The roaring train spewed smoke and drove south along the Wuhan-Changsha section of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The 362-kilometer Wuchang-Changsha railway is, to some extent, the first trunk railway in China, and more precisely, the core of the northern line of the Han-Guangdong railway. It is called the "trunk line" because it was the first railway to connect the capitals of the two provinces.

Three years ago, several railway engineers from Britain, France and other countries spent half a year surveying the line, carefully planning and compiling a road construction plan with an average cost of 35,400 yuan per kilometer, and at the same time formulating an economic plan for sectional construction, sectional operation, and three-year completion, but in fact, the railway was finally completed 10 months ahead of schedule, and the cost was reduced by 10% compared with the initial budget - this is due to the required rails, to be precise, the rails, which are provided by Daye Iron Works. The price of materials such as fishtail plates and bolts is much lower than that of wrought rails imported from the UK.

The railway was also the world's first "steel road" – a road built entirely of steel rails, which had a longer service life than wrought iron tracks. Now, with the increase in the pig iron output and steel output of Daye Iron Works, more and more steel products are used in railways and construction, not only do not increase costs, but because of the large use of domestic road materials, the cost has been reduced to a large extent.

Although this railway was built as early as a month and a half ago, it was not put into use because it had not yet been delivered and accepted, and it was not until after the outbreak of the plague epidemic that the "Wuchang-Changsha section" railway that had not been accepted was put into use in its entirety.

In the past month, round-trip trains have always transported all kinds of supplies needed for epidemic prevention from Wuchang to Changsha. Compared to waterways, railways may not have the same capacity as waterways, and freight rates are relatively high, but it has the advantage of being fast - it only takes 8 hours each way, of course, this is without stopping at stations along the way, and it takes more than 10 hours if it is a regular train.

But the "fast" that can reach Changsha from Wuchang in 8 hours still makes people fully feel the miracle of "a thousand miles of Jiangling in one day", in fact, when the first train from Wuchang arrived at Changsha, Changsha's newspapers were surprised by this matter even more than concerned about epidemic prevention.

After all, plague is an "ordinary thing" that has existed since ancient times, and this "steamer" that starts and arrives in the morning and evening is an unprecedented thing. In the same way, they can also feel what kind of earth-shaking changes the train will bring to their lives in this short eight hours.

However, due to various reasons, at least for now, ordinary people have not yet felt the change in their lives brought by the train wheel - there are no ordinary passenger cars from Wuchang to Changsha, so at least in the next few months, at least until the epidemic prevention is over, they will not be able to experience the convenience of taking the train.

But at least now the railway has changed Mr. Zhu's life, allowing him to reach Changsha by train and return to Wuchang quickly.

The construction of the railway has changed many things, just like Wu Xinglian and Zuo Zongtang, who were waiting for the arrival of the lord in the railway station at this time, at least before that, it was difficult for them to imagine that the lord could come to Changsha from Wuchang at any time.

"The railway company said that the special train of the lord will arrive in Changsha in another twenty minutes......"

Before the attaché's words were finished, Zuo Zongtang gasped, and he even took a special look at the pocket watch.

"It's been less than seven hours! Starlink, it seems to be faster than when you came! ”

"Lord Zuo, Handu is on a special train, only six carriages, and it is an empty car, if it weren't for the fact that the railway has just been built, 70 kilometers will be no problem! If it is a normal 16 carriages, half passenger and half cargo, the speed is at most 50 kilometers, in fact, the speed should be about 40 kilometers, according to the design running speed, the future train on this railway is 35 kilometers per hour. ”

Li Cunbai, who was on the side, explained that he was an employee of the railway company and the stationmaster of Changsha Station. Like the staff of the Hanyue Railway Company, he also graduated from the "Imperial Railway College" in Hankou, and his youth is perhaps the biggest feature of the Hanyue Railway Company, as well as the characteristics of various enterprises -- many of the engineers and technicians are young people in their twenties.

"It's not slow, it's not slow, 35 kilometers, that's 70 miles, 24 hours a day, that's 16,700 miles! Traveling thousands of miles in a day, really traveling a thousand miles in a day! ”

Zuo Zongtang sighed, no wonder the main guild told him in the telegram that he had an hour after arriving in Changsha - the main guild would return to Wuchang tomorrow morning.

In fact, according to Zuo Zongtang's original intention, he did not want the lord to come to Changsha, although Changsha is not an epidemic area now. But what if the plague spreads here? It is precisely because of this that at his strong request, the lord who insisted on coming to Changsha agreed not to get off the bus.

"In the future, the train will only be faster, Lord Zuo, after all, our China is a big country, at the current speed, it will take a few days to get from Guangzhou to Heilongjiang, and there will definitely be faster trains in the future, otherwise it will take too long......

For the railway, Li Cunbai has his views and opinions, in his opinion, the future of the railway is faster and more cargo! In fact, this view is the one that prevails all over the world.

Wu Xinglian, who helped them talk, stood there, his mood a little heavy. And more of a helplessness, she didn't know how to treat the main bus.

And now the lord is here!

In the midst of everyone's conversation, a whistle was heard in the distance, and a train was slowly moving into this simple railway station - the Western-style Changsha Railway Station was not in use, and now it is only a simple station.

How to explain?

The cold wind was biting, the snow was thick, Wu Xinglian shivered, he thought of the plague that was now becoming more and more intense in various places, and suddenly became worried.

At the moment of getting in the car, Wu Xinglian even had an impulse that he wanted to leave here. He didn't know what to say. But it's too late to say anything. At this time, he looked a little confused, and even just saluted the lord with Lord Zuo, and then he didn't know what to say.

"You're Wu Xinglian!"

After a few simple greetings with Zuo Zongtang, Zhu Yifeng looked at Wu Xinglian and said.

"You have worked hard for the epidemic in Guangdong and Hunan provinces, working day and night, which is really moving, and the epidemic in Hunan and Guangdong at this time is really something that has not been seen for thousands of years...... If you and the doctors can try their best to save the tide, it is really the surname of the people of Guangdong and Hunan provinces! ”

After a few simple words of praise, Zhu Yifeng went straight to the topic.

"Now, how is the epidemic situation in the two provinces?"

Although he was a little distracted, Wu Xinglian still hurriedly introduced the situation.

"Now the epidemic area has expanded to at least 117 counties, and 32,736 people are currently infected with plague, and their symptoms are similar, fever, cough, bleeding, then death, and the skin turns purple in a few days......"

While Wu Xinglian was introducing the situation, Zhu Yifeng was standing next to the map, which was a map of the epidemic. The situation in the epidemic area is clearly marked on it.

"Have you identified where the earliest cases were?"

"Back to the lord, it's in Yishan Town in Lianshan."

"Is it of local origin?"

"No, we currently suspect that it was introduced from Yunnan, and there was also an outbreak of plague in Guangxi, which is believed to have been introduced from Yunnan......"

Sure enough, as originally speculated, the plague was introduced from Yunnan, and according to intelligence, there had been an outbreak of plague in Yunnan as early as the beginning of last year, and the rebellion in Yunnan led to the further spread of plague.

"Well, since the source of infection has been determined, let's temporarily block the provincial borders, and the governor has instructed to stop purchasing materials from Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou and other places, as for the sulfur and nitrate needed by the military industry, it has now completely shifted to purchasing from Dutch East India and Chile, in a word, as long as the epidemic prevention is needed, the government will meet all your requirements!"

Among all the materials purchased from the southwest, the most important are the sulfur of Yunnan and the nitrate of the three provinces, which are necessary for the manufacture of gunpowder, and now, in addition to increasing the production of nitrate, is to increase the import of saltpeter. In contrast, although imported saltpeter is more expensive, at least it does not pose a threat of disease.

In the next hour, Zhu Yifeng inquired about the epidemic prevention situation from time to time, although this information can be obtained through the telegram of the General Defense Department, but this time he arrived in Changsha, which fully shows that he attaches great importance to this matter, and it is also equivalent to adding weight to the local government, so that he will not take it lightly.

At the end of the meeting, Zhu Yifeng specially told them that 15 more regiments of troops would be transferred from Hubei to carry out the task of blockading the epidemic area.

"We must not allow the epidemic to continue to spread beyond the quarantine zone! …… Now that there is no cure, is there a way to prevent it? Like a cowpox to prevent smallpox? ”

After the train left Changsha, standing on the platform, thinking about the words of Han Du before, Wu Xinglian looked thoughtful, a thought flashed in his mind, and the idea that seemed to be a flash of inspiration continued to spread in his heart, and sometimes a flash of inspiration would always bring a lot of changes to people, so that people could see a "door" that they had never noticed.

Yes, there may be no way to treat it, but you can find a way to prevent it!

"Doctor Wu ......"

Zuo Zongtang looked at Wu Xinglian, who was standing there and seemed to be a little distracted, and when he wanted to persuade him, he only saw him say a little excitedly.

"Lord Zuo, farewell, I'm going to the epidemic area, go over now!"

As soon as the words fell, Wu Xinglian immediately ignored the etiquette and said to Li Cunbai in a hurry.

"Is there a car in the station now? I'll go to Zhuzhou now, Lord Zuo, and inform the Steamship Bureau that I want a steamboat waiting for me in Zhuzhou! ”

For Zhu Yifeng, who had already left the train station, he didn't know what happened at the train station.

"Your decision saved a lot of people."

When that voice sounded in his head again, Zhu Yifeng said in a mocking tone.

"Okay, are you satisfied now? Now you don't need to worry about history resisting? ”

"I explained it to you last time. History will always be corrected, but the impact of its correction is, unlike my calculations, more of a ripple effect of the butterfly effect......"

Zhu Yifeng doesn't understand physics, but he understands people's hearts, and he knows why he gave in this time, because "it" has the upper hand.

"Alright! So what do you need in return now? ”

Surprisingly, he did not answer Zhu Yifeng's question directly, but only told him.

"I can give you more help, not only to solve the problem of the plague, but also to solve the ...... of tropical diseases such as malaria, which plagued the colonization of Southeast Asia."

The reason why he came to Changsha for this kind of thing is just like the "spiritual light" he once gave Huang Tao, it needs to be "contacted" at close range to be able to exert influence on a specific object. (Chapter 320 has been explained)

Although we know that it cannot influence the will of human beings, we are also very aware that its "contact" is limited by time and space. But the vigilance against the unknown civilization made Zhu Yifeng believe that there was no free dinner, let alone a pie in the sky.

So far he has no choice - the lives of millions of people have prevented him from making a choice to cooperate with "it".

Whether this cooperation is right or wrong, I am afraid only time will tell.

"Who are you?"

Again, Zhu Yifeng asked this question that he had asked five years ago.

"It doesn't matter who I am, you just need to know that I can help you a lot, and when necessary, I need your return! I guess it's a fair deal! ”

Is it fair?

Zhu Yifeng didn't know if it was fair, but he knew very well that his cooperation was forced.

From the beginning, until now, it has been dominated by "it". But now I don't have much choice.

"I hope so!"

Shrugging his shoulders helplessly, Zhu Yifeng's tone seemed a little helpless, although it could give himself a lot of help, but it always made people worry about his purpose, especially since he never really expressed his needs.

Nothing to be courteous, either a traitor or a thief.

What does it want?

"Fair? So what is the fair reward you need. ”

Silence, once again fell into silence, in this silence, Zhu Yifeng sneered.

"What if I reject you again?"

"Would you say no? Medically speaking, you need more medical advice in the colonization of Africa, after all, the biggest enemy in Africa is all kinds of diseases! ”

Even though its voice was neutral and mechanical, Zhu Yifeng could still feel the mockery in its tone. But he didn't think about the irony in his words.

Because Zhu Yifeng knew very well that he was telling the truth - Africa's greatest enemy was disease, not black natives. There are all sorts of infectious diseases in Africa - dengue fever, malaria, plague, yellow fever, cholera and, of course, African sleeping sickness - and, indeed, the trading posts that are now set up in Africa are also plagued by diseases.

Even the most fundamental reason why countries did not further colonize Africa was disease, which prevented Europeans from colonizing it. The partition of Africa in the late 19th century was inevitably linked to the cheap supply of cinchona, and when the Europeans thought that they could conquer malaria and march into the interior of Africa, they did not expect that various diseases endemic to Africa such as African sleeping sickness awaited them in the interior of Africa.

The most fundamental reason why Africa did not attract a large number of white immigrants like the Americas was disease. For example, African sleep sickness has been called the "curse of Africa" and is found in almost all of southern Africa. As a result of the disease, whites could only live in a small part of Africa and exercise indirect rule over most of the region, rather than directly as in the Americas.

But this obviously does not meet Zhu Yifeng's needs, and in his plan, Africa will absorb tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of Chinese immigrants in the future, and it will become the "promised land" for Chinese. No one and no country can stop all this, and the colonization of Africa will be related to the fate of China in the next 100 years!

Yes, no one or country can stop all this, but what about disease?

Guns and armies can't eradicate disease!

"Can you fix this?"

Zhu Yifeng asked a little impatiently.

If the problem of disease can be solved, then no force can stop the colonization of Africa, and half a century later, people will no longer use black Africa to describe Africa, and in the eyes of people all over the world, they will only see a "yellow Africa", which will become the "promised land" of the Chinese.

New Shanghai, New Guangzhou, New Jinan, New Taiyuan...... Names like these immigrants will appear on the map of Africa, where people will speak Chinese, write Chinese characters, and even a handful of blacks will be educated in Confucianism.

"Of course you can, as long as you invest enough resources, in fact, these diseases can be controlled and even eliminated, and I think we can help each other when the time comes."

Help each other?

Zhu Yifeng was stunned for a moment, and then hurriedly asked.

"What do you mean by help? What kind of help can I give you? ”

"You'll know when you need it, and now, I'm helping you. When all this is over, I think that when the time comes, you will be able to help me somewhat, and of course you will also be rewarded in unimaginable ways that you will receive in the case of the diseases in Africa. ”

At the moment when the words fell, the roar of the train came into his ears again, and again, "it" disappeared, came suddenly, and left also very suddenly.

"Let's hope it can really help me solve those problems! What the hell, why is this so weird......"

scolded helplessly, Zhu Yifeng knew very well that once he tasted its "help", it was indeed difficult to refuse its help......

Perhaps, with its help, is drugs!

Once addicted, will you still refuse?

Like the current problem, once the problem is solved, what about the future? It's like he just mentioned Africa and took the bait himself, because the temptation was just too great......

"Damn, don't think about it so much for now, wait until the current level is over."

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(It's only 5,000 words today, and it will be updated normally tomorrow...... As of now, Speechless owes a total of 5,000 words this month, and I will definitely make up for it when I look back...... Ask for votes again, ask for support! (To be continued.) )