The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 74 Southbound ([-])

After the train passed through Luan Town (now Daly Waters Town in northern Australia), it was difficult to see green scenes such as jungles and grasslands.Most of the rivers that occasionally pass by are also dry, leaving only dry river beds.Outside the car window, there are endless deserts and salt-alkali flats. Large expanses of yellow and ocher land are exposed. Looking at them, one cannot help but feel bored.The evening sun shone on the vast red earth, and for a moment, I even thought that I had arrived at a non-human world.

In order to cope with the harsh climate, many buildings in Lu'an Town and the pastures and villages along the railway are underground or semi-underground, just like underground cities.Therefore, the houses and houses that passengers on the train see are generally lower than those in other areas, and the water storage tanks and water storage tanks are all partially enclosed.

Of course, due to the poor environment, the population in the vast desert areas is extremely sparse, and most of them are distributed along the railway, relying on extensive animal husbandry and simple planting for their livelihoods.

Compared with the northern and eastern coastal areas, immigrants settled first, and then farmland, villages, cities and factories were gradually established, and finally roads and railways connected them one by one to form an organic and unified Big domestic market.

However, in the inland desert areas, they relied on government investment and administrative orders to first build railways and roads, and then move a small number of immigrants and domestic people to live near the transportation lines. In addition to ensuring and maintaining these railways and roads that connect the domestic arteries, Externally, it means to implement effective rule over the vast inland hinterland.

Some herdsmen on horseback, when they see the train roaring past, will whistle sharply at the passengers on the car, or roar loudly, as if in this way, they prove that in this lonely and desolate land, There is still a living life.

Some good-hearted travelers stuck their heads out of the window and roared loudly in response, and at the same time vented their frustration and boredom during the long journey.Some people even generously threw bags of food or jugs of wine out of their cars to the poor herdsmen.

"Those herdsmen may be a little boring except for their daily life, but to say they are pitiful is definitely not a bad thing." The middle-aged man who looked like a scholar opposite Li Yanliang said with a smile: "Almost every family of them has dozens of herds and hundreds of herds. They sell cattle, horses and camels through the railway every year, and can easily earn more than 100 yuan a year. This is much more than just farming and selling food! Not to mention, they earn more in the yard The vegetables and fruits grown are sold to tourists along the way, which is an additional source of income.”

"What is that?" Li Yanliang nodded, and then pointed to the wooden piles erected next to the railway line, with several cables hanging on them, extending infinitely into the distance along with the railway.

"Oh, that's a telegraph line." The scholar turned his head and glanced at the telegraph pole outside the window, and said with emotion: "A tool that can transmit sound thousands of miles. From Jianye to Chang'an, as long as it passes through the telegraph pole Copper wires can transmit information in real time without any distance barrier."

"Thousands of miles of sound transmission?" Li Yanliang asked in surprise: "Just through the copper wire on the pole, can information be transmitted over long distances in real time?"

"Li Xiaowei served overseas for four years, but he didn't know that there are all kinds of new things in China every year, which makes people dizzy." Zhang Huiyuan said with a smile: "This telegraph was invented by the Chang'an Royal Academy of Sciences in October last year. By the end of November, the telegraph line from Chang'an to Daxing was completed, realizing the commercial application of telegraph. Subsequently, under the leadership of the Ministry of Industrial and Industrial Development of the Cabinet (split from the former Ministry of Industry), nationwide When setting up telegraph lines, it is said that telegraph connections will be completed in all prefectures and cities in the country within three years, and in all counties within five years.”

"This... telegraph, can a line be set up across the sea?" After hearing this, Li Yanliang immediately realized that this new communication tool would greatly change the future war model. As long as this kind of telegraph cable is set up at the front of the war, the rear will be The headquarters or logistics support department can receive information from the battlefield in real time and make active and effective responses accordingly.

This is a "magic weapon"!

If extended to the political and economic aspects, it is definitely of extremely high strategic significance. It can interconnect the dispersed overseas direct territories and indirectly ruled colonial territories, and become an inseparable "part" of the mainland.

If the invention of the telegraph represents an important milestone in the progress of human communication, then the research and development of submarine cables is another milestone of equal importance.One promotes domestic communications, while the other has the potential to connect countries and even the world, shortening the distance between humans.

You must know that even the fastest steam engine ship in Qi will take a month to return from India to the mainland of Hanzhou. However, the time may have passed after waiting for specific guidance and deployment from the mainland and bringing back corresponding orders. More than two months.A grand battle may only take a few days or hours from start to finish.

If there is a telegraph line to India, whether it is His Majesty the Emperor, the cabinet government or the military, they will be able to understand the development and progress of the situation as soon as possible after certain major events occur locally, and then make timely decisions. decision.

"So far, there has been no news that the government is going to erect submarine telegraph cables. ... It seems that the technical problems of erecting submarine cables have not been solved yet." Zhang Huiyuan took a deep look at the army lieutenant opposite him and understood that he The meaning behind the question.

These soldiers really want to impatiently apply any new inventions and discoveries that appear on the military level, just to realize their arrogant vision of conquering the world.

The two of them were chatting away, and a man wearing a railway uniform was checking passenger tickets in the increasingly dark carriage.When he took Li Yanliang's ticket, he looked at it casually, handed it back to him, and then whispered: "Sir, our train conductor asks you to go to the three carriages ahead."

"Why?" Li Yanliang looked at him puzzled.

"It's nothing serious." The locomotive crewman smiled and said, "Our train conductor was also a soldier before. We just want to invite you to come and talk about military life."

Li Yanliang was startled for a moment and looked out the window. The sky had darkened, and the last trace of sunset in the distance had dissipated with the setting sun.It's boring to sit here and talk about military life with the former military seniors, which can help pass the time.

So, Li Yanliang got up and followed the locomotive crew member towards the three carriages in front.

However, when he first stepped into the three-car conductor's lounge, he was shocked to find that there were already eight or nine people inside, including two railway police officers and five soldiers. The small lounge was packed to the brim.

What's happening here?
"Sir!" Li Yanliang saluted an Army Xuanjie Colonel (major) and then looked at everyone suspiciously.

The army captain nodded slightly and motioned for him to sit down without saying much.

"I'm really sorry to make you all crowded here and tired." The bearded train conductor bowed his hands to the people present with a slight apology, and then said: "I really have no choice here, so I specially summoned you to come to the meeting. I asked for help from my former military colleagues.”

"Tell me what's going on." Captain Xuanjie said expressionlessly.

"Lao Qiu, tell everyone." The train conductor turned to signal to a railway policeman.

"Siring sirs, and a few brothers in the army, we here really have no choice but to ask you for help." The railway policeman named Lao Qiu looked at everyone with a bitter look on his face and said in a solemn tone. : "In the evening, we received a report from a passenger here, saying that there were gangsters trying to steal money on the train. Lao Sun and I followed the passenger and prepared to capture the gangster he identified. However, in the distance, During the observation, we found that two robbers who were on the nationally wanted poster of the police department had sneaked into the train. Based on this, we speculated that there may be more than just these two robbers on the entire train, and there are more accomplices hidden in different carriages. "

"You mean, there are many bandits who got together and got on the train? Do they want to rob the whole train?" Captain Xuejie's eyes widened in disbelief.

This courage is too fat!This is in the hinterland of our country. If you rob a train with such a big fanfare, you are not afraid of being pursued by the police and military police across the country?Is it possible that they can escape from the country immediately and sneak into other countries?

"This officer doesn't know something." Lao Qiu said solemnly: "After the train passes Lu'an, it will almost continue to travel for more than 300 kilometers without stopping until it reaches Gangu (now Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia). (small town) had just stopped to add coal and water. During this period, our entire train was in an almost uninhabited desert. Moreover, it was already dark. If the number of bandits were large enough, I am afraid it would cause harm to all passengers. Unpredictable consequences.”

"As you just said, there may have been many gangsters sneaking into the car. So, the gangsters are in the dark and I am in the open. How can we catch them all?" asked the captain Xuejie.

"The gangsters robbed the train, naturally trying to make money. There are nine carriages in this train, and there are more than [-] passengers. With the gangsters' mentality, it is impossible to rob ordinary people in the third-class carriages. Not only will it take a long time, but it is also possible It aroused the resistance of the passengers in the carriage. But the two first-class carriages were not the same. Not only were the passengers rich, but each compartment was also separated and independent, unable to take care of each other, and the number of people was small. Naturally, it was the first choice target of the gangsters. "

"You mean, we're waiting in the first-class carriage, waiting for the gangsters to surrender?"

"That's right. We ambush them in the first-class carriage in advance, and when they take advantage of it, we launch a sudden attack and catch them all in one fell swoop!"

"When will they take action?"

"It should be around two or three in the morning."

"What weapons do we have?"

"Three flintlock pistols, four daggers, a few shovels for shoveling coal, a few drill rods for boilers, and handles and hammers for repairing locomotives."

"Ambush in advance and make a sudden attack. Although these things are not easy to come by, they can be used in the future." The captain Xuanjie smiled and turned to look at the several officers and soldiers present. "Unexpectedly, we are overseas. After returning from the war, we still have to deal with a few bandits on the mainland. Brothers, are you ready?"

"Sir, please give me your orders. We, the generals, will obey your military orders!" Everyone responded loudly.

(End of this chapter)