With the river surging behind him, Lao Lin led his two sons and stood on the roadside, watching the team gradually go away.
"Dad, their wine... burps~ smells so good!"
The younger son was too drunk. He stood there swaying and burping, his eyes blurred, as if he was still recalling the taste of the wine.
The eldest son on the other side, although his face was a little red from drinking, his eyes were much clearer than the younger son's.
He put his hands behind his back and held up the heavy coins wrapped around his waist. He suddenly lowered his voice and said to Lao Lin who was standing in front of him: "Dad, are you talking about this group of people? Are they the ones who told our family to ask for money a while ago?"
Those to pay attention to..."
"Huh? Pay attention to what?!"
However, before the eldest son could finish speaking, Lao Lin interrupted him rudely.
Old Lin turned around and walked towards his ship, without looking back he hummed: "This is just a caravan selling food!"
"Ah? Oh..."
The eldest son was stunned by his father for a moment. It wasn't until his father was almost near the boat that he realized what he was doing. He smiled honestly and said, "Yes! No matter who asks, they are just a caravan!"
————
Xiao Han and the others are on the road again.
But it is different from the goal set at the beginning.
Xiao Han decided to go to Runzhou first to make detailed plans for transportation and other matters there, and then decide whether to go to Suzhou or Huzhou to purchase grain.
Runzhou.
Located in the center of the north wing of the Yangtze River Delta, it is the only intersection between the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It is known as the best river in the world. Because of its powerful position and guarding the Yangtze River, it was named "Zhenjiang" in later generations!
However, Runzhou in the Tang Dynasty was far from the rich Zhenjiang of later generations!
At this time, it was just a small county town. Because it was located between the Yangtze River, Jiangnan River, and Han River, and relied on water, it naturally developed into a small town mainly focused on shipping.
When it comes to shipping, many people think that Li Yuan and Li Shimin did not seem to care about shipping. It was not until Wu Zetian and Li Longji were in power that the shipping industry in the Tang Dynasty became developed.
But the real situation is that Li Yuan and Li Shimin also wanted to take advantage of the powerful carrying capacity of water transportation! But they really had nothing to transport!
At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the foundation of the country had been emptied out due to successive years of war!
The population is declining, commerce is degenerating, and the trading of bulk commodities has almost disappeared. Without trading, how can there be shipping?
I remember that in the heyday of the Sui Dynasty, there were white sails on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and hundreds of companies fought for the water!
At that time, Runzhou had hundreds of thousands of shipworkers and people who relied on the shipping industry alone!
This number almost exceeded more than half of Tongzhou Dayi in the country at that time!
You know, at that time Runzhou was just a small county with a radius of less than ten miles!
However, in this world, glory often comes and goes quickly!
When the war came, the Eighteenth Route Army rebelled against the king, and the Seventy-two Routes swept the world. The newly established business chain was immediately destroyed!
No more merchants traveled long distances to carry goods in all directions! The imperial court also did not care about mobilizing grain and special products from various places to feed the capital.
In this case, Runzhou quickly fell.
Without their livelihood, some of the people here left this land and looked for other jobs.
Some people are unwilling to move, so they have to stay here and live a reluctant life, hoping that one day Runzhou will return to its original glory.
Even they know that this process will be extremely distant and long!
Xiao Han and his party arrived in Runzhou in the evening of that day.
After passing through the simple city gate, Xiao Han's first impression of this county was chaos!
The roads are uneven and full of puddles and no one has repaired them!
In the middle of the road, no one was picking up the excrement of the mules and horses.
On the roadside, unkempt children looked at them curiously. Xiao Han could even see fleas and lice crawling in their hair.
"Shouldn't I be here?" Xiao Han, who had always been a bit mysophobic, suddenly hesitated when he saw this scene.
However, this question only flashed through his mind because he quickly remembered the conversation he had with Lao Lin at noon.
"It's not difficult for guests to buy grain, but what's really difficult is how to transport the grain to Chang'an!" Beside the fire, Old Lin sipped a glass of wine and said to Xiao Han with squinting eyes in satisfaction.
Xiao Han laughed disapprovingly at that time, took a bite of the fish in his hand, and said: "How can it be difficult to transport grain? I heard that in the Sui Dynasty, grain was transported to Luoyang and Chang'an through the Grand Canal? Is it possible that this big river is now so big?
Can the canal still be blocked?"
"siltation? Of course not!" Lao Lin seemed to be disbelieving when he heard Xiao Han's tone, and immediately stared and said: "Of course the Grand Canal is still there, but there are not many boat sailors now! If there were only waterways and no boat sailors, wouldn't it be bad?
It’s just like having a road but no carriage! Doesn’t it mean nothing?”
When Xiao Han heard this, he still didn't take what Lao Lin said seriously.
He continued to chew the fish and said vaguely: "There is no boatman? Then I won't look for it? For example, my father-in-law, don't you know how to operate a boat? If it is not possible, I will ask you to help me when the time comes. I won't refuse, right?"
Lao Lin looked at Xiao Han, suddenly laughed, shook his head and said: "Guest, please don't joke! It's okay for me to ferry on this river, but if you want to go boating in the canal, it will not only harm me, but also you!"
"Oh? What do you say?" Seeing that Lao Lin didn't seem to be lying to him, Xiao Han finally became serious, put down the half-eaten fish, clapped his hands and looked at Lao Lin: "Isn't ferrying different from sailing? I think they are almost the same.
Bar!"
When Lao Lin heard this, he smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "Hey, to be honest with our guests, this boat trip is really not as simple as you think!
Apart from anything else, it is extremely rare to find a qualified ship boss!
A ship weighing 10,000 kilograms is sailing on the water, with countless cargo and dozens or hundreds of lives, almost all in his hands!
Such a person must not only know the water conditions and waterways well, but also be familiar with countless information such as weather, docks, and other boating people.
Wherever the water is fast, where the water is slow, where trackers are needed, and the trackers work well and cheaply, where there are sunken ships, where there are rocks, where you can anchor, where there are whirlpools, where there are strongmen robbing, where there is extortion by the local government...
Hey, this is really not what I can do. If you let me sail the boat for you, aren't you doing yourself a disservice?"
Thinking about the various questions that came out of Lao Lin's mouth, Xiao Han felt a little overwhelmed until now!
He never thought that the shipping industry could be so complicated, far from being as simple as setting up a carriage on land!
"If I need someone to transport food to Chang'an for me, where do you think I should go?"
