Amidst the harsh roaring sound, the chimney of the steam locomotive hanging from the coal bunker was emitting billowing black smoke.
The steam engine near the wheel released the pressure and sprayed out a large stream of white water vapor.
The curious Wu Meiniang stretched out her hand to open the window, but Li Yunze immediately shouted, "Don't open the window."
Wu Meiniang obeyed and withdrew her little hand from pushing the window.
But those distinguished foreign envoys opened their windows one after another.
In an instant, pungent black smoke was immediately swept into the car, causing a loud coughing sound.
Seeing this scene, Wu Meiniang quietly covered her mouth, and then took out a silk scarf to cover it.
"Wait a minute." Seeing the chaos in the car, Li Yunze called out, "Close the window first, and then open it when the speed picks up, so it won't be so choked."
The windows were closed, and everyone who had recovered crowded around the windows and looked out.
Accompanied by the sound of '吭哧吭哧', the train gradually accelerated forward, and the scenery outside also continued to recede.
There was a continuous sound of coughing in the car in front, where the envoys from various countries were sitting.
Li Yunze was not interested in giving them advice and leaned on the soft cushions with his eyes closed to relax.
Until this time, Fang Xuanling, who was in shock, said what everyone was thinking: "You actually started to move?"
Li Yunze grinned, "You didn't believe in feelings before."
Everyone was embarrassed and embarrassed to answer the question.
Li Er, who had been staring out the window with bright eyes before, turned to Li Yunze and asked, "How long can you run?"
"The terrain is flat. If you fill it with coal and water, you can cover almost 200 miles in one breath. However, it will be much less in mountainous areas." Li Yunze explained, "It is mainly to add water. After all, the steam will continue to deflate and the water will not be replenished in time."
If so, use steam
After it’s over, naturally I can’t run anymore.”
Over there, Chang Sun Wuji held a pen and paper in his hand, and he quickly wrote down, "Two hundred miles of flat land, half of that in mountainous areas."
Li Er asked again, "What is the velocity?"
"We are only pulling a few carriages now, so the speed is faster. If we pull more cars, it will be almost a hundred miles an hour. Of course, the speed will be slower in mountainous areas."
After a pause, he added, "The train can keep running. If you run two hundred miles to replenish coal and water, it can keep running. It won't be a problem for several days and nights."
"In a few days and nights, wouldn't it be possible to run thousands of miles?"
"This is a real important weapon of the country. You can't run so fast on horseback."
"The horse is exhausted and cannot run for several days or nights."
Amid the chattering discussion among the people, Changsun Wuji quickly wrote on the paper, "It's faster than a horse, and it can cover hundreds of miles in an hour, and the mountainous area is half that. There is enough coal and water, and there is no rest."
Li Er's expression became more and more satisfied, "How many people and cargo can it carry?"
"It's hard to say. It mainly depends on whether it's more comfortable or just force it on." Li Yunze smiled. "If you're just pulling people, you should be able to pull a few thousand people at a time. If you're pulling goods, a million kilograms of goods is nothing."
Changsun Wuji wrote as fast as flying: "The train is an artifact that can deliver people and transport goods. An ordinary person can get more than a thousand items, and ordinary goods can get a million catties."
From the foreign envoys in the front carriage, there was a fierce quarrel.
Li Er, who was in a good mood, raised his hand and waved, "Call them over."
The messengers were called over, and everyone had a look of shock on their faces.
Li Er sat on the chair and asked with a smile, "What are you arguing about?"
"Your Majesty." Ma Zhou, who was in charge of accompanying the envoy, immediately saluted and said, "I said this was driven by the power of the agency, but the envoy said that there was a horse dragging him in front. I couldn't help but argue with him for a few words.
"
"Hahaha~~~"
Li Er laughed proudly, "Whether it was the horse dragging us or not, we will know when we get to Yunyang. Let's drink some hot drinks and rest."
Inukami Mita was extremely shocked and stared at the scenery outside the window.
After a moment, he turned around and saluted Li Er and asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, why are there so many Tang troops outside?"
Speaking of this, Li Er's face immediately darkened.
There were many Tang troops along the way, not entirely to protect himself, but because of the endless theft incidents, he had to mobilize troops to patrol and guard along the way.
Iron is undoubtedly a good thing, especially the quality of the rails laid. Whether it is used to make farm tools, weapons, armor, or anything else, it is a good raw material.
Since it is a good thing, it is inevitable that someone will make the decision.
Not only are they reselling them directly on the construction site, there are even whole villages taking advantage of the darkness to dismantle the paved railway tracks.
Last year, Li Er personally executed only a few dozen people on death row, but at least half of them were habitual criminals who stole railroad tracks.
He was also helpless, but there was really no good solution for the time being.
Li Yunze was smiling and simply fell asleep on his back.
Chang'an City is only a few dozen miles from Yunyang, and it only took more than half an hour to arrive.
The legs of all the envoys from various countries who got off the train were weak.
When we crossed the Weihe River Bridge before, many people were so shocked that they knelt down when they saw the large Nuo Bridge, which was made of fine iron everywhere.
Such miraculous power is beyond the reach of human beings.
The envoys, who kept their spirits up, got off the car and hurried towards the direction of the car.
I walked around the front of Nuoda's car several times, but couldn't find a single horse hair.
Some unwilling ones even jumped into the front of the car and rummaged around, but all they saw was coal.
It is possible to make something as heavy as steel run so fast without the use of livestock or manpower.
At this moment, many envoys paid homage to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty, which had mastered inhuman power, was the Kingdom of Heaven.
Li Er, who stood with his hands behind his back, looked at the front of the Nuo Da car that was filling up water through the water tower, and watched the snowflakes falling from the sky falling on the steaming front of the car and instantly turning into water. His eyes were full of ambition.
With such a powerful military weapon in hand, who else could be the overlord of the world but me?
The accompanying civil and military nobles were also in a state of agitation, and their enthusiasm could not be concealed.
With these treasures, wherever the railways of the Tang Dynasty are built, there will be the land of the Tang Dynasty.
While everyone was immersed in an inexplicably exaggerated atmosphere, a group of people wandered along the official road built almost along the railway line.
Li Ji, who was accompanying him, stepped forward and said, "They are Zuo Wuwei's men. They seem to be escorting the prisoners."
"Um?"
Li Er frowned slightly and said, "Call over."
When a group of people came over and saw Li Er, the sergeants of Zuo Wuwei saluted immediately, but the prisoners who were shivering in the snow suddenly started wailing towards Wu Meiniang beside Li Yunze.
"Good girl, please save us quickly~~~"
Li Yunze looked over and immediately smiled.
They are all acquaintances, brothers Wu Yuanqing, Wu Yuanshuang and several nephews of the Wu family.
Li Er also glanced at Wu Meiniang, whose face turned pale, and immediately asked, "What did they commit?"
The school captain in charge of the escort immediately responded, "These people are stealing railroad tracks."
Because of missing railroad tracks, Li Er hooked dozens of people last year.
All parties attached great importance to this, but the Wu brothers did not restrain themselves at all and actually blatantly stole and sold it.
After learning the cause of the incident, everyone turned their attention to Li Yunze.
Li Yunze, however, had a non-surprised expression. He took Wu Meiniang, whose face turned pale, and simply turned around and returned to the carriage.
Seeing this scene, Li Er waved his hand and said, "Go back to the capital."
There were many nobles and nobles around, all with different expressions.
The Wu family really has something wrong with their brains.
Because of Wu Meiniang's relationship, the Wu family obviously got another look. Among other things, the project from Yunyang to Fangzhou was a big piece of meat, and it easily fell into the hands of their family.
Li Yunze's fingers leaked out some dregs casually, which was enough for the Wu family to eat until they were full. He didn't know how to cherish such a God-given opportunity, and actually did something like stealing and selling railway tracks.
Compared with the huge wealth in Lijiazhuang, a mere railroad track is worth a few bucks.
If this affects Li Yunze's sense of Wu Meiniang, it will really be a big loss.
What does it mean to pick up the sesame seeds and lose the watermelon? This is it.
Cheng Yaojin touched Li Ji, who was stroking his beard next to him, and asked in a low voice, "Tell me, do the girls in my family have a chance?"
As soon as these words came out, Li Ji immediately laughed out loud.
He didn't respond, but pointed his gaze at Li Er, who was not far away.
The meaning is self-evident. The emperor is waiting for the opportunity. Where can we get our turn?
Cheng Yaojin, who was already a good person, understood instantly and sighed and stamped his feet.
What a great opportunity. It's such a pity that the idiots gave it to themselves but couldn't seize it.
"I already know what kind of things your brothers are." In the carriage, Li Yunze poured a glass of warm water and handed it to Wu Meiniang, "No need to worry about it affecting you."
Wu Meiniang was obviously relieved, and then became a little nervous after a moment.
Li Yunze understood what she was thinking: "It's up to you how to deal with it."
Essentially, the discarded rails were Li Yunze's personal belongings. As the saying goes, if the people don't hold the officials accountable, he can naturally let it go easily if he doesn't pursue it.
Wu Meiniang, whose pretty little face was full of gratitude, raised her head and looked at Li Yunze and nodded heavily.
‘You idiot brothers are really hopeless and almost got me involved. This is really, really’
Wu Meiniang's little hands were slightly white from clenching them too hard.
On the way back, everyone was very tacit and did not mention this matter.
On the contrary, the envoys from Xiaoli kept asking Li Er for magical skills such as railways and trains.
Looking at Li Er with an impatient look on his face, Li Yunze said with a smile, "You can if you want. The construction cost of one mile of land is 50,000 guan, and we can help you build it."
"Five, fifty thousand guan?!" Inugami Mita Sagi screamed like a cat whose tail was stepped on, "Why is it so expensive?"
Li Yunze shrugged, "Do you want love?"
After returning to Chang'an City, everyone went back to their homes. Wu Meiniang did not go back to Lijiazhuang, but got on the carriage and went straight to the Duke Ying's Mansion.
At this time, Wu Meiniang had not experienced the tragic experience of being bullied and tortured by her brothers in history, and she was still willing to help the Wu family.
But she really couldn't say this herself. Her father, Samurai Yun, could only come forward to intercede.
Sure enough, during dinner, the veteran warrior Yu brought Wu Meiniang and Wu Shun sisters to Lijiazhuang.
Li Yunze, who had prepared dishes and drinks, invited them to eat together.
Samurai Yu knew that this matter was essentially stealing something, and it didn't seem to be a serious capital crime.
But the problem was that both the emperor and the court attached great importance to the railway and regarded it as an important weapon of the military and state, and even mobilized soldiers and horses of the Sixteenth Guards to take turns guarding it.
Those idiots have kicked them on the iron plate.
What's even worse is that if this affects the youngest daughter's status in Lijiazhuang, it will be a huge loss.
The warrior Yu, who was full of annoyance, did not hold the wine glass or chopsticks after he sat down, but instead dragged Wu Shun over who was about to have a big meal.
"My dear nephew, I will entrust you to take care of my eldest daughter from now on."