Chapter 321 Who is thin-skinned? ? ?

"In fact, it can be used for more than just transporting military supplies."

Seeing that Emperor Xuanwu's words implied that there was no need to lay tracks, Ye Qingan became a little anxious:

"It can also directly transport troops. If more tracks are set up at the same time, it can even achieve the effect of deploying troops at any time!"

"It's good to be able to quickly deploy troops, but as I said before, laying tracks is too expensive and they won't be used many times, so it's really not cost-effective."

Emperor Xuanwu shook his head and was not optimistic about this.

"Actually, there is a way to use it multiple times if you want."

Yun Shu propped up his chin and said something that attracted the attention of the other two people present:

"When the army doesn't need it, we can give it to ordinary people!

We can set up stations along the track and let people choose where to get on and where to get off.
Different fares are charged depending on the length of the journey.”

"What your Highness said is true!"

Ye Qing'an's eyes lit up, and then he thought of another question:
"But if the price is too high, ordinary people may not be able to afford it."

“It doesn’t have to be expensive.”

Yun Shu said casually:
"For example, if someone wants to go from Beijing to Suzhou, a total distance of more than 2,000 miles, renting a horse carriage is too expensive for ordinary people, so it is not considered for the time being.

Just take walking as an example. Even for a strong man in his prime, it would take at least more than a month to walk, right?

His food and accommodation during this month, even if calculated at the cheapest rate, would add up to two taels of silver. That’s not too much, right?
This train of mine only takes one or two days from the capital to Suzhou, and the price is two and a half taels of silver per person. Do you think those people are willing to take it?"

"Except for some real savings, the rest should still be willing!"

Ye Qingan suddenly understood:
“After all, if you walk that far, you have to worry about encountering bandits or encountering heavy rain.

If you are lucky, you may just lose some money, but if you are unlucky, you may even lose your life.

Just spending a little more money can save a lot of time and energy, and most importantly, ensure safety...

Even the extra money spent can be earned back in the time saved.

I think there will be a lot of people who would choose to take the train!"

Ye Qing'an became more and more excited as he spoke. Following this line of thought, he soon thought of the next question:
"But if a merchant brings a large amount of goods on board, do we have to charge him extra fees?"

“It can be calculated based on how much space the cargo occupies, or how much weight it weighs.”

Yun Shu nodded slightly and said:
"Merchants are richer than ordinary people, so they can set a slightly higher price when pricing their goods."

"Your Highness is right!"

Emperor Xuanwu: “…”

After nodding for a long time, he suddenly came to his senses:
"Why do I feel that you have already thought about these things?"

Didn’t you say you were just going to give that kid Lao Liu a small gift?

Are you really not using this as an excuse to deliberately bring this up?

Emperor Xuanwu, who felt as if he had fallen into a trap without realizing it, looked at Yun Shu and narrowed his eyes:
"The gift is fake. What you want is to lay tracks in Tiansheng and run a train, right?" "Father is wise."

Yun Shu admitted with a smile:
"Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from your eyes!"

"Stop flattering me!"

Emperor Xuanwu glared at him unhappily:
"Why don't you just say it directly? Why do you have to go around in circles like this?"

"Isn't this convenient?"

Yun Shu rubbed his nose. He didn't seem to feel guilty after being exposed. He was timid but had a good reason to be so:

"The main reason is that the national treasury has had large expenditures in the past two years, and almost all of them were requested by your son.
Now, except for the time when commercial taxes are collected at the end of the year, Minister Yan will run away when he sees me at other times. If you don’t know me, you would think that I am a very ferocious and vicious person!
I am shy, and sometimes I don’t want to do such difficult things.”

Emperor Xuanwu: “?”

What the hell did she just say?

Who is thin-skinned?
she? ? ?
Emperor Xuanwu, who felt like he had heard the best joke of the year, sneered:
"You mean, I'm thick-skinned?"

"I never said that!"

Yun Shu looked innocent:
"Father, please do not misinterpret my meaning. I just think that you are the emperor after all, and your words will definitely be more effective than mine."

"Ah!"

Emperor Xuanwu snorted again, looking extremely unhappy.
But once he opened his mouth, he still fulfilled Yun Shu's wish and directly bypassed her and instructed Ye Qing'an:
“Didn’t you say that the blueprint the princess gave you was just a gift for Old Six?
Please make this gift first and see if it works.

After confirming that it can be done, we will calculate how much it will cost to lay the railway and build the train.

If you want to charge people, how should you charge them, how long will it take to get your money back, and all these should be calculated clearly, and then submitted in a memorial."

"Yes!"

Ye Qing'an achieved his goal and quickly left the imperial study.

After he left, he remembered that he hadn't asked Emperor Xuanwu about steam engine steelmaking: "..."

Forget it, I’d better just ask Xiaowu directly about this matter!
……

Although Ye Qingan was thinking about making the "small train toy" as soon as possible,
But unfortunately, steam engine steelmaking is the top priority nowadays.

Including if we really want to lay railway tracks in the future and build trains that can carry thousands of people, we will need a large amount of steel support.

Almost all the free people in the Ministry of Industry, except for a small number who were assigned to make glass, were transferred to work with Zheng Qiaozhan on the method of making steel using steam engines.

Ye Qing'an had no choice but to find a few carpenters to tinker with it for at least three months before he finally finished making this "little toy".

During this period, since the track was laid starting from Yaohua Palace, Yun Chuhuan would personally supervise the construction almost every day.

My curiosity has already reached its peak, and I finally waited for this gift to be completed.
It happened that he had a day off that day, so Yun Chuhuan got up excitedly early in the morning, changed his clothes, and waited for Ye Qingan to show him what kind of mysterious gift his fifth sister had given him.

At the same time, in the Xuanzheng Hall,
At the morning court, Emperor Xuanwu, who had just finished discussing a political matter with his ministers, suddenly stood up and said:

"I am a little tired of discussing these boring things all day long.

Now that the flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom, why don't you all go out with me for a walk?"