The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 649: Plowing the Court and Sweeping the House
The Hailar Grassland stretches approximately 700 li from east to west and 600 li from north to south.

Its area is not large compared to the vast region of northern Mongolia.

However, the terrain here is open, the pastures are lush, and the water resources are abundant, making it an ideal place for a large army to set up camp.

Moreover, this place is not far from the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, and it is only about a thousand miles across Xing'alin, making it relatively convenient to transport grain.

Therefore, Emperor Wanli established his main base for the campaign against the Oirat Mongols here.

In early June, hundreds of thousands of cavalrymen poured out of Xing'a Forest, and the vast grassland was filled with the thunder of hooves and the neighing of warhorses.

The Er'e tribe had already declined, and its total population could not even reach four or five hundred thousand. How could it possibly be a match for four or five hundred thousand elite cavalry?

Wherever the Ming cavalry passed, it was like a plowing through a courtyard and sweeping away villages. All the tribes, large and small, on the grasslands were swept away, leaving them no way to escape.

In three days, the entire Hailar Grassland was completely cleared, as if it had been plowed through. All the tents, cattle, sheep, horses, men, women, and children were gathered up and taken to the west side of Xing'alin.

At this time, Wanli Emperor also set off from Alunhe Guard with Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan, Xiao Zhu Changxun, Song Yingxing, and others.

They were traveling by train, but at that time there were no dedicated passenger carriages, so they could only sit in open freight cars.

Emperor Wanli simply ordered people to fill the carriage with wool blankets, then set up several brand-new military tents, and put railings on both sides of the carriage for protection before he sat down.

Around 7 a.m., as the sun rose, the train had already entered the vast mountains of Xing'alin.

Apart from rivers and roads, the railway is flanked by dense forests, sparsely populated, and the scenery is completely different from the densely populated areas outside.

Xiao Zhu Changxun was sitting in the arms of Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan, holding up a small telescope and watching through the railing with great interest.

Emperor Wanli was also sitting cross-legged to the side watching, but he did not use a telescope. He was observing the situation on both sides of the railway with his naked eyes, without looking at the scenery in the distance.

He looked around for a long time before asking, "Chang Geng, aren't there any people stationed along both sides of this railway?"

Uh, do we really need to station someone here?
Song Yingxing was taken aback for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, there is no one in Xing'a Forest."

This is not a question of whether there are people or not.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "People must be stationed on both sides of the railway, and they must be sent to patrol every day."

The railway has just been built, so there are no problems. But you should understand the principle of disrepair over time; problems will arise eventually.

For example, loose rails, stones rolling down the sides of the railway, or large trees falling and lying across the tracks—if these are not dealt with promptly, they can all lead to serious accidents.

Uh, I really hadn't thought of that.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing felt quite ashamed and said, "Your Majesty is wise. It was my oversight. Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

This problem is not difficult to solve.

After thinking it over carefully, Wanli instructed, "Go and have a good talk with General Ma and Yiyuan. From now on, the railway line in the north will be entrusted to their care."

Along the railway line, a garrison was set up approximately every 500 li, a thousand-household garrison was set up approximately every 100 li, and a hundred-household garrison was set up approximately every 10 li.

The border garrison troops stationed at these posts patrolled the railway daily, checking its condition and performing timely maintenance.

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

still have a question.

Wanli then asked, "Have you thought about collision prevention?"

what?
Collision avoidance?

After thinking carefully for a moment, Song Yingxing cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, do you mean there's still a possibility that the trains will collide?"

That's unlikely. Our trains depart approximately every hour, and each train is dozens or even hundreds of miles apart.

It seems you haven't considered things thoroughly enough.

This is not your fault, since there is no precedent for this.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then explained carefully: "There are fewer cars on the road now, so a collision is unlikely."

Imagine if there were more than twenty trains on one side of this railway, wouldn't it take about half an hour for one to depart?

If there were more, forty, eighty, or even a hundred trains on one side, wouldn't the intervals between departures become shorter and shorter, and wouldn't the distance between trains also become shorter and shorter?

In this situation, if any one train has a problem, won't all the trains behind it crash into each other?

"Oh dear, I really didn't consider that." Song Yingxing said with shame, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't think this through. How can we remedy this?"

This isn't actually that difficult.

Wanli pondered, "We can give each of the train drivers a telescope, even a small one, so that as long as they can see if there's a problem a few miles ahead, they can still brake in time."

Furthermore, we need to equip all the centurions along the route with large telescopes and various colored command flags. If any situation arises, we should quickly plant the command flags to notify the centurions on both sides.

The message will be relayed from one centurion to another, and soon it will reach the departure point. Then you'll need to establish a procedure for handling it.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, I understand."

Wanli glanced at the sky and suddenly another question came to mind.

He then asked, "Chang Geng, are trains running non-stop day and night these days?"

Is there a problem with this too?
Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, all the trains are running day and night, otherwise there probably wouldn't be enough grain and supplies to transport."

Sigh, ignorance is bliss.

Emperor Wanli sighed inwardly, then asked, "Have you considered the issue of lighting at night?"

Uh, this.

Song Yingxing thought for a moment, then carefully said, "Your Majesty, the moon is usually bright and the stars are few at night, and the railway we built has very few bends."

The craftsmen who drove the vehicles were used to this routine; they could tell whether to turn ahead just by looking at the moonlight.

You can't just think about how the moon is bright and the stars are few.

Fortunately, it hasn't rained during this period, and it's unlikely to snow in the summer.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Chang Geng, the moon and stars are only sparse on a clear day. Have you thought about what to do on rainy days or snowy days?"

Uh, this.

Song Yingxing shook his head somewhat ashamed and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, this humble subject has not considered this either."

This isn't your fault.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "It's alright, the weather is good now, we can still make amends."

Tomorrow, after we arrive in Hailar, you should quickly tell General Ma to arrange for the garrison soldiers to build lighthouses along the railway line, one for each hundred households.

A lighthouse is simply a relatively tall tower, but a large oil lamp is placed on the top floor.

That way, no matter if it's raining or snowing, you can still see it from afar.

What you said makes some sense. A skilled craftsman who is used to driving back and forth can tell where to turn just by looking at the familiar lighthouse.

However, this isn't entirely foolproof. We'll also need to erect lampposts at the bends, installing windproof and rainproof palace lanterns, so that the nearby garrisons can light their lamps as soon as it gets dark.

His Majesty has considered everything very thoroughly.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, I understand."

Are there any other questions?

As Wanli gazed at the rushing forests on both sides of the railway, he fell into deep thought once more.

The train continued its journey, passing through towering mountains and deep valleys. The sun rose and set, and the bright moon shone across the sky. In just one day, they crossed Xing'alin and arrived at the eastern side of the Hailar Grassland.

At this time, the south bank of the Hailar River was also covered with camps, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The battle here seems to have ended.

The Shenwu Camp cavalry and the border cavalry have brought back many Oirat herders, cattle, sheep and horses.

In front of the railway, there were not only their standard tents, but also many messy tents of nomadic tribes, and cattle, sheep and horses were also penned up in heaps, numbering in all their glory.

Seeing this, Wanli couldn't help but nodded slightly.

The Ming Dynasty is now truly invincible on land; it would only take a few days to subdue a large Oirat tribe.

(End of this chapter)