The winter in the north is so cold and windy that it is no exaggeration to describe it as a drop of water turning into ice. This is especially true in the twelfth year of Zhenguan. The temperature dropped below zero early. Even in sunny weather, people still can't feel the slightest warmth.

Therefore, unless necessary, most people stay at home.

On the cement road from Gunzhou to Luoyang, a large convoy was rushing towards Luoyang in full swing. They had already walked two-thirds of the way and now reached the boundary of Bianzhou. The so-called Bianzhou actually refers to the place of later generations.

In Kaifeng, Bianzhou City is on the north bank of the Yellow River, while the cement road from Gunzhou to Luoyang is on the south bank of the Yellow River. Therefore, this convoy cannot enter Bianzhou City unless it crosses the Yellow River, which has long been frozen.

There are two to three hundred people in this convoy on the road. They are all men in their prime. Everyone is wearing the same thick cotton-padded jacket and dog-skin hat, and they all have the same cotton gloves on their hands. It is estimated that these should be

They are all uniform equipment of the team. It seems that the team owner treats his workers well.

This convoy drove a total of dozens of large vehicles, almost all of which were four-horse carriages pulled by two horses. Since the construction of cement roads began, transportation has become more and more convenient, especially in terms of cargo transportation, it is even faster.

However, it was soon discovered that with the same horsepower, more goods could be transported by four-wheeled carriages, so more and more people chose to use them first.

Using a four-wheeled vehicle to pull goods, as for the steering of the four-wheeled vehicle, is not a technical problem at all, because as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, four-wheeled carriages appeared in the Central Plains, but because of road problems, they were not as practical as two-wheeled carriages.

, so it was not popularized on a large scale. It was not until the emergence of cement roads that four-wheeled carriages were given the opportunity to shine again.

At the front of the motorcade were several single carriages pulling people. On the middle carriage, the window had been opened. A young man stuck his head out and was talking to a big man on a horse next to him.

"Brother Wu, it's Chinese New Year. Can we get to Chang'an in time for the Chinese New Year?" the young man in the car asked loudly.

"Brother Zhou, don't worry, we can get to Zhengzhou tonight, which is only a few days away from Luoyang. Since Luoyang is already here, Chang'an is not a problem." The big man riding the horse is named Wu, and he is the manager of the team. There are two or three hundred people there.

It's his clerk. Shopkeeper Wu and his clerk are both from Dengzhou, and this time they are transporting goods from Dengzhou to Chang'an, but he is just a transporter, and all the goods on the truck belong to others.

But after Shopkeeper Wu said the above, he frowned again, and said to the young man in the car with a somewhat embarrassed face: "Brother Zhou, if we get to Zhengzhou, the convoy will be fine. We can just go directly to Chang'an, but

The thing on the river has two choices, so you still have to make the decision!"

Although Shopkeeper Wu is a well-known large transporter in Dengzhou City, he not only has a fleet of trucks, but also a large transport fleet, so he is very familiar with both land and waterways. However, even though his business is very large,

But he has always been in awe of the young man on the carriage, just because he is from Prince Qi's Mansion

Man. And despite his young age, he is one of the top managers in charge of King Qi's industry in Dengzhou. That's why Shopkeeper Wu attaches so much importance to him. He even ignored the biting cold wind and followed the convoy on this trip. The main reason is to

Maintain a good relationship with the other person, and you might be able to ask for something from the other person in the future.

"That thing on the river..." When the young man heard what Shopkeeper Wu said, he immediately had a headache expression on his face. This young man's name was Zhou Yu. He was originally just an ordinary young fisherman, but because of his eyes, he was the first to be recruited.

Worked in Prince Qi's Mansion, and later

It was because he was smart and hard-working that he was promoted to manage the fishing team of Prince Qi. Later, he was appreciated by Li Min because of his outstanding performance. As a result, before Li Min left Dengzhou, he was promoted to one of several big managers and became one of the top managers.

There are prominent figures in Dengzhou City.

When Li Min left Dengzhou City, he gave them an order. As a result, Zhou Yu and the other senior managers had been preparing for more than half a year, and finally completed the preparations a month ago. Then they found the big transporter Wu, the shopkeeper, and asked him to

The prepared things are sent to Chang'an, but these things are relatively expensive, so there must be a courier

The important people in the palace escorted the car. But this was a hard job. After all, it was winter and it was approaching the New Year. No one was willing to run outside. In the end, because the people around him had little experience in the palace and were young, the other managers agreed.

It was recommended that he escort the car. Zhou Yu had no choice but to accept this hard job.

"Brother Wu, we have gone well this way. Why do we have to have two choices when we get to Zhengzhou?" Zhou Yu asked puzzledly. Although he had a headache, His Highness asked for that thing by name. As a servant,

, no matter how difficult it is, he has to find a way to deliver it. Who asked him to eat this bowl of rice?

The so-called things on the river are actually a piece of cargo, which is the same as the cargo pulled by a carriage. However, this cargo is too large to be transported by a carriage, so at first it was transported by large ships, and later when it came out of the Yellow River

After Haikou, oxen and horses were used to drag the goods to the shore. While the Yellow River was freezing, they found a section of the river that could bear the weight of the goods and put them on a special oversized sled. Then they sent a small team with more than a dozen oxen and horses.

Pull it forward on the river.

"Brother Zhou doesn't know something. When we came from Gunzhou, this road was always parallel to the Yellow River. But when we got to Zhengzhou, the Yellow River changed its course to the north and went around in a circle before reaching the boundary of Puzhou near Chang'an. So

If the cargo still travels through the river, it will be separated from our convoy and then go to Puzhou.

If we go to Zhengzhou to pull the cargo ashore and take the overland route, we will use rolling logs to place it under the cargo and move forward little by little, which is slower than taking a detour, so we may arrive in Chang'an a few days later." Shopkeeper Wu mentioned.

When he arrived at the cargo, he felt helpless on his face. He had helped people transport cargo for half his life, and this was the first time he had transported such a large volume of cargo.

"Brother Wu, if we take the waterway as a detour, how much more distance will we have to walk?" Zhou Yu asked with a frown. The cargo on the waterway was very valuable, and he was really worried if we walked separately.

"This is probably going to take a hundred miles." Shopkeeper Wu knew the terrain well, so he answered immediately.

"Hundreds of miles..." Zhou Yu's brows furrowed even more tightly. He wanted to reach Chang'an as early as possible to ask for merit from His Highness the King of Qi. He really didn't want to take a long way around, but if he didn't take a long way around, the goods would have to be carried slowly on rolling logs.

If you move forward slowly, the speed may be even slower.

Shopkeeper Wu is a good person. When he saw Zhou Yu's appearance, he immediately guessed what he was thinking. He was older and experienced in traveling all over the country. He quickly thought of a way to reach Chang'an quickly, so he immediately said:

"Brother Zhou, I have a way to speed up the movement of that cargo on land, but I need your help!"

"Oh?" Zhou Yu was overjoyed after hearing this and asked eagerly, "Brother Wu, please tell me quickly. As long as the goods can reach Chang'an as soon as possible, I can do anything you want!"

"Hehe, the method is actually very simple. After we land in Zhengzhou, you can order the local government in the name of King Qi to send people to help and let them pour water on all the roads we move forward. This way, when the water freezes,

It's almost like a river, so you can travel by land, and the speed is also very fast. It is estimated that you can reach Chang'an five or six days in advance." Shopkeeper Wu laughed softly and explained the method he thought of.

Zhou Yu was very moved after hearing this, but after he thought about it carefully, he finally shook his head firmly and said, "Brother Wu, although your method is good, you may not know my prince's temper.

These goods are a private matter of the prince's palace. He definitely doesn't want us to disturb the government. Moreover, if the road is icy, it will also cause trouble to other travelers and affect local traffic. If His Highness knows about it afterwards, I'm afraid you and I will be punished, so

This method is definitely not feasible!”

When Shopkeeper Wu heard Zhou Yu's words, he felt ashamed and admired King Qi's character even more. Finally, the two of them discussed it and decided to go separately. However, Zhou Yu decided not to follow the convoy and instead escort the item in person.

Shopkeeper Wu gave some advice to the goods. After all, walking on the ice was very difficult and dangerous. However, Zhou Yu had made up his mind and couldn't persuade him at all, so he had to give up.

In the afternoon, Zhou Yu took a few followers to say goodbye to Shopkeeper Wu's motorcade, and then drove quickly towards the Yellow River in the north direction. In fact, the road was built along the river, and the distance between them was only a few hundred steps.

The convoy often sends people to contact the teams on the river to report the situation on the road. If there are any difficulties, the convoy can also send people to help.

When Zhou Yu rushed to the river, he immediately saw a huge thing moving slowly forward on the river in front of them. This huge thing was exactly the cargo he had mentioned to Shopkeeper Wu before, but this cargo was covered with body parts.

It was wrapped in a huge piece of thick linen, and it was impossible to see what was inside.

Well, in front of the cargo, there are more than a dozen cows and horses struggling to pull forward. The hooves of the cows and horses are wrapped with anti-slip coarse cloth. But even so, from time to time, some animals slip due to excessive force. Several animals next to them slip.

Most of the work of ten shopkeeper Wu's assistants is to pull up fallen animals.

Zhou Yu looked at the ice of the Yellow River like a silver snake, felt the river wind like a knife, cursed a few palace stewards in Dengzhou in a low voice, and finally tightened the sheepskin cloak tightly.

, the horse rushed down the river embankment and rushed towards the cargo team in front.
Chapter completed!