After returning home from the residential building, Song Yang also thought about moving in as soon as possible.
Now he still lives in one of the original adobe houses.
Although it was kept spotless, it was definitely not as comfortable as the flat floor.
After dinner, Song Yang lay in bed and thought about things.
"Lao Yu doesn't know when he will come back."
"There is also Luo Xin, the thief king, who has not yet been dealt with. He will have to fight until the end of the year anyway."
"I don't know if the soldiers are used to celebrating the New Year in the North."
"Although we have sent a lot of winter clothes, the farther north you go, the longer the winter is. If Luo Xin cannot be killed before late winter, he may have to be left free for several more months."
"This idiot actually sent someone to kill me!"
"Who gave him the courage!"
Song Yang tossed and turned, the more he thought about it, the more angry he became.
"This little kid actually sent an assassin! How hateful!"
"No! I want to conquer it myself! I have to kill him!"
Song Yang sat up directly from the bed.
"Your Majesty? What's wrong with you?" Tong Qian was coaxing the children, and she jumped when she saw Song Yangteng sitting up.
"I'm... worried about the northern soldiers spending the winter! It's already snowing heavily in the north. Most of our soldiers are from the south, and they definitely won't be able to adapt to the northern climate."
Song Yang didn't mention the assassination, fearing that Tong Qian would worry.
"Alas! Although the weather is warmer this year, those soldiers are in the north and must be having a hard time. Otherwise, we won't let them go out to fight in the winter. Didn't we talk about Kaifeng and Chang'an? Let them spend the winter in the city?
"Tong Qian suggested.
Song Yang shook his head and said: "The thieves have not been eliminated, so we cannot give them a chance to breathe. Defeating them as soon as possible will save the chance of recurrence."
"Besides, Uncle Qi can't rest. The activities of bandits are becoming more and more frequent. Several state capitals along the coast have been occupied by bandits. If we don't drive them away quickly, the people there will not be able to survive."
"Xiao Qian. I want to march north. First, I will give the soldiers some things to keep out the cold. Then, I will celebrate the New Year with the soldiers on the front line, so that the hearts of the soldiers can be more united."
Song Yang talked about his ideas for the Northern Expedition.
Tong Qian paused and said with some resentment: "You just came back and are you leaving now?"
"Alas! The current situation forces us!" Song Yang sighed.
Originally, I wanted to take revenge, but as I talked, I also felt that as the boss, I should go to the cold winter north to see the soldiers.
"Then you go. The soldiers have to go and need you." Tong Qian finally focused on national affairs and did not say anything to stop Song Yang.
"But you have to ensure your own safety. My mother and I are waiting for you!" Tong Qian came to Song Yang with her child in her arms.
Song Yang took the steamed bun and savored it. The steamed bun still had a disgusted expression on his face.
"Don't worry. This time I am just going to finish the work. When the situation in Kaifeng stabilizes, I can also have someone take you to the North."
Song Yang patted the back of Tong Qian's hand and said.
Tong Qian leaned on Song Yang's shoulder and said, "Then you have to be right, so you don't forget us two again."
"How could it be! I always keep my word!" Song Yang emphasized.
…
Early the next morning, Song Yang told Fang Zhe, Ma Cheng and others about going north.
Considering that Luo Xin Group is already a grasshopper after the fall, there is no danger if Song Yang goes.
In addition, now that the cold winter is approaching, the soldiers really need to boost their morale.
Neither Fang Zhe nor Ma Cheng said anything to stop him.
After confirming Song Yang's trip, Fang Zhe immediately arranged for someone to prepare a batch of winter supplies.
At the beginning of autumn, Jiangzhou increased investment in textile factories.
Focus on producing winter clothing.
The original winter clothing reserve was able to cope with the cold winters in the Jiangnan and Huainan regions. To cope with the cold winters in the north, large cotton-padded jackets were needed.
The textile factory was working at full capacity, but only 5,000 pieces were produced in two months.
This is already the limit.
Due to limitations in cotton production, the number of cotton-padded clothes is destined to be limited.
Fortunately, a lot of winter clothes were seized during the war in the North, otherwise they wouldn't be enough to survive this winter.
During this period, the textile factory produced hundreds more pieces, and Song Yang happened to take them there when he went north.
In addition to clothes, another important strategic material is coal!
Here we will talk about the mining of Pingxiang Coal Mine.
Sun Yi, the prefect of Yuanzhou, has long been thinking about the development of Pingxiang Coal Mine.
After the river was dredged the year before last, the transportation problem was solved.
And you can take two routes, one takes Changsha and the other takes Yuzhang.
Although it cannot pass the big ships, small ships are constantly shipping out one ship after another, and the transportation volume cannot be underestimated.
Pingxiang Coal Mine officially started construction at the end of the year before last. Since last year, coal output has been increasing.
By the first half of this year, several original coal fields had been completely replaced.
It just so happened that the small coal kiln in Xiaofugui had been running dry for three or four years and was almost exhausted. The coal mines in Hongzhou were also dug deeper and deeper, making development more and more difficult.
The putting into operation of Pingxiang Coal Mine completely solved the problem of difficulty in using coal.
Jiangzhou's current coal reserves exceed 10,000 tons, which can easily supply the northern region for winter consumption.
Three days later, all materials were prepared and shipped.
Song Yang personally went to the dock to check everything.
This trip north is to celebrate the New Year for the soldiers, and they need a lot of various supplies.
There were twenty tank boats alone.
The supplies will be transported to Huangzhou by tanker, and then sent to Macheng by railway.
After that, it had to be transported by horse-drawn carriage.
The best way is to take the water route and go north along the canal to reach the Yellow River.
However, the northern section of the canal in Henan Province is now in the area occupied by Japanese pirates.
The risk is too high to pass through there, so you can only choose a more difficult but safer option.
On December 17, the fleet set off.
Arrived in Huangzhou on December 20th.
Chen Fu was already waiting at the dock with five thousand railway workers.
"Old Chen, the railway is being built very quickly!"
Song Yang praised him when he met him.
Chen Fu was extremely fast, especially after repelling the raid by the thieves, the workers felt like they had been given a shot of blood and worked overtime day and night.
Later, when Xinyang was restored, Master Gao and the bearded Liu Huairen took a train to move.
This experience immediately gave me a high evaluation.
Appropriations and supplies were also allocated, and the construction speed was further accelerated.
By mid-December, the railway from Huangzhou to Macheng was finally opened to traffic.
"This is all supported by His Majesty. We will continue to work hard and build the railway to Kaifeng as soon as possible!"
"Well! Work hard! There is a bright future!"
Chen Fuli made bold words, and Song Yang smiled and patted him on the shoulder to express encouragement.
"Boom Kaka! Boom Kaka!"
The supplies were put on the train, and the train started slowly. At first, the speed was slower than walking.
The soldiers were on pins and needles sitting on the train. It was the first time for everyone to ride a train, and they were afraid that this thing would swallow everyone up.
Song Yang got into the car generously, and the soldiers dared to follow him.
Now the train was moving, and the carriages were shaking. The soldiers all felt frightened.
"Boom Kaka! Boom Kaka!"
"Woo!"
The speed of the train gradually increased, the whistle sounded, and the soldiers looked out the window curiously.
At this time, the speed of the train has caught up with the carriage, and the scenery outside the window flashes backward quickly.
Everyone felt a sense of novelty about this train.
"Be careful! Don't open the window! Don't extend your hands!"
Gongsun Qi walked back and forth in the carriage and started popular science for the soldiers.
"General. This thing is so fast!"
"Yes, yes! It's faster than a carriage!"
"And it holds more than a carriage! There are so many of us, and there are dozens of carts of supplies behind us!"
Gongsun Qi said proudly: "This is all the prince's invention!"
"Yeah! Your Majesty is so smart!"
"Your Majesty is omnipotent!"
From being curious about the train, it gradually turned into praising Song Yang.
This is not just a matter of flattery, but a heartfelt compliment from everyone.
Before the natural disaster, who would have dared to imagine sitting in a train and rushing to the front line.
Today, the reality is before our eyes. The train tracks are still under construction. Sooner or later, we will be able to reach any place in Daqian by train.
Song Yang was sitting in the last carriage, leaning against the window and looking at the scenery outside the window, his thoughts returning to that era.
When Song Yang was a child, he would take the green train when he returned to his hometown, but the internal combustion engine was much more advanced than the steam engine.
But the two feel very similar, which makes Song Yang fall into some memories.
"Prince Macheng has arrived."
Chen Fu's words awakened Song Yang's memories.
"How long have you been running for?" Song Yang was just thinking wildly and didn't count the time.
"It's worth an hour and a half."
Chen Fu has walked this section of the road several times, and of course he has kept it in mind.
There are only 200 miles from Huangzhou to Macheng. The train took three hours and the speed was only about 40 kilometers per hour.
A far cry from the trains of later generations.
But it is already a very convenient means of transportation in this era.
"Not bad. This train has enough capacity, and there is room for improvement in power. When the internal combustion engine comes out, the power will at least double."
"What the prince said is that the official is now looking forward to Blacksmith Wang to produce a new version of the locomotive as soon as possible."
"Almost. Just wait."
The train gradually stabilized, and Song Yang stood up and got off the train.
The road ahead will depend on horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts, and people pulling on shoulders.
Fortunately, it doesn’t rain much since autumn, so it’s easier to walk along the way.
Otherwise, transporting so much supplies would be exhausting.
After the supplies were unloaded, Song Yang divided the team into two parts.
The front team was led by Song Yang, and the supplies mainly included ammunition, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks, as well as winter clothes and quilts, which were urgently needed and light supplies.
The rear team was led by Gongsun Qi, who transported coal, weapons, wood and other relatively less urgent materials.
"Big man, I'll leave the rear team to you. Follow the guide's instructions on how to walk along the way. As long as you can reach Kaifeng within a month."
"When the Spring Festival comes, I can rest for a few days in Ruyang or Yancheng."
After the materials were distributed, Song Yang told Gongsun Qi.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely take good care of the supplies." Gongsun Qi assured.
The assassination of Ping Zhen Lao Dao happened before. Gongsun Qi felt that it was caused by his slackness in work, so from then on, this guy became more diligent and worked harder.
"Well, I can rest assured that you will do the work. We will meet in Kaifeng, and I will go ahead!" Song Yang patted Gongsun Qi on the shoulder and said.