Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 157 Fang Xiaoru Enters Beijing, Time Travel Test

As July passes, the heat has subsided a little.

Fang Xiaoru stood at the bow of the boat, his head seemed to be sucked by something in mid-air. As the boat passed by the bridge, casting mottled shadows on the river, his head turned along with it, but he could not take his eyes off the magnificent bridge.

The boatman saw him and asked with a smile, "Sir, have you not been to the capital for the past year?"

Fang Xiaoru reluctantly withdrew his gaze and nodded with mixed emotions, "I haven't been to the capital for five years."

The boatman said, "Judging from your accent, you're from Ningbo, Zhejiang, right? It's not too far from the capital. After the fairy bridge appeared last year, many scholars from eastern Zhejiang came to Beijing to visit. How could you not come?"

Fang Xiaoru said, "My respected teacher passed away last June. To fulfill my filial duty, I stayed at home for a year studying and did not pay attention to outside affairs. That is why I only learned about this amazing bridge and railway not long ago."

Hearing that Fang Xiaoru stayed at home to study out of filial piety to his teacher, the boatman respected him even more.

"If that's the case, it's no wonder. However, since the arrival of the Immortal Bridge, many new things have appeared in the capital over the past year. Sir, you must take a good look around during your visit."

Fang Xiaoru nodded and said nothing more.

In fact, if he had not been recommended by someone in the court and summoned by the emperor, even if he had heard of the wonders of the cross-river bridge and railway, he would not have come to the capital specifically to observe them.

However, his ambitions could only be realized in the court.

Back then, his father brought shame to the family because he was involved in the empty seal case, and only by entering the officialdom could he wash away the shame.

So, when he received the emperor's summons, he came.

After a long time, the boat finally approached the pier near Jiangdongmen.

At this time, Fang Xiaoru discovered that with Jiangdong Gate as the center line, large and small docks were divided into two major areas.

Today, only one area of ​​the dock is used for ships to dock, while the other area has become a busy construction site with many craftsmen and laborers busy at work.

He then asked, "Isn't it the imperial court building a dock over there?"

"Yes." The boatman nodded. "They said the dock was too chaotic before, making it inconvenient for boats to dock. They need to reorganize the plan and build a large dock along the river."

"The southern section will be built first, and then the northern section will be built after it's completed (the Yangtze River outside the capital runs from southwest to northeast). I heard they're using something called cement, so it will be built very quickly."

Because only half of the docks were available, the already tight docks and berths in the capital were now even tighter, and private boats had to line up in long queues on the river waiting.

Fang Xiaoru stood at the bow of the boat, observing the construction for a while, and could not help but comment, "While it's a good thing for the court to repair the Beijing docks, I wonder how much money and grain this will cost, and how many civilians will have to be conscripted as laborers?"

"The outer walls of the capital are vast, far surpassing those of previous capitals. They've been under construction for over a decade and are still unfinished. The central capital here was first built and then abandoned. Add to that the imperial army's campaigns, and wouldn't the corvée labor be heavy on the people?"

Upon hearing this, the boatman couldn't help but say, "Mr. Fang, it's hard to say about the situation in Zhongdu, but the capital's city wall has been under construction for over a decade and is still a long way from completion. This is precisely because the construction is slow."

"If the construction is slow, wouldn't the corvée burden on ordinary people be much lighter if it's spread out over the years?"

"As for this major renovation of the dock, it is completely different from previous ones. It is supervised by the Crown Prince."

Fang Xiaoru frowned and asked in confusion, "Why is the Crown Prince's supervisor so different?"

The boatman laughed and said, "It is said that since the construction of this wharf, no money or grain allocated by the court has been used, and no corvée has been imposed on the people. Look at those craftsmen and laborers on the shore. They are paid daily and are working very hard."

After hearing this, Fang Xiaoru observed carefully again and found something unusual - there were not many clerks and soldiers supervising the construction site.

It should be noted that in places where corvée labor is required, most laborers are not very active in their work and may even riot. It is often necessary to send more officials to supervise and use the army to deter others before the construction can proceed.

But the craftsmen and laborers at the dock were very proactive in their work, even active, which was quite different from the norm.

Fang Xiaoru was even more puzzled. "Why is this? Could it be that the prince used his own money to build this pier?"

"That's not the case." The boatman shook his head, then explained, "I heard that before construction began, the prince sold or rented the warehouses and shops planned for the dock to some wealthy merchants, raising a large sum of money and grain."

"This way, we won't need to use the imperial court's money and grain, and we can also hire craftsmen and laborers to replace corvée labor."

Can you do this?

Fang Xiaoru was surprised when he heard this.

Then he couldn't help but frown and whispered to himself, "Although this approach is brilliant, it doesn't resemble the Confucian way of governing a country. Instead, it's more like the legendary Yang Zhu method. If the crown prince becomes obsessed with this, wouldn't it be a blessing for the country?"

The boatman next to him either didn't hear clearly or didn't understand, so he didn't respond.

In this way, Fang Xiaoru waited on this boat for a long time before he lined up at the dock and disembarked.

The boatman watched Fang Xiaoru enter the crowd at the dock, then he went into the cabin, took out a small notebook and a pencil, and began to write quickly, recording all of Fang Xiaoru's previous words...

···
Liu Kuan, carrying his schoolbag, rode on Wuyun and stepped on the snow, heading out of the city under the protection of Wang Guangyue and others.

When they reached Loujiang Gate, they were stopped by a eunuch and several imperial cavalrymen who had caught up with them.

"Prince Consort Liu, wait a minute! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has something to say!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan had to rein in his horse and wait for the young eunuch to come over.

When the young eunuch came to Liu Kuan's side, he didn't even bother to catch his breath before saying, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince learned that Prince Consort Liu was going to the bridge, so he immediately sent a servant to tell him to wait here."

Liu Kuan frowned when he heard this.

He took out his phone and checked the time. "Your Highness, since you know I'm going to the bridge, you should also know that I'm in a hurry, right?"

The young eunuch said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is just behind us and will be here soon. Please be patient, Prince Consort Liu."

Liu Kuan took a deep breath and said no more.

Today is the third day of August - he came to Daming on this day last year.

So, he had to go to the bridge and try something today.

Timing was crucial in this attempt. So, if Zhu Biao didn't arrive after a while, he would have no choice but to force his way to the bridge—perhaps he would be stopped, but he had to give it a try.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before Zhu Biao arrived at Loujiang Gate on horseback with a large group of guards. After meeting him, Zhu Biao said, "I was so busy that I almost forgot. Did I not delay my brother-in-law's test?"

In August, September and October last year, Liu Kuan often ran to the bridge and tried to connect to the Internet with his mobile phone.

Old Zhu and Zhu Biao had naturally noticed such abnormal behavior a long time ago and had already asked the reason.

So Zhu Biao also knew that Liu Kuan was going to conduct an experiment on the bridge today.

Liu Kuan said, "It won't delay us, but time is running out. We'd better get to the bridge as soon as possible."

"it is good."

Zhu Biao nodded.

Then he rode side by side with Liu Kuan and went out of Loujiang Gate.

Seeing this, Liu Kuan reined in his horse slightly and fell half a horse's length behind Zhu Biao.

Because they were in a hurry to get on with their journey, the two of them didn't talk any more.

When we arrived at the south bridgehead of the bridge, we saw that the army had already temporarily blocked the bridge in accordance with Lao Zhu's orders.

After crossing the bridgehead and reaching the bridge, Liu Kuan and Zhu Biao slowed down their horses.

Although he hadn't reached the place yet and it wasn't time yet, Liu Kuan couldn't help but take out his cell phone to check - there was still no signal at all.

At this time, Zhu Biao asked: "Sister-in-law, if we can really connect to the Internet in the future, what will happen?"

Liu Kuan said, "If I could connect to the internet of the future, I could use my phone and computer to download more information that would be useful to the Ming Dynasty, even more videos, movies, and music."

"Also, I might be able to contact my family in the afterlife through the internet to let them know I'm safe."

Zhu Biao was happy at first, but after a while he looked worried.

"If my brother-in-law's time travel were known to his family in the future, would they inform the government? What would happen if the imperial court in the future knew about this?"

Liu Kuan was stunned when he heard this.

He had never really thought about this deeply before.

After a brief pause, Liu Kuan said, "If it can only be done online, and the imperial court in the future knows about this, it should be a good thing for both parties."

"Firstly, if the imperial court of future generations is willing to mobilize its resources to collect and transmit the various information needed by the Ming Dynasty, it will be much more efficient than if we do it ourselves."

"Secondly, my family in the future can also be taken care of by the court and live a better life."

Zhu Biao nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "What benefits might the future imperial court gain from the Ming Dynasty?"

Liu Kuan said: "With only the internet available, the only thing the Ming Dynasty can give to future generations is probably some historical data."

After saying this, Liu Kuan was thinking in his heart: If the imperial court in the future really knew about this, it would definitely establish a special research institute for this purpose, trying to use network connection as a breakthrough point to master the real time and space travel technology.

In that case, perhaps after a few years, people in the future will be able to come to the Ming Dynasty like him, or even go back.

Liu Kuan was not going to mention this matter to Zhu Yuanzhang and his son - if Zhu Yuanzhang did something extreme in order to prevent the Ming Dynasty from being controlled by the court of future generations, that would be bad.

The group rode slowly on the bridge for a while before arriving at the place where Liu Kuan crossed on this day last year.

Liu Kuan dismounted, carrying his bag and mobile phone, and came to the place where he was on the bridge when the fog appeared that day.

Then wait patiently.

That day, although he did not check his phone to note the time immediately, he was able to deduced the time period to within a few minutes afterwards.

Therefore, he only needs to see whether he can connect to the Internet during that time period.

Of course, taking into account some unexpected situations, he had actually been staring at the mobile phone signal display since he got on the bridge.

I even refresh the Baidu webpage from time to time - this is to prevent the situation where there is actually a signal but the phone shows no signal.

Zhu Biao, Wang Guangyue and others were not familiar with the Internet, so they stood more than ten steps away, remaining vigilant, waiting quietly and patiently.

As a result, the group waited for half an hour, but nothing happened.

Liu Kuan climbed over the sidewalk guardrail, put away his phone with a wry smile, and bowed to Zhu Biao.

"Your Highness, it seems I was delusional. Time travel alone is incredible enough, how can I even hope to connect to the network of the future?"

After hearing this, Zhu Biao felt both disappointed and relieved for some reason.

Very contradictory.

But he still comforted her, "Don't be disappointed, brother-in-law. Your time traveling to the Ming Dynasty has actually brought about many changes. Among other things, Xiongying is now alive and well, and the Queen Mother is also in good health."

"In addition, you brought with you various inventions and secret recipes, including cannons, matchlock rifles, telescopes, and salt-drying methods in salt pans. These have made us realize the importance of science and technology."

"With my brother-in-law here, even if we can't connect to the internet of the future, I believe that the Ming Dynasty can create a prosperous era that far surpasses the Han and Tang dynasties!"

What Liu Kuan hopes most is to be able to use the Internet to report his safety to his family.

But Zhu Biao's words did alleviate his disappointment a lot.

Afterwards, Liu Kuan kept staring at the signal display on his mobile phone as he left the bridge, but until he passed the south bridgehead, his mobile phone still had no network.

He put away his phone and stood beside the sculpture of workers and peasants in front of Zhuma Bridgehead, looking back at the bridge again.

I thought: Maybe that fog is the key to traveling through time?

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　(I'm still recovering from my illness, but I feel my physical and mental state are not as good as before National Day. I may need a few more days of rest.)
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)