Chapter 29

Yang Yuanzhao had never expected that the topic he casually brought up would cause such a huge ripple in Feng Yuxiang's heart, even making him question his own beliefs. In essence, Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People were nothing more than a foreign democratic republic with a different facade, lacking concrete implementation strategies. It was much like Sun Yat-sen's boast of building 100,000 kilometers of railway in a year, which was nothing but an empty, grandiose goal without any step-by-step plans or guarantees for implementation. Essentially, it was shelved and ignored. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution, which established a democratic republic, was merely a name change and did not fundamentally change China.

Such a significant隐患 (hidden danger) was not discovered by the talents of this era, primarily because China was too impoverished. Most of the people had low levels of education and narrow horizons. A clear goal and revolutionary ideology were enough to unite a large number of people, which was the root of the success of the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance). However, precisely because of this, the Tongmenghui's organizational structure was incomplete, and its strength was scattered. Even with a significant advantage, it could not match Yuan Shikai, who became the first president, ushering in the Beiyang era and, to a certain extent, the root of the turmoil in old China, where military rule and warlords emerged.

As they shared common topics and conversations, they became increasingly in sync. To be honest, during the late Qing and early Republic of China, it was a chaotic era. Yang Yuanzhao, a science and engineering college student, did not believe he could become an outstanding military leader or even a competent political leader. However, controlling a powerful army was a path he had to take. Without military protection, it was like a child holding a gold ingot in a bustling market—nothing might happen now, but it was inevitable that something would go wrong.

By evening, they had crossed Hebei and entered Henan by the next morning. Yang Yue also joined their conversation, but he had little interest in military or national affairs, focusing more on agriculture. Unfortunately, the content he was interested in was beyond the comprehension of Feng Yuxiang and the others, who were mostly stunned. As seasoned soldiers, they were already doing well to know that wheat seedlings were not leeks. Advanced agricultural knowledge was still a blank slate in China.

Yang Yue sensed that the topic was not extending well and turned to listening to them. Among them, Yang Yuanzhao was the main figure, discussing the construction of the army, military equipment, and the application of industrial achievements in society with ease, giving the impression of a masterful mind. The journey of over a day made the young people increasingly familiar with each other, addressing each other by their courtesy names and becoming more enthusiastic in their tone.

The afternoon sun made people drowsy. After a short nap, Yang Yuanzhao felt refreshed and asked the train attendant if they had passed Anyang.

Anyang, a small city in Henan, was known worldwide for its dragon bones during the Republic of China era. At this time, it was still a quiet corner of China. The oracle bones, which extended China's recorded history by several hundred to a thousand years, were something Yang Yuanzhao looked forward to. Unfortunately, he could not visit personally, but he was determined to protect the oracle bones, a treasure of Chinese history. In later generations, China had never definitively determined whether it was a 3,000-year or 5,000-year-old civilization, mainly because no remains of the Xia Dynasty had been found, leading international scholars to consider it a tribe rather than a kingdom. The Shang Dynasty, closest to the Xia, likely had records of the Xia. Due to poor protection, many dragon bones were lost during wars, and by the founding of the People's Republic of China, the number of collected dragon bones was not large, but they still proved the existence of oracle bones and the Shang Dynasty.

The train continued, and the pace slowed down again. Yang Yuanzhao was frustrated, saying, "Another stop, I wonder how long this one will be!"

"This time, it will be a while," Feng Yuxiang said. Over the past couple of days, the more he talked with Yang Yuanzhao, the more he realized the breadth of Yang Yuanzhao's knowledge, which was extraordinary. Yang Yue was also a returnee and a bit older than Yang Yuanzhao, but he did not display such extensive knowledge.

"Brother Feng, what's going on? Why are we stopping?"

"Look to the side, are we close to the Yellow River?"

Yang Yuanzhao looked out the window and saw a vast, yellow expanse. In the center of the yellow earth, a large river with waves came into view—the Yellow River, which still had no dams or bridges except for the one in front of them. The surging waves, full of passion, flowed to the sea. The Yellow River, the mother river of the Chinese nation, was an absolute natural barrier in military terms. Historically, the battles over the Yellow River and the Yangtze River were always the focus of dynastic struggles, with countless battles fought along their banks, burying countless bones.

In the past, there were no bridges over the Yellow River, and anyone crossing had to rely on ferries. With the construction of the Zhengzhou Yellow River Railway Bridge, one of the largest in Chinese history, the era of large bridges over major rivers began, and the Yellow River was no longer an insurmountable barrier. The next goal was to conquer the Yangtze River.

Looking ahead along the railway, Yang Yuanzhao was stunned. He saw a dilapidated railway bridge. The Pinghan Railway had been in operation for only two years, but the Yellow River Railway Bridge was already in a state of disrepair, with rust visible everywhere. Even a bridge built casually in later times was more solid than this one.

"This bridge?" Yang Yuanzhao was hesitant. Suddenly, a smaller locomotive appeared ahead, moving onto the track in front of their train. Many staff members were entering and exiting the platform, seemingly dismantling the train.

Trains could be dismantled, with each carriage connected by movable hooks. However, this was not a terminal station, so why were they dismantling the train? Could there be another problem?

"Uncle Guang, they seem to be dismantling the train?" Yang Yuanzhao asked in surprise.

"Master Yang, that's right, they are dismantling the train," Uncle Guang said calmly.

"Why?" Yang Yuanzhao's eyes widened in curiosity. He could accept the previous stops, as the road conditions in this era were far inferior to those in later times. Without a rapid response mechanism, the railway company's own response and capabilities were slow. But to dismantle the train halfway through the journey seemed absurd.

"Master Yang, the train must be dismantled because the railway bridge cannot bear the weight," Uncle Guang pointed to the distant railway bridge.

"Cannot bear the weight?" Yang Yuanzhao looked at the train under his feet and then at the railway bridge ahead. The train was a light rail, but even so, the steel-constructed train weighed several tons, and with 11 carriages, the locomotive, and passengers, it probably weighed around a hundred tons. Ordinary bridges could hardly bear a few tons, let alone a hundred. The smaller locomotive was likely chosen for its quality and power, and dismantling the train was a necessary measure.

He had heard that the Yellow River Railway Bridge used steel from the Hanyang Iron Works. In history, the Hanyang Iron Works had declined partly due to the lack of separation between public and private interests, which created a breeding ground for corruption in late Qing society. Another reason was the high sulfur and phosphorus content in the steel, which should have been neutralized with alkaline refractory bricks to increase the strength of the steel. Instead, acidic bricks were used, leading to the inevitable bankruptcy of the Hanyang Iron Works.

Yang Yuanzhao looked at the rolling river outside the window, thinking about the Hanyang Iron Works far away. Would this trip to Hanyang yield any results?