After returning to Kunning Palace, Zhu Yingcai realized that he had acted too hastily.
The time between when the idea of the horse-drawn train came up and then when I talked with the old man was less than half an hour.
Zhu Ying didn't even think about it completely and decided on a plan suitable for Ming Dynasty, so he just stated it directly.
After settling his mind, Zhu Ying thought about it carefully and came up with a rough plan.
Horse-drawn trains are definitely needed, but the wear and tear of wooden rails is a serious problem.
It can only be used as a transition and cannot be used on a large scale.
The old man, including all the nobles of the Ming Dynasty, must see the benefits brought by the track, and only with the emergence of the iron-making industry can it be laid on a large scale.
At present, it is entirely feasible to lay a track from Beijing to Peking.
The reason why we are in Beiping first is because for the current Ming Dynasty, the grassland is the biggest threat. Only after this biggest threat is reduced, everyone in the Ming Dynasty can see the benefits brought by the track.
The key is speed.
The straight-line distance from the capital to Peking is about one thousand kilometers, two thousand miles. In fact, the detour must be longer, at least two to three hundred miles.
The marching speed of the ancient army depended on the slowest baggage speed, which was about forty to fifty miles a day.
This means that based on the calculation of traveling fifty miles a day, it will take one and a half months for the army to set off from the capital and arrive in Peiping.
This is the minimum estimate. In fact, taking into account the reorganization of armaments and the impact of weather factors, it is considered good to arrive in Peiping within two months without delay.
The current speed of the Ming Dynasty's carriages seems to be able to travel more than two hundred miles a day. In fact, of course it is less. More than a hundred miles should be the normal average speed.
Assuming that wooden rails are laid directly from the capital to Peiping, what will happen?
The first is the horse. Naturally, it cannot be just a few horses, but at least twelve horses or more. Only in this way can there be a sufficient power source.
Driven by grooms, these horses will run along the wooden track.
And this kind of march is continuous day and night.
It is definitely too much to keep the horse running all the time. To maintain the horse's power at this time, you only need to change the horse when passing by the station and you can continue.
This process is like a six-hundred-mile or eight-hundred-mile rush, and the grooms also need to follow the replacement relay.
But there is an advantage. The traces of the wooden rails allow you to keep driving even at night without getting lost, even if it may be slower.
The use of multiple wheels will also make the horse run more effortlessly and pull more load.
This means that the rail-driven carriages can travel more than three hundred miles every day.
The two thousand-mile journey from the capital to Peking was shortened from the original two months to about seven or eight days.
These soldiers who arrived in Peking by horse-drawn trains were full of energy and could go into battle immediately after getting off the train without worrying about logistics.
You only need to carry a small amount of dry food, and the subsequent food can be transferred immediately.
The uninterrupted transportation is like an assembly line, and troops can be mobilized at any time.
This is still arriving from the capital to Peiping, and the troops joining along the way will only be faster.
This is true in the military, and the economic benefits brought by such a wooden rail are even more beyond imagination.
This is actually no different from the Grand Canal.
During non-war periods, it can play a role in communicating between the north and the south, and has a significant effect on resolving the current sharp conflict between the Han people in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty.
The imperial court with its capital in Nanjing and the regional problems in the north will be improved, and the imperial court's control over the northern region will also be enhanced.
The maintenance costs incurred by wooden rails due to heavy use can be completely offset by the economic profits from north to south alone.
The wooden rails can then be upgraded.
For example, if the wooden rails are covered with iron sheets, their durability will be continuously improved and they will not be damaged so easily.
Continuing transition to the arrival of rails.
Of course, the wooden track does not mean that the track goes straight from beginning to end.
It can be understood as the concept of a bus stop in later generations.
If you encounter a river, you will naturally get off the car and take a boat. If you encounter a mountain, you will walk up the mountain.
Relying on current manpower to dig a tunnel would be completely fanciful.
When encountering areas where it was difficult to install wooden rails, the army would adopt a rapid march mode, then get on the car and start to rest and use dry food.
Even extending the time can greatly shorten the overall time.
The maintenance of the wooden rails is left to the villages near the wooden rails, and taxes are appropriately reduced. In this way, the cost of maintenance will not be too high.
And just a wooden track, for Daming, does not have such a big negative impact.
"Shouldn't be in such a hurry."
Zhu Ying was a little annoyed. This was the first time he had seen the old man get angry, but it was because he started talking before he could straighten himself out.
"It seems that we have to wait until the old man's anger subsides before we find an opportunity to tell him."
Thinking of this, Zhu Ying took out his pen and ink and started writing an optimization plan for the wooden rails.
The implementation of the wooden rails can only be implemented while the old man is still alive.
Just like many previous strategies, the new work-for-relief, separation of military and political affairs, small farmers into acres, high-yielding crops, and reform of the imperial examination system.
None of this can be started all at once.
It also requires a long preparation process.
Sweet potatoes need to be grown for at least a year to produce enough grain.
The imperial examination system was reformed, and the dissemination and study of newly compiled books took less than a year and a half to start.
The reason why Zhu Ying spoke out all these strategies in one go was to set the tone early.
Only by setting the tone can Ming Dynasty continue to move forward.
Otherwise, it would not be so simple if we really wait until the old man dies before bringing it up.
It is now the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu. In original history, Zhu Yuanzhang died in the thirty-first year of Hongwu.
Even though the old man passed away before these matters were actually carried out, he still left a legacy.
Don’t underestimate this status. To put it another way, this is also called ancestral instruction.
As long as there are any opponents who dare to come out behind, Zhu Ying will order a meal, which will not cause too much trouble.
.......
"Do you think our attitude towards the eldest grandson was too harsh just now?"
In the canopy hall, the food on the table has been cleared away, and Zhu Yuanzhang's anger has calmed down.
Not long after, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little regretful for scolding his grandson just now.
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little worried that the relationship between grandfather and grandson that he had finally cultivated would cause a gap in this matter.
"Actually, it's not impossible to convince Dasun. Since he thinks wooden rails are feasible, we can make a track about ten miles long first and then show it to Dasun."
"When the great grandson realizes how much it wastes people and money, he will naturally give up the idea."
Before Liu He could answer, Zhu Yuanzhang began to talk to himself.
Liu He was a little frightened when he heard this, and he did not dare to keep silent about this matter. He hesitated slightly and said: "Your Majesty, I don't understand this, but your Majesty just said it, and I think it is very feasible."
"In just ten miles, we can't consume much food. When the time comes, His Highness Changsun will naturally understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, and then sighed: "Our eldest grandson's temper is really like that of a bull. We are always willing to say whatever we say, but we refuse to look back."
"Liu He, please help us keep an eye on the eldest grandson, and find an opportunity for us to have a good chat with the eldest grandson."
