Five days later, it was the auspicious day chosen by Yuan Tiangang.
Five li south of Shenyang city, this was the starting point of the railway.
Countless people gathered here; these were young and strong men who had responded to the call.
The railway to be built had already been marked with lime by craftsmen according to the blueprints.
Hundreds of tractors were lined up like a long dragon.
Some were carrying crushed stones of uniform size, while others were carrying pre-prepared sleepers on their carts.
Still others were paired up, pulling stone rollers weighing several tons each.
Fang Er, Chai Shao, Li Xiaogong, Liu Dacheng, and others were all present.
A group of artisans stood behind Fang Er. They had all changed into new work clothes with "China Construction First Bureau" printed on the back.
These people were newly selected and would be responsible for all future road and bridge construction.
Yuan Tiangang looked up at the sky and then announced in a clear voice: The auspicious hour has arrived!
Fang Er took a step forward, surveyed everyone, and shouted: The Great Tang Railway, commence construction!
Hao Jianshe, the head of the China Construction First Bureau, walked out of the crowd with a flushed face and repeated Fang Er's command.
By order of Duke Gong! The Great Tang Railway commences construction!
This was the first task received by the China Construction First Bureau since its establishment, a mission of epoch-making significance for the entire Great Tang and the entire world!
Imagining that in a few years, railways would connect all parts of the Great Tang like a network of blood vessels, Hao Jianshe could not suppress his excitement.
The crowd stretched for several li. Every thirty meters, there was a supervisor from the China Construction First Bureau. These people passed the order to the distant locations like a chain.
By order of Duke Gong! The Great Tang Railway commences construction!
By order of Duke Gong! The Great Tang Railway commences construction!
By order of Duke Gong~~~
The voices grew fainter and fainter!
Crackling sounds~~
As the commands to commence construction were relayed to the distance, the sound of firecrackers also erupted.
After the firecrackers finished.
On the thirty-meter-wide and five-thousand-meter-long road surface, thirty thousand young and strong men began to move.
The ground was excavated, and the earth was transported away.
After digging to a sufficient depth, the earth was backfilled, and each layer was compacted by stone rollers pulled by tractors.
Layer by layer was filled and compacted, making the roadbed incredibly solid.
Looking at the bustling scene, Li Xiaogong said with a smile next to Fang Er, "My brother, when will the railway in Dengzhou start construction?"
He was the Governor of Dengzhou and was responsible for the people there.
Dengzhou was coastal with abundant marine products. Once the railway was completed, these marine products could be transported out of Dengzhou, bringing substantial income to the people.
This was a great undertaking that benefited the nation and the people.
"Oh, Ninth Brother, are you jealous?" Chai Shao teased from the side.
"Nonsense! You are benefiting from Anzhi's efforts. If you were placed in Dengzhou, wouldn't you want to build a railway?" Li Xiaogong rolled his eyes at him.
This fellow was speaking from a position of privilege. With Fang Er handling all matters in Liaodong, Chai Shao hardly had to think, just enjoy the benefits. Li Xiaogong was envious, jealous, and resentful of this.
"Hahahaha, it's useless to be jealous. Don't forget, His Majesty is waiting for your silver!"
Chai Shao laughed unreservedly.
"Father-in-law is right, you should go dig for silver mines first. Don't worry about the railway, I will send people to survey the route," Fang Er nodded, then smiled at Li Xiaogong.
"Once preparations for construction are completed, we will definitely invite you back to Dengzhou to oversee it. After all, for such a major undertaking, the Governor of Dengzhou must be present, right?"
Li Xiaogong was overjoyed. "Good! Then I will await your good news. Since the weather is warm, the fleet is also ready, and I will set off for Wokou tomorrow!"
The three of them left the Shenyang Station construction site, chatting and laughing. Liu Dacheng shook his head helplessly like a transparent person.
One Duke, one Governor.
They decided on matters big and small. All he could do was handle trivial cases, holding the title of Prefect and showing up when needed.
As a Prefect, he now had no presence at all.
The next day, Li Xiaogong set sail with his fleet. Tang Monk also accompanied him.
During the farewell, Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing cried like babies.
After seeing Li Xiaogong off, Fang Er looked at the budding wild grass by the roadside and said to the Yan Yun cavalry behind him.
Send out personnel to notify the grassland tribes to come and pick up their goods.
Yes!
Order the First and Fourth Divisions to each dispatch two thousand men to escort the cannons back to the capital and deliver them to the Ministry of War!
Yes!
With winter past, the long silent Great Tang would soon become lively.
In the courtyard of the Duke's mansion where Yuan Tiangang and Sun Simiao resided.
Yuan Tiangang said to Fang Er with a smile.
"Young friend, the next moment is one where miracles will be witnessed!"
Fang Er was bewildered. He had been invited by Li Chunfeng, who did not say what it was about, only that it was his master's order.
But upon arriving, Yuan Tiangang uttered such a chilling sentence.
This is going to be deadly!
After Old Yuan finished speaking, he left Fang Er standing there, taking his self-made lighter and walking towards a corner of the courtyard.
Fang Er looked in the direction he was heading and instantly understood, quickly exclaiming.
"Venerable Yuan! No!"
In front of Yuan Tiangang, a tin barrel was inverted on the ground. If it were just an ordinary tin barrel, it would be fine, but this tin barrel had a conical bottom, exactly the shape of the rocket he had mentioned before!
This old fellow was actually testing this thing in the courtyard?
Damn it, if this tin barrel was filled with gunpowder, it would weigh at least ten jin.
If any accident occurred, no one breathing would be left in this courtyard!
But considering that he had asked him to make medicine pillars before, Fang Er did not believe for a second that there was no gunpowder inside.
Yuan Tiangang, however, smiled and waved at Fang Er. "No need to worry, young friend, just watch my performance!"
Afterward, he took out a cigar, lit it, took two leisurely puffs, and then poked the lit end of the cigar towards the fuse exposed at the bottom of the tin barrel.
"Move quickly!" Sun Simiao next to him quickly put down the medicinal herbs he was holding and pulled Fang Er towards the house.
He was already accustomed to such things.
To him, nothing was an accident with Yuan Tiangang, because Yuan Tiangang himself was the biggest accident!
Cherish life, stay away from Tiangang!
This was the truth that Sun Simiao had concluded after living with Yuan Tiangang for several months.
Watching Fang Er and the other two scurry into the house, Yuan Tiangang, with the cigar in his mouth, chuckled. "Look at you cowards!"
To shy away from something so fun.
After saying this, he casually sat down in the courtyard, waiting for the miracle to appear. The spot where he sat was less than ten meters away from the inverted tin barrel!
The moment he sat down, the fuse had finished burning.
Through the gap in the window, Fang Er saw a burst of fire erupt from the gap below the tin barrel.
Then the entire tin barrel spewed flames and smoke, and with a bang, it soared into the air from the ground, flying crookedly towards the sky.
Did Venerable Yuan actually succeed? Fang Er couldn't believe his eyes.
"Hahahaha! So spectacular~~~"
"Holy crap!"
Before the smug Yuan Tiangang could finish his sentence, he saw the ascending tin barrel suddenly change direction. Its flight path was like a little bee dancing in the air!
The barrel, which was originally flying straight upwards, suddenly turned in a ↬
direction, pointing directly at the smug Yuan Tiangang!
Startled, he cried out and quickly dodged.
The tin barrel, filled with a large amount of gunpowder, changed direction once again.
It became a ↝-shaped flight trajectory.
With a swish, it flew past Yuan Tiangang, who had just dodged, and then diagonally towards the roof!