mage in the late qing dynasty

Chapter 816 Revenge a hundred years in advance

There was still nearly a thousand miles to go, and it was hard for Yao Xingyuan to imagine how he would be able to trek to Lubin Mansion on two legs as the weather became increasingly cold.

He had a lot of silver dollars with him, which his father had given him before leaving.

A poor family has a rich life, but it is difficult to move without money.

Now it seems to be true.

He and Li Ziqiang followed many people to refund their tickets, but the Russians were arrogant and said that the railway was destroyed by the Chinese, so the tickets could not be refunded.

Some people want to cause trouble. Those Russian soldiers, who are not very good-tempered to begin with, are even more angry because the railway was destroyed. They just raise their guns and pull the bolts, seeming to get angry at any disagreement.

Now everyone stopped.

Yao Xingyuan and Li Ziqiang left the station frustrated.

"How to fix it?" Yao Xingyuan asked blankly.

"I don't know." Li Ziqiang was also confused.

Yao Xingyuan gritted his teeth and decided to buy a horse. At worst, when we get to Lubin Mansion, we can sell the horse again, and the money won't be too much.

Li Ziqiang said: "I can't let my brother be deceived. I will go with you. I know some principles about horses."

Yao Xingyuan was overjoyed: "Thank you so much for your help, brother. Oh my, there are still many good people in the world."

When he went to buy a horse, Li Ziqiang was indeed right.

He also helped me go from 28 yuan to 26 yuan.

Yao Xingyuan has also ridden a horse. His riding skills are not that good, but at least he can ride away.

Li Ziqiang smiled bitterly: "Hey, life is hard, I have to walk to Bo-Ketu Station on two legs."

No matter how grateful Yao Xingyuan was, he would never be able to buy him a horse.

But seeing the bitterness on Li Ziqiang's face and remembering that he had always helped, he couldn't bear it, so he said: "Let's walk slowly and each of us rides for a while. When you get to Bo-Ketu Station, I will go all out. Ye. There are many livestock, so we can take care of each other along the way.”

Li Ziqiang extended his thumb: "Brother is indeed a loyal man."

The kind-hearted Yao Xingyuan smiled.

Ahead, just seven or eight miles out, Yao Xingyuan was about to dismount, but was stopped by Li Ziqiang: "I can still walk, you ride first."

It wasn't until he reached a place called Ailingou that Li Ziqiang reluctantly got on his horse.

Yao Xingyuan said cheerfully: "My eldest brother is very strong on his feet. He walked so far without sweating. I was shivering with cold even on horseback."

After hearing this, Li Ziqiang smiled and said: "I'm riding a pony, so I'll ride faster, and my brother will catch up quickly behind."

Before Yao Xingyuan could respond, he knocked the horse's belly hard and the horse bolted out.

Yao Xingyuan smiled and didn't take it seriously, but he didn't run away either. After all, he had the stability of an adult.

There was a sharp bend ahead. As Li Ziqiang turned the bend, the sound of horse hooves gradually faded away.

Yao Xingyuan suddenly felt a little uneasy, and he finally started to jog.

After rounding the sharp bend, I found that Li Ziqiang and the horse were no longer in front of me.

His heart suddenly rose to his throat, but he forced himself to tell himself: Brother Li is a good person, and he will definitely be waiting for me ahead.

After walking for another quarter of an hour, there was still no sign of anyone.

Half an hour, out of sight.

An hour passed.

Yao Xingyuan was dejected, he already understood that he had been deceived by Li Ziqiang.

This made him gnash his teeth. One moment he felt sorry for himself for being so stupid, and the other moment he hated Li Ziqiang for being such a hypocrite.

There was still his luggage on the horse. Fortunately, he had put the money on him, otherwise Li Ziqiang would have swept it away with him.

Yao Xingyuanhe felt Zhao Chuanxin's loneliness in the Siberian wilderness.

He walked alone beside the railway in the big ravine, looking at the forest with all the leaves on both sides and feeling desolate.

After noon, Yao Xingyuan was so hungry that his chest pressed against his back.

When he reached the foot of a mountain in front, he saw several houses. He couldn't help but be overjoyed and hurried over.

"Let me ask, where is this place?"

"This place is called Crooked Neck Tree. Why did you walk here? Didn't you take the train? You have no place to go and no store. You are not afraid of being eaten by tigers, men and bears."

The place names outside the customs are very rustic.

But behind this land, there is a lot of humanity.

For example, three trees, five trees, such as the old locust tree, the crooked neck tree; Erdaogou, Sandaogou, Wudaogou, Huangcaogou, Lannitangzigou, Xiongxiazizigou...

Why these place names?

At this time, the area outside Guan was sparsely populated and traveling was inconvenient. Some people go out when they were young and want to find their hometown when they grow up. Perhaps they rely on the characteristics of the place name combined with their memory to find it.

Just like the huge crooked-neck tree here, once you see it, you know you're home.

That's why there is a word called - things change and people change.

Yao Xingyuan gritted his teeth: "Hey, I don't know people well, and I asked them to be deceived..."

He held back his breath and couldn't bear it anymore, so he started talking to the stranger.

The man also cursed a few words after him, and said: "Then if you want to continue on your way, you have to hurry up and leave. You may be able to get to Yalu before dark. You can stay there. If you have money, you can go there again." Buy a horse.”

This time Yao Xingyuan had a better idea and recounted his story, but his face was full of bitterness: "Where is the money? I thought I would sell the horse and exchange it for money when I got to Lubin Mansion, but now it is a problem to eat. Thank you, brother , I’ll be on my way immediately.”

In fact, with the money he has, buying two more horses is not a problem.

After speaking, he left in a hurry.

……

As expected, Zhang Shouzeng came to Manchuria again to negotiate.

Yesterday, Putilov was arrogant, Wu Sadie was aggressive, and Horvat and Rudanov were adding fuel to the fire.

But today, the atmosphere is a bit strange.

Zhang Shouzeng found that the other party was worried.

Although they were already seated, everyone was smoking and no one spoke first.

After a while, Putilov slammed the table: "How brave, Zhao Chuanxin dared to cut off our telegraph line. He is really looking for death. I think he can't wait to die!"

Zhang Shouzeng was startled by the shock.

Song Xiaolian and Huang Shifu looked at each other.

If I blanch it, it must be Zhao Chuanxin, there is nothing he wouldn’t dare to do.

If the telegraph is cut off, the Russians will not be able to mobilize their troops. Should they rely on post roads to deliver messages as they did in the past?

How cruel!

Because Zhao Chuanxin cut off the telegraph line, the news of the destruction of the Siberian railway had not yet reached Manchuria.

The news from the Lingdong area came later and also did not reach us.

Zhang Shouzeng was a little panicked and secretly scolded Zhao Chuanxin for cheating people.

But there was an expression of indignation on his face, and he stood up suddenly and said: "Master Putilov is so unreasonable and slandering people without any basis. I think there is nothing to talk about today."

After that, he turned around and left.

A trace of ferocity flashed across Putilov's face, but in the end he did not give the order to capture Zhang Shouzeng.

Song Xiaolian and Huang Shifu also felt that the matter was far out of their control, so they also got up and left.

The telegraph line in the eastern section of Siberia was damaged by Zhao Chuanxin, but not the western section.

The Russian court received the news of the damage to the Siberian Railway in a timely manner.

Nicholas II was used to being self-willed and became furious after hearing the news: "Damn it, damn it, who did it? I should cut him into pieces. Order, order, I want you to seize the culprit who destroyed the railway. I will crush him to ashes..."

Don't blame him for being angry.

When the railway was first built, manpower, material and financial resources were consumed in an unknown amount.

The importance of this railway to Tsarist Russia is self-evident, and it can currently be said to be the economic lifeline of Siberia.

A one-day blockage is barely feasible, a ten-day blockage will cause heavy losses, and the impact of a month's blockage on the economy can be described as "huge."

The ministers lowered their heads and did not dare to look at the emperor.

Finally, Nicholas II looked at a middle-aged man with long hair, a beard longer than his hair, and a pair of impressive blue eyes: "Rasp-King, according to your wisdom, do you know who the person is?" for?"

To others, Nicholas II did not hide his violent emotions at all, but he restrained his tone a lot towards this Rasputin.

Others were silent, but Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, who was known as the "Crazy Monk", said calmly: "I saw it. The person who destroyed the railway is-Zhao Chuanxin!"

He looked towards the east, as if he could see through the mountains and the wilderness and see what was happening thousands of miles away.

Some of the ministers in the palace lowered their heads and curled their lips to dismiss this magic stick, some were doubtful, and some were convinced.

Because this man prophesied many times and everything he said was accurate.

Nicholas II's son was also cured of his illness.

People in the street talk about the deeds of Grigory Yefimovich Rasp-King, saying that he can make women fascinated, and that his light blue eyes are fatal to women.

He also said that his words were so exaggerated that no woman would be indifferent to them.

Many consider him a religious saint.

Some people think he is a liar.

Nicholas II and his wife trusted him very much and obeyed his words.

Hearing this, Nicholas II's face turned red: "Zhao Chuanxin? How can this be reasonable? It's Zhao Chuanxin again." He sent a telex to Major General Putilov, asking him to lead troops to kill this person, and told Putilov to kill him. After Zhao passed the funeral, his body was transported to Moscow. I want the world to see what will happen to the Chinese who oppose me!"

Someone reminded: "Your Majesty, when the railway was destroyed, the telegraph line was also cut off. It will take a while to repair the telegraph. If you want to give an order now, you must either wait for the telegraph line to be repaired, or send people from Ulan-Ude to drive horses along the old post road. Deliver the message." The old post road was in a bad state. It was full of potholes in the winter, heavily waterlogged in the summer, and muddy in the spring. It might be better in the autumn.

It is now impossible to even take the train, and building railways is more troublesome than building telegraph lines.

Nicholas II asked coldly: "How long will it take to build the railway?"

"The damage to each section of railway is not great, but the distance is long. Maybe, maybe half a month, maybe a month before it can be opened to traffic..." the man answered cautiously.

"What?" Nicholas II was in disbelief: "I can't wait a month. I want you to go all out to repair it as soon as possible. I want to execute Zhao Chuanxin immediately!"

Then he turned to look at Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin and asked: "A long time ago, you said that you would train a special force to unite with the Japanese to surround and kill Zhao Chuanxin. Now that force Are the troops available?”

"It's not yet time." Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin said: "Your Majesty, as I foresee, it will be difficult to kill Zhao Chuanxin with this force now."

"Huh!" Nicholas II was furious.

Zhao Chuanxian has been included in his must-die list.

……

Zhao Chuanxin, who was destined to die, went to the school in Lubin Mansion.

He took out the bear skin and said, "Bayar, please pack this skin and use it as a mattress for you."

Bayar looked at the bear skin and said in surprise: "It's a human bear!"

Black bears are small, brown bears are big, and they pose a threat to humans that cannot be whispered about.

Zhao Chuanxin took out four more bear paws: "You can stew them later to replenish your body."

This time, Bayar was even more convinced that Zhao Chuanxin had hunted a bear.

He rubbed the leather and found no bullet holes or arrow holes: "How did you kill the bear?"

"Use a knife."

"..." I have never heard that anyone can kill a man-bear with a knife.

"You can clean it up yourself. If you run out of coal, go to Lubin Mansion to find someone to purchase it. The accounting office will keep the accounts." Zhao Chuanxin stood up and walked out: "If the Russian soldiers attack in the next few days, can you still mount the horse?"

Bayar's face looked calm.

He didn't ask why, he just nodded: "If you can mount a horse, you are also ready to face death."

Zhao Chuanxin grinned: "That's the best, because I've never been threatened."

After coming out of the school, Zhao Chuanxin saw a group of children smoking Bingga on the steps, and Yao Bing was among them: "Doubao, come here."

Yao Bing heard Zhao Chuanxin's voice, stepped on the whirling Bingga, put it in his pocket and ran over to wipe his nose: "Master, Gaha?"

"Be smart these two days and don't run too far. Once someone comes to tell you to evacuate, go find Rebecca immediately."

"I understand, Master."

Zhao Chuanxin saw that the tip of his nose was as red as the other children's from the cold: "Are you wearing the vest I gave you?"

"No, Master, it's too hot."

Zhao Chuanxin patted his head and asked him to play.

Returning to Lubin Mansion, Zhang Shouzeng and Yao Jia came hand in hand.

Lubin Mansion is still a mobilization system, and new challenges are constantly emerging, and everyone must work together to overcome many difficulties.

When things go wrong, we will never act behind closed doors.

Zhang Shouzeng realized something was wrong today. He didn't find Zhao Chuanxin when he came back, so he discussed it with Yao Jia first.

Seeing Zhao Chuanxin come back, Yao Jia changed his usual playful smile and asked solemnly: "Master Magistrate, please don't keep us in the dark now that things have happened."

Zhang Shouzeng smiled bitterly: "I'm really afraid that I won't be able to get out of the door today, because I'm afraid that Putilov will eat me alive."

Zhao Chuanxin looked around and saw only Yang Sangdaxi nearby.

He told Yang Sangdaxi: "Go and call Chief Zana, Chief Balajima, and Chief Levi to come over for a meeting."

After a while, Zhao Chuanxin's cronies in Lubin Mansion gathered together.

Zhao Chuanxin pulled out the blackboard from his bedroom, took a pencil and drew the three boundaries of north, south, west, and Daxing-Anling in the east with a few strokes of pencil.

The route of the Dongqing Railway was also drawn.

The route extended into the territory of Tsarist Russia, drawing the T-shaped line of the Siberian Railway in Chita.

"What have I been busy with these days?" Zhao Chuanxin clicked on the line on the blackboard and made a "bang bang" sound: "I found that Tsarist Russia is increasing its troops to Lingdong and transporting weapons and ammunition from Tsarist Russia. Naturally. Aimed at me. So I took all their ammunition depots, more than a dozen stations, without missing a single step.

But Putilov said to Heyan, don't think that because I stole their weapons, they can't do anything about it.

When I heard this, could I not be afraid? So I went to Ulan-Ude and cut off these railway tracks one after another and cut off the telegraph lines.

Now they cannot transport troops or ordnance.

If they want to fight now, they can only rely on their existing manpower and limited weapons. "

Everyone took a breath after hearing this.

Is this a task that can be accomplished by one person?

Too desperate.

And are you afraid? Have you ever really been afraid?

The Siberian Railway is the lifeblood of Tsarist Russia. Zhao Chuanxin was cut off from the west, east, south and Lingdong parts of Chita respectively. The south cannot enter Manzhouli, the west cannot contact Novosibirsk, the east cannot increase troops from Vladivostok, and Lingdong And unable to communicate with Hyrule.

The weather is getting colder and colder. If Tsarist Russia really wants to start a war, it can only increase its troops from the ravines of Daxing-Anling Mountains, which are the road protection teams at these small stations along the way.

Japan mobilized countless spies to blow up a bridge during the Russo-Japanese War, but failed.

But it is simply unbelievable that Zhao Chuanxin completed such a huge project by himself.

Zhang Shouzeng's eyes flickered: "In other words, Putilov and the others are currently unable to receive news from the country, nor can they contact the garrison from Lingdong to Harbin?"

Zhao Chuanxin lit a cigar: "Exactly."

Yao Jia knew that Zhao Chuanxin was very clever, so he was more concerned about another thing: "Master Magistrate, where did you put the cut off rails? Where did you put the ordnance? The rails are all made of good steel, and the ordnance can't be used by yourself. It can be sold..."

It's all money.

Zhao Chuanxin took a puff of his cigar: "The rails of the railways in Tsarist Russia have melted into lumps of iron. I will ask my eldest apprentice and chief engineer to invent an assembly line for processing wool, using this steel. I will collect the Russian wool later and process it again." Export and sell to them. As for ordnance, we will process and produce it ourselves in the future. Because a worldwide war is about to start, we may not participate, but we can supply weapons to various countries. We in Hylar have copper, iron, lead, zinc, gold, silver, clay, Construction stone and other mines are not just coal mines, they will be mined together when the time comes..."

What Zhao Chuanxin said was conservative. There are still many coal and iron mines in Maozi...

Yao Jia was surprised. She didn't expect that Zhao Chuanxin had secretly made so many plans.

Limited by the thinking limitations of the times, Yao Jia hesitated and said: "Even if there are these mines, how can we have so much silver to mine?"

The Qing government personally invested in coal and iron mines, often investing one to two million taels of silver, but Lubin Mansion did not have such money.

Zhao Chuanxin fell into memories.

He had to take out the infrastructure economy that he had casually heard boasting about the infrastructure economy from his friends who were public officials at the wine table.

Zhao Chuanxin was not sure how serious the remarks he heard were.

However, he must display strong self-confidence.

"Building houses, repairing bridges and roads, laying telegraphs, laying telephone lines... We don't do it ourselves. We have to attract investment and tenders, and the winning bidders advance funds. This is called fiscal deficit. The local economy that has gathered the population and stimulated it, the government government The tax revenue must be greater than the deficit.”

This is the basic line of regional development in later generations.

But people present still couldn't figure out why there was a surplus in the end even though they were investing money.

Zhao Chuanxin didn't understand it very well either.

But he thought it was feasible. From Manzhouli to Hailar, he would lead the way first...

Even if it fails, at least the infrastructure is still there, which is a real benefit.

Except for Hu Da and Hu Er, everyone here knows practical things.

It was a completely new interpretation of practice that they had never heard of.

It’s surprising, but it also takes time to digest.

Yao Jia has the most lively mind, and his eyes sparkle: "But in business, there are profits and losses. What if the deficit is greater than the tax revenue? What if we lose money?"

Zhao Chuanxin didn't care much: "Loss of money? Haha, if you really lose money, you'll have to cheat me."

Zhang Shouzeng asked in surprise: "How to cheat? Are you going to rob?"

Zhao Chuanxian said: "Russian people are greedy and are among the best in the world. Once infrastructure construction boosts the regional economy and Lubin Prefecture is prosperous, Zhang Heyan will go to Tsarist Russia to attract business, pave roads and land for free, and let them make money. You say Will they be tempted?"

Russians are greedy.

Zhao Chuanxin even plans to use weapons and money to buy land in the future, instead of just using force to solve the problem. History has repeatedly shown the world the greed of the Russians.

Yao Jia put herself in his shoes and said, "Yes."

Zhao Chuanxin bared his teeth and smiled: "After they build the factory, we will tell them to collect business tax in one go for the next ten years."

Yao Jia: "..."

This trick is not new at all.

The Qing government often collected future taxes and set up other names to collect taxes in the future, but few people thought of using this trick to deceive outsiders.

This is very Zhao Chuanxin!

It's just that ten years of business tax is too harsh.

Zhao Chuanxian continued: "Ten-year business tax, this amount is just at the critical value. They may not be able to pay it, or they will have no money to continue operating after taking it. We have set up a supervision department in advance to check when the land is not used effectively. , we have the right to take back the land. This has been included in the government laws in advance, but it must be kept secret. When the time comes, if we use existing enterprises and mines to recruit domestic businessmen to operate, the deficit will eventually be filled..."

If it were anyone else to execute it, Maozi would definitely blow up his hair, but Zhao Chuanxin... just blow it up.

Zhang Shouzeng thought for a while and suddenly felt a chill on his back.

Every step Zhao Chuanxin took had been thought out a long time ago. Zhao Chuanxin had said at the beginning that he would set up a supervision department, but it turned out that it was waiting here.

What they don't know is that in a certain period in the future, Chinese people will be cheated of a lot of money when they invest in Maozi. Zhao Chuanxin repaid the other person with his own methods a hundred years in advance, which can be regarded as revenge.

(End of this chapter)