Chapter 759: Just Avoid Him
Zhu Cunji frowned slightly, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Casting technology—why can't we manage it? Isn't it just pouring molten iron into a mold and taking it out once it cools? It's such a simple thing; even I understand it, so why don't our artisans?"
His subordinate offered a grimace. "The specific reasons... I don't understand them either, my lord."
At that moment, Lian Guoshi couldn't help but interject. "Your Highness, iron forged by hammering is far stronger and more resilient. Iron cast into molds, however, tends to be brittle and easily broken; it's simply not durable enough."
He continued, "This official just observed that the large iron carriage weighs at least several hundred thousand catties and carries over a thousand people, making it incredibly heavy. Tracks made using casting methods certainly wouldn't withstand such immense pressure; they would surely break."
Zhu Cunji raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You understand this too?"
Lian Guoshi demurred, "This official only has a rough idea."
Zhu Cunji let out a dismissive scoff. "The rails you're standing on right now were cast."
Lian Guoshi blinked. "Eh?"
Zhu Cunji huffed. "That's precisely why I want to know why others can cast them, but my artisans cannot?"
Zhu Cunji exclaimed, "Oh, I see!"
He turned to his subordinate. "How do we get our hands on this premium molten iron?"
The subordinate replied, "I don't know! This technique is exclusive to Steward Li's family. Such knowledge is certainly passed down from father to son, never to daughters, so we have no way of learning it."
Zhu Cunji sighed dramatically. "Hmph! So, that means I'm still forced to pay them to build it, right? I can't just make cheaper ones myself?"
His subordinate nodded.
Zhu Cunji sulked, his lips pursed in annoyance.
Lian Guoshi found this peculiar. "Your Highness, your Prince of Qin's estate is wealthy enough to rival a nation. If you want something, you merely purchase it. Why insist on casting it yourself, which is both time-consuming and laborious?"
Zhu Cunji looked at Lian Guoshi as if he were an idiot. "You may seem intelligent, new Governor, but in truth, you are quite foolish."
Lian Guoshi frowned. "Oh?"
Zhu Cunji pointed to a section of rail beneath his feet. "Do you know how much a single section like this costs?"
Lian Guoshi thoughtfully calculated how much iron this section would contain, how many swords that iron could forge, and then, after a quick conversion, wiped away a cold sweat. "I'm afraid... no less than four taels of silver."
Zhu Cunji corrected him. "It's not quite that expensive. The iron ore output in our Xi'an Prefecture is far higher than in other regions, so the price of iron is falling. Currently, Steward Li sells me a section of rail like this for two taels of silver."
Lian Guoshi was surprised. "That's quite cheap!"
Zhu Cunji nodded. "Cheap it may be, but consider this: to lay these tracks all the way from Xi'an Prefecture to Yan'an Prefecture, how many sections would that require?"
Lian Guoshi's eyes widened in realization. "!!!"
This was indeed awkward. The straight-line distance from Xi'an Prefecture to Yan'an Prefecture was a full five hundred li, and with all the twists and turns, it would be even longer. Laying such rails over such a vast distance would incur simply astronomical costs.
No wonder Zhu Cunji wanted to save money!
Unfortunately, if he couldn't overcome the technical challenges, he couldn't save that money. He could only obediently pay up and custom-order the rails from Gao Family Village, not saving a single copper coin. He could only cut costs on digging the roadbed, making railway ties, and constructing train stations—tasks his own artisans could handle. He aimed to hire the lowest-paid laborers, even employing large groups of refugees who would work simply for a meal.
Even with such extreme frugality, Zhu Cunji's silver reserves proved insufficient. He even had to solicit funds from various imperial relatives whose fiefdoms were nearby, just to get the project off the ground.
Lian Guoshi was secretly alarmed. "Your Highness, why are you investing so much money into these massive iron rails and iron carriages?"
Zhu Cunji beamed with pride. "To make money, of course! You know one carriage can carry a thousand people. If I collect a small fare from each person, a thousand people together can bring in two or three hundred taels of silver. Running one round trip a day, I can collect around five hundred taels daily. That's fifteen thousand taels in a month!"
The sheer figures stunned Lian Guoshi. "Fifteen thousand a month?"
Zhu Cunji declared, "Once I earn back the money I spent on building the railway and buying the large iron carriages, it will be pure profit. Hahahaha, I'll definitely become incredibly rich; no other princely estate will compare to mine."
Lian Guoshi deadpanned, "You are already the wealthiest imperial vassal in the realm; no princely estate could compare to you even before this."
Zhu Cunji's face froze. "..."
An awkward silence stretched for several seconds before Zhu Cunji spoke. "You, new Governor, are so irritating. This prince dislikes you and doesn't want to speak with you."
He turned to leave.
Lian Guoshi, however, deliberately followed him. "Your Highness, please don't go. I have just taken office and there are many things I don't understand. I wish to speak with you."
Zhu Cunji waved him off. "Don't bother me; go away."
"Your Highness, who did you say created these large iron carriages? Steward Li? Who is this Steward Li?" Lian Guoshi persisted, clinging to him relentlessly. "Introduce him to me; I'd like to speak with him too."
Zhu Cunji snapped, "Don't bother me! Go talk to Wu Shen, or Shi Kefa. You annoying scribes are the worst."
"Just a chat!"
"No chat, no chat!"
Hours later, Lian Guoshi sat in the Governor's Yamen, reviewing a stack of dossiers. He was astonished to discover that around Xi'an City, industrial and commercial development had far outstripped agriculture.
The reason for the agricultural stagnation, he surmised, was largely due to natural disasters. Yet, industrial and commercial growth seemed unaffected by these calamities.
The sole issue was that these so-called industries and businesses were all conducted within the Prince of Qin's territory. In short: they paid no taxes!
As long as an enterprise was nominally a Prince of Qin's asset, it was perpetually exempt from taxation.
These tax-exempt profits were divided: the Prince of Qin's estate took forty percent, and a man named Steward Li took sixty percent.
These two individuals had practically monopolized everything in Xi'an!
Most interestingly, the Prince of Qin's estate, after taking its forty percent, should have been immensely wealthy. However, the Prince of Qin's heir, Zhu Cunji, spent lavishly. His share of the profits was then largely funneled back to Steward Li through the purchase of various luxuries, entertainment, cultural goods, and the exorbitant manufacturing costs of the great iron rails and carriages.
In essence, the portion belonging to the Prince of Qin's estate ultimately ended up in Steward Li's hands.
This individual had cornered over ninety percent of Xi'an Prefecture's profits.
Lian Guoshi was secretly alarmed: "Who exactly is this Steward Li? His influence in Xi'an Prefecture is even greater than the Prince of Qin's estate. The previous Governor, Wang Shunxing, never engaged with this Steward Li, nor did he oppose him. He essentially just steered clear of Steward Li. Since Wang Shunxing didn't provoke him and walked around him, I might as well do the same. Provoking local magnates, or colluding with them, is never a good thing. The best course of action is to simply ignore him."
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