After returning to Kunning Palace, Zhu Yingcai realized that he had acted too hastily.

From the time the idea of ​​horse-drawn train came to my mind to the time I had the conversation with the old man, the total time taken was less than half an hour.

Zhu Ying did not even think thoroughly about formulating a plan suitable for the Ming Dynasty, but just started to talk about it directly.

After calming down and thinking carefully, Zhu Ying came up with a general idea of ​​a plan.

The plan for the rail carriage must be finalized. If the old man disagrees, he can only send people to collect track survey data himself.

Wooden tracks can only be used as a transition and cannot be used over a large area. They obviously cannot be used too much in places with many mountains or rivers.

It is mainly in the plains near the grassland.

Moreover, the old man and all the nobles of the Ming Dynasty must see the benefits brought by the tracks, and the emergence of the iron smelting industry will allow them to be laid on a large scale.

The key to track is speed.

The straight-line distance from the capital to Peking is about one thousand kilometers, or two thousand miles. In reality, the detour is definitely longer, at least two or three hundred miles.

The marching speed of an ancient army depended on the slowest speed of its baggage, which was about 40 to 50 miles a day.

This means that, based on the calculation of 50 miles a day, it would take the army one and a half months to travel from the capital to Beijing.

This is the lowest estimate. In fact, taking into account the reorganization of armaments and the influence of weather factors, it would be considered a good deal if we could reach Beijing within two months without any delay.

The current speed of Ming Dynasty's horse-drawn carriages is about two hundred miles a day. In reality, it is of course less. More than one hundred miles should be the normal average speed.

What would happen if wooden tracks were laid directly from the capital to Peking?

First of all, there are horses. Of course, it cannot be just a few horses. There must be at least twelve horses or even more, so that there will be enough power source.

Driven by the horseman, the horses will always run along the direction of the wooden tracks.

And this movement continues day and night.

The horse would certainly be exhausted if it kept riding all the time. At this time, to maintain the horse's power, you only need to change horses when passing by the post station and you can continue.

This process is like an expedited journey of 600 or 800 miles, and the horsemen also need to take turns to relay the journey.

But this has one advantage: the traces of the wooden tracks allow you to keep driving even at night without getting lost, even though it may slow you down a bit.

The use of multiple wheels will also make it easier for horses to run and pull more loads.

This means that the track-driven carriages can travel more than 300 miles a day.

The journey of more than 2,000 miles from the capital to Peking was shortened from the original two months to about seven or eight days.

These soldiers who arrived in Peking by horse-drawn trains were full of energy and could join the battle after a brief rest, without having to worry about logistical issues at all.

You only need to carry a small amount of dry food, and the subsequent food can be transported over immediately.

The uninterrupted transportation is like an assembly line, and the troops can be mobilized at any time.

This is the case in military terms, and the economic benefits brought by such a wooden track are even more beyond imagination.

This is actually no different from the Grand Canal.

In non-war times, it can serve as a bridge between the north and the south, and has a significant effect in resolving the current sharp contradictions between the Han people in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty.

The court with its capital in Nanjing will see improvements in its regional problems in the north, and its control over the northern region will also be strengthened.

Of course, for such a long track, wooden tracks are definitely not suitable. Only iron tracks can be used. Otherwise, the huge maintenance costs of wooden tracks are difficult to estimate.

Even for railway tracks, it is impossible for them to be like in later generations, with one track running straight from beginning to end.

It can be understood as the concept of bus stations in later generations.

If you encounter a river, you will naturally get off the car and take a boat. If you encounter a mountain, you will climb it on foot.

It is totally unrealistic to dig a tunnel with the current manpower.

If we encounter a location that is difficult to imagine, we will not pave it.

Even if you extend the journey a little, you can greatly shorten the overall time.

"I shouldn't have been so anxious."

Zhu Ying was a little annoyed. This was the first time he saw the old man get angry, and it was because he started talking before he had sorted out his own thoughts.

"It seems that I have to wait until the old man calms down before I can find a chance to tell you."

Thinking of this, Zhu Ying took out pen and ink and began to write an optimization plan for the track.

The implementation of the wooden track can only be carried out while the old man is still alive.

Just like many previous strategies, the new policy of using work instead of relief, separation of military and political power, equalizing the land tax, high-yield crops, and reform of the imperial examination system.

None of this can be started all at once.

It still requires a long preparation process.

Sweet potatoes must be grown for at least a year to produce enough seeds for food.

The reform of the imperial examination system and the dissemination and study of the newly compiled books took a year or two, and there was no way to start.

The captives captured in subsequent wars will certainly contribute to the construction of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Zhu Ying spoke out all these strategies at once was to set the tone early.

Only by setting the tone can the Ming Dynasty's path forward be stabilized. All of these combined will amount to a reform of the entire Ming Dynasty's system.

Otherwise, if we wait until the old man passes away before bringing it up, many things will not be so simple.

It is now the 25th year of Hongwu. According to historical records, Zhu Yuanzhang died in the 31st year of Hongwu.

Even though the old man passed away before these matters were actually implemented, he still left behind a reputation.

Don't underestimate this status. In other words, this can be called ancestral teachings.

Whenever there were people who dared to stand out and oppose, Zhu Ying would order them to have a feast, and that was considered a formality.

In terms of influence alone, no matter how great Zhu Ying is, he can never reach the level of Zhu Yuanzhang.

…

"Do you think we were too harsh on our eldest grandson just now?"

In the Huagai Hall, the food on the table had been cleared away and Zhu Yuanzhang's anger had subsided.

Not long after, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little regretful for scolding his eldest grandson.

Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat worried that the relationship between grandfather and grandson that he had worked so hard to cultivate would be rifted because of this incident.

"In fact, there are ways to convince our grandson. Since he thinks wooden tracks are feasible, we can first make a track several miles long and then show it to him."

"When the eldest grandson knows how much time and money it would cost, he will naturally give up the idea."

Without waiting for Liu He to answer, Zhu Yuanzhang began to talk to himself.

Liu He was a little terrified when he heard this. He did not dare to remain silent about this matter. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand these things either, but since Your Majesty just mentioned them, I think they are very feasible."

"It's only a few miles, and it won't cost much money or food. When the time comes, Your Highness Changsun will naturally understand your majesty's painstaking efforts."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, and then sighed: "Our eldest grandson's temper is really like a stubborn ox. No matter how hard we try to persuade him, he just refuses to turn back."

"Liu He, please help me look after my eldest grandson. When the time comes, we can have a good chat with him."