Chapter 141 Taking the Train

There were more than a thousand people on the train from Binzhou to Shangjing. In addition to the officials going to Shangjing and the soldiers of the Hope, pigs and sheep were also taken back along the way.

The first carriage was Song Yuzhu's single room, and the entire carriage was decorated like a small palace.

There is a stove for heating, a low couch for resting, a table and chairs for meeting subordinates, and a separate bathroom. In accordance with Song Yuzhu's requirements, the bathroom is equipped with a basin for washing face and a toilet.

Zhao Xiao curiously looked around, then walked over to Song Yuzhu and said excitedly, "This train is really great. I didn't expect it to run faster than a horse-drawn carriage!"

Song Yuzhu looked at him intently, her eyes full of love.

Zhao Xiao's heartbeat quickened when he was looked at by him. He walked to Song Yuzhu, stroked his hair and cheek and said, "Yuzhu, don't look at me like that."

"Why?"

“I’m afraid I can’t control myself…”

Song Yuzhu's cheeks turned red and she turned her head away embarrassedly.

Zhao Xiao reached out and played with his earlobe again. The white and tender earlobe was squeezed between his fingers and slowly turned red.

Both of them had difficulty breathing.

Zhao Xiao pinched Song Yuzhu's chin and asked him to turn his head. The two looked at each other for a moment and then bullied him.

Song Yuzhu sighed and hugged his neck, closing her eyes to respond to his exploration. Her hot lips kissed him, making his heart beat faster and he couldn't help but let out an unbearable gasp from his throat.

Just when the two were about to fire their guns, Zhao Xiao suddenly stopped and Song Yuzhu opened his eyes and looked at him in confusion.

"Not here, I'm afraid of hurting you." Zhao Xiao's voice was frighteningly hoarse, and he relied on his amazing willpower to distance the two of them.

He had been single for two years, and finally saw the person he loved the most, but he was afraid that he would lose control and hurt him. There were many people on the train, and he didn't want Yuzhu to be labeled as a tyrant.

"Then you..." Song Yuzhu looked at the hem of his clothes.

"It's okay, it will be fine in a while." Zhao Xiao walked into the bathroom, took a deep breath, scooped a bucket of cold water and washed his face, putting out half of the fire on his body.

After a while, the two of them calmed down. Zhao Xiao sat next to Song Yuzhu and said, "Did you know that we would be back soon?"

“I knew about this when you docked in Johor three months ago.”

"Then can you see me on our way to the West?"

Song Yuzhu shook her head. "After the Hope sailed out of the border of Daqi, I couldn't see you on the map anymore. But after you brought Johor to Daqi, the map determined that it was Daqi's territory, so I had the authority to check it."

"If I had known this, I would have conquered some territory in the West."

Song Yuzhu laughed and said, "Forget it. We can't defend it even if we attack from such a distance."

"Yuzhu, tell me what happened in Daqi in the past two years." He was very curious about this train.

Song Yuzhu let him lie down with his head resting on her legs, and rubbed his temple while saying, "Daqi has developed very quickly in the past two years, and seven places in the country have trains. The train we are on started running in July this year, and it is mainly responsible for transporting goods."

After the construction of Binzhou Port, merchants from all over the country saw opportunities. They shipped goods to Binzhou by sea, and then rented train carriages to transport them to the north for sale. Moreover, using trains to transport goods would greatly improve efficiency and reduce transportation costs.

Zhao Xiao couldn't help but sigh: "When I left, the research department had only built a prototype of the train. I didn't expect that it would be put into use in just two years."

"The cement roads have been almost completed, and the official roads in each state have been covered. If we fight with the Jin Kingdom in the future, we don't have to worry about the lack of logistics supplies."

"Shangjing also founded four universities, namely the Medical College, the Engineering College, the Teachers College and the Military College."

"There is also a military academy? What does it teach?" Zhao Xiao opened his eyes curiously.

"Teaching how to deploy troops, coordinate strategies, and kill and subdue the enemy. Most military commanders are hereditary. If they rely solely on family inheritance and die on the battlefield, wouldn't those military tactics be lost?"

Take Yang Ping's grandfather, General Xu Dingkun, for example. He is already 73 years old and still in good health. He is proficient in the art of deploying troops, but he has no sons, only a grandson, Yang Ping.

The military tactics that kid has learned are half as good as what the old man has learned. In the old man’s words, “they are bullshit.” If the old man dies, the military tactics will be lost.

There are many generals like General Xu who are idle at home in the capital. Instead of letting them sit idle, it is better to use their remaining energy to contribute to the country.

Song Yuzhu did not let them teach in vain. He could receive a salary of thirty taels of silver every month, and he also provided regular physical examinations and treatments for these old generals' illnesses for free.

These veterans didn't care about the thirty taels of silver, but the free medical treatment was particularly attractive. Because they had been fighting outside for many years, they all had some diseases.

Ordinary doctors can't cure it, but Professor Song from the medical school can. Song Bai is proficient in acupuncture, and with the teachings in the school over the past two years, his acupuncture skills have become so advanced that even Song Yuzhu feels inferior to him.

"I'll go there and listen to the lectures when I get back!" Zhao Xiao admires Song Yuzhu very much. He always has some new ideas in his head.

In fact, Song Yuzhu was just repeating what others had said. If he didn't have one more lifetime of memory than others, he wouldn't be able to think of so many new things.

"I also asked the Ministry of Works to build a stadium near the Western Suburbs Camp. It will be almost completed in June next year. You can go and have a look when you have time."

Zhao Xiao was puzzled and asked: "What is a stadium?"

Speaking of this, we have to mention the Qingxu Sect incident that caused a sensation in Beijing.

Song Yuzhu recounted the incident from beginning to end: "The sports meeting was so crude that it resulted in crowding and trampling, so I decided to build a large gymnasium to hold the competition."

After hearing this, Zhao Xiao's face darkened and he didn't say anything for a long time.

Song Yuzhu knew that he was angry, and quickly comforted him: "Don't worry, I had Black Blade Bai Xiu to protect me later, and there was no danger again."

Zhao Xiao's expression was still grim: "The Japanese are still determined to destroy Daqi, and they are causing trouble for nothing."

It is really something that we cannot take lightly as such a small country dares to make such a big noise.

Song Yuzhu said: "I have sent the navy to deter them. They should not dare to commit the crime again."

Zhao Xiao still felt unsatisfied and was thinking about how many soldiers he should take to Japan to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Song Yuzhu smoothed his brows and said, "Don't think too much. You've been exhausted from the journey. Just close your eyes and have a good sleep."

"Hmm." Zhao Xiao held his hand and rubbed it on his cheek. Like a lion whose fur had been stroked, he let down all his guard and soon there was a snoring sound.

Song Yuzhu leaned on the cushion, looked sideways at the vast land outside the window, and her mood suddenly became brighter.

A peaceful world, happy people, and having your loved one by your side, aren’t these the happiest things in life?

*

In another carriage, civil and military officials gathered together. Today, rarely did anyone argue or quarrel. Everyone was happily listening to Ge Zhongshun recounting his experiences along the way.

At first, Ge Zhongshun was a little reserved, because the passengers in this carriage were all officials of the fourth rank and above, including the prime minister, the six ministers, and the Privy Councilor.

Any one of them was a pillar of the court, and he didn't dare to offend them, so he only talked about things that were not so rude.

"We saw a very big fish in the sea. It was as long as two train cars! There was a spring on the back of the fish that could spray water out!"

The civil servants whispered to each other: "Is it Kun?" There was a fish in the North Sea, named Kun. Kun was so big that no one knew how many thousands of miles it was.

"It doesn't sound like a Kun, it should be a whale." Lin Huaijin, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, whispered. His hometown is Fuzhou. When he was a child, he went fishing with his father and heard the elders mention this fish.

Qin Fengtu nodded: "There is a spring on its back, it must be a whale."

The generals were not interested in these things. Zheng Daan said, "Don't talk about those useless things, tell me how you sold so much gold in Yi Country?"

The boxes of gold were so dazzling that it made people's eyes go straight. It was said that all the soldiers on this trip were given 50 taels of gold. The soldiers who stayed in Shangjing were envious. If they had known that they could make so much money, they would have risked their reputation to get on board.

The civil officials stopped talking and looked at Ge Zhongshun eagerly because they were also extremely curious.

Speaking of this, Ge Zhongshun opened up a lot of conversation. He cleared his throat and said, "Speaking of this matter, I have to praise our General Zhao for his good tactics!"

"Which lord knows the price of silk and porcelain?"

The Minister of Revenue said, "The price of silk varies with the quality. Ordinary silk can be sold for about ten taels of silver in Daqi at most. Good quality porcelain can be bought for three or five taels, and inferior ones can be bought for dozens of coins."

"How much do you think General Zhao is selling for over there?"

Zheng Daan cursed, "Stop keeping me in suspense, you little bastard. Tell me now!"

For the first time, the civil officials felt that the rude words of the military generals were quite pleasant to hear.

Ge Zhongshun smiled and held up two fingers.

"Twenty taels of silver?"

"Twenty taels of gold!"

The officials exclaimed at the same time.

Zheng Daan asked, "How can it be sold at such a high price? Are all the barbarians fools?"

Ge Zhongshun clapped his hands and said, "We all know the price, but the barbarians don't know! They have never even seen silk and porcelain!"

Xu Bing asked in confusion: "They have never seen it before, so what clothes do they wear, what do they eat and drink?"

"The adults on the ship have seen that their wool can be cut and spun into yarn, which can then be woven into cloth to make clothes."

"Oh, I see." Xu Bing stroked his beard and nodded.

Ge Zhongshun continued: "Eating has become simpler. The poor use wooden bowls, the nobles use silver bowls and copper bowls. Anyway, no one uses porcelain."

"Besides, there is really no comparison with our Daqi. The streets are full of shit and urine. You have to pay attention to your steps at all times when walking, because if you are not careful, you will step on shit."

The civil servants had different expressions on their faces, and were disgusted by the scenes he described.

Chen Jing quietly poked him and told him to be more careful when speaking in front of adults.

Zheng Daan didn't care: "Keep talking, I love to hear this!"

With the general's support, Ge Zhongshun let himself go even more: "Those Westerners only bathe twice in their lives, once when they are born and once when they die."

"Oh my god, that's so delicious!"

"It stinks! But they invented a scented water that they sprinkle on themselves to cover up the stench."

"By the way, their meals are also very simple. They don't have as many delicious dishes as we do in Daqi. The only thing they can offer is probably wine..."

Ge Zhongshun kept talking while the others listened quietly, with occasional laughter.

In another adjacent carriage, Charles had a strange look on his face.

Song Yutang, who was sitting next to him, was trying so hard to hold back his laughter that he could only drink water to cover it up.

"Master Song, laugh if you want."

“No…I…hahahaha…”

Charles said puzzledly: "I don't understand, what's so funny about this?" Ge Zhongshun was not exaggerating, their place was exactly as he described.

Song Yutang said meaningfully: "You will understand when you arrive in Shangjing."

(End of this chapter)