Chapter 3347 3349【The railway is open】

Xiang Nan's actions of freeing serfs and reforming fields naturally made the nobles and landowners very angry.

 They made secret plans to launch a crazy counterattack against Xiang Nan.

 They connect in series and organize destruction. They were frightened by Xiang Nan and did not dare to assemble a large force to fight against Xiang Nan. They could only form a small force to harass the work group sent by Xiang Nan.

But Xiang Nan is not a vegetarian either. He armed the serfs who had regained their freedom and soon formed hundreds of armed land reform teams. It specializes in attacking nobles and landowners who are stubbornly resisting and protecting the fruits of their victory.

As for protecting their hard-won status as free people and the fields they were assigned, these serfs were very strong in fighting spirit. It can even be said that even if Xiang Nan wanted to take back the fields, they would not be happy.

 For this reason, these serfs developed considerable fighting power and fighting wisdom. Not only did it effectively combat the destruction of those nobles and landowners, but it also led to a vigorous revolution covering the entire Rakshasa Kingdom.

 Although Xiang Nan was a foreign ruler, he still gained their widespread recognition through this.

Even the railway between Rakshasa and the Western Regions built by Xiang Nan had millions of liberated serfs participating in its construction, which greatly accelerated the construction of the railway.

 …

At the same time that Xiang Nan initiated the release of serfs and agricultural reforms, he also ordered the Beiyang Navy to enter North America along the Bering Strait, gradually establish settlements there, and move the people of the Central Plains here one after another.

During the Qianlong period, natural disasters continued. There were thousands of cases of hunger, drought, cold, hail, floods, locusts, epidemics, earthquakes, etc. recorded in history books alone. It can be said that the lives of the people of Li were not good.

 That’s why there are three large-scale immigration phenomena that are rare in human history: “Going to the West Exit”, “Going to Nanyang”, and “Breaking into the Guandong”. Although Chinese tradition means that it is difficult to leave the homeland, there is nothing we can do to survive.

 In addition, in order to increase everyone's enthusiasm for immigration, Xiang Nan not only allocated houses and land for free, but also directly exempted and exempted taxes.

 Especially Xiang Nan had early ordered people to teach "Geography" in the school, so everyone knew that the Western Regions, Europe, and North America were rich in products, vast in land and sparsely populated, and they could cultivate hundreds of acres if they liked.

 At that time, there will be no need to pay taxes, and there will be more money, so people are very motivated to immigrate.

 In fact, one of the main reasons why Chinese people find it hard to leave their homeland is because of ignorance.

 In order to manage the people, the court at that time did not allow them to wander around. If they wanted to go out, they had to have a road guide. Otherwise, if you dare to wander around without a road guide, you will be punished with at least eighty sticks, or even hanged. Only those above the scholar level do not have this taboo.

Therefore, the vast majority of the people can only move within a few dozen miles from birth to death. They are like frogs in the well and have never seen much of the world. So they didn't dare to venture out.

Just like the little elephant that has been chained since childhood, even if the chain is removed when it grows up and is only tied with a straw rope, it will not run around.

And Xiang Nan taught "Geography" when he was in primary school, telling the children how big the outside world is. The common people were immersed in it and had a certain understanding of the outside world, so they were not so afraid, and even learned about the Western Regions and Europe. , America is full of yearning.

 Because the land there is really vast and sparsely populated. One person can farm hundreds of acres of land, but how can people still starve to death? Therefore, the imperial court wanted to organize immigrants, and many people responded positively, hoping to get hundreds of acres of land there so that they would no longer have to suffer poverty.

 Hence, it is beneficial to enlighten people’s wisdom.

 …

 Time passed by, and in the 25th year of Qianlong's reign, Xiang Nan's rule in the Rakshasa Kingdom had basically been consolidated. Those nobles and landowners who dared to challenge him were almost wiped out by him, and the rest did not dare to make any more moves even if they had complaints.

 The most important thing is that all the serfs in the Rakshasa Kingdom have been mobilized by him. In order to protect the hard-won fruits of victory, they have formed a rope.

 They hate those nobles and landowners even more than Xiang Nan. Even if Xiang Nan is willing to let them go, they are unwilling to let those people go.

 It can be said that even if Xiang Nan leaves, they will not allow those nobles and landowners to bully them or enslave them again.

In this year, the railway from the Rakshasa Kingdom to the Western Regions and the railway from the capital to the Western Regions finally intersected in Almaty.

 This railway was 12,000 miles long and was the longest railway in the world at that time. In order to build this railway, Xiang Nan spent nearly 400 million taels of silver and mobilized millions of workers. It can be said that they worked overtime, day and night.

In order to get the steel needed for the railway, Xiang Nan not only kept the steel factories in the Rakshasa Kingdom working day and night, but even spent a lot of money to import it from abroad at high prices.

No matter what, it was finally completed.

 After its completion, the first China-Europe special train departed from the capital and headed for the Rakshasa Kingdom, bringing with it troops for defense changes, as well as the latest weapons and ammunition, silk, tea, porcelain, etc.

 Half a month later, the first train arrived at the Kremlin, shocking countries across the European continent.

 Historically, European steam trains only began to be built in 1817. However, due to the influence of Xiang Nan, Europe has begun to develop steam trains in recent years.

After all, in the 21st year of Qianlong’s reign, the Beijing-Tianjin Railway was put into operation. Many foreign businessmen had seen the speed and capacity of the steel behemoth with their own eyes and knew that it contained huge commercial value.

 However, they have only seen the train from the outside, and they have no idea about its internal structure. Moreover, many processes are quite complicated and cannot be understood by just looking at them.

 Just like domestically produced cars in the early years, all parts can be disassembled and all dimensions are known, but if you want to build a car with the same performance, it is difficult to reach the sky.

 So the research on steam trains in Europe is not progressing smoothly.

  Comparatively, in the Qing Dynasty, the China-Europe special train had already passed through, and it also brought a large amount of tea, porcelain, silk and other items. As a result, they panicked.

 First of all, trade with the East has always been a way for countries such as England and France to make money. They sent merchants to purchase in the east, and then shipped the goods back.

There was no Suez Canal at that time, and their ships had to go around the Cape of Good Hope to return to Europe. The entire voyage takes about half a year.

 Because of this, the tea, silk, spices, porcelain, and handicrafts they brought back from the East were sold at sky-high prices in Europe. But now, the China-Europe special train can run once every half a month, which has completely eliminated their shipping advantage.

Secondly, after the China-Europe railway was connected, the Qing Dynasty’s army could be quickly assembled and advanced weapons could be quickly transported. And they all know that the East is a superpower with not only a lot of land but also a lot of people.

 At that time, so many people and so many advanced weapons will be a huge threat to Europe. Therefore, England, France, Prussia and other countries are very afraid of this.

 (End of this chapter)