The time has come to the middle of 2022 in the Republic, and the train experiment in the northeastern region of Zhongdu City has been started for three years.
The experimental train track has been extended from the original one mile to the current ten miles.
Su Yonglin still remembers the first train experiment. The steam-powered locomotive looked very majestic and powerful.
It pulled three carriages and ran a distance of about ten feet at a relatively fast speed. Then it stopped and began to move forward slowly at a snail's speed. After moving another foot or so, it was completely scrapped and could not continue. used.
The technicians were very frustrated and felt that they had failed Su Yonglin's expectations.
But Su Yonglin's eyes shone, he hugged every technician, and gave them generous rewards and encouragement.
"It's moving! It's pulling the carriage to move! In the past, it only ran around in my head, but now, it's moving!"
Su Yonglin touched the locomotive that had lost its function with great excitement. Its first whistle echoed in his mind for a long time and could not be dissipated.
An old era has passed and a new era has come.
In the three years since then, technicians have continued to improve it, constantly making it have stronger power and towing capabilities, and allowing it to continue to travel farther distances.
In 2022, the experimental train successfully dragged nine carriages and more than 1,000 kilograms of coal. It traveled ten miles on the railway track at a relatively fast speed and stopped smoothly at the end. The train was running the first phase of the experiment. This was a success.
On that day, Su Yonglin was so excited that he could not control himself. He and the entire train project team's technical staff caroused all night long, singing, dancing, drinking and having fun, and they were extremely happy.
In order to express his joy, Su Yonglin personally boarded the experimental train, acted as the driver, and traveled ten miles with the train. Although he was dizzy and vomited when he got off the train, he still felt extremely happy.
Also in the same year, Su Yonglin's eldest son Su Zeying took part in the seventh imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty at the age of 19, and successfully passed the qualification of Jinshi in Engineering, ranking first in engineering.
After that, he was hired by the R&D Department of the Ministry of Industry, and after three months of internship, he successfully joined the train project team and joined the train research and development work, and quickly became an important member of it with his excellent scientific research capabilities.
In early 2023, Su Zeying participated in the Ming Dynasty's first practical train plan and led a team to lay the Ming Dynasty's first practical railway track, which was 13 miles long, between the Datong Coal Mine and the Datong Coking Field.
In mid-2023, the laying of the railway track was completed, and the first transport train ran smoothly on the railway track, transporting the first batch of two thousand kilograms of finished products to the Datong coking yard.
This historic first train transportation mission took only a little more than a quarter of an hour, and the speed was beyond the imagination of all coal miners and coking yard workers.
Su Yonglin was at the scene at the time and observed this historic transportation. He was so happy that he boarded the return train again and returned to the Datong Coal Mine, where he vomited again.
Because of this poor riding experience, the train project team began to develop the shock-absorbing function of the train, striving to improve the comfort experience of the train, in order to meet Su Yonglin's second requirement for the train as soon as possible - to transport troops.
Without excellent shock-absorbing function, it would be impossible for the train to transport troops. After transporting the soldiers to their destination, all the soldiers would vomit and pass out, so how could there be any fighting?
So the train project team had no time to stay in this short-term joy. They almost immediately started the next stage of scientific research on the train project.
Su Yonglin was very pleased that Su Zeying had established a firm foothold in the train project team in less than a year. He patted Su Zeying on the shoulder and expressed his praise.
"If you follow my footsteps, thousands of years later, people will evaluate you as Su Yonglin's son, and you will not have your own name and status. This is not what my mother and I hope you can achieve through our painstaking teachings.
But if you don't follow my footsteps, but go your own way, then thousands of years later, people will evaluate you by yourself, and what you do will be how people remember you. "
Su Zeying nodded seriously.
"I will dedicate my life to the train industry. I will definitely work with everyone to build a train that is fast and comfortable enough. We will definitely realize your wish, so that the train tracks will cover the Ming Dynasty, and every inch of the land will not be destroyed. give up!"
"I'm proud of you."
Su Yonglin left Datong with these words and continued his nationwide tour.
He had never expected that Su Zeying could embark on this path. Perhaps it was his attitude of attaching too much importance to scientific research that made Su Zeying decide to embark on such a path, but no matter what, Su Yonglin was very pleased.
Politicians can appear in the Su family, but it is best to wait a little longer after his death.
When the Ming Dynasty truly became a democratic republic, the descendants of the Su family could freely choose their favorite careers, whether in business, politics, or research.
Su Yonglin was extremely pleased that he had not trained a politician but a scientific researcher.
The history of the Ming Dynasty has undergone drastic changes since the year 2023 of the Republic of China. With the sound of the train whistle and the rapid running of the train between the Datong Coal Mine and the Datong Coking Factory, the history of the Ming Dynasty suddenly accelerated. .
By the end of 2024, rail laying and train operation had been fully completed between 16 important coal mining areas and seven coking plants in Datong Province.
The significant reduction in transportation time and cost has led to a sharp increase in coal and coke production, and coal and coke prices in Datong Province have begun to decline.
At the same time, some problems with trains have also been improved, and the transport capacity and efficiency of steam power engines have been greatly improved, further reducing operating costs.
As a result, a railway track laying plan from Zhongdu to Datong City, where the Datong Provincial Government is located, has been completed. After being reported to Zhongdu, it was approved and construction was ready to begin.
Once this railway starts operating, the price of coal in the entire Yanyun area and the cost of coke used in factories will drop significantly, which will bring great convenience to people's lives and factory production in the Yanyun area.
Experience within Datong Province shows that wherever train tracks are laid, coal and coke prices will fall, followed by a surge in local demand.
The surge in demand will cause factories to speed up production efficiency and production volume, which will further promote the emergence of technological innovation.
From the beginning of 2024 to the middle of 2025, a total of 38 large and small technological innovations occurred in various fields such as coal, coke, steelmaking, and firearms manufacturing. There are twenty-one items of practical value.
There is no doubt that the industrial revolution in the Ming Dynasty has begun to take shape. The Ming Dynasty is already on the eve of the industrial revolution. It is only waiting for more inventions with more practical value to appear, which will further pull the Ming Dynasty into the era of industrial revolution.
Once we enter the era of the Industrial Revolution, the changes in the Ming Dynasty will truly be realized with each passing day. History will truly enter the high-speed lane and begin to advance rapidly. The agricultural era that has been silent for thousands of years is about to usher in real changes.
At this moment, in April 2025 of the Republic of China, the Third National People's Congress was held.
During this meeting, Su Yonglin formally applied to the conference to resign from his concurrent position as Director of the Military Department, and recommended Xin Qiji, the former Deputy Director of the Military Department, to take up the post of Director of the Military Department.
This is equivalent to telling everyone clearly that once Su Yonglin resigns in five years, Xin Qiji will succeed him.
Regarding this answer, some people had expected it and were not surprised. Some people had not expected it and were therefore a little surprised. But overall, everyone is not disgusted with the result.
Xin Qiji was an honest official. He had never been involved in any malfeasance or corruption in his twenty-three years as an official. He had always been clean and self-sufficient, had no bad habits, was diligent in his work, and followed Su Yonglin's ideological footsteps.
What's even more rare is that he has great achievements, high status, and deep qualifications, but his personality is relatively gentle. No matter whether he is a superior or a subordinate, he can get along with him in harmony without any discord.
Even the few people who were dissatisfied with Xin Qiji becoming Su Yonglin's heir had to admit that compared to others, Xin Qiji was more likely to be the person they were willing to accept.
The people on the executive committee were willing to accept Xin Qiji as leader.
The arrogant generals did not dislike him, because Xin Qiji had solid achievements and had been a military leader for a long time, and he also had a certain prestige.
As for the existence that is truly accepted by the people of the country, he is not willing to continue his rule, which is something that everyone has no choice about.
And handing over the position of director of the Ministry of Military Affairs to Xin Qiji is obviously just the beginning.
In the years that followed, although Su Yonglin was still nominally the supreme leader of the Ming Dynasty, he had handed over the position of chairman of the Renaissance Society and the responsibility of being in charge of the Ministry of Industry to Xin Qiji.
At the end of 2027, Su Yonglin handed over his last power, the veto power of the executive committee, to Xin Qiji, essentially withdrawing from the front-line decision-making circle.
On that day, Xin Qiji was very excited, but also very sad. A new era had come, and an old era had gone away.
But if that person hadn’t taken the initiative to quit, the new era would never have come.
"Are you just going to hand over such great power to me?"
When the snow was falling, Xin Qiji brushed the snow off Su Yonglin's shoulders and asked gently.
"I have no reason not to hand over all these powers to you. You are already a qualified leader. My last expectation for you is to never forget why you follow me and your ideals."
Xin Qiji stood beside Su Yonglin and was silent for a while.
"I will never forget that night in Jinan City."
"That's alright. You haven't forgotten where you came from, so you won't lose your way."
Su Yonglin smiled, held Xin Qiji's hand, and said slowly: "In the next two years, and your two terms, how the Ming Dynasty moves forward will mainly depend on your will. After that, no matter what you want, If you don’t want to, I will take you with me, remember?”
Xin Qiji laughed out loud.
"Remember, I will never resist."
"There's no point in resisting."
Su Yonglin laughed loudly and said, "Because as long as Su Yonglin is alive, he will be invincible!"
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PS: It will end tomorrow.
(End of chapter)
