Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The Prince of Wu stood beside the train, looking up with a bewildered expression.

What exactly was this thing for, and why was it called a train?

Unexpectedly, Fang Zheng Yi's voice rang out from behind, and then he was pushed onto it.

"Stop looking, you'll know once you get on."

The three sat in the Emperor's private train car, the Prince of Wu still staring blankly out the window.

After waiting for a while, the train car began to vibrate.

The Prince of Wu instinctively grabbed the armrest of his seat, a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

The vibration became more and more intense, and soon the train started moving.

Watching the scenery outside begin to move, and faster and faster.

The nervousness in the Prince of Wu's eyes began to turn into horror!

What... what exactly is going on? How are the things below moving on their own?

Seeing this, Fang Zheng Yi calmly explained, "When you were on the boat, weren't you always curious how the boat could move automatically without sails? The technology used is the same as the train we are riding on now."

"This is called a train. It doesn't need manpower to run automatically. As long as it burns coal, it won't stop. In the future, major towns and even remote areas throughout Da Jing will use trains. The ability to transport resources across the country will be a hundred times stronger than before."

The Prince of Wu's expression gradually became blank. He leaned against the train window, constantly looking outside, not knowing what he was thinking.

The train whizzed and ran tirelessly.

Passing through fields, mountains, and countless factories spewing black smoke.

The Prince of Wu couldn't understand... He only felt panicked. Everything here was unfamiliar, and he considered himself clever, but he couldn't understand anything.

What exactly were those houses with black smoke coming out of the top for?

Why could the iron car run so fast just by burning coal, and even pull houses around?

He just watched tirelessly.

Until the train entered the station, his eyes never left the scene for even a moment.

Fang Zheng Yi patted him on the shoulder: "Get off the train."

The Prince of Wu, immersed in thought, was pulled off the train.

A carriage to the capital had already been prepared in the train station lobby.

"What is that!?"

Li Yuan Zhao had just entered the lobby when his eyes suddenly focused!

Fang Zheng Yi followed his gaze, as if struck by lightning!

On one side of the lobby, an open space was fenced off.

In the middle, there was a four-wheeled carriage without a roof, with a stove trailing behind it, and a pile of firewood next to the stove.

What surprised Fang Zheng Yi was that this thing had a steering wheel! And it was a four-seater car!

Holy crap! A car!?

The official welcoming them hurriedly introduced, "Your Majesty, this is a self-propelled car that was created by Dongjiao University two months ago. It caused a sensation in the capital for a while and is now on display here."

"Self-propelled car?" Li Yuan Zhao looked at Fang Zheng Yi with delight, "Lao Fang! The project I established back then, they figured it out themselves, it's just a little ugly."

"What does this thing use for fuel? It doesn't burn firewood, does it?" Fang Zheng Yi quickly asked the official.

"It burns firewood," the official replied.

Burning firewood?

Fang Zheng Yi scratched his head. It seemed that the idea was still based on the train's concept.

But burning firewood... the efficiency wouldn't be high, would it?

"We won't take the carriage. We'll take this back to the capital. I want to see how it starts," Li Yuan Zhao said, licking his lips.

The official was troubled for a moment, but after hesitating for a while, he ran away.

It was rare for His Majesty to be happy, and Dongjiao University was not far from here, so there would be someone there who knew how to operate this thing.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, the official returned panting, bringing a young student with him.

He pulled him in front of Li Yuan Zhao and said, "Your Majesty, he knows how to drive it."

Li Yuan Zhao looked him up and down and asked, "Did you invent this car?"

"Your Majesty, no. I'm the driver. No one wants to drive this thing... so Dongjiao University specially hired a commoner to drive and test the car."

"It doesn't matter, today you will drive and take me back to the palace!"

What an honor to receive for free, enough to brag about for a lifetime!

The young man almost teared up and quickly ran to the self-propelled car, stuffing firewood into the stove.

After preparing for a while, Li Yuan Zhao sat in the front seat, excitedly preparing to observe the young driver's operation.

Fang Zheng Yi and the Prince of Wu sat in the back seat.

Like a train, the firewood burned, the hot water boiled, and the whole car began to vibrate with a 'dong, dong, dong'.

Giving people the feeling that it could fall apart at any moment.

With such poor quality, Fang Zheng Yi felt a little scared.

No wonder no one wanted to drive this damn thing! Sitting on it would shake your insides apart!

Even a hand-held tractor didn't shake this much!

The self-propelled car began to move slowly.

The Prince of Wu, who had been in a daze, completely panicked and grabbed Fang Zheng Yi's hand tightly.

Fang Zheng Yi grabbed the car door, shivering.

The vehicle drove to the outside and onto the street, and the speed began to increase.

Fang Zheng Yi's heart also rose.

The shaking became more and more severe, and his tailbone was aching!

And the 'putt-putt-putt' sound was simply deafening!

This kind of defective product was worthy of being put on display? Which grandson did this? I'll have to punish him when I get back!

The broken car drove on the street, and the loud noise immediately attracted many passers-by.

However, the guards blocked them outside, preventing them from getting close.

Many children chased after the broken car madly, shouting cheers.

All the way to the middle section of the outer city, they were watched by passers-by.

Li Yuan Zhao was excitedly discussing with the driver.

"How much firewood does this thing burn to travel two li!?"

"Your Majesty, what did you say? I can't hear you!"

"I'm asking you how to solve the problem of ash accumulation in the stove!"

As the journey progressed, many shops using a large number of glass windows began to appear on the streets.

Then, a dozen towering, shining buildings began to come into view.

The Prince of Wu raised his head, looking at the tall buildings in horror, and a crack began to appear in his heart.

A dozen skyscrapers, hundreds of meters high, were distributed throughout the outer city, wantonly reflecting sunlight.

It seemed that the capital had changed a lot this year, at least the outer city had changed a lot.

Fang Zheng Yi sighed in his heart.

Thinking that the Prince of Wu hadn't said much, he couldn't help but look at him.

With just one glance, Fang Zheng Yi dismissed the idea of asking him.

The Prince of Wu looked up at the unattainable buildings, and two lines of tears kept running down his cheeks, without any sign of stopping.

"I lost..."

As soon as these words came out, the Prince of Wu began to cry with his head in his hands, crying heart-wrenchingly, his mental breakdown was instantaneous!

"I lost... I lost!"

At this moment, all his pride was shattered, leaving nothing behind.

He could still comfort himself that his defeat in battle was due to inferior weapons and insufficient time, but the truth was so hurtful.

It wasn't just the weapons, but the entire world had undergone a transformation.

What he was facing was a strange, powerful, and incomprehensible world.

The capital was still the same capital, but it was like seeing a phoenix reborn from its ashes, through the broken and mottled eggshell.

A fiery, surging, and vigorous new life was being born from it!

His own persistence, his own strategies, his own everything, seemed so ridiculous in the face of all this...

The Prince of Wu cried uncontrollably, and the roar of the broken car preserved his last bit of dignity.

Fang Zheng Yi didn't know whether to feel bitter or happy.

He had also experienced this kind of situation, except that he had come from the new world to the old world, and that kind of pain was a different kind of pain.

The Prince of Wu cried for a long time, turning into sobs, and kept muttering, "I lost...."

Fang Zheng Yi patted him lightly on the shoulder and comforted him, "Losing to me is not shameful."

.....