The steam engine tractor vibrated violently when it was running. It drove for a while and soon broke down. A gear fell off and even the tracks were stuck.
The workers who had just cheered suddenly fell silent, gathered around the tractor that had lost power, and started a chaotic argument.
Seeing this, Zhang Yang sighed. The train was running smoothly, but he still had no clue about the transformation of the car.
"My family has been laying the railway for three years. We have been losing money in these three years. Our family will probably be unable to make ends meet."
Hearing her husband's words, Li Yue smiled and said, "My family can afford to lose this money."
Zhang Yang sighed: "I don't know when I can recover this cost."
Zhang Xin'an also let out a long sigh when she heard her parents' words.
As soon as little Sizi arrived in the village, she played with Zhang Qingqing and a large group of children. The children always had endless games to play, and even if they just sat together, they had endless things to talk about.
Li Yue now likes to sit on the top of the mountain more and more, doing nothing and watching the tranquility of the village.
When the wind blows through the mountains and forests, I feel very comfortable.
Zhang Yang moved a chair and sat next to her, just sitting there without saying a word.
Aunt Wang came over in a hurry, handed over a roll of paper, and said with a smile: "Marquis of the County, Your Highness the Princess, this is the territory of the Tang Dynasty newly drawn by the Ministry of Rites."
Zhang Yang opened this map. This map was very large, starting from Liaodong in the east, skipping the Central Plains, and ending at Suiye City in the west. Tubo, which had been separated from the Central Plains, was also merged.
Aunt Wang added: "I heard that the court has sent many officials to govern various places. The Ministry of Rites will be located in the Beiting Protectorate and the Anxi Protectorate, with Tianshan as the boundary, starting from Tianshan in the east and reaching the Aral Sea in the west."
"Yes, it's all on the picture." Zhang Yang nodded with satisfaction, "Tian Khan, you must be very happy now."
Li Yue drank tea and said: "As the Tang Dynasty becomes more and more powerful, our family will become richer and richer."
Zhang Yang nodded and said: "The cost of railways is huge, and it will take some years to turn losses into profits."
She whispered: "The years are so long, is it too late?"
"There was enough time. When my hometown was poor, it still had dirt roads. It only took ten years to build a decent city, and in the next ten years, it became even more beautiful."
"Twenty years, I have only lived twenty years in my life." She said with hope in her eyes, "I used to feel that life was very short, but I didn't expect that twenty years would be so long."
Zhang Yang held her hand and whispered: "We still have many years."
"Yes, my life has begun to become longer. I never felt it was this long before."
As Li Yue spoke, she looked at her husband's side face. At this moment, his eyes were looking into the distance.
When the wind blew, it blew up the broken hair on his temples.
The husband was giggling again, and he didn’t know what he was laughing at.
Li Yue said again: "Husband, tell me about your hometown."
Zhang Yang held the back of her cold hand until it felt a little warm, and whispered: "My hometown is a very beautiful place. It used to be very poor, but then..."
In the land of Guanzhong under the clear sky, many people are planting trees. After they reclaimed the wasteland, they planted saplings one after another.
There are more and more vendors coming and going along the railway, and the trains in Lishan are getting longer and longer. There are now twenty trains in total, and more and more goods can be loaded and transported.
Because handling goods requires a huge amount of manpower, Lishan has built stalls at several important stations. In just one year, the fees for these stalls have increased to 500 yuan a month.
Even with such a high price, many merchants are still flocking to it.
When the court came to its senses, they realized that Lishan had made thousands of dollars by selling these stalls and operating rights.
The cost is minimal, it is something that can be done easily, and Lishan can make an extra fortune so easily with one simple move, which is staggering.
There are even several newly built stations, and the locations have been sold before the stations are built.
They are all making money from merchants, and the government has nothing to say.
The Zhongshu Province is currently discussing the various changes brought about by the railway. They have to take some measures to allow North Korea and China to participate in the operation of the train.
Changsun Wuji frowned and said, "Fang Xiang."
"Um?"
"I heard that Lishan has been traveling with you frequently recently."
Fang Xuanling said lightly: "It's nothing more than one of Zhang Yang's children who wants to become my teacher."
Changsun Wuji nodded clearly, "Are you only interested in the middle-aged prime minister?"
Fang Xuanling added: "I am the only one now."
He asked again: "Does Lishan still consider others?"
Fang Xuanling took a sip of tea and said, "I don't know. They always do things without rules. I always refuse, but Lishan still refuses to give up."
There was a lot of disappointment in Changsun Wuji's eyes. At this moment, in Zhongshu Province, Ma Zhou and Cen Wenwen each took sides and began to argue.
Ma Zhou said: "Lishan can't make money like this."
Cen Wenwen said sternly: "Lishan earns money from merchants, and Lishan controls the prices at railway stations. No merchant can raise the price of goods at will."
"Cen Zhongcheng seems to be excusing Lishan."
The official sitting behind Ma Zhou interjected.
Ma Zhou drank tea and looked at the person in front of him. If Cen Wenwen was really speaking for Li Shan, he could tell.
"I'm not excusing Lishan. Zhang Yang said that he is willing to jointly operate the station with North Korea and China. Whether it is management or control, it cannot be separated from the support of North Korea and China. Although we covet the railway, we cannot seize other people's property, right? "
Cen Wenwen paused for a moment before continuing: "There are two ways for us. The first one is that the North and China spent a lot of money to buy the manufacturing technology of the Lishan railway. The asking price is 60 million yuan. This is not even a train. price."
Hearing this, everyone in Zhongshu Province started discussing.
Cen Wenwen continued: "Everyone understands the dilemma of the DPRK and China. Once so much money is taken out, not to mention the various expenses of the DPRK and China, many matters will be put on hold. We can only choose another path and work together with Lishan Business.”
Ma Zhou asked again: "How to run the business together."
Cen Wenwen sighed: "It's easy to say. Lishan will divide the railway-related projects into several pieces, and the North Korean government will contract them. The first one is public security. The North Korean soldiers and horses can be used to manage the movement of people along the railway, so that the station can Stay safe everywhere."
"The second thing is management. Lishan can give up the operating rights of several stations, and each station will offer a price of 100,000 yuan a year."
"Furthermore, transportation, whether it is transporting troops, grain, grass, or horses, can allocate space to specifically supply the DPRK and China. Currently, these are the only ones. What do you think?"
Everyone was talking again.
Lishan came up with another novel strategy, which was contracting.
Cen Wenwen continued: "All three provinces and six ministries can participate. Each ministry will come up with its own strategy and submit it to Lishan, and Lishan will choose based on the quality of each ministry's strategy. Of course, the cost of the contract will also be borne by the court, regardless of Whoever takes down the station first will bring huge benefits to North Korea and China."
After that, he looked at Ma Zhou and explained: "This is the relationship between Lishan and the DPRK in the next ten years. What does the censor think?"
Ma Zhou smiled and said: "Lishan doesn't need to pay any more. It can continuously absorb wealth by sitting on the railway. It's a good method. He is worthy of being the youngest county prince in the Tang Dynasty. I admire him!"
The tone of admiration was not very good, and everyone looked grim.
The government and the public are also starting to make plans for the railway, and people in various ministries have begun planning.
North Korea and China cannot afford a railway, and Lishan's asking price is too high.
Only places like Lishan in Guanzhong have the financial resources to build railways.
Previously, some people scolded Lishan for openly sharing the spoils with the DPRK and China, but now these voices have been silenced by the power of railway management.
The buzz among the public is getting higher and higher.
Lishan is now the richest family in Guanzhong. It is said that the county prince hollowed out Lishan so that he could hide his money.
The Immortal's home is on Qian Mountain.
No one talks about the aristocratic family anymore. The aristocratic family has become a record in the history books.
Now people are talking about Lishan.
County princes often say that wealth comes from knowledge, and all the wealth in Lishan comes from knowledge.
If you want wealth, you must learn from Lishan.
In November of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, King Li Zhi of the Jin Dynasty held a crowning ceremony, and his majesty immediately gave him the word "good deeds".
Li Shimin gave Li Zhi a garden at the former site of Qujiang Pool, which was the former site of Yichun Palace in Shanglin Garden during the Han Dynasty.
Li Zhi didn't like the name Yichun. As a disciple of Lishan, he changed its name to Xueyuan, and from then on it became the residence of the Prince of Jin.
The craftsmen in the palace had just finished building this place, and Li Zhi and Di Renjie were walking in their new home.
Gongsun Xiaoniang is very happy. As a maid, besides King Jin, she has become the person with the highest status here, and is the head of the servants and maids here.
And she has her own room, so she doesn't have to disturb His Highness Prince Jin from reading because of her little actions like she did when she lived in Chongdefang.
King Ji Li Shen is also here. He is very envious of this royal brother, and the royal brother also arranged a residence for him here.
Lady Gongsun came with a box in her arms, "Your Highness, Prince Jin, this is a congratulatory gift from the Marquis of Lishan County and Princess Runan."
"Oh?" Li Zhi happily took the box and opened the lid. What he saw was a glass bottle. The light cyan glass bottle contained ink.
He picked up a delicate little iron pole again.
Di Renjie looked at the object and was greatly moved. Judging from the luster of the object, it must be made of fine steel and inlaid with gold edges.
It is cylindrical with flat ends and feels very soft in the hand.
Li Zhi's eyes were curious, thinking that his brother-in-law must have given this thing something to do with it. When he saw a very slight ravine at the end, he pulled hard.
"It turned out to be a lid."
After removing the cover, the inside is sharp, reflecting light at the polished tip.
Gongsun Xiaoniang noticed a note in the box. She opened the note and handed it over, "Your Highness, Prince Jin, there is another note here."
Li Zhi took the note and looked at it.
"Zhinu, you are finally here. This is a pen made from the highest level of Lishan's manufacturing technology."
"This thing is called Lishan Fountain Pen. Don't change the name, not even your father."
…
Looking at the letter, Li Zhi suddenly laughed. He laughed loudly as he looked at the paper. The paper had two sides, and the usage of the pen was written on the back.
Li Zhi disassembled the pen according to the diagram. There was an air bag made of beef tendon inside. After pressing it, the ink was sucked into it. Then he reinstalled the pen and tightened it.
Ming Gongsun Xiaoniang took a piece of paper, and Li Zhi held the pen in the same posture as he used to hold charcoal pens in Lishan.
Suddenly, I remembered that my brother-in-law had long wanted to make such a pen.
He smiled knowingly and began to write. The cursive handwriting was very beautiful. The copper handwriting crossed the paper, and each beautiful word appeared on the paper.
Looking carefully, Di Renjie saw the steps King Jin took to dismantle the pen and understood the principle of how the pen produces ink.
Li Zhi tried to write a lot of words, and the words he wrote were neat and beautiful, and the handwriting was very fine, so he didn't need to dip in ink frequently.
Di Renjie swallowed his saliva. He was so envious. He had never seen such a beautiful pen. Even when writing, the pen was still shining in the sun.
Li Zhi put away the pen with satisfaction, closed the lid, picked up the letter from the emperor's sister and brother-in-law again and read it, he smiled and said: "The letter said that there are ten pens in Lishan, but after giving it to the king, there are only nine." ”
Di Renjie exclaimed: "This thing is exquisite, full of nobility, and priceless."
Gongsun Xiaoniang came quickly to report, "Your Highness, Your Majesty and the Queen, as well as Princess Changle and the Crown Prince are here."
Li Zhi quickly stood up and saluted.
Li Shimin noticed the pen in Li Zhi's hand and stroked his beard: "Is this a gift from Li Shan?"
Li Zhi handed it over with both hands, "Back to my father, my brother-in-law said this is the highest craftsmanship in Lishan."
Taking the pen, Li Shimin looked at it carefully, and after his son's explanation, he nodded and said: "Well, it's very good, the strokes are smooth, and it's not like using a brush that requires you to lift your elbow. There are really only ten of these."
Seeing his father looking at his sister, Li Zhi explained: "My brother-in-law made ten of them."
Li Lizhi explained: "Father, my daughter also has one. The children in Lishan, including the two disciples of Sister Huang, all have pens, and each one has a different style."
She took out her pen from her sleeve.
Empress Changsun took it and looked at it carefully, "Well, it is indeed different from the carvings of Zongnu. The carvings on the beautiful fountain pen are gold-plated peacocks."
"The carving of Zhinu's pen is a tiger. The silver-white tiger body is sandwiched with gold threads. The meaning is very good."
Li Shimin stroked his beard and thought, including the pen in front of him, including Lishan's disciples, it seems that I don't have my share.
It is inevitable that I feel a little disappointed, but this is also a child's thing.
Li Shimin reluctantly returned the pen to his hand, "Put it away, this thing is of great significance."
Empress Changsun chuckled and said: "If he can create this thing, he must be able to create more. Judging from the craftsmanship of the carvings, it is probably the handiwork of Mr. Ouyang Xun."
"Brother-in-law and the imperial sister said that when the disciples grow up, they will give pens to them."
Li Shimin was envious and didn't want to say more, but he felt a little sad and whispered: "I'm afraid my fine pens and inks are not as exquisite as his pens."
(End of chapter)
