A week later, Puzhou Railway Station.

Although Puzhou, located in the south of the Yangtze River, is located in Jiangnan and has a typical humid and hot climate, the autumn wind is still bitingly cold, not to mention that Bai Zhizhan only wore a single dress.

Getting off the train, Bai Zhizhan couldn't help but shivered a few times.

After staying in Matsuha Harbor for five days, Bai Zhizhan learned from the port headquarters that the damage to the Beihe River was even worse than predicted, and it took more time to repair the loopholes in the hull and the damaged internal compartment before leaving for Puzhou.

As for how much time it will take, the port command's reply is vague, maybe a week or a few months.

It’s not that there are not enough maintenance workers, but that the materials needed to repair are seriously insufficient. For example, large-size rolled steel plates that are plugged in need of temporary ordering. The steel plant cannot guarantee the delivery time, so the port command cannot guarantee when the repair can be completed.

That night, Bai Zhizhan boarded the ferry back to the land.

After getting on the boat, Bai Zhizhan found that he only brought autumn clothes, not winter clothes, and the navy's winter clothes would not be distributed in mid-November.

After that, I delayed one night at the train station before I took a train to transport recruits and stayed on the train for a whole day.

I used to take a few hours to travel, but this time I took two days.

Fortunately, Bai Zhizhan took a troop transport army, providing free hot water and food. Even if it is not so delicious, it is much better than being hungry.

A whistle sound came from behind and the train started again.

Tighten the jacket, Bai Zhizhan walked towards the underground passage ahead.

The army was lying on the Northeast battlefield, and Baizhizhan took a ride. There were several dispatchers on the platform, but no one noticed the thin-dressed naval officer.

However, there is a different view in the square outside the station.

Puzhou is the most populous city in the eastern part of the empire, and it is also the imperial financial, economic and industrial center, and the empire's largest shipbuilding base. It has more than a dozen shipyards of all sizes. Among them, Puzhou Navy Shipyard is not only the largest in the empire, but also the largest shipyard in the world. In the past few decades, half of the Imperial Navy's main battleships, and one-third of the large warships were built by this shipyard.

Although it is not a transportation hub city, hundreds of trains come in and out every day, picking up and dropping off hundreds of thousands of passengers. Even during the war, it was very lively here. After all, the empire has not been destroyed by war. For most civilians, war only exists in newspapers and radio. Only after dinner or when purchasing daily necessities such as food can we intuitively feel the impact of the war.

As for the impact caused by the casualties in the war, it is not as serious as the propaganda of Western powers.

Don’t forget that the empire’s population reached 400 million, and less than five million soldiers died in the war, and the proportion was only one percent. Even if the disabled officers and soldiers were included, the proportion was less than four percent, which was far lower than any enemy country except the Newland Federation.

More than two million officers and soldiers were killed in the Kingdom of Bran, and the ratio to the population was more than five percent.

More than five million were killed in the Locke Republic, close to 10% of the population.

The Luosha Empire reached an astonishing six million, accounting for more than seven percent.

Even the Nayi Empire, which participated in the war very late, was killed nearly three million, accounting for about four%.

In terms of family, the proportion of glorious families is less than one-fifth.

However, the impact of war cannot be underestimated.

The most direct and easiest thing to feel is the surge in prices caused by scarcity of materials and the quality of life that is declining every day.

To put it bluntly, with the same hard work, I could live a happy life in the past, but now I can only barely make a living.

This is still the situation in remote areas such as Puzhou, which is even worse.

After several turns, Bai Zhizhan came to the square outside the station, to be precise, the exit of the station.

Although it was already evening, there were still crowds of people in the square. Many of them came to see off their relatives, and there were also many vendors selling various controlled goods.

Those who were waiting outside the exit were mainly coachmen and hotel owners, and these people were particularly enthusiastic about the officers.

When I was reporting to the 21st Fleet, Bai Zhizhan came to Puzhou and stayed near the station for a few days, which was familiar to me.

When there were a few steps away from the exit, Bai Zhizhan stopped.

After watching carefully, I saw the sign with the words "Baizhi Zhan General" on it, and then I took another step and walked towards the person holding the sign.

As he walked out of the station, Bai Zhizhan waved at the man.

The coachman and other vendors who were guarding the exit were all humans. When they saw someone driving to pick up Bai Zhizhan, they didn't come to ask for fun.

However, not everyone has such eyesight.

"The front page of the Evening News today, the important news just released. Come and buy it, come and see, the war may be over. Sir... Sir, buy a newspaper!"

A newspaper boy came out of the crowd and handed a newspaper that still smelled of ink to Bai Zhizhan.

Seeing the newspaper boy's skinny appearance, Bai Zhizhan couldn't bear to refuse.

Judging from the clothes and dressing, the newspaper boy is likely to be a refugee who has gone into exile here.

Although no statistics were made, according to conservative estimates, there were one million refugees who flowed into Puzhou, most of whom were relatives and friends, but many were also wandering on the streets.

However, he had already walked to the side of the road, and the young man who came to pick him up had recognized him and opened the door of the car.

Fortunately, the other party saw Bai Zhizhan's intention and took out a 50-cent coin and threw it to the newspaper boy. After Bai Zhizhan got into the car, the newspaper boy stuffed a newspaper in.

Although there were crowds of people in the square, no one dared to stop a car with a military license plate.

"Hello." Bai Zhizhan was very polite and took the initiative to say hello to the other party.

Before Bai Zhizhan left on the ferry, He Yongxing told him that he would send someone to Puzhou Railway Station to pick him up and then take him to the Navy Shipyard.

But He Yongxing didn't tell him who was sent.

"Staff General Bai, don't be polite to me, just call me Xiaofei." The man turned around and looked at Bai Zhizhan, and said, "My name is He Pengfei. I am General He's cousin. I work as a liaison officer in the shipyard. My main job is to receive and settle military representatives like you."

At this time, Bai Zhizhan noticed that the opponent's military uniform did not have military ranks.

Obviously, wearing military uniforms is just for convenience.

The so-called liaison officer is actually the public relations of the shipyard, but it is more professional, and its main job is to provide services to others.

There must be many public relations personnel in the Navy Shipyard.

Although it is called the Naval Shipyard, like other shipyards, it is also run by private people and only mainly builds warships for the Navy.

"If you are tired, take a break first. The shipyard is in the remote suburbs, and it will take more than an hour to drive. If you are hungry, we can go to the city for dinner first."

"I've had supper on the train and go directly to the shipyard."

Bai Zhizhan said so, and He Pengfei didn't ask any more questions.

Although He Pengfei's surname is He and is He Yongxing's cousin, he is likely to be a distant relative and just relies on his relationship with He Yongxing to work in the shipyard.
Chapter completed!