"What, it's here?" Wang Chengen and others asked in unison.
Don’t look at the fact that Beijing is only 300 miles away from Tianjin.
But under normal circumstances, in addition to speeding up the horse and changing horses without changing people at the station, it takes at least 2 days to get from Beijing to Tianjin.
If traveling by carriage, it will take at least 3 days.
This is without heavy objects.
How long has it passed now? How could it be possible to arrive in Tianjin after being exhausted for several hours?
"Sir, not only are we here, but the goods behind us are also arriving soon." The boy's voice came in again from outside the carriage.
"According to His Majesty's decree, we should get off the bus at Tianjin Port. We will know if we go out and take a look."
After a while, Wang Chengen said slowly.
Although I don't want to believe that I can reach Tianjin Port in one day, staying like this is not an option.
Opening the car door, walking out of the platform, listening to the gurgling sound of the waves in the distance, coupled with the faint salty smell on the side, Wang Chengen's brain suddenly sobered up.
It's the sea, it's the sea!
It was so fast that we arrived in Tianjin in just one day trip.
Your Majesty is really clever.
Wang Chengen sighed in his heart.
"This is Tianjin Port?" Liu Hongxun, who had just gotten off the bus, couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, sir, it's Tianjin Port. Look, there is the sea over there. There is no sea around the capital." The boy on the side said.
"How many hours did it take us?"
Liu Hongxun asked.
As a member of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet, Liu Hongxun was not a fool.
It only takes one day from Beijing to Tianjin. What does that mean?
This means that as long as there is a railway, the marching speed of the Ming army can at least triple.
Moreover, the physical strength of the soldiers is very low, and they can directly participate in the battle after getting off the vehicle.
Throughout the ages, why have common people revolted and destroyed a large area before the imperial army arrived?
Why would a foreign enemy become corrupted thousands of miles away once it breaks through?
In addition to the many things that need to be prepared for the army to go on an expedition, the marching speed of the imperial army also plays a huge role.
Even the cavalry, which is famous for its mobility, can only travel 300 miles a day at its fastest.
If you were an infantryman, you would be able to cover 50 miles a day.
Now, in just one day, everyone has traveled 300 miles. This kind of speed, if used in the army, is definitely considered to be extremely fast.
"Lord Qi, we set off from Chen hour. It's now You hour, and we walked for five and a half hours." The boy on the side replied.
In fact, if you go all out, the speed will be faster, but this is your first time traveling together, so naturally it will be slower.
"Five and a half hours. So fast."
"Yes, my lord."
"My lords, you've had a hard day's work. Let's go to the inn and have a rest early. We have to take a bus back to the capital the day after tomorrow." Wang Chengen said with a smile.
"Okay, let's have a good rest today, go shopping in Tianjin tomorrow, and return to Beijing the day after tomorrow." Liu Hongxun agreed.
Although he was sure in his heart that this was Tianjin, Liu Hongxun still didn't believe that it took him less than 6 hours to reach Tianjin.
"I hope this isn't a dream."
Liu Hongxun smiled bitterly in his heart.
....
"Sir, wake up."
At dawn, Liu Hongxun was woken up by the boy outside the door.
"I know, I'll be out right away." Liu Hongxun replied with two big dark circles under his eyes.
It’s not just Liu Hongxun who suffers from dark circles under his eyes.
Almost all the officials who came together had no sleep last night.
.. . .
"It seems that I was really wrong when I waited." Liu Hongxun said with emotion.
When Zhu Youjian recruited refugees to build the railway, almost all officials opposed it.
Many of them have selfish motives.
But the main reason was that the national treasury was empty.
The imperial court was still in debt.
There is no spare time to build railways.
If Zhu Youjian hadn't had a tough attitude and paid for it himself.
He also killed several officials and shocked all officials.
Otherwise, this railway would have been dead long ago.
"Actually, we were not wrong at that time. When His Majesty ascended the throne, everyone knew what was going on in the court."
"That is, Wei Zhongxian controlled the government at that time. The national treasury was empty and slavery was rampant in Liaodong.
There is a severe drought in Shaanxi and people are displaced. There is no need for money. "
"His Majesty still has foresight."
"That's right, last night, each cart behind me transported nearly 100 shi of grain. The key is that it was pulled by 2 horses. Although the horses were changed several times in the middle, after all, the 100 shi of grain was transported. It will never consume more than 1 stone of food and grass.”
"What? How can the consumption be so low?"
It is already a miracle that today's baggage teams can travel fifty miles a day. In fact, most of the time they can only travel twenty or thirty miles a day. This is where a problem arises.
For example, if a transport team travels thirty miles a day, the battlefield is three hundred miles away, and the government wants to supply the army three hundred miles away, what will happen?
This team will take ten days to travel a distance of three hundred miles, but time is not an issue. The problem is that during these ten days, the people and horses in this baggage team also need to eat.
So what should the government prepare to supply troops three hundred miles away? It is necessary to prepare ten days’ worth of food for the baggage train + food for the frontline soldiers. Is it right?
This is definitely not right, because the baggage train team will not stay there, and you have to give them the food they need to bring back! Therefore, what the government needs to prepare is: twenty days of food for the baggage train + food for the army.
If it's not safe on the road, why don't you hire a delivery guard? These guards also need to eat.
Just take a car, 2 horses, 1 driver, and 1 guard.
Each horse needs to eat more than 20 kilograms of fodder every day. For two people, 2 pounds of food a day is not much.
Based on the calculation of 300 miles and ten days, 200 kilograms of fodder and 20 kilograms of grain are needed.
How much weight can a car carry? Only two to three thousand catties.
Nearly one-tenth was consumed in just ten days.
If it is far away, the consumption will be even greater.
As long as the battlefield is a little far away and there is no water transportation, the scale of the war will drop off a cliff.
For example, the Battle of Salhu. As a large feudal empire with a population of hundreds of millions, the Ming Dynasty could only dispatch 120,000 troops to attack Houjin. This was already the limit of the Ming Dynasty. It was not that the court had no troops, it simply couldn't afford it.
This shows how difficult it is to supply supplies over long distances.
According to historical records.
The Qin Dynasty had to supply the soldiers on the front line of the Great Wall, and had to transport thirty dan of grain from the Central Plains area before one dan could be delivered to the foot of the Great Wall.
What about the twenty-nine stones? All were eaten on the road.
It was even more terrifying when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered the Western Regions. The road was difficult and the journey was long. Only 1 in 200 of the military rations departing from Chang'an reached the Dunhuang front line, and the loss ratio was extremely alarming.
Why do Liaodong and other places still grow food on the spot, knowing full well that the slaves will fight the autumn wind?
It was true that the consumption on the road was too great, and the court simply could not afford it.
Also, once a famine occurs, why does Ming Dynasty still allow the victims to move around despite knowing that a major disaster will be followed by a major epidemic? He knows that population movement may accelerate the spread of the epidemic.
I really can’t afford to transport it.
Although Wang Chengen, Liu Hongxun and others were not good at fighting, after making such a calculation, the benefits of the railway were immediately apparent.
This thing can play a vital role in the stability of Ming Dynasty.
