I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 892: A long-term project that benefits the country and the people

Shen Wanxiang got off his horse and stood on the ground, holding the revolver in both hands. The guards stood beside him, ready to take orders at any time.

Wang Yongji stood a little behind him on the other side, eager to try.

"Chizuru, shoot quickly, let me have some fun too."

Shen Wanxiang held up the Mauser pistol, aiming the sight at the front of the barrel at a hare more than ten meters away. He made a slight adjustment, aligning it with the sight and the groove of the scale on the bolt.

It's just a straight line.

Shen Wanxiang remembered the shooting essentials that he had learned during military training after being kicked several times. He took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

With a crisp sound, the hare jumped suddenly.

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji thought they had shot the hare, but the hare landed on the ground with all four limbs intact. It even turned its head and blinked mockingly at Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji with its dark red eyes.

Just as the hare was about to leave, there was another crisp sound, and the hare flew sideways, splashing blood and falling to the ground.

Another guard took action nearby, with smoke coming out of the muzzle of the Mauser pistol in his hand.

However, the way he held the gun was with his palm facing down, not Shen Wanxiang's upright grip.

"This gun jumps a little too much."

Shen Wanxiang explained.

It's not that my shooting skills are bad, there is indeed something wrong with this gun.

At the moment of firing, the muzzle suddenly jumped upwards and the shell jumped out from the middle.

"Mr. Shen, that's right. The biggest drawback of this gun is that the muzzle jumps a lot." The guard replied with a smile, his eyes seemed to see through everything, "After the Ordnance Bureau developed it, the Army Department Logistics Bureau did not want it after field testing.

The lawsuit went straight to the Holy Father.”

"Why did you bring this up to the Emperor?"

"The Type 05 rifle, the revolver, the Mauser pistol, and the heavy machine gun, all came up with the idea of ​​the emperor. He drew the appearance, described the main parts, and explained the working principle, and then the engineers from the Gun Research Bureau perfected the details."

It turned out to be the case.

The army doesn't want the Mauser pistol that the emperor came up with, and the Ordnance Bureau certainly won't accept it. What else are you dissatisfied with about the gun designed by the emperor!
It's outrageous!
But even if the army knew that this gun was designed by the emperor, it would not be easy to use. We just have revolvers, which were also designed by the emperor.

So the lawsuit was brought to the Imperial Court in Xiyuan.

After the emperor knew about it, he went directly to the Xishan training ground, holding a Mauser pistol and demonstrated to everyone the correct way to use it.

Holding the revolver in the right hand, he pulled the bolt to the rapid-fire position, raised the gun with the palm facing down, stretched it to the right front, and pulled the trigger. The upward jump of the muzzle caused the revolver to sweep from the right front to the left front, completing a fan-shaped sweep effortlessly, almost covering the entire front of the body.

The generals of the Army Department, officials of the Ordnance Bureau, and engineers were all stunned.

"After the emperor invented the Mauser pistol, a very unique shooting method, the Mauser pistol became very popular, especially among the cavalry, who loved it very much.

Unfortunately, due to the current limited ammunition production, it is not possible to equip in large quantities. "

Wang Fengmeng finally sighed.

The group continued to move forward, and two days later they passed the East Pass of the Pearl River Valley and entered the Pamir Mountains. They rode their horses and stood on the mountainside. The city shining in the sun in front of them was Shule City (Kashgar).

Wang Fengmeng pointed to Shule City and said, "Shule City is located at the junction of the Pamir Mountains and the Tianshan Mountains. To the southwest is the Pamir Mountains, which winds for thousands of miles and where no birds can be seen.

They could only turn northwest, pass through the Pearl River Valley, enter the Kushan County in central China, cross the Yuezhi River, and either continue west to Persia, or turn south, pass through Tiaozhi (Ghazni) and Xiuxian (Kabul), and reach India.

Therefore, no matter whether it is Mengchi County or Yili County on the northern route of Tianshan Mountains, or Qiuci County and Yiwulu County on the southern route of Tianshan Mountains, or Yutian County south of the sand dunes, if they want to continue westward, they must finally gather in Shule City of Shule County!

Therefore, this Shule City is the most important city in Kunling Province."

"Kunling Province? Kunling is another name for Kunlun. In the Former Tang Dynasty, there was also the Kunling Protectorate. I guess this name is derived from this idea, right?"

"Mr. Shen is really well-read and understood the meaning of this immediately. In the sixth year of Wanli, before I left Beijing to take up my post in Shule, I heard people in Beijing talking about naming the province north and south of Tianshan Mountain.

Some people suggested to follow the example of the former Tang Dynasty and name it Anxi. It is said that many people agree. The cabinet also submitted a petition to the Western Garden with this name. The emperor said that the former Tang Dynasty Anxi only pacified a corner of the Western Region.

"Our Great Ming Anxi is more than just a corner of the Western Regions. Giving it this name is too petty."

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji, who were sitting on the saddle, couldn't help but raise their heads.

Yes, the Ming Dynasty expanded its territory thousands of miles in the northwest.

The Xuan River and Qian River to the north of Jinshan, the Yili River and Mengchi River to the south of Jinshan, all the way to the Kipchak Steppe on the east bank of the Caspian Sea and the Ural River, and the Transoxiana region of the Kushan County are several times the size of the Western Regions during the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Naming a small corner of the country after Anxi is indeed petty-minded and unworthy of the great Ming Dynasty.

"What areas does Kunling Province include?" Wang Yongji asked.

"Shule County, Qiuci County, Yiwu County, and Yutian County."

Shen Wanxiang raised his eyebrows, "All the counties in the southern Tianshan Road?"

"Yes, the grasslands south of Jinshan, such as Yili and Luntai in the northern route of Tianshan, will be divided among the troops of Gongyuebo and Shuanghebo, the front wing of Mongolia."

"The four wing princes and nobles of Mongolia directly under the Xuanhuiyuan."

Shen Wanxiang nodded.

More than an hour later, everyone arrived at the west gate of Shule City. There was a long banner hanging on each side of the west gate tower.

On the left is: "Love Ming with all my heart!"

On the right is: "Go all out to build the Ming Dynasty!"

After entering the west gate, they first reported to the Kunling Provincial Government. After receiving the notification, the Governor Liang Siwen immediately met with them.

"Our Kunling Provincial Government is currently under the control of the Three Borders Governor-General, and is the rear base of the Three Borders." Liang Siwen explained patiently, "For your trip east this time, you should take the northern route of the two counties of Qiuci and Yiwu."

"Liang Fantai, is Beilu Yi all right?"

"Yes, the northern route is easy to travel. The straight road from Xi'an through Lanzhou, Liangzhou, Yumenguan, and out of Yiwu, after three years of construction, was connected to the Hexi Straight Road built from Guazhou County, Gansu at Majingyi, the east entrance of Xingxing Gorge, Hami County, Yiwu Prefecture, in February this year.

Envoy Shen, Deputy Envoy Wang, and Commander Wang, you and your group can travel along this straight road, along the southern road of the Tianshan Mountains, through the Turpan Basin and the Hami sand dunes, and then along the Longyou Ancient Road at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, cross the Yellow River, and reach Lanzhou directly. "

Hearing Liang Siwen's words, Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji couldn't believe it.

"Is it really fixed?"

"Before we left Beijing, the Yellow River Straight Channel was only planned to run from Weihai to Lanzhou. I never thought that five years later, it would be built to Shule City!" Liang Siwen's dark and thin face was full of pride and excitement.

"The Kunling Provincial Government worked hard day and night, and finally lived up to the emperor's expectations and completed the major project on time."

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji looked at each other, feeling deeply moved.

Five years after leaving the Ming Dynasty, this warm land has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Since the first year of the Wanli reign, I felt that there were changes everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. Unexpectedly, after the fifth year of the Wanli reign, the changes in the Ming Dynasty became greater and greater, beyond my imagination.

At this point, the two of them deeply realized the profound meaning of what Zhu Yijun had said before about the millennium of change and the beginning of a new era.

After resting for a day in Shule City, the group continued on their journey.

Go out of the east gate and walk along the wide straight road.

This straight road is about ten meters wide and is separated in the middle by shrubs such as sea buckthorn, saxaul, and tamarisk.

They are enclosed in a circle with stones or wooden fences. In some places, you can see a very strange plant, which looks like green palms and green arms, covered with thorns.

I asked the people who were maintaining the roads and learned that this was called cactus, which was introduced from the southern part of Xiazhou, Genzhou, the former site of the Obsidian Kingdom.

There is also a kind called cactus, which was introduced from Lelang County and Yongxi County in Xunzhou.

The road was divided into two lanes on the left and right by bushes in the middle, each lane was about four and a half meters wide, enough for two carriages to run side by side.

Usually, the carriages were on the inside, and the riders on horses and camels were on the outside. Sometimes, if you saw dust flying and bells ringing, it was because the carriages were overtaking.

There is a row of trees on both sides of the straight road, some are only about one meter tall, some are two or three meters tall, all are very straight, and they are all poplar trees.

The green leaves sway in the wind, which is very pleasant.

Outside the tree is an underground canal with water flowing all year round.

Every one kilometer or so, there is a rest area with a pavilion. Water is drawn from the underground canal into a covered pool for separate drinking by humans and animals.

Shen Wanxiang and others were resting at a resting place. Also resting there was a group of merchants with more than ten people, ten horses and twelve camels.

The horses were nibbling on the weeds outside the resting area; they didn't dare eat the shrubbery dividing the road.

If you are caught by the patrol police, the whole group will stay here to maintain the vegetation and trees for a month, and you will take care of your own food and lodging. If you dare to run away without permission, you will know what it means that the law is ruthless and the government is like a furnace!
The trip was delayed for a month and I had to take care of my own food and accommodation, which was a very high cost.

There were weeds everywhere on both sides of the straight road, and there were no shortage of bushes and barriers. Moreover, the patrolmen often wore plain clothes, just like ordinary businessmen. You would only know they were police officers when they showed their badges.

The merchants and travelers who came and went would never dare to gamble! They all restrained their animals and did not let them gnaw on the bushes and vegetation in the isolation zone.

The camels were lying on the ground, chewing the hay handed to them by people, looking relaxed and at ease. The heavy objects on their backs were temporarily moved to the ground so that they could take a break.

The leader was Liu Shangcong, also known as Liu Baotou, from Dunhuang, Gansu. He started running a horse caravan with his father at the age of twelve, from Wuwei all the way to Shule, and had experienced countless things in more than 30 years.

Now in his fifties, he is the leader of the sixth caravan of Gansu Company of the Northwest Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Both sides dismounted, some fed the horses, some fetched water, and Shen Wanxiang, Wang Yongji and Wang Fengmeng sat down in the pavilion.

Liu, who was sitting there smoking, introduced himself and handed over an opened box of cigarettes.

The old smoker Wang Yongji took one without hesitation, but Shen Wanxiang and Wang Fengmeng declined it.

"Dayan Pagoda brand, produced by Xi'an Cigarette Factory?" Wang Yongji took a look and said happily.

"Yes, it was produced by the Xi'an Cigarette Factory. This cigarette factory was finally licensed by Governor Xu and Governor Xu, who took turns going to the capital to block the door of Prime Minister Zhang and Eunuch Yang.

There are only two brands of cigarettes, Dayanta and Chang'an. Several provinces in the northwest, from Shaanxi to Gansu, from Ningxia to Qinghai, from Wusi-Zang to Kunming, all smoke these two brands.

Chang'an is too expensive, I can't afford it, so I can only smoke this Big Wild Goose Pagoda. "

"Haha, I drew the Marco Polo Bridge brand before I left Beijing, and I drew the Luan River brand during the festival."

"Luanhe brand is good cigarettes, but it's a pity that they are too far to be transported here, and the price of tofu has been reduced to meat." Liu Baotou used a lighter to light a cigarette for Wang Yongji, "It tastes good, right? Shaanxi and Gansu are not only good places for cotton, but also for growing tobacco. The tobacco leaves here can rival those from Yunnan and Guizhou.

To be honest, I have traveled all over the country. In addition to the old four in the capital, I have also smoked the Yangtze River and East China Sea cigarettes from the Shanghai Cigarette Factory, the Furong and Dongting cigarettes from the Changsha Cigarette Factory, the Tianfu and Emeishan cigarettes from the Chengdu Cigarette Factory, and the Dianchi Lake and Yulong Mountain cigarettes from the Kunming Cigarette Factory.

Personally, I think the Red Sun brand of cigarettes is definitely the best, but it is too expensive. The rest are only Yulongshan and Furong, but below Red Sun, Chang'an is the best."

Wang Yongji laughed, "Liu Baotou is an old smoker. I can't do that. I smoke whenever I have cigarettes. As for what kind of cigarettes I smoke, it depends on how much money I have in my pocket that day and what kind of cigarettes I can afford."

Liu Baotou also laughed. After they argued for a while, Shen Wanxiang started to ask.

"Captain Liu, is the trade route in Kunling easy to travel?"

"It was difficult to travel when we first left," Liu Baotou answered honestly, "There were bandits and robbers everywhere.

But it's all the same. The trade routes between Gansu and Shaanxi were also like this. Later, the soldiers went back and forth to clear out the trade routes, and countless heads were chopped off. In addition, everyone had a way to make a living, so no one wanted to risk their lives to make a living.

It is much easier to travel now. The bandits and horse thieves have been killed, the post stations along the way have been repaired, and the straight roads have been paved, making it more convenient. "

As he was talking, a waiter came over with a kettle.

"Head, fresh water."

Liu took the kettle, gulped down a few mouthfuls, wiped his mouth, and said with emotion: "The water from the karez is still the best to drink, sweet and cool. After a few gulps, all the fatigue in my body is gone."

“Kanez?”

"Yes, don't you know? The underground channels on both sides of this straight road are all modeled after the karez in Turpan. Every few miles, or on the northern side of the Tianshan Mountains, a covered pool is built to collect the snowmelt spring water from the mountains, and then it is connected to both sides of this straight road through underground channels.

Or you can build a well house at a suitable place on the roadside, dig a deep well, use cows, horses, and camels to pump water into a pool, and connect it through an underground canal.

That's incredible.

The straight road in Kunming Province was built like this, and the straight road in Gansu Province also learned from it, drawing spring water from the Qilian Mountains or using steam engines to pump water from deep wells into underground canals, extending for thousands of miles.

The length of the straight road from Lanzhou to Shule is equal to the length of the underground canal. With the underground canal, the straight road is always covered with lush grass and trees, and the crops are growing all year round, full of vitality.

Liu Baotou sighed, "Everyone only sees the straight road, but not the underground channels on both sides. People only talk about the court's large-scale construction projects everywhere, but they don't know that all the projects are long-term projects that benefit the country and the people.

This kind of down-to-earth and great thing has only been done by the Wanli Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty throughout history. The emperor is wise and courageous, he is truly a holy emperor! "

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji stood up suddenly, and Liu was stunned.

"What are you two going to do?"

(End of this chapter)