This triumphant army returning north took a boat down the Yangtze River, and then transferred to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal back to the capital.
Along the way, I hurriedly and slowly arrived at Tongzhou in early December of the 18th year of Chongzhen.
Standing on the front deck, looking at Tongzhou in the distance, Zhou Yuji said with great emotion: "I finally got back before the canal froze, otherwise, this year's New Year might have to be celebrated outside again! "
After he finished speaking, no one paid attention to him. The generals around him were all looking at Tongzhou in the distance with telescopes.
"Oh no, Tongzhou seems to be in trouble!" Bai Guangen said suddenly with a somewhat anxious tone.
"What?" Zhou Yuji was very surprised when he heard this, and quickly picked up the telescope on his chest and looked at it.
Sure enough, we saw Tongzhou in the distance. If I guessed correctly, it was near Tongzhou Pier. There was smoke. Could it be that the warehouse was on fire?
Thinking of this, Zhou Yuji became a little worried. This is not a good sign to encounter something like this right after I came back!
I haven't been back for so long. I don't know what's going on in the capital?
"Beep..."
When Yuan Shizhong heard it, he couldn't help but said in surprise: "What is that sound? It's so strange?"
Everyone nearby heard it, but they also didn’t know what it was.
At this moment, a young man on the bow of the ship heading south just passed them and said with a loud smile: "It has been a long time since these military masters came back. That was the sound of the steam train! That puff of smoke , it was also sent by a steam train. I don’t know what happened today, but a lot of steam trains were mobilized at the Tongzhou Railway Station!"
"???"
After hearing this young man's words, a series of questions popped up in the minds of Zhou Yuji and others: Steam train, what is that?
Although I don’t understand, one thing is for sure, that is, there is definitely no leakage!
Tang Tong wanted to ask clearly, but the ship had already passed by and he couldn't ask questions, so he had to give up.
However, we will be arriving from Tongzhou Pier soon, so we will know then. Therefore, they are not in a hurry.
No matter what this steam train is, what does it have to do with them?
Basically, these generals think so.
Compared with this unknown steam train, they were more concerned about when they would arrive in the capital.
They heard Zhou Yuji say to them: "It's already afternoon now. It's definitely too late to rush back to the capital. There's still forty miles to go!"
"Yeah, I guess I have to rest in Tongzhou for one night before arriving in the capital tomorrow!" Ma Ke also nodded in agreement.
"Haha, Brother Zhou misses his sister-in-law, right? This girl is eager to return home. She wishes she could get to the capital today!" Li Fuming heard this and said with a smile.
Zhou Liu has been guarding Princess Kunxing. It has been a long time since we separated two years ago.
Zhou Yuji didn't deny it, he just looked at Tongzhou with a smile.
Suddenly, his face straightened up, and he quickly said to the people around him: "It seems that there is a big red robe waiting for us at the pier. Please tidy up your appearance and stop smiling!"
When the others heard this, they also noticed it, and they quickly sent orders to their subordinates to cheer up.
In the Ming Dynasty, the scarlet robe could only be worn by the highest-ranking officials of the imperial court.
Officials of this level came to Tongzhou to greet them. To be honest, they were very surprised.
When they want to come and return in triumph, officials of this level come to greet them outside the capital. This is a sign that the court attaches great importance to them.
They all went to Tongzhou, and then wasted another day to welcome them back to the capital. This kind of treatment had never been heard of before.
With this in mind, everyone, including Zhou Yuji, was moved and put out all their energy to accept the inspection of a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty!
After getting closer, Zhou Yuji and the others discovered that there were two people in red scarlet robes. One was the eunuch Wang Erbiao who was familiar with them, and the other seemed to be the minister of the Ministry of War.
While they were surprised, they suddenly saw Wang Erbiao waving his hand.
After a while, I heard a "beep..." sound coming from Tongzhou Pier.
It was like the sound made by many giant beasts at the same time. It was sharp and carried far away. It was definitely not the sound of a human being or a cannon. Anyway, it was something I had never heard before.
Then, the welcoming sounds of gongs, drums, and suonas started to sound, and the Tongzhou Pier suddenly became very lively.
Zhou Yuji and others had no time to think too much and immediately concentrated their attention. Before the boat under their feet had docked, they all clasped their fists and saluted the two senior Ming Dynasty officials on the dock.
When the ship docked, the sound of music stopped.
"Hahaha..." Wang Erbiao laughed happily and said to Zhou Yuji and the others, "If you come later, our family and Wang Shilang will be frozen!"
Hearing this, Zhou Yuji and others couldn't help but be moved, and quickly expressed how ashamed they were.
"You have been fighting abroad for nearly three years. The emperor is thinking about you and asked our family and Wang Shilang to come and welcome you back to the capital." Wang Erbiao said cordially, "If you want to be grateful, I can tell the emperor himself later!"
If it weren't for Emperor Chongzhen's will, Wang Erbiao would have seen a ghost and come to greet them in this winter!
Zhou Yuji and others also knew this very well.
But at this time, they had no time to say anything else, and they were all shocked and said: "What, His Majesty has also arrived in Tongzhou?"
Wang Erbiao was also surprised when he heard this, and immediately asked in surprise: "Where did the emperor come to Tongzhou?"
"Didn't Eunuch Wang just say that we should go and talk to the Emperor on our own later? If the Emperor has not arrived in Tongzhou, what should we say?" Zhou Yuji quickly reminded him after hearing this.
When Wang Erbiao heard this, he turned around and glanced at each other with Wang Shilang, and then they both burst out laughing, making Zhou Yuji and others look at each other. What the hell is this?
After finishing laughing, Wang Erbiao rubbed his hands and said with a sigh: "Forget it, let's not talk about it, our family is really freezing to death. Let's go, get in the car quickly, and we will be in the capital in an hour. The camp over there has been prepared for you." alright!"
"..." Zhou Yuji and others were dumbfounded when they heard this. Get on the bus and arrive in the capital an hour later. What kind of bus is this? Is there such a fast car in the world?
Wang Erbiao was indeed afraid of the cold, so he turned around and walked away. As he walked, he asked, "Don't you read Di Bao or Ming Pao?"
When Zhou Yuji and others heard this, they glanced at each other, and then Zhou Yuji replied: "The prince is right, we are all at war, and we are either in a hurry, so we don't have time to read Di Bao or Ming Pao!"
In fact, most of them don't know how to read. Even those who do know how to read are still resistant to reading words. Who would have no problem reading those things. In front of the army, I listened to Governor Sun. On the way back, it would be better to do something than read a book!
After hearing this, Wang Erbiao did not expose these warriors.
Tongzhou Railway Station is right here at the pier, just around the corner.
However, after turning a corner, Zhou Yuji and others were dumbfounded. They even stopped and looked at everything in front of them in surprise.
Tongzhou Railway Station is no longer what it was when it was first built last year. After successive expansions, it has become very big. For this troop transport, all the trains here have been transferred and placed in front of Zhou Yuji and others.
It was the first time I saw a steam train. There were still so many steam trains, and smoke was coming out from the front of the train. I have to say that it was normal for Zhou Yuji and others to be stunned!
The cavalry continued to advance along the official road, and all the infantry, under the arrangement of the people at the train station, got into the carriages and got on the train.
At this time, a train, similar to transporting troops, could carry twenty carriages. One train could transport a thousand people, and ten trains could transport 10,000 people. After three trips back and forth, 30,000 infantry troops can be transported back to the capital. The remaining cavalry of about 10,000 had no choice but to walk back by themselves.
Every victorious Ming army soldier looked at the steam train in great surprise. At this time, regardless of military rank, it was Grandma Liu who entered the Grand View Garden.
The steam train moved slowly, which made them all feel very novel. None of them were too cold. They opened the carriage door and saw the train really moving. They were all excited.
When the train really started to move, I caught up with Pao Ze who was riding a horse on the official road. They greeted each one with a smile, and some even screamed and laughed at the cavalry's grinding.
The cavalry were also laughing and "annoyed", but they had military discipline and had to take care of their horses. They couldn't let go and run away, so they could only look at the infantry before, sitting in that weird thing, rumbling over and over. Come farther and farther.
If it weren't for the inconvenience of talking in this cold weather while riding a horse, they would definitely discuss this novel car, how powerful it is! I don’t know what other changes would be so strange in the past few years since I was away from the capital!
Before the cavalry soldiers had gone halfway, they saw the steam train rumbling back. As a result, they were naturally even more surprised.
When they finally arrived at the capital, they suddenly discovered that on both sides of the Tongzhou River in the capital, many people were surrounding them in such a cold weather, and there were even Jinyi guards on guard.
Some soldiers who were originally from the Beijing camp were surprised when they saw this scene.
In the past, the Tongzhou River from Tongzhou to the capital was no longer accessible to boats. But now, not to mention there are boats on the river, but there are still so many people watching in such cold weather?
So curious, when they stretched their necks to take a look, they discovered something different.
There were two boats on the river, both without sails. One of them is the strangest. There are two big wheels on both sides of the ship. What kind of ship is this?
They didn’t know that this was a paddle steamer. And this day was the day when paddle boats and propeller boats were experimented together.
Emperor Chongzhen has a global mind and is very concerned about this new type of ship, so he is here to watch it. Inevitably, Zhang Mingwei accompanied him.
Therefore, before Zhou Yuji and the others, who came by steam train, had time to recover from their surprise, they immediately came to witness history again under the leadership of Wang Erbiao.
