Chapter 260 Selling the right to operate the railway!
Taxation is not the mainstream issue that the government and the public are concerned about after entering Handong. The topic that has attracted the most attention in recent days is the opening of the railway from Miyun to Tongzhou.
Everyone in the capital, from ministers to ordinary people, talks about this matter. According to common sense, it seems unreasonable that the opening of the railway would become a hot topic. However, even Zhu Youjian did not expect that as soon as the railway opened to traffic, it would become a hot topic.
A huge wave of public opinion has formed among the people, and they feel that this thing is an epoch-making product.
Isn’t it just a horse-drawn carriage running on the railway? It’s not like a steam engine was built, so is there any need to make such a fuss?
Obviously he underestimated the significance of the railway to the times and its impact on folk life. Even a rail car pulled by horses still irreversibly changed time and space.
From Miyun to Tongzhou, before the railway, it took a horse-drawn carriage a day and a half to arrive. But after the railway, the ordinary horse-drawn carriage can arrive in more than six hours. If you start early in the morning, you can get there by taking some extra night. Before.
A round trip from Miyun to Tongzhou would have taken about four days if I traveled quickly, but now it can be done in two days.
The people who operate the railway also used their brains to think of the best way to make full use of their time. They leave overnight in the evening and arrive at the destination at dawn the next day. After doing their business during the day, they rush back by train at night. After a day,
You can walk back and forth in just a few seconds. The railway is flat, and new-style horse lanterns are hung in front for lighting. Walking at night is similar to walking during the day, which is very conducive to rational use of time.
A carriage pulled by three or four horses can pull more than ten people at a time without any problem. If it is used to transport goods, it can pull about two to three tons of goods at a time, which is about twice as much as the people and cargo capacity on ordinary official roads.
.It can be said that after the operation of the railway, the transportation efficiency of this stretch has increased several times.
In the past, people who went to work from the capital to Miyun only came once or twice a year. But after the opening of the railway, workers in the capital of Miyun can take advantage of their three or four days of monthly leave to go home and back. Because once
With a large number of people, the fare shared among each person is not very expensive. For office workers, the cost of returning home to visit relatives is still affordable.
It only lasted about ten days, but I feel that due to the opening of the railway, the distance between Miyun and the capital has been greatly shortened. There are even idlers from the capital who rush to take a horse-drawn carriage to Miyun to watch the excitement. People in the capital talk about Miyun.
, I no longer feel that it is a very far away place like before. I feel that Miyun has truly become a time and space zone in the suburbs of Beijing.
"Your Majesty, is it inconvenient to build the railway in winter?" Zhou Yanru finally fully felt the benefits of the railway. He even went to Tongzhou and took a carriage to Miyun. After returning, he couldn't wait to see Zhu Youjian.
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"The main reason is that the foundation is frozen, making it difficult to repair the roadbed, which will affect the construction quality of the railway. If the railway is repaired by force, it will not take long."
"That's it! If I had known earlier, we should have built the railway from Beijing to Tongzhou together. The distance is less than fifty miles. It shouldn't cost much to build it all. With the railway, the grain coming from Tianjin by waterway will reach the capital more quickly.
Convenient!" Zhou Yanru said this with great regret. He asked if the railway could be built in winter. He just wanted to work hard and quickly repair the railway from Beijing to Tongzhou.
"The roadbed cannot be repaired, but other work can be done, such as piling the sand and gravel used for road construction to a predetermined location and preparing sleepers and other materials in advance. After spring, the road can be repaired quickly. This distance of road
It won't take long, and the people building roads now are more familiar with what they need to do. If they are well prepared, they can complete the construction in two or three months." Engineering organization is also a science. If the arrangements are well organized, the efficiency can be improved a lot.
"Let's do this. Concentrate all the railway construction teams on the road from Beijing to Tongzhou during this period, let them fully prepare for the construction of Jingtong Road, and strive to have this section of road completed soon after the beginning of the new year.
Sorry. I really can’t wait for this road to be opened to traffic. This road is really important to the country. Not only does it need to transport grain, but Miyun’s production will also be convenient for transportation to Beijing. Not to mention other things, coal, with the railway
It will be much cheaper to use coal in Beijing. The most important thing is to transport troops. If this road is connected and a force is stationed in Tongzhou, Miyun and Beijing can arrive at any time. It will be of great benefit to the country."
Knowledge improves with cognition. After experiencing the convenience of the railway, Zhou Yanru's cognition suddenly improved a lot. When the emperor built the railway, Lao Zhou had great objections, but now he feels that the emperor's idea was a bit
Conservative. A project like the railway that is both convenient for the people and the military should be bigger.
"What the Grand Master said is very appropriate. Let's do it according to the Grand Master's idea! By the way, now that the railway is open, let's discuss the operation. I am going to sell the operation and maintenance rights of the railway. Yes.
People who intend to run railway cars can participate in the project. Businessmen who pay the right-of-way fee can have their own horse-drawn carriages operate on the railway. At the same time, the maintenance rights of the railway are provided to several construction teams of the imperial court. The imperial court will decide next year
The fixed amount of money will be used to contract the daily renovation, dispatching and maintenance of the railway to them."
"Your Majesty, if this happens, won't it be inconvenient for the court to use the road? State affairs such as transporting troops will be restricted!"
"The imperial court has stipulated that the use of troops will be divided into three levels in the future. In the first-level state, the railways and operating carriages, horses and coachmen will be requisitioned for the imperial court to mobilize troops. In the second-level state, the imperial court will requisition the right to use the railway and provide the
The private sector pays half of the freight to mobilize troops and military supplies. In the third-level state, the court pays the full cost to civilian merchants to transport troops and military supplies. The third-level state is a state of general non-war, and the roads used by the court are also used in ordinary times.
This method. The second level is the state when there is an enemy situation of about 10,000 to 50,000 people on the border, and the first level is the state when there is a major enemy situation."
"Wouldn't this increase the military burden on the imperial court?"
"Actually, like the previous situation, the court can't save much money. The court should try its best to abandon the habit of using people's power for free. As long as the people pay taxes and join the army, they have done their best for the country. In normal times, the country and the court
If you want to work, you have to pay. Otherwise, why would the court collect taxes? Is it to support a bunch of officials and clan nobles who are just as good as the common people?"
"Since His Majesty's holy will has been decided, there is nothing better than this. If you want to shoot, how many roads rights should be sold to the people? How much is the price?"
"There are eleven sales houses, each with a temporary price of thirty thousand taels of silver per year. One of them is set up by the imperial court to sell a company. As for the vehicles on the road, the usage period is determined by the merchants who sell them.
Negotiate to ensure fairness. They also negotiate a general range for freight rates, and cannot increase prices at will. The maintenance fee for the railway is tentatively set at 100,000 taels per year. It depends on which construction team from the imperial court will commit. In the future
The right-of-way is sold every five years. After the right-of-way is determined, they jointly form the administration of the railway, and then the administration selects its own maintenance team. In principle, the maintenance fee accounts for one-third of the right-of-way fee."
Each family has 30,000 taels, so 11 families have more than 300,000. Zhu You calculated it and found that, excluding the cost of daily maintenance, the construction cost can be recovered with interest in almost ten years. Building the railway does not make any money.
But you can’t lose money. Nowadays, railway transportation has great advantages. Without equal competitors, operators will never lose money. The contract operation rights are because Zhu Youjian does not want to build a huge railway operation system to support it. It can be market-oriented.
Less trouble means less trouble, and there is no need to accumulate burdens on the administrative system.