Traveling Ten Thousand Miles a Day

Soon, after finishing their meal, everyone returned to their respective rooms to rest.

Since Qin Shi Huang and Fusu had no experience with life in later generations and did not understand many things, Qin Ning simply made a trip back to Liu City and brought Zhou Ping'an over. He arranged for Zhou Ping'an to stay in the same suite as Qin Shi Huang and Fusu, so he could teach them how to use modern amenities.

"Sir, is this the place to sleep?"

Inside the room, Fusu's face was still full of novelty. He looked here and there; to him, everything in this place was so fresh and new.

"Take a seat first. I'll open the window to let some fresh air in."

As Zhou Ping'an spoke, he walked over to the window and pulled open the curtains.

Only then did Fusu and Qin Shi Huang realize that it was already dark outside.

Looking at the numerous high-rise buildings outside, the brightly lit streets, and the countless iron boxes running about, not only Fusu but also Qin Shi Huang felt extremely astonished.

"To think that the nights of later generations are so bustling, as bright as day!" Fusu looked quite excited.

He had naturally seen electric lights before. After all, when Wang Er went to help the Great Qin develop, he had installed some solar-powered lights in the Xianyang Palace.

But compared to the massive scale of lights in later generations, it was a completely different picture.

Especially standing at such a high vantage point and looking down, the sense of shock was absolute.

"Here, the night is the liveliest time. Because many people have to work during the day, they only come out to play at night. Over time, the nightlife has become increasingly rich. In many big cities, like the one we are in right now, the nightlife can last almost until morning," Zhou Ping'an explained.

"Sir, those things running on the streets, are they carriages?"

Fusu asked again, "Why are there no oxen or horses pulling them in front, yet they can run on their own?"

To him, this was an incredibly magical thing.

It was indeed difficult for ancient people to understand the source of such power.

"Those are cars, our main means of transportation nowadays, just like the horse-drawn carriages in your Great Qin. Many of them are electric vehicles now, though there are still quite a few gas-powered ones, each making up about half. The reason they can run on their own is that they are driven by electricity or fuel. Just like oxen and horses need to eat grass, cars need to be charged or refueled."

Hearing this, a burning passion appeared on Qin Shi Huang's face. "Sir, I wonder if this kind of car can also be promoted in the Great Qin? I see they run extremely fast. If they could be used for marching troops..."

"It won't work in Great Qin yet; you have to build roads first. However, off-road vehicles might be okay, but if you want to promote them on a large scale, road construction is a must. As you can see, the roads in our later generations are built very flat," Zhou Ping'an said.

Qin Shi Huang sighed, "That is truly a pity. Building roads is a massive project that is difficult to complete in a short time."

Zhou Ping'an smiled, "If we are talking about marching troops, railways are actually much more convenient than cars. I reckon Young Master Wang, over in Great Qin, will probably map out a few railways for you first and prioritize laying them down to make transportation convenient, allowing for faster development."

"Railways? What are those?" Fusu looked curious, his mind currently filled with a thirst for knowledge.

Zhou Ping'an led them back to the sofa in the living room, sat down, and then turned on the television.

"Th-this... what is this? There are actually people inside!" Fusu was shocked once again.

Zhou Ping'an tried his best to explain, "This is a television. It also uses electricity. The people inside aren't real; they are images. Hmm... it's somewhat similar to the shadow puppetry you are familiar with."

As he spoke, he took out his phone, cast the screen onto the television, and found a video about steam trains to play for Fusu and Qin Shi Huang.

"This is the use of steam trains and railways. Here, steam trains are considered quite primitive now, but if placed in your Great Qin, they would absolutely be considered sharp weapons for marching troops."

"Their speed can also reach a hundred kilometers per hour, which is not slow."

Hearing this, Qin Shi Huang and Fusu looked puzzled. "Speed per hour? A hundred kilometers? Sir, what does this mean?"

"Speed per hour means the speed traveled in one hour. One hour here is roughly equivalent to half a shichen in your Great Qin."

"Kilometers refer to the distance. A speed of a hundred kilometers per hour means it can run two hundred li in half a shichen."

"Two hundred li in half a shichen!"

Hearing these words, both Qin Shi Huang and Fusu were endlessly astonished.

They had heard such terms while watching the video just now, but they did not understand many of the professional words. Now that they had received an explanation from Zhou Ping'an, they naturally couldn't help but feel amazed.

Qin Shi Huang said, "There are twelve shichen in a day. If calculated at two hundred li per half shichen, wouldn't it be able to run nearly five thousand li in a single day?!"

In Great Qin, traveling a hundred li a day was already remarkable. Traveling a thousand li a day was entirely a conceptual thing to them; often, this phrase was used as a metaphor for extreme speed.

But they never imagined that one day, traveling a thousand li a day would no longer be just a concept, but a very real existence.

And it wasn't just as simple as a thousand li a day. This kind of steam train could reach the astonishing speed of five thousand li a day!

"Doesn't that mean that with this train, traveling to various places within the territory of my Great Qin would only take a single day?" Fusu said in surprise.

Zhou Ping'an smiled and nodded. "Indeed, it would only take a day. But in our later generations, this is considered slow. We now have high-speed rail, which can reach a speed of three hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, equivalent to running seven hundred li in half a shichen. Calculated this way, in a day of twelve shichen, that would be around seventeen thousand li."

"There are also even faster airplanes, with speeds of seven or eight hundred kilometers per hour."

"Th-th-this..."

Hearing his words, Qin Shi Huang and Fusu were both stunned on the spot.

"You will slowly come to understand these things in the future. Come with me first; I will show you how to use the items in the bathroom."

Saying this, Zhou Ping'an stood up and led the two of them into the bathroom.

"This is the place to bathe. The wet and dry areas are separated. Do you see this thing hanging on the wall? This is a showerhead, and the one below it is the switch. Turning it towards the blue side gives cold water, and the red side gives hot water."

Zhou Ping'an turned on the showerhead as he demonstrated.

The moment the water flowed out, the two were shocked yet again.

"Water usage in later generations is actually this convenient! Even in such a tall building, one only needs to turn a switch to get water, and it even separates cold and hot!" Fusu said.

"This is a bathtub, used for soaking in a bath."

Zhou Ping'an just smiled, then led them to the side of the bathtub to teach them how to use it.