Chapter 2594

In the past, the upper-level circles that Yangzhou salt merchants could come into contact with were, at most, people at the level of salt patrol censors or local officials. Real "relatives of the emperor" are not so easy to establish relationships with, and this time with

The contact between Bai Letong and others also made Dai Yingda realize that he had the opportunity to come into contact with the group of people who truly rule this country. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

Of course, strictly speaking, Shi Diwen, Shi Chengwu and his son also belong to this top class. However, Shi Diwen has never found a place on the executive committee. In terms of the power he holds, he has actually had contact with Dai Yingda in the past.

The chief envoys, envoys, governors and other officials seem to be almost the same. But these young officials from Sanya are people who are likely to inherit the throne in the future, and they are definitely worthy of his efforts to build relationships.

It's just that Dai Yingda tried to follow the past practice of dealing with Ming officials, but he met with failure from Bai Letong and others. These young people are not very interested in money, but the only condition the salt merchants can offer is this.

, the interests of both parties are inconsistent, and it is naturally difficult to reach a consensus.

Although under the pressure of Shi Diwen, Bai Letong finally gave up investigating the possible fraud of the Yangzhou salt merchants' children in the rural examination, but it also left a negative impression on the Yangzhou salt merchants. If Shi Chengwu had not come forward to make peace, then

I am afraid that this matter will not be completely resolved for a long time to come. For Dai Yingda, who wants to move closer to the center of imperial power, it will also be a big hidden danger.

Fortunately, Dai Yingda's more than ten years of management were not in vain. At least he asked Shi Chengwu to come forward to persuade him. If it weren't for Shi Chengwu's face, Bai Letong probably wouldn't have put down his arrogance and put forward a condition of redemption.

to resolve the matter. If money can solve the problem between the Yangzhou salt merchant and Bai Letong, Dai Yingda will be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

As a result, the hundreds of schools funded and built by Yangzhou salt merchants not only greatly promoted the promotion and popularization of Haihan's cultural and educational industry in the Donghai region, but also cultivated a large number of talents for Haihan, but these are all discussed later.

.

When Bai Letong put forward this condition, he actually didn't have such long-term considerations. What he considered was to give both parties a step down, and at the same time, let Dai Yingda shed some blood, which could be regarded as giving a deep impression to these Yangzhou salt merchants.

lessons.

After returning to his residence after dinner, Tao Hong just said to Bai Letong: "Letong, the conditions you just proposed to the salt merchant may be a little too simple."

Bai Letong asked in confusion: "How can you see it?"

Tao Hongfang said: "Don't you think Shi Chengwu agreed too quickly? The conditions you proposed must be far lower than the difficulty expected by the salt merchant. Shi Chengwu was also afraid that you would regret it, so he agreed immediately."

When Bai Letong thought about it, he realized that this was indeed the case, and responded with a wry smile: "This is like selling a favor to Shi Chengwu!"

Ning Zijing said: "This Yangzhou salt merchant also has great influence in Hangzhou. If this matter continues to be dragged on without being resolved, it will be troublesome for everyone to look up and not see each other in Hangzhou. The invitation Shi Chengwu just sent, isn't this

Do we have to meet Dai Yingda again?"

The invitation sent by Shi Chengwu to several of them during the banquet was not an ordinary social interaction, but another important event. Bai Letong and others had no way to refuse and could only accept the invitation.

The owner of this invitation was not the Yangzhou salt merchant, but Shi Diwen. The invitation was to invite them to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the railway project between Hangzhou and Ningbo.

One of the geographical advantages of Hangzhou is that it is close to the coast, but what cannot be ignored is that this city located on the Qiantang River does not have the conditions to build a large seaport, so it cannot handle the demand for maritime transportation in future urban development. Therefore, the plan to move the capital is

China has proposed a special solution to this problem, which is to use Ningbo's Zhoushan Port and the ports along the Yongjiang River as the sea passage for the Hangzhou area, and build a dedicated land channel between the two places to solve the problem of bulk cargo transshipment.

Just relying on the current official road between the two places for reconstruction and expansion may be able to temporarily meet temporary needs, but the executive committee must consider the development prospects of Hangzhou as a capital city, and various infrastructure projects must of course be viewed in the context of a century-long plan.

It is necessary to make some advanced arrangements, such as using railways to partially replace the transportation functions of existing official roads.

It has been more than 20 years since Haihan started building the first railway in Sanya. During this period, it has accumulated rich construction and operation experience through multiple railway projects. Therefore, despite the land distance between Hangzhou and Ningbo,

With a length of more than 300 miles, the scale of the project exceeds all previous railway projects in Haihan. Donghai Region still gritted its teeth and planned this railway as part of the infrastructure project of the capital relocation plan.

The preliminary exploration project for this railway actually started before Haihan officially took over the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and has been going on for about two years. Although there are still some aspects of the investigation and design work that have not yet been perfected, Shi Diwen no longer wants to wait any longer.

After all, with the implementation of the capital relocation plan, the Hangzhou area will face great freight pressure. If the Hangzhou-Nanjing Railway can be built earlier, materials can be transferred from the sea to Hangzhou faster. Some of the survey and design have been completed

Construction of the road section can begin.

Of course, with the current engineering capabilities of Haihan, it is not realistic to build a railway bridge across the Qiantang River. Therefore, the Hangzhou Railway Station is located on the south bank of the Qiantang River, while the Ningbo Railway Station is located on the Fenghua River and

At the intersection of the Yuyao River, sea-going ships can enter and leave the sea from the Yongjiang River and complete water and land transfers at the dock near the train station.

In addition to the two big cities at both ends of the line, this railway line also passes through Yuyao, Shangyu, Kuaiji, Shaoxing, Xiaoshan and other prefectures and counties in the middle. It is foreseeable that in the future, these areas along the way will also expand rapidly due to the convenience brought by the railway.

development, just like those areas on Hainan Island that already enjoy this kind of treatment.

For such a large engineering project, the project budget is naturally not a small amount. According to Donghai Region's estimates, the cost from survey and design to putting into use is roughly equivalent to the Donghai Region's fiscal revenue for three years.

Even if the Donghai region is famous for its prosperity, of course it is impossible to have so much money to invest in this project, so more financing channels must be adopted to solve part of the problem of fund sources. According to Haihan's traditional practice, issuance

Railway bonds, which raise funds from the public, have become one of the options for the Donghai Region. Yangzhou salt merchants, who have deep pockets, have become the main investors in purchasing railway bonds.
Chapter completed!