As the train runs on the tracks, everyone you meet along the way turns around and stares.
This is the first time for many honest farmers to see a train. They don’t have the time to go to Yangzhou to ride the trial version of the “toy” train.
Dong Shuheng knew that at first the train could only run at eight kilometers per hour, which was not as fast as a horse-drawn carriage. He also knew that the speed of trains would become faster and faster in the future, and no one knew where the upper line would be.
Maybe people in the future can take the interstellar train or the time train.
Soon, diesel and electric locomotives will appear, and the speed of trains will make a big leap.
Another great advantage of trains is their stability. Unless there is extreme weather, trains can run normally.
This has also made railway transportation very popular from its emergence to later generations. Even in the future world in science fiction movies, trains still exist.
Therefore, Dong Shuheng made sure that there was nothing wrong with building more railways.
Dong Shuheng has planned to build a railway bridge over the Yangtze River. If this project is completed, it will definitely make the whole world look at China with admiration.
Of course, planning is planning, and it is not certain when it will be realized. However, the railways connecting Jiangning to Nanchang and Pukou to Huaibei via Hefei and Xuzhou have entered the next stage of planning.
Dong Shuheng hopes to complete the construction of the railway network in the Liangjiang area in five years. By then, the Huaihai Navy may have unified the country.
Using the experience and technology we have accumulated now, we can then roll out railways across the country.
The coverage of railways and telegraphs is also helpful in strengthening centralized rule. Railways can quickly transfer troops on a large scale, facilitating the regular movement of troops and changing defenses. There is no need to deploy troops in an all-round way, as long as they are deployed in some important strategic locations.
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Normally, you only need to put some garrison troops in the local area. Once there is a change, you can quickly support from these strategic positions.
This prevents the army from being stationed in one place for a long time and becoming a warlord. It can also reduce the number of local armies and save military power. It can keep more military forces in the hands of the central government.
Telegraphs facilitated the communication between local governments and the central government. In this way, the power of local administrative officials will be weakened. Many matters can be requested from the central government through telegraphs.
At the same time, the central government can also quickly understand local intelligence through telegrams.
The telegraph industry makes real-time information transmission possible, and will also accelerate the development of the journalism industry, allowing people to understand world affairs without leaving home. Even in remote places, ordinary people can understand the policies of the central government.
If there had been telegraphs and railways during the Han and Tang dynasties, China's territory would have been firmly established in Central Asia to the west, to the extreme cold regions to the north, and to the Indochina Peninsula to the south.
Many of the lands conquered by soldiers were abandoned due to transportation and information transmission problems.
After the telegraph network in the Liangjiang area was laid, Huaihai Navy could lay out future telegraph lines by itself.
Moreover, the electronic laboratory under Huaihai Company has cooperated with the academy to study radio issues.
Another important task of Xu Shou's trip to Europe is to collect information and talents on radio technology. This is why Dong Shuheng asked him to cooperate with Siemens.
Because Siemens not only has technical reserves in this area but also has its own information sources. Through Siemens, Xu Shou can avoid many detours.
Wired telegraph is destined to be only a transitional communication technology, but fortunately these telegraph lines can be directly used to convert into telephone lines in the future without causing waste.
"Shu Heng, Shu Heng!" Wei Yuzhen called out to Dong Shuheng who was deep in thought.
"Ah, Yuzhen, what's wrong? Why don't you look at the scenery?"
"You also said, look outside, it's almost time to reach the station."
Dong Shuheng put his head to the window, and what he saw was the Grand Canal Market in the distance. The buildings with black tiles and white walls were very conspicuous beside the canal.
They are now passing the canal railway bridge and will arrive at Yangzhou Station soon.
Although Yangzhou is not as modern as Gaoyou, as a prosperous place that has been famous throughout the world since ancient times, Yangzhou has its own unique charm.
In particular, Wenchangge Street, which is equipped with street lights, has become a good place to visit the night market, and it is as lively as a lantern festival every night.
There are also those gardens that were renovated and opened after Dong Shuheng ordered them to integrate the city into the gardens.
Moreover, since Yangzhou built a new city in the east, all the residents of the shantytowns in the city have moved out. They live in the resettlement area in the east of the city, which is convenient for working in factories.
In this way, the whole city looks more spacious and tidy.
Several juvenile military academies are located in the city. In the city, young people wearing military uniforms can often be seen walking in neat lines on the streets under the leadership of their teachers.
Dong Shuheng would take time to visit these children every time he was in Yangzhou, and sometimes he would give lectures to the children.
A large part of the curriculum for these children is nationalism education and gratitude education.
Dong Shuheng hopes that when they grow up, they will become people who love the country and the nation and are useful to the country and the nation.
Now these children are still receiving basic education. Many of them are chronically malnourished and need to recuperate their bodies.
The number of children is still increasing, and new orphans are constantly being sent over. So much so that Dong Shuheng is planning to establish two more juvenile military schools in Jiangning.
Dong Shuheng knew that if a city wants to develop, it must first have a certain industrial and commercial foundation, then it must have schools, especially universities, to increase its humanistic heritage, and finally it must have its own radiation area. There must always be some villages or villages around a city.
Small towns serve as supports.
In addition, if you want to establish a city circle, it is best for the cities in the circle to be complementary.
Dong Shuheng had previously discussed the urban planning of Liangjiang with his officials.
The Jiangsu region is undoubtedly the focus of planning. From north to south, Xuzhou's development direction is a heavy industrial city and a transportation hub for the Huaihai Navy to the north, where railways and canals will intersect.
Haizhou is a natural port and the eastern terminus of railway transportation, so it is also a transit port for railway to sea transportation. It will be developed as a port city. Materials returned by sea from the north will be transferred here.
Dafeng is the comprehensive industrial base of Huaihai Navy, as well as an important R&D base and military base of Huaihai Navy. It is a relatively closed city.
Yangzhou and Gaoyou, these two cities are very close and will definitely develop integratedly in the future. They will be important light industry bases, business centers, and cultural centers.
Jiangning will be the political center of Huaihai Navy and will develop supporting political, economic and cultural undertakings.
The capital of Anhui Province will focus on developing two cities, Luzhou and Anqing, radiating to the north and south of the Yangtze River respectively. In the past, Anhui was more focused on the south than on the north, and the focus of development was all in the south. Therefore, Dong Shuheng planned to place the provincial capital of Anhui in Luzhou in the north to drive northern Anhui.
development.
This poor northern Anhui is the turbulent northern Anhui. Historically, the outbreak of Nian bandits in northern Anhui was closely related to the poverty here.
The Huaihai Navy managed Hongze Lake and Huaihai, greatly reducing natural disasters in northern Anhui, and agricultural life gradually recovered.
The successive development of several important mineral deposits has also provided a foundation for the development of industry in northern Anhui.
The gentry forces in northern Anhui were completely destroyed by the Nian bandits, which allowed Huai Haijun's farms to move in. This area faces Henan directly. With these farms as support, it will be very convenient for defense or northward attack in the future.
Central Anhui is the area hardest hit by the powerful gentry. The powerful people here have been disobedient to control since ancient times. The Huai Navy has resolutely cracked down on it since it first moved in.
For this reason, conflicts and riots continued in the early days of the local area, and the Huaihai Navy had to dispatch several garrison troops. The army compressed the powerful space head-on, and the special forces cooperated to carry out targeted elimination.
A large number of powerful families were collectively relocated and sent to overseas farms for labor reform. Finally, the atmosphere in central Anhui was corrected.
The southern part of Anhui has a strong literary style since ancient times, and the aristocratic families are very powerful, but the business atmosphere here is also very strong.
Moreover, these large clans have suffered a great blow under the rule of the Taiping Army, and their strength has been weakened.
For these families, Dong Shuheng adopted methods of win-over and guidance. On the one hand, he rescued them from the rule of the Taiping Army in a savior way.
On the other hand, through cooperation, we actively guide these families to shift towards commercialization and absorb some of the talents from these families into the Huaihai Navy.
Huizhou in southern Anhui is a place where people gather together, and many families have people serving as officials in the Qing court.
If these families were tied to the Huaihai Navy's chariots, it would be equivalent to placing a group of people within the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
Wannan is also an important producing area for silk and tea, and is an important supplier of raw materials for export to the Huaihai Navy. Accepting it in a peaceful way will also be conducive to the recovery of the economy here.
Regarding the issue of aristocratic families, Dong Shuheng did not regard them as hostile parties from the beginning.
Dong Shuheng knew that even if China develops in the future, the problem of aristocratic families will still exist. This is related to the family consciousness of the Chinese people.
In fact, not only China, but also many countries have the problem of aristocratic families. Human beings, out of closeness to the same blood and the same kind, instinctively trust people of the same race more and will seek benefits for people of the same race.
This is a matter of course, and there is no way to completely eliminate it. Even if several big families are eliminated or broken up, new families will appear.
Jiangxi in the south has always been very low-key in Chinese history. But in fact, Jiangxi was the earliest province formed and its territory has always been relatively fixed.
Jiangxi Province is actually formed around the water system of Ganjiang River and Poyang Lake, and is surrounded by a ring of mountains.
The Ganjiang River and its major tributaries originate from these mountains. The entire Jiangxi Province is higher in the south and lower in the north. All water eventually flows into Poyang Lake and into the Yangtze River.
Moreover, Jiangxi is connected to the six provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Min, Guangdong, Hunan, and Anhui, and its geographical location is very important. If the Huaihai Navy wants to quickly control the Jiangnan area in the future, it must make good arrangements for the Jiangxi area.
In Jiangxi, Huaihai will focus on developing Nanchang and Ganzhou and establish a Ganjiang Economic Belt. Jingdezhen's status as a porcelain capital will also be improved and strengthened.
Ganzhou will become a military center and logistics center. Economic exchanges with Guangdong and Fujian can be strengthened through Ganzhou.
Although Dong Shuheng is not planning to occupy these provinces now, economic penetration has been going on.
Reserve supplies and troops in Ganzhou so that if something happens, they can quickly send troops to Min and Guangdong.
The three provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong have a relatively developed commercial economy, and the local power of merchants is actually very strong.
The merchants in Zhejiang have been pulled into the chariot by the Huai Navy. The merchants in Fujian actually have close relations with the Nanyang Chinese, and through them they have also established good connections with the Huai Navy.
However, businessmen in Guangdong had a conflict with Huai Haijun due to their stance. It has not been resolved until now. Now they have retreated to Guangdong, still surrounding Wu Jianzhang, who is now the chief envoy of Guangdong.