Chapter 708 Upgrades and Replacements
Li Daoxuan saw Zhu Cunji sit down and immediately guessed his thoughts.
"Oh, Your Highness, the Heir Apparent, interested in this grand train?"
"Indeed! Quite interested." Zhu Cunji chuckled. "I see this great iron carriage can collect hundreds, even thousands, of silver taels in fares for a single trip. Truly a good way to make money."
Li Daoxuan: "Thinking of getting involved?"
Zhu Cunji nodded: "Absolutely!"
Li Daoxuan smiled, shaking his head. "Your Highness, you can't build it."
Zhu Cunji: "Why not?"
Li Daoxuan: "Look at this grand iron carriage; how much iron do you think it takes to build just one?"
Zhu Cunji: "!"
Zhu Cunji: "!!!"
Well, this time, Zhu Cunji understood.
He didn't have enough money to undertake such a massive project.
Zhu Cunji: "How did you manage to afford it then?"
He didn't believe that the gentleman before him, Li, could be wealthier than the Prince of Qin's Mansion. If even he felt he couldn't afford it, how had this 'Gentleman Li' pulled it off?
Li Daoxuan: "A stock-sharing system."
Zhu Cunji: "???"
Li Daoxuan: "One person alone can't do it. You need to bring in other wealthy individuals. For instance, if I put in one hundred thousand taels, and find another partner who puts in one hundred thousand taels, each of us holding half the shares, we can then generate a grand investment of two hundred thousand."
Zhu Cunji finally understood. So it was just a partnership, creating new terms like "stock-sharing system."
Zhu Cunji: "You mean, if I want to do this, I have to partner with other people?"
Li Daoxuan smiled: "Precisely! Bring in the wealthy households and magnates of Xi'an. Together, they can invest, ordering grand trains and rails from me. Then you can choose a suitable route, lay the railway, get the grand trains running, and start collecting fares..."
Zhu Cunji understood: "It seems I'll have to ponder this matter carefully."
A mynah bird screeched: "What's the use of pondering? You can't get it up anymore."
Zhu Cunji's rage gauge instantly filled with a "snap." "You foul bird, this Heir Apparent has tolerated you for too long!"
Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly: *Ponder all you like! As a dignified prince, if you're looking for business partners, you certainly can't choose ordinary merchants. You'll have to find other imperial relatives. Then you'll end up creating a Royal Railway Company. That's actually not bad at all. Your money will essentially be invested in public infrastructure, and when the tide of revolution arrives, all the facilities you've built will fall into the hands of the people... Tsk, tsk... Isn't that just perfect?*
After a brief chat, they arrived at Lintong Station.
Zhu Cunji couldn't continue further, so he disembarked from the train with a sigh of wistfulness and retreated into the hot spring resort.
The grand train continued its journey, passing through prefectures and counties, until it reached Gao Family Village Railway Station.
The Heavenly Lord's first avatar disembarked here, swaying slightly as he entered the waiting room. There, the Heavenly Lord's third avatar, who had been sitting, rose, took the birdcage from the first avatar's hand, and patted his shoulder: "Congratulations on your honorable retirement."
The third avatar then walked out of the waiting room and rejoined the train.
The grand wheel of time rolled relentlessly onward. The heroes of Gao Family Village were constantly surpassing their predecessors, with the middle school graduates beginning to emerge and distinguish themselves. And the Heavenly Lord's own body was also undergoing upgrades and replacements, moving towards a new rebirth...——
The grand army of Gao Family Village continued its pursuit of Zijing Liang's forces.
As the saying goes, "Evil must be thoroughly eradicated!"
After routing Zijing Liang, a victorious pursuit was imperative.
At this moment, the imperial court had also cast a wide net. The Supreme Commander of Xuanfu and Datong, Zhang Zongheng; the Governor of Shanxi, Xu Dingchen; the Sichuan Grand General, Deng Qi; the Sichuan White Pole Soldiers; the Vice Grand General Zuo Liangyu, and many other converging forces were closing in on Zijing Liang's troops.
Gao Family Village's forces were preparing to cooperate with this encirclement.
However, just after they had passed Wuxiang County.
A lone messenger on horseback galloped swiftly towards them, dismounting with a tumble before the assembled group, and urgently called out: "Is Commander Wang Xiaohua here?"
Everyone turned their heads simultaneously, looking at Bai Mao with peculiar expressions.
Bai Mao broke into a sweat: "Hey, just 'Commander Wang' is fine. No need for the full name upfront, is there?"
The messenger: "I am a household retainer for the Prefect of Pingyang, Dou Wenda. I have urgent military intelligence to report."
Bai Mao: "?"
The messenger: "The rebel army of Yan Zhenghu has breached Xishui County. When I departed, they were only a hundred *li* from Pingyang Prefecture. The Prefect has only a local militia, which is utterly useless. He begs Commander Wang to return with reinforcements."
Bai Mao: "..."
At this moment, the Heavenly Lord's second avatar, having just finished gluing together his damaged silicone body, waved a hand at Bai Mao. "Go! The pursuit of Zijing Liang's forces won't suffer from your absence. We cannot allow the common people of Pingyang Prefecture to be massacred."
Bai Mao nodded, cupped his fists in salute, and immediately turned back with Wang Er, leading their forces towards Pingyang Prefecture.
Li Daoxuan considered for a moment, then turned to Shi Jian. "Xishui County is near the Yellow River. Yan Zhenghu might not necessarily head for Pingyang Prefecture. If he advances south along the eastern bank of the Yellow River, the Longmen Yellow River Bridge will be the first target. You must return to garrison the Longmen Bridge."
Shi Jian also quickly accepted the order and led his troops back to guard it.
Just like that, the Gao Family Village Militia was reduced by two thousand men.
But before they could press on, another swift horse came galloping, and this time, the messenger was one of Gao Family Village's own militia scouts.
The scout quickly reached the group, performing a deep bow to the Heavenly Lord's second avatar. "Heavenly Lord, something terrible has happened."
Li Daoxuan: "Oh?"
The scout reported swiftly: "Shang Tianlong has captured Yangcheng, and is now very close to Hedong Circuit. Our crucial salt-producing areas are no longer safe. The brothers left guarding the city sent me to request reinforcements."
Li Daoxuan: "..."
Before he could speak, Cheng Xu murmured: "Heavenly Lord, protecting our own territory is clearly more important than pursuing these wandering rebels."
"Indeed!" Li Daoxuan agreed with his statement. Although he cared for all beings, there was still a hierarchy of concern: the lives of his own people were far more important than those of unaligned commoners.
Since Hedong Circuit was in danger, Xing Honglang's forces would certainly have to return to defend it.
Moreover, roving bandits fought differently from regular government troops; they wouldn't meticulously attack one city after another. Instead, they would traverse mountains and forests, bypassing cities to strike.
This meant that not only was Hedong Circuit unsafe, but Puzhou City would also be at risk. Therefore, Lao Nanfeng's forces also needed to return to defend.
Cheng Xu: "It seems we can no longer pursue Zijing Liang."
Li Daoxuan nodded: "Withdraw the troops. Let's head back."
Zhang Fengyi felt a bit awkward. "Gentlemen, if all of you return to your respective garrisons, what am I to do?"
Li Daoxuan: "General Zhang, the Sichuan White Pole Soldiers are weary from prolonged fighting. Continuing the pursuit of Zijing Liang would be unwise. How about retreating to Hedong Circuit to rest? What are your thoughts?"
Zhang Fengyi actually wished to continue fighting, but she glanced at the soldiers behind her, each showing signs of exhaustion. Although they had ultimately been rescued by Gao Family Village during the battle at Houjia Village, many of the White Pole Soldiers had been wounded, and most were utterly spent. Indeed, they desperately needed a good rest now.
"Very well! I will withdraw with you all to Hedong City."
Comments