Leaving Yili and heading east, there are big and bustling construction sites along the way.
Zhang Jimeng was a ruthless man and actually started building a railway between Xijing and the provincial capital of the Western Regions.
This was not within the country's plan, and he did not ask for help from the country. He built it purely with the Western Region's own strength.
Zhang Jimeng’s reasons are also very good.
The Western Region is too vast, and without convenient transportation, it is difficult to effectively control the vast area by just walking on two legs and mules and horses.
In addition, the Western Region is rich in mineral resources, and agriculture will also usher in great development in the foreseeable future.
All products need to be transported in time in order to be valuable.
This reflects the role of railways.
It doesn't matter if the country can't take care of it for the time being. Even if it tightens its belt, the Western Regions will still build their own railways.
Of course, he is also confident.
Those are the more than 400,000 prisoners of war.
The battle in the Western Region went very smoothly, wiping out one local government after another and one rebel force after another. Especially in religious disputes, more prisoners were taken.
Naturally, so many people will not live in vain.
Zhang Jimeng decided to squeeze all the value out of these prisoners of war.
For the more than a thousand kilometers of railway line between Xijing and the provincial capital, it would be best if every sleeper was covered with bones.
There was nothing Zuo Mengeng could do about this.
Although it is very cruel to kill two birds with one stone, it can only be so.
Returning to the Hexi Corridor, this place is no longer desolate. On the contrary, it is bustling with no school.
On the long Gobi desert, the caravans traveling back and forth were actually connected in a line, and there was no gap in sight.
Merchants from the Western Regions carried spices, furs, gems, seeds and other commodities all the way eastward, with the longing to make a fortune on their faces.
Today's Silk Road has no other risks besides bad weather conditions.
In order to keep this trade route open, the National Defense Forces plowed the streets and swept holes here, and carried out hundreds of bandit suppression operations back and forth.
There is no room for bandits and thieves to live here anymore.
The caravans walking on this road now don't even need to bring their own force to feel safe.
After the National Defense Forces, the local government is also very powerful.
The supply points along the way are becoming more and more complete, and dry roads have even been opened in some places with complex terrain. Even if there is a terrible sandstorm, the caravan will have a place to take shelter.
The most important thing is that all tax cards along the long Silk Road have been cancelled.
This greatly reduced the cost of trade and led to the rapid prosperity of the entire Silk Road.
Yes, the empire has given this ancient trade route the best conditions.
Merchants from the Western Regions entered the Central Plains from here, experiencing a lot less hardship and receiving fair treatment that they had never had before.
The reputation spread quickly, and a business craze quickly arose in the Western Regions.
And it was only when the trade routes were truly opened that people suddenly discovered what a huge market this was.
For example, spices from the Western Regions are very popular in the Central Plains and are also the flagship products of merchants from the Western Regions.
The amount of spices transported to the Central Plains through the Silk Road every year even accounts for more than 50% of the output of the Western Regions.
But when the Silk Road was completely opened, merchants suddenly discovered that even if they transported all the spices from the Western Regions to the Central Plains, they would not be able to meet the demand.
This brings about a result.
That is, the spice planting industry in the Western Regions began to flourish, and large tracts of spice plantations sprang up in the Western Regions.
Not only that, agricultural experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences also came over to provide professional guidance on spice cultivation here.
According to estimates by the Xijing government, the output value of spices in the Western Regions will exceed 100 million yuan in five years, comparable to cotton, woolen textiles, minerals, agriculture, etc.
The changes in the Silk Road are most evident here in Lanzhou.
This emerging city, which had just been established as the provincial capital of Gansu Province, is now extremely prosperous. The permanent population has even exceeded 500,000, and is still increasing rapidly.
The most obvious feature is that the population here is diverse, and various ethnic groups gather together in harmony.
Today, Lanzhou has become the largest trade distribution center in the northwest.
Merchants from the Central Plains, merchants from the grasslands, and merchants from the Western Regions will all trade here and then bring various commodities to Yahaijiao.
According to Gansu government statistics, last year alone, the commercial tax here exceeded 200 million yuan, and it is still increasing steadily.
Gansu Province has been able to get rid of poverty directly by relying on this fiscal revenue alone.
Local officials were ambitious and thought of building railways.
They plan to build a railway network connecting Lanzhou to Xi'an and Yinchuan, and extending westward to Jiayuguan. Then wait for the right time and then connect it with the railway in the Western Region to form a transportation artery in the Northwest region.
This plan received strong support from Mao Yuanyi. For this reason, he even intercepted 150,000 retired engineering soldiers and has begun preliminary geological exploration.
Regarding the enthusiasm of such a place, Zuo Mengeng ventilated his energy with the center and refused to let the center stop him.
The country is so big, if it relies entirely on the central government for operations and planning, it will really delay things. Achieving rail connectivity across the country may not be possible for hundreds of years.
Involving various places and exploring their energy can save a lot of trouble.
Although this requires the central government to transfer certain benefits, a win-win situation is definitely better than going it alone, and it will not dampen the enthusiasm of local governments.
Chen Zhi humbly accepted Zuo Mengeng's proposal, and after discussing with the Central Committee, issued an official document encouraging various places to build their own railways.
This was an incredible moment, and people everywhere were really excited.
Among them, the most active and fastest-acting one is Liaoning Province.
Liaoning's own resources are very rich and concentrated, and it has entered the development stage very early.
After receiving permission from the Central Committee, the railway from Anshan and Benxi to Shenyang began to be fully rolled out.
A route connecting Shenyang, Jinzhou, Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan, and a route connecting Shenyang, Liaoyang, Yingkou, Dalian and Lushun have all begun planning.
Once these railway networks are completed, Liaoning will become the first province in the country to have train services throughout the province.
As for the core hinterland of the empire, the progress is faster.
Now in Shandong, the triangular railway network from Jinan to Dengzhou and Qingdao has entered the commercial operation stage.
The lines from Jinan to Linqing, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Tianjin and Beidu are also about to be completed, making the entire North China region closely connected.
In addition, the Linqing, Jining, Xuzhou, Huai'an and Yangzhou lines will also be completed within three years.
Once the Nandu Yangtze River Bridge is completed, the railways south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze River will be connected.
The journey time from Jinan to Songjiang Prefecture will be shortened by two-thirds, which will provide great convenience for the empire to control the southern region.
The railway industry, led by steam engines, makes people deeply feel the country's vigorous progress.
Living in this era, many people can't help but feel in a trance, vaguely feeling that they cannot keep up with the pace of the times.
And this is the tide of the times, which waits for no one and cannot be stopped, pushing the old empire to regain its vitality.
