Li Longji did not continue to dig deeper. The punishment for those who had been found out could be considered light. This made many people who were involved in the matter behind the scenes breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, this included the ministers in the imperial court.
In return, the ministers did not dare to oppose the incorporation of the railway into the Chamberlain Province. Moreover, at this moment, if anyone still opposed the Chamberlain Province's management of the railway system, it was very likely that they would be suspected and implicated in the case of destroying the locomotive.
Li Longji pushed the boat with the current and completely confirmed the incorporation of the railway into the Chamberlain Province. After the temporary railway was confirmed, the ministers did not dare to oppose. Even the remonstrant officials did not dare to oppose. After all, the facts in the past few days showed that the Chamberlain Province had done a good job in the railway operation. The merchants and the people were very satisfied. The only people who were hurt were the carriage transport teams between Chang 'an and Luoyang. Once the train was out, it meant that they would lose their jobs.
However, the railway was dead, and people were alive. Some of the transport teams gave up the route between Chang 'an and Luoyang and focused on doing business on other routes. There were also caravans who saw that in the future, the entire Tang dynasty might have to lay railways. For this reason, they gave up this business and looked for their own way out. Some of them even asked to enter the railway system and become official state personnel.
These people who were in the transport business all year round were very familiar with the routes along the way. Moreover, they were more able to endure hardships. Some of the outstanding talents were naturally recruited by the imperial court and became employees of the railway. Those who were unlucky could only change careers or do transport work on other routes. However, in the end, carriage transport would definitely be gradually eliminated and eventually disappear in the long river of history.
In order to prevent vicious incidents of trains and railway tracks being destroyed again, the imperial court wrote the railway regulations into the national law and set it as a felony. Anyone who deliberately destroyed railway tracks and trains would be severely punished. It would not be as easy as it was this time.
After the railway was completely confirmed, the position of Yu Chaoen and the other eunuchs in the railway became more stable. Moreover, many related officials also saw the ability and means of this eunuch. Therefore, they were gradually convinced and the railway system was gradually on the right track.
As the people understood the train, more and more people chose to travel by train. The people who used to walk with crutches bought tickets to ride the train. Of course, they sat on the cheapest hard seats. This way, not only did it save the fatigue of the journey, but it also reduced the cost of travel.
As the ancient saying goes, 'Those who are within a hundred li will pack their grain overnight; those who are within a thousand li will gather their grain in three months.' It meant that if one wanted to travel thousands of miles, they would need to start preparing food three months in advance. It could be seen how difficult it was to travel. However, with the advent of the train, one only needed a train ticket to travel. It was much cheaper.
In terms of price, in order to take care of the poor and allow them to sit on the train, the price of the hard seats was very low. The price of the soft seats and hard sleepers were much higher, and the price of the soft sleepers was even higher. Ordinary people could not afford to sit on the train, and of course, there was no need for them to sit on the train.
After the train was in operation for a period of time, the structure of the train carriage that Ang Lee had previously set clearly revealed its unreasonable side. That was, there was a serious shortage of soft sleepers, a shortage of soft seats, and a slight surplus of hard seats.
This was because Chang 'an and Luoyang were metropolises with many rich people. How could the rich sit in the same carriage with the lowly poor people when traveling? This was especially true for the nobles with higher status. If they could not buy a closed private room, they would rather cancel their travel plans or compete with the guests who bought the soft seats first. They would use their status to suppress the other party and force the other party to submit. Of course, after the other party gave up the soft seats, they would often pay double the ticket price to show that they were not bullying the other party. They were nobles with principles.
After understanding the specific situation, Li An finally realized that the reason why these nobles were so insistent on buying the entire box was because many of them didn't travel by themselves, but brought their families. This was especially so for those with status who brought their mothers, wives, daughters, and other womenfolk. It was really inconvenient for them to appear in a public carriage. Only a fully enclosed box with soft seats could satisfy their needs.
The customs of the Tang dynasty were already relatively civilized, but it was still much worse than that of the later generations. Especially the ladies of noble families, they could not casually come in contact with strange men. Sitting in the open carriage was obviously not acceptable to the nobles.
Many of the nobles had many wives and concubines, and groups of children. There were more than a hundred people traveling at a time. In this way, even if the entire soft seat carriage was booked, it was not enough. They would also book another soft seat carriage that could accommodate eighty people to accommodate their servants.
Therefore, as long as a big noble traveled, it was very likely that all six private rooms in a soft sleeper carriage would be booked, and another soft seat carriage would be booked. Other nobles could only admit defeat and cancel the trip or wait until the next day to leave. Small nobles who did not bring their womenfolk could condescend to stay in the soft seat carriage.
As the actual top leader of the Railway Administration, Yu Chaoen obviously also noticed this point. He immediately went to the R&D Center to discuss with Ang Lee and ask the R&D Center to build more soft sleeper carriages.
"Assistant Minister Li, are you busy?"
Seeing Ang Lee standing in the R&D Center and looking into the distance, Yu Chaoen approached him.
"Yu Tieling, you should be very busy now! Why are you here? "
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
"Assistant Minister Li, I found some problems and want to discuss with Assistant Minister Li."
Yu Chaoen licked his lips.
"Problems? What problems?"
Yu Chaoen explained the problems he found. Of course, they were problems that Ang Lee already knew about.
"So it's about the lack of soft sleeper carriages. This official knew about it long ago."
Ang Lee replied with a smile.
"Oh, so Assistant Minister Li still pays attention to the operation of the railway despite your busy schedule. Then what does Assistant Minister Li think we should do? Should we add more soft sleeper carriages? Otherwise, if these nobles fight over them, it will be very difficult for my subordinates."
"Haha! Yu Tieling, follow me. "
Ang Lee led Yu Chaoen to the production area of the railway carriages. He pointed at the dozens of carriages painted purple and said seriously, "See? This batch of carriages that I ordered to be produced are all soft sleeper carriages. It can completely solve the problem that Yu Tieling encountered. Moreover, this official has an idea, which is to build a special train for the nobles. For example, a train with soft sleeper carriages and soft seats. It will be delivered every few days to satisfy the nobles and wealthy merchants. What do you think, Yu Tieling? "
"Brilliant plan, Assistant Minister Li's brilliant plan! It's a good idea to prepare a special train for the rich and powerful. This way, there won't be any lowly people who don't have eyes to harass the rich and powerful. It will be more convenient for the rich and powerful to travel. However, why is this carriage painted in a beautiful color? "
Yu Chaoen asked happily.
"Yu Tieling, in order to distinguish the different carriages, in the future, all the carriages have to be painted with different colors. Yellow is His Majesty's private train, and only His Majesty can use it. Red represents the soft sleeper, blue represents the hard sleeper, red represents the soft sleeper, green represents the hard sleeper, and the unpainted carriages are stable carriages. The dining carriages have chimneys, so there's no need to paint them."
Ang Lee explained in detail.
"Assistant Minister Li is truly a genius! This way, we only need to look at the color of the carriages to determine the quality of the carriages. "
"Indeed! This batch of soft sleeper carriages will be completed very soon. There's still a batch of soft sleeper carriages in stock. When the time comes, we can form two purple-red special trains that will travel from Chang 'an to Luoyang. If the nobles travel frequently, we can make one trip a day to ensure the convenience of the nobles. At that time, we'll definitely be able to earn a lot of money from the tickets, and the national treasury will be even more plentiful. "
Ang Lee said.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. Xiaonu wholeheartedly agrees. However, in a few days, His Majesty will be touring Luoyang City. Should we stop the trains to ensure His Majesty's safety?"
"This is natural. On the day of His Majesty's departure, all trains between Chang 'an and Luoyang must be stopped to ensure His Majesty's absolute safety. In addition, His Majesty will be bringing a large number of people with him, so all trains must be used to transport His Majesty's entourage. In addition, a notice must be posted in advance to inform all the people of the time when the trains will be stopped, so as to prevent ignorant people from accidentally offending His Majesty."
"Yes, Xiaonu understands."
"Okay. Tomorrow morning, this official will personally take the train to Luoyang City to inspect the work of the Railway Bureau and see how it is going."
Besides inspecting the work of the Railway Bureau, Ang Lee had many other goals. For example, he wanted to experience the feeling of a long-distance journey, inspect the road conditions, and see if there were any dangers.
"Then Xiaonu will inform Assistant Minister Li in advance to prepare the best soft sleeper compartment."
"Mm, then I'll have to trouble Yu Tieling."
"Xiaonu will take her leave."
Yu Chaoen bid farewell and left.
"Assistant Minister Li, this lowly officer requests to go to Anxi. The Bureau of Military Personnel has already approved. I will leave in five days."
Duan Xiushi strode up to Ang Lee and informed Ang Lee that she was about to be transferred.
"Oh, you're leaving in five days? Then who knows when we'll meet again?"
Ang Lee suddenly felt rather sad.
"As long as it's fated, we'll definitely meet again. Assistant Minister Li has already invented the railway. This lowly officer is confident that in a few years, the railway will be able to reach Anxi. When the time comes, it will be very easy to meet."
Duan Xiushi had clearly steeled her heart to go to Anxi.
"Commandant Duan is right! In the future, when the railway is built, travel will be much more convenient. Tomorrow morning, Commandant Duan will accompany me on the train to Luoyang City so that we can enjoy the scenery along the way. "
Ang Lee said.
"Yes, protecting Assistant Minister Li is this lowly officer's responsibility. This lowly officer naturally has to accompany Assistant Minister Li."
Duan Xiushi sternly said.
The next morning, Ang Lee bid farewell to his wife and hurried with Duan Xiushi to the train station at the northern gate of the Great Bright Palace. In order to reduce the disturbance, Ang Lee only allowed Duan Xiushi to bring two bodyguards. Thus, the four of them were arranged by the railway staff into the first compartment of the soft sleeper carriage.
Of course, because Ang Lee was going on an inspection trip, the train was considered a business trip, so he didn't need to buy a ticket. Moreover, the staff on the train had to serve him with fruits and delicacies. The taste was simply too comfortable.
The train set off on time, and with a rumble, the carriage slowly began to move in the direction of Luoyang City.
Ang Lee sat on the lower bunk near the window, looking out at the moving scenery. He once again felt intoxicated. This feeling was simply too wonderful. In his previous life, Ang Lee loved to sit in the soft sleeper carriage of the high-speed train and enjoy the passing scenery. It was a feeling of admiring the country.
But at this moment, his mood was much more comfortable than when he sat on the high-speed train in his previous life. Because in his previous life, he took the high-speed train to work. When he thought of the tedious and arduous work, Ang Lee's appreciation of the country would greatly diminish. At this moment, Ang Lee had used his knowledge to transcend time and space to sit at a very high position. The so-called work was nothing more than walking around and looking around. It was relatively easy and comfortable, so the feeling of admiring the country was naturally even more wonderful.
After the autumn harvest, there were many fireworks on both sides of the road. This was caused by the people burning straw to make the fields more fertile. In the future, straw burning was not allowed in order to protect the environment. However, in the Tang dynasty, straw burning was allowed. Moreover, it could increase the fertility of the fields in the next year. Of course, the imperial court was very supportive of this.
The burning of the straw continued for many days. Most of the straw had already been burned clean. What Li An saw now was only a small portion left. In a few more days, the burning of the straw would all end. When the Emperor went out, there would no longer be any signs of burning straw. This was to avoid destroying the freshness of the air and making the Emperor in a bad mood.
Since he was on a business trip, he naturally couldn't sit comfortably in the carriage all the time. He needed to inspect the situation in each carriage to confirm the work of the railway staff.
Ang Lee brought Duan Xiushi out of the soft sleeper compartment. Immediately, a staff member came up to greet them.
"Assistant Minister Li, what can I do for you?"
"Nothing, just looking around. Not bad, the soft sleeper compartment is very clean. Even the walkway is spotless."
Ang Lee praised and walked to the soft sleeper compartment at the back.
At the connecting position, Ang Lee gently opened the door of the cubicle. Seeing that it was clean inside, he nodded to the staff member with satisfaction again.
The first carriage with soft seats was filled to the brim. There was not a single empty seat. Moreover, one could tell from their attire that they were all people of decent status and were not poor people who were too shabby. Moreover, among these people, many of them had seen Li An before and greeted him warmly.
Ang Lee waved his hand and asked them to sit down. Then, he continued to walk to the back compartment.
"Colonel Duan, did you notice? Almost all of the people in the three soft sleeper compartments are men. "
After saying that, Ang Lee shook his head helplessly.
"Almost? Are there women? "
Duan Xiushi frowned and looked at Ang Lee in confusion.
"How silly. Three of them are women dressed as men. Can't Colonel Duan tell?"
Ang Lee teased.
"Oh, this humble one didn't pay attention. This humble one was negligent."
"Sigh, a young lady from a rich family is so pitiful. How boring it is to be raised in a boudoir. She has to hide when she goes out, as if she's afraid of being seen."
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