Chapter 494: What? Boiling Water?
Soon, Shi Kefa arrived at Heyang County town.
Feng Juan, the Heyang County Magistrate, came out to greet him from the city. After exchanging courtesies, Shi Kefa's very first question, delivered without preamble, was, "What is the grain price here?"
Feng Juan stiffened, taken aback by the sudden question, but quickly recovered and replied, "Eighty *wen* per *dou*."
Shi Kefa said, "Eighty *wen*, as expected? This price is already comparable to normal years. Grain yields have tripled, yet prices remain the same as in normal times, without plummeting. This is precisely because of outward shipments and the large number of refugees taken in, isn't it?"
Having been questioned so directly, Feng Juan felt a prickle of alarm. He thought to himself, *This Judicial Commissioner from Xi'an, speaking with such an investigative tone right from the start—could it be that he already suspects me? Oh no, oh no. I've managed to muddle through until now by deceiving my superiors and concealing from my subordinates. If the court becomes suspicious and sends troops to suppress us, I'll... Ah, don't panic! Don't panic! My entire family has already been brought over. At worst, we can hide behind the Heavenly Lord's colossal golden hand.*
Shi Kefa asked, "Magistrate Feng? Why are you bleeding from the nose?"
Feng Juan reached up and, with a swift swipe, wiped the nosebleed clean away. "It's nothing, nothing at all," he stammered. "A minor affliction I've had since childhood, it's nothing to worry about."
Just as they reached this point in their conversation, a deep, resonant whistle sounded, and a monstrous iron vehicle, chugging loudly, arrived outside the gates of Heyang County town.
Shi Kefa jumped, startled. "What is that thing?" he exclaimed.
Shi Kefa looked utterly bewildered. Train, railway—he understood none of it.
Feng Juan continued, "Sir, are you planning to send these more than thirty thousand elderly, weak, women, and children from Heyang County to Gao Family Village? It's a journey of over forty *li*, not terribly far; they could walk it. But Magistrate Shi, you might as well save yourself the trouble of walking and take the train. You could also select a thousand of the frailest and slowest among them to ride the train, so they don't hold up the main group."
Shi Kefa gasped, "What? It can transport a thousand people at once? This... could it be a divine carriage bestowed by the Heavenly Lord?"
When Feng Juan heard the words "Heavenly Lord" leave his lips, he felt a wave of relief. *So you also know about the Heavenly Lord?* he thought. *I was afraid you'd consider me a White Lotus cultist after you found out. But since you know, I'm even less afraid.*
His spirits lifted. "Previously, the Heavenly Lord bestowed a divine carriage that could travel 120 *li* per hour. But later, Young Master Bai of Gao Family Village developed the steam train, which we mortals can now also construct. However, the steam train built by mortals is a bit slower than the divine carriage; it can only travel 30 *li* per hour. From here to Gao Family Village, it takes more than an hour to arrive."
Shi Kefa's surprise was immense. A vehicle carrying a thousand people, traveling sixty *li* in a *shichen*—what kind of terrifying monstrosity was this? And it wasn't even bestowed by immortals, but something mortals could build?
"This thing, I must try it for myself," Shi Kefa declared, his spirit invigorated. "Very well, I shall take the first train to Gao Family Village, and select a thousand of the slowest elderly, weak, women, and children to ride along with me. As for the other twenty-nine thousand, my soldiers will escort them on foot."
Feng Juan bowed.
Soon, Shi Kefa boarded the local train.
This local train was Young Master Bai's first steam train. Initially, it could only reach a speed of eight kilometers per hour. However, after its test runs, Young Master Bai continuously optimized it, steadily improving the efficiency of the steam engine and the transmission shaft. Now, it could achieve a speed of fifteen kilometers per hour.
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As for its railway tracks, they were laid in several sections simultaneously. One team built from Gao Family Village towards Heyang County town, while another built from Heyang County town towards Gao Family Village. The two tracks were connected just yesterday, and the service just commenced.
The process of laying the tracks was the first time the blacksmiths of Gao Family Village truly understood what "standardization" meant. Railway tracks, after all, had to be standardized; if one person forged them thick and another thin, they wouldn't fit together.
So Song Yingxing, along with the clever artisans, unified their measuring tools. The blacksmiths from Gao Family Village and all the blacksmiths from Heyang County jointly selected a ruler and set it as the standard, calling it a "meter." Everyone then used this standard to uniformly forge the railway tracks.
The technical document on "standardization" that the Heavenly Lord had previously bestowed was thus put into practical use. The meter, as a unit of measurement, began to be adopted as the new unit of length for Gao Family Village and Heyang County. All artisans, be they blacksmiths or carpenters, began to use this standard in their craft.
Standardization led to an increase in all work efficiency.
The production speed for breech-loading rifles immediately began to accelerate.
Of course, Shi Kefa knew none of this. He only knew that a thousand people had squeezed onto this colossal, strange vehicle. Then the strange vehicle let out a 'woo' and began to move with a rhythmic chugging.
Such a huge vehicle, carrying so many people, could actually move. It wasn't pulled by oxen, nor by horses; only a massive, sooty engine pulled it along.
As Shi Kefa felt a profound sense of astonishment, the "intelligence gathering" habit instilled by his profession as an Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei) prevented him from restraining himself. He couldn't help but walk from the "passenger carriage" towards the very front, the locomotive.
As a high-ranking official, he was already seated in the very first carriage at the front. So, walking to the front of his carriage and pulling open the small door, he could see the locomotive.
The two carriages were linked by large iron hooks. The train's speed was fifteen kilometers per hour—not fast. At this speed, he felt completely in control. So, emboldened, he leapt over the coupling hooks and into the locomotive area. He pulled open a small door and slipped inside the locomotive's cabin.
The moment he stepped inside, he was hit by a blast of scorching heat.
Two shirtless middle-aged men were shoveling coal into a massive furnace. Both were drenched in sweat, their bodies blackened with grime, only their eyes gleaming brightly.
Shi Kefa exclaimed, "Ah? This vehicle—it runs on burning coal?"
The two stokers were about to flare up and curse the man for "illegally" entering the cabin. But seeing his official robes, they dared not scold him. Instead, they said in unison, "Unauthorized personnel are not permitted inside the locomotive. It's dangerous here, please leave quickly."
Shi Kefa waved a hand. "I'll just take a quick look, just a quick look, then I'll be off."
The two stokers looked utterly bewildered and amused. "What is there to see?" one grumbled. "This contraption just boils water, then the steam rushes out and pushes against the mechanism, the mechanism turns the wheels. It's that simple."
Shi Kefa gaped. "What? What, what, what? Boiling water?"
His gaze followed the pipes above the massive furnace. No, he couldn't comprehend it at all. What terrifying thing was this, after all?
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