Five days later, Chen Xizhi accompanied the envoy sent by the imperial court, Jia Dian of the initiate, to Shengzhou. and brought a decree to let Chen Ximing and Jia Dian go to Beijing by train.

After welcoming Jia Huang into the official office, the guests and hosts sat down, Du Zhongxiao said: "The envoy is here, in addition to the decree of the court, I don't know what other orders the court has?" ”

Jia Dian said: "This summer, the railway can be repaired to Juyan County. The imperial court didn't want to stay, and wanted to repair all the way to Yizhou. Now that Zhao Zi's army is in Juyan, the Black Khanate and Gaochang State in the Western Regions are still hesitating, and they want to occupy Yizhou before they make a plan. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and said, "I think the same way, but I have the same plan with the imperial court." When the railway reaches Juyan, it can be repaired westward for two or three months in July and August. It would be great if it could be repaired to the bottom of the Horsehair Mountain. Although Xingxing Gorge is an important place, it is not dangerous, and when the railway reaches Horsehair Mountain, the army can rise straight up and go straight down to Yizhou. As soon as the army gets there, everything will be easy. ”

Jia Dian said: "The shuai and the Privy Council have seen it and are willing to do it. If Chen Ximing himself has no objection to going to the capital, he can not return to Yizhou and live in the capital instead. Everything in Yizhou will be handed over to the festival marshal to dispose of. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said: "Juyan is about 1,500 miles from Yizhou, and it is not easy to build the railway, so you have to act calmly. Now the people who are building the railway on the Ha Qu Road are the prisoners of war of the party who were captured during the First World War of Hue Crossing, and they have been building the road for a year. A few days ago, I asked these people to build railways in this dynasty, because they have enough food and drink, and they are still comfortable. However, over time, people's hearts will inevitably change. What I originally thought was that they would build the railroad to Yizhou and let it go as a good citizen. One part is in Tuntian in the Western Regions, and the other part is distributed along the railway to maintain the railway. ”

Jia Dian said: "The festival marshal has arranged it like this, and the court has no objections. However, these people are foreigners after all, and this arrangement should be properly arranged. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, after all, it is a foreigner, let them guard the railway, you have to take some risks." There is no way, they are building roads, they are familiar with it, and they are suitable candidates. And to recruit people from the Central Plains, with the conditions along this railway, it is really difficult! ”

Jia Di nodded silently, this is the truth. After passing through Shengzhou, the railway passed through the desert and was sparsely populated. The surrounding area is not very populous, so where to recruit people to garrison. Those party prisoners of war, because their living conditions were stronger than those in the party army, and the people who managed the road construction used gentle methods, did not complain, and worked diligently to build the road. But after a long time, it is difficult to do this.

When the railway arrived in Yizhou, it opened the door to enter the Western Regions, and the rest of the matter was not so urgent.

The failure of the party in previous years made Emperor Zhao Zhen very disappointed in the army, and many policies were based on this. The battle of Hequlu completely changed the shadow of the previous successive defeats, and the policy of the imperial court changed greatly. Re-entered the Western Regions, restored the Han and Tang dynasties, and was placed in a special position. Chen Ximing took the initiative to enter Beijing to express his attitude, and the imperial court strengthened its determination to speed up its entry into the Western Regions.

After Wang Gongchen returned, he persuaded Emperor Zhao Zhen and made him understand that the transformation of the forbidden army could not be completed in a short time. In a relatively short period of time, the people who came out of the Beijing Military Academy cannot be compared with here on Hequ Road. The transformation will require a massive removal of the Praetorian Army, and it will take time. Just like when Du Zhongxiao was training in Suizhou, a large number of people were recruited into the military academy, and a large number of people were selected, and it took four or five years for the forbidden army to complete the training. Before that, the army that could really fight was still here on Hequ Road.

The recruits on Hequ Road have completed their training and have been added to all armies, and the size of the army is basically guaranteed. But the quality of the officers, in Du Zhongxiao's words, is miserable, and it is far from his own army before. There is no way to do this, the officers who come have ranks, and when they come out of the military academy, they just learn some knowledge, and they can't control whether they can use it or not, and how much they can use. In the days of the new army, this was the case, and only after a great deal of war did qualified officers be selected from among these people. Entering the Western Regions and facing an enemy who is not strong is an opportunity to train troops.

The personnel have been replaced, and the newcomers are very clear about their identities, and they are not afraid of Du Zhongxiao's weight at this time. Because of this, the imperial court was very keen on entering the Western Regions and wanted to enter Yizhou this year.

Du Zhongxiao listened to Jia Dian talk about the situation in the imperial court, sometimes nodding, sometimes silent. Unexpectedly, the imperial court had an unexpected interest in making contributions. I wanted to be steady and steady, but in the eyes of the imperial court, it seemed a little too pedantic. Now in the Western Regions, all forces have not yet reacted to the emergence of the railway, and they are almost peaches that are placed there, and they will be picked one step earlier when they pass by.

After Jia Dian finished speaking, he said to Du Zhongxiao: "The day after tomorrow, I will enter Beijing with Chen Ximing and others, and the festival commander doesn't have to worry about it anymore." Later, as long as you focus on the railway to Juyan, build it as soon as possible, and then repair it to Yizhou. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Since the imperial court has arranged it like this, I have no objection. However, it is not easy to repair the railway, and it will take next year to build it to Yizhou. For more than a year, it is difficult to ensure that there are no other changes in the Khitan and the party. ”

Jia Dian said: "If something happens, the court will make other arrangements." The festival commander only urged Zhao Zi to go west as soon as possible. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "That's it." By the way, leaving Chen Ximing in the capital, what about those businessmen who went with him? As far as I know, many of the people in it were not from Yizhou in the first place, but were just doing business with the caravan. ”

Jia Dian said: "Look at Chen Ximing's face, these people will do business this time, and the court will fulfill them." In the future, when envoys enter Beijing, they will all take the train, and they will no longer be so solemn. The business of the Western Regions, now the meaning of the imperial court, is still arranged by Shengzhou. The envoys who entered Beijing this time, after entering Beijing, can return first and be disposed of by the festival marshal. It is to let them stay in Shengzhou, but to return to their hometown, and the commander can make his own decision. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled when he heard this: "They are all from the Western Regions, of course they will return to their hometown when they come back, who is willing to stay in Shengzhou?" If they really want to come to Shengzhou to do business, they must make careful arrangements before settling down. ”

Jia Dian said: "I don't know the details of these side affairs, I only relay the opinions of the court to the marshal." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Okay, I already know what the court means, and I will deal with it." Chen Ximing lives in the newly built post house, and the envoys have been sent over, thinking that he will soon arrive at the official office. When he comes, consult with him how to proceed. This time, when he came, I arranged a special train before I arrived in Hezhou, and you all took the bus into Beijing together. ”

Jia Yan agreed. This time to Shengzhou, Jia Dian has his own special carriage, hanging on other cars all the way, and arrived here. When you return to Beijing, you can hang it behind Chen Ximing's special train and return to the capital together.

As a border commander, Du Zhongxiao is in charge of the military and government all the way, not only has his own special train, but also arranges special trains. At present, the dispatch of single-track railways is based on one station every Gu'an distance, and only one-way trains are issued. After a certain time, it will be sent in the other direction, which is very troublesome. The speed of a single-track railway is really almost half that of a two-way railway.

In the interior, single-track railways can no longer meet the demand, and the construction of double-track railways has begun. The railway to the Western Regions, to solve the problem of whether there is a single line, is enough. It was sparsely populated, and there was no need for a two-track railway.

The route from the Central Plains to the Western Regions is still based on the counties of Hexi. Although it has been turbulent for hundreds of years, the population of several counties in Hexi is no longer large, and it is still much better than the current northern route.