"Extra! Extra! Charles-Louis Napoleon launched a coup, and France announced that it would amend the constitution to extend the presidential term!"
The hoarse shouts of the newsboys did not generate the slightest interest in the passing crowd. Not only because France and Paris are too far away from Bucharest, but more importantly, the residents of Bucharest are busy with their livelihoods and have no interest in distant France.
That little bit of trouble.
Groups of farmers carrying shovels and hoes gathered at the street corner, eagerly looking at the municipal bulletin board not far away. It’s not that they particularly care about municipal policies, but at 7:30 every day, the city government’s petty officials will make three steps at a time.
He walked up to the bulletin board and started picking people.
The railway line from Bucharest to Chisinau has officially started construction, with the line from Bucharest to Ploiesti starting first. In this cold spring, it is particularly important for every hungry farmer to have a job to support his family.
.
The farmers who received the news early have been looking forward to it, hoping that the city government will hire more people and that the wages will be higher. This job is really important to them.
For the farmers of Wallachia, there is hope in the past few years. Starting in 1849, Grand Duke Kogelniceanu announced the partial emancipation of serfs and confiscated the properties originally belonging to the church and anti-Russian elements.
It was divided equally among the friendly serfs.
All serfs who support Grand Duke Kogelniceanu and Russia can get a piece of land that is not particularly large. This is a blessing from heaven for those serfs who have been looking forward to the land for a long time.
Anyway, after the promulgation and implementation of this policy, the anti-Russian sentiment in Wallachia subsided a lot. Only the most extreme and die-hard elements who hate Russia will continue to fight against the Russians.
Of course, the ending of these people is not good. They are either shot to death by cunning Russian military police or arrested. What awaits them will be a cruel future. They will be deprived of all property and personal freedom, or die in a dark coal kiln.
There, or they will be auctioned as goods to the pro-Russian nobles of Wallachia who are in urgent need of serfs.
Yes, you read that right again. Wallachia did not abolish serfdom. Instead, it granted amnesty to the majority of serfs who supported Russia. For those who stubbornly opposed Russia, they deprived them of their freedom and property and demoted them.
Used by serfs.
This was widely agreed upon, which relieved the pro-Russian Wallachian nobles who had doubts about Alexei's reforms, and also made conservatives in Russia who had been eyeing Wallachia relax their vigilance.
.As long as the serfdom system is not directly abolished, everything is easy to say.
It is said that Nicholas I was very satisfied with Alexey's adaptability to local conditions and praised him more than once for his good performance as governor.
Of course, only Alexey and Li Xiao knew that doing so was helpless and forced. Only when they started to reform could they find that the resistance was far greater than imagined. If they did not adapt to local conditions, destruction would be waiting for them.
The topic has gone off topic, and back to the railway. Li Xiao has actually wanted to build the railway for a long time. He is very aware of the importance of the railway to this era. He bluntly said that this is the lifeline of the economy. If you want to get rich, you must first build the road. More
What's more, the lower reaches of the Danube River in Heze are full of inconvenient transportation, and the Russian army can be driven from Ukraine to Wallachia.
If there is a railway that can connect Russia and Wallachia, it will not only be of great economic significance, but its military role cannot be underestimated. With this railway, the Russian troops assembled in Ukraine can quickly reach the first point of confrontation with Turkey.
It's just that it's not easy to build roads, because Nicholas I and his confidants are a bunch of old stubborns, and they don't like the new thing like railways. It has been more than ten years since the first railway appeared in Russia, but Russia is so
How many railways did it take to build over a long period of time?
Less than a hundred kilometers!
Do you dare to imagine that a hundred kilometers of railway have been built in more than ten years! What kind of speed is this!
Of course, the main reason for slow repair is that it is not taken seriously and no one is willing to invest money.
Naturally, it would be no fun for Alexey to ask for money to build railways at home. Because the conservative and stubborn old diehards are not even willing to build their own railways, how can they possibly provide money to help Wallachia build railways?
So Alexei and Li Xiao had to find a way to raise funds for this important railway. Fortunately, they made a lot of money over the years and made some friends, such as William I.
Gelson.
Compared with Russia's indifference to railways, the Prussians are at the other extreme. They are really full of enthusiasm for railways. The Prussians can't wait to lay railroad tracks in front of their homes!
Although William I was not particularly enthusiastic about helping foreign countries build railways, who made the request from a good friend like Li Xiao? He was still very affectionate towards Li Xiao, so he provided technical and financial support without saying a word.
Coupled with the fact that Gerson and his son heard the news and subscribed for a quarter of the shares, the construction of the railway through Wallachia and Moldavia was started.
Hence the opening scene, where countless Wallachian farmers are waiting for the start of railway construction to earn money, and their enthusiasm can melt the cold of early spring.
“Looking at these farmers, I feel like we made the right choice!”
Alexey pointed at the farmers outside the window and laughed out loud, because building this railway really put him under a lot of pressure, not only the huge financial pressure, but more importantly, the strong opposition from the die-hards and conservatives in the country. This gang
The guy even threatened to tear down the railway and burn the sleepers as firewood.
"Of course! In a few years everyone will be praising our decision!"
Li Xiao was much calmer about this. He was born in the Great Celestial Dynasty and had seen infrastructure construction scenes much grander than this. For an infrastructure maniac, this was just drizzle!
The only thing that made Li Xiao a little uneasy was that the railway was built a little late, because he knew very well that 1852 was a critical year, or a big turning point. At the end of this year, Napoleon III would be restored and proclaimed emperor.
Then the Crimean War will break out.
Even if everything goes well, they only have a little more than a year left to build the road. This time is really too short!
Li Xiao actually wanted to start construction as soon as possible, but he had no money and had to do all kinds of work. It was a great blessing to be able to start construction now. The only thing he could be thankful for was that the railway did not have much official status.
Most of the shares in Russia belong to a few of their friends, William I and Gelson. Even if Russia loses the Crimean War, it will not particularly affect future profits!