Under the anticipation of the crowd, the ship carrying the train slowly entered the dock. There were 15 carriages with a capacity of 20 tons and two noses. It didn't need to be a big ship, just a large ferry that transported goods on the river would do.
Because it was for show, there were no cargo compartments. Instead, there were 15 passenger compartments with transparent and clean glass windows. The carriages were painted a bright light blue.
When it appeared in front of the people, the waiting people instantly liked this thing called a train. They thought that it would be very comfortable to sit in it.
Only Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan understood how uncomfortable it was to sit in such a rumbling train. They had sat in specially built nostalgic places before.
"I think it's okay. At least it's not like what an article said. The people of Tang can go and enjoy life." Zhang Xiaobao suppressed the other thoughts in his heart and praised against his will.
Wang Juan nodded. "Yes, it's better than sitting in a carriage. Even the quicksilver dynamic balance house that Xiaobei and the others sat in when they were young is not as good as this train. How high are you going to set the ticket price?"
"Ticket price? It's not very far from Chang 'an to Luoyang, right? It's close in a straight line, but the railway makes a detour. It takes a day and a night to stop and wait for people and get on and off the ship. The theoretical speed is 30 kilometers per hour, but it can't be achieved in practice. How about 30 copper coins? Is it expensive? "
Zhang Xiaobao also couldn't estimate the price. If the cost of the railway and the train were to be calculated, then the price would be high. However, if the cost of normal travel was considered, then the price should be low.
Wang Juan's beautiful eyebrows raised twice. She said, "If we walk from Chang 'an to Luoyang, it will take a month. If we walk quickly, it will take half a month. If we ride fast, we will arrive in a day. When we leave, we will eat fried noodles, dry biscuits, and salted vegetables. Water will be free on the road, and we will take our own shoes. That will cost 20 copper coins.
If you want to save money, go ahead. Now that the roads are better, go along the railway. It's safer than before. If you want to save time, take the train. I think there will be a lot of merchants. Anyway, merchants don't lack money. Let's set it at 50 coins. Is that enough for the coal? "
"Shanxi and Henan both produce coal, so of course there will be enough. The stations along the way will need more coal reserves. Supplies will need to be resupplied and water will also need two tracks, one going and one coming back. When we have enough this time, we will think of a way to increase the number of tracks. Fifty copper coins will do."
Zhang Xiaobao did some calculations and felt that this price was not considered expensive. The time saved from this trip was still very precious, especially for merchants.
While the two of them were discussing the price, the ship on the dock connected with the railway. Under the command of Xiao Qi, the train on the ship started to pick up speed with a rumbling sound. Thick smoke billowed out of it.
When the people on both sides of the railway saw the huge head of the train, they were shocked. They also felt a kind of pressure coming from it. They were afraid that such a huge thing would suddenly rush out and hit them, so they all dodged to the side. For a moment, the scene was very chaotic.
Fortunately, someone had already anticipated this situation and quickly used a loudspeaker to shout, telling the crowd not to panic and that the train would not appear outside the two iron pillars. Only then did the restless crowd calm down.
When the seventeen carriages of the train had all arrived on the ground and were heading towards the entrance of the capital, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not care about the slow speed of the train and directly climbed onto the train. Under the shock of the people watching, they continuously waved their hands.
"It's Xiao Bao. It's Xiao Bao and Cuckoo." Someone in the crowd immediately recognized Zhang Xiaobao and shouted at the top of his voice, trying to drown out the sound of the train. Unfortunately, only a few people next to him could hear it.
On the train, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan frowned. The two of them wanted to take this opportunity to talk, but they did not expect that the sound of the train was too loud. No matter how much they shouted, it was useless.
The hot air balloon in the sky was slightly further away, so it was not affected much. Gao Lishi said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, this thing is the train. I estimate that it will take less than 24 hours to go from Dongdu to Chang 'an. Your Majesty, if you want to go out in the future, you only need to take the train and not let other people come on. You don't have to worry about your safety, and you don't need to spend too much money."
In fact, even without Gao Lishi's words, Li Longji had the same idea. He liked to go out for a stroll, but every time he went out, he had to spend a lot of money. Just the team of guards was very large. Now that there was a train, he could charter one.
However, he could not say that. It would be easy for people to mistake him as Yang Guang. It was obvious that he was building a canal to facilitate transportation, but he could not bear to be accused of it. He nodded and said, "We should also prioritize the benefits of the people. We should speed up the transportation and coordinate the transportation between the north and the south. When this line is running normally, we should consider the people and the livelihood of the people in other places of Tang."
Gao Lishi understood. "Your Majesty, rest assured. As long as this line is successful, I believe that other places will be paved with railways as soon as possible. Now that our dynasty is rich with money and grain, and with Xiao Bao's support, no one dares to say that the Zhang Family and Wang Family are building the railway and train for their own interests.
I estimate that it won't be long before the railway from Chang 'an to Sanshui County is completed, and then to Jili Province and Jiangnan East Road. Perhaps there will be a railway from Jiangnan East Road to Lu Zhou. I'll ask Xiao Bao about this. Perhaps he already has a plan. "
Gao Lishi's meaning was very clear. He meant that the current situation was different from before. The imperial court could still support the construction of the railway. Moreover, this proposal was led by Zhang Zhong's Ministry of Works. Even if others were to blame them, they would look for the Zhang Family and Wang Family and subtly mention it. It would be very convenient for them to 'travel' in the future.
When the train slowly came to the outskirts of Chang 'an, it finally came to a stop with an ear-piercing sound of brakes. Zhang Xiaobao shook his head vigorously and stretched out his hand to the person who was shouting below, asking that person to throw a loudspeaker up.
At this time, he and Wang Juan had already taken off their hats, and they were no longer as low-key. Many people recognized the two of them. Immediately, a burst of cheers broke out in the crowd. Some were happy to see the two of them, while some were purely supporting them. There were also some who cheered along with others. As for why they were cheering? They had no idea.
Zhang Xiaobao pretended to press down with one hand, indicating for the crowd to be quiet. When everyone stopped cheering, he put the loudspeaker to his mouth and said to the crowd, "Hello, everyone. I'm Zhang Xiaobao."
"Wow!" Another burst of cheers rang out below. Most of them were women.
Wang Juan curled her lips at the side, then suddenly smiled. She knew why so many girls were cheering. It was all because Zhang Xiaobao had given her so many things some time ago, especially the last ten days of shrouding the sky. When he said ten days, it was ten days. During those ten days, they could eat and drink as much as they wanted outside the city, but when they entered the city, they could enjoy endless shade. For a time, she became the dream lover of many girls who had fantasies in their hearts.
Zhang Xiaobao saw Wang Juan's expression from the corner of his eyes. He hurriedly pressed down with his hand again, waited for the cheers to die down, and introduced her. "This is the deputy provincial governor of Bohai, Wang Juan."
Heaven and earth suddenly fell silent. The surrounding people did their best to control their breathing, let alone speak. They didn't even dare to use force.
Zhang Xiaobao wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. Wang Juan muttered, "Am I that scary?"
Zhang Xiaobao's reaction was faster. He immediately said, "I understand your thoughts. In fact, the so-called warriors of Tubo back then were even more afraid than you. To what extent were they afraid of? A general suppressing a thousand cavalry. "
"Good! Demonfiend Cuckoo, good job. " Suddenly, a rough shout came from the crowd. With this shout, more shouts followed, instantly breaking the silence just now. Just like the shouts for Zhang Xiaobao just now, it was basically the voices of girls just now, but now it was the voices of men.
Wang Juan smiled happily this time. She kept waving at the surrounding people and even looked up at the group of hot air balloons, scaring the members of the imperial clan who were enemies of Zhang Xiaobao. Two of them almost fell from the top. After laughing for a while, Wang Juan snatched the loudspeaker in Zhang Xiaobao's hand and shouted to the crowd, "I am Cuckoo. Whoever dares to offend Tang, I will lead the troops to kill. Whether it's Duo Shi, Japan, or Xin Luo, kill."
"Kill! Kill! Kill … "The hot-blooded men below followed suit and shouted.
"Aiyo! My great aunt, pay attention to international influence. Many foreigners are here. Give it to me. You are not suitable to be a diplomat. "
Zhang Xiaobao quickly took the loudspeaker back and explained with a warm smile, "Just now, Military Commander Wang was joking with friends from other places. We are peace-loving people. Even if there are differences and conflicts, we will sit down and talk. We will not bring millions of soldiers to pressure the border, nor will we fire guns. Although we have very powerful special forces, everyone can rest assured that we will not use them for assassination. As for economic attacks, it will not happen.
Don't worry. "It would have been better if Zhang Xiaobao did not explain. Once he did, it made people from other countries worry, especially Takeshita Junichiro, who had been in Beijing with a certain purpose. He felt that the threat in Zhang Xiaobao's words was very heavy.
Zhang Xiaobao did not care what others thought. A strong country should act like a strong country. Who said that strong countries had to look like they were easy to bully?
After threatening the others, he smiled and said, "There's one more thing that I want to tell everyone. Actually, I'm not supposed to say it, but many people are concerned, so I'll mention it. That is, Juan Juan and I will be participating in this year's Fall Quarter Examinations. I guarantee that there won't be any cheating."
"Okay, Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, top scorer." The crowd below was in chaos again. There were all kinds of shouts.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
