Chapter 716: Transactions and Locomotives

"Heh, you people of Ross are truly shrewd. It is this King who opposes the Eastern Land Alliance, and I fear it will also require this King's effort to coerce the Northern Di, yet you have gained two benefits: you have struck a blow against the British, and you have made the Northern Di even more obedient to you, Ross, out of fear. Am I right?" Zhao Xu instantly guessed Ivan's thoughts.

"Your Highness is a clever man. This world has always been this way, has it not? Cooperating for mutual interests and fighting to the death when interests conflict. If we in Ross were in the position of Great Song, and Your Highness were in our position, you would do the same," Ivan said slowly. "Furthermore, we are not without losses. Regarding the coercion of the Northern Di, we will temporarily not sell them the latest firearms, and we will control the quantities."

Zhao Xu took a deep look at Ivan and nodded slowly.

His words were already very blunt: between nations, there are only interests.

In the face of interests, the identities of enemies and allies can be switched at any time.

Therefore, there is no need to dwell on the relationship between Ross and the Northern Di.

They are indeed supporting the Northern Di to intervene in Eastern Land affairs, but at present, they also need Great Song to knock the Northern Di down a peg.

Where interests differ, they are enemies; where interests align, they can cooperate.

As for whether to cooperate, that lies in his own choice.

In the future, if he settles the Eastern Land Alliance.

Perhaps containing him will once again become a common interest for Ross and the British.

In his view, the current Ross still has a misjudgment of him, perhaps believing he cannot surpass the Xitu Guo and is merely an anomaly in the Eastern Land.

Therefore, for now, they only want to use his hand to deal with the British, without realizing that he will be the enemy of the entire Western Lands in the future.

Otherwise, they would certainly have joined this Eastern Land Alliance as well.

Of course, there is one more point: Ross is not like Britain, which, like Sam Country, possesses maritime interests and colonies in the Eastern Land.

"This King agrees to your proposal," Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and said.

If he cooperates with Ross, it could prevent the Northern Di from joining the Eastern Land Alliance; at the very least, the North Territory will be peaceful for a while.

He does not want to fight the Northern Di, now armed by Ross, just yet.

Once he severs the black hand the Eastern Land Alliance has extended toward Great Song and resolves the Jiangnan issue, it will not be too late to head north.

Of course, when that time comes, he will not hold back because of today's cooperation with Ross.

After all, they are merely exchanging interests now; there is no friendship to speak of.

After all, if he were to suffer a crushing defeat in the war against the Eastern Land Alliance.

He believes Ross would also, without hesitation, join the Northern Di in partitioning Great Song.

"Many thanks, Your Highness Yan Wang," Ivan said with great joy. "Your Highness only needs to increase troops to the north; the rest can be left to us in Ross."

Zhao Xu nodded. "Very well, but this will have to wait; this King still needs to resolve some military affairs in Jiangbei."

"No rush. We in Ross and the Northern Di also need time to hand over the Extreme North," Ivan said.

"Is that so?" Zhao Xu's pupils shrank slightly.

The Extreme North in the mouths of the Northern Di refers to the line from the contemporary Heilongjiang to Lake Baikal,

and the regions further north.

For Ivan to say this, it is clear that the interest exchange between the Northern Di and Ross is the ceding of territory that the Northern Di considers unimportant.

"Damn it," Zhao Xu was furious inside.

These idiots who are still in the feudal era simply do not understand the importance of those so-called desolate lands.

They are filled with rich mineral and oil and gas resources.

However, fortunately, we are currently in the Age of Discovery; as long as one has the strength, one can expand territory at will.

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Zhao Xu did not show it.

He is considering this from the perspective of a contemporary person.

But in the eyes of the Northern Di and Ross, this has nothing to do with Great Song.

Because the Extreme North was never the territory of a Central Plains dynasty.

However, it will not be long before he makes the Northern Di and Ross understand exactly whose the Extreme North is.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu called an official from the Court of State Ceremonial over to entertain Ivan.

At the same time, he instructed the official that if Ivan were to leave, he should be sent away immediately.

If he does not leave and wants to wander around Yancheng, he must keep an eye on him and not let him see anything sensitive.

After the official from the Court of State Ceremonial led Ivan away, Zhao Xu went to the Steam Engine Workshop.

Today is the day for the steam locomotive test run, and he was delayed by this matter.

Just like during the Opium War era, when the Western Lands extended their tentacles into the Eastern Land, the situation in this region was bound to become extremely complex.

This is the exact situation Great Song is currently facing.

If Great Song were like the Great Qing, it would face encroachment by the Xitu Guo.

But due to his existence, it has turned into a struggle between various forces.

If he wins, he can drive the Western Lands' forces out of the Eastern Land.

If he loses, it will likewise become the next Great Qing.

Facing this situation, Zhao Xu has never lost sight of the main objective.

During this time, he has either been pushing forward various reforms or urging the development of industry and the advancement of craftsmanship.

Because only by crushing the Xitu Guo in technology can he possibly reshape the world map at the tail end of the Age of Discovery.

To give Great Song a bright future.

Before reaching the Steam Engine Workshop, Zhao Xu heard a "woo-woo" whistle and a "huff, huff" sound.

Entering the Steam Engine Workshop, Zhao Xu discovered that the craftsmen inside had disappeared.

He continued walking forward, reached the main courtyard of the Steam Engine Workshop, and passed through the courtyard gate into the recently built test track.

This test track area is very large and surrounded by walls.

At this moment, he saw the craftsmen gathered in a circle; those in the back were standing on tiptoe to look ahead, while those in the front were discussing animatedly.

It was not until someone discovered his arrival that they let out a surprised "Ah!" and cleared a path for him.

At this moment, Zhao Xu saw a Steam Locomotive engine moving slowly along the newly laid tracks, and its speed was increasing.

Wang Chong was standing in the engine cab with a locomotive driver, his face full of excitement.

Seeing Zhao Xu, he had the locomotive driver slow down, preparing to stop.

Zhao Xu waved his hand, and as the locomotive engine reached him, he grabbed the handle on the door and boarded the engine cab.

Immediately, he stood in the engine cab, moving along the six-li-long track.

"Your Highness, I just tested it; this locomotive can run sixty kilometers in half an hour at its fastest." Wang Chong held a Pocket Watch in his hand, evidently recording the time.

Yan Wang had instructed him that if he arrived late, he could proceed with the test run first.

Zhao Xu stuck his head out of the engine, letting the wind blow against his face, as if he had returned to the time of driving a car at sixty kilometers per hour.

Hearing this, he smiled and said, "This speed is quite good; next, we can begin laying tracks within Yanzhou."

In the early days of the birth of steam-powered automobiles, the speed was only twenty or thirty kilometers.

It was not until 1829 that the speed of Britain's Rocket locomotive reached fifty-seven kilometers per hour.

The first locomotive produced in Yanzhou was clearly superior to the Rocket.

However, to increase the locomotive's speed further, the Steam Engine would need to be improved, and a specialized locomotive Steam Engine would need to be built, such as an Abdominal Expansion Steam Engine.

In fact, it was just a scaled-down version of the Triple-expansion Steam Engine that he had ordered Wang Chong to research and build.

With the students working hard to overcome these challenges, it would not be long before it could be unveiled.

By then, he believed that Yanzhou's Steam Locomotive would be able to increase its speed to around one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour.