduced, but also the connection between Hebei and Bianliang will be closer.

"Bianliang, as the center of the world, is naturally the first urban circle to develop, just like London in the UK."

In mid-December, nearly half a month after the fleet returned, Zhao Jun was drawing and marking the map on the table in the conference room in the Political System Institute.

This map is not a map of the Song Dynasty, but a map brought by Zhao Jun from later generations, which is a map in a geography book.

Although the geography book was burned by Zhao Jun, the pictures were saved by him on his laptop computer, and then reappeared through his paintings.

They were not burned in vain, and now they have become Zhao Jun's political bargaining chip.

It can be said that Zhao Jun not only possessed the knowledge of later generations, but also these maps and a lot of knowledge stored in the notebooks became his capital.

With these things, Zhao Jun's position was as stable as Mount Tai.

To put it bluntly.

Even if Zhao Zhen died suddenly today, the nine-year-old Zhao Fang ascended the throne and was deceived by the traitors, saying that Zhao Jun would be dragged out and beheaded, and the people in the Political System Institute would have to join forces to abolish Zhao Fang and replace the second son Zhao Xin.

At this time, it was raining heavily outside. The weather in December was getting colder and the climate was often weird. Sometimes it was sunny for a few days and it was still very hot. Sometimes the temperature suddenly dropped by more than ten degrees overnight, and even freezing rain and heavy snow fell.

It was particularly obvious in mid-December, and the temperature dropped rapidly. Many prime ministers in the Political System Institute put on thick cotton coats and listened to Zhao Jun's explanation of the strategic plan.

"First develop the Bianliang urban circle, and then slowly radiate to the entire Hebei and Henan plains."

"Because these places are important areas for coal and iron production, such as Pingdingshan, Henan, which is a major coal-producing city, and the Nanyang Basin is extremely rich in coal and iron ore resources. Hebei, needless to say, is the largest steel production area in my country in the future."

"Steel is the first step in industry, and then we can start building railways, shipyards, and steamships to sail around the world nationwide."

"As for what Lao Fan said before, we should build a railway in Shaanxi and Hebei respectively, so that when we fight with Liao and Xixia in the future, we can quickly send troops to attack."

"I don't think so."

"Because to put it bluntly, is it difficult for us to destroy Xixia and Liao now? Not at all."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "The difficulty is how to govern after conquering. Even if Liao and Xixia are destroyed, will these Tanguts, Khitans, Jurchens, and Mongols obey us? Will they integrate into us? I don't think it's that simple. It will take many years to integrate into us."

"So at least for now, I think we should focus on developing the economy first and raise the national strength of the Song Dynasty to a higher level. In this way, it will be more certain to destroy Xixia and Liao. After the railway is built, it will also be more conducive to our control of remote areas."

"And the most important thing is that we can now let Liao and Xixia act as our raw material suppliers and commodity dumping countries. If we destroy them, where can we get materials and sell things?"

He spread his hands to express his opposition to Fan Zhongyan's proposal to build the railway between Hebei and Shaanxi first.

Zhao Jun's meaning is very simple.

First, build the railway from Bianliang to Nanyang, and then build a dense railway network in plain areas such as Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Huainan, etc.

Then expand to areas with more complex terrain such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Guangdong, Hunan, Fujian, Sichuan, etc.

In this way, the national railway can be developed, and the national strength of the Song Dynasty will really start to rise.

As for destroying Liao and Xixia, it may be a matter of convenience in the future, but Zhao Jun said that he could not destroy them first.

If they are destroyed, the Song Dynasty will have to digest them and spend money to govern them.

It is better to let Liao and Xixia act as the raw material producers and commodity dumping countries of the Song Dynasty first, so as to maximize the benefits.

After all, when you are in Zhao Jun's position, you must consider the interests of the country first. If we just fight and don't cure like the Yuan Dynasty, it will be nothing more than a short-lived dynasty.

"I agree with this point. Anyway, at my age, I probably won't see the scene of the destruction of Liao and Xixia in the future. It's better to wait."

Lü Yijian said: "But according to Han Long's opinion, how long will it take for us to build a good country and officially declare war?"

They were also very curious. Who wants to wait too long?

"Not too long."

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "It's the end of the year. According to convention, all countries have to send envoys to the Song Dynasty to pay tribute. When we show the train, the next three to five years will be the time for Liao and Xixia to be beaten up."

"This"

Everyone was surprised.

Wang Zeng and Yan Shu were thoughtful.

Li Di and Zhang Shixun were old and couldn't react.

Zhang Shixun wondered, "Why?"

"Because that will only make Liao and Xixia see that the gap between them and the Song Dynasty is getting bigger and bigger. If they don't find a solution, they will be completely destroyed, so they must take action in the next three to five years."

Zhao Jun said firmly, "No matter what they do, the Song Dynasty can use it as an excuse to send troops. At that time, it will be difficult for them to survive. It just depends on whether the Song Dynasty will destroy them."

"That makes sense."

Wang Zeng agreed, "If I were Yelu Zongzhen and Zhao Yuanhao, I would be more and more worried when I saw the strength of the Song Dynasty. How can I not worry? If it drags on, I'm afraid they will have no power to fight back in the future."

It's like the original Liao, Song, and Xixia. If the combat effectiveness of the Liao is compared to 100, Xixia is compared to 90, and the Song Dynasty is compared to 80, Xixia and Liao can beat the Song Dynasty before.

But now the national strength of Liao and Xixia has improved. One combat power has reached 120, and the other has reached 110. It seems that they have become stronger. But looking back, the Song Dynasty, which originally had a combat power of 80, was not an improvement in national strength. It was like riding a rocket, and the combat power soared to 200 and above.

Moreover, this gap will only widen with the passage of time. Anyone who becomes the emperor of Xixia and Liao will have to worry.

That's why Zhao Jun predicted that in the next few years, Liao and Xixia are likely to take the initiative to provoke war again.

Once they provoke war again, the Song Dynasty can consider whether to destroy them or just defeat them, and then support the pseudo-regime like Annan for semi-colonization.

After all, it is really a pleasure to conquer, but governance is still a big problem.

It still needs to be done step by step.

For example, first take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and then step by step take back the Northeast.

As for the Mongolian grasslands, it will not be too late to take it after the railway is built in the future.

When everyone was making future railway plans.

Someone knocked on the door, and Zhao Jun said, "Come in."

A secretary from the Political System Institute came in and said, "Report, the Ministry of Works just sent someone to report that the railway has been officially completed this morning."

"Oh?"

Zhao Jun was surprised, "It has been built to Weishi so quickly?"

The secretary replied, "It was the heavy rain that caused the river repair work to stop, and the Ministry of Works transferred the people to the railway."

Now the Song Dynasty is a bit short of manpower.

Construction is going on everywhere.

The court recruited workers from all over Bianliang, and only gathered 10,000 people. It had to build a 40-kilometer-long road to Weishi County in two sections within one month. The construction period was very tight.

In history, when the United States built the Pacific Railway, it took nine years to build more than 3,000 kilometers, and an average of only about 30 kilometers per month.

However, the difficulty of the railway lies in digging tunnels. Many places on the Pacific Railway have to dig tunnels, which delays the construction period. In the plain area, it is not so troublesome. It only needs to lay sleepers and rails all the way, which will be faster.

Originally, Zhao Jun planned to complete the task within a month with 10,000 people, but he didn't expect that it would be completed in just 20 days. Was he planning to perform the Chinese speed a thousand years in advance?

"Then I'll go and take a look."

Zhao Jun stood up, then looked at the crowd and said, "Let's adjourn the meeting today. It's raining so hard outside, so don't go. I'll go and take a look."

"Uh"

Although everyone wanted to take a look, what Zhao Jun said was indeed right.

The weather has been getting colder recently, and it's raining heavily. These prime ministers are all in their sixties and seventies, and their bodies can't stand it, so they can only forget it.

Fan Zhongyan opened his mouth and wanted to go, but he had something to do at the Ministry of War in the afternoon, so he had to give up in the end.

Zhao Jun left the Constitutional Yuan. It was only noon now, but the sky outside was almost gray, with countless white lines dripping down.

The attendant held an umbrella and escorted Zhao Jun all the way to Xuande Gate, and then escorted him into the carriage.

The carriage was mighty and powerful, surrounded by hundreds of guards, and headed south of the city.

At this moment, about five or six kilometers away from Bianliang in the south of the city, a simple station rose from the ground, with a straight road leading directly to the south.

Two tracks are laid on the road. The base is either cement or some sand and gravel with sleepers and tracks on it.

There is no way. If cement is used as the base, the amount of work and cost will be too great.

However, as long as the tracks are spliced ​​together, they are very strong. Unless it's man-made, there won't be any major problems.

When Zhao Jun's carriage arrived at the train station, Su Shunyuan, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, rushed over to greet him.

He was responsible for the construction of this project.

"I've met Zhiyuan."

Su Shunyuan stepped forward and bowed his hands.

"Well, how's your repair going?"

Zhao Jun stepped out of the carriage, wearing a thick cotton coat and cotton cloak.

It was windy and rainy outside, and the cold wind was blowing on his face like a knife, making him slightly unable to open his eyes.

After I got used to it a little, I saw groups of people wearing raincoats in the wilderness, slowly coming back from the end of the railway in the south, in the mist and rain.

"This is the workers coming back."

Su Shunyuan looked into the distance and said: "This repair is seventy miles away from Weishi. We chose to start repairs from both sides at the same time, so as to speed up the construction period. It was officially completed this morning."

Zhao Jun asked curiously: "If you practice it this way, aren't you afraid that it will be inconsistent if you practice it together?"

"Will not."

Su Shunyuan smiled and said: "Before the construction, the road was already planned, gravel was laid, and the distance between the rails was specified. The workers only needed to nail the sleepers and rails according to the markings on the gravel."

“The Ministry of Industry is full of talented people.”

Zhao Jun sighed and said that the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated.

During the storm, at least two to three thousand civilians returned to Bianliang, and the Ministry of Works organized people to start paying wages.

Accompanied by many officials, Zhao Jun inspected about four or five kilometers along the railway and returned to the train station in the afternoon.

This train station is as simple as a few bungalows. It is only surrounded by fences and does not even have a ticket gate.

But in this era when trains just came out, industry has not really developed and grown. It is already a miracle to build a thirty or forty kilometers long railway, and there is no need to care about whether the train is simple or not.

After returning to the station, Zhao Jun gave instructions: "Practice is the only criterion for testing truth. Just because the railway track is built does not mean it will be passable. Only when it is truly passable can it be considered qualified."

"yes."

Su Shunyuan said: "Tomorrow, the Ministry of Industry and the Institute of Physics will assemble a steam engine on the rails for trial operation."

"Um."

Zhao Jun said: "The New Year is approaching, and as usual, the surrounding countries will send envoys to the Song Dynasty to celebrate the New Year with His Majesty. Your Majesty is planning to invite envoys from all over the world to attend the ceremony at the beginning of the New Year to demonstrate the prestige of the Song Dynasty and to avoid any trouble."

Su Shunyuan said sternly: "Your Majesty and the Governor, please rest assured that I will live up to my orders."

"good."

Zhao Jun praised: "I, the Song Dynasty, have a bright future, and I will be able to conquer the world, starting next year!"

Everyone looked towards the station outside.

The rain is still falling, but everyone is already looking forward to the scenery of the trains driving above.

Starting next year, at least the train from Bianliang to Weishi will be open to traffic.

If all goes well, railways will soon be laid along Weishi, Yanling, Linying, Wuyang, Fangcheng, Nanyang and other lines.

Since then, canals have been connected from north to south. There is a canal to the north of Bianliang that leads directly to Hebei, and a railway to Nanyang in the south.

Goods from Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong and Guangxi will no longer have to be transported from the Yangtze River to Zhejiang and then back from Zhejiang to Bianliang.