Chapter 88 New and Old

Xu Guangting died.

He did not die of illness, but of natural causes.

He ate a meal, amused his grandson, drank a bowl of lotus seed soup before going to bed, and then fell into a deep sleep, never to wake up again.

He did not leave any last words, and the crowd did not have time to react.

He was 83 years old.

Xu Yong was also 57 years old. He was hospitalized a few days ago, perhaps because of overwork or because of Xu Guangting's death.

"I'm going to Beijing." Xu Xuan said.

His father's death made him feel a little unspeakable. His father in this world was also his biological father. Even if they had conflicts at the beginning, that was in the past.

It's a pity that they didn't see each other for the last time.

Not to mention Xu Yong, the two had been good friends since childhood. It can be said that he was the person he trusted most in this world. The tacit understanding of power, immortality, resources, etc. was far beyond the reach of others; not to mention the emotional aspect, if Xu Yong died, Xu Xuan would have to devote a lot of energy to face the new secular successor, and it would probably take several years to build a new tacit understanding.

In the current Shenzhou and its vassal states, the top political structure, Xu Yong-Xu Xuan's "brother class" is the least troublesome, and the future "uncle-nephew class", grandfather-grandson class, grandparent-grandson class... I don't know what kind of changes it will bring.

Chang'an City.

The army is under martial law, and soldiers are patrolling the streets. All the restless elements, I don't know what the news has received, are like turtles shrinking their heads.

A railway leads from the distant suburbs to the city, occupying a gate.

Inside the gate, a dark iron car is parked on the track.

The people of Chang'an City have long been accustomed to this. In recent years, there have been many such things that spew black smoke, and most of the factories in the suburbs are for this.

"Wow, this scene, is it the emperor himself who came?" People in Chang'an are looking around and talking about it.

"I think so."

"Nonsense, how could the emperor come to a place like ours, are you dreaming?"

"You don't understand this, I heard from my neighbor's uncle that when the capital was selected, the emperor asked the civil and military officials to vote, and Chang'an City was short of one vote. Chang'an is half of the capital anyway."

"Why did I hear that it was the northern capital that was short of one vote?"

Everyone was gossiping, and the topic was getting more and more off-topic.

Outside the city, the railway.

The Jinyiwei rode on horses, carrying guns, and patrolled along the railway. In addition to the Jinyiwei, there were also troops guarding the railway.

At the beginning of the construction of the railway, there were always people who wanted to tear up the railway to sell money, even if there were obstacles; later, a law was enacted that once someone pulled up the railway, that person would be confiscated and the buyer would be guilty of the same crime; the local village chief and the head of the village confiscated their property and killed a group of people, so the trend was stopped.

This time it was not too strict. Three days in advance, each stronghold checked for hidden dangers and sent people to guard day and night. The Jinyiwei even went out to supervise in person.

Soon, the carriage came from Zhongnan Mountain.

Under the escort of the army, Xu Xuan came to the locomotive.

"Master, this is the train." Li Changsheng introduced.

Xu Xuan looked indifferent. This kind of train is a relatively old type, but it is a good thing to have a finished product, and it will always be improved from generation to generation.

"How many kilometers can it run?"

Due to the appearance of Xu Xuan, some modern concepts have also been accepted by everyone, such as kilometers and one hour is divided into two hours.

"With the extra carriages removed, the speed is 50 to 60 kilometers per hour."

Starting from here, because it is a special train, it does not need to stop, and it is estimated that it will take more than ten hours to reach Zhongjing.

"Let's go."

Xu Xuan, Li Changsheng and some core disciples got on the train.

The interior of the carriage is luxurious, like the house of a wealthy family. The place where Xu Xuan is located is blocked from other people, forming a small quiet room with a faint fragrance inside.

Woo! Bang bang bang...

The whistle sounded, and the train set off with black smoke.

The two wings of the Jinyiwei escorted for a distance on horseback until the train speed increased.

The road was smooth all the way, and they did not stop at any station, but continued to move forward.

The trains of this era were not fully open. Most of them were used to transport troops, materials, and goods or open to merchants to transport goods. A small number of them were used for officials to take a ride to their posts. When the train capacity increased a little, it could be fully opened, and then the economy would usher in a leap.

The special train was getting closer and closer to Zhongjing.

Zhongjing, Royal Hospital.

The floor of the hospital was spotless, and doctors in blue medical uniforms came and went. In the ward, 57-year-old Xu Yong was lying on the bed, his face was as white as gold paper, and he kept coughing. There was a faint smell of medicine in the room.

"It's basically fine, just take some rest." Xie Miao was also a woman in her 50s, and the years still left traces on her face.

As the most advanced medical person in this world, her reputation spread all over China and abroad.

The next day, early in the morning.

"Master Xu is here!" The attendant came in to report.

With a burst of footsteps, Xu Xuan appeared at the door of the ward.

"Brother!" Xu Yong stood up quickly, but was pushed down by Xu Xuanxu.

"Have a good rest."

When passing by Xie Miao, Xu Xuan would have almost been unable to react if Xie Miao hadn't greeted him.

Seeing that all his old friends had aged, Xu Xuan sighed inexplicably.

"You have done a good job. The nation has prospered because of you. Very good." Xu Xuan walked to Xu Yong and said with a smile.

Picked up the kettle on the table, broke one-tenth of the pill and dissolved it with hot water.

"Take it."

Xu Yong took the thing and drank it. Xu Xuan used his true qi to help it dissolve behind him.

Mortals can't stand the poison of the pill at all. The toxicity of heavy metals is no joke. It must be dissolved with true qi.

After a long time, Xu Yong's face became ruddy.

The two chatted with each other, and Xu Yong talked about his enfeoffment plan.

More than fifty sons, three were enfeoffed to Japan, seven were enfeoffed to Siam, Lan Fang, Laos and other places, there were also three in the cold zone north of the desert, and eleven in the Western Regions.

These are the real kings with their own armies and diplomacy, and they are not demoted; the rest are enfeoffed in the country to enjoy wealth and honor, demoted to royal titles, and become commoners after five generations, completely learning the lessons of the previous Ming Dynasty.

"In today's world, like the Zhou Dynasty, enfeoffment is divided into eight directions, and the Chinese people are used to transform the barbarian land. In addition to descendants, there are also meritorious services. If you want to be a local emperor, you can be enfeoffed." Xu Yong analyzed.

"I heard that you only sleep two hours a day. This is not good. You must learn to properly delegate power and not take everything on yourself. What will you let the future generations do? If you don't come up with a set of systems, and you encounter a tyrant, won't the foundation be ruined?"

"Yes, I should think about it."

It's not that Xu Yong doesn't want to delegate power, but mainly because there are few prime ministers who are suitable for him.

The scholars of the new era are too young and inexperienced. The old era is more or less cynical and decadent, still looking at the world from a rigid perspective, always wanting to play by themselves behind closed doors, and not willing to accept new things.

There is no way to kill all these people, so we can only wait for the next generation.

After Xu Yong rested, Xu Xuan went out and happened to meet a young man with guards and a woman.

Seeing Xu Xuan, the young man bowed and said, "Meeting uncle?"

"Are you Dezhao?"

"Yes, I didn't expect that uncle knew me." The two chatted awkwardly for a while, and Xu Dezhao introduced his crown princess Liu.

"Is father okay? I'll go see him."

"Go, he's okay."

Xu Xuan walked out of the hospital, and Xie Miao followed him.

"Come with me for a walk." Xu Xuan turned around and said.

"Okay."

The two walked on the street, talking about interesting things from the past from time to time.

The invention of cement made the capital city larger and larger. The roads were no longer the previous dirt roads, but eight-lane cement trunk roads, and more buildings began to appear.

From time to time, black smoke columns could be seen outside the city. This was the steam workshop.

Thousands of kilograms of rice solved people's food problems, factories enriched daily necessities, and Xu Xuan saw the birth of new classes.

"It's interesting to say that the last time an old believer of the White Lotus Sect came to see a doctor, he knelt down and called me the leader as soon as he saw me, and the whole hospital heard it."

Xie Miao chattered like a girl, Xu Xuan didn't speak, but listened quietly.

The change of the times made them, the people of the old times, at a loss. Even the literati of the old times sometimes couldn't help questioning their beliefs.

Are our ancestors really omnipotent?

Did Confucius know about steam engines? Did he know that the earth is round? Did he know about chemistry, the study of things, economics, and medicine?

Confucius had never been to the distant Western Regions, had never seen the vast ocean, had never managed a large country with a population of tens of millions, and even had no experience in governing a population of one million.

Why do you think that a book of Analects can rule the world?

In recent years, the court has not blindly belittled Confucius, but has lowered his status and put him together with Laozi, Zhuangzi and other sages. There is no eternal saint, only saints who are particularly outstanding in some aspects.

"I'm leaving." Xu Xuan said suddenly.

"Well, take care." Xie Miao was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

After so many years, I don't know when we will meet again. This may be the last time we meet.

"Take care."

Xu Xuan said goodbye to Xu Yong, and then went to the mountain to pay homage to Xu Guangting's tomb.

Before leaving, he did not interfere too much with the secular regime. Everything is predestined, and he did not have the energy to care about these. He just had to grasp the general direction.

Then, Xu Xuan left on a special train.

The news that Xu Xuan came to Beijing was only circulated in a small circle. With his current status, he would cause a sensation wherever he went, and it would also be a trouble at that time.

Some people were melancholy about his departure, while others were relieved.

Woo woo woo!!

The special train started.

The scenery on both sides of the river flew by, just like the time that can never be turned back.