On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

In the western suburbs of the imperial capital, at the foot of the Western Hills, the hustle and bustle of the "Gewuyuan" construction site never stops day and night.

As autumn turns to winter, the cold wind blows fiercely, but it cannot extinguish the passion burning on this land.

The huge glazed tile roof reflects a cold luster under the pale winter sunlight. The brick walls are piled up layer by layer, and the scaffolding climbs on them like a spider web. The white breath exhaled by the craftsmen quickly dissipates in the cold wind. Only the clinking sounds and horns penetrate the severe cold, indicating the steady progress of the project.

And in the temporary test site that has been put into use, a silent change is brewing.

In the largest shed, the heat waves were rolling, dispelling the winter chill.

The improved steam engine named "Unit-01" was now emitting a more steady and powerful roar than ever before after being debugged and improved day and night by the craftsmen of the Thunder Burning Division.

The boiler was burning brightly, and the blower was running at full speed, sending hot air into the furnace.

The heavy cast iron flywheel rotates at high speed driven by the fine copper crankshaft, emitting a low and continuous hum, driving a huge cast iron turntable with a gear set connected to the end of the drive shaft.

The other end of the turntable is connected to a strange device on the track outside the shed through a thick iron chain.

Outside the shed, a simple test line about a hundred feet long, paved with hardwood and embedded with two parallel wrought iron rails, extends straight to the distant valley.

On the track, there is a device that looks like a huge iron box.

It consisted of a huge, overturned barrel-like boiler, a brass cylinder with a flywheel and connecting rods, and below it were two pairs of huge iron wheels with their rims stuck on rails.

This is the prototype of the "rail steam locomotive" created by the "Mechanical Workshop" of Fenlei Company - code-named "Iron Dragon No. 1".

Chu Xiling was wearing an indigo work suit and a thick cotton-padded jacket. There were a few spots of oil stains on her cold face, but her eyes were as sharp as an eagle.

She stood at the control console in the shed, her eyes fixed on the pressure gauge, thermometer, and tachometer beneath her glass goggles. Several craftsmen gathered around the steam engine, their expressions tense and focused.

"The pressure is stable." A craftsman stared at the pressure gauge and his voice was hoarse.

"The temperature is up to standard." another craftsman reported.

"The speed has reached peak." shouted the third craftsman.

Chu Xiling took a deep breath, and her cold voice penetrated the roar of the machine: "Connect the transmission."

"Yes." The craftsman yanked off a heavy copper handle.

"Click." A crisp snapping sound echoed. The huge turntable at the end of the drive shaft inside the shed transmitted power, via an iron chain, to the drive axle of "Iron Dragon No. 1" outside the shed.

"Woo." A low and long whistle sounded from the chimney of "Iron Dragon No. 1", carrying with it a cloud of white steam.

"It's moving, it's moving." The suppressed exclamations of the craftsmen came from outside the shed.

I saw the huge iron wheel of "Iron Dragon No. 1" begin to turn slowly under the push of steam.

The wheel rims rubbed against the rails, making a harsh creaking sound. The car body shook violently and then began to move forward.

It was slow at first, like a giant beast just waking up and stumbling.

The heavy car body rolled over the track, making a dull sound.

White steam billowed out of the chimney and quickly condensed into mist in the cold air.

As the steam pressure continues to be output, the speed of the iron wheel gradually increases.

The vehicle began to accelerate. The heavy steel frame rumbled forward on the crude track, dragging a flatbed truck loaded with stone behind it.

"Ten zhang, twenty zhang, thirty zhang..." The craftsmen counted the distance excitedly.

"Fifty feet, sixty feet, seventy feet..."

"Eighty feet, ninety feet..."

"Bai Zhang, we're here." The craftsmen burst into thunderous cheers.

Iron Dragon No. 1 came to a steady stop before the wooden stakes at the end of the track. Its chimney still belched white steam, like the breath of a giant beast. The train's body trembled slightly, its iron wheels slowly coming to a stop due to inertia.

It worked. Although it was only a hundred feet, the speed was slow, and the noise was tremendous, the sight of the heavy steel dragging the heavy object forward on the track under its own power shocked everyone present like thunder.

This means that without the need for mules, horses, or manpower, this steel behemoth can drag objects that are dozens of times heavier than itself and run on a fixed track.

Its significance goes far beyond saving effort and time. It will completely change the way of transportation and even the form of war.

At the same time, in another relatively quiet electromagnetic experimental shed, the atmosphere was also extremely tense.

On the workbench, the prototype of the "electromagnetic telegraph" has been reassembled and debugged.

The copper wire connecting the transmitter and the receiver is no longer a short few feet in the shed, but extends along the newly erected wooden poles, all the way to another receiver five miles away, located in a temporary outpost on the other side of the valley.

Chu Xiling stood in front of the wooden box at the transmitter, her cold face still impassive, but her tightly pursed lips and slightly tense fingertips betrayed her inner solemnity. Several researchers held their breath, guarding the transmitter, the line relay point, and the receiving terminal five miles away.

"Line test completed, unobstructed." The researcher at the sending end reported.

"The relay station is ready." A response came from the walkie-talkie (simple loudspeaker).

"The receiving end is ready." A voice from five miles away came through the microphone, with a barely perceptible electrical noise.

Chu Xiling took a deep breath and placed her fingertips on the send button. She didn't press it immediately, but closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, as if gathering strength.

The room was dead silent, with only the faint sound of electricity inside the instruments and the suppressed breathing of the crowd.

"Begin." Chu Xiling's voice was cold.

Her fingertips moved, tapping on the keys with an extremely precise, fast, and steady rhythm.

Da, da, da, da, da. The crisp sound of the keys was particularly clear in the silent studio.

As she moved, the electromagnet at the sending end attracted and released, generating a weak pulse current that quickly ran five miles away along the copper wire wrapped in black vulcanized rubber.

"Sending code: Heaven moves vigorously." The researcher at the sending end whispered the message sent by Chu Xiling.

Five miles away, at the sentry post in the mountain pass, the metal pointer on the receiving end began to swing left and right, driven by the electromagnet.

Da, da, da, da, da, da.

The sound of the pointer swinging is almost synchronized with the key pressing sound on the sending end.

The researcher at the receiving end stared at every movement of the pointer with wide eyes, and the charcoal pencil in his hand quickly recorded the corresponding symbols on the paper.

"Receiving code: Tian Xing Jian." The researcher's voice, trembling with disbelief, was transmitted back to the main booth through the megaphone.

Suppressed cheers instantly erupted in the studio.

Successful.

Within a distance of five miles, information can be delivered instantly.

Although it was just three simple words, and although there was interference from the noise of the electric current, it meant that, relying on invisible radio waves, the speed of information transmission surpassed that of the fastest horse.

The distance in space is infinitely compressed in the face of electric current.

These silent radio waves will completely change the way information is transmitted and even the context of national governance.

Chu Xiling slowly withdrew her fingers, and a glimmer of light that was difficult to suppress finally flashed in her cold eyes.

She looked at the three words recorded by the researcher on the receiving end, as if she was watching the beginning of a new era.

A few days later, in the Imperial Palace, the Purple Palace.

The charcoal brazier dispels the chill of deep winter, but it cannot dispel the solemn and depressing atmosphere in the hall.

Lin Zhen was wearing a black robe with a coiled dragon pattern, sitting in the main seat, his eyes as calm as the abyss.

Your Highness, all civil and military officials stood in silence, and the atmosphere was solemn.

The Minister of Revenue held a report in his hand, his voice filled with worry. "Your Highness, we have reports of a snowstorm in the north, urgent over 800 miles. Beyond Yanmen Pass, three prefectures and seventeen counties have been hit by a snowstorm unseen in a century. Roads have been cut off, houses have collapsed, and countless livestock have frozen to death. The victims are estimated to exceed 100,000. We urgently need relief food, fodder, warm clothing, and road dredging."

The Minister of War stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the Rouran Zuo Xian Wang's troops have taken advantage of the snowstorm to gather at Wild Wolf Plain. Their whereabouts are unknown, and we fear they may be taking advantage of the situation to loot."

The Minister of Works expressed unease, "Your Highness, relief grain and fodder have been transferred from Jiangnan, but the canal transport is frozen, and the land routes are blocked by heavy snow, making travel difficult. I'm afraid it won't be enough to meet the urgent needs."

The hall was filled with silence. Snowstorms hit the north, foreign invaders were lurking, roads were cut off, and relief was difficult to come by. This was like a knot, tangled in everyone's heart.

"How do we clear the road?" Lin Zhen said in a low voice.

"Your Highness," the Minister of Works said, "We have already mobilized 30,000 laborers, but the snow is several feet deep, the weather is freezing, and progress is extremely slow."

"How far is it from Yanmen Pass to the disaster-stricken counties?" Lin Zhen asked.

"The nearest one is Heishi County, 300 miles away. The farthest one is Yunzhou, 500 miles away." said the Minister of War.

"Three hundred miles, five hundred miles." Lin Zhen glanced at the ministers. "If we use fast horses to deliver military information, how many days will it take?"

"Your Highness," the Minister of War said, "the snow is deep and the roads are dangerous. Even a fast horse can only travel a hundred miles a day, and men and horses are easily killed. It takes at least three days to transmit military intelligence, and disaster relief information will take even longer."

"Three days." Lin Zhen's voice was calm. "How about if we can reach it in an instant?"