Chapter 296 The Rebellion of the Officials, Chongzhen's Wrath
Three heavy haul railways.
The Haichuan Railway starts from Harbor City and passes through Yangzhou, Nanjing, Hefei, Wuchang, Jingzhou, Yiling, Zhongzhou, Chongqing and finally ends in Chengdu. The total length is about 2,000 kilometers. The average construction cost per kilometer is estimated to be 100,000 silver dollars.
Xujiazhuang borne half of the construction costs, so it issued 100 million silver yuan in Haichuan Railway Investment Bonds.
The Haijing Railway starts from Harbor City and passes through Xinghua, Baoying, Huai'an, Xuzhou, Jinan, Hejian, Tianjin, and Tangshan to the terminal station in Beijing. The total length is about 1,500 kilometers. The terrain along the way is mostly flat, and the construction cost per kilometer is about 60,000.
Xujiazhuang was responsible for half of the silver dollars, so it issued 45 million silver dollars of Haijing Railway bonds.
The Haishan Railway starts from Harbor City and passes through Taizhou, Fengyang, Bozhou, Xuchang, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Zezhou, and Taiyuan to its terminal in Datong City. The total length is about 1,800 kilometers. It mostly passes through plains, but the terrain in Shanxi is rugged. Every kilometer
The construction cost is estimated to be 80,000 silver dollars, so Haishan Railway Bonds of 72 million silver dollars were issued.
And once these railway investment bonds were launched.
rush buying.
It was really a crazy rush.
Because the business benefits prospects that Xujiazhuang described after the completion of the railway are really great. The minimum annual investment dividend of 10%, as long as you hold bonds, you can get this dividend every year, for thirty or fifty years.
, for a hundred years, you can get dividends as long as you hold the bond. If it doesn't work, you can sell the bond again, or even sell it at a higher price. It can be said that you will make a guaranteed profit without losing any money, and the risk is zero.
Take the 'Haijing Railway', which has the greatest investment potential, as an example. Although this railway is planned to be almost parallel to the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, there is a serious competitive relationship between the two. There are actually very loud voices of doubt and opposition, saying that it must be done at all costs.
There are also strong voices that prevent the completion of this railway. However, after the "Haijing Railway Bond" was officially issued, more than 30 million silver dollars were sold in just three days, and it was about to be sold out, which would trigger a stampede of buying.
Miss this investment opportunity.
…
February 20th.
In the capital, in the imperial palace.
Emperor Zhu Youjian, who has received a lot of news these days, can't sit still.
In fact, when Xujiazhuang's heavy-haul railway plan first came out, Zhu Youjian discussed it with civil and military officials in the court hall and discussed how to deal with it.
At the beginning, the officials' attitude was naturally full of opposition and shouts of beating and killing.
If there are suggestions, tough measures must be taken to stop them.
Some believe that once the Hai-Jing Railway is completed, its annual logistics transportation capacity of one billion tons will exceed the ten Beijing-Hangzhou canals combined, and its transportation costs will be lower. Once it is opened, hundreds of thousands of laborers will be unemployed, which will become a factor of instability and even
Endangering the country and the country of Ming Dynasty.
Some officials believe that the Haishan Railway passes through Fengyang Mansion, which may disturb the imperial mausoleum and damage the dragon veins. They believe that Xujiazhuang has ulterior motives and must have a conspiracy.
There are also some generals who believe that the steam train introduced by Xujiazhuang can run 320 miles per hour. If it is used to mobilize troops, tens of thousands of elite troops can be gathered under the capital in just two days.
Maybe there is no response at all, the capital city will be taken, and the Ming Dynasty will change hands... Therefore, the railway must not be repaired!
Zhu Youjian suddenly felt great anxiety and thought that what these ministers said was very reasonable.
The construction of these railways must be prevented at all costs.
However, it was time to further discuss specific countermeasures with civil and military officials.
At the morning meeting the next day, regarding the railway construction in Xujiazhuang, Zhu Youjian found that the number of ministers who expressed concerns about this topic today and believed that it must be stopped forcefully had been reduced by more than half. Those who were still expressing opposition did not know.
What's going on? Everyone's attitude has become a lot gentler, and most of them avoid the important and take the easy.
"Your Majesty, if Xujiazhuang wants to build a railway, it must be discussed with the imperial court in advance. However, Xujiazhuang ignores the imperial court and always makes unilateral announcements. We should express our strong dissatisfaction with this matter."
"Yes, what Xujiazhuang did has nothing to do with the imperial court and is extremely disrespectful. Moreover, we also have opinions on how to repair the railway line and how to plan it. The railway construction can not start unless both parties reach an agreement."
"Xujiazhuang issued bonds and collected tens of millions of silver dollars in private funds in just a few days. Has this money been paid to the court? Can Xujiazhuang keep so much money? I think the only way to do this is to hand over the money to
Only the imperial court can ensure that special funds are used exclusively and not a single cent will be misappropriated by corruption."
"In addition, the railway must bypass the Fengyang Emperor Mausoleum and must not damage the dragon veins and feng shui. A deposit of 50 million silver dollars must be handed over to the state treasury to ensure that the interests of the people whose land was expropriated are not seriously harmed. Only by agreeing to these conditions can the railway start construction."
Hear these rhetoric.
Zhu Youjian was a little confused. Yesterday, all the civil and military officials were shouting and killing, and their attitude was extremely tough. Today, it seems that as long as Xujiazhuang agrees to some conditions, the railway will be allowed to be built. The question is, did I say "agree"?
On the third day of the court meeting, the atmosphere in the court hall became even weirder. The ministers seemed to be suffering from collective amnesia. No one mentioned the issue of railway construction in Xujiazhuang, but discussed some miscellaneous things.
When the court meeting was about to end, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but ask: "Dear sirs, do you have a better response to the railway construction in Xujiazhuang?"
"There is nothing, there is nothing."
"Your Majesty, it's just a few roads. It's no different from the roads built before in Xujiazhuang. We don't need to worry too much."
"Xu Jiazhuang is wealthy and has a strong attitude. There is nothing the court can do at the moment. If he is allowed to be arrogant for a few more years, there will be retribution in the future."
"Yes, it would be unwise to confront a force like Xujiazhuang head-on. We can only sit back and watch its decline, fall into a situation of betrayal and alienation, and then destroy it in one fell swoop."
"The Ming Dynasty is vast and there are many important things. We can't spend too much time on a few roads. This matter should be over."
"Your Majesty, I am tired, so I will go to court first. If there is any important matter, we will discuss it tomorrow."
The minister simply found an excuse to leave and got off work, and led more ministers to follow him to the court.
"You, you—"
Zhu Youjian was shocked, what's going on? Why did the attitude of the ministers change so much? Where were they who were still shouting and killing two days ago and vowed to stop them at all costs? Why did they continue to talk after only two days?
I don’t want to talk about this issue anymore.
What the hell is going on?
Feeling extremely confused, Zhu Youjian had no choice but to send out Jin Yiwei to conduct a secret investigation and wanted to know the reason for the change in attitude of the civil and military officials.
soon.
Jin Yiwei completed the task and handed a form to Zhu Youjian's hands.
When he saw the contents of the form, he trembled all over and almost vomited blood in anger.
Wen Tiren, the first assistant, purchased railway investment bonds for 1.55 million silver dollars.
The second assistant, Zhang Zhifa, purchased railway bonds for 730,000 silver dollars.
Cheng Guoxiang, the Minister of Household Affairs, purchased 500,000 silver dollars in railway bonds.
Yang Sichang, Minister of the Ministry of War, purchased railway bonds for 330,000 silver dollars.
Xie Sheng, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel...
Wait wait wait.
There are hundreds of names of ministers and ministers on the list, and the total amount of railway bonds they purchased exceeds 10 million silver dollars.
"No wonder none of them oppose the road construction in Xujiazhuang. Good ministers, they are all my good ministers..."
Zhu Youjian gritted his teeth in hatred and understood everything in an instant.
He immediately issued a decree and dismissed Wen Tiren, Zhang Zhifa, and Cheng Guoxiang, several important ministers with high investment amounts, including Wen Tiren who had served as the chief minister for more than three years. This immediately caused a violent shock in the court structure, but there was no way. Although Wen Tiren He often obeys the imperial power and is very easy to use, but this time he has really stepped on his bottom line, Zhu Youjian. This person can no longer be used. He should retire and return to his field, and be his investor!
After cleaning the court hall.
What to do next?
Should we continue to let all officials express their stance and unify their stance against Xujiazhuang’s railway plan?
Shaked his head.
it's useless.
The sales of Xujiazhuang's railway investment bonds are booming. I am afraid that every official in the DPRK, middle and large, has purchased them. For their own benefit, it is impossible to sincerely oppose it, even if new officials are promoted to the top.
Faced with such a surging trend, even if he is the emperor, it is impossible to stop it!
I also thought that the investment value of railway bonds is indeed very high.
Since you can't object, you can only join.
So he sent someone to find Qichunnian, summoned him into the palace, and negotiated with him in Dongnuan Pavilion.
Sitting on a soft chair, Zhu You took a sip of tea and said calmly: "I have known for a long time that Xujiazhuang is going to build a railway. Originally, I and all the officials were firmly opposed to it, but the royal family and Xujiazhuang are allies, and I owe Xu Yuan's two favors, it is precisely because I thought of these that I did not express my opposition, and suppressed the opinions of the officials so that they would no longer oppose Xujiazhuang's road construction... I tried my best to support Xujiazhuang in this way, despite all opinions. It can offset Xu Yuan's favor, and now I only owe one."
"In addition, I still have 3 million silver dollars in idle funds in my internal funds, which I plan to use to purchase railway bonds. I wonder if I can buy them?"
Poof~
Qichunnian couldn't help but let out a puff of tea, and almost spit out a mouthful of tea, making a puffing sound of laughter.
"Representative Qi, what do you mean by this? Do you want to laugh at me?" Zhu Youjian put the cup in his hand heavily on the coffee table and asked with a livid face.
"No, I didn't mean that. I just thought of some interesting things. Don't blame me, Your Majesty." Qichunnian waved his hands repeatedly.
"Hmph! You bastard, I don't know you yet? Anyway, I gave in this time, offsetting a favor and buying another 3 million bonds. If Xujiazhuang wants to maintain a good relationship with the royal family, he will agree to these two small conditions. ." Zhu Youjian said with a dark face.
"Your Majesty, it's okay to buy 3 million silver dollars in railway bonds. There are still a lot of Haichuan railway bonds, but I really can't make the decision to offset the favor. I have to ask the owner of the bank for his opinion. He said that if he can offset it, then offset it. If he If you say you can't, then there's nothing I can do." Qichunnian spread his hands.
"Haha, aren't you very good in front of me? You can't even do this. It seems that you are nothing more than that!" Zhu Youjian mocked.
"Your Majesty is right. In front of the owner of the village, I am just a small role. My status is not that high. I only dare to stand out in front of you, Your Majesty." Qichunnian said with a smile.
"you--"
Zhu Youjian was furious and had to say: "Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you. First sell the railway bonds to me to offset the favor, and then you can report it to Na Xuyuan."
"Okay, no problem."
Qichunnian nodded.
…
February 25th.
Sichuan, Shizhu Xuanfu Division, Mafu Nei.
In the large living room.
Inside a large box placed on the ground.
Some contained bundles of silver coins and silver ingots.
Some contained pieces of gold ingots.
Some were filled with copper coins worth 100 copper coins.
There is also a box, which contains all large-value money orders issued by Tianxiatong Bank.
A total of 182 boxes.
All monetary values added together amounted to 21.88755 million silver dollars.
The above-mentioned gold and silver money is the total sales that Shizhu Tusi received in the past ten days by issuing investment bonds for Xujiazhuang's "Haichuan Railway" on his behalf.
As for the railway bonds in the hands of Shizhu Ma's family, there are less than 3.12 million silver dollars left, and they are expected to be sold out soon - even if they are not sold out, they can still hold them for themselves, and there is no way they will lose money anyway.
Qin Liangyu looked at the gold and silver belongings in the treasure chests.
Thinking back to the past few days, I learned that in Sichuan, railway investment bonds could only be purchased in Shizhu, so businessmen from Chongqing, Chengdu, and all over Sichuan rushed to Shizhu non-stop and presented them with lots of
Gold and silver property, just to buy railroad bonds.
Even many ordinary people who didn't have much money emptied their homes, or several families pooled together 50 silver dollars, just to buy even one share of bonds (50 silver dollars per share).
It can be said that he is extremely enthusiastic, fearing that he will not be able to buy it and miss this opportunity to make a fortune.
In the end, these are the results before our eyes.
"Help, help me quickly, I feel dizzy."
Perhaps it was because the light from the gold and silver was a bit dazzling, Qin Liangyu felt dizzy, lightheaded, hands and feet trembling, as if he was about to fall down.
"Mom, are you okay?!"
The couple next to her, Ma Xianglin and Zhang Fengyi, were startled. They hurriedly supported her. Ma Xianglin said even more nervously: "Mom, nothing can happen to you. Twenty million people in Sichuan are counting on you."
You are building the railway."
"Mom, please don't get excited. The money is not important, your body is the most important." Zhang Fengyi said.
"No, I'm fine."
Qin Liangyu stood firm, calmed down, shook his head and said: "Seeing so much property, I just feel that the burden on my shoulders is too heavy. The merchants of Sichuan have too much trust in me, Qin Liangyu, and I can't let them down.
So before the railway is repaired and completed, I must not fall down!" She looked determined.
Qin Yiming came over and said: "Auntie, the railway is not as important as your body... But I think this money is enough. Don't sell the remaining bonds. We will cover them ourselves. When the railway is opened in the future, we can get it
The dividend is not a small amount, that is to say, the task of selling bonds and raising funds is completed, we can start recruiting a large number of workers and start building roads immediately."
Qin Gongming nodded and said: "That's right, let's start recruiting people quickly. We will give priority to Shizhu's young and strong labor force. We will also send at least five thousand white-pole soldiers out to maintain security on the construction site and receive an extra salary... Xujiazhuang allocated
Our recruitment quota is as many as 100,000 people. This means that every family in Shizhu can send a strong laborer to participate in the construction of the railway and receive a high salary of six or seven silver dollars per month. Plus Shizhu
A large number of female workers are also working in factories, maybe Shizhu will be able to achieve comprehensive prosperity this year!"
"No, I only plan to recruit 10,000 workers from Shizhu, and another 90,000 workers from all over Sichuan. Priority will be given to those who can bear hardships and stand hard work, those from poor families, and those who come from afar to make a living. If there are more
For quota, Shizhu labor will be considered."
Qin Liangyu said with a straight face: "Twenty million business people in Sichuan are looking at me. How can I do anything that harms the public and enriches private interests? I must be fair and just, with a clear conscience!"
"That's...okay."
"Auntie is right, you really need to be fair, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the public."
"My aunt is very public-spirited, which is admirable."
"Anyway, if the road is built earlier, our clothing company will be able to develop without restrictions and have a better future."
Everyone nodded and said, in fact, they didn't agree in their hearts. As long as the work is done well, what's wrong with recruiting more stone pillar workers? But how could they dare to oppose or disobey Qin Liangyu's will, they could only agree and support it.