Zhang Xiaobao had not expected the development of the rumors. He had originally planned to use some underhanded means, but now, he decided to do something practical.
While waiting for the legendary train to appear, the crowd's opinion changed. They had initially questioned the fairness of the Fall Quarter Examinations, but now, they demanded that Zhang Xiaobao participate in the examinations and become the top scorer.
Those who did not know the details of the situation cleverly found a good idea. Since the rankings of the Fall Quarter Examinations had already been decided, as long as they pushed Zhang Xiaobao up, they could destroy this' scheme '.
They had to give Zhang Xiaobao the top scorer.
Apart from the ordinary people, the ones who liked to add fuel to the fire were the merchants. The merchants did not care about who was first or second in the Fall Quarter Examinations. They only cared about their own status.
Now, the merchants' status had risen slightly. One reason was because of the support they had received from Zhang Xiaobao's several business operations, and the other reason was because of the resources and money they had contributed to the Chaoyang Operation. These caused the merchants' image to change.
The only thing they could think of when they heard the people's discussion was that if Zhang Xiaobao really participated in this year's Fall Quarter Examinations and did not become the top scorer, then their status would drop.
In the eyes of the 'scholars', Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were a pair of people who valued 'education'. They had proposed the Chaoyang Operation for the first time in Baoxin County and had worked hard for it.
In the eyes of the people, Zhang Xiaobao and Zhang Xiaobao were a pair of capable officials who cared about the suffering of the people. Wherever the two of them went to be officials, the lives of the people were very good.
In the eyes of the merchants, Wang Juan was automatically ignored. Zhang Xiaobao had become the 'God of War' of the business world. As long as he said something, as long as he commanded an operation, there was no need to doubt or hesitate. They would definitely not go wrong.
If he did not become the top scorer, then wouldn't that mean that the merchants of Great Tang were even less capable? The little bit of reputation that he had painstakingly built up would go down the drain again, and it was unknown when he would be able to recover it. Therefore, this flag could not fall. Even if he had to use money, he had to push Zhang Xiaobao to the position of top scorer.
With this idea in mind, the businessmen were not like the commoners who only knew how to talk. They were afraid that a long night would bring trouble, so they did not care about the train anymore. They squeezed out of the crowd and found a place where they could send telegrams. They sent telegrams to their business partners and discussed how to push Zhang Xiaobao to the top spot when he participated in the Fall Quarter Examinations.
Just like that, the atmosphere of what should have been a lively scene of watching the train changed.
Li Longji, who was watching the show from the sky in the hot air balloon, was also paying attention to the situation below. From time to time, someone would send him information.
However, the events that transpired today were a little out of Li Longji's expectations. At first, everyone was talking about the train, but later on, they were talking about the rankings of this year's Fall Quarter Examinations.
When Li Longji first heard this news, he glared at the other people in the hot air balloon accompanying him. Those people were from the imperial clan, especially those from the imperial clan who had always been at odds with Zhang Xiaobao and the Wang Clan.
If Li Longji did not know that they were the ones behind this, he would not be the Emperor anymore. Just as he was wondering how to suppress this matter, the direction of the discussions below changed.
After hearing the report from the person who received the telegram, Li Longji exhaled. He picked up a glass of wine with ice cubes and took a sip comfortably. He asked Gao Lishi, "Lishi, do you have anything to say?"
Gao Lishi was in a good mood when he heard the Emperor's question. He pondered for a moment before replying, "This subject has noticed that the commoners have become smarter and more daring. They are actually starting to care about the matters of the imperial court. Without knowing the inside story, it is not appropriate for them to recklessly discuss the matters of the imperial court."
"Is it really not appropriate?" Li Longji asked again.
"Uh ~! This subject is unable to make a judgment at the moment. If I say that it is not appropriate, it is indeed not appropriate. How would the commoners know that the matters of the imperial court are difficult to handle? However, there are also benefits. At the very least, if the local officials want to deceive the commoners into doing something bad, even if the commoners do not say it, they will know in their hearts that it will not be the same as before, where the commoners can only follow the orders of the officials.
During this year's spring flood, many officials who were improper in their governance were reported. Coupled with the publicity in the newspapers, the commoners in the affected areas evacuated very quickly. This was unlike in the past, where there were people who would rather die in their homes than leave. This was because they knew that leaving was only temporary. Once the flood subsided, there would be people helping to rebuild.
The commoners who were not affected by the disaster were also willing to temporarily accept those who escaped. This is a sign of increased cohesion. This subject believes that His Majesty will start a war and write about the enemy's disrespect to our Great Tang in the newspapers. At that time, even if the number of regular soldiers is not enough, we will be able to increase the number of soldiers by ten million to fight for the country. "
At this moment, Gao Lishi was not happy that his godson had gained the support of the commoners. He did not purely comment on whether the commoners should become smarter or not. He was analyzing the gains and losses from the perspective of the country.
Li Longji did not speak immediately. He narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, "I think that as long as no one deliberately sows discord, the commoners are still good people. The more knowledge the commoners have, the harder it will be for others to incite them.
Unless, unless, unless, I am so muddleheaded that I should retire, the commoners will not support me. However, it is not easy to be a local official. If he does something wrong, it will be difficult for him to fool the commoners. He can't just lie with his eyes wide open, right?
We can learn from the local officials. Lu Zhou, Boxin County, Shuzhou, and Changning County. They have publicized their income, the things they have to do, and the money they have to spend. If they are not guilty, what is there to be afraid of? Am I right, Lishi? "
"Your Majesty is right. Take Boxin County for example. I've paid attention to it. The new county magistrate has been following the rules and doing things according to the old ways. This year, he built a new yamen, and he also built a new one with the money from the yamen.
He didn't want to build the yamen himself. The commoners saw that the yamen in the county was too shabby and felt that it would affect the county's image. Therefore, they took the initiative to jointly request the county magistrate to build the yamen. In the past, whenever an official wanted to build a yamen, even if the commoners did not dare to say it openly, they would curse behind their backs. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo once said that the commoners of Tang are the best and most reasonable people. As long as they are not forced into a corner, they will be very obedient. Therefore … "
Before Gao Lishi could finish his sentence, Li Longji finished his sentence with a murderous look on his face. Then, he said, "If I find out which official is forcing the commoners to their deaths, I'll confiscate his house and let him die a horrible death."
After he finished speaking, Li Longji smiled again. He glanced at the other hot air balloons and said, "Xiao Bao and Cuckoo will participate in the fall examination this year. Even if the two of them want to find an excuse, they won't be able to escape. This is the will of the people, after all. It's time to let the people know that they can't go against the will of the people and behave themselves."
Indeed, the people on the hot air balloons behaved themselves. They had also received the news from their subordinates. Initially, they wanted to make a big fuss about it. When the commoners were unhappy and objected to it, they wanted to mention Zhang Xiaobao's name so that Zhang Xiaobao would not be able to become the top scorer.
What they didn't expect was that by pushing the people behind the scenes, they would get a different result. Before they could achieve their goal, when they mentioned Zhang Xiaobao's name, the commoners themselves thought of Zhang Xiaobao and took the initiative to mention him.
The people who passed on the message did not add any embellishments, but they kept calling him "our Xiao Bao" and "our Cuckoo". These kinds of words made people feel fear. Without any sense of distance, it didn't mean that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had lost their status as officials in the eyes of the commoners. Not only would it not hinder them from issuing administrative orders, but it would also allow them to gain the support of the commoners.
"A mantis trying to stop a chariot." A portion of the members of the imperial clan who wanted to go against Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan simultaneously thought of this phrase.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, who were squeezing through the crowd, finally arrived at the side of the railway. This was the place where the train was supposed to connect. The train was not here, but on the boat.
Originally, it was agreed that Luoyang was connected to Chang'an. After arriving at the Yellow River, the passengers would get off the train, cross the bridge, and take the train on the other side to continue their journey.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan discussed this matter for several days. Finally, they decided to use the boat to load the train and go between the two sides. After all, the passengers could walk, but it was not easy to handle the goods. If they had the time to load and unload, it would be better to pull the train directly.
Wang Juan waited for the train to come in a while so that she could stand on the platform with Zhang Xiaobao and announce the matter. Her eyes swept back and forth on the river surface, and she said to Zhang Xiaobao, "It would be good if there were electric locomotives. The current steam engine can't pull things that are too heavy. It can only pull 15 carriages at a time, and each carriage can only carry 20 tons of goods. The speed is only 30 kilometers per hour. It's really slow."
"The speed of the train is slow, and the number of carriages it can pull is small. However, the technological development of the Tang Empire is fast. If we can build a train today, I dare to build an airplane tomorrow. Look at this railway. Even if we don't give the steam engine technology to Japan and other countries, they can't build a railway."
Zhang Xiaobao was very satisfied with this train. This was not just a problem of a train. Other aspects of technology must meet the corresponding requirements before a train can appear.
"Yes, it's all thanks to you. Remember to send people to guard the railway. I'm afraid that someone will remember us and send people to dig the railway. It can transport 300 tons of goods at a time. If it is built to Tibet, I will mobilize the troops and you will organize the logistics. Then … it's too far, right? It can't be built. "
Wang Juan fantasized about the transportation ability of the train during a war. When she thought of the Longyou Road, she laughed. Now, it was no different from a fool's dream to build a railway there.
"Yes, there will be such a day. However, I estimate that the railway can be built to India one day. If you really want to go to war, you can use a large transport plane. Remember to write down the names of those who participated in the development of the train and let the people of the world know of their existence. I don't dare to take credit."
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