The sun never sets in America

Chapter 201 Special Train: Departure

An ordinary train stopped at a recently renovated platform on the west side of Xijing Station that was not yet open to the public.

This train has nine carriages, three less than the twelve carriages currently used in Han Dynasty.

But if you look closely, you will find that the surroundings of the train are obviously thicker than those of twelve carriages, and the single carriage looks more bloated, giving people the feeling that the train is eating coal and getting fat.

On the gray floor of this brand-new concrete floor that had only been dry for a few days, hundreds of soldiers gathered together. They were wearing uniform black military uniforms and black big-brimmed hats. They were not the flying saucer helmets of the Han Army.

The emblem on the big-brimmed hat is a five-clawed dragon coiled together. From this, we can see their identity... the Guards! !

The Guards is an army with a total number of more than [-] people. Liu Peng's ministers are mainly the top officers. However, Liu Peng's order is needed to mobilize troops. This is not a kind of check and balance and vigilance.

The entire Guards was divided into a capital garrison regiment with about [-] men. This regiment was also called the Xijing Regiment and the Central Regiment.

In short, in the eyes of outsiders, the regiment is a symbol of the power of the Han Dynasty. Whoever serves as the leader of the regiment is a close official of the King of Han! !

The leader of the regiment is Lu Weidong, who has been very popular in the Army Military Academy in recent years.

This Lu Weidong was the Army's third-term infantry and cavalry division champion. Liu Peng personally awarded him a gold-plated saber and the Baoding Medal. (According to the latest rectification, the Medal of the Han Dynasty is divided into four levels. The highest level is the Longqing Medal, the second level is the Huben Medal, the third level is the Baoding Medal, and the fourth and final level is the Military Guard Medal, this level of medal is prepared for soldiers as the name suggests)

Without making any meritorious service or joining the army, he received the Baoding Medal, which can only be obtained by active-duty officers, which shows that Lu Weidongjian is in the heart of the emperor.

What happened later was indeed the case. After staying in the Army for less than a year, he was transferred to take over the very important position of commander of the Xijing Regiment.

And so far, he has done a pretty good job without any mistakes. He doesn't say anything when others ask him. This shows that he has a high emotional intelligence and knows what to say and what not to say.

And these soldiers on the platform are the internal guards of the palace. What are internal guards? They are also close guards! !

There are a total of [-] people in the palace guard troops, which are mainly divided into two camps, namely the outer camp and the inner camp, and are awarded titles such as Tiger Ben and Long Xiang.

It is also called Longxiang Camp and Huben Camp, with Huben on the outside and Longxiang on the inside.

And these soldiers standing on the dock are the Huben Camp! !

This group of people was also the escort for Liu Peng's inspection this time. However, because there were too many people, an ordinary train following behind was arranged on another railway track as a place for the remaining soldiers.

The entire travel plan, including administrative, military, financial and other aspects, can be said to be interconnected, giving people the feeling that everything is within the plan.

...............

"Your Majesty, everything is ready..."

Minister of the Interior Jiang Junen bent over and reported to Liu Penghui who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.

Liu Peng did not answer immediately, but continued to flip through the newspaper in his hand, while Jiang Junen kept bending over, not daring to raise his head.

"Jun En..." When he saw the second picture, Liu Peng raised his head slightly and looked at Jiang Enjun who was bending over him and said.

"I'm here..." Upon hearing this, Jiang Enjun immediately raised his head and responded to Liu Peng.

"Let Concubine Li accompany you..." Liu Peng suddenly said something to Jiang Enjun, which almost shocked him.

Let the concubine accompany you at this time, this...

Jiang Enjun complained secretly in his heart, but on the surface he still answered Liu Peng calmly:

"I don't want to, but everything has been arranged. I'm afraid that if I take care of Your Majesty, I won't be able to take care of my empress."

After Jiang Enjun finished speaking, he inadvertently looked up at Liu Peng's expression and felt relieved when he saw that Liu Peng had no reaction.

"Concubine Li doesn't need any special care. Just get a few maids to dress up. No more expenses." Liu Peng didn't even raise his head, just looked at the Hanguo Daily in his hand, and then gave Jiang Enjun instructions. road.

"I obey the decree..." Jiang Enjun bent down and agreed to Liu Peng.

Then he said goodbye to Liu Peng and left the bungalow No. [-].

After waiting for Jiang Enjun to leave for a while, Liu Peng slowly put down the Hanguo Daily in his hand and picked up another copy on the table, which was an official document from the Hanguo Ministry of Foreign Affairs questioning Brazil this morning.

This document repeatedly used words such as conspiracy, sophistry, and justice to question whether Brazil had harbored arsonists and whether it was hostile to Han businessmen.

In Liu Peng's view, this interrogation document is quite satisfactory at best. From a diplomatic logic point of view, there is nothing wrong with it.

But the wording is a little low and not harsh enough. Of course, this is Liu Peng's personal opinion.

After Liu Peng read it, he took out a blank dragon pattern memorial and wrote on it:

"With the Atlantic Fleet under the Navy, we will send additional troops to conduct military exercises off the coast of Brazil on the following day. The military must be well-organized and morale high, so that Brazil will not dare to underestimate me as a big man!!"

"If there is an emergency, the mainland fleet can be sent for reinforcements. If the United States and Britain ask about any breach of the treaty, they can reply: According to Chapter [-] of the Atlantic Treaty, emergency response, inform the United States and Britain that our troops are heading to South America and the Caribbean. , Atlantic affairs, nothing to do..."

"If the two countries are still entangled, there is no need to deal with it anymore. Most of it has to do with the United States. The matter can be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Army to resolve..."

At the end of writing, Liu Peng added a sentence, apparently understanding the possible regional chain reactions caused by Han's intervention in Brazil in the future, and even prepared everything in advance.

To deal with the United Kingdom, one can use the Four-Nation Treaty to prevaricate that foreign countries shall not interfere in American affairs. Even the United States must accept this provision, otherwise the United States' own interests will be harmed and the Four-Nation Treaty will become a dead letter.

Moreover, the UK can also use benefits to lure it, such as allowing the UK to participate in part of the rubber trade. I believe this will make the capitalists in London very happy.

Dealing with the United States is much simpler and rougher. It only needs to let the Han army stationed on the border exercise a few times and be tougher in diplomacy. Even if the United States knows what the Han is going to do, it will be unable to stop it. On the contrary, it will impatiently join the partition. Join the ranks of South America to prevent being dominated by the Han family.

It can be said that although Liu Peng is thousands of miles away from Xijing, he is well aware of the general trends in America and the world.

It is not an exaggeration to describe the current Liu Peng as "seeing grains in the palm of his hand, seeing fire like a penetrating eye".

If nothing else, just take the last family dinner, Taishang Wang Liu Yan’s evaluation of Liu Peng:

"Peng'er, you are becoming more and more like an emperor!!"

But I also added a sentence at the end:

"I am becoming more and more indifferent. The farther I am from others, the closer I am to you!!"

When he said this, Liu Yan looked at Liu Peng with some worry. After all, even though Liu Peng could still talk and laugh with his family without any scruples, he could feel that there was some element of acting in it, and The acting was very natural.

An emperor has an unchanging expression when faced with important events, interacts with others as if he were an ordinary person, is decisive in dealing with problems, is ruthless and self-determined, and is arbitrary. Now Liu Peng can feel that he is becoming more and more a loner and a dictatorial monarch. Gone forever! !

…………

In the back garden, several of Liu Peng's concubines were admiring flowers. The entire back garden covered an area of ​​[-] acres, and there were more than [-] gardeners alone.

Liu Peng, who once said that the back garden was a waste and wanted to reduce expenses, finally embarked on the path that emperors of all generations have followed, that is, a great success.

This is inevitable for any successful emperor, especially one who has made great achievements.

The First Emperor built the Epang Palace and the underground palace, which is extremely majestic and has yet to be seen in its entirety.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would hide his beauties in golden houses and build palaces.

Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty would also become comatose in his later years, forcing the good prince to rebel, and the battle for the right to inherit the throne became more and more intense.

Although Liu Peng is a time traveler, after all, he is not the little social beast who works nine to five. He is the King of Han, a king who created the Americas, rejuvenated the Yan Han, and completed the Golden Sword. Although he has not yet become the emperor. , but better than the emperor!

And this is the same Liu Peng who once said with a smile that two is enough, and finally recruited five more concubines. This is also the Liu Peng who cut royal expenses, but in the end only cut them in half, leaving half. He is a king. , not a saint! !

But fortunately, Liu Peng still has sense. He clearly knows what should be done and what should not be done.

.........

"Leifei, look, how beautiful these flowers are!!" Concubine Jing pointed to a bright peach blossom tree and said to Concubine Lee, who was born in two classes of aristocratic immigrants from North Korea. “It’s beautiful, but it’s even more beautiful when it’s worn on my sister’s head!!” Concubine Li flattered Concubine Jing.

"I am Concubine Li, and it looks better on you. Come and let me put it on for you." Concubine Yun walked to the peach tree, broke off the peach blossom closest to her, and put it on Concubine Li's head.

"Look, I just said beautiful!!"

Concubine Yun was born into a Nanyang aristocratic family, the Ye family, one of Lanfang's major families, and her uncle was Ye Tengfei, the last Lanfang ruler.

Ye Tengfei was classified as Pontianak Bo because of his meritorious service in offering soil. He was given the title of Pontianak City, the capital of Lanfang, which shows his strength.

On the side, Concubine Jing looked at Concubine Li, who was wearing a peach blossom on her head and a face as beautiful as a peach blossom. A trace of jealousy flashed in her eyes, and finally disappeared quickly. She surrounded Concubine Li, chattering with her younger sister, the older sister, and the younger sister, like a family. Same as people.

It's hard to find a single fault.

Just when a few people were admiring the flowers and complimenting each other, a sound of footsteps came from outside the back garden.

I saw Jiang Enjun from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, leading several palace maids, arriving in front of a few people.

"Empress Li Fei, Your Majesty is out on inspection, and I want you to follow me and accompany you..."

Jiang Enjun's words made Li Fei's already pink face become even more rosy, as if she had received some kind of nourishment.

The expressions of the other two people changed, especially Concubine Jing, whose hands with beautifully manicured nails were about to burst.

Concubine Yun, who was on the side, looked at Concubine Li who had forgotten herself with some jealousy, but she could only read some poems and books to please His Majesty.

Jiang Enjun did not expect that his words would make the three sisters in front of him, who had just been sympathetic to each other as brothers, almost fall out on the spot.

After Concubine Li ran back happily, Concubine Jing and Concubine Yun looked at each other, and they could see the dissatisfaction in each other's eyes.

"Sister Li Fei is so lucky to be with Your Majesty all the time!!" Concubine Yun smiled and said yin and yang to Concubine Jing.

"Yes, it's really a blessing, but I don't know when it will be our turn??" Concubine Jing seemed to be asking, but in fact she was scolding her for being unfair.

"I still have some things to do in the palace, so I won't bother my sister. I'll leave first." Concubine Yun found an excuse and left the back garden, leaving Concubine Jing alone.

Concubine Jing stood in the deserted and beautiful red garden, looked at her belly with a gloomy face, stretched out her jade hand to touch her belly, and murmured to herself:

"How can you have it? If you have it, mother will be happy!!"

In the harem, there was a lot of commotion because Liu Peng took Concubine Li on a tour. For a time, Liu Peng enjoyed the sorrow and resentment that only emperors of all generations could enjoy.

It is also a man's helplessness, he has more than enough ambition but not enough strength. After all, there are too many people! !

And there may be more! !

.............................................

Xijing Railway Station is another day of renovation and maintenance. Of course, this is what we say to the outside world.

The real situation is that it had to be closed for one day because of Liu Peng's tour.

If I hadn’t been notified in advance that renovations were going to happen today, if this happened suddenly, I don’t know how many people would have refunded their tickets and scolded me! !

But even so, because Liu Peng's trip will cause trouble to many people and things along the way, and how much damage will be caused.

This is also the main reason why civil servants throughout the dynasties did not want the emperor to travel, because it was too troublesome and too expensive.

Not to mention other things, whether there are people for the ceremonial guard, whether there are people for the bodyguards, and whether there are people like the royal chef and palace maids, there are enough people for thousands of people.

In ancient times, transportation was still inconvenient and relied on human and animal power. If the emperor traveled once, it would be equivalent to losing a large chunk of the finances, and anyone would be willing to give it.

However, it is not without success in history. For example, Qianlong is a typical example. His seven expeditions to the south of the Yangtze River not only did not destroy the treasury, but also left a lot of money every year. It must be said that Qianlong was indeed the emperor's power in China's thousands of years of feudal history. Play clearly, a monarch who is a master of all things.

Except doing nothing! !

Of course, those who contributed in this were the Jiangnan gentry who were squeezed out of their financial resources by Qianlong. They and the Eight Banners disciples who were dragged by Qianlong to serve as soldiers were the real victims of the so-called prosperous age during the Qianlong period! !

Don't look at the banner people bragging about Qianlong. If you really want them to go back to the Qianlong period and still be a military household, then you will be in trouble. From southern Xinjiang to the plateau, you will not be killed! !

As for Liu Peng's trip, because it was a train, there were not too many people arranged, so the cost was much less than that of ancient emperors.

It can even be said that it is negligible. Of course, this negligibility is in comparison with the increasing financial revenue of Han State every year.

According to this year's estimated annual income, Liu Peng's expenses along the way only account for [-]% of the central tax revenue, which is equivalent to [-] million Chinese dollars.

(The central tax revenue is [-] million yuan, which is equivalent to more than [-] million taels of silver)

Of course, these four million are not from the cabinet, but from the royal family's annual income.

According to the Royal Household Office, the royal family's annual income totals [-] million yuan, part of which comes from land sales, which is the royal family's land across the country. These lands were purchased with money during the last Sino-American War. The lower half of Colorado is also the current Monan Province of Han State.

(The Han Kingdom currently has a total of [-] provinces in Beijing. Beijing is Xijing. Excluding the overseas Penglai Province, the [-] domestic provinces exclude the six provinces that were created after the Han-Mexican War, which are the seven newly added provinces.)

(The seven provinces are Liangzhou Province in Washington State, Guang'an Province in Oregon, Makino Province in Iowa, Ganzhou Province in New Mexico, Anxi Province in Utah, Monan Province in Colorado, and Deke in the original time and space. Youzhou Province of Saas)

It can be said that these fourteen provinces and one city supported the entire Han Dynasty's territory of thousands of miles.

Among them, the three provinces of Oregon, including the original time and space, parts of Montana and Wyoming in the United States, are not too big.

The part mainly close to the Rocky Mountains is now the Rocky Mountain defense line of Han Dynasty.

This line of defense is thousands of kilometers long, but the most important one is Monan Province, which is the location of the Colorado Plateau.

This is also the core of Han's defense and offense. It is a real strategic hub and is home to the most elite troops of Han.

For the United States, this line of defense, especially the loss of Colorado, has narrowed the United States' strategic room for maneuver and put the United States into a dilemma where it must increase military spending and increase the number of troops.

The Colorado Land Purchase was also known by later generations as the most cost-effective in the history of Han's multiple land purchases, because it directly strangled the throat of America's largest competitor, the United States of America.

This caused the United States to consume precious national power on a huge army, and it had to maintain a navy that had always had a huge advantage over the Han Atlantic Fleet at sea.

This was actually the current situation of the German Empire before World War I. The army had to compete with France and Tsarist Russia, and the navy had to compete with the maritime hegemon Britain, which ultimately led to the failure of the war.

The Han Dynasty, because of its two-ocean advantage, was able to adjust its military strength and military expenditures with ease.

If you think that war is not possible now, vigorously develop the navy. If you feel that a war is about to break out, invest military expenditures in the army.

The Pacific and the Atlantic are the two roads for Han. He can choose to go to the Pacific or the Atlantic.

Unlike the United States, the only strategic option left is the Atlantic Ocean.

The United States has lost its original historical advantages and can only go further and further in the whirlpool of history until it disappears! !

.........

woo woo woo...

The train named Oriental finally started and slowly left the Xijing platform.

As the speed increases, it gets farther and farther away from Xijing City and closer to the countryside.

Liu Peng looked out the window at the unobstructed view of the vast wheat fields, and his eyes revealed a brilliance that he had never seen in the palace.

At this moment, Liu Peng could clearly feel that the empire he had created was growing vigorously until it grew into a giant tree that stood proudly in the sky, covering all the sunlight and nutrients on this planet! !

　Ask for a reward, ask for a monthly ticket

　　

　

(End of this chapter)