The five thieves, each with a different accent, were still making excuses.
Fang Zhengyi stepped forward and grabbed the fattest one, saying in a cold voice: "Where did you come from? Who gave you the courage to come here and steal the Jinyiwei's things?"
The man panicked: "Sir, sir, we really didn't know that this was the Jinyiwei's stuff. Someone spread the iron on the ground, and we thought we didn't want it, so we took it away. Who would spread so much iron on the ground for no reason..."
"You're not being honest, are you? Take him away for separate interrogation. Give me a result in a cup of tea!" Fang Zheng said sternly.
The Jinyiwei responded and stepped forward in unison, taking the men away for interrogation.
Li Yuanzhao sighed and said, "Old Fang, this is not a solution. If it doesn't work, let the Mid-Levels newspaper publicize it. Those who steal the rails will go to jail."
Fang Zheng shook his head.
Before the train comes out, there can't be any publicity. He won't feel at ease until it is 100% successful in front of the world, and there must be no setbacks.
If it were made public, the people's opinions and the court's views would inevitably interfere with the progress and even directly stop the project.
Another thing is that the engineering verification may be successful, but when it comes to actual implementation, many new problems will surely arise.
What if the car breaks down on the road, derails, or the boiler explodes?
So the influence should be reduced as much as possible at the moment.
But what happened today can be considered a lesson.
Perhaps it was because of his fixed mindset. He had taken trains countless times in his previous life and had never thought about these issues.
The rails are very heavy and nailed to the ground, so it is very difficult to steal them and it is also very troublesome to sell them afterwards.
It's money that really moves people. I didn't expect that someone would dare to take the risk and be willing to do this.
"Your Highness, can't the rails be made longer? For example, two meters long. This way it would be much more difficult to steal." Fang Zheng asked.
Li Yuanzhao thought for a moment and said, "No, I hope to make it longer, but after repeated tests, I found that half a meter is the most suitable for transportation and the construction efficiency is the highest. If it is longer, the efficiency will be slowed down. If you don't want to advertise, I can only use the stupid method of finding someone to watch it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Jinyiwei who had left not long ago came back quickly.
He reported loudly, "Your Highness, the Lord has already found out that these people are habitual thieves in the capital, and they came together from all over the country."
"The railway tracks have been targeted by many thieves in the dark. They are the first wave of action. Sir, how should we deal with these people?"
Li Yuanzhao was surprised and asked, "Oh? How come the Jinyiwei can interrogate the prisoners so quickly?"
The Jinyiwei puffed out his chest and said loudly, "Your Highness, our master told us a new method of handling cases today, called the prisoner's dilemma. This method can quickly solve the case."
Li Yuanzhao's eyes lit up: "Tell me what the prisoner's dilemma is?"
"They put these prisoners in solitary confinement, took advantage of their mutual distrust, and used threats and inducements to coerce them into confessing voluntarily."
Jinyiwei's words were concise and to the point, and Fang Zhengyi nodded in appreciation.
Not bad, he is a quick learner and worthy of being the elite among the Jinyiwei.
"How was it done specifically?" Li Yuanzhao asked.
"Because of the tight time schedule and heavy workload, I made some adjustments to the prisoner's dilemma." The Jinyiwei seemed a little reserved. "We separated the five people and picked the one who looked the most scared. We told him that if he didn't confess, he would be imprisoned for ten years, and we would feed him the shit of other people who confessed. Then we brought him four piles of shit, and he confessed everything on the spot!"
What kind of new torture is this?
Li Yuanzhao's face instantly lost all color...
"Did I teach you this? Who the hell told you to play such a dirty trick?" Fang Zhengyi's face turned black. "I taught you the prisoner's dilemma, and you are just adding unnecessary details if you change it yourself!"
The Jinyiwei I lead use such dirty tricks? If this gets out, I will lose my dignity!
"Master, please listen to me..."
"You must refer to your position in public! Don't think you can break the rules just because you're from Taoyuan County!"
The Royal Guard pursed his lips in grievance: "Sir, it was you who said that the law should be enforced flexibly. There is no need to punish petty thefts... and we only give them half a cup of tea. This is the only option I can use."
"Okay, you've made progress! You've brought shame to the Imperial Guards, and now you want to put the blame on me?" Fang Zheng said angrily.
"Alright, alright, Old Fang." Li Yuanzhao came out to smooth things over and waved at the Jinyiwei. "Not a bad idea, but you better not come up with any ideas next time. Go back and continue watching the prisoners."
"Wait a moment." Fang Zhengyi stopped him and made arrangements: "There's no need to lock up those people. Since they are habitual thieves, send them back to the capital and find someone to accompany them so that they can blend into the group of thieves. If anyone wants to steal the railway tracks in the future, arrest them immediately."
"yes!"
The Jinyiwei left quickly. Li Yuanzhao looked at Fang Zheng and smiled playfully: "Old Fang, you are really good at playing with shit."
Fang Zhengyi cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Your Highness, let's talk about the specifics. Don't joke around. I will arrange a patrol team for the construction of the railway and find someone to build a sentry post on the road. By the way, when you cast the railway tracks, remember to print the numbers on them so that we can track them down."
"There will be no problem in the early stage, but in the later stage when the railway is longer, do you think your Jinyiwei can provide enough manpower? What if you find outsiders to embezzle the railway? This railway track is very valuable." Li Yuanzhao said worriedly.
"Indeed, it's hard to manage a long railway." Fang Zhengyi fell into deep thought, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind, "I have an idea. Taoyuan County has many industries and some factories. I will make some adjustments when I go back and build new factories along the planned railway line. When the new factory is established in the future, these factories can also be responsible for looking after a certain section of the railway."
"It's about their own interests, so they will definitely do their best."
Li Yuanzhao clapped his hands and said in surprise, "You reminded me that if the railway is built in the future, the land along the way will be very profitable. So we should buy all the land along the railway now, right? Come on, Lao Fang, let's go to the brokerage to buy the land."
Li Yuanzhao grabbed Fang Zhengyi's arm and prepared to leave in a hurry.
However, when he pulled it, Fang Zheng didn't move at all.
Li Yuanzhao looked up in confusion: "Why don't you leave? This is a chance to make a lot of money."
"Your Highness, whatever piece of land you want, just ask me to buy it." Fang Zheng said calmly.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Oh, I have already bought all the land along the railway. They are all mine. I can sell them to you at cost price as much as you want, Your Highness."
"......." Li Yuanzhao was stunned for a moment, then jumped up and said, "You thought of this a long time ago? Why didn't you take me with you? That's not very considerate."
"It doesn't matter who buys it. Don't bother with me, Your Highness. You can save yourself some trouble if you ask me to buy it."
"Hey, that's fine!" Li Yuanzhao laughed, and then said: "But now there is an important problem. We need too much iron to build the railroad tracks. I'm afraid it will cause a lot of impact."
"Since you want to keep it secret, how do you plan to explain the court's reaction?"
Fang Zhengyi rubbed his brows and sighed, "What's there to explain? Start the construction as soon as possible. There is pressure from the court. Let's delay it for a year or two and strive to complete it as soon as possible."
......
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