The most direct consequence of this huge project is that the iron price has been soaring, and iron ores near the capital have begun to be excavated one after another.

Not only that… People who are engaged in scrap iron collection have also begun to appear on the market, and it is said that the business is excellent.

The steel consumed by Tianjin Wei is still amazing.

Almost all the resources of the Ming Dynasty were poured into it.

So much so that the steel workshop in Fengqiu sent out a large number of cars and horses, and spent nearly three months to deliver a batch of iron materials, which was profitable.

Zhang Jingyi still felt that the iron material was not enough.

He even came up with a bad idea, which was to inspect the arsenals in the military in various places.

Check if there are any used weapons.

But this investigation really scared the military officers in Beijing camps in various places to death. After all, the arsenal was a severely affected area for everyone to corruption and abuse of power. In the past, although the imperial court also sent people from the Ministry of War to come and take a look, everyone was just a nest of snakes and rats.

But this time the Jinyiwei came to investigate, but it was a real investigation, which really exposed everything.

The weapons that were supposed to be stored were not stored.

These are all good, but worse, many weapons from even the Chengzu and Yingzong period were still there, and they were already rusted and no one cared for them.

However, Zhang Jingyi felt like he had a treasure, confiscated, and all of them were confiscated. As scrap iron, he supported railway construction.

Seventeen steel workshops are not enough, so we will continue to build them. Three months later, there were 72 steel workshops near the capital, and many of them expanded their scale.

In order to find skilled workers, the crazy steel workshop actually ran hundreds of miles away to recruit blacksmiths. In order to fool people, they also prepared sedan chairs. As long as people were willing to come to Beijing to smelify iron, they would not clean up the broken things at home. Once people came, they would go directly to the dormitory and prepare all the daily necessities for you. I will carry the sedan chair to pick you up.

Things always have exaggerations, but generally, countless workshops and transactions surrounding the railway also spring up like mushrooms after a rain.

So much so fools know that you can make money by following the railway, which once made the entire capital and the economy began to overheat.

The direct consequence of this is...inflation has intensified.

Fortunately, silver is a hard currency after all, and no matter how inflation is, prices rise, it is within a limited range.

Because of the shortage of materials and commodities on the market, especially iron and wood products, and after a large amount of labor, these workers and disciples received salaries. They needed to eat and drink, and they inevitably created prosperity. However, this price increase is still within an acceptable range.

On the contrary, Zhang Jingyi was very happy to see this.

Because the most anxious thing about inflation is the high-ranking officials and gentry.

Seeing that the arable land is no longer profitable, even if it is profitable, the risks are already huge now.

The silver in hand... Half a year ago, if one hundred taels could buy twenty cows, now, they can only buy sixteen or seventeen, and they will lose three directly. They really have awesome at home.

So... many people wailed, and they didn't dare to let go of their spare money. The investment channels in this era are very narrow, they can't do business, the risk of lending is high, and buying land is becoming more and more profitable now. There is even a risk of confiscation after the new policy is continued. After thinking about it, they can only follow everyone to subscribe to the railway company's stocks.

The railway company's shares were sold out in the end.

The funds raised are unimaginable.

If Zhang Jingyi had not been for stability, he had even planned to launch a plan to build six railways at the same time.

Fortunately, he is still rational. This is the first time after all, so he dare not take too much risk.

Finally... the railway is open to traffic.

This railway, which cost 12 million taels of silver, ran from the port of Tianjin Wei to the Tianjin Wei Canal Wharf, then passed through the Tongzhou Canal Hub, and finally arrived directly to the capital city, at Guangqumen, and finally bypassed the inner city and went straight to the new district, which was completely connected.

In fact, the railway tracks are very simple, and even every station has no special decoration.

Speaking of which, this is a very simple railway line, but it still sets a record for the current railway laying.

For example, several engineering teams were competing and set a record of laying three-mile railway tracks within one day for a certain engineering team.

The railway is completed.

Emperor Aoki learned the news and was overjoyed.

Then... I couldn't wait to order someone to test the drive.

With a command, the newly built steam trains immediately set off from the station in the new district and rumbled. Finally, within seven hours, they arrived at the terminal of Tianjin Wei safely.

It only takes seven hours for more than three hundred miles. In later generations, this is probably the level of electric cars.

But in this era, good guy... this is the speed of people riding horses, running all the way, and almost without any baggage.

After all, people and horses will be tired, but steam engines will not be tired. People and horses need to rest in the middle, but steam engines do not need to rest. The most important thing is that steam engines can also carry goods.

Although everything is good, there are many things to adjust, such as how many steam locomotives can run online, how to ensure the maintenance of steam engines, and the problem of loading and unloading goods at various sites.

All these problems require untiring debugging again and again.

Fortunately, Zhang Jingyi drafted a charter and had already trained a group of personnel.

Next, what everyone cares most about.

When shipping goods, how much should it be charged?

This is crucial. For this distance, you have to calculate the cost of shipping other people.

Zhang Jingyi was also prepared. He visited many merchants and got data. He generally believed that if it was a thousand kilogram of goods, if it was from Tianjin Wei to Beijing, at least thirteen people would need to be hired. If it was back and forth, it would take about half a month. In addition to wages, there were also food and drink along the way, and even the cost of staying in a hotel, as well as the loss of animal power. The final number was... If it was not counted, then it was twelve or three manpower, and maybe even two or three cattle and horses might have to be paid for. The daily consumption was fifty kilograms of grain, a small amount of vegetable gold, and about fifty kilograms of materials. In half a month, it would consume 800 kilograms of grain, and the horse material was about 800 kilograms. Of course, it might also include the cost of staying at a casino and some other losses.

The reason why so much manpower and animal power is that people and animals not only need to carry goods, but also need to carry the food they eat along the way. On the surface, you are transporting a thousand kilograms of goods, but in fact, it is two or three thousand kilograms.

Of course, if you stay in a hotel along the way and eat in the inn at the same time, it would be another matter.

In addition, there are various loading and unloading costs, as well as possible encountering bad weather in the middle, or getting infected with diseases in the middle. In short, this is the cost price.

In this way, even if a thousand kilograms of goods were sent from the capital to Tianjin harbor, the silver was around fifteen taels, because the price of grain has risen sharply recently, and the price of manpower has also become higher and higher.

On this basis, Zhang Jingyi made a very realistic decision on the transportation price, one or two taels of kilograms.

This price is scary in later generations, basically the same as robbery, because one tael of silver in this era is actually not much different from the six hundred yuan in later generations.

Of course, the currency of later generations cannot be compared with the currency of this era, and can only be regarded as a rough estimate.

This hundred kilograms of goods, but only 300 miles of transportation costs will cost ten taels of silver.

But in fact, given the high transportation prices in this era, Zhang Jingyi's pricing is very reasonable.

At least as soon as the price was announced, many merchants' eyes lit up.

Comparing everything is better!

Hiring manpower yourself is 50% higher than this price, and the risk is even greater, so hiring manpower will delay more.

Where can I get this?

The stations everywhere have now started to set up cargo areas.

All merchants who need transportation only need to deliver the goods to the station and then carry them on the board of the steam train.

The so-called car panel is an open-air transport truck, hung behind the steam engine, with more than a dozen pieces, no carriages, and all the goods are fixed, and then covered with a large felt cloth and the train departs directly.

It is actually a last resort to dismantling the car, because the power of the steam locomotive is limited at this time, and all things that may increase weight can be removed if possible.

On the first day of preparation for shipment, there were already a dragon in the station.

Many merchants come to try it out, while others think it is a big advantage, so... the staff at the station responsible for receiving goods are already in a hurry.

The first steam locomotive directly pulled eleven trailers, one trailer with five thousand kilograms of goods, and directly 55 thousand kilograms of goods.

In later generations, thirty tons of goods were directly departed. This kind of load capacity was simply not worth mentioning in later generations. The load capacity was less than a fraction of a normal freight train, but in this era, it was a number that was shocking enough.

Immediately afterwards, the steam locomotive made a hysterical sound, and then the sprained teeth seemed to make a sound of eating NAI, leaving slowly.

The first trip was 550 taels of silver.

Of course...after the first train, the second and third steam trains in the loading and unloading area.

Whether it is Tongzhou, Beijing or Tianjin Wei, they are all distribution centers for goods, gathering a large number of merchants, and countless goods from south to north are all distributed here.
Chapter completed!