Chapter 33

Who would touch his body? Yang Yuanzhao's consciousness almost instantly returned to his body, and he saw a familiar face. Yang Yue was shaking his body, saying, "Yuanzhao, wake up!"

"What's wrong, Cousin Ji? What happened?" Yang Yuanzhao asked in surprise.

"We've already passed Xiaogan!"

Xiaogan could be considered the last major station in the north of Hanyang, only seventy to eighty kilometers from Wuhan. In the early 20th century, a train would need three to four hours to cover seventy to eighty kilometers, making it a long journey. Finally, they were about to reach their final destination, Wuhan, which was known as the Three Towns of Wuhan at that time. Unlike the Yellow River Bridge, the Yangtze River was still unconquered, so the end of the Pinghan Railway was in Hankou on the north bank of the river. To go to the south bank, one had to take a ferry.

As the long journey was coming to an end, and with an excited Yang Yue, Yang Yuanzhao did not return to the integrated machine. He sat there, chatting idly with Yang Yue. Time passed minute by minute, and the surroundings of the train gradually showed houses. The rural scenery gradually gave way to urban scenes. Wuhan had always been prosperous, controlling the Yangtze River, with ferries facilitating travel up and down. The convenient transportation and its status as the capital of Hubei made its geographical position very important. The development of the Pinghan Railway and the deepening influence of British and French forces made the entire Yangtze River develop more than other parts of China. Hankou, to some extent, developed faster than other cities in China.

A long whistle sounded, and the nearly three-day journey finally came to an end. Instead of the fatigue of modern train travel, they felt refreshed. Yang Yuanzhao and his group got off the train.

At the final station, many people got off the train. People yearn for freedom, and almost as soon as the train stopped, they got off. Not many people got off from the first-class carriages, but many people got off from the other carriages, much like the scenes at modern train stations.

People walked out in groups, some slowly, some quickly. Among them were many foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes. Yang Yuanzhao felt a sense of awe. No wonder more and more people were investing in railways. Railways were very convenient, and most importantly, they were highly profitable. The total investment in the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was over 7 million yuan, with most of the funds coming from the profits of the Guandong Railway. Because of the huge profits from railways, more and more people invested in them, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, which was triggered by the Railway Protection Movement in Sichuan.

The Hankou station was grand, more modern than the previous stations in Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan. After the Pinghan Railway, Hankou's status became much more important. Resources such as coal, minerals, grain, and local specialties from inland areas like Henan and Hebei were transported to Hankou via the railway, forming a large cargo distribution center. Many goods were directly loaded onto ships by foreign firms in Hankou and transported to Shanghai or Nanjing, then shipped out to sea. The Yangtze River, to some extent, became a window for China's opening up.

Yang Yuanzhao and Yang Yue didn't carry much, just two small suitcases with personal items. Two bodyguards and Uncle Guang followed behind them, forming a small group. They slowly moved through the crowd. Outside, rickshaws rushed over as soon as they heard the train arrive, trying to attract customers.

In this era, those who could afford to ride the train were mostly wealthy people or foreigners. The cost of a rickshaw, a few copper coins, was affordable for most. Soon, dozens of rickshaws had customers. Yang Yue didn't call a rickshaw but, guided by Uncle Guang, crossed the square in front of Hankou station. The vast square looked much like a modern train station square, with vendors selling goods and some prostitutes soliciting customers.

Zhang Daniu watched the surroundings vigilantly, even actively intervening to stop those soliciting business. Finally, they crossed the wide station square and arrived in a bustling area.

On both sides of the road, shops displayed products from all over, looking dazzling. Various merchants frequently entered, either examining the products at the counters or conversing with the shopkeepers.

"Our family's chamber of commerce is on this street!" Yang Yue said with a smile.

This street wouldn't be Hankou Street, which wouldn't become famous for decades. In any era, there are always shrewd people with keen insight. If you asked the merchants here about the impact of the railway on their business, they might find it hard to articulate, but their sharp intuition told them this was a good place, a place to make money.

Ahead, a tall building appeared, a four-story Western-style house, similar to the Weijia Draft House in Taiping, with the name of the Yang family's chamber of commerce flying above it.

The Yang family's business was no longer just small-scale trading but had the shadow of a large wholesaler and agent. They purchased a batch of daily necessities or other products from the southeastern coast, transported them to Wuhan via the Yangtze River, and then, using the Yangtze waterway and the Pinghan Railway, distributed them to various markets, making Hanyang increasingly important. According to Yang Yue, Yang Shixun should be his fifth cousin.

In large families, relationships are generally based on kinship, and only after considering the closeness of the relationship do they consider individual abilities. Yang Shixun was a robust middle-aged man, with little sign of age. Dressed in traditional Shanxi style, he wore a melon-shaped hat and a front-buttoned long robe. He was very热情 when he saw Yang Yue and the others, but Yang Yuanzhao always felt that his gaze had a peculiar emotion.

"Fifth Cousin, have you bought the ship tickets?"

"Master Yue, you've worked hard. I've already bought the tickets for the first-class cabin on the Chris."

"Fifth Cousin, you're still so polite. This is my classmate, Yang Yuanzhao!"

"Master Yuanzhao, nice to meet you!"

Yang Yuanzhao was not used to this old-fashioned greeting and hurriedly returned the courtesy. Because the ship tickets were for the next day, they could rest in Hanyang for a day and a night.

After the long journey, Yang Yue, who had been slightly excited and hadn't rested much, was already exhausted. After a light meal, he returned to his room to rest. On the contrary, Yang Yuanzhao was energetic. The fast-paced life of the future made him less tired, and compared to the high-speed trains of the future, the old trains of this world were more comfortable for sleeping. He felt a bit bored spending the whole day sleeping in the chamber of commerce.

Yang Yuanzhao's eyes flicked, and he asked Yang Han, who was sent by Yang Shixun to accompany him, "Yang Han, can I go see the Hanyang Iron Works?"

Yang Han looked at Yang Shixun with some difficulty. Yang Shixun pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "It can be arranged, but Master Yuanzhao, why do you want to go to the Hanyang Iron Works?"

"Just to take a look. Isn't the Hanyang Iron Works the largest iron works in Asia?"

"Master Yuanzhao, are you joking? The Hanyang Iron Works is no longer the largest. Besides, you studied in Britain. What place in this world is more developed in steel than Britain and America? The Hanyang Iron Works is quite good in China, but it produces only 80,000 tons of iron and 40,000 tons of steel, which is too little," Yang Shixun said leisurely.

80,000 tons of iron and 40,000 tons of steel, compared to a small workshop, was a huge number. But for a large steel plant on a national scale, it was nothing. Yang Yuanzhao didn't speak. He remembered reading online that the United States and Britain were steel giants, especially the United States, which produced 4.8 million tons of crude steel in 1890. This number continued to rise, reaching nearly 40 million tons before World War I. Even now, it was at least 20 to 30 million tons. Compared to them, China was really weak. The strongest Hanyang Iron Works, not only in terms of production but also in the quality of the steel, was subpar. The strength of the steel rails was weak, and the Yellow River Bridge couldn't even meet the speed requirements for traffic. The design life of the steel bridge was only 15 years, and various issues made one sigh. The rise of national industry was a long and arduous journey.

"Fifth Cousin, I still want to go and see. After all, it's our own steel plant!" The last two words were almost said through gritted teeth.

Yang Shixun sighed and said, "Since you want to see it, go ahead."

Yang Shixun asked Yang Yuanzhao to wait a moment and sent two servants to make arrangements. Soon, they received the news that they had an afternoon to visit the Hanyang Iron Works.