I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Outside Yongdingmen, the three large characters "Beijing Station" stand above the station.

All the officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital came, along with many merchants, all gathered here.

The crowd gathered around the huge metal carriage, marveling at it. Some couldn't resist touching it, but were chased away by the guards.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

After a long wait, the imperial carriage finally arrived at the station.

With the Imperial Guards clearing the way, Zhu Youjian, dressed in ordinary clothes, stepped down from the imperial carriage and, surrounded by Song Yingxing and others, entered carriage number one.

Luo Yangxing, gripping his embroidered spring knife, announced loudly: "Duke of Yingguo Zhang Shize, Grand Secretaries Wei Zaode, Fan Jingwen, and Ge Shizhen, Ministers of the Six Ministries, Hanlin Academician Guan Shaoning, and Left Censor-in-Chief Li Banghua, a total of twelve people, are accompanying the Emperor!"

Wei Zaode and the others lifted the hems of their official robes and carefully stepped up the iron steps.

Inside the carriage were two rows of seats upholstered in brown leather. Zhu Youjian had casually taken a seat by the window and was looking at the crowd on the platform through the glass. The officials stood with their hands at their sides, none of them daring to sit down first.

Seeing this, Zhu Youjian said, "Please sit down!"

Ge Shizhen hurriedly bowed, saying, "We are unworthy and unworthy to sit on equal footing with Your Majesty. This is against propriety!"

Zhu Youjian, however, disagreed, saying, "This isn't the Hall of Supreme Harmony, why bother with so many rules? Quickly sit down, we'll be leaving soon!"

Only then did everyone cautiously take their seats one by one, but none of them dared to sit properly, with half of their buttocks hanging loosely.

Suddenly, Ge Shizhen stood up again: "Your Majesty, please be wise! Although this carriage is marked as number one, there is clearly another carriage in front of it. Doesn't this mean that someone is walking in front of the Emperor? This... is simply a grave offense of disrespect!"

Zhu Youjian laughed: "That's the front of the carriage; someone has to drive it, right?"

Ge Shizhen tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I dare to suggest that the craftsman driving the carriage may move to the back. This dragon head position…"

"Alright, alright, you can sit down now!"

Zhu Youjian was too lazy to explain further, so he waved his hand and told him to sit back down.

Just then, a sharp whistle sounded outside the window. A squad of Imperial Guards, each holding a bronze whistle, were directing the other officials to board the carriages. The hundred-odd officials were divided into four groups like a flock of sheep and led to the rear carriages. The merchants craned their necks to look, and those who dared to approach for a closer look were immediately dispersed by guards wielding sticks.

Then, with a muffled thud, the car door was suddenly locked from the inside.

A censor in the back row suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Open the door! I want to get out of the carriage!"

"Silence!" the commander of the Imperial Guard standing guard in the corridor shouted sternly. "Anyone who dares to make a sound will be punished for disobeying an imperial decree!"

The official immediately slumped into his seat, his legs trembling.

Just then, the entire train suddenly shook violently.

woo-

With a long whistle, amidst billowing white mist, the wheels began to turn slowly.

"It moved! It really moved!"

"Minister of Revenue Ni Yuanlu cried out in alarm. Beside him, Minister of Works Fan Jingwen had his eyes tightly shut, his hands gripping the armrests of his seat. A screeching sound of metal scraping against metal came from the connecting parts of the carriages. The speed increased, and the platform outside the window began to blur into a gray shadow."

The first carriage is reserved for VIPs; the seats are quite large and have ample legroom, making them fairly comfortable.

However, the later carriages were not so comfortable. Each carriage had forty seats, and everyone was crammed into a narrow space, which was very uncomfortable. Soon, one official felt his stomach churning and vomited.

Upon seeing this, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, sitting next to him, turned pale and covered his mouth and nose: "Stop immediately! I need to get off! This carriage is poisoned!"

The train was accelerating; how could it possibly stop? Several officials frantically tried to pry open the windows, but were stopped by the Imperial Guards: "Opening windows is strictly prohibited while the train is in motion!"

"Someone's been poisoned! Stop the car and let us out!"

"The Academy of Sciences has already explained that some people may experience motion sickness on their first steam train ride. Don't worry, just rest and you'll be fine!"

"But, but..."

The crowd wanted to argue, but then they heard the loudspeaker start broadcasting.

"The Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty reminds you that the next station is Tongzhou Station. Please take your belongings and prepare to disembark."

Who is playing tricks here?

Wei Zaode suddenly stood up, his eyes wide open, looking around for the source of the sound.

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but chuckle and said, "My lord, don't panic. This is called an electric loudspeaker. It's powered by electricity and doesn't require human intervention."

"Electricity? Lightning?"

Wei Zaode was filled with questions. As the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, the shock he received today was truly astounding.

Zhu Youjian gazed out the window at the fields rushing past, his eyes distant: "Electricity, this thing, can light up the night like day, can make iron carts travel a thousand miles a day, and in the future it can... well, it's too early to talk about these things now."

Just then, a screeching sound came from the car.

As the officials laughed and sang, the flagpoles of Tongzhou Wharf came into view outside the window.

Zhu Youjian straightened his clothes and stood up: "We've arrived in Tongzhou. My dear ministers, please disembark and get some fresh air!"

"Have we arrived in...Tongzhou?"

Wei Zaode was even more incredulous, saying, "From Yongding Gate to Tongzhou is at least fifty li, even by fast horse it wouldn't be that far..."

As soon as the car door opened, everyone rushed out as if fleeing, taking deep breaths of fresh air.

This is Tongzhou Wharf. Sharp-eyed observers will notice that the station's location is very important; after the canal boats unload their cargo, it can be directly loaded onto trucks.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Imperial Guards urged everyone on again, herding them onto the carriage like ducks, and they set off once more.

And so, after stopping at fifteen stations along the way, with simple food and water provided on board, they arrived in Tianjin by nightfall.

Wei Zaode gazed at the darkening sky outside the window, his fingers unconsciously calculating the time, muttering to himself, "It really did arrive in a day. If this were an urgent courier service, I wonder how many post horses would have died from exhaustion..."

Zhu Youjian chuckled upon hearing this, taking the hot towel offered by a servant and wiping his hands: "Has Minister Wei finally understood? This iron horse doesn't eat fodder, it only needs coal, and it runs day and night without stopping. Even in the dead of winter, it can still gallop a thousand miles."

That night, while staying at the Tianjin Wei Imperial Palace, the officials tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

At dawn the next day, Zhu Youjian led his officials to the Dagu Fortress.

In the morning mist, dozens of new warships were moored in the harbor, their masts like a forest.

Zhu Youjian stood atop the Dagu Fortress, the sea breeze ruffling his robes. The morning mist gradually dissipated, revealing the massive warships neatly moored in the harbor, their dark cannon muzzles gleaming coldly in the rising sun.

"My esteemed ministers!"

Zhu Youjian pointed into the distance and said, "Throughout history, every emperor has said that all land under heaven belongs to the emperor, but the world is so vast, how can one possibly govern it all?"

"Now that we have railways, if I wish to send troops, I can arrive in a day! This truly means that all under heaven belongs to the emperor!"

"Do you all know that on the other side of the sea, there is a country called Japan? They dare to secretly collude with the remnants of Korea, intending to oppose our Great Ming Dynasty!"

At this point, Zhu Youjian sneered and continued, "Do they think they can do whatever they want just because they're separated by the sea? How could I tolerate such behavior from them!"

The sea breeze suddenly turned fierce, causing the officials' robes to flutter loudly.

Wei Zaode asked, "Does Your Majesty mean... to send troops across the sea to launch a campaign?"

"good!"

Zhu Youjian gazed into the distance and nodded, saying, "In the past, preparing provisions and supplies for the army's departure from Tianjin would have taken at least half a month. But now, provisions and troops are being transported continuously by rail in just two or three days! You see—"

Everyone turned around and saw another train puffing out white smoke as it drove into the dock.

As soon as the vehicle came to a stop, squads of soldiers in new military uniforms disembarked in neat rows and quickly boarded the ship under the command of officers.

"Our Ming soldiers have now set sail for Japan, determined to utterly exterminate these Japanese devils!"

"I decree that all that the sun and moon shine upon shall be the territory of my Great Ming!"