Although steam-powered trains would take at least a decade, or even decades, to appear, the emperor was delighted by another advancement in transportation.
The horse-drawn trolley, or horse-drawn railcar, which the emperor simply called "horse iron", had been successfully tested and began to be promoted for use in various provinces.
The first "Ma Tie" ran from Mentougou Coal Mine to Fuchengmenwai Coal Plant in Beijing, with a total length of 140 miles. It took more than a year to build.
The construction speed was not fast because it was in the trial stage and the engineering and technical personnel had no experience. They worked on it by trial and error and finally completed it before the Qianqiu Festival.
The sleepers, spikes, gravel for buffering, and slab tracks are built according to the standards of future trains.
Although there are still areas that need improvement, the construction of this railway has established corresponding standards and specifications, laid a technical foundation for promoting its construction in various places, and trained a group of engineering and technical personnel.
In fact, the construction of the railway itself is not very difficult.
Thanks to advances in steelmaking technology, key technical problems were solved for rails, vehicles with steel axles, and whale oil for lubrication.
If it were in later times, a horse-drawn train might make people laugh out loud.
But in history, "horse-drawn trains", called "urban animal-powered rail public transportation systems" in foreign countries, have existed for quite a long time.
In the early days of urban power systems, "horse-drawn trains" served the purpose of today's trams and urban light rail.
In the Ming Dynasty, horse-drawn trains were primarily used for transportation. Building stations and transporting people and goods were already part of the next phase of the plan.
During the first trial run, the horse-drawn railway demonstrated its convenience and speed in transportation. Even the emperor was a little surprised, as he had not expected the horse's power on the rails to be so amazing.
The carriage and the coal carried at least a ton, yet only two horses were used. Moreover, the speed was very fast.
The emperor was surprised but also very satisfied. The development of the Ming Dynasty has accelerated again. Although it is not a steam locomotive, it is just a horse-drawn railway.
"Your Majesty, this is a petition from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, offering to fund the construction of a railway." Li Chengcheng presented the organized documents to the emperor and said with a smile, "And the Maritime Merchants Association is also willing to fund the construction of a railway from Tianjin to the capital."
The emperor took the document, looked at it, nodded and smiled, and said, "Well, the railroad track has just been successfully tested. They are very active."
"If there's something to gain, they'll naturally fight for it." Li Chengcheng made a brief comment before the emperor embraced him. With a half-smile, he asked, "Tell me, what are they after?"
Li Chengcheng has become accustomed to the emperor's affection and has long been his woman. It is only a matter of time before she is promoted to a concubine. She can only blame herself for not being able to conceive and falling behind Fan Xiaohui.
Li Chengcheng calmed down as the emperor's hands wandered over his body. He smiled and said, "It's all in the newspapers. That horse-drawn railway transports coal quickly and economically. Wouldn't it be the same for transporting goods? They invested in building the railway, so they should give some benefits, right? Even a discount on freight rates would add up to a lot of money in the long run!"
The emperor's hand stopped, gently pinching a soft ball, with a thoughtful expression.
It was simple. The emperor thought of something, or rather a story.
The advancement of science and technology means a change in lifestyle and a revolution that will affect the lives of millions of people.
The opening of the Ma Tie railway from the Mentougou mining area to the capital reduced transportation costs and naturally lowered coal prices, which brought convenience to the citizens of the capital, but also destroyed the jobs of many people who traveled back and forth to sell coal.
Of course, this impact will not cause unrest. It only takes time to digest, and those who are busy transporting coal will change jobs and find their own livelihood.
However, the emperor felt that when giants like the Maritime Merchants Association and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce entered into railway construction, some planning should be done in advance and conditions should not be promised rashly.
In the early 19th century, the development of the American West came to a temporary end. The huge differences in industrial structure between the East and the West gave rise to the demand for transportation efficiency and also led to a railway construction frenzy in the United States.
Railways brought more than just speed and efficiency: large-scale construction gave rise to a large number of "railway towns", enabling the rapid urbanization of the Midwest of the United States.
At the same time, the various fundraising and mergers and acquisitions in railway construction also outlined the embryonic form of the capital market.
Accompanied by the roar of steam locomotives, railways connected the vast and sparsely populated American continent into a huge domestic demand market. It can be said that wherever the tracks were laid, capitalism spread.
The biggest beneficiary of railway construction was the emerging oil industry. The railway network throughout the United States became the lifeline of oil transportation, and railway companies became tax collectors along the way.
Oil tycoon John Rockefeller once went to great lengths to increase production to 1,500 barrels per day just to get a 15-cent per barrel freight discount from the railroad companies.
In the second year after the completion of the Pacific Railroad, Rockefeller, who had suffered from the low freight costs, decided to turn the tables. He invested a huge amount of money to establish Standard Oil Company and persuaded other refineries to form a secret alliance with the railroad company.
The alliance controlled the transportation routes in Ohio and Pennsylvania and secretly stipulated that the public price of crude oil shipping was 80 cents per barrel, but internal members only had to pay 40 cents.
This agreement was called "the cruelest death agreement in the history of American industrial development." Small and medium-sized enterprises that failed to join the interest groups had only two options: wait for death in the face of high transportation costs, or submit to the alliance led by Rockefeller.
In this way, Rockefeller acquired almost all the refineries in Ohio and Pennsylvania, laying the foundation for his oil empire.
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