Hearing Li Tai praise his camel team, Li Xian couldn't help showing a proud look on his face, but he sighed: "This place is not as densely populated as Guanzhong cities, and the roads are convenient. Once people leave their hometown, there are few roads."
It follows that if there are not enough strong animals to use their strength, a large number of people will be in trouble."
Li Tai nodded after hearing this. It was only after he came to Longyou that he saw how bad the traffic conditions here were.
Although the transportation in ancient times is naturally far inferior to that of later generations, wherever there are people, even if there is no straight road for carriages and horses, you can still walk on the narrow paths. After all, there are no roads in the world, and there are more people walking there.
became the road.
Li Tai originally didn't like the traffic environment in Guanzhong. The dirt roads had not been systematically hardened and the dust was flying when running. When it rained or snowed, it was muddy and slippery. Every time he went out, he would be doubly tired because of the road conditions.
If the fire of ambition that wanted to change the dynasty was not burning in his heart all day long, he would be more willing to be a man in a wealthy house with no worries about food and drink, and a lot of servants.
But after coming to Longxi, Li Taicai discovered that Guanzhong can definitely be called a prosperous area with convenient transportation. He went all the way from Longguan to Tianshui, and he never encountered a formed road with a length of more than 20 miles, and the infrastructure was almost
Yu Wu.
Although there were no infrastructure facilities in northern Shaanxi where he was stationed before, he was not impressed enough by it. It was quite enjoyable to safari in the wilderness under the guidance of a guide. This was because various construction projects in northern Shaanxi had just begun.
In the beginning, the exchange of materials between different regions was still not frequent enough, so the restrictions on road traffic were not too great.
But after he came to Qinzhou, Dugu Xin was about to unite his army in the western expedition to quell the rebellion. The grain, grass and baggage of tens of thousands of troops suddenly fell on his shoulders, and the logistics of these supplies had strict military restrictions.
The harsh logistics and transportation environment is naturally a headache.
Regarding this, we cannot blame Dugu Xin. The last wave of large-scale infrastructure construction in Longyou was probably still in the Han Dynasty. The hundreds of years of troubled times not only prevented these infrastructures from being properly maintained, but even
Destroyed by various natural and man-made disasters.
Logistics and transportation in ancient times were inherently costly. Nowadays, there are no smooth roads that can run through the whole. The scrap rate of horse-drawn carriages for land transportation is alarming. Transportation by people and animals has become the most mainstream method of land transportation.
Among all kinds of animal power that can be used for transportation, camels are undoubtedly the best. They carry a heavy load and have low dietary requirements. They are hard-working, cold-resistant and disease-resistant. They are the most cost-effective mode of transportation.
An adult camel can carry hundreds of kilograms of weight and travel nearly a hundred miles a day, so Li Xian's group of camels are like large semi-trucks. As long as they walk on the road, they can continuously produce considerable profits!
"There are nearly two thousand camels in this camel team, but not all of them belong to my family. Some of the camels from the countryside are also included in the team."
Li Xian could hear the envious meaning in Li Tai's words, so he smiled and said: "The raising of this animal does not require special care, just like cattle and horses. It only needs special care when it changes its coat in the summer."
I don't know exactly how to raise him. If Li Sanqi is still curious about this, I will answer it for you later. We still need some transportation capacity for the westward journey. When we turn back, we will give Li Sanqi a few more heads.
For the joy of playing.”
Li Tai took the initiative to talk about this matter, not to gain advantage from others. After hearing the words, he waved his hands and said with a smile: "We will save these for later, but the camels I saw today don't seem to be full, right?"
One camel can carry a load of several hundred kilograms, and these nearly two thousand camels have a transport capacity of hundreds of thousands of kilograms. The amount of goods that can be transported is very amazing. Although Li Xian was also responsible for part of the army's supplies, his share was obviously up to
If it is less than this scale, some capacity must still be idle.
After hearing this, Li Xian nodded and said: "There are indeed hundreds of camels and livestock available at the moment. If the state government needs to use them, they can borrow help, but they must get the materials in place as soon as possible. After all, the army is urging us to do so and we cannot leave them here."
Stay for a long time.”
Of course, Li Tai had the idea of using transportation capacity, but the purpose was not just to complete the current logistics and transportation tasks, but also to explore new methods of resource integration and deployment.
Among all types of military supplies, grain and grass are undoubtedly the most important necessities, and the cost of long-distance transportation is extremely high.
However, as early as the seventh year of Datong, when Deng Yan captured Guazhou far away in Hexi, Duguxin and other Longyou generals had already begun preparations for war. They relied on the Wei River waterway to build warehouses in Weizhou to collect grain and grass and distribute supplies to the army.
The base camp advanced several hundred miles westward.
But what the army needs for the expedition is not only food and grass, various felt tents and tents, spare ordnance, fire paint, wax oil, and various medicines to prevent and treat epidemic wounds. There are many types and they are all indispensable. The lack of any one of them will cause serious consequences.
It is troublesome and difficult to obtain when you are on the front line, so it can only be supplemented through logistics.
However, the reserves of these military supplies in Qinzhou are far from sufficient. Although there are special official workshops for production, the supplies previously accumulated have been consumed by the great parades in recent years. Now they are no longer available.
We can only work in various workshops overnight to make a batch and then transport it to the prefecture capital, where it will be sent to Weizhou.
The last batch of supplies was shipped two days ago. Now, even if Li Tai wanted to hitchhike with Li Xian's camel herd, there was no goods to send. Moreover, the Weizhou army was about to leave, but the gap in some supplies was still huge. How could Dugu Xin
There were letters urging him, and his words became increasingly harsh, but Li Tai was also a clever woman who couldn't make a meal without straw.
At present, all government-made workshops are already overloaded, but the output is only so large. Li Tai, a long-time chief of staff, can't just roll up his sleeves and go to the workshop in person. He doesn't know how to do the key!
Li Xian's group of enviable camels gave him a glimpse of the possibility of solving the problem. If done properly, the material gap might be filled before the army set off.
"These camels brought by Xia Feng Gong should not only be used to transport supplies, right?"
Li Tai looked at Li Xian again and said with a smile, although there is not much particularity in raising camels, it still requires a lot of feed. Li Xian is running around with so many camels, it is not because they are too fat.
Go out for a walk to lose weight.
Li Xian did not hide this. After hearing this, he nodded and said: "Yes, half of this batch of camels will be transported to Hexi for bartering during this journey westward. There are many herders in the countryside who depend on this for a living.
Originally, in previous years, we could go north to Lingzhou via Gaopingchuan, go out by the river, and go to Yanze to trade with the Hu merchants.
However, this journey has become very dangerous in recent years, and goods and people are often lost or killed. These camels have been backlogged for several years, and the villagers have suffered a lot, so they want to take this opportunity to sell them to Guazhou and make a profit."
Li Tai couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. The reason why this trade route was no longer feasible was naturally because the Western Wei Dynasty and Rouran were at odds with each other, while the Eastern Wei Dynasty and Rouran got together.
In the past, Princess Rouran was the Queen of the Western Wei Dynasty, and the two countries were still relatively friendly. Li Xian and other Gaoping local tycoons could still take advantage of the convenient location to share part of the profits from the Silk Road trade. But now Princess Rouran has slept with the Gao family.
All the camels raised by the people in the state were smashed into their hands. It is my big brother He Liuhun who has the final say whether the camels can get out of the circle!
Guazhou is located deep in Hexi Province, with deserts on both sides, and it is also an important trade town for east-west exchanges. The demand for camels is naturally huge.
In fact, according to the most reasonable approach, Li Xian should first buy a batch of goods in the countryside, transport them to Hexi and then sell them with the camels. The profit is much greater than simply driving the camels. But after all, there is still a war, and this
It's hard to say how this war will turn out, so naturally we can only be a little conservative.
"If the current price in this town is the same as that in Hexi, will Xia Fenggong be willing to sell it in this town?"
Li Tai smiled and asked again, "He doesn't like a few camels. If he wants to deal with us, we have to deal with a large group of them!"
"Of course I am willing. It is still a long way to Hexi, and it will inevitably be damaged along the way. Not to mention the same price, even if it is discounted to half the price, I will be very happy if it can be sold in this hometown!"
After hearing this, Li Xian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled half-seriously: "Could it be that Li Sanqi can help me facilitate this deal? If so, I would really like to give half of the proceeds from the sale to Li Sanqi as a reward.
!”
"Then it's settled. The official can count the items and pay the animal points here, but the payment for the goods needs to be collected from our village by the official."
Li Tai also slapped the case with a bold face and said that he was often shown off his wealth by others, and he almost forgot that he was already a rich man, and he just bought more than a thousand camels.
"Is this true?"
Li Xian was surprised when he heard that it was Li Tai who wanted to buy camels, and that he bought so many camels. His expression changed slightly and then he said in a deep voice: "This matter does not involve my family. There are many herders in the countryside."
We are all waiting for this harvest to continue our livelihood, so I dare not agree rashly. Does Li Sanqi know the current price of such a batch of camels? Is the village's savings sufficient?"
"If the direct price is still within one million bolts of silk, I can send people to the countryside to get it at any time."
Of course Li Tai had to pretend to be perfect. There was no shortage of anything in his hometown but silk. When he sent his wife back home from Chang'an, he inspected the properties in the village. He was still worried about how to spend the money. What investment opportunities are there?
Just coming?
Of course, if you want to say that the price of this batch of camels can exceed one hundred Gao Aocao, then let’s not talk about this deal. And from now on, you will never call me uncle again! How about such a black-hearted nephew?
rise.
When Li Xian heard this, he immediately moved slightly. He looked at Li Tai's expression carefully, and he couldn't help but wonder if this boy's face was worth a million pieces of silk. Of course, he was not some country man who had never seen the world.
But a million bolts of silk have never been heard of, let alone spoken of.