My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 354 Negotiations on the Wusong Railway
Su Ze was invited to the side hall of the cabinet's reception area.

"A petition from Nanjing? A request from gentry in Jiangnan to build the Wusong Railway?"

To the surprise of the imperial court in the capital, while various parts of the north were still struggling with the issue of railways, the Jiangnan region suddenly stepped forward to request the construction of railways.

This railway is shorter than the Fangshan Railway, running from Songjiang Prefecture City to Wusongkou, the port of Songjiang Prefecture. The entire journey is only about half the length of the Fangshan Railway.

The reason why the gentry of Jiangnan requested the construction of the Wusong Railway was quite simple. Songjiang Prefecture was the distribution center for silk and cotton cloth in Jiangnan. However, the fifty-mile stretch of road from Songjiang Prefecture to Wusongkou for sea transport was congested and blocked, which seriously affected the efficiency of silk and cotton cloth exports.

Therefore, when the Fangshan Railway began construction, the gentry of Jiangnan began to pay attention to it. After obtaining information about the specific operation of the Fangshan Railway, the gentry of Jiangnan also proposed to build the railway.

It's not just about construction; the petition from the Yingtian Governor's Office also indicates that the funds have already been raised, with gentry from Jiangnan pledging to purchase 100,000 silver dollars to build the railway.

This petition even included the completion of railway route surveys. The route from Songjiang Prefecture to Wusongkou is a flat plain, with the only difficulty being the crossing of several small rivers.

After reading it, Su Ze could only sigh, how could Jiangnan not be prosperous?

With its top-notch talent pool and favorable climate, this place is simply a chosen one.

The biggest challenge in building railways in the north is the mountainous terrain.

The route from Fangshan to the capital is relatively good, but if a railway is to be built to Xuanfu (Zhangjiakou), the mountainous terrain will prevent the route from passing through.

In the original timeline, when Zhan Tianyou built this railway, steam locomotives already existed, and he used a zigzag method to climb the mountain road of Badaling.

Before the invention of high-performance gunpowder to solve the problem of mountain clearing and the advent of steam locomotives, the railway to Xuanfu was destined to be impossible to build.

This problem doesn't exist in Jiangnan.

The area is mostly plains, making railway construction here not only cheaper but also more stable.

In addition to railways, there is the golden Yangtze River canal waterway, and the natural deep-water ports of Taicang and Wusongkou at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

The conditions here are naturally suited for industry.

One characteristic of industrialization is the increasingly refined division of labor.

Only with increasingly refined division of labor can production become more efficient, and this refined division of labor requires smooth logistics.

Otherwise, if the goods you produce require extremely high costs to transport out, how can a fledgling industrialized nation compete with manpower?

Despite all the efforts Su Ze made in the north to improve its infrastructure, it still couldn't compare to the natural advantages of the Jiangnan region.

Now, the gentry in Jiangnan have a more accurate understanding of the value of railways than the gentry in the north, and they have directly spent 100,000 silver dollars to rush to build the second railway in the Ming Dynasty.

Lei Li waited until Su Ze finished reading before asking:
"Zilin, what do you think?"

Su Ze immediately said:

"Elder Lei, this is a good thing."

"The Southern Zhili region has already completed the exploration and fundraising work for the railway project, so the court should naturally approve its request."

Lei Li looked at Su Ze.

Since Su Ze entered officialdom, his image among the gentry in Jiangnan has always been quite divided.

He was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) from Suzhou Prefecture, and many of his friends were also from Jiangnan. Logically speaking, a rising star like him should have received strong support from the gentry of Jiangnan.

However, none of Su Ze's major policies included Jiangnan, meaning he never offered any suggestions for his hometown.

The memorial to open the sea was submitted from Laizhou in Shandong, and the reforms such as the civil service examination were also carried out in Shanxi and Shandong provinces.

Moreover, Su Ze advocated for the imposition of commercial taxes, a view that was consistently resisted by the gentry of Jiangnan.

Despite being a scholar from Jiangnan, he always sided with the North – this was the Jiangnan gentry's unspoken assessment of Su Ze.

However, Su Ze didn't seem to care about this.

However, Lei Li still vaguely understood Su Ze's intention.

Maintaining a balance between North and South was an underlying principle of Ming Dynasty politics, and Su Ze did this in order to balance the power between the North and South.

Imagine what the Ming Dynasty would have been like if the mint had been located in Jiangnan.
Su Ze seemed to understand Lei Li's doubts and continued:
“Jiangnan is a vital source of wealth for our Great Ming Dynasty. How can the court ignore the petitions of the gentry in Jiangnan?”

"but."

Sure enough, Lei Li looked at Su Ze, waiting for him to continue.

Su Ze changed the subject and said:
"However, 100,000 silver dollars may not be enough."

"The Fangshan Railway was cheap because Fangshan had coal and iron mines, and the Ministry of Works built a new steel plant, which produced cheap steel to build the railway tracks."

“There are no steel mills like this in Jiangnan. If the rails were all made in the north and then transported to Jiangnan, the cost would be several times higher.”

"In this way, the construction cost will be far more than 100,000 silver dollars."

Lei Li nodded repeatedly; Su Ze's calculations were correct.

Su Ze added, "It seems inappropriate to allow the Ministry of Works to invest in and set up factories in Jiangnan, since Jiangnan does not pay commercial taxes. These steel plants are all built with investment from industrial and commercial income."

Lei Li nodded, "That makes sense."

"The imperial court can approve this project, but if we want to purchase railway tracks from the north, the Jiangnan Railway Company must purchase them at market price. The imperial court cannot subsidize this."

"Or the merchants of Jiangnan could fund the construction of a steel plant in Jiangnan, and use the output of the steel plant to build the railway."

Lei Li also felt that Su Ze's words made sense, and nodded, saying:
"Zilin is right. Railway construction should be based on market prices. The imperial court can't possibly subsidize all the railways, can it?"

Lei Li made up his mind. Su Ze was right. If Jiangnan wanted to build a railway, the capital would naturally not object.

However, the money for building the railway will have to be raised by Jiangnan itself.

If the imperial court wants to buy railway tracks from the north, it must do so at market prices; the court cannot afford to lose money by helping the south build railways.

The following day, Lei Li submitted a memorial to the emperor, supporting the construction of the Wusong Railway. However, Lei Li also listed the construction costs calculated by the Ministry of Works in his memorial, stating that if the rails were transported from the steel mills in the capital to the south of the Yangtze River for construction, the capital of 100,000 yuan would not be enough to cover the construction costs.

In other words, if Jiangnan wanted to build the Wusong Railway, it would either have to build a steel mill to manufacture the rails itself, or purchase them from the north at market prices, which would require additional investment in the Wusong Railway project.

Lei Li originally thought it was a simple memorial, but he did not expect it to cause controversy in the court and among the people!
-
Editorial Department of "New Gentleman's Daily"

"This is outrageous! How can the imperial court so favor the north over the south?"

A young editor angrily held up the manuscript, but his soft Wu dialect failed to convey his anger.

The New Gentleman's Daily was inherited and developed from the Gentleman's Daily founded by Shen Sixiao. Many of the editors in the editorial department were editors from Jiangnan who were recruited by Shen Sixiao back then.

The indignant editor was a fellow townsman of Su Ze, named Lu Ji, from Suzhou Prefecture. After failing the imperial examination last time, he stayed in the capital to prepare for the exam. Later, he was recruited by Shen Sixiao into the editorial department of the "New Gentleman's Daily".

Lu Ji's family were large landowners in Taicang County, and many members of the family had passed the imperial examinations, including one Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the Jiajing reign.

Most of the editors of the "New Gentleman's Daily" came from backgrounds similar to Lu Ji's.

Although Chen Yubi was from Sichuan, Sichuan's culture was flourishing at that time, and it resonated with the Jiangnan region on many topics.

Sichuan scholars also favored a luxurious and ornate writing style. More importantly, the gentry in Sichuan were also very powerful, so scholars from both sides were very close.

The editorial style of the *New Gentleman's Gazette* was also more inclined towards the gentry. The so-called gentry were scholars with official titles.

However, unlike scholars who became officials, the gentry generally refers to those who achieved academic success but did not take office, or former officials who retired. These people returned to their hometowns and had a huge influence on local politics.

The gentry generally did not live in the city; they relied on the political privileges of scholars to own large amounts of land.

Of course, not all gentry relied on farming for a living. Many gentry in Jiangnan would also open workshops, trade goods, or work as lawyers, but land remained their foundation.

Their privileges stemmed not only from their status as scholars, but also from their monopolistic control over rural power.

New officials in Jiangnan need to cultivate good relationships with local gentry in order to carry out their duties.

If the gentry resist, the government won't even be able to collect taxes.

These gentry were themselves prospective or former officials, and they possessed a vast network of connections. When united, they could put pressure on the government.

Therefore, the most important political proposition of the gentry was "light taxes and levies," which, in later terms, meant opposing the centralization of government power and demanding a so-called "small government."

When the New Gentleman's Gazette was being published, it had a close relationship with the gentry, so the style of the newspaper was consistent with the gentry's stance.

But it was precisely this tendency that made Chen Yubi and others feel extremely disconnected after they finished their rant.

They support "small government" and oppose government intervention, but when it comes to building railways, they blame the imperial court for not providing enough support.

Just as the gentry of Jiangnan strongly opposed commercial taxes, now the imperial court is using the phrase "no commercial taxes" to refuse to build government-run steel mills in Jiangnan. How can you, the gentry of Jiangnan, refute this?

Unable to refute specific issues, they resorted to the tactic of "discrimination," shifting the topic to the North-South divide.

Lu Ji said:

"The Fangshan Railway can use rails from the Ministry of Works' steel mill at a low price, while the Jiangnan Railway has to purchase them at a high price? Isn't this an injustice by the imperial court?"

"Why is it that the steel mills in the capital were built by the Ministry of Works, while we in Jiangnan have to raise funds ourselves to build our own steel mills?"

"Jiangnan accounts for half of the nation's tax revenue! And the majority of the gold and silver comes from Jiangnan! Yet the imperial court is unwilling to give back to Jiangnan, which is a mistreatment of a land that has rendered meritorious service!"

After Lu Ji finished speaking, the editors cheered.

Then another middle-aged editor stood up and said:
"Officials from the southeastern region in the court are already preparing to jointly submit a petition. They will not let this matter rest until the court gives them an explanation!"

"Editor-in-Chief Chen! Our 'New Gentleman' newspaper should also write articles criticizing the court and echoing the officials' petitions!"

The atmosphere in the editorial department became even more lively, but Chen Yubi was somewhat flustered.

His father was Chen Yiqin, a Grand Secretary during the early Longqing reign. As the son of a Grand Secretary, Chen Yubi was able to see the political winds clearly.

If it were during the reign of Xu Jie or even Yan Song, and the gentry in Jiangnan were to cause such a disturbance, the imperial court would probably give in.

But what is the cabinet now?
Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, including Zhao Zhenji, Lei Li, and Yin Shidan, these were all ruthless ministers!

They're already being rude to you, and now the gentry of Jiangnan are going to provoke them?
But given this public opinion climate, how will Chen Yubi unite people's hearts now that he is raising objections?

Chen Yubi felt bitter. In the past, when he was running the newspaper, he always felt that he could command the wind and rain and manipulate public opinion, and that ordinary officials in the censorate could not compare to him.

But now that they're caught up in public opinion, it's not easy to extricate themselves.

Chen Yubi could only resort to a delaying tactic, saying:
"In that case, please write your magnificent articles to uphold justice for Jiangnan!"

"it is good!"

"I'll write it now!"
-
On August 30, seventy-one officials from the southeast jointly submitted a memorial to the court, protesting Lei Li's memorial.

Many tabloids in the capital published articles in support of this, and these newspapers were mostly based in the south.

In the office of the Yuefu Xinbao newspaper.

Shen Yiguan looked at the newspaper and said, "This time, the New Gentleman's Daily didn't publish an article in response? Aren't they very close to the gentry of Jiangnan?"

Luo Wanhua said:
"I heard that the printing press of The New Gentleman's Daily had a problem and was unable to type it out in time."

Shen Yiguan looked incredulous. He hadn't expected the "New Gentleman's Gazette" to be so cunning, using such a reason to observe the direction of the court.

Where is Brother Zilin?

"They went to the Ministry of Justice."

"Did you go to submit a petition?"

"Yes."

Luo Wanhua said:
"Brother Zilin plans to follow the old example of the Japanese Silver Company, with officials and civilians from Jiangnan and the Ministry of Works discussing and deliberating together before submitting it to His Majesty."

"That's a good idea. It seems Brother Zilin wants to institutionalize the consultation process?"

Luo Wanhua nodded and said:
"Yes, the consultation system is a good way. It's always better to discuss things openly than before."

Luo Wanhua then said:

"Moreover, the Ministry of Works is in the right in this matter. If Jiangnan wants to build an ironworks, it can just pay for it itself."

Shen Yiguan nodded as well.

He is from Zhejiang, and many of the people who signed the petition are from his hometown.

Some people asked him for autographs, but he refused, and they were also criticized behind his back.

The worst off were Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue, who were also from Suzhou, the same hometown as Su Ze. This time, the officials in Jiangnan did not dare to openly criticize Su Ze, but they severely scolded Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue.

"A Memorial Requesting Consultation on the Construction of the Wusong Railway"

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting consultation on the construction of the Wusong Railway was submitted to the Cabinet.

The cabinet ministers generally agree with your proposal that the Ministry of Works and officials and gentry in Jiangnan should jointly discuss the Wusong Railway.

Emperor Longqing, fed up with the clamor from officials and gentry in Jiangnan, finally agreed to your memorial.

The Ministry of Works planned to hold a meeting on September 27th with representatives of officials and gentry from Jiangnan to discuss the construction of the Wusong Railway.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 960.]

The memorial has been approved.

On September 1st, the emperor issued an order, and officials and gentry in Jiangnan hurriedly elected representatives for negotiation.

However, the court's attention was quickly diverted from this matter.

On September 10th, good news came from Laizhou: the Ming Dynasty navy had defeated multiple groups of Japanese pirates on Jeju Island!

(End of this chapter)