Chapter 759 The train sets off, the beginning of a new era
It was the eighth day of August in the thirty-second year of Hongwu.
This is a special day.
The Ming Dynasty train came out.
It's now, that is, nine o'clock in the morning.
In the past, when officials went to court, they would line up at the entrance of the palace. That is, they had to arrive before five o'clock in the morning to start entering.
Zhu Ying felt that this was too tiring, and officials from remote areas had to come to attend the morning meeting at around two o'clock in the morning.
This is worse than 996 in later generations.
So I suggested entering the court at nine o'clock.
Nine to five.
In this way, even officials who live far away can get up at 7 o'clock and come over, which at least guarantees basic sleep and prevents sudden death.
Regarding the court meeting, Zhu Ying felt that it was very meaningless.
Hundreds of people talk about a few things. Except for the ministers and ministers who can speak and are qualified to speak, 80% to 90% of the officials are the backdrop.
If everyone just said a few words, then I would probably only be able to do one thing every day, and it might not be finalized yet.
So now the morning court is held every three days. Several ministers describe their general situation. If there are no big problems, it is over.
Yesterday, the Sixth Ministry sent a notice to the matter and convened a court meeting.
"I heard that we are going to see something new today, and the court meeting will not be held in the palace."
"Real or false, where did you get the news?"
"It has spread around the Ministry of Industry, saying that it is a big event that shocked the world, so His Majesty specially held a meeting to let everyone see it."
"It was probably made by the Scientific Research Department. Hey, Qi Yin skills are the most important, and my grandson also attaches too much importance to craftsmen."
"A colleague from the Ministry of Household Affairs said that the Grand Sun recently issued an order to transfer 30,000,000 treasure banknotes from the treasury as funds for the Scientific Research Department. This Scientific Research Department is simply a gold-swallowing behemoth."
"Don't say tens of millions. The Ministry of Education has new reforms and will say billions in the future. To be honest, I don't feel much about hundreds of millions of treasures now. As for the Scientific Research Department, they have already spent nearly seven to eight billion this year.
."
"Come on, don't be obedient after taking advantage. Our treasury is rich. It's all thanks to the great grandson. We used to fight over hundreds of thousands of treasures. Who says anything about it now? We can do it every day.
I have to thank my grandson for having a sound sleep."
"No, the salary is so high, I can't stop you from eating meat every time."
"Hey, that's what I said."
In front of the Meridian Gate.
The officials were whispering to each other and discussing.
At this time, the side door of the Meridian Gate opened and a group of eunuchs came out.
The head steward asked the guard on duty: "But everyone is here."
The guard on duty raised his hands and said: "Father, everyone is here. There are 372 people in total, and no one is absent."
The consular eunuch snorted coldly: "Nowadays, court meetings are held every three days. It would be disrespectful to be absent."
Then he walked up to the officials and said loudly: "Stop talking."
The officials suddenly became quiet.
The consul eunuch said loudly: "His Majesty decrees that today's imperial meeting will be held in the Research Department of Ximen University."
"My lords, please."
Of course, it’s impossible to take a ride here, it’s all on foot.
After passing through the Meridian Gate, do not enter the Fengtian Gate, but follow the right gate and exit through the Xihua Gate.
Just a mile away is the Scientific Research Department.
When the officials arrived, Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang had already arrived by car.
All the officials are greeted by the ceremony, and the mountains shout long live.
Zhu Yuanzhang said no courtesy, which was the end of the process.
Baiguan looked at the giant dragon in front of him and was very curious.
But when Your Majesty is here, you don't dare to talk to each other. Disobedience is also a sin.
The censor and officials from Honglu Temple were watching.
Ahead, Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied with the giant dragon in front of him.
The shape of the dragon is a wooden carving.
A dragon head is installed on the locomotive. The middle carriage also has carvings of dragon body scales and a dragon tail at the back.
From a distance, it looks like a ferocious dragon.
"Dasun, let's go."
Zhu Yuanzhang took Da Sun's hand and walked towards the carriage in front. He had been looking forward to it for a long time since he came here.
In my heart, I complained that the officials were too slow.
When Liu He saw His Majesty walking towards the train, he nodded to his subordinate, the lieutenant.
The eunuch walked up to the hundred officials and said loudly: "The hundred officials will get on the carriage. There will be seats on the fifth rank and standing below."
After His Majesty and his grandson got on the train, the officials lined up to get on the train.
Almost everyone is very curious about this train.
"There are wheels down here, can it move? How many horses do you need to prepare? I didn't see any horses in front."
"Could it be that the soldiers were dragging them in front with ropes on their backs?"
"Does Mr. Li usually not read the capital's newspaper? Some time ago, my grandson asked the Scientific Research Department to make a steam armored ship. I guess this big carriage is a steam carriage."
"Steam carriage? I heard that the speed of a steam armored ship is several times faster than an ordinary ship. This steam carriage must also be very fast. Even if it is so big and carries hundreds of us, I don't know how many people there will be."
quick."
"There is a long iron block underneath, which is probably to guide the steam carriage."
After getting on the train, the officials became curious about the decoration inside.
It is surrounded by iron walls on all sides, just like a huge airtight iron cage.
The seats on the left and right rows are connected with a narrow aisle in the middle.
"Master Zhang, sit down."
"Master Li, please sit down."
"Mr. Zhao, let's sit together."
There are less than 200 seats in the seven carriages of the train. There are 372 people here, and most of them can only stand.
The eunuch in front also made arrangements, and only those on the fifth rank can have seats.
There are windows on both sides of the carriage, but they are not glass windows, but flat iron windows.
Today's glass craftsmanship is not enough to create flat transparent glass.
That is to say, the windows of the first two carriages are made of highly transparent colored glass.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying were not in the first carriage, but in the second carriage.
Because it was too noisy next to the front of the car in the first quarter.
The palace maids, eunuchs, and guards can be on standby here.
"Your Majesty, everyone is on board." Liu He bowed to report.
There are not many seats in the luxury carriage, so most people have to stand.
Zhu Yuanzhang lay next to the window, nodded and said: "Let's light the fire."
After Liu He received the edict, he immediately walked to the first carriage and said loudly: "Your Majesty orally, light the fire."
The craftsman who received the edict immediately pulled a bell above.
The bell is connected to the rear of the car, indicating that it should be ignited together.
Large pieces of coal are shoveled into the boiler and burned.
The rumbling sound gradually changed from slow to fast.
The train started to move slowly.
"It's moving, it's moving, it's really moving."
"Hey, it's amazing."
Zhu Yuanzhang could hear the shouting and screaming from the officials behind him, which was unprecedented in the world.
The vibration of the train is very strong, but it is much smoother than the carriage, with almost no bumps.
With the power of the two steam engines, the speed of the train is getting faster and faster.
From the window, you can see the scenery passing by outside.
"It's so fast, it's so fast, Dasun, come over and take a look."
Zhu Yuanzhang, young and old, suddenly became excited. At this moment, he was like a child who saw a new toy, regardless of his manners as an emperor.
But it seems that Lao Zhu didn't pay much attention to the emperor's manners on weekdays.
Looking from outside the train, the windows of the seven carriages at the back are packed with people.
Some of the officials were shouting, some were shocked and murmuring, and some were stunned.
Everyone crowded towards the window to look at the rapid scenery outside.
This is much faster than a horse-drawn carriage.
As the train speeded up, the howling wind poured into the carriage, but this still could not extinguish the enthusiasm of the officials.
Before I felt anything, I saw Xuanwu Lake.
Then quickly passed by.
In the Ming Dynasty, which was dominated by horse-drawn carriages, almost no one had experienced such speed.
Even war horses can only achieve this at the moment of charge.
The roaring sound could not conceal the excitement of the officials.
"Look, that's the Yangtze River. It hasn't been long before we can see the Yangtze River."
An official shouted.
The Yangtze River in the distance is unobstructed, and it quickly unfolds in front of everyone as the train moves.
At this time, a wooden sign was erected next to the train track with the word "Stop" written on it.
The craftsman responsible for operating the train saw this and quickly started pulling the bell several times.
This is a signal sign indicating that the train can start to slow down.
The steam train has to slide for more than a thousand meters to stop.
The fast-moving train also gradually slowed down.
The mood of the officials has stabilized a little, and everyone is talking loudly about this moment, without caring about their own appearance.
Zhu Yuanzhang in front asked Liu He next to him: "How long has it been?"
Liu He bowed and said: "Your Majesty, it's about a quarter of an hour."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed: "It's so fast, so fast. If we keep driving, we can reach Jiubian in just a few days."
"Soldiers don't need to expend any physical energy on this train. They can eat and rest at night."
"After traveling thousands of miles, I arrived at a place where I was completely rested and ready to fight at any time."
"Not only the soldiers, but also the food and grass can be dragged along. The soldiers in the front no longer have to worry about logistics, they can just let go and fight."
"Good stuff, really good stuff."
I heard Da Sun say it before, it was just imagination.
Now that I have sat on it and felt it, it is completely different.
As the train gradually slowed down, it came to a full stop.
In front, hundreds of people are already waiting.
It is the officials and craftsmen of the Scientific Research Department headed by Huang Guan.
Not long after, the train stopped.
The craftsmen over there had already prepared the wooden ladder and quickly set it up next to it.
Zhu Yuanzhang got off the train and looked at the Yangtze River nearby, feeling extremely comfortable.
"Grandpa, the train operation has been successful. From today on, we can directly build the railway track to Jiubian." Zhu Ying said next to him.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Repair it, repair it immediately, repair it immediately."
"When it's repaired, we'll sit down and go to Jiubian in person first."
The time was too short, and Zhu Yuanzhang had already arrived near the port before he could savor it carefully.
Naturally, I want to ride farther.
The situation with Baiguan is similar.
Zhu Yuanzhang walked towards the officials and scolded: "Have you seen that this is the Scientific Research Department that you often impeach? This is the Scientific Research Department that you think is going to drain the treasury."
"Now you have taken a ride on this train, but do you know how important this steam train is to our Ming Dynasty?"
"This train can travel without sleep, day and night, and even the fastest horse in the world can't be as fast as him."
"Now, do you know where all the treasure money of the Scientific Research Department has been spent?"