Cutting 1719

Chapter 433
For war, the most important thing has always been logistics. Everyone understands the so-called truth that food and grass go first before soldiers and horses move, but the problem is that logistics is different from other things, except that it requires a lot of piecemeal accumulation In addition, it has a lot to do with the development of technology itself.

Cui Wancai once organized the battle between Ning Chu and Kangxi, and knows how much blood and tears are hidden behind it. A little carelessness is a major event that affects the success or failure of the battlefield, but sometimes there is really no way, because there are so many manpower, no matter what The organization also has to carry it a little bit, and the efficiency will not change by leaps and bounds.

But today's horse-drawn carriages showed Cui Wancai the hope of innovation, and he naturally hoped to use them in this year's Northern Expedition.

Ning Yu smiled, he could understand Cui Wancai's mood, but this was not what he really wanted in his heart, and said in a low voice: "Cifu's thoughts are naturally reasonable, but this is really not what I want to promote. In my heart, the horse-drawn carriage will eventually be eliminated, and it will be replaced by railways and steam locomotives.”

"Steam locomotive?"

Hearing this, Du Kuo had regret on his face, "The project is now in the hands of the master, and it may be realized in the second half of the year. After all, the steam engine has been put into practical use. It should not be difficult to build a steam locomotive."

Cui Wancai was confused by what he heard, and he couldn't help asking curiously: "Master Lei is now trial-producing a steam locomotive? Could this be a steam engine mounted on a carriage?"

When he said this, he couldn't help but his heart moved. He seemed to have thought of what Ning Yu said to him on the Yangtze River. It seemed to be the same reason to install the steam engine on the boat and the steam engine on the car.
Ning Yu pointed to the running pack horse, and said softly: "The rail carriage is still a pack horse after all, animal power is not long after all, and it also needs to rest, eat and drink. Simply speaking, it can improve efficiency, but it cannot fundamentally Changes can be made on the steam engine—the steam engine is different, if the technology is mature, you only need to add coal to it, and it can run forever.”

Du Kuo nodded in agreement, and added: "Besides, the current steam engine has just entered the practical stage, and its future potential will be huge—as for the horse, no matter how you replace it, its strength will not be too different. Many, there's a huge difference here."

When everyone heard this, they felt a little surprised, as if the emperor himself had never seen this thing before, but he explained its principle clearly and logically, which made people sigh inexplicably, but he respected Ning Yu more and more.

But only Ning Yu knew in his heart that from the steam engine to the steam locomotive, he already had a complete set of steps in his mind, and now he just followed the steps.The truly intelligent people are rather the great scientists who invented these objects in the original history.

Moreover, the track and the train itself were not obtained by chance, but had a very strict logic.The original track had already appeared in the early sixteenth century. At that time, in the mines in southeastern Europe, a mine cart equipped with wooden rims appeared. It is very labor-saving, and the track is fixed and stable, it will be easier to control the direction, and it will not easily deviate.

After the steam engine appeared, it became a matter of course to install the steam engine on the original mine car, and the first prototype of the train appeared. Then, with the continuous advancement of science and technology, the invention of the train became an inevitable , and even future cars are based on this idea.

The only difference from history is that Ning Yu made the practical steam engine nearly 50 years earlier, and the concept of the train appeared a full 100 years earlier, and there is even one point, that is, Ning Yu directly Deciding that the prospect of trains is better than that of horse-drawn carriages is actually a lot less detours.

After all, in the original history, it was 1825 when Stephenson invented the train. At this time, the horse-drawn carriage had been invented for nearly a hundred years, and the speed of the early train was similar to that of the carriage, but the cost was too expensive, so many people Both believed that the train was not practical, so that the two sides had a serious conflict of interest.

In order to bridge this conflict, the British government at that time even organized a formal race between horse-drawn carriages and trains to compete for ownership of the tracks. This also shows that in order to popularize trains, there was no detour at all. few.

But now that Ning Yu came here with the eyes of future generations, naturally there is no question of choice. When he talked with the ministers and Du Kuo, the difference between animal power and machinery mentioned was the best rebuttal.

In the next two days, Ning Yu, accompanied by his ministers, inspected many military factories one after another, and gained a certain understanding of the current level of military equipment, which made him more confident about the Northern Expedition.

On the Sino-Russian border, a newly built small town is rising from the ground. The large and small houses are very simple. Apart from revealing the Russian style everywhere, there is no other outstanding place. As for the newly built church in the center of the city Here, a tall cross is being erected.

The name of this city is called Kyakhta in Russian, and in Chinese there is a place for tea, and next to Kyakhta is the Tushetu Khan Department of Khalkha Mongolia, so the hidden meaning of the name is It is a small border town born for Sino-Russian trade.

In the past, Kyakhta was just a wasteland. However, in the 43rd year of Kangxi, Russian caravans had already entered Beijing from Kyakhta, Kulun, and Zhangjiakou for trade. Later, with the prosperity of trade, this A convenient commercial route has gradually become the main channel for Sino-Russian commercial trade, and Kyakhta has sprung up accordingly.

Just because Kyakhta is a city born for border trade, the streets and alleys here are full of caravan bells, most of them are Russians, but there are also Chinese people, most of them Some of them are businessmen from Shanxi. They used Mongolia's trade channels to come to the border city of Kyakhta, in order to be able to participate in the trade with Russia.

As early as the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi merchants often participated in the "nine-border trade" and had a deep understanding of Mongolia. Many people even knew Mongolian. In addition, Shanxi merchants helped the Qing court a lot Therefore, there are also strong connections and resources within the Qing court, so they also began to spontaneously participate in the early trade with Russia.

When this group of Shanxi merchants participated in border trade, they usually sold tea. They purchased tea from Fujian and two lakes, and carried it all the way to Zhangjiakou by shoulder, car, and ship, and then all the way by camel. Ship to Mobei Mongolia, Kulun and Qiaktu and other places.

In a small town like Kyakhta, there is usually a little bit of movement that will cause storms in the city, and the biggest news in Kyakhta recently is the governor of Eastern Siberia, Shayelov, and the special plenipotentiary minister from Moscow, the Minister of the Interior, the Earl Sawavrad Slavichi and the two arrived in Kyakta together, accompanied by a guard of 500 people and members of the mission of more than 500 people.

For the Russian businessmen in Kyakhta, the governor of Eastern Siberia Shayelov is a rather disgusting governor. Their business routes usually go from as far away as Moscow to arrive at Kyakhta. During the process, I often dealt with this shrewd and almost cunning governor, and I have long understood his methods and greed.

In East Siberia, there are hooligans and thugs everywhere, and the governor of East Siberia Shayelov is obviously the villain among the thugs. He stipulates that all businessmen who go to Kyakhta for trade need to collect part of the tax, and in addition to paying In addition to the taxes of the governor's mansion, there is also a separate payment to the governor, which is called a sponsorship fee.

Among the merchants from Moscow, there were naturally those who were unwilling to pay the money, but if they did not pay, not only the goods would be detained, but even their lives would be in danger, so many merchants had to swallow their anger and pay the money.

Of course, there are also some businessmen who are extremely dissatisfied with this, so they reported the evil deeds of the Governor of Siberia, Sayelov, to Moscow, but there has been no news, and Sayelov has not been punished by Moscow, and continues to be good in front of his governor. , on the contrary, the whistleblowers often disappeared, so many people understood that in East Siberia, one must not offend the governor.

However, such a notorious governor, when facing the inner court minister from Moscow, Count Savavrad Slavich, had an almost flattering attitude, wishing to kneel down and lick the other party's boots.

The reason is very simple. The Russian Emperor Peter I is dead, and Shayelov has no backer. Now the successor is Her Majesty Empress Ekaterina Alexeyevna, who is very fond of the Earl Marshal of the Russian Empire. Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, and Savavrad Slavich was Menshikov's confidant.

In the consular office in the center of Kyakhta, Sayelov and Sawavrad Slavi Chiyi are holding an exquisite porcelain bowl decorated with enamel, while a vertical bowl is placed on the table in front of them. The hollow cylinder holds hot charcoal inside, and the tea water surrounds the cylinder to achieve long-term heat preservation.In addition, there were several pieces of black leba and two dishes of black caviar on the table.

For Russians, they also have the habit of drinking afternoon tea, and they prefer to discuss some things while drinking afternoon tea, so Shayelov took this opportunity to please the new arrival of Sawawula Desla Earl of Wei Chiyi.

"Count Savaula, are you not used to bringing this remote and desolate Kyakta from distant and prosperous Moscow? Fortunately, the black leba and black caviar here are still delicious enough."

Shayelov held the porcelain bowl with a smile on his face, but this smile looked a little scary when paired with the big beard on his chin.

As for the Earl of Savoyla, he has a bit of aristocratic elegance. His palms are flat, holding the saucer, and then he slowly puts the tea spoon into his mouth, takes a bite of honey, and then puts his mouth against the saucer. Sipping the tea one by one, the black tea and honey in the tea soup gradually blended together.

Seeing that Earl Sawavula didn't answer his words, Shayelov didn't feel dissatisfied at all. He kept holding the porcelain plate in his hand quietly, but the smile on his face became a bit more intense.

After a long time, Earl Savaula's face showed some satisfaction, and he sighed softly: "Compared with the long journey, Kyakta can already be regarded as a paradise on earth. As for Moscow, I believe anyone They don’t want to be there at this time.”

Shayelov was thoughtful on his face. Of course he understood the meaning of Earl Savoula. Peter I passed away in February this year, and the new monarch was not the emperor's grandson Alexievich in the will, but the queen. Personally, it makes one's scalp tingle just thinking about it.

Although in the Russian Empire, the matter of a woman ascending the throne as emperor did not have as much resistance as in China, it was by no means a simple matter, and the transactions and conspiracies involved were not at all his alone. All that the little Governor can know.

Just according to some rumors, when Peter I died, at a meeting of the committee to determine the heir, Imperial Marshal Menshikov and others arranged a coup, after which Catherine was declared As the ruler of Russia, and was awarded the title of empress.

When he thought of this, Shayelov was a little startled. He looked at Earl Savaula with a somewhat puzzled look in his eyes. You must know that the other party is Menshikov's confidant. Moscow enjoys its splendor and wealth, so why go to a place like Kyakta?
The Earl Sawavula also saw Sayelov's eyes, sighed softly, put down the teacup in his hand, and said in a low voice: "Governor Sayelov, instead of staying in the maelstrom of Moscow, it is better to dance Come out to see other scenery, and this contract with the Tatars is the best opportunity for me to return to Moscow.”

"That's it, I understand."

Shayelov said softly: "In today's Eastern Siberia, although the empire has been developed for hundreds of years, it still cannot gather too much power, and in the far east, there is still a powerful country. Not much, but in this area, they got help from the Mongols."

Hearing this, Earl Savaula's face became a little dignified. He looked at Sayelov and said softly: "The Battle of Yaksa back then has fully demonstrated this point. But now 35 years have passed, and the Russian Empire has already It is no longer the Russian Empire of the past, and the Tatars of today are no longer the Tatars of the past."

(End of this chapter)