The wooden railroad could greatly alleviate the court’s financial burden, and of course, the emperor wanted to expedite the implementation of this matter as much as possible. If this was delayed until the fifteenth day after the new year when the offices reopened and took a few more days, it might be one or two months.
Court officials tended to work slowly unless they faced the threat of execution or an emergency that required swift attention. It was far more effective to push things forward before the end of the year.
Therefore, the day after the imperial court decided to replace iron tracks with wooden ones, His Majesty the Emperor began to ponder and arrange for trustworthy individuals to start spreading the project before the new year so that the work could continue after the new year without any delay.
The day after the court session, the emperor retained Prince Fu and Minister of Works Wang Xian and summoned them to the Imperial Study Room.
In recent days, Prince Fu had been worrying about how to deal with his stockpile. He was also brainstorming and planning negotiations on how to find and publicize a lapse in the Crown Prince’s conduct to buy himself some time to deal with the hot potato he was holding.
He had absolutely no enthusiasm for the wooden railroad project and had not spent any effort considering it.
When the iron rails were first made, the initial preparation took a long time. The wooden rails, of course, couldn’t be built overnight. He had no interest in managing this unprofitable project, let alone when it could be fully prepared.
Why discard perfectly good iron rails for wooden ones? If the project was delayed, who could be blamed?
But now, being summoned to the Imperial Study Room by the emperor, it seemed there would be no delay. But what if he lacked the enthusiasm to proceed?
Wooden rails weren’t like iron rails; turning stones into iron rails involved a lot more processes and had more opportunities to profit. But what was the worth of wood, even if it was carved with flowers?
Prince Fu, who had been battling it out in the imperial court since he was sixteen, was clever and had a swift mind. He said to the emperor, "My Imperial Father also knows that engineering projects, especially those that have never been done before, require a lot of manpower and time during the initial preparation stage. Since the Imperial Father is anxious to proceed, your son will go back and gather the relevant people to discuss, and see how we can do this."
The emperor was not very concerned about Prince Fu’s obvious procrastination. Since Prince Fu was opposed to the wooden rails, the reasons were self-evident. How deep and extensive those reasons were, he sighed inwardly. His own son, his own realm, what more was there to say?
He turned to Minister of Works, "Beloved Minister Wang, you have been in the Ministry of Works for many years. With your experience, is it possible to roughly outline and plan the wooden railroad project before the new year so that we might have a general idea? The specifics and details can be arranged after the offices reopen following the new year."
Wang Xian, having heard Prince Fu’s response to His Majesty, originally thought to back him up and find a way to delay the matter. But after the emperor’s question, it made him realize that it wasn’t about needing help to delay—it really couldn’t be done in time.
"Your Majesty, I must report that the wooden railroad is indeed not so simple. The production process for the wooden rails, their interconnection, and fixing methods are all different from iron rails. This project needs to be started from scratch," Wang Xian said hesitantly, with some difficulty, "In the next few days before the new year, I fear... nothing can be done."
The emperor frowned slightly, "Is it that troublesome? The transport mode for the wooden rails is the same as for the iron rails. It’s just about replacing the iron with wood, and the blacksmith with the carpenter, isn’t it?"
Wang Xian responded with a wry smile, "It’s not about whether it’s the carpenter or the blacksmith. The installation and creation of wooden rails are completely different from iron rails. We need to discuss and test thoroughly before proceeding. It’s not that I’m shirking my duties, but setting up a project really takes time."
Emperor Qianqing was not an autocratic emperor who made all decisions unilaterally. When he recalled the laying of the iron rails, gathering seasoned professionals for the railway carriage project also took a lot of time to draft the documents.
However, if he followed the previous approach, the railroad transport route that was scheduled to start in the spring would be delayed by a year.
Prince Fu, seeing the emperor deep in thought, spoke up, "Imperial Father, if you wish to implement the project in spring, it’s not impossible."
"Oh?" The emperor looked toward Prince Fu.
"The trial report for the wooden railroad was submitted by Jiang Yifan, and the people laying the tracks include artisans from Sixth Brother’s mechanical workshop. If we entrust the project to Sixth Brother, it could probably be completed much faster."
The Emperor’s gaze grew heavy as the court planned to lay the rail tracks, with Prince Fu and the Crown Prince both eagerly vying to undertake the project. Now that the tracks were to be switched to wood, the responsibility was to be pushed onto Jinrong, who had never handled practical affairs before.
With a somber face, the Emperor glanced at Prince Fu, yet he refrained from lashing out.
He didn’t erupt immediately because Prince Fu’s suggestion wasn’t wrong; it was always better to use the experienced than the inexperienced.
Noticing the darkening expression on the Emperor’s face, Prince Fu hastened to add, "My son has learned that Sixth Brother has a few minor officials in his service who work swiftly, especially in planning, which they do exceptionally smoothly. Moreover, the Qi Family Construction Business, which implemented the wooden tracks in Clear Water Village, is currently in the capital. The Qi family is quite familiar with Sixth Brother, and it would be convenient for him to manage this matter."
"The Qi family?" The Emperor seemed to have heard of this family before.
Prince Fu quickly said, "Yes, that Qi family, the one where Duke An’s granddaughter has been living these past few years. The garden estate in Yuyuan Prefecture that Sixth Brother owns was constructed by the Qi family."
"Oh, I remember now," the Emperor nodded.
Prince Fu promptly continued, "Therefore, with Sixth Brother running this project, everything should run very smoothly. Plus, using the skilled workers of the Qi Family Construction Business to lay the tracks would be the most efficient method."
The Emperor turned to Zhang Cunhai, the Chief Eunuch attending him, and instructed, "Have someone fetch Prince Yu." Though Prince Fu had an agenda, the court’s construction project could not afford delays.
Upon hearing the Emperor summon him, Jinrong thought of Prince Fu and Wang Xian, who stayed back in the palace after court adjourned, and guessed that it was likely about the wooden tracks.
However, the trial document had already been submitted, so what other matters would require his attention? Such affairs had always been managed by the Ministry of Works. He didn’t believe that, for the sake of the less lucrative wooden tracks, Lao Qi would let him arrange for personnel within the Ministry of Works.
Once Jinrong entered the Imperial Study Room, he offered his greetings and listened as the Emperor repeated the previous conversation. His face immediately turned dark.
"Imperial Father, I have never been in charge of specific court affairs before, and this railway project is a major undertaking. It requires laborers as well as the involvement of numerous officials. If you entrust such an important matter to me, what if I cannot manage it well?"
The Emperor looked at Jinrong, who dared to pull a long face at him, and couldn’t help but laugh in irritation, "Jinyi was younger than you, handling court affairs from his teens. Now near thirty, I finally assign you some tasks, and you respond with such absurdity. Don’t you feel ashamed for taking the court’s sustenance for so many years?"
Jinrong rolled his eyes, thinking, ashamed my foot.
It’s true I haven’t participated in political affairs, but most of my expenses are earned by myself. Your politically involved sons’ expenses are all extorted from the court.
But such words were not to be spoken, for without evidence, they would amount to slander. Prince Fu would be frantic, the Imperial Father troubled, and possibly even fly into a rage from embarrassment and annoyance.
Jinrong, glancing sideways at Prince Fu, inquired, "Imperial Father, do you intend to give the entire wooden track project to me, or just a part of it?"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor felt relieved; it seemed his son was willing to accept the task. He softened his expression and said, "The wooden track at Clear Water Village was laid by the Qi family and your own Mechanical Workshop. Since the Qi family is now in the capital, you should first develop a planning proposal."
Jinrong felt indifferent to the Emperor’s words, as this was something Ye Xinyan and Wong Qiao had previously worked on. If he only needed to present a preliminary plan before the new year, there shouldn’t be a problem.
However, to Prince Fu and Wang Xian, it seemed as though the Emperor was setting a trap. A project the Ministry of Works couldn’t handle was being forcefully dumped onto a private construction business—in its entirety.