Chapter 855

Cui Xue’er looked at her father standing before her, a bit surprised.

Coming to her senses, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. She hadn’t seen her father since entering the palace, and now, seeing each other again, she felt a pang of sadness.

Xiao Ming stood behind the Prince of Huainan. After court adjourned, he brought the Prince of Huainan to the palace. This visit to Qingzhou Province was just the beginning. After these feudal lords returned, their specific actions would be observed. Therefore, Xiao Ming dared not be careless. He still needed to play the emotional card with the strongest among the three princes.

This was not because Xiao Ming feared the Prince of Huainan, but because he was unwilling to casually ignite a war and needlessly deplete national strength.

When he was just an ordinary person, he also used to enjoy casually shouting about fighting and killing, but ever since he became Emperor, he became increasingly reluctant to easily declare war.

For him, unless a matter absolutely required war to solve, he would not easily initiate it. After all, the saying “Though a country is vast, if it is warlike, it will perish” was not something the ancients said lightly.

“I, your humble servant, greet Imperial Consort.” The Prince of Huainan was also somewhat emotional, but he strenuously suppressed his feelings and bowed to Cui Xue’er.

Cui Xue’er was startled for a moment. Only then did she realize that they were no longer simply father and daughter. Now, her father had to address her as Imperial Consort.

Sighing faintly in her heart, Cui Xue’er said, “Prince of Huainan, dispense with the formalities.”

Hearing this, the Prince of Huainan then dared to rise.

Xiao Ming, seeing this, said, “Prince of Huainan, there’s no need for formalities. Although Xue’er is now Imperial Consort, she is still your daughter. You may speak as father and daughter.”

Realizing that his presence made the Prince of Huainan somewhat constrained, he said, “Qian Dafu, you are to accompany the Imperial Consort out of the palace today. Let the Prince of Huainan and the Imperial Consort gather with Cui Shang’an at his residence for a few days. It’s rare for the Prince of Huainan to visit Qingzhou Province; we can’t let him leave disappointed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Qian Dafu responded. Cui Xue’er and the Prince of Huainan also smiled. Now, their family could finally be reunited.

Having settled this matter, Xiao Ming headed towards the imperial study. His earlier statement that he had matters to attend to was not an excuse; he had seen Princess Pingyang walking towards the imperial study.

Turning and leaving, Xiao Ming arrived at the imperial study. At this time, Princess Pingyang had also just arrived.

Seeing Xiao Ming, Princess Pingyang said, “Congratulations, Your Majesty, on this double blessing today.”

“Double blessing? What double blessing?”

Xiao Ming smiled. He was growing more and more appreciative of Princess Pingyang, for both from the secret guards’ reports and his own observations, Princess Pingyang had been diligently building railways.

He naturally approved of such a diligent aunt.

After becoming familiar with Xiao Ming, Princess Pingyang learned the art of interacting with him while still maintaining reverence for imperial authority. She said teasingly, “The first blessing is the successful reduction of feudal lords’ power, leaving the Great Yu Empire with three fewer feudal lords. The second is that the railways connecting Qingzhou Province to Laiwu, Dengzhou, and Kaiping are about to open. Isn’t this a double blessing?”

“Open for traffic?” Xiao Ming asked in surprise, “Really?”

“I wouldn’t dare jest with Your Majesty about this. According to Your Majesty’s plan, we are to complete the opening of these three railways by the end of this year. We are just a little ahead of schedule,” Princess Pingyang said. “However, all this is due to the slaves provided by Your Majesty and the ample parts from the steel workshops.”

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. It was already winter. Another year was passing imperceptibly.

Although the main event this year was the expulsion of the barbarians, the Great Yu Empire’s industry and construction had been ongoing. This railway was just one part of it. In addition, to solve the problem of ore, the Mining Department had dispatched a large number of personnel to various parts of the country to find various large mines.

Once these mines marked on the blueprints were discovered, the Mining Department would then establish mining sites in cooperation with the local provincial offices.

Furthermore, steel workshops, steam engine workshops, and machinery workshops were all increasing their production lines. Along the coast, three large shipyards were also added.

These shipyards were different from the previous backward manual workshops. They extensively adopted steam engine power, and some specialized mechanical equipment for shipyards also began to be installed.

Ever since the steam warship appeared, the idea of an ironclad warship had been circling in his mind. These mechanized shipyards were precisely being prepared to build steam-powered ironclad warships.

“Good! Good! Good!” Xiao Ming repeatedly said “good” three times. He rose and walked to the map in the imperial study. Three railway lines were marked on the map.

These three lines were not straight, but winding like earthworms. In the construction plan, the railway focused on passing through mining areas, which was why they had such a shape.

“Once opened, the three places will be connected, and from then on, cities along the railway will no longer have to worry about coal and iron. This way, the industrial zone of Qingzhou Province can be expanded,” Xiao Ming said, his hands trembling slightly with excitement.

A tragic truth was that since the industrialization of Qingzhou Province, the Great Yu Empire’s development had been limited to a few cities.

The reason was none other than the bottleneck in resource transportation.

The Great Yu Empire was not Britain. The distance from south to north, even within Qingzhou Province, was vast. Transporting resources in this sprawling country was extremely difficult. Relying on traditional river transport and horse-drawn carriages was far from enough.

Therefore, Xiao Ming could only rely on resource-rich areas to build an industrial base, and then, with an industrial base, build railways nationwide to connect the national resource transportation network.

To get rich, build roads first. This was not an empty talk. Even in the 21st century, regions lacking transportation were still very poor, because they simply lacked transportation conditions.

Princess Pingyang’s face broke into a smile. This was the first time she had seen Xiao Ming so happy. She said, “However, the three railways have indeed consumed a lot of silver from the national treasury.”

“Even if we are poor, we must build them,” Xiao Ming said decisively. He said, “Your Railway Department’s task has just begun. After these three railways, you are to build the Qingliao railway along the line of Youzhou, Jinzhou, and Raozhou. On the south side, starting from Laizhou, build the Qingjin railway, passing through Xuzhou, Huaizhou, Bozhou, and Jinling. Then, build a railway from Qingzhou Province westward to Chang’an, and from Chang’an southward to Bashu.”

Princess Pingyang was dumbfounded upon hearing this. This project seemed simply incredible to her. She said, “Your Majesty, this is not a task that can be completed in a few years.”

“I know that, of course. Therefore, this is a long-term plan. I have meticulously planned the specific railway routes for you. Whether it takes ten or twenty years, the Great Yu Empire’s railway network must be built,” Xiao Ming’s tone was firm.

Sensing Xiao Ming’s determination, Princess Pingyang nodded heavily. She said, “With Your Majesty’s words, the Railway Department will surely go all out.”

Xiao Ming nodded. The railway network on the map consisted of routes chosen after thorough deliberation in modern times. This saved the Railway Department a great deal of time.

Now, their task was to act as the Great Yu Empire’s tentacles. Wherever the railway extended, their army could quickly be deployed.

This way, he could truly control unstable areas.