Time flies by, and amid the expectations of countless people in the Qin Dynasty, the first phase of the Xianyang-Luoyang Railway project in the Qin Dynasty was finally completed.

Although there is only 60 miles of road, and in order to speed up the progress, only a single line was built in the first phase of the project, but because it was the first construction, a full 100,000 construction workers were still used.

The funds spent directly exceeded 15 million yuan.

Even in Daqin, where business is developing rapidly and income is growing, fifteen million dollars is still an astronomical sum that is beyond reach for most people.

The construction cost of one mile of land exceeds 200,000 yuan, which gave many people who were originally skeptical about the railway once again had sufficient reasons to oppose it.

Even if this railway is indeed as advertised, it is hundreds of times more powerful than a concrete straight track, but the terrifying cost makes the return on investment in a short period of time a mirror image.

In the eyes of many people, it is simply impossible for the railway to recover its capital.

If according to what the newspaper said, railways were to be built throughout the entire Qin Dynasty, needless to say, the Qin treasury would go bankrupt if it went first.

The argument that the railway is not bad, but rather unsuitable for the current Da Qin, was quickly recognized by many people.

Especially when there are already two grand canals in the north and south, whether it is necessary to build a railway immediately and whether the railway will hinder the development of Daqin soon became the focus of dispute.

Many businessmen who originally had full confidence in the railway began to wait and see.

After all, there are a lot of business opportunities in Daqin now, and they don't necessarily have to keep an eye on the railway.

They also included many courtiers and local officials.

Even Ying Zheng couldn't help but gasped after learning the cost.

The disadvantage is that the commercial tax of Daqin has increased dozens of times compared to before. Otherwise, a few years ago, just these sixty miles of railway would have been enough to burn through the revenue of Daqin's treasury for a year.

This is not a railway. It is clearly a golden road made of gold.

This railway is a complete gold-swallowing beast!

"Father, the 10 million yuan this time includes not only the railway, but also the corresponding supporting factories and the cost of the first steam locomotive, so it seems extremely huge."

"As long as this steam locomotive trial run is successfully completed, the subsequent costs will be greatly reduced and can be reduced by half."

Ying Yu could only explain helplessly.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, especially for a huge project like a railway. The R&D and testing costs alone can cost millions of dollars.

It needs to be kept strictly confidential and requires a self-produced supporting parts workshop, which is also a big expense.

However, these are one-time investments that can be used for a long time. The greater the subsequent production quantity, the lower the cost after amortization.

This is also the fundamental reason why many products soar in price at first, and then start to drastically reduce prices once the R&D costs are recovered.

"I hope so. Recently, the courtiers have been quarreling over budget matters."

Ying Zheng waved his hand and said.

According to the new regulations set by Ying Yu, all projects in Daqin must first propose a budget plan, and only after it is approved by the court can they receive the funds and enter the formal construction stage.

Now is the day to apply for the budget for the new year. All the government departments and local states and counties are trying their best to get their projects passed.

In order to prevent the already tight funds from being swallowed up by the railway, recently, there have been more and more memorials about the excessive consumption of the railway and the waste of people and money, which makes Ying Zheng a little irritable.

Because these people's words were all for the sake of Da Qin, Ying Zheng couldn't directly dismiss them.

"No problem. Trains are no better than cars. One train can easily carry thousands of people. Not only the officials who have doubts, but also the common people of Daqin who are interested, some quotas can also be opened."

Ying Yu smiled slightly.

Facts speak louder than words. Railways appeared in Daqin nearly two thousand years in advance, and it is quite normal for them to be questioned.

And the biggest disadvantage of railways is indeed that they cost money.

According to Ying Yu's calculations, in the first ten-year plan, at least 100,000 miles of railways must be built in Daqin, so that all states and counties in Daqin can be directly connected to Xianyang City.

Such a huge number has far exceeded the surplus of the national treasury.

After all, the total annual revenue of the Great Qin treasury has exceeded 30 million yuan, but the expenditure is also very high. If it is responsible for building a canal, it will not need to issue bonds.

And what Ying Yu is eyeing is the people of Great Qin who have become wealthy.

Hiding wealth among the people, now is the time to contribute to the Daqin Railway, while adding value to ourselves and achieving a win-win situation.

In order to get Daqin merchants and people to actively invest in the railway, this propaganda work is definitely the top priority.

The first step that Ying Yu needs to do is to let the people witness and experience the advanced nature of the train with their own eyes.

...

A new day has come, and what is different from the past is that Xianyang City is once again shocked.

The steam locomotive, which has been hotly debated and debated throughout the Qin Dynasty for a long time, is said to be capable of weighing one thousand against a thousand, is finally about to begin its trial run.

The first train operation was attended by not only His Majesty the First Emperor, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, officials of the imperial court, and local county officials, but thousands of places were even provided to ordinary people.

As long as you register at the newly built Xianyang Railway Station, you will have the opportunity to participate in a ten-day train trial ride. If you are lucky, you may even ride in the same train with the First Emperor and His Royal Highness.

This is definitely a matter of glory that will last a lifetime!

The first reaction of many people after hearing the news was to rush out of restaurants and tea shops, get on bicycles, or hail a tricycle, and head towards Neishi Mansion.

"This bike is really good. It's fast, convenient, and cheap!"

"Not only can it carry people, but it can also transport cargo. One or two hundred kilograms is nothing!"

"If it had been before, these few miles would have taken a long time, but now it only takes a stick of incense to get there."

"I don't know if the train is really as good as the newspapers say?"

"When did His Highness the Crown Prince lie to us?"

"You should still worry about whether you can get a test ride spot later!"

"Isn't it said that there are thousands of places?"

"Thousands are nothing. Now there are nearly a million people in Xianyang City and surrounding areas alone."

"Let alone thousands, even tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands are not enough."

"If you don't hurry up, you really won't be able to catch up."

A group of people were talking and heading towards the Neishi Mansion.

But soon, they discovered to their dismay that there was a traffic jam on the cement straight road leading to Xianyang Railway Station after repeated expansions.
Chapter completed!