My life skills in Daming Liver

"Grand Governor, the railway between Pei County and Xuzhou is almost completed."

Su Ze came out of the Fifth Brigade and immediately went to the construction site of the Railway Department.

Currently, there are two railways being built by the Railway Department of the Ministry of Industry. The Xuzhou Railway is an official investment project of Southeast China and is organized by Lu Gang, the head of the Railway Department of the Ministry of Industry. The Su-Song Railway was sponsored by Tang Xianzu.

The technical difficulty of the Su-Song Railway is not high. The main difficulties are land acquisition and fund preparation.

The Xuzhou Railway is funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and as Xuzhou is a frontline, there is no land acquisition problem. However, the terrain in Xuzhou is complex, and some railways need to climb mountains, which is technically difficult.

After Lu Gang arrived in Xuzhou, he personally visited the route, and then worked on the construction site day and night, finally completing the railway from Peixian County to Xuzhou.

This time, Lu Gang took a horse-drawn rail car and returned to Xuzhou from Peixian County.

However, Lu Gang still encountered many glitches along the way, and it took him about the same time as an ordinary carriage to reach Xuzhou from Peixian County.

"Grand Governor, the railway passenger transport is not stable now, you'd better take a carriage to Peixian County."

Hearing that Su Ze was going to Pei County by railway, Lu Gang quickly advised him.

Su Ze said nonchalantly: "Didn't you come back from Pei County safely? I want to try the railway. If even I don't dare to take the train, then who of the soldiers and civilians in Xuzhou will dare to take the train in the future?"

Lu Gang was extremely helpless, but fortunately this section of the railway was not long. Because the railway had just been completed, there would be no major accidents caused by insufficient coordination of dispatching along the way. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and accompany Su Ze. Boarded the rail car.

In fact, if it is just a horse-drawn carriage, just use a wooden carriage chassis and iron wheels. This can also reduce the weight of the carriage and make the carriage run faster.

But for Su Ze, the horse-drawn rail car was only a transitional solution. In order to facilitate the replacement with steam trains, Su Ze still required that all carriages use iron chassis.

This rail car is specially used to carry people. There are two rows of wooden benches installed in the car. Thirty people can be crammed into one car.

In front of the carriage is the front of the rail car. Two drivers control six horses to pull the carriage forward.

Lu Gang accompanied Su Ze and introduced the situation of the railway.

"The railway from Peixian County to Xuzhou is a total of 180 miles. Horses will be changed every 60 miles. There are two horse-changing supply stations along the way. The replaced horses can rest in the supply stations. Each supply station There are also dedicated shepherds and veterinarians.”

"When steam locomotives are replaced in the future, these supply stations can be converted into maintenance stations for replenishing fuel and water."

"In addition to being responsible for replacing horses, the supply depot also has dedicated pathfinders who are responsible for checking the safety of the railways along the way."

"There are also dedicated railway maintenance personnel at the supply depot."

Su Ze nodded. In reality, we are not playing games. We cannot connect cities together by railways with just a click of the mouse.

It is not difficult to build a railway. The difficulty is how to maintain the operation of the railway and establish a mechanism to ensure the smooth flow of the railway.

For Su Ze, it was like crossing the river by feeling the stones. He could only accumulate experience bit by bit starting from the horse-drawn rail car.

Su Ze and Lu Gang got on the rail car. As the driver waved his whip and made a loud crackle, the entire rail car began to slowly start.

The carriage pulled by six horses gradually increased in speed, and Lu Gang, who was accompanying Su Ze on the carriage, also became nervous.

But for Su Ze, the speed of the rail car was too slow.

Not to mention that compared with airplanes, the speed of less than 20 kilometers per hour is not as good as that of later generations of electric bicycles.

But in this era, this is already quite fast. You must know that the wooden wheels of ordinary carriages move at a very slow speed in the mud.

The people who accompanied Su Ze in the carriage looked out the window in surprise. The rail car drove very smoothly, without the bumpy feeling of a carriage at all.

Sitting in the carriage, everyone can get a rest, which is much more comfortable than riding a horse.

Su Ze looked out the window. Horse-drawn rail cars were the first step in railways. When the stability of steam engines improved and manufacturing costs came down, steam locomotives could pull more carriages and travel on the railway at a faster speed.

By then, railroads would have revolutionized the world.

At that time, land wars will revolve around railways, and previous military arteries will change along with railways.

On the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, Xuzhou's strategic position had changed several times due to the development of the times.

In the fifth year of Shaoxi's reign in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yellow River broke through Wuyang and changed its course, invading Bian and seizing Si, flowing through Xuzhou and entering the Huaihe River.

After Jialu's river regulation in the Yuan Dynasty, the Yellow River passed through Xuzhou alone, and the Xuzhou section of the Grand Canal was completely "borrowed by the Yellow River", and Xuzhou became an important water transportation center.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, in order to ensure the smooth flow of water transportation, two rapids in the Xuzhou section of the Yellow River, Baibu Hong and Luliang Hong, were diverted from Lijiakou, ten miles east of Xia Town, and opened up the river through Hanzhuang, then joined the Jia and Yi rivers, and entered the Yellow River at the mouth of Pizhou Zhihe River. The total length is 260 miles, which is the "Jia Canal".

In the fifth year of Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, the Yellow River burst from Henan, turned northeast to capture the Daqing River, and flowed into the Bohai Sea in Lijin County, Shandong. From then on, the Yellow River no longer flows through Xuzhou.

The evolution of "borrowing the Yellow River's transportation" to "separating the Yellow River's transportation" caused the water transportation function of the Xuzhou section of the Yellow River to decline, and Xuzhou gradually declined.

But by the end of the Qing Dynasty, Xuzhou once again became a railway hub of strategic significance, becoming the gateway and lifeline that determined the fate of Huaihai.

In Su Ze's plan, Xuzhou is still the future Huaihai gateway and railway hub, and the Xuzhou-Pei Railway is just a small section of the entire railway plan.

In Su Ze's plan, a Jinpu Railway will be built from Tianjin to Nanjing, and a Longhai Railway will be built from Lanzhou in the west to Lianyungang in the east.

The two horizontal and vertical railways will still meet in Xuzhou, connecting the north, south, east and west of the entire land of China.

Putting away these thoughts, Su Ze looked in the direction of Peixian County.

In Yutai County, opposite Peixian County, Li Chengliang also set up his frontline headquarters here.

"Father! There is news from Xuzhou's detailed operations that Su Ze has gone to Pei County!"

Li Rusong hurriedly walked into Li Chengliang's headquarters and told this earth-shattering news.

After the Battle of Dagu, Li Chengliang also devoted himself to studying all the battles in which Su Ze participated, and was deeply impressed by the Southeast New Army's good use of spies.

He also sent some spies to Xuzhou to spy on local intelligence.

However, Li Chengliang's spy level is not high, and he has always been able to find out some outdated information, or he can only collect some public information published in newspapers.

But this time the news that Su Ze arrived in Xuzhou and took the rail car to Peixian County was not concealed. After Su Ze arrived in Peixian County, it was published in the newspaper the next day. Li Chengliang's spies lurking in Xuzhou immediately brought the newspaper back to Yuzhou tower.

Li Rusong was young after all, so he quickly said: "Commander Father, Su Ze only has one brigade in the southeast! We surrounded Pei County with all the troops from three towns and captured Su Ze alive!"

Li Chengliang immediately said: "No!"

"Southeast has been operating in Pei County for a long time. Not only has it built a large number of bastions, but it has also hoarded a large amount of supplies. If we attack rashly, we will fall into Su Ze's trap just like Dagu."

"Furthermore, Su Ze is the Governor of the Southeast and is concerned about the safety of the entire Southeast. How could he easily risk his life and enter Peixian County? This may be a treacherous plot by the Southeast to lure our troops deeper into the area."

It’s no wonder that Li Chengliang was vigilant. After the emergence of artillery and bastions, the logic of the entire war changed dramatically.

The defenders only need to stay in the bastion, rely on artillery and supplies, and use very few troops to defend key areas, consuming a hundred or even a thousand times the enemy's troops and supplies.

To deal with this kind of bastion, longer-range artillery and more powerful gunpowder are needed, all of which the Ming court lacks.

This is also the reason why Su Ze dared to appear in Peixian County.

Li Chengliang said: "Whether Su Ze is really in Peixian or not, he is tempting us to take the initiative to attack."

"My father has studied Su Ze's fighting style. He is best at leading others by the nose and leading them into the ambush he has set."

"This was the case in the Battle of Dagu, and the same was true in the last Battle of Xuzhou."

"I will not be led away by him this time. Even if Su Ze appears outside Yutai City, I will not send troops."

Li Chengliang said: "Pass my military order. All the armies in the three frontline towns must defend themselves according to the previously arranged defense zones. They must not go into battle rashly. Anyone who disobeys the military order will be executed!"

Li Rusong said quickly: "Yes! Father, handsome!"

Li Chengliang's military order came out of Yutai City and spread to the entire new army in the three towns. The Ming court acted like a coward and resolutely hid in the defense line and refused to fight.

The same is true in the southeast. Su Ze inspected the bastion in Peixian County, and then took the train back to Xuzhou. The fifth southeast brigade also all adhered to the defense line, and there was no sign of going north at all.

In this autumn harvest season, the two armies, one from the south and the other from the north, each hid in their own bastions and trenches, waiting for the other to attack.

Just when Li Chengliang's three-town new army stood still, outside Laizhou Bay, a fleet sailed out of the thick fog. The lookout helplessly looked at the vast white fog in the telescope, and spoke to the people on the deck through the long iron tube microphone. The adjutant reported.

"Report to the brigade commander that the fog is too thick and the location cannot be determined."

The adjutant on the deck told Lin Mojun, who was at the bow of the ship, the news.

Lin Mojun just nodded slightly. According to the sextant positioning last night, the fleet of the First Brigade has entered Laizhou Bay and should be not far from Laizhou Port now.

Such dense fog is the best cover. Lin Mojun does not have to worry about her prey escaping. She only needs to wait quietly for the sunrise to dispel the fog, so that the fleet can continue hunting.

Lin Mojun looked into the distance. The bait had been thrown down, and the big fish Li Chengliang was about to take the bait.

On September 15th, when the early morning fog dissipated, the First Brigade of the Southeast Navy attacked Laizhou Port from the sea, sank 20 Ming Ting merchant ships anchored in the port, and bombarded Laizhou with naval guns. All the forts near the harbor.

Li Chengliang, who was stationed in Yutai, received the news on September 25th.

Li Chengliang did not hesitate this time, and immediately ordered the Tuanlian and local armies near Laizhou to go to Laizhou for support, and asked the New Army's Third Town stationed in Zouxian County to also go to Laizhou.

But by the time Li Chengliang's army arrived in Laizhou, Lin Mojun's first brigade had already plundered Laizhou Port and left.

Li Chengliang then thought with horror that in addition to the front line on land, Shandong also had a long coastline.

Su Ze's troops in Xuzhou were obviously a feint attack to contain Li Chengliang's main force. Shandong's long coastline was the direction of the southeastern new army's attack!

But even though he knew Southeast's tactics, Li Chengliang still had no idea.

His military strength was simply unable to block Shandong's coastline, but the coastline had to be defended.

Li Chengliang gritted his teeth. He continued to receive news of the Southeast Navy's landing in Shandong, and then sent troops to these locations continuously.

Many of these were fake news released by the New Army in the Southeast. Throughout September, Li Chengliang's army was fighting fires on the coast. The food consumption of the New Army of the Ming Dynasty was rising steadily. Li Chengliang had to send urgent reports to Zhang Juzheng in the capital every day. food.

Zhang Juzheng in the capital also had a headache. It was the time for the Ming Dynasty's autumn grain collection. Zhang Juzheng was already overwhelmed with the affairs of presiding over the reform, and he had to transport grain to Shandong.

Zhang Juzheng had to invest most of the Ming court's income in Shandong, and even increased commercial taxes in the Gyeonggi region in order to support the war in Shandong.

In addition to commercial taxes, Zhang Juzheng also had to take the lead in reducing salaries. Officials in Beijing with grades above the fourth grade were stopped from being paid, and officials with grades below the fourth grade were only paid half of their salaries.

While the Ming court was busy parrying the autumn offensive in the southeast, Su Ze had already left Xuzhou and began to inspect the Huaibei water conservancy project chaired by Hu Zongxian.

Nanjing, Crystal Palace, the first Southeast Expo is under preparation.

The foreign businessmen who were invited rushed to the Crystal Palace to participate in the expo with their own country's specialties.

For this expo, the Southeast Cabinet also gave a special holiday to the workshops and schools in Nanzhili. The expo is open to the people of the southeast for free. Even people from cities near Nanjing are planning to take advantage of this holiday to visit Nanjing.

Lorenzo, who had been studying medicine at Li Shizhen Medical College for half a year, also set off from Suzhou with his friends and got on the carriage to Nanjing.