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Volume 1: Who Rides the Star Chassis to Break through the Void Chapter 332: There are injuries in front of the ruts and wheel tracks

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    The sound of creaking wheels prevented Shou'an from taking his usual lunch break. Some of the entourages accompanying him were complaining in low voices, while others were suppressing laughter.  Shou'an leaned on the quilt, pulled out a crack in the car curtain, and looked outside.  The vegetation outside is spring and full of greenery.  Shou An, who is already seventeen years old, pursed her lips and smiled slightly, but now when she smiled, her eyes were a little deeper.  Two years have passed in the blink of an eye.  It was the spring of Tianbao's eighth year. After staying in Liaodong for nearly two years, Shouan finally returned to the Central Plains.  "The track from Pengcheng (Xuzhou) to Chenliu (Bianzhou) has been repaired. I don't know when the track from Dongmou (Dengzhou) to Chenliu will be repaired. If it can be repaired, we won't have to suffer like this.  You can go there by train. The train is stable and fast, and there is no need to be so bumpy at all. " "Thanks to Ye Langjun for coming up with this method, as long as the rulers in the hands of the craftsmen are unified and made into vernier calipers, ruts can be made.  Groove, and then change the wheels, the train can run on the track Hearing this, Chong Niang showed a smile on her face. Since half a year ago, the name "train" has been frequently heard in her ears.  Ye Chang was the ambassador of river engineering and did not do much in dredging the river. He put most of his energy into building roads. After the cement rut test he originally envisioned failed, a craftsman used it at the Panma Mine in Xuzhou.  The experience of using horse-drawn carriages to pull ore made the "L"-shaped wooden rails a great success. This also greatly accelerated the progress of the project. The track construction, which was originally thought to take many years, was completed in just one and a half years.  Completed. These wooden rails were naturally transported from Liaodong, which added another industry to Liaodong. Fortunately, hydraulic machine tools and animal-powered machine tools were becoming more and more mature in Liaodong, so they did not occupy much labor force.  Very stubbornly, four to six ordinary carriages were arranged into a row, so it was called a train. They were pulled by two to three horses and ran on this road. They could carry five thousand kilograms of cargo and could run all day and night.  Later, the carriages were organized into eight or even ten sections, and the draft horses were replaced by four, with the load exceeding 10,000 kilograms, and the speed was only slightly slower. Naturally, horses were replaced every fifty miles or so.  A horse-exchange station, according to Ye Chang, is managed by the Andong Bank of the Andong Chamber of Commerce, and the court is only responsible for supplying horses, so it does not increase the burden on the court too much because there is no accurate information at this time.  The timer also has to adopt staggered train schedules. For example, only trains from east to west are allowed to run in the morning, and trains from west to east are only allowed to run in the afternoon, so as to avoid traffic jams on the way.  In this way, in this half year, the cargo carrying volume from Pengcheng to Chenliu still reached an astonishing figure, especially in the winter when the Yellow River and the North Canal were frozen, and grain from Huainan Road could not be transported to the Central Plains via the river. A large number of goods were transported every day  The cost of transporting grain to Chenliu is only slightly more than that of river transport, which plays a great role in stabilizing the price of grain this winter. Grain is the largest item. The freight collected for transporting grain in this six months alone is enough.  More than 10,000 guan, and including other freight transportation costs, it is estimated that the annual income of this track, which is more than 600 miles long, will be more than 100,000 guan. The expenditure is also extremely staggering, not counting the money invested in road construction and the stations along the way.  There is also road maintenance, which costs more than 150,000 yuan, so Anton Bank needs to provide money for operation. However, discerning people know that this maintenance cost is relatively fixed every year, and the income will increase every year, Ye Chang.  In the instructions given to the shareholders of the Andong Chamber of Commerce, he optimistically mentioned that the track will break even next year and will definitely turn into profit the year after. ¡°I don¡¯t know how he managed to repair it in just one and a half years.  Come this way" Someone muttered.  Shouan was also curious about this. Although Ye Chang explained in the letter, for example, there was a ready-made roadbed, the land was acquired by the court, and more than 200,000 people in the states and counties along the way were mobilized to serve as corvees. If it weren't for  Each person is given a subsidy of ten cents per day, including food, drink and accommodation, and mainly uses rotational labor during the slack period. I am afraid that it will be like the Grand Canal built by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, which caused public resentment.  ¡°But Shou¡¯an feels that it should be more than that.  The carriage suddenly stopped, and a guard rushed back from the front, arrived at the side of Shou'an's car, and said at the side of the carriage: "Princess, the road is being built in front, and Ye Langjun is there." The reason why it is safer not to ride  This is the reason why we have to take the land route instead of the convenient boat.  "Have you alerted him?" "His Royal Highness has given instructions in advance. I don't dare to alert him because of my humble position." "Okay, okay" Shou'an was very happy. She opened the car door, picked up the hem of her skirt, and jumped out of the car.  There was a large group of people in front of them. There were nearly a hundred flags of various colors, and countless people were busy coming and going.  Rao Shishou'an was used to seeing the construction of large projects in Liaodong, so when he saw this scene, he couldn't help but be shocked.  It was tens of thousands of people moving together, stretching out endlessly.  They are hereWhat's more, gravel is piled on the road to form a roadbed.  Today's trains carry a much greater load than ordinary carriages, so the original roadbed cannot bear it, and a series of work such as paving and rolling must be carried out.  In the absence of machinery, manpower became the only option to complete this huge project.  Fortunately, manpower is cheap. For these conquered people, it is an extremely kind thing to provide them with food and drink and a few cents a day.  Those people who came out of poor places even regarded this as a rare opportunity, and begged to be allowed to stay even after their service period was over.  The fields at home can be cultivated temporarily by women and old people, as long as they can collect some food rations, but the projects here are full of cash, paid monthly, and never in arrears. Therefore, not counting the corvee levy and levy from various places, only  Ye Chang has about 30,000 standing road construction workers on hand, distributed on three construction sites.  "Where is Ye Lang?" Shou'an asked the soldiers beside him.  The soldier just found out that Ye Chang was here, but he didn't know who Ye Chang was among this large group of people.  He pulled a man holding a small flag on the side of the road and asked. The man pointed to the northwest: "Have you seen that flag with the word leaf? Ye Langjun must be there." Sure enough, there was a big flag with the word "leaf" embroidered on it.  Flying in the air.  "Ye Langjun uses this flag as a symbol. As long as he sees this flag, he will be on the construction site." The man raised his thumb and said: "We, Ye Langjun, don't need to say that." The meaning in his words  Shouan can sense affection and admiration very clearly.  The flag was about a mile away. Shou'an held the corner of his skirt and walked towards it without taking too many people with him.  Among the crowd, their small team was inconspicuous, so when she arrived at the flag, not many people were alarmed.  The construction site was in full swing. A shirtless man covered in mud took the lead, and dozens of others dragged a huge stone mill to solidify the foundation.  That stone roller probably weighed several thousand kilograms, and even if dozens of people plus cattle, horses and other animals were involved, it would be difficult to drag it.  ¡°They are all people who do things like this, but they don¡¯t see Ye Chang.  Shou'an stood on tiptoes and looked for a long time, but could not see Ye Chang's figure. It happened that the shirtless man in the lead came to her side, and she asked: "Where is Ye Langjun?" When she asked, she lowered her head.  The hard-working man raised his head with an expression of astonishment, and Shou'an himself was also shocked.  This dark-skinned man with a rope tied around his body turned out to be Ye Chang himself. But at this time, Ye Chang was no longer as charming and suave as he was at the Chunming Gate at the top of Chang'an City. If he wasn't too familiar with it, Shou'an would hardly dare to  Recognize each other.  "Why are you here?" Ye Chang was surprised and then laughed happily: "Why don't you send someone to let me know?" Shou'an suddenly felt sad in his heart, and tears could not help but fill up: "Youhow could you be like this?  What are you doing?" Ye Chang took off the rope and threw it to the person next to him. After that person took it, he continued to drag the stone roller.  Ye Chang then turned around and did not talk about why he was like this. Instead, he smiled and said: "This is not the place to talk. I am too dirty. Go and wait outside the camp over there."  I'll come and see you after taking a shower." "No, I'll follow you," Shou An said, biting his lower lip.  Tears fell from her eyes. She didn't understand why Ye Chang had to suffer this crime despite having a good life.  Even if it was ordered to build roads, it shouldn't be like this.  Ye Chang waved his hand to wipe away her tears, but he raised his hand and retracted it. He laughed loudly and said: "Don't cry, don't cry. It's just darker and thinner. If you go back and rest for a few days, you will become white and fat again."  Fat like a pig. " Shou'an couldn't help but burst into laughter at his last sentence, but he stopped immediately and just stared at him fiercely, and then stepped on his foot.  This was a trick she often played when she was a little girl. Ye Chang looked at her with a smile. Although she landed very slowly, Ye Chang did not hide. Finally, her foot landed lightly on Ye Chang's foot and rubbed against it.  , and quickly took it back.  "No wonder you have become thinner every time I see you in the past two years. You are doing something like this Even if you are not a court official, just your wealth, why do you need to do this by yourself?" Following Ye Chang,  After holding back his tears, Shouan raised his chin and said with a hint of arrogance: "In your "The Wealth of Nations", didn't you say that rich people need to increase consumption to promote circulation? Why do you do such a thing yourself?" "I  It¡¯s not just the rich man who doesn¡¯t take the lead. Which of these ordinary craftsmen is willing to talk to me from the bottom of his heart?¡± Ye Chang laughed.  "I really don't know what you are planning." Shouan muttered.  Although she was smart, she couldn't imagine why Ye Chang wanted to have a heart to heart with these low-level people.  The two of them talked while walking. In the past two years, Shouan had actually met Ye Chang several times, because every time he cameDuring the busy season, Ye Chang would go back to Liaodong and stay there for a little over half a year.  It's just that this time Ye Chang spent the winter in the Central Plains, while Shou'an didn't come back until early spring.  Ye Chang knew the reason for her return.  The two-year appointment came in the blink of an eye. Ye Chang lied about the immortal's words and told him not to marry before he was twenty-five years old. Now the time has come.  His wedding to Li Tengkong was approaching, and Shou'an rushed back just to see if he could stop this.  If it can't be stopped, Shou'an will definitely have to return to Liaodong to avoid the day that makes her sad.  While the two were talking, suddenly there was some chaos in front of them. Ye Chang looked up and saw dozens of people gathered around and kneeling on the ground.  "Ye Langjun, make the decision for us." "That's right, Ye Langjun, please save us." Ye Chang frowned, looked around, and then someone stepped forward and asked, "Who are you, and why are you blocking our way?"  "Ye Langjun, our crops have been wiped out, our fields and houses are destroyed, and now there is no way to survive. Please help Ye Langjun." These people, including old and young, and babies in their arms, knelt there and cried bitterly.  , which makes people feel sad.  Shouan exclaimed in surprise: "What's going on? Even if they are in trouble, they still have to seek help from the local government. Why do they come to find you?" "This has happened more recently." Ye Chang smiled bitterly.  one time.  ¡°There have indeed been more such things in the past six months, or maybe he is lucky. After several generations of improvement, cotton seeds have been improved, and now the output has increased rapidly, while the price of cotton cloth has always been high.  The rich and powerful who rushed to switch to cotton in the past two years made a lot of profits, so they expanded production even more.  Some homesteaders, after hesitating for two years, followed suit and started planting.  But last year, the price of cotton finally fell sharply. Supply exceeded demand, causing the price of cotton to fall by more than half, to only one-third of its peak. Even so, there are still many people who cannot sell their cotton.  After all, only Liaodong can truly carry out large-scale cotton spinning in a mature way. Liaodong's production capacity cannot digest so much cotton.  Such an impact caused many farmers to go bankrupt.  There are countless people in Gyeonggi Province and Henan Province who have lost their entire lives because of this.  Ye Chang was prepared for this, and he even deliberately provoked the price fluctuations.  Most of the bankrupt people were attracted by his engineering team for the construction of track roads before they became refugees.  Among the kneeling people, one person raised his head sadly, it was Yang Ze, a member of Yang Hui's family.  He was originally persuaded by Xie Yan to go to Liaodong, but when he went home to discuss with his family, he was stopped. The family asked him to switch to cotton.  I made a little money, but last year I was caught up in the trend and completely bankrupt.  He had seen Ye Chang before, so he vaguely recognized Ye Chang in the crowd. He walked forward on his knees and came towards Ye Chang: "Ye Langjun, you are so kind and compassionate. Please give me the purchase price of the cotton.  Looking up again, the kneeling people learned that the dark and thin man was Ye Chang, and they all knelt over and said, "The price of cotton has been falling in the past few years, and now the price of cotton of the same size is not as good as that of good silk.  .  "Ye Chang said helplessly: "No matter how talented I am, I can't raise the price of cotton." Before he could finish his words, someone in the crowd suddenly yelled: "Thief, if it weren't for you, who would have done it?  If there is something about kapok, come and accept your fate." The cold light suddenly flashed
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