【First Update】

It's almost May, and the greenery on the roadside is getting stronger and stronger, and the weather is getting hotter and hotter every day.

Pedestrians on the road also began to avoid the noon, when the sun was at its strongest, and hurried in the morning and evening, but there were also poor people who had to run on the official road at this time.

A team of carriages and horses was driving under the scorching sun, driving on the official road to the west of Kaifeng Mansion, except for a carriage in the middle, front and back, left and right, were guards riding tall horses.

However, no matter where the pedestrians are going, if they see such a team on the road, they will not feel pity for them, but will immediately avoid the roadside.

Even if the flag is not played, even the servants are freshly dressed and angry, wearing Yuansui standard robes, and the people sitting in the carriage are not high-ranking officials and eunuchs close to the level of Zaifu, who can they be?

As passers-by speculated, sitting in the carriage is the current governor of the government, the dignified minister, and the important minister who accompanies him.

The destination is thirty miles outside Kaifeng Mansion, and it takes half a day to ride a horse, and Han Gang can take time out of his busy schedule because of official business.

"It's hot enough."

Han Gang sat in the carriage, although the windows were open, the temperature in the carriage did not decrease much.

Wang Juqing, who was sitting opposite, nodded his head, he was medium-sized, and his movement when he got on the train was bigger than Han Gangdu, which showed his weight, and he was already sweating after sitting all the way in the stuffy carriage. Wiped his forehead with a handkerchief: "No, it's only been so hot in May, and I don't know how hot it will be in June and July." ”

Han Gang smiled slightly, it was not summer yet, and a drop of sweat disappeared without landing, and now at least it can fall to the ground. Wang Juqing is a little flattering, but no one is perfect, so it's good to be able to do things. At Han Gang's suggestion, Huang Lu finally gave up the position of the superintendent of armaments and was replaced by Wang Juqing. It has only been a few days since he took office, and the major and minor matters in the prison have been handled in an orderly manner, and the materials for managing affairs do not come from boasting.

Looking at the golden fields in the distance beside the road, Han Gang said calmly: "For the next ten days and a half months, it would be nice if it were all like this. ”

"Is the political participation talking about the summer harvest?" Wang Juqing looked in the same direction as Han Gang, in the field, he could see a famous farmer harvesting ripe wheat, in front of them, it was the golden yellow that had not yet been harvested, and behind them, it left a dull earth yellow, and the two colors were distinct: "It is true that only when the wheat is in the warehouse, can it be regarded as a peace of mind." ”

This is the time of the winter wheat harvest. Sunny and dry weather is a good thing for the harvest. If the next ten days are all sunny, until the sun-dried wheat is put into storage, the court will breathe a sigh of relief - this year's summer tax can be worry-free. This is what the Son of Heaven, the Queen Mother, and the courtiers all pray for in the summer and autumn every year, and they are no different from ordinary peasants in the hope that the wind and rain will be smooth.

During this time, the weather near Jingshi was very good, the weather was clear, and there were no problems except for a little heat. Although there are also reports of disasters on various roads outside Beijing, they are only limited to one state, and the most spring drought on Jiangnan East Road has only spread to Jiangning Prefecture, Taiping Prefecture, and Xuanzhou, which are military states in the north of Jiangnan East Road, and there has been a major disaster that has not swept all the way. At least this year, it should continue the good years of Yuanfeng.

The whip in front of him sounded twice, and there was a crisp jingle of bells, and then the carriage turned in one direction, got off the official road, and turned to another road.

Compared with the official road to Luoyang, this fork in the road is nearly half narrow. However, it has just been renovated, and the car is very stable. Looking out of the car window, there is a flat river, and the scenery on both sides, except for the few houses on the side of the road, is still full of harvest yellow.

After another five or six miles, Wang Juqing, who was wide and fat, had already soaked his handkerchief with sweat, and Han Gang could also see some thin sweat on his forehead. At last he saw a fortified fortress much higher than the plain.

The camp is next to a forest, and there is a wall on the side of Hangang that looks like a mile, and the size is comparable to a small county town, and the scale is far greater than that of the Qianbu City on the border of Kansai.

The roaring sound could be heard from afar, and the smell of gunpowder became clearer when it got closer, and this was the out-of-town base of the Ordnance Surveillance Firearms Bureau.

Han Gang narrowed his eyes and looked at the walled fort that was still more than a mile away, "It's finally here." ”

Wang Juqing was so hot that he gasped, and echoed: "Ha, it's finally here." ”

Han Gang and Wang Juqing's destination has finally arrived.

"Privy, Tianzhang, Fang Jian Cheng has come to greet you."

Han Gang's entourage bent down outside the car window and whispered.

"Let them come." Han Gang commanded.

As soon as the carriage stopped, a group of people came up to meet him.

Fang Xing, who was also the chief of the Ordnance Supervisor and the Firearms Bureau, was at the forefront, and he had been waiting for the arrival of Han Gang and his party at the gate of the village more than an hour ago. The soldiers who delivered the message also sent several people, and when Han Gang and Wang Juqing's carriages and horses turned around from the official road, they immediately led the officials in the village who could free their hands to go out of the village gate to meet the inspection of Han Gang and his immediate boss - if it weren't for the fact that Han Gang didn't like this, he would definitely go farther.

Probably because the sound of artillery hurt his ears, below Fang Xing, the officials of the Firearms Bureau were so loud that they could be heard for three miles.

Han Gang got down from the carriage, it was only thirty miles away, and it took more than an hour to take the carriage. Although it is a tall and spacious four-wheeled car, it has been done for a long time, and it is inevitable that there will be some back pain. It's just that the Beijing division is heavily polluted, and there have been many sunny days in a row, and the wind is strong and gray, Han Gang didn't want to get dirt on his face, so he didn't ride a horse, got a carriage, and pulled Wang Juqing to sit together.

Wang Juqing was also tired enough, he was much older than Han Gang, his health was far behind, and he couldn't stand it. Together with Han Gang, he accepted the salute of Fang Xing and the others, and looked back at the way he came, "This place is still a little far away from the Jingshi, more than an hour, it would be nice if we could build a track to lead directly here." In case of any change here, reinforcements from the city can also arrive here as soon as possible. ”

There are no mountains near Kaifeng Prefecture, and the so-called mountains are just small dirt bags. In addition to the Yellow River, there are no big rivers or deep ditches, and the only few rivers still have traces of artificiality. On the endless plain, there is no barrier at all. When it comes to laying railway tracks, of course, the best terrain is the best.

"That's right. When I went back and forth to the capital, I thought it would be convenient to have a track leading directly to here. Fang Xing agreed, with a smile on his face.

If there is really a foreign enemy to enter the prison, the first target must be Kaifeng Mansion. And if you want to hit Kaifeng, no matter from which direction, there are at least thousands of miles, and at that time, the imperial court has already withdrawn its troops and equipment from this newly completed artillery test site for a few days. More troops were then stationed here as a strategic point for counterattacks, stuck at the throat of the enemy. As for the railroad tracks, in the case of foreign enemies controlling the outside of Kaifeng City, it is useless to directly rip off the rails.

However, Wang Juqing is an important official who has recently joined Han Gang's banner, and has just been appointed as the Arms Supervisor, although Fang Xing is Han Gang's confidant and manages the most important firearms bureau in the Arms Prison, it is inconvenient to make fun of his words.

Han Gang could see Fang Xing's true thoughts, and it was estimated that Wang Juqing, who had been an official for decades, was not blind, so he turned his head and smiled at Wang Juqing, "Shouming, if you hear what Shen Cunzhong says, you will make trouble." ”

"Why is that?"

Wang Juqing was secretly annoyed by Fang Xing's attitude, but when he heard Han Gang's words, he didn't know why.

Han Gang explained: "Shen Cunzhong also intends to build a track in Beijing. But within the city walls, around the city at the base of the city walls. The 50-mile-long railway can be used by the people on weekdays, and it is really convenient to transport soldiers and materials in wartime. ”

Wang Juqing immediately reacted, "The road inside the Kaifeng city wall? ”

On the inside of the Kaifeng city wall, there is a very wide city defense passage. Although there were very few people leaving, every few years they would be cleaned up and forbidden to be encroached upon. If it is used as the foundation of the track, even if a double-track railway is laid, it will not affect the normal walking.

But he immediately frowned again, the Tokyo City Gate was full of people, and not only people, but also horses, cows, sheep, and pigs, and suddenly a railroad carriage drove over, which made it difficult to let go, "It's not easy to arrange at the city gate." ”

Han Gang and Wang Juqing said irrelevant words, and the officials of the Firearms Bureau did not dare to disturb, and quietly gave in one step, and then another step, never daring to misunderstand that they were eavesdropping.

Han Gang glanced at this group of knowledgeable officials, and said with a smile: "Shen Cunzhong is thinking about digging a tunnel below to pass it over, or building a bridge to cross it. ”

"That's hard." Wang Juqing shook his head.

It's not difficult to build a bridge, but how high do you have to build a bridge to cross the gates of Tokyo City? What if the carriage falls off the bridge and hits someone? What's more, you have to pass through the four main gates, which is where the Son of Heaven's chariot passes, if it is a guard, it is okay, do you want the carriage to pass over the head of the Son of Heaven.

And if it is a tunnel, is there a precedent not to say, how to keep the tunnel from collapsing? How tall and wide should it be to be able to pass through the tunnels of two carriages side by side? The city gates are full of cars, and if they collapse, what should they do?

"It's really hard. But if it is solved, there will be a way for the track to meet mountains and rivers. Han Gang said with a smile, "But Shouming, it's really good that you and Shen Cunzhong can think like this, there are never too many tracks, if you can take Kaifeng Mansion as the center, connect the counties in Fuzhong first, and connect the trunk tracks of all roads in the world in the future, there will be an object to imitate." ”

"It's like the postal service, passing it down from level to level?"

Han Gang said, "Since the Son of Heaven is in the world, Tianwei is spread layer by level, so whether it is a post transmission, a postal service, or a road, of course, it must be the same." ”