"Bang, bang, bang, bang, woo..."
As the train whistle blew, Zhuge Weidao, who was immersed in reading, raised his head and glanced out of the train window. He was immediately stunned by the scene in front of him. This time, what he saw was no longer the endless desolation, but factory buildings that seemed to have no end in sight!
I don't know when the train drove from the Monan Prairie, where the wind blew grass and cattle and sheep were seen, to a heavy industry city full of power in the industrialization era. It also made Zhuge Weidao's understanding of his new Ming Dynasty motherland one step closer!
This time, the railway line that took Zhuge Weidao from Yining to Beijing, the imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty, was called the Saibei Railway. It started from Yining, the capital of Ili Frontier Province, and went northwest first, bypassing the remaining veins of the northwest foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, and entering Junggar. The grassland then passes through the passage between the Tianshan Mountains and the Altai Mountains, entering the western part of the Monan Grassland, and then goes all the way east to the northern foot of Yanshan Mountain, and finally passes through the Badaling Mountains through a tunnel and enters Shuntian Prefecture in Beijing.
Such a large railway, not counting the branch lines that lead to the south of the Tianshan Mountains, the north of the desert, and the large iron mines in Baiyun Mountain, the total length of the trunk line alone exceeds 3,800 kilometers, and many railway bridges will be erected along the way. Many tunnels still need to be opened, and the problem of wind protection and sand fixation in the section west of the Monan Grassland has to be solved... It is no exaggeration to say that the Ming Empire was able to build such a railway, which already shows its power. national strength and industrialization strength.
However, the economic value of this railway does not seem to be high. At least west of the Yanshan section, the train almost travels alone in the mountains, deserts and grasslands, and only occasionally sees herdsmen. To be precise, it should be the villages where ranchers live - - Looking at the appearance of these villages from a distance, the cattle and sheep pens outside the villages, and the small stations dedicated to loading cattle and sheep near the villages, Zhuge Weidao can also imagine the life of the herdsmen on these grasslands. That's quite moisturizing.
The train sometimes stops at towns along the way to add water, coal, and food rations. These towns located among grasslands, deserts, and mountains all look very small, and they are usually located in fortresses that have become historic sites... ...Looking at those ancient castles that have been in disrepair but still maintain their majesty, Zhuge Weidao can imagine how the gray-bearded King Zhuge Wuzhong stood on the grassland more than a hundred years ago, drew his sword and looked around, and the heroes were at a loss. , a failure is hard to come by!
It's just that the ancestors are awesome, but the children and grandchildren are becoming more and more timid from generation to generation...
However, the internal affairs of those cowardly people seemed to be doing well. Not only did the herdsmen on the grassland look quite wealthy, but the small towns that relied on grassland animal husbandry for survival also seemed to be well managed.
When the train passed through every town, Zhuge Weidao would put down the "memory review materials" in his hand and observe them carefully. The buildings in these small towns all seem to be a combination of Chinese and Western styles. Two- and three-story buildings are also common. The greening in the city is also good. Tall trees can be seen everywhere. It seems that there is no shortage of water.
There are usually cattle pens and sheep pens near the station where many cattle and sheep are waiting to be shipped. The merchants selling cattle and sheep, the railway employees at the station, and other passengers all seem to be living a good life. No one has a face. Dishes and ragged clothes.
Zhuge Weidao also saw schools with sun and moon red flags (the national flag of the Ming Dynasty) flying in several small towns and schoolchildren carrying schoolbags to school - Guo Xiaobao told him that after the new Ming Dynasty completed the land equalization system reform, it began to implement Education is compulsory. After more than a hundred years of development, the length of compulsory education in Ming Dynasty has reached nine years, and the adult literacy rate is extremely close to 100%!
The role of high-level compulsory education in promoting the second industrial revolution cannot be overemphasized!
And the train Zhuge Weidao is riding is currently passing through a typical heavy industry city in the second industrial revolution era!
Zhuge Weidao put down a piece of "Da Ming Daily" in his hand and began to carefully look at this city full of chimneys and factory buildings... Suddenly, there was another whistle, followed by a heavily loaded freight train. It came roaring and passed by the bus Zhuge Weidao was riding. Zhuge Weidao observed the heavily loaded wagons and found that they were filled with dark coal. He didn't know whether it was used to generate electricity or to make coking?
Thinking of this, he turned to He Tianran, who was sitting on the side reading a novel called "The New Edition of Jin Ping Mei", and asked: "Mu Ru, where is this? What are these factories doing?"
He Tianran immediately put down "****" and introduced: "This is Xuanfu. These factories are the properties of the Xuanfu Steel Co., Ltd. of the Zhuge family... This Xuanfu Steel Co., Ltd. was founded by King Wu Zhong Yes, it has been rumored for more than a hundred years! Up to now, it is still the last of the five major steel companies in the Ming Dynasty. It has good net profits every year, and it is a very reliable investment! However, among the many investments of the Zhuge Family Industry Association, Xuanfu Steel only They can be regarded as second- or third-rate assets. Borneo Petroleum, Jiangdong Heavy Industries, Datong Coal Industry, Anben Steel Company, etc., that can be called a huge source of wealth!"
Zhuge Wei said in his heart: "Capitalists who are good at calculating will certainly have a lot of money... When it comes to business, choice is greater than effort! If you go in the wrong direction, no matter how hard you try, it will be in vain. So I can really do this Talents who are good at calculating must be the favorites in the eyes of those old cowards from the Zhuge family!"
Thinking of this, Zhuge Weidao became more determined. He picked up a "history textbook for the third grade of high school" he bought in Yining City and continued to study on his own... A high school history teacher actually wanted to buy it after traveling through time. No one can learn from history textbooks in the 19th century by themselves, right?
...
Beijing, Forbidden City, Cining Palace.
There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and an elderly black eunuch and a short female official in white were seen walking in like flying one after the other. A young man drinks tea and talks next to Queen Mother Zheng. The short female official in white possessed Empress Dowager Zheng's ear and whispered a few words. The Queen Mother Zheng actually showed a surprised expression and muttered in a low voice: "How is it possible..."
Zheng Guozhong and the young man both heard what Empress Dowager Zheng said and turned their attention.
Empress Dowager Zheng ignored them and asked again: "Are you sure?"
The female officer in white replied: "Very sure!"
"Zhongming!" The Queen Mother called the black eunuch's name again.
The black eunuch immediately replied: "The old slave has been following her since Yining. Apart from the two maids, she has never been alone with anyone else."
"I understand," said the Queen Mother, "keep this a secret for now!"
"yes!"
The black eunuch and the female officer agreed together.
"Queen Mother, what about her..." the black eunuch asked again.
"Send all three of them to Yingtai and take good care of them, but they are not allowed to leave."
"yes."
"Step back, everyone, step back!"
"yes!"
It was not only the black eunuch and the female officer in white who resigned, but also the other black eunuchs and minor maids in the hall. Because the "Ming Dynasty Covenant Law" passed by the political council during the era of King Wu Zhong gave the people of the Ming Dynasty inviolable personal freedom, so There are no eunuchs or maids of Ming nationality in the Ming Palace. The eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty's court are all imported from the Ottoman Empire, while the maids are made in Japan... Of course, they all entered the palace at a young age and have long since severed ties with their mother country.
Zheng Guozhong and the young man did not retreat, but looked at Queen Mother Zheng curiously.
Empress Dowager Zheng frowned and said, "Fourth brother, thirty-eighth brother, Zhuge Bai08 seems to have slept with Grand Duchess Natalie!"
"What? How is this possible? How could Brother Daozi do such a thing?"
Zheng Guozhong and Zheng Zhongtang were not well yet, but the young man who came with him and was called "thirty-eighth brother" by Empress Dowager Zheng spoke first.
He is also from the Zheng family, named Guoxian, and is the direct brother of Empress Dowager Zheng. He calls Zhuge Dao Daozi brother, which is obviously the existence of Zhuge Dao and Daozi brother.
"Thirty-eighth brother," Zheng Guozhong pointed to his head, "it seems that the little fox of the Zhuge family really has a problem here!"
"Then..." Zheng Guoxian frowned, "That's an opportunity to deal with Brother Daozi and divide the Zhuge family!"
Zheng Guozhong asked with a smile: "How to clean up? How to divide it?"
Queen Mother Zheng said: "Don't deal with Daozi too badly... The Ai family will be heartbroken!"
"Don't worry, sister," Zheng Guoxian said with a smile, "I will definitely let Zhuge Daozi be used by my sister."
"That's pretty much it," Queen Mother Zheng asked, "Tell me, what do you want to do?"
"Let's kill someone with a borrowed sword first, and let the people of the Zhuge family deal with Zhuge Daozi themselves," Zheng Guoxian said with a smile, "The status of Wuxiang Hou Yifang in the Zhuge family is second only to Wu Wang Yifang, but now there is no military adviser in office. It happened to be the opportunity for each house to suppress them. Originally, there was Zhuge Ba88 who followed Old Man Zhuge, and there was Zhuge Daozi who was called a genius by everyone. The status of the first house of Wuxiang Marquis was as stable as Mount Tai, but now... ..Without Daozi, only a fat man is left, and he will definitely not be able to sustain the situation. When Zhuge Daozi is dealt with, we will act as good people and excuse him, and then give him Grand Duchess Natalie, so that he can It can be used by us.”
Zheng Guozhong said: "His brain is broken, how can he still be used by us?"
"Brother Eighteen," Zheng Guoxian said with a smile, "Zhuge Daozi just lost part of his memory, his brain should still be very useful...otherwise he can bring back Grand Duchess Natalie? He can bring Rakshasa If the country's armored ship order is obtained? Emperor Daoguang and Heshen of the Jin Kingdom will give him something like Fairy Nalan to use as a furnace? These two are both famous old foxes.
In addition, we provide help in times of need. What does it cost to win over Zhuge? So what if Archduchess Natalie gave him as his wife? If it weren't for Zhuge Youde's legacy, how could the Holy One marry a Rakshasa Grand Duke? Now the princesses of the Zheng family in Siam are still waiting to marry the Holy Emperor! Now Zhuge Daozi himself has ruined his father's plan, isn't it playing into our hands? The prices offered by Siam are not low!
And Zhuge Daozi's amnesia... how long will it last? What if it gets better? Then we will make a profit! "
