After announcing their participation in this year's Fall Quarter Examinations, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan left hand in hand. The people who were secretly protecting them heaved a sigh of relief. This kind of action was too dangerous.
The merchants watched the two leave. They wanted to get closer, but they felt that their status was not high enough. The people who were preparing to participate in this year's Fall Quarter Examinations were not in a hurry to leave. After all, it was a new thing. Who cared what it was? They would take a good look at it and write a poem or two. Perhaps this year's Fall Quarter Examinations would have such a topic.
The other ordinary people slowly moved forward. They wanted to get closer to the huge thing and feel what it felt like. At the same time, they were very curious about the price of the 'ticket'. They did not know how much it would cost to take a ride.
Since it was the first time a train had appeared, they would naturally think of ways to let people experience it. The person in charge of advertising began to use a loudspeaker to announce the speed and stability of the train.
After speaking for a full hour, he finally announced the ticket price to the people around him. It was 50 copper coins. From Chang 'an to Luoyang, there would be a stop midway. To be precise, there were two stops. One was north of the Yellow River, and the other was south of the Yellow River. That was, before and after transferring to the ship, it would cost 20 copper coins.
This price was not high for the common people, but it was not low either. 50 copper coins could buy four to five bushels of rice, and ten bushels of millet. No one would come for a ride for no reason.
In order to let more people experience it, the person in charge of advertising proposed a free three-day one-way trip. Those who wanted to ride could get a ticket. Regardless of whether it was from Luoyang to Chang 'an or from Chang' an to Chang 'an, the one-way trip was free. Those who wanted to return would have to think of their own ways.
Of course, it was impossible to only send one trip a day. When would they earn back the money spent on building the railway? When it started operating, one trip would be sent every six hours. When the goods were concentrated, they could send extra trains.
The appearance of the train made people excited for a while. Most people wanted to experience the feeling. Some merchants considered the convenience of transporting goods in the future. Only a small group of people thought about the military aspect.
Li Linfu, who hadn't turned 'bad' yet, or rather, because Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were around, didn't have a chance to turn 'bad', Li Linfu considered military applications. He had his hot air balloon float to Li Longji's side and shouted, "Your Majesty, can this thing really travel 50 kilometers per hour?"
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan obtained a theoretical speed of 30 kilometers per hour. Under normal circumstances, they could reach more than 20 kilometers per hour, which was about 100 kilometers per hour.
This was also the first time Li Longji had seen a real train. He estimated the speed and nodded, "Yes, it is faster than an 800 Li express train. Although there are telegrams now and the speed is faster, it is still very fast when used to transport an army. An 800 Li express train will be limited by the speed of the horse, but the train will not be. If we build the railway to Longyou Road …"
At this point, Li Longji stopped. He knew the cost of building a railway. Just the section from Chang 'an to Luoyang would cost an unbearable amount. The cost of building a railway wasn't that high, but the requirements for the steel of the railway were too high. It wouldn't be able to bear the weight of the train if it was slightly inferior.
He still didn't know that not only was the railway expensive, it was also not slow to make money.
Li Linfu naturally thought of this point and replied, "Your Majesty, it is worth it even if it costs more. The faster the army is dispatched, the more stable the Great Tang will be. If we can increase the speed and reach Longyou Road in an instant, others won't have time to prepare."
Fortunately, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't hear Li Linfu's words. Otherwise, they would definitely strangle him. If they wanted to travel from Chang 'an to Tibet in an instant, they would only be able to do it at that time.
Li Longji glanced at Li Linfu and didn't say anything. His meaning was very clear. Without money, they couldn't afford to build it.
Li Linfu didn't continue to talk about this matter. He changed the topic and said, "Your Majesty, there is one thing that I don't understand. On flat ground or places where the slope is not big, the train can go. If it encounters a big slope, will it slip? At that time, it won't be able to go up or down. Even if it's a flat road, this subject is afraid that the train won't be able to carry too many things and will end up on the same spot. "
The moment he mentioned this, Li Longji also thought of this problem. He quickly sent someone to find Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. If they couldn't solve this problem, wouldn't the Imperial Court have wasted their money? It was fine to pull an empty carriage now, but would it be difficult to pull it when it was filled with goods? Not to mention the bare wheels on the bare tracks, even a horse-drawn carriage would only be able to move if there were too many horses.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan hadn't gone far when they noticed that there were people following them. Just as they were preparing to give the other party an opportunity to make a move, they were found and asked to answer a question.
"Why don't you think about such a simple matter yourself?" Zhang Xiaobao muttered as he walked to the bottom of Li Longji's hot air balloon and climbed up the soft ladder. Wang Juan wasn't in a hurry and waited for the people above to pull her up.
Upon reaching the hot air balloon, Zhang Xiaobao first looked at Li Linfu, who was deep in thought, and said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, as long as the locomotive can move such a heavy carriage, it won't be too heavy. We can add more weight to the locomotive to increase the friction. In fact, the locomotive is already very heavy, and it needs to be filled with water and coal."
"Oh, I see." Li Longji didn't really understand, but since Zhang Xiaobao said it, it would definitely work. He asked, "Then what about the steep slope? Yes, Li Qing asked. "
Seeing that Zhang Xiaobao was looking at Li Linfu, Li Longji admitted to it.
"Hmm! That's a good question. " Zhang Xiaobao wasn't so polite to Li Linfu. He smiled and asked Li Linfu, "I don't know if Lord Li knows how a carriage works when going up a steep slope? What do people do when they carry heavy things up a steep slope? What is the shape of the mountain road when going up the mountain? "
Li Linfu thought for a moment and replied, "It seems to be a zig-zag shape, but how do trains move?"
"Why can't trains move? Can't you see that there are two locomotives? Can't you just extend the track a bit and then change the track? Add something to change the track. In the future, don't ask such a childish question. "Zhang Xiaobao seemed very unhappy as he gestured with his hands.
Those who were paying attention to this matter understood. Although Li Linfu was depressed by Zhang Xiaobao's words, he couldn't help but admit that Zhang Xiaobao's words made sense. He nodded and suddenly thought of the cost of repairing the road. He felt that he couldn't let Zhang Xiaobao be so relaxed, so he asked, "I wonder if Lord Zhang has a way to solve the problem of the cost of repairing the railway to other places?"
Zhang Xiaobao didn't care if Li Linfu was a hypocrite or not, so he turned his head and didn't say anything. He liked to suppress Li Linfu, and being able to suppress a legendary figure made him feel very happy.
Li Longji also hoped that Zhang Xiaobao would suddenly become very magical and solve the problem with a single sentence, so he asked, "Xiao Bao, do you have a way? If it really doesn't work, we can just repair it bit by bit. "
"Your Majesty doesn't need to worry. It's very simple. If it weren't for the fact that the railway from Chang 'an to Luoyang was built by the imperial court, this subject would have already arranged for it to be repaired. The imperial court wouldn't have to spend a single copper coin. Primarily, this subject is worried that before the fact that the railway doesn't operate properly is revealed, other people won't be willing to take this risk.
This subject is waiting for this railway to operate normally for a month. At that time, as long as the railway leads to a relatively prosperous place, the imperial court won't have to spend any more money. Even the department selling the railway tracks and the railway will be able to make a small profit. "
Zhang Xiaobao said without stopping until he was shocked to death.
Hearing these words, even Li Longji, who believed that he had gotten used to his miraculous abilities, couldn't help but be stunned.
"Tell me in detail," Li Longji seriously said.
"In truth, it's nothing much. It's the same as when the Great Tang Bank was first established. Now, the Great Tang Bank has been completely returned to the country, and the railway is being repaired. Any merchant who puts in money can receive a portion of the shares and receive a proportional dividend, but they aren't allowed to buy or sell. There's a set time limit.
They're also given the right to transport goods for free. Based on how much money they put in, they can transport as much goods as they want every day or every cycle. But when the imperial court requires it, they have to give priority to the goods or personnel of the imperial court.
At the set time, if their income hasn't increased by half, including the cost of their free transport, that is, if their profits haven't reached 50%, they'll continue to be given the right to transport goods for free and increase the proportion of profits.
If their profits have reached 100% before the set time limit, their shares will be automatically terminated. Presumably, there will be quite a few merchants willing to spend money to repair the railway. "
Zhang Xiaobao proposed a shareholding system, a system of shares with the nature of power.
At the side, Gao Lishi thought about it. "Xiao Bao, what if they don't think it's worth it? Then what should they do? Gather them in your name? "
"Don't. They can't always use my name. The things of the imperial court are the things of the imperial court. If they don't want to do it directly, they can entrust the Great Tang Bank to issue bonds or directly borrow money from the Great Tang Bank. It can be low interest or no interest. When the time comes, they will have to sign a contract with the Great Tang Bank. The borrower is only allowed to use the money on the railway. When the time comes, the money has to be deposited in the Great Tang Bank.
Even though it's a state-owned enterprise, this has to be done according to the regulations. Otherwise, it will be a mess. Actually, the railway is a very profitable business. When it's not busy with transporting goods, they can even operate it with low profits or even zero profits. At that time, the imperial court will subsidize them. "
Zhang Xiaobao vetoed his own suggestion to step in and said something else.
This time, there was another matter, and everyone was confused. Li Longji frowned. "Why do we need to have zero profits and the imperial court subsidize them? Where does the money come from? "
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