The most arrogant in history

Chapter 680: 2 Big Families.

The purpose of building a bridge is to allow people to walk on it.

If a bridge is built but no one uses it, isn't it a waste of social wealth?

Ye Kun doesn't want face-saving projects.

Hou Qi said: "The average daily flow of people is definitely not small. There are 200,000 officials and civilians in the mountain city, as well as merchants coming and going. Once the bridge is built, an average of 10,000 people a day will be no problem."

Guo Ping smiled and said, "There are fellow villagers on both sides of the strait. There are probably thousands of people visiting each other and playing mahjong every day."

Ye Kun calculated: "If it can facilitate the daily travel of thousands or tens of thousands of people, then it can be built. The bridge can be repaired and has a designed service life of at least 300 years.

It makes it easier for millions of people to travel every year. Over a hundred years, it makes it easier for hundreds of millions of people. If each person saves a penny on the cost of crossing the river, it will be hundreds of millions of pennies, which is equivalent to creating hundreds of millions of social wealth. "

Ye Kun can also do the math on economic accounts.

After the bridge is built, we can also charge tolls for horse-drawn carriages, and gradually make our investment back.

Hou Qi was still a little worried and asked, "Your Majesty, will this suspended iron cable bridge sway like a swing? If it sways too much, I'm afraid pedestrians won't dare to cross the bridge."

Ye Kun smiled and said, "Master Hou, you underestimate our technology. The cable bridge will sway to a certain extent, but the amplitude will not be too large. If the amplitude of the sway is too large, we can also install left and right inclined cables at both ends.

As for the technical aspects, I believe that Chongqing's road and bridge experts can handle it."

An expert at the scene nodded and said, "It's technically OK. We will make a small model first and calculate and measure various data."

Ye Kun looked at the river and said:

"The bridge deck's suspension height, that is, the distance from the water surface during flood season, must be more than three meters, otherwise it may affect the navigation of large ships in the future. We are currently mainly sailing ships, and all ships have masts."

The expert nodded and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. We will design it based on the largest ship in the Jialing River and ensure that there is enough space for even larger ships."

Ye Kun pondered and said, "This bridge must be repaired, and records must be kept to summarize the experience. In the future, there will be more iron chain bridges that need to be built."

In recent years, there have been too many road and bridge construction projects.

There are dozens of bridges on the Grand Canal, all of which are stone arch bridges.

There are more than thousands of small and medium-sized bridges in other places.

But there seems to be only one Jialing River Bridge.

After the first cable bridge is built, there will be more cross-river bridges.

You can also consider Luding Bridge.

Even in the Tiger Leaping Gorge area in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, a cable bridge can be built.

The narrowest part of Tiger Leaping Gorge is only more than 20 meters, so it is not technically difficult to cross it.

At that time, Ye Kun could brag that he had built the first bridge across the Yangtze River.

Hou Qi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, the court is building a large-scale iron chain bridge and railways. Why does it have so much steel?"

Ye Kun shook his head and smiled, "There are too few iron ore in the south, and it is difficult to mine, so steel is particularly precious. The ancients said that wearing rhinoceros armor and holding Wu spears, Wu State had iron ore and good steelmaking technology, so a sword was worth a thousand gold.

But now in the north, we have developed more than a dozen large iron mines, and there are pyrites in Liaodong, which are like stones in the mountains, inexhaustible. Now the output of any iron mine is ten times that of the Wu Kingdom in the past.

The current situation is that iron ore is like stone, coal is like mud, and there are millions of foreign workers mining for us.

If it weren't for this, where would the government get the money to build roads and bridges everywhere, improve people's livelihood, and expand overseas? Half of our current development is based on the steel and coal industries."

Hou Qi was amazed: "Iron ore is like stone, and coal is like soil. I didn't expect that I could see such a prosperous era in my lifetime. Back then, the imperial court strictly controlled steel and salt to ensure the court's tax revenue.

I didn’t expect that today, the quality of ironware is ten times better than before, but the price has dropped tenfold. Even refined salt is almost sold out.”

Ye Kun smiled and said, "Refined salt is a little more expensive in the north because of the freight; but ironware is cheaper in the north because of the cheap road tolls and low logistics costs.

We build roads everywhere to achieve fast transportation, reduce logistics costs, keep commodity prices down, and meet people’s needs.”

From transportation to economy.

On the river bank, Ye Kun talked about the same old things and held a small meeting.

Guo Ping asked: "I heard that the court has a plan to build two more main roads in Shu, from Chongqing to Chengdu, is that right?"

Ye Kun nodded: "This plan will be approved soon. My suggestion at the time was to add two more north-south highways from Chengdu to Chongqing. The existing highway in the middle has a good foundation, so we will consider building a railway in the future."

Hou Qi and Guo Ping were overjoyed: "Will Sichuan also build a railway?"

"Yes, but it will take two years."

Ye Kun smiled and said, "The difficulty of the railway here lies in the parallel ridges and valleys in the west of Chongqing. There are hundreds of mountains, large and small, and we need to cut a gap. However, this side is all red sandstone, so it is not difficult to open the mountain."

When the Sichuan Central Expressway was being built, Ye Kun stayed on site for a few days and conducted an in-depth investigation.

The altitude of Parallel Ridge Valley is not high, and the mountains are all red sandstone, which is semi-weathered and easily broken.

After these red sandstones are broken and continue to weather, they will turn into red soil in just one or two years and can be used to grow crops.

Road and bridge construction teams now have pickaxes of very good quality.

The red sandstone in the parallel ridges and valleys can be dealt with with a pickaxe.

It requires a lot of labor and a lot of tools.

After dealing with the parallel ridges and valleys, the remaining difficulties are some railway bridges.

Hou Qi asked: "After the Sichuan Central Railway is completed, how long will it take to get from Chongqing to Chengdu?"

"One day and one night is enough."

Ye Kun explained the train to everyone: "Our steam-powered train can now run at a stable speed of 40 miles per hour, which is equivalent to 50 miles per hour before, and there is no need to rest. It can run a thousand miles in a day and a night.

Back then, Xiahou Chang's Tiger and Leopard Camp couldn't outrun our trains. Moreover, trains can carry a lot of cargo, and can carry millions of kilograms of cargo in one trip."

Guo Ping and Hou Qi, neither of whom had ever seen a railway or ridden a train, were extremely envious.

Among other local officials, there were only a handful who had seen trains run on the railway.

Ye Kun smiled and said, "In the future, when officials exchange ideas, you will have the opportunity to take the train when you go to Zhuo County."

Communication among local officials is also very necessary.

At present, no system has been formed, and only in some areas are officials transferred frequently.

After returning to the city from the riverside, Ye Kun visited several docks and experienced Chongqing's ferry.

Chunhua and Yulian were already impatient and had prepared gifts for visiting relatives early, waiting to return to her parents' home.

Three days later, Ye Kun took Yu Lian Chun Hua and Huang Jingzu across the river to Fuling.

Yu Lian Chunhua's family is now a prominent family in Fuling and is extremely wealthy.

Because both the Huang family and the Cheng family had hundreds of children who were brought out by Ye Kun and served in the army, or as officials in the court, or as officials in local areas.

The Huang and Cheng families who stayed in Fuling also prospered greatly and their population grew rapidly.

Upon learning that Ye Kun had arrived, the patriarchs of the Huang and Cheng families came with their fellow villagers to greet him.

Yu Lian Chun Hua no longer has any close relatives here, but she grew up here and has deep feelings for her hometown.

When she stepped on the land of her hometown and heard the familiar local accent, Yu Lian Chunhua was so excited that her eyes turned red.

The magistrate of Fuling County also came to welcome him.

Ye Kun clasped his fists in return and said with a smile: "Fuling has changed a lot. The transportation has improved, the houses are all brick and tile, the cattle and sheep are thriving, and the crops are also good. The happiest thing is that I see that all the villagers are in good spirits!"

The two family heads clasped their fists together and said, "Your Majesty, this is all your grace and your care for Fuling."

"This is also the result of the hard work of all the villagers."

Ye Kun smiled, called the county magistrate to the side, and whispered: "I have heard that the Huang family and the Cheng family in Fuling, relying on their relationship in the palace, occasionally bully other people. Is that right? I heard that it is not easy to be a county magistrate here.

Fuling County has had six county magistrates in ten years. It is said that it was all because they offended the Cheng family and the Huang family, right?"