In ancient times, urgent military intelligence documents could travel thousands of miles a day and night through a complete post station system, which is what ordinary people are familiar with as the eight-hundred-mile express.
It's just that this is an understatement of eight hundred miles, and it requires countless manpower and material resources. For example, for tens of miles, a fast horse or a messenger will be needed.
But this eight hundred miles is not the fastest transmission speed in this era.
There is another
homing pigeon.
It was so cold in Tashan Fort in the early morning that one could grit one's teeth. It is said that when you pee, the water will freeze as soon as it comes out of the faucet.
Chang Yu came to the command post after washing up. The room was full of people, and his breakfast was also laid out on the table, including a large bowl of mutton soup, two nests, two eggs, a bowl of porridge and a portion of pickles.
This pickle is also a famous specialty of the capital, and Liubiju's is the favorite brand of pickles among the aristocrats of the capital.
Chang Yu didn't pay attention to these things, but Li Muchian brought a jar when he left Beijing. He said that the white porridge was too bland and he had to pay for the pickles, but to eat the pickles, you must be Liubiju.
"Daozhang Li, there aren't much left of this precious baby." Chang Yu glanced at the pickles on the plate and smiled faintly. Li Muchian touched his nose and said, "There's enough for two days at most." He said and looked around the room with a guilty conscience. Other people inside.
As expected, everyone seemed to be smiling, and Tu Yuan couldn't help but curl his lips: "Three days ago, when I asked for a bite, the Taoist Master said this."
"No, yesterday I was licking my face to ask for a bite, but the Taoist priest said it was gone." Marco couldn't help but tease.
Cough, cough, cough, Li Muchian covered his mouth and coughed: "It's not much, and the Governor is so good at this, you have to..." "No, no, no, don't use our family as a shield, it's just pickles, which one should we eat?" They all have the same taste, unlike the Taoist Priest who is so picky. If you are precious about that thing, keep it and eat it. If not, take it out and share it with everyone.
Try it”
Hearing what Chang Yu said, everyone started to boo, and Li Muchian scratched his head: "It's really gone, there are only two left. If you want to be poor, just share it with us..."
"Come on, look at the distressed look on your face, it's better to keep your treasure to yourself," Wuzhong scolded with a smile.
At this moment, Kuang Ren walked in: "Sir, I'm from the capital." He said and handed Chang Yu a small bamboo tube.
Chang Yu raised his eyebrows, and everyone's expressions became solemn, because they could all see that this was a secret message sent by a carrier pigeon. If it was so urgent, it must be that something big had happened in the capital.
But who knew that Chang Yu opened it and took a look, with a smile on his lips: "This kid is serious."
Everyone looked at his expression and felt relieved. Li Muchian coughed lightly: "Duke, what happened in the capital?"
Chang Yu didn't say anything and handed him the note.
Li Muxian took it and looked at it, raised his brows, and then smiled: "Finally, I gave the Governor some bad breath."
"I've just pulled out a hair, so I can't say I'm feeling bad, but as long as I touch the hair, the bad breath will come out sooner or later." Chang Yu smiled faintly. Seeing how relaxed he was, the others started asking questions. stand up. This matter is not a confidential matter. Chang Yu then told Dongchang that they had dug out an intelligence organization that Zhang Xianzhong was lurking in the capital. Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this. After all, this group of people had provoked Chang Yu at the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum before. Not what
Such a secret, everyone who heard it at the time was indignant, especially the people around Chang Yu, who wanted to twitch and peel off their skin.
Of course, this kind of secret organization is not a head-on confrontation between the two armies. If you want to rip off the skin and cramps, you must find someone first, but this kind of underground rat is all about appearing and disappearing, leaving Tu Yuan and the others with no strength to attack.
Leave professional matters to professionals. This is the so-called skill of specialization. Coincidentally, Dongchang and Jinyiwei are the best at this. Although the Qilin Sect has a deep secret, their hard work pays off, and their flaws are eventually exposed. .
"Cut these bastards into pieces. By the way, Governor, please send a message to Eunuch Chun and leave me the main culprit. When I go back, I will skin him with one knife and then I will satisfy my hatred," Tu Yuan said with a snort.
Chang Yu chuckled and waved his hand. He had just set his sights and had not yet made a move. This Qilin Sect could only hide its tail for so long, which shows that it is very cautious. If you want to catch a big fish, you must be calm.
Hearing this, Tu Yuan showed regret on his face: "We haven't caught him yet, so Eunuch Chun is so worried..."
Chang Yu smiled slightly, put down his bowl and chopsticks and burped: "That boy may have guessed that our family has been very angry recently, so he specially sent a bowl of Qingxin to remove the fire soup."
"Hey, then Eunuch Chun is really interested." Tu Yuangan laughed a few times and turned to ask Kuang Ren: "It's so cold that we traveled thousands of miles from the capital to here, and this pigeon flew here in one night."
Kuang Ren nodded: "Come on, fly to Ningyuan first, and then transfer here. If you ride a horse this thousand miles fastest, you will have to deliver it tonight."
It's incredible. Tu Yuan frowned and asked Chang Yu: "Master Du Gong, this pigeon flies much faster than a horse. It's not tired. And why doesn't he get lost?" Chang Yu hasn't spoken yet. Ji Jike couldn't help but chime in: "Everything with wings flying in the sky is much faster than running on the ground. Of course, you don't want to make excuses about those chickens, ducks and geese. Moreover, homing pigeons are faster than ordinary domestic pigeons."
The speed is much faster. You can easily fly seven to eight hundred miles in one day. He looked at Chang Yu and said, "Isn't that right, Lord Governor?" Chang Yu nodded: "Generally, it is normal for carrier pigeons to fly a thousand miles in one day. Specially trained carrier pigeons can fly one thousand miles in one day." Two thousand miles is enough. Our yamen’s carrier pigeons are specially trained carrier pigeons used to perform military duties or deliver emergency information. This distance is easy for them. There is a record of a specially trained carrier pigeon taking off from the sea in West Africa after 55 days. Fly directly across the sea to London. You may not know these two places, but we can tell you that these two places are two miles apart.
Thousands of miles away! "
Ah, everyone opened their mouths. Twenty thousand miles, how far is that!
"This, this, won't it get lost after flying across the sea? How can it rest when it's tired? Is it possible that it's still floating on the water?" Tu Yuan asked awkwardly.
Chang Yu sighed: "Everything in the world is magical. The homing pigeon has its own navigation system and has good endurance. It can fly for several days without setting. Of course, it must undergo special training..." Then he learned some more science. The limited knowledge I have, for example, the speed of ordinary homing pigeons can reach 70 to 12 kilometers per hour, and the speed of specially trained homing pigeons can reach 90 to 15 kilometers per hour, which is far faster than that of strong horses. Another example is that homing pigeons have a natural ability. The navigation and positioning system is almost impossible to lose direction. Even if it is lost, it can be adjusted quickly. However, it cannot be accurate to the size of a palm, and it cannot just stop wherever it is like riding a horse. Special training must be set up, such as Dongchang Yamen's carrier pigeon cannot fly directly to Tashan Fort because it has never been here and has not been trained. It can only fly to a designated general area in Ningyuan City, and then Ningyuan will send carrier pigeons specifically to Tashan Fort. In addition,
Using homing pigeons to deliver messages is also risky, because he will encounter some natural predators of birds and hunters on the way...
Everyone listened with great interest, chatting while eating and drinking, from carrier pigeons to Zhang Xianzhong's Qilin Sect, and then to Li Zicheng's magical strategy. You said something, I said something, and the atmosphere was relaxed.
Until Zu Zerun gasped and rushed in from the door: "Report to the Governor, the Tatars sent troops early in the morning to drive back all our scouting horses around Xingshan. At this time, the north of the trench is full of Tatar exploring horses!" The relaxed and happy atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point. Chang Yu picked up the tea cup, took a sip and put it down gently, looking around at everyone: "Everyone, here you go, I'm so happy to entertain you."
