In the fourth year of the Great Song Dynasty, 1233 AD, March, Jiangnan West Road, Xingguo Army, Daye Iron Works.

Since the construction of Daye Iron Works in the second year of Xingqing, after eight years of continuous construction, it has become the largest iron factory and machine manufacturing center in the Great Song Dynasty.

Six iron-smelting furnaces, more than 3,000 craftsmen, nearly 10,000 helpers, with an annual output of more than 30,000 tons of steel, the output is not the same as that of later generations, but the iron-smelting and steelmaking technology has long been far ahead of the whole world. Steam engines and all kinds of artillery were produced here.

In the early morning, in the south of Daye Iron Works, the area around Fotu Town was crowded with people, and the platforms on both sides of the railway were crowded with people, officials and craftsmen of Daye Iron Works. They were all excited to look at the red-clad trains on the railway, pointing and pointing.

In front of them, on both sides of the railway, a large number of officers and soldiers were on guard with guns and knives, three steps and one sentry, five steps and one post, eyeing the enemy, as if facing a great enemy.

"Your Majesty has arrived!"

As the shouts of the officials sounded, a group of officials and envoys from various countries flocked, and under the canopy, Zhao Hong, the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, smiled all over his face, waved his hand frequently, and walked over.

"Hooray! Banzai! Hooray! ”

The officials and craftsmen on the platform cheered, and some knelt on the ground and kowtowed to meet the holy monarch in their hearts.

"Everybody, get up!"

Zhao Hong shouted loudly, escorted by the forbidden army, and boarded the train.

"This is the train?"

Looking at the black iron bumps in front of them, the several carriages with glass windows hanging behind them, and looking at the thick black smoke that spewed out, the Yugu Dragon Chianaar brothers and sisters were surprised, shook their heads again and again, followed everyone, and boarded the train.

The whistle whistled, earth-shattering, and the "clacking" sound continued, and the train slowly started and headed south.

In the middle of the carriage, the carriage is carpeted, the seats are spacious, and there are forbidden troops at both ends of the carriage to prevent outsiders from entering.

Wang Sui, the new Jiangnan West Road envoy, is introducing to Zhao Hong.

"Your Majesty, it took two years from surveying, land acquisition, construction, and then trial implementation to build this 200-mile section of the railway. The train takes 5 hours, or 10 hours, to make a round trip. ”

The mining, shipbuilding and textile industries of Jiangnan West Road are developed, especially Daye Iron Smelting and Pingxiang Coal Mine, as well as the shipbuilding industry and other industries brought by it, which are the foundation of Jiangxi's industry.

"Daye has iron but no coal, the coal quality in Ma'anshan is poor, and there is coal in Pingxiang, which is 700 miles away from Daye, and can only be transported out of the Neijiang River and goes east through the Yangtze River. If the railway is completed, the 700-mile journey can be reached in less than a day, which can be described as a thousand miles a day, convenient and fast. ”

Wei Liaoweng, the secretary of the military department, looked at the scene speeding by outside the window, and was full of emotion.

The speed of the train is more than 40 miles in an hour, 24 hours a day, 960 miles, and it is really a thousand miles a day.

"Your Majesty, this is the first railway in the Great Song Dynasty, and the Pingxiang Coal Mine and Daye Iron Works will be connected by the beginning of next year. This road can not only transport supplies, but also people! In the future, the railway will spread throughout the Great Song Dynasty, from south to north, from east to west, thousands of miles away, and arrive in one day, saving the pain of driving and horses. It's really good for the country and the people! ”

Prime Minister Zhen Deok-so was full of excitement and excitement.

Railway! It will surely shock the world and benefit the entire people of the Great Song Dynasty.

"It's just a pity, I'm afraid I won't need it for the Northern Expedition of the Great Song Dynasty."

Wei Liaoweng was still a little embarrassed.

"There were no railways, and there were steamships to support the Northern Expedition. Besides, I rode 100,000 iron horses north in the Great Song Dynasty, why should I be afraid of the Tatars? ”

Xu Sheng interjected and came in, impassioned.

Zhao Hong smiled slightly, the steam engine opened the door of the times, and the benefits brought by trains and steam ships were not visible to the naked eye.

"I heard that Daye Iron Works is producing a large number of rifled guns and transporting them to the front line of Biansai. I also heard that rifled guns can shoot more than five miles, and if you kill the enemy five miles away on the battlefield, it is too powerful! ”

"There are also flowering bombs, I heard that they can explode and kill, and when they get to the battlefield, I'm afraid they are also a sharp weapon to break the enemy."

Wei Liaoweng and Zhen Dexiu, emotionally.

"What the two Qing family said is extremely true! Later, I will go to Daye Iron Works, see the power of rifled cannons and flowering shells, and I will know that the Northern Expedition of the Great Song Dynasty King has strengthened its wings. ”

After Zhao Hong finished speaking, he glanced at Tian Yi in the back rows of seats and retracted his gaze.

Wei Liaoweng and Tian Yi, the pair of Weng sons-in-law, are already a thing of the past.

It's a shame.

The train sped forward, and in the other carriage, Yugu Longchi poked his head out, looked at the rapidly receding trees and fields, and took a moment to retract his head.

He and the Goryeo Elder Li across the seat looked at each other, and both of them smiled.

"Where did Brother Tai come from, is he an envoy from a certain country in the Western Regions?"

Elder Li bowed his hand, and involuntarily glanced at Anar a few more times.

Such a beautiful exotic woman is really a stunner, which makes people itch.

"The next brother and sister are businessmen from Kangguo in the Western Regions. Where is Brother Tai from? ”

Anal picked up and asked.

"The two, below are the envoy of the Goryeo State, Elder Lee. The Goryeo people called it "Little China", and it was of the same species as the Great Song Dynasty, and it was a vassal state of the Great Song Dynasty. ”

Elder Li was proud, regarded himself as "Little China", and was willing to be the pawn of China.

Goryeo Zheng envoy Li Kuibao has returned to China, leaving him as a deputy envoy to explore the details of the Song Dynasty, in fact, to see when the Northern Expedition of the Great Song Dynasty will be.

"A thousand miles in a day! This train is really fast! With this train, it is really beneficial to the country and the people! ”

Anal diverted the topic and said to another old man opposite.

If Gaochang also has a train, it will be much more convenient to travel from Gaochang to the territory of the Great Song Dynasty.

"The soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty are strong and strong, the national strength is prosperous, and the country of Dali is a small country, and it is difficult to match it."

Wang Xun, the envoy of Goryeo, shook his head and sighed.

When the train returns on a day trip, he will report the details of the Great Song Dynasty to the Dali Kingdom, and it is estimated that it is only a matter of time before the Dali Kingdom submits to the Great Song Dynasty.

"Your Excellency is very true! Only the Great Song Heavenly Kingdom is equipped with this new thing! We are a small state, and only by befriending the Great Song Dynasty is the way to survive in the world. ”

Elder Li said enviously, feeling it.

Anal's heart was shocked, and he looked at his brother, but they were silent.

Gaochang is different from Goryeo, Gaochang is a vassal state, but Gaochang is the homeland of China. The Great Song Dynasty could tolerate the establishment of Goryeo, but I am afraid it would be difficult to allow Gaochang to exist.

Gaochang's future is worrying.

Daye Iron Factory, armor workshop, Zhao Hong and others, who have experienced a day trip by train, are watching the quality of armor.

"Is this armor strong enough? The Tatar heavy cavalry, however, was not easy to deal with. ”

Zhao Hong picked up a piece of armor and looked at it carefully.

The armor of the Mongol heavy cavalry was generally pierced, which could withstand sword slashes and piercing with bows and arrows and other throwing weapons. The horse has armor and visor, which is full of impact.

"Back to Your Majesty, our army's armor is made of fine steel, made of Western Xia's cold forging technology, smooth and bright, not a strong crossbow and heavy arrow, and it can't break the armor at all. It's the same with the harness, it's tough enough. ”

Therefore, the nephew of Yang Guizhi, the Empress Dowager of the Song Dynasty and the technician of the foundry workshop of Daye Iron Works, introduced to Zhao Hong.

"Your Majesty, this helmet is a domed hood with shoulder pads. The overall shape connects the leg skirt with the front chest and back, and the whole can be defended. ”

Seeing that Zhao Hong was fascinated, Yang Fansun continued to introduce.

Due to the popularization of converter steelmaking technology, the production of steel has been increased, a large number of armor has been popularized in the army, and ordinary soldiers are equipped with it, and the equipment of the soldiers of the Song Army can be said to be armed to the teeth.

"Yang Fansun, are you having fun here?"

Zhao Hong asked sincerely.

He and Yang Yi have parted ways, and they are no longer Yang Fansun's uncle.

"Your Majesty, I am here in charge of the production of steam engines and boilers, and I feel very satisfied. Your Majesty can rest assured. ”

"Your Majesty, Yang Fansun has done a good job in Daye Iron Works, and he has been conscientious and conscientious for six years, and he is already a senior craftsman in the factory."

Tian Yi's explanation made Zhao Hong nod with satisfaction.

"Yang Fansun, you are the future of the Great Song Dynasty, work hard."

Craftsmen are widely popular in the Great Song Dynasty, and the salary is also high, and the Daye Iron Works itself has a metallurgical technology school to train professional iron-smelting talents.

"Your Majesty, go and see how well the rifled guns and flowering shells are fired."

Tian Yi looked at his late father-in-law, Wei Liaoweng, and asked Zhao Hong for instructions.

I had been missing out on showing the Emperor the power of the new firearms, but this time I couldn't miss it.

Zhao Hong looked at the people around him and nodded slightly.

Former uncle, former father-in-law, the circle of the Great Song Dynasty is small enough.

In the gun workshop, on the shooting range, thick white smoke rose, the sound of artillery was like muffled thunder, two short-barreled guns fired together, and two huge flowering shells rose into the air and slowly fell around the target.

The flowering bomb suddenly exploded, and the iron pellet and iron pieces diffused, and the wooden target dozens of meters around it was torn apart and shattered.

"Good!"

Wei Liaoweng, Zhen Dexiu and others were all smiles and cheered together.

Several more breeched rifled guns fired, and the shells came out of their disembowels and flew forward, flying far away, falling into the target thicket, the iron balls bouncing and striking, and the stakes broke off one after another, staggering from side to side.

Another burst of cheers sounded, and Zhao Hong nodded applauded applaudedly.

"How much short-barreled artillery is produced? How much rifled guns are produced? ”

If the more powerful rifled guns and short-barreled guns can be used in large quantities in the army, the casualties in the army can be greatly reduced and the smooth operation of the Northern Expedition can be ensured.

"Back to Your Majesty, 100 rifled guns can be built, and by the autumn, the three armies can be equipped with 200 guns each. As for the short-bore artillery...... "

Tian Yi hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"Your Majesty, short-barreled artillery is easy to build, and the Northwest Frontier Army can also make its own, but the difficulty lies in the manufacture and cost of flowering shells. With Daye Iron Works and Jiangnan Ordnance Manufacturing Division supervising the production day and night, by the autumn Northern Expedition, up to 20,000 flowering shells could be provided for military use. ”

"What the landlord said is very true. One flowering bomb is worth 200 yuan, and 20,000 flowering bullets alone is 4 million yuan. Coupled with hundreds of thousands of tube-type earth-shaking thunderbolts, the cost has exceeded 10 million. Not to mention hundreds of thousands of iron pellets and iron balls, the steel required is tens of millions of catties. What kind of war is this fighting, this is clearly money and steel! ”

Wei Liaoweng picked up the words of his former son-in-law and said.

"What Wei Gong said is extremely true! In fact, even with the original firearms, it was enough to resist the Tatars. The treasury has cost a huge amount of money, and the minister is really a headache! ”

Zhen Dexiu frowned sadly and shook his head again and again.

"What the true public said is very true, man will conquer the sky, and the root of war is still man. I have a strong martial arts style in the Great Song Dynasty, and even if I don't rely on firearms, I am not afraid of Tatars. ”

Today, the Great Song Dynasty is already a martial country with military supremacy, and it is no longer afraid of any foreign enemies.