142: Chapter 0142 Horse Hooves at Midnight

It was the early hours of the morning, and the weather was freezing cold.

Many residents of Baishui heard the continuous sound of horse hooves passing by their doors.

"Dear, what's going on? Why are there so many carriages?"

Inside a residence, a woman asked her husband.

The man, bleary-eyed with sleep, opened the window to take a look but shivered from the cold.

"They're all transport carriages from the Northern Construction Company; they're probably heading somewhere to work."

"In the middle of the night, and they're still not resting?"

"What do you know? The roads are clear at night, so they can travel faster."

"How exhausting, in this freezing weather..."

"With the treatment provided by the Zhenbei Army, is this even considered exhausting?"

"That's true. The military pay for one Militia member is enough to support a whole family, so a bit of fatigue is nothing!"

"Go to sleep, go to sleep... We don't have that kind of luck..."

Meanwhile, outside the city gates.

Carriages arrived at the scene one after another, lining up in an orderly fashion.

In just over an hour, hundreds of carriages had arrived.

Most of these vehicles were usually used for transporting cement and construction materials, but now they had all been requisitioned.

Beside burning bonfires, hundreds of clay stoves were boiling hot water using honeycomb coal.

Relying on the heat from the bonfires and clay stoves, the soldiers didn't find the cold wind particularly unbearable, and many were chatting and laughing.

The supervising captain, Wang Chong, was patrolling back and forth, constantly reminding them:

"Listen up! The water must be boiled before being poured into the thermos flasks to avoid getting sick!"

"The General said there is plenty of time tonight, so do not let a small oversight lead to a major problem!"

The soldiers didn't really understand why it had to be boiled, but since the Zhenbei Army had always required it, they were used to it.

Every soldier held a clay water flask; these flasks had inner and outer layers and were fired by the potters at the military factory.

Once filled with hot water and covered with animal hide, the water wouldn't cool down for half a day, which the soldiers found quite magical.

Some soldiers who had filled their flasks curiously took a sip.

"Huh? Why is this water sweet? And it has a hint of ginger?"

"I just saw the Militia member boiling the water put sugar cubes and old ginger in it; he said it helps ward off the cold!"

"Oh my, the General is so thoughtful! With these thermos flasks and ginger-sugar water, marching at night is actually quite enjoyable, haha!"

For ordinary people, sugar was a rare commodity, so they were naturally very happy.

"Everyone! Wear only cotton-padded clothes! Do not wear armor, and do not carry weapons!"

"Put your flasks inside your cotton-padded clothes, and once you're ready, get on the carriages!"

Commander Bai Buhei directed the infantry battalion to board the carriages one after another.

"Commander Bai, aren't we going to war? Is it okay not to wear armor?" a soldier couldn't help asking.

"Your armor will be transported on special vehicles. If you wear it, it will put too much burden on the carriages, and you'll be prone to frostbite!"

Commander Bai Buhei explained loudly.

The soldiers suddenly understood and once again marveled at Lin Xiao's thoughtfulness.

Meanwhile, atop the city wall.

Lin Xiao, Mu Wanying, and General Wu Jinzhe stood together.

"Old Yu, the carriages have all been modified, right?"

The old man standing nearby, holding a wine flask with a nose reddened by the cold, was none other than Old Yu, who hadn't come out of the workshop for a long time.

"Rest assured, the wheels have been replaced with the largest ones, and I've used leather for shock absorption."

"I've drilled holes in the carriages and tied hemp ropes, just like those seatbelts you mentioned."

"All the axles have been greased with that 'lubricating oil' you mentioned, just as you instructed."

"Come to think of it, we owe a lot to the livestock sent by Western Qiang and the cooperation from the soap factory; otherwise, we never would have finished this workload in time."

Lin Xiao nodded. Following his instructions, a small amount of plant ash had been added to the lubricating oil to neutralize the acidity and extend its shelf life.

With the lubrication, the vehicles could run stably even in low temperatures.

"Husband, where did you suddenly find so many carriages to transport the soldiers?"

Mu Wanying was dumbfounded as she looked at the dense convoy!

She was in charge of the military camp, so she rarely went to the construction sites.

"Haha, my lady, these were originally vehicles for transporting cement and construction materials!"

"Because we've been building them continuously, we now have over three thousand such carriages!"

"Come to think of it, I built many of them myself along with the brothers from the carpentry workshop!"

General Wu Jinzhe was quite proud; he had spent the last two months discussing techniques with the carpenters and felt he had found a group of kindred spirits.

Mu Wanying looked at her subordinate, who was beaming with delight, and couldn't help but laugh and shake her head.

For this guy, being a soldier was just a job, but carpentry was his true passion!

"Military industry, military industry; the military and industry are inherently inseparable."

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "They thought I was building roads, making soap, and making honeycomb coal just to make money."

"Little did they know that in the process of developing these industries, we naturally enhance the combat power of our Zhenbei Army."

Mu Wanying, Old Yu, and the others fell into deep thought; this concept of strengthening the military through such means was something they had never heard of before.

Before long, most of the soldiers were ready, carrying their thermos flasks, and boarded the carriages.

Two horses pulled one carriage, and depending on the strength of the horses, excluding the driver, it could seat fourteen to sixteen people.

Actually, it could still move with twenty people, but experiments showed that around fifteen people was the most efficient.

"Attention, Militia! Maintain a constant speed throughout the journey!"

"There are three supply points on the road, at twenty li, thirty-five li, and forty-five li!"

"The supply points can provide hot water! You can warm up! There are military doctors!"

"You must stop at at least one point to check the physical condition of the soldiers!"

"When you stop, someone will register your carriage number. If it is discovered afterwards that you did not stop for a supply check, you will be dealt with according to military law!"

Qin He rode his horse to the starting point and spoke loudly.

"Do you all understand!?"

"Understood!!"

Hundreds of "experienced drivers" from the Militia answered loudly.

They were all skilled workers who transported cement, and they were very excited to be requisitioned to transport soldiers this time.

Qin He glanced up at the city wall and, seeing Lin Xiao signal, nodded heavily.

"Zhenbei Army! March out!!"

Following the order, the massive convoy, like a long snake, set off along the cement official road!

The soldiers felt that once the carriage speed increased, although the wind was cold, it wasn't too unbearable because of the cotton-padded clothes and the thermos flasks.

The key was that the carriages weren't very bumpy; the flat cement road made the ride fast and stable.

So much so that the safety ropes provided to help them steady themselves were almost redundant.

"Amazing! Is this carriage too comfortable?"

"I thought my butt was going to be shattered; I could ride in this carriage for a whole day, haha!"

"Look, there's firelight ahead?"

After getting closer, they realized that in front of a small tent, a honeycomb coal fire was burning.

There were Militia members on guard duty nearby, constantly maintaining the fire.

"Strange, what is that brother doing? Is he responsible for directing traffic?"

"Can you even get lost on the official road? What kind of directions are needed?"

The soldiers were puzzled.

"That is a road administrator from our Militia's 'Road Administration Team'."

The Militia member driving the carriage smiled.

"Road administration? Road administrator? What is that?"

Because the "departments" were different, the infantry of the Zhenbei Army didn't know much about the Militia's organization.