As soon as Wang Dachuan said this, everyone was a little stunned.
Yes, there is nothing else here, except that everyone lives high-spirited and high-spirited. Full of confidence and desire for the future.
Because since they followed Yang Fan, their lives have become better and better.
These soldiers are not only well treated and well fed, but many of them have achieved military exploits. You will be promoted when you go back. Only when people have hope for the future can their mental state be sunny.
In other parts of the Ming Dynasty, from top to bottom, almost no one is happy, they all have sad faces.
It’s as if Jingying is another world.
Fairness is emphasized here, while efficiency is also taken into consideration. No matter who it is, those who have achieved military merit will not be taken away from them and will definitely receive rewards.
If you work hard, your military pay will be paid in full. No one can deduct it.
Officers are not allowed to beat or scold soldiers without any reason, and they must speak kindly to both superiors and subordinates. Not to mention oppressing the people.
These officers and soldiers looked neat and tidy, and their clothes were starched and washed. The work and rest hours are fixed and the housekeeping is tidy. Even civil servants like them were affected. They got up every day with the wake-up call, washed first, and then went to get food.
Life in the military camp is simple and orderly. They have become accustomed to it without realizing it.
Now that I'm leaving, I suddenly feel a little empty.
Everyone hopes to live in an environment full of positive energy. Once they have seen the light, they can no longer tolerate the darkness.
They sighed heavily as they thought about continuing to live a life of oppression, injustice, and subjugation after returning. Even the tofu puffs and fried dough sticks in the bowl were no longer fragrant.
An hour later, the ship set off. Full of civil servants, eunuchs, factory guards, and their luggage and belongings brought back from the grassland.
These ships were all cargo ships and were in poor condition. They were so anxious to leave the dangerous spot that they couldn't care less.
They could only lay a carpet on the deck after it was cleaned and let them sit on the ground temporarily.
In addition to the steamship used as a power tug, the next ten ships are all flat-bottomed river ships converted from canals.
This kind of boat has a shallow draft and a wide hull. In order to guard against harassment and archery by Mongolian cavalry along the coast. All are equipped with semi-circular steel roofs that slide front and rear.
As soon as the steamer and the canal boat left the dock of Jiuyuan City, they were targeted by the Mongolian cavalry on the north bank. There were hundreds of them, riding horses and shooting arrows at the fleet.
Many of them were rockets filled with burning grease.
The city must be besieged to death. Although the Yarkand army in Henan was finished, they were not prepared to let the Beijing camp retain a water channel.
The destruction of the Yerkang army made them realize that Henan was an inaccessible land with isolated terrain. They didn't dare to send any more people.
The Mongolian rockets landed on the ship densely, making a ding-ding-dong-dong sound.
The civil servants and eunuchs were so frightened that they screamed. On the contrary, the people from Jinyiwei and Dongchang didn't take it seriously. Didn’t you see that the ceiling is made of corrugated steel plates?
What are you afraid of? It can still be shot through. Can it still be lit?
After the Mongols followed for a while, the horse could no longer run.
After all, the horsepower is limited, how can it keep up with the steamship driven by the steam engine. And the boat still went down the river. They had no choice but to give up.
Although they hated these ships traveling in the river and gritted their teeth, there was nothing they could do. We can only retreat.
The return trip was along the river at a very fast speed, and we arrived at Toktuo Town at noon.
Due to the rise of water transportation, it became a rest stop on the way. Ships can be overhauled here. People can also get on and off. Replenish coal, fresh water, and food.
Here, the Dahei River, a tributary of the Yellow River, merges into the Yellow River. It can be regarded as an important node on the water transportation route from Guihua City to Jiuyuan City.
The fleet needs to enter the Dahei River from here and sail to Guihua City.
When they arrived at Guihua City, they transferred the carriage to Zhangjiakou, which was the route they took when they set off for the expedition.
However, water transportation was opened from Guihua City to Jiuyuan City. Guihua City went to Zhangjiakou to build a temporary official road. Nowadays, all those running on it are four-wheeled light passenger carriages and four-wheeled caravans.
It's easier to go when you get to Zhangjiakou, because the train from Beijing to Zhangjiakou has opened.
At noon, beef buns, dehydrated vegetables and vegetable soup mixed with stock were delivered from the kitchen of the second tugboat. Everyone enjoyed the meal.
The biggest benefit of this expedition was that they achieved freedom of beef and mutton.
In Daming, they would never dare to think about eating meat every day.
In Daming, most people cannot afford to eat mutton. Moreover, the mutton smell of Ming Dynasty sheep is very strong, and most people are not used to eating it. But on the grassland, as long as the blood is drained when slaughtered. There is almost no odor.
Not to mention beef, the Ming Dynasty prohibited the slaughter of cattle for meat. Violators will go to jail.
When I think about returning to Beijing, it is almost impossible to eat beef buns so happily. Gao Qiqian also sighed.
When they arrived at Guihua City, they stayed at an inn for one night. The next day we boarded a caravan converted into a passenger bus.
Yang Fan has no shortage of horses now, and there are plenty of horses for pulling carts. Moreover, from Guihua City to Zhangjiakou, a four-lane official road was built using large stone rollers, sand and lime. With cars and roads, public transportation can naturally be established.
The road was smooth and straight, and the caravan compartment was converted into eight rows of seats. There are four seats in each row. A caravan can seat twenty-four people.
Eight horses pulled the caravan, galloping down the road.
There is a stop every thirty miles, and the horses are replaced, and the car does not stop and continues to the next stop.
When changing horses, passengers can get off, use the toilet, drink some water, and move around.
"This official road is really good. It's flat and straight, and there's no bumps when driving on it." Mr. Chen, the Minister of Household Affairs, said.
"Sir, this road was built by Uncle Dingyuan's engineers. It seems to be called a highway. These rest stops are called service areas." A supervisor came over quickly to introduce it.
"Well, Uncle Dingyuan is good at doing this. But the car is not bad. It feels like it's shaking up and down when you're sitting on it. It just doesn't feel bumpy. I don't know how it's dampened."
The highway is really fast. Change horses every thirty miles and keep running at a speed of 25 kilometers. We arrived at Jining City that night. Checked into the inn around ten o'clock in the evening.
Set off again the next day. This time we arrived in Zhangjiakou before dark.
Gao Qiqian and others stood in the north of Zhangjiakou City, looking at a tall masonry and concrete building in front of them, feeling a little dazed.
This is a square. There were street lights all around, and the carbide lamps illuminated the square and the train station building as brightly as day.
"Gao Gong, this is the starting station of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, Zhangjiakou Station." A eunuch came over and introduced. "But it's too late today and there is no train. We need to find an inn to stay here for one night. There will be an early train to the capital tomorrow morning. It only takes two days and two nights to reach Xizhimen."
Gao Qiqian looked at this tall, strange-looking train station. Some didn't react.
This journey is like a dream. First it was a steamship, and then it was a carriage that kept changing horses, and it took some highway. Now it’s time to take the legendary train.
When I came here, I left for more than a month, and now I can go back in three days.
These are the first times he has tried and experienced these things in his life, which makes them feel unreal.
