Chapter 994: Observations

"That is true." Chen Hu scratched his head and couldn't help but laugh.

Chang Wei nodded and continued, "The war in Yongzhou has come to an end. His Highness has sent a telegram for you and me to escort Mule Hongzhen back. There may be important tasks for your Gun Cavalry as well."

"Yes, General." Chen Hu was stirred with excitement.

Over the past year, Yan Wang had either been fighting in the south or fighting at sea; he had not seen Yan Wang for a long time.

Being able to see this Yan Wang, whom he had always revered, naturally filled him with anticipation.

Even if he were to be scolded a couple of times, he would still be happy.

The next day, he rose early and waited for Chang Wei at the entrance of the Government Office.

When the sun rose to the willow branches, Chang Wei emerged from the Government Office, and the two headed toward the east bank of the Jin River.

Accompanying them was the hog-tied Mule Hongzhen.

After taking a ferry to the east bank, the group arrived at the station.

At this moment, a Steam Locomotive was waiting inside the station.

Then, Chang Wei pulled the rag out of Mule Hongzhen's mouth.

Seeing this, Chen Hu was startled and hurriedly tried to stop him.

Mule Hongzhen was also stunned and was about to bite his tongue to commit suicide.

Chang Wei's faint voice rang out, "His Highness Yan Wang said that biting one's tongue to commit suicide is a lie. Even if you bite off your tongue, you can be saved, and you will only end up a mute."

Hearing this, Chen Hu breathed a sigh of relief and cast his gaze toward Mule Hongzhen.

He saw Mule Hongzhen's face flush red as he suddenly shouted, "Kill me, kill me!"

Shaking his head slightly, Chang Wei sneered, "What a pity it would be to kill you. Didn't you want to take Great Song for yourself? Today, I will let you see the landscape of Great Song to satisfy your craving. Of course, I will also make you give up hope and understand one truth: you Northern Di will never be able to lay a finger on Great Song again."

"Nonsense! As long as there is one man left in my Northern Di, the one who destroys your Great Song in the future will surely be my Northern Di," Mule Hongzhen shouted like a madman.

Chang Wei ignored Mule Hongzhen further and simply waited for the Steam Locomotive to depart.

"Woo— woo—" A quarter of an hour later, the whistle of the Steam Locomotive let out a loud cry.

A black Steam Locomotive slowly arrived in front of Chang Wei.

Mule Hongzhen, who had been cursing incessantly, saw it and could not utter a single word despite his open mouth, his eyes staring straight at the steel beast before him.

At this moment, he suddenly felt an uncontrollable fear rise from within his heart.

He wanted to ask Chang Wei what this was, but due to his pride, he asked nothing.

He could only, filled with shock and suspicion, be pushed onto the train by the Great Song soldiers and sit by the window on one side.

Chang Wei and Chen Hu sat opposite him.

"Woo— woo—" After waiting a while longer, the Steam Locomotive let out another roar and began to move forward slowly, the scenery outside the window receding at an accelerating pace.

Mule Hongzhen was clearly frightened; he subconsciously gripped the edge of the window, just as if he were grabbing the reins of a Warhorse.

Even though he was knowledgeable and experienced, he could not remain calm when faced with this steel beast he had never seen before.

After all, it was far too shocking.

Chang Wei and Chen Hu noticed Mule Hongzhen's expression and exchanged a smile.

"This thing is called a Steam Locomotive, and the things beneath it are called rails. Now, rails have been laid across the entire North Territory of Great Song, allowing the Steam Locomotive to reach any place," Chang Wei said calmly.

"It is indeed the thing Wulanba spoke of. Wulanba had also seen this thing in the Ross country; it is nothing remarkable," Mule Hongzhen feigned composure, though he was extremely shocked inside.

He could not imagine how Great Song had come to possess this thing.

Because according to Wulanba's account, the Steam Locomotive was the pinnacle representative of the Steam Industry in the Western Lands.

"It is indeed nothing remarkable, but our plan is to lay the Railway to the Grassland," Chang Wei tilted his head, watching Mule Hongzhen.

Upon hearing these words, Mule Hongzhen's body trembled involuntarily, but he did not say a word.

Chang Wei continued, "Let me tell you one more thing: Yongzhou originally only had Ma Han's 80,000 White Tiger Army. It took our Great Song only three days to transport 150,000 of the Central Army and 50,000 of the Black Tortoise Army stationed at Ningjin Dusi to Yongzhou,

including provisions, Baggage Train, and Artillery and Cannonball."

Mule Hongzhen's hand gripping the window tightened involuntarily.

At this moment, his heart sank to the bottom of the water.

Ningjin Dusi was two thousand li away from Yongzhou.

For the troops of Ningjin Dusi to reach Yongzhou in three days meant they were several times faster than their Northern Di Cavalry.

Originally, the Gun Cavalry of Great Song had already made him feel desperate.

But he had held onto the thought that the vastness of the Grassland was enough for the Northern Di people to hide in, believing that the Northern Di could still evade the pursuit of the Gun Cavalry and rise again.

Now, Chang Wei's words were undoubtedly another heavy blow to him.

If Great Song truly laid the Railway to the Grassland and supplemented it with the Gun Cavalry, they, the Northern Di, would truly have no way out.

"Mule Hongzhen, the era belonging to your Northern Di has passed," Chang Wei added, full of mockery.

Afterward, he spoke no more and simply closed his eyes to rest.

"Chug, chug..." Only the sound of the galloping Steam Locomotive remained in the carriage.

Mule Hongzhen's mind was a blank; he sat motionless like a withered old tree, gazing out the window.

Departing from the east bank of the Jin River, the Steam Locomotive first arrived at Jincheng.

This city, which had been ravaged by war, was now attracting a large number of merchants and commoners to settle down due to the rich coal deposits of Jinzhou, and it was radiating new vitality.

On the clean, straight cement roads within the city, it was bustling with noise and excitement.

Merchants pulled carts loaded with goods to restock the shops along the street that were running low on inventory.

Commoners carried radishes, cabbages, and their own chickens and ducks to hawk along the street; even if their clothes were not clean, they were all neat, and there was no one without clothes to cover their bodies.

The fragrance of food and Wine wafted from the restaurants, where merchants and commoners filled the halls, clinking glasses.

It was just the time for school to end, and students filed out of the Public School, wearing uniform school attire as they returned home.

Inside the Workshop, the workers had also reached their mealtime.

They either walked onto the streets to eat roadside snacks, or were getting food in the Workshop canteens.

These scenes only flashed by; Mule Hongzhen could understand some, while others he could not.

But he could feel the burgeoning vitality that Great Song was radiating, a vitality that filled him with dread.

The Steam Locomotive continued forward, passing through Jincheng and then through three more county seats.

Although these county seats were not as prosperous as Jincheng, the commoners appeared well-off, as if the miserable days of hunger and cold were gone, and everyone had grown sturdy.

All of this made Mule Hongzhen increasingly uneasy.

For a day and a night, he could not swallow a single drop of water or a single bite of food.

And after entering Yanzhou, he found it even harder to eat.

As the former fief of Yan Wang and the place that benefited most from development, even a county seat in Yanzhou could compare to Jincheng, not to mention the prosperity of the prefecture capital.

He truly believed that the wealthiest Rich Clans under heaven were all gathered in these prefecture capitals, most of them looking bright and polished.

After another half-day of travel, the Steam Locomotive pulled into Yancheng.

He saw the two large characters for Yancheng on the city wall.

Mule Hongzhen suddenly felt a wave of intense powerlessness and fainted.