1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 436 Is this over 70 years old?

The neighborhood of Sutter's Castle is famously quiet because there is only one Sutter family living here.

Now that Sutter is the mayor of Sacramento, he no longer has to patrol his farm with a gun as he did five years ago for fear of having crops stolen from his farm.

Not to mention the crops on the farm, even the animals in the mountains and forests, no one dared to touch a single hair of them without Sartre's consent.

Sutter's Fort is still more than thirty kilometers away from downtown Sacramento.

In order to make traveling to and from the city more convenient, Sutter even spent his own money to build a railway from Sacramento to Sutter's Fort.

On weekdays, if he had official business to handle, he would take his private train to Sacramento to handle official business. It only took less than an hour from Sutter's Fort to arriving in Sacramento.

If nothing happens, Sartre is either holding a banquet in his luxurious manor, or hunting in the mountains and forests with a shotgun or a bow as far as the eye can see. Occasionally, he also stays in the study, basking in the afternoon sun and watching.

Read a book.

Even Liang Yao envied Sartre's living situation, which was simple, leisurely and boring.

Compared with Robinson, Sartre did not have much political ambition; compared with Frémont, Sartre did not have Frémont's lofty ideals.

But both have their own fun.

When Liang Weiming saw no one around, he started vomiting wantonly.

Now Sartre has brought his family over from Europe, and the family is enjoying family happiness in Sacramento.

Of course, trains carrying freight may be slower.

Sartre took Liang Weiming to his treasured bow room, where Sartre had collected various good bows from all over the world.

In the Qing Dynasty, the southern coastal areas were far away from the political center of the north and had a strong business atmosphere. Therefore, compared with the northern scholars, most southern scholars were relatively more open-minded.

It's fine if you pass the exam, but if you fail, the candidates in the Yunnan-Guizhou region will have to go back to the exam again in four years, or even for the rest of their lives, which is a road that is more difficult than the road in Shu.

Whether I went to Beijing to take the exam when I was young or returned to my hometown, I had to travel by land and water for several months, and the expenses along the way were not cheap.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Sartre nodded hurriedly and said.

The capital of the Qing Dynasty was the capital in the north, and Liang Weiming lived in Guangdong Province, the southernmost province of China.

However, for candidates from all provinces in the Qing Dynasty who came to Beijing to take the exam, the candidates in Guangdong were not the worst off. The worst were the candidates in Yunnan and Guizhou.

Liang Yao saw that Liang Weiming just kept his mouth closed and didn't open his mouth to speak. He knew that Liang Weiming was suffering from train sickness and wanted to vomit. However, because there were too many people at the station, it would be a bit rude to vomit in public.

"Chaoci Baidi among the colorful clouds, thousands of miles to Jiangling in one day. There is nothing better than this. Apart from being a little uncomfortable and making people feel a little nauseous, this train is very convenient and can run faster than a horse."

Throughout the dynasties, there are records of many people from the Yunnan-Guizhou region who went to Beijing to take part in the joint examination, or even went to the provincial capital to take part in the provincial exam, but were bitten by jackals, tigers and leopards, poisoned by snakes and scorpions, and robbed and killed by bandits on the way.

Sutter usually bowhunted with some Indian chiefs and Indian guards. It was rare to meet someone who could use a bow, which made Sutter very excited.

Liang Weiming was of medium height and thin, and Sartre did not think that this thin old man could pull a 45-pound longbow.

Liang Yao took the long bow from Sartre's hand and handed it to Liang Weiming, but he was still a little worried. After all, Liang Weiming was also seventy years old, so he reminded him.

Sutter's special train slowly drove into Sutter's Fort, and with a sharp brake sound of metal friction, the train slowly stopped.

There are not many people in California who like bows, and even fewer who are good at using them.

This is also the reason why Liang Weiming is not so repellent to new things in the West.

The Pioneer carries passengers at a speed of about 35 kilometers per hour. Regardless of the time spent on stops along the way, it is still possible to run more than 800 kilometers in a day, which is more than 1,600 miles.

Sartre only cared about his corner of Sacramento and his estate.

Sartre asked his followers to string the bows and let Liang Weiming choose.

There are not many people in California who are good at bows, so Liang Yao could only ask Sutter to choose a suitable bow for Liang Weiming.

"WTF?! Are you sure Grandpa You is in his seventies?"

After saying that, Liang Weiming put on his thumb ring, clasped the bow string with his right thumb, and pressed his thumb with his index finger to pull it up.

Liang Weiming snatched the long bow from Liang Yao's hand and rolled his eyes at Liang Yao: "Shooting is one of the six arts of a gentleman. You are looking down on grandpa too much. Grandpa's body bones are not so weak that even pulling the bow can cause strain."

English longbows, Tartar bows, Turkic bows (Turkish bows), Persian bows, and even the combined bow that Sartre just got from Japan.

Liang Yao took Liang Weiming to a quiet place where there was no one, patted Liang Weiming's back and said.

Not only was the poundage low, but the pulling feel also made Liang Weiming feel a little awkward and uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, Sartre did not get the Qing bow from the Qing Dynasty.

Liang Weiming easily drew the 45-pound bow and could still control it steadily, which shocked Sartre.

In the next second, Sartre's jaw almost dropped. He stared at Liang Weiming in disbelief with his eyes wide open.

"With the arrival of trains, even though the two places are thousands of miles apart, they can still be reached in one day." Liang Yao chuckled.

Upon seeing this, Sartre subconsciously took a step back, fearing that Liang Weiming would let loose and hurt him.

As the only foreign trading port that has existed for a long time, Guangzhou in the Guangfu area can also be said to be the only remaining window. Therefore, the Guangfu area with Guangzhou as the center is the most civilized place in the entire south and even the entire China.

After some experience, Liang Weiming finally chose a 60-pound Turkic bow and asked Sartre for a good horse.

Liang Weiming was not satisfied with the longbow provided by Sartre.

Sartre loved hunting. He not only hunted with a shotgun, but sometimes also used a bow and arrow for a change.

Therefore, Sartre had an easier life than Robinson, Fremont and others.

"This is a bow played by children." Liang Weiming put down the long bow and asked Sartre, "Does Mayor Sartre have a heavier bow?"

Gun hunting is like fishing with a net, it is relatively easier to hunt prey; bow hunting is like fishing, it is relatively harder to hunt prey.

After the train stopped, Liang Weiming couldn't help but sigh.

Not only does Liang Weiming not reject trains, he even likes this kind of transportation that is easier to use than horses.

The Liang family did have a few small bows and clear horn bows at home, but they didn't bring them over.

"This is the bow you want. It's not too big or too small, about 45 pounds. It's enough for hunting some small prey." After entering Sartre's manor, Sartre handed Liang Yao a longbow.

.

The Yunnan-Guizhou region is densely forested, full of miasma, sparsely populated, and often infested by ferocious beasts and poisonous insects.

It's just that Liang Weiming had already vomited several times when he was on the train. After getting off the train, there was nothing left in his stomach. After vomiting for a long time, he only vomited some bitter water.

"Grandpa, there is no one here, you can vomit if you want."

Liang Yao originally planned to let Liang Weiming and Liang Shaochen hunt with volcanic stone lever rifles, but Liang Weiming didn't like guns and preferred to use bows.

"It's refreshing, it's refreshing, I feel much better." After vomiting, Liang Weiming said with satisfaction, stroking his belly.

Kony sent two top-quality volcanic stone lever rifles. The bullets used in these guns are pistol bullets. They have a small charge, small recoil, and can fire rapidly. They are more suitable for newcomers like Liang Weiming who have basically never touched a gun for hunting.

.

"Grandpa, don't force yourself. If you get injured, you'll be in trouble."

It can be said that candidates in the Yunnan-Guizhou region sacrificed their lives to participate in the imperial examination. Every journey out of the country was a test that was as difficult as learning from the experience in the West.

Liang Weiming not only drew the 45-pound longbow, but also controlled it very steadily.

"Your grandpa is not a simple man." Sartre sighed.

"I'm surprised too. I also underestimated my grandfather." Liang Yao sighed.

Liang Yao's stereotype of the scholar-officials of the Qing Dynasty is not very good. In Liang Yao's stereotype, the scholar-officials of the late Qing Dynasty were addicted to smoking cigarettes and were weak and pedantic. It was difficult for him to associate the scholar-officials of the late Qing Dynasty with the term "rich in martial virtue".

Together.

Facts have proved that he was wrong. He still underestimated the scholar-bureaucrats. Perhaps many scholar-officials in the late Qing Dynasty were indeed as miserable as Liang Yao's stereotype, but not all of them.

(End of chapter)