In Wuhu, Taiping Prefecture, Jianghuai Province, it has been a while since the Ningwu Railway broke ground in Wuhu. At this time, almost all the merchants, farmers and workers in Wuhu were concentrated on the completed platform, with crowds of people, and everyone was waiting for the locomotive to set off.

Since the Ningsu Railway was opened to traffic, Wang Changyuan, a Wuhu businessman who had dealt with Chu Yun very early, joined forces with a group of local businessmen and upstarts in Wuhu to organize a campaign to contract railway construction by private people. They invested, hired workers, were responsible for operations, and the government provided technical talents for railway construction.

This railway, which is more than 200 miles long, was soon completed with sufficient funds.

Now all local people are excited to accept their results. They have invested a lot of money to build a railway to Nanjing for their hometown to develop the local economy. If the money does not achieve the expected results, they are likely to be disappointed.

A steam locomotive was lying quietly on the lying tracks. People who liked the bustle and kind-hearted even wore a big red flower on the cold black front to eliminate the chill caused by the machine being too cold.

There were lion dance teams and firecrackers around the platform celebrating the opening ceremony. The noise and congratulations continued, and a large number of firecrackers fell on the ground and left red skins, which was very lively.

"Shopkeeper Wang, you finally came back from Japan. We are still afraid that you will not be able to catch up with the opening ceremony of our Ningwu Railway. It has been a few years since the groundbreaking starts, and it has finally been completed. It is not easy to shorten the two hundred miles of road." Wuhu merchants sighed to one of the merchants and sighed for a few times.

If this railway was funded by the Ministry of Industry, perhaps these merchants were just looking at the fun and could not appreciate the huge cost of building a railway, nor could they understand the hardships encountered in the railway construction process. However, they invested and managed this railway, but the railway of more than 200 miles made these Wuhu merchants feel difficult.

"I used to transfer food in Osaka Prefecture. When I heard the telegrams from you, I immediately rushed back without stopping, and the boat did not fall off my sails. Because you trusted me, Wang, you jointly invested in the construction of the Ningwu Railway to make your hometown prosperous. Now that the railway has been repaired and the acceptance results of the opening ceremony are completed, how can Wang not appear in time!" Wang Changyuan said to everyone.

"The telegram is really a good thing, even if it is a thousand miles away, you can find out immediately." Many Wuhu merchants are now able to accept new things. They even spent a lot of money to send a telegram to Wang Changyuan directly and invited him back to attend the opening ceremony of the Ningwu Railway.

"Look, this is the locomotive and several carriages purchased by our Wuhu Railway Company from the government. We intend to name it the Wuhu number, so that even if travelers from other places take our trains on this section of the railway, we can make our reputation in Wuhu go out."

Everyone pointed to the lobe of the train lying on the lying rails. The iron lump pulled seven carriages, two of which were passenger carriages and five were freight carriages.

The carriage is not important, the steam locomotive itself is important.

When Wang Changyuan saw a big red flower on the front of the steam locomotive, he couldn't help but laugh and cry. Why did the opening ceremony in the eyes of the local people seemed to be sending his daughter to marry?

Wang Changyuan had taken local trains in Beijing, even from Nanjing to Suzhou. He was no stranger to steam locomotives at all, so he didn't feel that there was much freshness. He also believed that the test drive at this opening ceremony was not dangerous, so he entered the passenger companion with other companions with confidence.

Unlike the big businessmen like Wang Changyuan who often traveled around the world and saw novel things, most local people in Wuhu had never seen the trains and railways that had appeared between Nanjing and Suzhou. They were full of freshness and curiosity about this strange means of transportation.

Woo--!

The sharp whistle sounded, and white steam ejected from the steam locomotive, causing the people within a few meters to be frustrated. They retreated in panic!

"Monster, monster, it can actually fly into the clouds!"

"Look at the black smoke emitting its head, which is completely different from the white smoke under its feet!"

"It's moving, it's moving!"

The people who had not seen a steam locomotive were first shocked by the sharp whistle of the steam locomotive. When the steam locomotive was smoky, the people seemed to have seen the legendary ghosts, and even many flat-headed people who came to join in the fun kowtowed to the "ghosts" that made huge noises.

"This is a very normal thing, why bother panic!"

The general of Wuhu led a group of police officers to maintain public order on both sides of the railway, but he had no chance to ride a steam locomotive before. When he was splashed by the white smoke from the steam locomotive, he couldn't help but get goosebumps.

The steam locomotive started very slowly, but its speed was visible to the naked eye, and soon it was faster than a carriage, leaving Wuhu at a rapid speed!

The black smoke rolled, and Wang Changyuan and other Wuhu merchants and officials saw the view of the window quickly retreating, and always felt a little incredible, just like a fantasy.

"The Tang poem says that one can return thousands of miles of Jiangling in one day. I think even if you don't take a boat and don't have a smooth sailing, you can still travel thousands of miles a day."

The merchants sat in the slightly shaking carriage and were very satisfied with the steam train. Sitting in the carriage was much smoother than a carriage. If the carriage galloped at such a speed, they would probably die of bumps. Now they could even drink tea and chat leisurely in the carriage.

"In the future, Wuhu's goods can be transported to Nanjing, Suzhou, even Hangzhou and Ningbo through steam locomotives. It is said that Suzhou City extends to Hangzhou, and Ningbo's railways are also being accelerated. I believe that the future will be completed soon." Wang Changyuan said.

"The efficiency of the government is really fast. I didn't expect that the Suzhou-Hangzhou Railway will be longer than our Ningwu Railway, and it will be completed soon." Wuhu merchants sighed.

"That's natural, the government has a strong capital. However, our Ningwu Railway is the first commercial railway. The military master praised us very much and ordered local governments not to interfere in our daily operations at will. He also wanted to see whether the privately operated railway can be more efficient. So in the next period of time, we must find a way to run the railway well, instead of building it well and it will be done." Wang Changyuan said.

"Of course, we invest so much gold and silver to build the Ningwu Railway. We must manage it well in order to recover the investment." Everyone replied.
Chapter completed!