After boarding the Beiyang Fleet at Kashima Castle in Japan Province, the Beiyang Fleet ships sailed for several days before docking at the Songjiang Prefecture Wharf.

The original Songjiang Prefecture naval port was the garrison of the Eastern Fleet.

However, after the relocation, this place, including the Jiangnan Shipyard and the Jiangnan Naval Academy, has now been handed over to the Beiyang Fleet.

Therefore, Songjiang Prefecture Naval Port also became the base of the Beiyang Fleet.

This was Li Xin's first visit to Songjiang Prefecture.

Since their advance from Dongning into the Central Plains and their capture of the capital, Li Xin had remained near the capital. Looking back over the past few years, he had spent a considerable amount of time in Dongning, the capital, and the grasslands.

Even during last year's campaigns in the Western Regions and the Snowy Regions, Li Xin did not personally go.

Only this year, during the campaign against Japan, did Li Xin personally take command.

This trip to Songjiang Prefecture was not just a side trip.

Li Xin came here specifically for this purpose.

In August of the fifth year of the Yan Ning era, the weather in the entire Jiangnan region was still very hot.

After landing at the Songjiang Prefecture military port, Li Xin met with a group of high-ranking officials, including the Governor-General of Jiangnan, the Prefect of Songjiang, and the Prefect of Suzhou.

Surrounded by these high-ranking officials, Li Xin arrived at the industrial zone along the Huangpu River in Songjiang Prefecture.

This place has an extremely advantageous geographical location, at the confluence of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River, and at the estuary, making maritime transport very convenient.

Therefore, with the support of the imperial court's policies, this place, like the Tanggu Industrial Zone in the north, became a benchmark industrial demonstration zone for the great nation.

Within the Songjiang Industrial Zone, factories of all sizes stand side by side, one after another.

In the past, the textile industry in the Jiangnan region was quite prosperous. After the adoption of the steam engine, twenty or thirty textile, spinning, and weaving factories were established in the Songjiang Industrial Zone.

In a short time, this place also became an important textile base for the entire Daqian Kingdom!

Moreover, the light industry in Songjiang Industrial Zone is also booming. Industries such as machine grinding, machine printing, dyeing, and food processing are all very strong.

Heavy industrial zones, such as shipyards, have also been built in the area near the naval port.

Although there are no steel mills here, the convenient location near the Yangtze River allows high-quality steel produced by the Ma'anshan Steel Plant upstream of Jiangning to be transported here and supplied to the shipyard.

The personnel transferred from various manufacturing bureaus and ordnance bureaus in the north came to Songjiang and established the Songjiang Machinery Manufacturing Bureau.

This place can also mass-produce qualified steam engines, and even the steam trucks and steam tractors that have just been developed in the north can be mass-produced.

Upon arriving here, Li Xin even witnessed steam tractors working in the fields across the vast farmland of Pudong.

Times have indeed changed a lot!

Actually, the railway station outside the Huangpu River Industrial Zone has changed even more.

This time, Li Xin's most important task in coming to Songjiang was to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Songjiang Railway Station.

The seventh day of the eighth month in the fifth year of Yanning.

Songjiang Railway Station was packed with people, and red flags were waving everywhere.

A banner was hanging in the square outside the train station.

The banner, adorned with large black characters, read: "Warmest congratulations on the opening of the Beijing-Pukou-Nanjing-Shanghai Railway and the successful completion of Songjiang Railway Station!"

That's right!

The most important task this time is to complete the connection and opening of the Beijing-Pukou-Nanjing-Shanghai railway line.

The Beijing-Pukou-Nanjing-Shanghai Railway starts from Beijing West Station, passes through Beijing East Station and Tanggu Station, turns south at Tanggu, passes through Cangzhou, Dezhou, Xuzhou and other places, and terminates at Pukou in the northern part of Jiangning Prefecture.

The Yangtze River is a natural barrier, several kilometers wide, and there are currently no conditions to build a railway bridge that wide, so it is not yet open to traffic. However, a train departs from Jiangning Railway Station, which is built in the northern part of Jiangning City, passing through Zhenjiang, Suzhou and other places, and directly to the Huangpu River Industrial Zone in Songjiang.

There is a ferry service between Pukou Railway Station and Jiangning Railway Station to transport passengers and goods across the river.

This north-south trunk line is also the most important of the major north-south railway arteries of the country.

It connects important areas such as Beijing, the Tanggu Industrial Zone, the prosperous Jiangnan region, and the Songjiang Industrial Zone. Its role is extremely important and its significance is immense!

Therefore, Li Xin came here in person.

"Start!"

At nine o'clock in the morning, with Li Xin's order, a steam train loaded with cloth, goods and passengers slowly pulled out of Songjiang Railway Station with a roar, heading towards Jiangning City.

At the same time, the telegram was also sent to Jiangning City, Pukou, Beijing, and Tanggu.

In the train stations of these cities, trains traveling in opposite directions depart directly from each other.

This marks the full opening of the Beijing-Pukou-Nanjing-Shanghai railway line!

The railway line connecting the two major industrial regions in the north and south, as well as the important industrial and agricultural bases of the country, is of vital importance.

Especially after the opening of the Nanjing-Shanghai Railway, fabrics produced in various parts of southern China could be quickly transported to all parts of the country.

After the invention of steam-powered textile machines and new-style sewing machines, and with an ample supply of raw materials, the prices of cotton and silk throughout the entire country of Daqian also dropped significantly.

The price of cotton fabric, in particular, has dropped several times over!

After the price of cotton fabric fell, the price of ready-made clothing also dropped significantly. An ordinary cotton garment now costs only tens or hundreds of coins.

Even ordinary people in the countryside can afford to buy a few sets of clothes.

Especially in recent years, people in various places have stopped paying taxes, and their lives have become more prosperous. The money that every household has saved has been used to build new houses and buy new furniture.

With the widespread use of cement, the cost of housing construction has decreased. The promotion of coal, salt, and sugar has also significantly improved people's living standards.

Even ordinary people bought several new sets of clothes.

Walking through the fields and seeing the bright smiles on the faces of the villagers, Li Xin felt genuinely gratified.

After several years of development, the lives of people across the country have finally improved significantly.

Although it hasn't reached the point where doors aren't locked at night, the lack of taxes, the affluent lifestyle of the people, and the large number of factories hiring in various places have led to a significant decrease in crimes such as petty theft.

In this new era, as long as people are not lazy and work hard, they can support themselves and live a good life.

Local factories were set up to serve the people, recruiting large numbers of ordinary citizens. Even some idle people were able to take on the jobs after training.

The conditions are even better in the Jiangnan region!

People's lives are getting better and better at a visible pace.

Li Xin believed that as long as this lifestyle was maintained and development continued for a few more years, the lives of the people of Dagang Kingdom would definitely get better and better.

A brand new era is about to begin!