As far as war is concerned, the most important thing has always been logistics, and everyone understands the so-called principle that the soldiers and horses have not moved and the grain and grass go first, but the problem is that logistics is different from other things, and in addition to requiring a large amount of fragmentary accumulation, it also has a great deal to do with the development of technology itself.

Cui Wancai once organized Ning Chu's big battle against Kangxi, and knew how many hardships, blood and tears were hidden behind it, and if he was not careful, it was a major event that would affect the success or failure of the battlefield, but sometimes there was really no way, because there were so many manpower, no matter how much he organized, he had to carry it a little bit, and there would be no rapid change in efficiency.

However, today's railroad carriage has made Cui Wancai see the hope of innovation, and naturally hopes to use it in this year's Northern Expedition.

Ning Yu smiled, he could understand Cui Wancai's mood very well, but this was not what he really wanted in his heart, and said in a low voice: "What the second assistant thinks naturally makes sense, but this is really not what I want to promote, in my heart, the railroad will be eliminated after all, and it will be replaced by railways and steam locomotives." ”

"Steam locomotives?"

Du Kuo heard this, but his face was a little regretful, "That project is now in the hands of the master, maybe it can be realized in the second half of the year, after all, the steam engine has been put into practice, and it should not be difficult to build a steam locomotive." ”

Cui Wancai heard it in a fog, and he couldn't help but be curious: "Master Lei is now trial-producing a steam locomotive?" Could it be that a steam engine was mounted on a horse-drawn carriage? ”

When he said this, he couldn't help but move in his heart, as if he had thought of what Ning Yu said to him on the Yangtze River, it seemed to be a truth to install the steam engine on the ship and the steam engine on the car.......

Ning Yu pointed to the running pack horse, and said softly: "After all, the rail carriage is still a pack horse, after all, animal power cannot last long, it also needs to rest, and it also needs to eat and drink, in short, it can improve efficiency, but there is no way to change it in essence - the steam engine is different, if the technology is mature, it only needs to add coal to it, and it can run forever." ”

Du Kuo nodded in agreement, and added: "Besides, the current steam engine has only just entered the practical stage, and its future potential will be very huge—as for the horse, no matter how it is replaced, its strength will not be too different, and this is a huge difference." ”

When everyone heard this, they all felt a little surprised, as if the emperor himself had never seen this thing, but he said its principle very well, which made people sigh inexplicably, but they respected Ning Yu more and more.

But only Ning Yu knew in his heart that the development from steam engine to steam locomotive had completely set of steps in his heart, and now it was just a step-by-step process. The truly intelligent people are the great scientists who invented these foods in the first place.

Moreover, the tracks and the train itself are not obtained by chance, but have a very rigorous logic. For example, the original track appeared at the beginning of the 16th century, when in the mines of southeastern Europe, there was a kind of minecart equipped with wooden rims, and it would be very labor-saving to pull the minecart from under the mine through the rail, and the track would be fixed smoothly, and the direction would be more easily controlled, and it would not easily deviate.

After the advent of the steam engine, it became a matter of course to install a steam engine on the original minecart, and the first prototype of the train appeared, and then with the continuous progress of science and technology, the invention of the train became an inevitability, and even the subsequent automobiles were also expanded on this idea.

It's just that the difference with history is that Ningyu made the steam engine with practical properties nearly fifty years earlier, and the emergence of the train concept was a full hundred years ahead of schedule, and there is even one point, that is, Ningyu directly concluded that the prospect of the train is better than that of the railcar, which is actually a lot less detour.

After all, in the original history, Stephenson invented the train in 1825, and at this time, the railcar was invented for nearly a hundred years, and the speed of the train was about the same as the horse-drawn carriage in the early days, but the cost was too expensive, so many people thought that the train was not practical, so that the two sides had a serious conflict of interest.

In order to bridge this conflict, the British government at that time even organized an official competition between horse-drawn carriages and trains to compete for ownership of the tracks, which also shows that there were no less detours to be taken in order to popularize trains.

But now that Ning Yu has come with the vision of later generations, there is naturally no question of choice, and the difference between animal power and machinery mentioned when he talked to the ministers and Du Kuo is the best refutation.

In the following two days, Ning Yu, accompanied by the ministers, inspected a number of military factories one after another, and also had a certain understanding of the current level of armaments, which made him more and more confident in the battle of the Northern Expedition.

.......

On the border between China and Russia, a new city is being built, and the houses are very simple, except for the Russian style everywhere, there is nothing more outstanding, and in the church that has just been built in the center of the city, a tall cross is being erected.

The name of the city is called Kyakhta in Russian, and there is a place for tea in Chinese, and next to Kyakhta is the Khalkha Mongol Tushetu Khan, so the hidden meaning of this name is a small border city born for Sino-Russian trade.

In the past, Kyakhta was just a wasteland, but in the forty-third year of Kangxi, there were already Russian caravans from Kyakhta, Kulun, Zhangjiakou into Beijing for trade, and later with the prosperity of trade, this convenient trade route gradually became the main channel of Sino-Russian commercial trade, and Kyakhta also rose from the ground.

Because Kyakhta is a city born for border trade, the streets and alleys here are full of caravans' camel bells, most of which are Russians, but there are also Chinese, most of whom are merchants from Shanxi, who came to the border city of Kyakhta with the help of Mongolian trade channels, in order to participate in trade with Russia.

As early as the Ming Dynasty, the Jin merchants often participated in the "nine-sided trade", and had a deep understanding of Mongolia, and even many of them knew Mongolian.

When these Jin merchants participated in the border trade, they usually sold tea, they purchased tea from Fujian and Lianghu, and transported it all the way to Zhangjiakou by shoulder, vehicle, and ship, and then transported it all the way to Mobei Mongolia, Kulun, Kyakhta and other places by camel.

In a small town like Kyakhta, the slightest movement usually leads to a storm in the city, and the biggest news in Kyakhta lately is that the Governor of Eastern Siberia, Shayalov, and the Minister of Interior from Moscow, Count Savajladslavichi, arrived in Kyakhta together, accompanied by a guard of 1,500 men and more than 500 members of the mission.

Shaylov, the Viceroy of Eastern Siberia, was a rather disgusting governor for Russian merchants in Kyakhta, who often traveled from faraway Moscow to Kyakhta, and in the course of doing business, he often dealt with the shrewd, almost cunning governor, and had an early appreciation for his methods and greed.

The region of Eastern Siberia was full of hooligans and scoundrels, and the Governor of Eastern Siberia, Shayalov, was clearly the villain among the villains, and he stipulated that all merchants who went to Kyakhta for trade were required to collect a part of the tax, and in addition to the tax paid to the Governor's Palace, they were required to pay a separate sum of money to the Governor-General, which was called a sponsorship fee.

Naturally, there were some merchants from Moscow who were unwilling to pay the money, but if they did not pay, not only would the goods be detained, but even their lives would be in danger, so many merchants had to swallow their anger and pay the money.

Of course, there are some businessmen who are extremely dissatisfied with this, so they report to Moscow about the evil deeds of the Siberian governor Shayalov, but there has been no information, and Shayelov has not been punished from Moscow, and continues to be his governor-general, but the whistleblower often disappears, so many people also understand that in Eastern Siberia, you must not provoke the governor-general.

However, such a notorious governor-general, when confronted by the Count of the Cabinet from Moscow, Savajla Slavich, was almost flattering, and wanted to kneel down and lick his boots.

The reason is simple: the Russian Emperor Peter I is dead, and Shayelov has no support, and now he is succeeded by Her Majesty Empress Catherine Alekseevna, who is very fond of the Russian Imperial Marshal Count Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, and Savavula Slavich is a close confidant of Menshikov.

In the central consular palace in Kyakhta, Sayalov and Savavula Slavi each hold a delicate porcelain bowl decorated with enamel decorations, while on the table in front of them is a vertical hollow straight cylinder containing hot charcoal, and tea is wrapped around the straight cylinder to keep warm for a long time. In addition to this, there are several pieces of black leba and two plates of black caviar on the table.

For the Russians, they also have the habit of drinking afternoon tea, and prefer to discuss some things during afternoon tea, so Shayalov took this opportunity to curry favor with the newly arrived Count Savoy Ravychiyi.

"Count Savailla, is it not a little unaccustomed to bringing this remote and inhospitable Kyakhta from distant and prosperous Moscow? Fortunately, the black leba and black caviar here are still delicious enough. ”

Shayalov held the porcelain bowl with a slight smile on his face, but this smile looked a little terrifying with the beard on his chin.

As for the Count of Savoyra, he had a bit of aristocratic elegance, his palm was flat, holding the saucer, and then slowly and methodically put the teaspoon into his mouth to take a sip of honey, and then put his mouth against the side of the saucer, sucking the tea one by one, and the black tea and honey in the tea soup gradually blended together.

Seeing that Count Savadulla did not answer his words, Shayelov was not the slightest dissatisfied, he kept quietly holding the porcelain plate in his hand, but the smile on his face was a little stronger.

After a long time, after Count Savadulla's face showed a little satisfaction, he sighed softly: "With the long way, Kyakhta can already be regarded as a paradise on earth. As for Moscow, I believe that no one wants to stay there at this time. ”

Shayelov's face was thoughtful, he certainly understood what Count Savazzula meant, Peter I died in February this year, and the new monarch was not the emperor Alekseevich in the will, but the empress herself, which makes people feel numb when they think about it.

Although in the Russian Empire, there was not as much resistance to a woman becoming emperor as in China, it was by no means a simple matter, and the deals and intrigues involved behind it were simply not known to his small governor.

It's just that, according to some rumors, after the death of Peter I, at a meeting of the committee to decide on the heir, Reich Marshal Menshikov and others arranged a coup d'état, after which Catherine was proclaimed the ruler of Russia and was awarded the title of empress.

As soon as he thought of this, Shayelov was a little frightened, and he looked at Count Savamudra with a little puzzled in his eyes, knowing that the other party was Menshikov's cronies, and he didn't stay in Moscow at this time to enjoy the glory and wealth, why did he run to a place like Kyakhta where birds don't?

Count Savadulla also saw Shayelov's eyes, sighed softly, he put down the tea cup in his hand, and said in a low voice: "Governor Shaylov, instead of staying in the maelstrom of Moscow at the moment, it is better to jump out and see other scenery, and this contract with the Tatars is the best chance for me to return to Moscow in the future." ”

"I see, I see."

Shayalov said softly: "In today's Eastern Siberia, although the empire has been pioneered for hundreds of years, it still can't gather too much strength, and in the far east, there is a strong country, although their combat effectiveness is not very good, but in this place, they have the help of the Mongols. ”

Hearing this, Count Savoyera's face became a little solemn, and he looked at Shayelov and said softly: "The battle of Yaksa back then has fully illustrated this point. But now, thirty-five years later, the Russian Empire is no longer the Russian Empire of the past, and the Tatars of today are no longer the Tatars of the past. ”