In this era, the most profitable railway line must be from Chang'an City to Luoyang City.
Li Er took the initiative to hand over this line, which really touched Li Yunze. It was no different from giving him a golden mountain with his own hands.
"this."
Li Yunze was a little embarrassed, "It's not okay."
It's a pity that his embarrassment was regarded by Li Er as a huge loss, and he had to add more chips. "I also know that it is a bit excessive to let you spend so much, but I will compensate you."
"Compensation?" Li Yunze was really embarrassed now.
In the Qing Dynasty, the emperor would have been scolded to death for doing this.
"The railway construction period is roughly three years." Li Yunze simply requested directly, "Land acquisition issues in various places during this period must be handled by His Majesty and the imperial court."
"This is natural." Li Er nodded immediately, "As long as your compensation is in place, this matter is not difficult."
As a horse-riding emperor, if he says it's not difficult, it really is not difficult.
Those who are willing to listen to good advice will be rewarded with money and land.
If someone refuses to listen to good advice, Li Er has plenty of ways to solve the problem.
"This kind of large-scale project requires a huge amount of manpower to do the work." Li Yunze explained, "If it is too technical, I will arrange training, but what is really needed is hard work."
This time, before Li Er could speak, Wei Zheng couldn't hold it in any longer. "In the former Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang abused the power of the people and eventually lost the support of the people and destroyed his country."
He didn't say what he said next, but everyone understood what he meant.
At least Li Er's face had darkened at this time.
Li Er has always firmly drawn a clear line between him and his cousin.
Now Wei Zheng compares Yang Guang to himself. It is true that his cousin can bear it, but his cousin cannot.
"The wages are paid." Li Yunze said calmly, "The wages are enough, and the food is also taken care of."
Wei Zheng nodded with satisfaction, took a step back and said nothing.
Directly initiating corvee labor and paying hired workers to take care of food are two different things.
Corvee is an obligation to do things for the country for free. Not only is there no such thing as wages, you even have to prepare your own food.
Not only food, but also the clothes you wear, the various tools you use for work, etc. all need to be prepared by yourself.
Under such circumstances, it is natural for large-scale corvee labor to cause turmoil.
It cannot be wrong that Yang Guang built the canal, but he forced the people to work for nothing and used his property and life to build the canal, so he should be damned.
"During construction, we need to pass through many important areas, and passes such as Hangu Pass must be passed directly."
"This." Li Er was a little embarrassed. If the important pass lost its defensive role, it would be too dangerous.
"If the Tang Dynasty is really strong," Li Yunze said leisurely, "it should defend itself against enemies outside the country. Only those who are weak and unable to fight will pin their hopes on the pass walls."
Some people say that the emperors of Qin, Han, Wu, Tang, and Taizong who were enterprising and expanded their territories were willing to listen, but it would be useless to those emperors who were better at handling women in the harem.
Li Er pondered for a moment, then nodded immediately, "Yes."
"First make preliminary preparations, plan the route, and then arrange the land expropriation." Li Yunze ignored Changsun Wuji's crazy hints, "We must seize the time, building a road of more than a thousand miles in three years is not an easy task.
.”
Li Er still had something to say. He pointed to the other side of the Shengzhou River on the sand table, "Why don't you go across the river?"
"It's too wide here." Li Yunze shook his head repeatedly. "It's okay for ordinary rivers, but such large rivers cannot be repaired for the time being."
"Has your Majesty set up a Shanyu Protectorate here to be responsible for managing grassland matters? At that time, the collected wool and other materials can be gathered together and transported across the river and transported back to Chang'an City by train."
"Chan Yu Protector's Mansion?" Li Er looked at the sand table carefully and nodded slowly, "Yes."
On the other side of Shengzhou is the Yunzhong County where King Zhao Wuling built the Great Wall during the Warring States Period.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, this was the base for the army to march north to attack the grasslands.
In the Tang Dynasty, the areas inside and outside the Yinshan Mountains were the main areas of activity for the Turks. Because compared to the barren prairie, the land here was frequently changed due to the flooding of the Yellow River, so it was really much more fertile.
Before leaving, Li Er looked at the sand table from time to time, and everyone understood the meaning in his eyes.
"This is not a good thing." Li Yunze made a comprehensive statement, "Your Majesty will find a spacious palace when you return to the palace. I will give your Majesty a better one."
Li Er took everyone away with satisfaction, except Changsun Wuji who stayed.
"Dong Qi, is something wrong?"
"Master Li, I don't know what you said about iron smelting."
At this time, the Tang Dynasty did not implement the salt and iron monopoly, so private iron smelting was very popular.
Changsun Wuji's family had a large-scale iron smelting shop, which was so large that it could even be called a trust.
Of course, the productivity of the Tang Dynasty is used as the measurement standard.
In the modern world, a small iron factory eliminated at the county level would be much larger than his family.
"There is no rush in this matter." Li Yunze immediately signaled, "Let's start the repairs to Shengzhou and Luoyang first, so that His Majesty's officials and the people can see and feel the benefits, and then we can talk about the rest."
Changsun Wuji said to himself, when the time comes, when they see the benefits, many people will rush to grab the business. I just want to take advantage of the benefits in advance.
"Master Li, how old are you, how about I call you wise brother?" Changsun Wuji, who was smiling, began to play the emotional card, "Brother Yu, we really fell in love at first sight, how about we go to Pingkangfang to drink and watch the dance together?"
The upright Li Yunze immediately frowned, "Brother Changsun, who do you think I am? We hit it off as soon as we met. We can drink and chat anywhere. Why do we have to go to Pingkangfang?"
Changsun Wuji was about to say, 'It's Brother Yu's fault, let's go to the house and have a drink.'
Before he could say anything, he heard Li Yunze say, "I'm going to change my clothes. I won't do this next time."
understood.
Changsun Wuji, who can be called a human spirit, immediately understood that the next time he would treat guests would be in Pingkangfang.
Li Yunze got on the luxurious carriage of Changsun Wuji's family, which was produced by Lijiazhuang. The decoration was as luxurious as possible, and the appearance was as beautiful as possible. In short, the better it looked, the better.
The carriage is very spacious and has a heater.
There were originally several beautiful maids, but Changsun Wuji wanted to discuss important matters and kicked them all off the carriage.
"Brother Xian, Brother Yu can't speak. If anything happens, just tell him straight away."
Changsun Wuji, who is known for his lively mind, said that he could not speak, which really amused Li Yunze and said, "I am all ears."
"Brother Yu has never seen or heard of railway trains. But even if he just listened to Brother Xian's description, he knows that it must be an extremely important thing."
"Brother Fool doesn't know anything else, but he knows that as long as His Majesty sees the benefits of this thing with his own eyes, he will definitely popularize it at all costs. When the time comes, will everything needed for the construction be provided by Brother Xian?"
Feeling Changsun Wuji's burning gaze, Li Yunze simply shook his head, "How is it possible? I spent my own money and effort to subsidize the railway from Chang'an to Shengzhou to Luoyang. It was just a bet with the grassland tribes that I couldn't swallow this breath, and it was just for the sake of His Majesty's face. How?
Maybe
If I pay for everything myself, wouldn’t I be at a big loss?”
'What a waste!'
Changsun Wuji lowered his head and rolled his eyes, "I don't understand you, a profiteer? How can you do a loss-making business? Even if you seem to be losing money at the beginning, you will definitely make it back ten times or a hundred times later. This railway construction must be huge."
Make a lot of money. The reason why I no longer
Continuing to take over everything is just a matter of knowing generally how to advance and retreat, and understanding that these things cannot all be in one's own hands.'
When he raised his head again, Changsun Wuji's face was full of honesty, "Brother Xian is really loyal to the country, which makes Brother Yu admire him very much. Brother Yu also wants to contribute to the country, so please give me some advice."
Li Yunze, who was noncommittal, sat on the soft cushion and picked up the glass beside him. "Well, let's talk about this after dinner."
Changsun Wuji, who understood instantly, smiled even brighter, "Brother Yu invited everyone Gongsun to perform the sword dance for brother Xian. If brother Xian is satisfied, he can also invite everyone Gongsun to his house to have a close competition."
"The Duke of Qi is too polite."
Li Yunze waved his hands repeatedly, "Just watch the dance."
"If the Tang Dynasty wanted to build railways on a large scale, iron would naturally be indispensable." Li Yunze finally started to talk. "It just so happens that I have the technology to increase iron smelting production on a large scale."
Changsun Wuji's eyes were shining, this was what he wanted.
He did not want to get involved in building the railway, because it must be under the control of the emperor himself.
Providing necessary materials for railway construction is a hugely profitable business.
Li Yunze's conversation suddenly changed: "But why should I give it to you?"
Changsun Wuji was stunned for a moment, and then the smile on his face faded and turned into a real negotiation look. "My dear brother, if you have any requests, just ask them."
"happy."
Li Yunze immediately laughed, "Let's do this. I will invest in technology and machine tools, and Qi Guogong will invest in manpower and material resources, and together we will set up a shop specializing in iron smelting and manufacturing rails. How about each of us taking half?"
"Is this too much?"
"Among other things, I am the only one who has the skills to make qualified rails. This thing cannot be knocked out by blacksmiths with hammers. Even if it could be knocked out, even if all the blacksmiths from across the country gathered together, they still wouldn't be able to knock it out.
A few."
Changsun Wuji fell into silence, quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
If it were anyone else, he would have plenty of ways to pry out the technology and machine beasts.
But Li Yunze in front of him couldn't use those tricks.
After careful consideration, Changsun Wuji asked, "What is Brother Yu going to do?"
"First of all, mines, not only iron mines but also coal mines, require large-scale production to provide enough ore. I can also provide some technical support in this regard, but in terms of mines and manpower, I have to arrange it for Qi Guogong.
"
"Then there is smelting, manpower, material and funds, and the construction of a truly large-scale iron factory. These also require the efforts of Qi Guogong."
After speaking, Li Yunze explained, "Don't think that I have contributed little. No one has these technologies and mechanisms except me. When His Majesty decides to vigorously develop the railway, all the money will be sold."
This time Changsun Wuji thought deeply for a long time, and finally smiled and nodded to Li Yunze.