"Railway tracks?" Yang Bo and his father exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes, railroad tracks!" Zhao Hao said solemnly, "It can increase the transportation capacity of Jingxing Road by more than ten times!"

Yang Bo and Yang Sihe are no strangers to tracks.

After Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, the first thing he did was to standardize the wheel gauge and the writing system.

To this day, the official road still has two or three inches deep tracks to accommodate the wheels, which can prevent the carriage from running off the track and greatly reduce the burden on the horses.

But weren't the tracks carved out of the road? How did they become made of iron? Er Yang didn't understand.

"To put it simply, the original Jingxing Road is filled and compacted with ballast, then laid with sleepers, and then laid with rails! The cargo capacity of a horse-drawn carriage running on such rails will be several times that of the original, and the speed will also be greatly increased. It will be possible to travel from Yangquan to Zhengding on the same day."

"Is it that amazing?" Yang Bo and Yang Sihe gasped. "Can it really work?"

The importance of Jingxing Road cannot be overstated, as it is the lifeline of transportation connecting the Jinzhong Basin and the North China Plain. Three hundred years later, the first railway in Shanxi, the Zhengtai Railway, was built along the Jingxing Line.

"Zhengtai" means from Zhengding to Taiyuan. Zhengding is Shijiazhuang in later times, and Yangquan is at the midpoint of the Zhengtai line.

Zhao Hao was afraid that directly throwing out the "Zhengtai Line" would scare Eryang, so he gave them a half-price discount first and came up with a "Zhengyang Line".

The two Yangs, especially Yang Bo, knew what this "Zhengyang Line" meant to Shanxi. It meant that Shanxi would be connected to the prosperous North China Plain, and no longer had to share the same hardship with northern Shaanxi.

Yang Sihe thought that, in that case, population and market would not be a problem.

Yang Bo thought that, in that case, Shanxi’s status in the Ming Dynasty would be greatly enhanced!

But even from Yangquan to Zhengding, there are still 170 to 180 miles. And they have to lay railroad tracks...

Such a huge project involves many aspects. Even Yang Bo, the dignified celestial official, dare not make this guarantee!

"Of course it can be done!" Zhao Hao knew their concerns very well, so he encouraged them firmly:

"Yangquan is a treasure land. In addition to coal, there are also a lot of iron ore, which is an advantage that cannot be matched anywhere else. It is fully equipped to build a railway. Moreover, iron smelting consumes a lot of coal, which can also promote the business of Shanxi Company. This coal-iron joint venture model is not as simple as one plus one equals two!"

"Yes." Eryang listened very carefully and nodded repeatedly. Yang Sihe did not dare to miss a single word.

"Besides, isn't this the second step we're talking about?" Zhao Hao changed the subject and said to relieve the pressure on the two men, "It will take you at least one or two years to take over Taiyuan, right? When I settle down with my father, I will first build a model road. Then Brother Sihe will come and see for himself whether it can be done. If it can be done, I will build this road for you!"

A fox is a fox after all, and there will always be a moment when its tail is exposed...

But at this moment, even Yang Bo could not understand the importance of road rights - that is the lifeline of a province and a country!

Old Yang Bo is still worried that he might regret it...

"My dear nephew, you said it! The Zhengyang Railway is now in your hands!" Yang Bo immediately grabbed Zhao Hao's hand and said in a loud voice, "Don't worry about the rest. I'll help you with it!"

"Okay, I agree. If you let go first, my bone will be broken." Zhao Hao frowned and gasped, completely concealing the smug look on his face.

The Zhengyang Road he proposed, as well as the future Zhengtai Road, are intended to closely link Shanxi with the Central Plains.

In order to save the Shanxi merchants from having no way out, they would always run away. After running away a few times, they ended up becoming traitors... If there were no rich iron ore and saltpeter resources in Shanxi, what would the Jurchens use to fight against the government troops?

It is better to keep their attention firmly on the Central Plains and let them concentrate on selling coal. This is better than selling out the country, right?

Thinking that he might have helped the Shanxi merchants avoid a bad reputation in the future, Zhao Hao felt that they were offering him a glass of vinegar...

Oh no, Pu'er.

~~

Yang Sihe asked Zhao Hao again, what should they do if they go south?

Master Zhao, however, said no more and only asked them to take the first two steps first.

"That's enough, don't be ungrateful." Yang Bo waved his hand and said to his nephew, "Nephew Zhao is afraid that you will bite off more than you can chew."

In fact, the shrewd father and son both knew that this half of the shares could only be exchanged for so much...

But if they were asked to take out more, they would really be reluctant to do so.

I had to suppress my curiosity and wait until the first two steps really produced results.

Fortunately, Shanxi merchants have never been very curious.

~~

Before we knew it, we were chatting until noon.

Yang Sihe said goodbye and left, but Yang Bo enthusiastically kept Zhao Hao and called Wang Bengu and Lu Guangzu to his signing room... to eat noodles.

This time we will not talk about serious business, but only talk about some anecdotes in officialdom and interesting things in Beijing.

Whether in the officialdom or in the capital, the most interesting things these days were done by Zhao Hao and his son...

When everyone talked about how Zhao Hao had to have Zhao Shouzheng carried around half of Beijing before returning home, they all laughed their heads off.

"My dear nephew, you are so good at this. I heard that day that Zhao Zhuangyuan pleaded for the people and made direct criticisms, but was beaten with a stick in the court. I was stunned for a moment." Yang Bo laughed while peeling garlic, "Did we hold a fake court meeting?"

The latter sentence was directed to Wang Bengu.

Minister Wang took up his handkerchief and wiped his mouth. In front of his superior, he also became playful. "Isn't it? We clearly discussed the crime of Zhao Zhuangyuan beating the young cabinet minister. How come Zhao Zhuangyuan became the persecuted great loyal minister, while the young cabinet minister became a rat crossing the street?"

"It shows that justice is in the heart of the people." Zhao Hao was very thick-skinned and said without any shame: "Besides, my father was beaten with a stick in the court."

"I think the young cabinet minister must want to exchange with your father now." Lu Guangzu also laughed and said, "Even if he comes to receive the caning in court, it is better than having people throwing dirt on the door and throwing garbage into the yard all day long..."

"Oh? There is such a thing?" Zhao Hao looked surprised, as if he didn't ask someone to do that.

Generally speaking, if you want to elevate yourself, you sometimes have to put others down.

If you want to elevate yourself, you have to belittle others...

Zhao Hao hired several hundred common people to go to the Prime Minister's residence on West Chang'an Street every day and curse loudly.

Not only did he curse about things in the capital, he also revealed the good things that the Xu family had done in Suzhou and Songjiang.

What's even more outrageous is that he even had people compose a nursery rhyme and spread it all over the capital.

In just a few days, the positive image of Lord Xu has been severely tarnished.

Originally, the old man planned to go to Lingji Palace for a farewell performance before leaving.

Seeing the people outside cursing all day long, the old man lost interest and cancelled his lecture.

ps. The fifth update, 13900 votes plus more, please give me your monthly vote~~