At noon on the 26th of the first month of the 27th year of Xuanping, the Zhenjiang Railway Station, which used to be bustling with passengers, fell into a strange calm.
Of course, it would be wrong to say that it was absolutely peaceful, because there were not many people in the train station at this time, but on the contrary, there were very many people.
But these people are all civil and military officials, or simply troops setting up defenses.
Even though there were a lot of people, they all seemed orderly, which was completely different from the usual tourists.
Not only was Zhenjiang Railway Station showing an eerie calmness despite the large number of people, but even the entire city of Zhenjiang was unusual at this time.
Even though Zhenjiang is not an important industrial and commercial town in the empire, it cannot have a population of more than one million like Shanghai in Songjiang Prefecture. However, as a traditional land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhenjiang itself is an important agricultural land, and it relies on the Yangtze River and the North-South Canal (Beijing-Hangzhou Canal).
It has always been a commercial center.
After the Tang Dynasty established Jinling City as its capital, Zhenjiang, as the east gate of Jinling City, also received a lot of policy support.
For example, in order to prevent any revolution from happening in Jinling City in the future, Li Xuan turned Jinling City into a foggy city like London, thereby shortening his lifespan.
Therefore, Li Xuan has always regarded Jinling City as a political, cultural, and economic center rather than an industrial center.
Under this idea, the industrial development of Jinling City is actually very limited, with only a few military industries, such as the Jinling Arsenal.
But there are very few other factories.
The factories that were originally located in Jinling City, the heavy industry was basically in Dangtu, Peninsula, while the light industry was moved to Zhenjiang.
In this way, Zhenjiang has also achieved considerable development. Even though it is not as good as Shanghai, it is still pretty good.
After more than ten years of development, Zhenjiang City now has a permanent population of more than 200,000. In the past, the city was very lively.
But today, Zhenjiang City showed a strange calm!
Not many people went out on the streets, and there were only a large number of patrol police and soldiers on the streets.
Many street intersections were blocked, with soldiers armed with live ammunition deployed, while the patrol policemen went door-to-door to conduct inspections, and constantly warned the people not to go out if nothing happened, otherwise they would bear the consequences.
Zhenjiang City felt like it was facing a formidable enemy, and the Zhenjiang Railway Station was completely surrounded by the army. All civil and military officials in Zhenjiang City also gathered here.
This scene can't help but remind people of the scene three years ago.
In the summer of that year, similar scenes also occurred in Zhenjiang City, and that time Emperor Sheng took a train to inspect Zhenjiang.
The current Yangtze River is almost exactly the same as three years ago. Many smart people have guessed that it is very likely that the Holy Emperor will visit Zhenjiang again.
Even if he is not the Holy Emperor, he should still be the Prince!
Otherwise, it would be impossible to make such a big noise.
Their guess was correct. The Holy Emperor was indeed coming to Zhenjiang.
Although the Tang Dynasty newspaper announced that the Holy Emperor might not go on patrol until April, this was obviously a smoke bomb. In fact, in order to avoid possible assassinations or unrest, the specific time for the tour was never determined.
It was a temporary decision made by the Holy Emperor Li Xuan. Before Li Xuan decided to set off, the ministers actually didn't know it yet.
Zhenjiang only received the temporary notice late yesterday evening, and then began preparations overnight.
However, although the time was rushed, it caused them too much trouble.
Because since last year, the news of the Holy Patrol has been known throughout the country. There is no need for orders from above. The local yamen below, as long as the Holy Patrol is likely to pass through, especially areas along rivers and railways, one by one.
It’s time to start making relevant preparations.
For example, when it comes to rectifying the appearance of the city, the Holy Emperor is most concerned about health issues. If the Holy Emperor is allowed to see that the city under his rule is dirty and messy, his political life will be 100% over.
Then there is the rectification of public security. Normally, we arrest people if we can, and delay them if we can't. However, starting last year, the Gyeonggi Patrol Police Department directly issued instructions to patrol police offices across the country, requiring patrol police offices in various places to do a good job in public security.
Illegal cases, especially public security cases, must be dealt with quickly and strictly.
Since last year, public security rectification work has been launched almost nationwide.
The pressure on those cities along the railway lines, rivers and ports is even greater, and they will spare no effort in cracking down.
Then there are various security plans. Although they don't know whether the Holy Emperor will come, it is always right to prepare in advance.
This is the case in Zhenjiang. Since last year, the Zhenjiang government office has had preliminary communication with the military stationed in Zhenjiang. After all, the main force in security work is still the military.
At the same time, the police patrol agency has also done a lot of work. In order to ensure that there is sufficient police force during the holy patrol, Zhenjiang Prefecture has temporarily transferred police forces from several counties under its jurisdiction since the end of last year.
Otherwise, the police force of the Zhenjiang Prefecture Patrol Bureau and Dantu County Patrol Bureau in the city would not be enough to maintain the huge security work.
Because there are many complete plans, after receiving the notice yesterday, the military and political officials of Zhenjiang Prefecture completed the security deployment overnight under the instructions of the Hanlin Academy Secretariat, Attendant Section, Guards and other agencies who arrived first.
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In order to welcome the Holy Emperor, Zhenjiang invested more than 3,000 police personnel, and all 5,000 local garrison troops were dispatched to completely blockade the entire city of Zhenjiang.
As soon as we received the notice yesterday evening, we declared martial law throughout the city, blocked the roads in and out of the city, and checked all people who went out on the street.
Starting last night, the patrol police conducted a comprehensive census of the entire city's population. Anyone who could not produce a household registration certificate or had other suspicious signs would be arrested and interrogated first.
I would rather kill the wrong person than let him go!
This is the request of the Attendant Section of the Hanlin Academy to the Zhenjiang local patrol police agency!
Of course, it is not just the patrol police and military personnel who do security work on the surface. In fact, there is an organization doing security work secretly, but their traces are unknown to outsiders.
They are Hantong!
In fact, as early as last year, Hantong began to focus on deploying defenses in cities along the railway lines such as Zhenjiang, especially cities where Shengtianzi might visit, to investigate various suspicious persons and investigate potential dangers.
After the hard work of many agencies, it can be said that not even a fly can fly in Zhenjiang City today!
At the Zhenjiang Railway Station, which was surrounded by heavy military police, there were a number of high-ranking officials from Jiangnan Province such as Taoist officials, envoys, and inspectors from Jiangnan Province, as well as local officials from Zhenjiang Prefecture such as the prefect of Zhenjiang Prefecture and the Tongzhi Prefecture.
The commander and chief of staff of the First Army of the Tang Army, the commander and deputy commander of the 23rd Infantry Division, the director of the Jiangnan Road Garrison Command, the commander of the 12th Garrison Division, and a large number of senior military generals, etc.
A large number of military and political dignitaries were waiting in the waiting room of the train station.
Many of them have relatively calm expressions, such as Jiangnan Taoist Yuan Weiyuan, who is a second-rank official and has met with saints many times.
There is also Lieutenant General Xu Lian'an, commander of the First Army. This person is also a senior military general in Jian Zai's heart. He stays in Jinling City on weekdays, not to mention every three days, but he can also see Li Xuan from time to time.
of.
But apart from the two of them, not all the other civil and military officials waiting here could see Li Xuan often. For example, the prefect of Zhenjiang Prefecture, his rank was only the fourth grade.
He is not even a third-grade high-ranking official. His chance to meet the emperor is only when he returns to Beijing to report on his duties. However, he is not like those senior provincial officials. State officials like him usually only return to Beijing to report on their duties once every three years.
In other words, under normal circumstances he could only see Li Xuan once every three years!
Each meeting generally lasts less than half an hour!
This is true for him, the prefect of Zhenjiang, and even more so for other officials.
The Tang Empire was so huge that the provinces, highways, and other agencies had more than 2,000 senior officials from the third rank and above. These middle-level officials from the fourth rank to the seventh rank and above were just part of the huge group of officials in the empire.
He is just an ordinary member. If you want to meet the Holy Emperor, there are so many opportunities.
Even many middle and low-level officials have never met the emperor after serving as officials all their lives.
However, next to this group of civil and military officials who looked calm or nervous, there was a group of more than ten special people. Some of these ten people were wearing civilian official robes, and some were wearing military uniforms, and they were not ordinary military uniforms.
It is the uniform of the Guards.
They were the relevant persons in charge of the Hanlin Academy and the Guards who came to Zhenjiang to set up a front station. Although these ten people stood together, they were divided into three parts, which could be described as distinct.
Deng Lixiao, the left deputy director of the Secretariat, was accompanied by two Secretariat secretaries.
Bao Chetian, the deputy section chief of the Attendance Section, led five members of the Attendance Section.
Guards Major General Wan Jiangde, deputy chief of staff of the Guards Staff Department, accompanied several Guards officers.
At this time, Deng Lixiao took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and then said: "It is already noon, and the holy train should be almost here. Why hasn't it come yet?"
While speaking, he also raised his head and glanced at the car rental field of the Attendant Department. The car rental field said directly: "When the Holy Driver will come, and whether he will come or not, it is not something you or I can interfere with. Just wait and see!"
On the side, Major General Wan Jiangde, deputy chief of staff of the Guards, had no expression on his face. Unlike others who did not know the detailed time of the Holy Emperor's arrival, he could be said to be the only one in Zhenjiang who knew the exact arrival date of the Holy Emperor.
Time man.
Although it seems that the Holy Emperor's trip was only temporarily decided yesterday, in fact, the Holy Emperor had already summoned the main leaders of Hantong and the Guards at the end of last year to set the specific time for the trip.
and route, as well as the specific cities to be inspected, and as the deputy chief of staff of the Guards Staff Department, he is also the senior Guards general responsible for leading the Guards vanguard troops and providing the front line for the Holy Emperor. Naturally, he knows the detailed plan.
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According to the plan, the special train that the Holy Emperor is riding on is estimated to have not been far from Jinling City!
Because according to the scheduled plan, the special train will only leave at 11 o'clock in the morning.
As for why it is not in the morning, but near noon!
No one feels good about getting up early in the morning to catch a train, and the Holy Emperor also feels bad about it!
Now that there are special trains, who would stupidly get up early to catch the train? Li Xuan can sleep peacefully until midnight, and then slowly board the special train for patrol.