"Why do I feel uncomfortable staying in this kind of luxury box!"

Captain Tang Yihong stood up, reached out and touched the fur on the soft chair (sofa), which was silky and supple, and extremely comfortable to the touch, and then approached the window next to the wall of the box, and saw all kinds of wine inside, as well as fruits, tea, milk, cocoa, coffee, etc. Looking around, teak tables, chairs, coffee tables, mahogany ceilings, brass-wrapped pipes, and expensive Persian carpets on the ground, dressing rooms, toilets, etc., are also readily available, and I can't help but sigh with emotion: "I have always felt that the command cabin of the commander of our North Sea Fleet is relatively luxurious, but I never expected that this is absolutely simple compared to the conditions in the locomotive's first-class box!" …… This box is clearly a luxury hotel room! ”

"Does this count as Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road?" When the army captain (second lieutenant) Min Zhongwen heard this, he immediately blurted out: "These rich people enjoy it so much in such a luxurious box, but let many ordinary people squeeze into a pot of porridge in the third-class carriage!" ”

"You're going too far. It's nothing more than a differentiated service. ”

Li Yanliang was stunned for a moment, I'll go, are you insinuating that the upper echelons of my Qi country are all arrogant and lustful?

Immediately, he said with a smile: "Think about it, the ticket price of an ordinary car is only a few dollars, and the price of this luxury box is more than ten times that of a third-class ticket!" The railroad company is aiming to make a lot of profits from these rich people, but it is not necessary to make the box a little more luxurious. ”

"The railroad company wants to make money, that's not said. But they inevitably made the facilities and equipment in the third-class carriage too rudimentary. Min Zhongwen complained: "The saddle is hardboard, and the position is extremely cramped. Especially at night, when the lights are dim and there are many people, you can't read books and newspapers, and you can't sleep, it's a hellish trip. ”

"It's okay, it's better than on the battlefield." Li Yanliang frowned, and took a deep look at the young captain of the school, thinking that he had just graduated from the military academy not long ago, had not been on the battlefield, and had not experienced the cruel wilderness living environment, so that a long-distance train trip gave birth to such a complaint, which made people look down on it a little.

"Captain Li has been on the battlefield?" Among the several officers present, Liang Guangyong, who had the highest military rank, looked at Li Yanliang with interest.

"The lowly has just returned home from the Viceroyalty of Western India." Li Yanliang responded: "Previously, I had intervened in the war in northwest India with the Xizhou garrison army. Oh, that is, in the Battle of Rajput, he was accidentally wounded and raised for more than four months before he picked up a life and came back. Two years earlier, he had also fought in the Gulf War, striking militarily against the kingdom of Muscat Sultan in an attempt to curb their ambitions for maritime domination. ”

"A few months ago, at the invitation of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, our Qi country formed an expeditionary force to the Gulf, ready to help the Persians expel the Afghan invaders. It is reported that the Xizhou garrison army, where Ling once served, will also send thousands of officers and soldiers to join the Kharat Khanate to directly drive to Kandahar and attack the back roads of the Afghans. In this situation, Captain Li was transferred back to his homeland, which was a great opportunity to make contributions in vain! ”

"It's hard to disobey the military order, and it's in vain!" Li Yanliang smiled bitterly and said regretfully.

"Hehe......" Liang Guangyong smiled and said, "Captain Li doesn't need to be annoyed. Our Daqi is in a period of continuous development, and there are opportunities for our army boys to make meritorious contributions! ”

When Tang Yihong heard this, he pursed his lips imperceptibly. Co-author, making contributions is the business of your army, and it has nothing to do with our navy, right?

Helping the railway police subdue the bandits who tried to rob the train, thus ensuring the safety of the entire train and property, the conductor graciously invited several soldiers to stay in two vacant first-class boxes as a token of gratitude.

This makes the soldiers who have never enjoyed such treatment really experience the luxury and comfort of a rich and noble family, not to mention the soft and warm bed, even the chair they sit on, it is also made of goose down, as soon as they sit down, the whole body is densely attached, soft and soft, it seems to gently wrap the whole body, involuntarily let people relax their minds, that feeling, wonderful and comfortable.

"This patriotic country and Luzon are in trouble again!" Tang Yihong shook his head while reading the newspaper and said: "In order to compete for a palm-sized island and reef, these two families actually dispatched their respective warships, causing a lot of casualties on both sides. ”

"Really? I remember that more than 20 years ago, our Qi country didn't demarcate each other's borders for the two of them, how could there still be an armed conflict over a small island? In this case, the Luzon Viceroyalty and the Ryukyu Fleet should actively intervene as necessary, right? Liang Guangyong raised his head and said: "In other words, it has been decades, and the two families have never been able to reach a complete reconciliation. ”

"Isn't that right? If it weren't for our Qi country in that town, these two would probably have to fight dog brains! Tang Yihong said: "However, in terms of comprehensive strength, the Kingdom of Luzon surpasses the defense of the country in terms of population size and economic strength. If this really starts, Wei Guo may not know how to suffer! Therefore, Wei Guo relied on our Qi State not to allow the two of them to break out into a large-scale annexation war, and from time to time made some small moves against the Luzon Kingdom, in order to divert some domestic contradictions. ”

"What are the sharp contradictions in the country of the country?" Li Yan asked curiously.

"There are many problems within the country." Tang Yihong put down the newspaper in his hand, shook his head and said: "In order to enrich manpower and develop the domestic economy, they wantonly arrested the natives in their territory as slaves, and relied on the extreme exploitation of them, and in just a few decades, they opened up many mines and plantations, and also built many cities and public roads. Oh, and by the way, a few years ago, a railroad was built through southern Luzon. This slave has been oppressed too much, and it is natural that it will lead to a large-scale revolt. Heh, for the past twenty years, almost every year there has been a Turkish rebellion of varying scales, which has exhausted the patriotic army. ”

"Actually, if there is only a local rebellion in the territory of the country, then that's fine. After all, those natives had backward weapons and were still located in the mountains and jungles, so they did not pose a substantial threat to the defense of the country at all. However, the composition of the country's territory is a very big concern. Except for a small area in southern Luzon, the rest of their territory is scattered islands. Earlier, in order to ensure the long-term rule of the Wei Guo Cheng clan, the previous kings divided many royal children to possess various islands as a shield for the kingdom. After so many years, those royal lords who were divided into feudal lords gradually became a little bit of a big tail, openly and secretly confronting the central government. If it weren't for the fact that the Wei royal family still controls a relatively powerful navy, it is estimated that there would have been a split incident long ago. ”

"In what you say, once the central government of this patriotic country is weak, the powerful factions on the various islands will have to stand on their own?"

"Not necessarily." Tang Yihong thought for a while, shook his head and said, "Any political force in the Luzon region cannot make much change without the permission of our Qi State. You must know that Luzon is adjacent to Borneo and Ryukyu, and it is also our sea gateway to the mainland, and the cabinet and our military certainly do not want turmoil here, so as not to affect the stability of the entire region, which is not in the interests of our country. Therefore, our Qi country has spared no effort to support the Wei royal family over the years, and hopes that they will maintain the existing unity and stability. In recent years, Wei Guo has also begun to gradually reduce the feudal domains, and has cleaned up a few local forces that have danced the most, preparing to return local power to the central government little by little. ”

"I have the impression that Luzon is rich in mineral resources, especially with a lot of gold and copper mines, coupled with fertile soil, whether it is the Luzon Kingdom or the Wei Kingdom, in the entire Nanyang region, it is a relatively rich vassal state." Liang Guangyong interjected: "Moreover, Luzon is still close to the mainland, which can attract many immigrants from the Qin State every year. If it is a good development, it will definitely become the most powerful arm of our Qi country. ”

At present, the entire Luzon archipelago has been completely divided by the three kingdoms of Qi, Luzon, and Wei, and several indigenous states such as the Maguindanau Sudan Kingdom, the Wuduan Raja Kingdom, and the Visayas Kingdom have all been destroyed.

The Luzon Kingdom of Zheng (a descendant of Zheng Zhilong) occupied two-thirds of the large island of Luzon, as well as many small islands nearby, and can be said to be the best part of Luzon, with the largest population, reaching more than 1.2 million (excluding natives).

Cheng's Wei Guo occupied a small part of the southernmost part of the island of Luzon, as well as the eastern narrow area of Longshan Island (present-day Samar Island, the third largest island in Luzon), Jiyang Island (present-day Leyte Island), and Shanyi Island (present-day Mindanao), as well as the affiliated islands around the above-mentioned large islands, and the territory was relatively scattered, with a total population of more than 800,000.

The Luzon Viceroyalty of Qi occupied two-thirds of Luzhong Island (present-day Cebu Island), Luotian Island (present-day Bohol Island), Yongnian Island (present-day Negros Island), Binh Duong Island (present-day Panai Island), Fushan Island (present-day Mindoro Island), Jinsha Island (Masbat Island), and Shanyi Island.

If we add the Hengshan Islands (present-day Batam) to the north of Luzon, the Yongji Island (present-day Palawan) taken from the Kingdom of Brunei Sultan, and the hardcore vassal Sulu Kingdom, the Qi State faintly formed a ring encirclement of the Zheng clan and the Wei Kingdom. However, the population of the entire Governor's District is only more than 500,000, and the industrial economic base is relatively weak.

Of course, with the rapid iterative development of Qi's local industry and technology, its spillover effect will also slowly expand to the Luzon region. Presumably, after the transplantation of those industrial categories that have been phased out and transformed in the local area, it will greatly promote the economic development of the region.

"What other important overseas news?" Li Yanliang saw that Min Zhongwen next to him had fallen asleep on the soft chair at some point, and let out a slight snoring sound, and then he also changed to a more comfortable position, closed his eyes, and prepared to take a nap.

"Oh, the king of Shunguo has personally arrived in Hanzhou with an embassy, preparing to go to Chang'an to meet His Majesty the Emperor and have extensive and in-depth exchanges with the cabinet government. …… I thought that they must have come to our country to seek our full support for the imminent war against the kingdom of Brunei Sultan. ”

"Shunguo...... Hit Brunei again? Li Yanliang felt that his eyelids became heavy, and his consciousness began to blur.

"Isn't that right? This Shun state has always been committed to engulfing the Kingdom of Brunei in order to expand their territory. …… The high-level officials of the entire Shun Kingdom have repeatedly suggested to our Qi Kingdom and the Sulu Kingdom that the three families should completely divide the entire Borneo together. Shunguo's plan is to take advantage of the protection of our Qi country's strong national strength to completely disintegrate the princely states of Borneo, so that they can settle down and slowly digest and absorb it. …… Hey, what's the matter, you're all asleep? ”

““““““““““””””””””””

At 5:20 a.m., the train arrived in Gangu. When the locomotive crew reported the robbery of the train by a group of bandits to the person on duty at the platform, the person was stunned and immediately sent someone to report it to the local police station and the gendarmerie department.

Within two quarters of an hour, a large number of heavily armed policemen and gendarmes arrived at the station and carried the four bandits from the train who were tied up like rice dumplings, and the five bandits who had been killed were also wrapped in straw mats and brought back to the city.

Two wounded servicemen were immediately taken by horse-drawn carriage to a hospital in the city for emergency treatment.

It was only at this time that the passengers on the entire train learned that a group of outlaws had infiltrated the train with the intention of robbing the passengers on board.

No wonder, in the middle of the night, there were a few dull "firecrackers" from the first class carriage behind. After some passengers were awakened, they complained that the rich people in the first-class carriage were idle and panicked, and they tossed blindly in the middle of the night to disturb people's sleep.

Hey, these bandits are too wasteful, why didn't they kill a few rich people, but all of them were folded in the first-class carriage.

These bandits did not take advantage of the night to rob the poor people in the ordinary carriages, but targeted the rich people in the first-class carriages, which can be regarded as a gang of thieves who rob the rich and help the poor, right?

Alas, it's a pity!

The train stopped at Gangu for more than 40 minutes, and was stopped for more than two hours by troublesome herders on the Kaiyuan section, so it will not be surprising that it will be seriously delayed if it continues to travel at its original speed for the rest of the journey.

While there are good reasons for train delays, it's clear that dedicated conductors still want to minimize train delays as much as possible. At his command, the speed of the train was increased from 50 to 55 kilometers per hour to more than 60 kilometers per hour.

After passing through Gangu, the train began to turn and enter the Gangu Guangling line, heading towards the eastern coastal area. In this railway line with a total length of more than 1,500 kilometers, of which there are 350 kilometers of straight lines, the locomotive driver does not even need to observe the terrain around the railway, just look at the endless railway ahead.

Along the way, travelers can enjoy the vast expanse of the next door and desert, the vast meadows, the vast plains and the wildlife that inhabits the entire area.

Of course, the only passengers who have such an appreciation are those who are wealthy in luxury boxes. And for those passengers in the many ordinary cars, after a tiring few days of traveling, I am afraid that they will only feel that it is torment to stay for an extra minute.

On July 5, at 8:20 a.m., the train arrived in Guangling, an important town in the northeast (now Townsville, Australia).

(End of chapter)