She Became A Downfall Noble Lady

Ye Xinyan nodded involuntarily when Jinrong said this.

Considering the low productivity of ancient times, the State Treasury’s silver primarily came from taxation, but how much tax revenue could be generated with such productivity? Most of the treasury silver was used for tasks like river management, responding to emergencies, and warfare. Using the treasury silver to build a large infrastructure project like railway transportation would be immensely difficult to get approved.

When Emperor Yang of Sui built a canal that lasted for a thousand years, it not only directly led to the downfall of the Sui Dynasty, but he was also scorned for a thousand years, becoming a classic negative example for emperors for generations. The widespread promotion of railway transportation would mobilize huge amounts of manpower and financial resources, and it was very likely that even emptying the State Treasury would not complete the project.

Jinrong continued, "I’ve been thinking that after Dong Bolin’s memorial is submitted, it will certainly face scrutiny. At that time, someone could suggest implementing the part about trying out the Railway Carriage in cities and towns. It’s what you mentioned before, letting the Railway Carriage operators fund the track construction themselves, give them the deeds to the land, the business revenue goes to the merchants, and the court receives the tax immediately. In this way, without touching the treasury silver, an engineering project could be implemented, and I presume Imperial Father would be willing to accept that."

Jinrong paused slightly, with a hint of regret, "It’s just, by my estimation, this track might not have the opportunity to be built on the busiest streets of the capital, which is somewhat less than ideal."

Ye Xinyan laughed on hearing this, "What does that matter? If the Railway Carriage is put into use, the lives of the residents along the carriage path will be convenient, and the trade of the shops will prosper greatly. It won’t take long for the road to become busy. As long as the proposal is approved, Sixth Master just wait and see another bustling circular street arise in the capital."

Feeling very pleased, Jinrong laughed, "If the Railway Carriage can be put to use, it is indeed very likely that the prosperity you speak of will occur. Thus, I have already made arrangements. If it’s decided in the court to build the Railway Carriage in the capital, those left behind in the capital will, at different times and in an inconspicuous manner, purchase as many shops as possible along the track."

At this point, Jinrong thought of the road to be built in Qingyuan County, "As for Yuanfan’s road construction, if he wants to accumulate political achievements, he needs to start early and see results quickly. In a few days, Yuanfan will probably need to find you to see if you have time to help him plan a bit. There’s a lot to do at the end of the year, so it doesn’t need to be too troublesome, just a simple set of regulations will do. I will have my two clerks carry the regulations to help supervise the road construction."