With the restoration of the Silk Road, the Longyou Commercial Road has two busy periods every year.
One is the beginning of spring in March, when caravans who have been waiting all winter will focus on purchasing goods.
One is at the turn of October and November, when winter comes, when caravans will stock up on goods for the winter.
Even the caravans leaving Hanzhong now basically take the Qishan Road to enter Longyou.
Then depending on the situation, go west or east.
Needless to say, if you go westward, the closer one will only go to Liangzhou, and the farther one will go to the Western Regions.
To go east, you can either take the Longguan Road or go back to the Middle Road.
Although the road is a bit far, it is much easier than taking several roads directly from Hanzhong to Guanzhong.
Moreover, if you go to Longyou first, you can also replenish the goods from Liangzhou, and then sell them all to Chang'an. The profit will be much higher than going directly from Hanzhong to Guanzhong.
It is precisely because of this that over the years, Hanzhong Shudao has gradually lost its presence.
Seeing this, the big man simply blocked these roads to prevent any Wei people from coming over.
At the end of February in the 14th year of Jianxing's reign, in the backyard of Juepinju in Luoyang, a handsome and elegant man was directing his men to prepare various supplies for the trip to Chang'an.
As the products produced by Dahan become the world's trend, at the beginning of every spring, not only Dahan's caravans must be ready to set off.
Even in the Kingdom of Wei and Wu, any caravan that has a way to go to Longyou to purchase goods will basically not be idle.
The reputation of Juepinju is getting bigger and bigger in Luoyang, and most of its internal supply sources come from the west.
In order to maintain the reputation of his own restaurant, Mi Shiyilang must be particularly careful about picking up goods from the west.
It was busy here, but a maid came in from outside.
When Mi Shiyilang saw him, he hurriedly greeted him.
"Mr. Lang, my princess invites you."
The corner of Mi Shiyilang's mouth twitched invisibly, and then a bright smile appeared in an instant, and he said happily:
"The princess is here? Please wait for me to greet you."
Following the maid to the private room reserved by Princess Qinghe, I saw a middle-aged woman sitting in the room, with a slightly serious face and often forcefully pursed lips, showing that she was a woman with strong opinions or a strong temperament.
.
Although her appearance is not classy, the years have given her a deep charm, and her high bun makes her look a bit unattainable.
This is not a temperament that ordinary women can have, and this temperament makes up for her appearance very well.
"Meet the princess."
"rise."
Princess Qinghe sat still and just raised her chin, which implicitly showed her strength.
"Thank you, princess."
Mi Shiyilang stood up neatly, his head bowed and his hands solemn.
"I've been feeling weak recently, so I wanted to eat some of your Juupinju food, so I came here."
Princess Qinghe asked calmly, "Eleventh Man, I wonder if you have any new dishes here?"
Mi Shiyilang quickly replied: "Yes, yes."
"Oh?" Princess Qinghe showed a very interested expression, "Come closer and tell me carefully."
"promise."
Seeing this, Princess Qinghe's personal maid quietly led the others out.
The moment the door closed, Princess Qinghe couldn't wait to stand up. The original seriousness and strength on her face had disappeared.
Instead, there was a smile that could not be concealed at the corner of her mouth, and she could only hear her saying softly:
"Why are you still standing so far away? Come here quickly."
"When I heard that you wanted to go to Chang'an in person, I hurried over."
Mi Shiyilang was pulled by Princess Qinghe to sit next to her. Hearing this, he nodded and said:
"The trade route to Longyou is about to open, so you have to go there early. Most of the things belonging to the Han people are in high demand. If you leave late, you may be robbed by others."
Princess Qinghe and her husband were at odds with each other because of her husband, Xia Houmao, keeping a concubine.
Finally, it developed to the point where Princess Qinghe united with Xia Houmao's younger brother to kill Xia Houmao.
He is so hateful and so poisonous.
Now, coupled with the affairs of the three Xiahou families, although Princess Qinghe has not reconciled with Xiahou Mao, the two of them have long been like passers-by.
It wouldn't be a big deal if the princess of the Han Dynasty had been exhausted physically and mentally for a long time, and if she had some kind of revenge, she raised a few faces in her princess's house.
But whether it was Cao Cao's first wife, Mrs. Ding, who raised Princess Qinghe, or his subsequent step-husband, Mrs. Bian, their styles were all upright.
With their management and leadership, the concubines and princesses in the Wei Kingdom maintained a good atmosphere.
In addition, Cao Wei had only just founded the country, so Princess Qinghe did not contract any bad habits.
Until Bian's death a few years ago, the three Xiahou families encountered Cao Rui's suspicion one after another and tended to decline.
No one from above could control her anymore, and political marriage could no longer limit her. The eldest princess of Qinghe finally gave up her worries.
Just at this moment, a handsome man appeared.
This husband is good at riding and shooting, knowledgeable about literature, gentle, elegant, considerate, and can come up with new things to please people from time to time.
What's even better is that this kind of good young master has no foundation in Luoyang, and he is just a small person who can be controlled by the princess.
Such a good person, it would be a pity not to show off...
At this time, Princess Qinghe was about to go to Chang'an in person from Mi Shiyilang, and she felt a little reluctant:
"You can just leave it to your servants to do things like this. Why do you need to go there in person?"
Mi Shiyilang smiled bitterly and said:
"Princess is not..."
Princess Qinghe interrupted him:
"There is no one here, just call me Qinghe."
Mi Shiyilang almost choked on his saliva, but he choked and finally shouted: "Qinghe."
A smile appeared on Princess Qinghe's face, and a few faint crow's feet appeared at the corners of her eyes.
"Qinghe...it's not like I don't know that now Luoyang's rich and powerful people often have their families eating in Juepin Residence, and many of these things are mostly supplied by Guanxi."
"How can I not be more cautious? After all, it is not easy to establish a foothold in Luoyang!"
Princess Qinghe lived through three generations of Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, so she was certainly not an ignorant girl.
Nowadays, aristocratic families are so powerful that even she can't afford to offend some families.
It's okay to be okay on weekdays. After all, others know that she is the one covering Juepinju. In addition, Mi Shiyilang has the identity of fellow Huang Quan as a tiger skin, so no one will find trouble.
But if something goes wrong, let alone she may not dare to admit that Mi Shiyilang is her face. Even if she dares to do so, if others really want to deny him face, she will be the one who loses face.
Therefore, Princess Qinghe knew what Mi Shiyilang said and it was also true.
She took Mi Shiyilang's hand:
"Then...then you should be more careful. I heard that the Shu people are rampant in Guanxi, so you should pay attention to protecting yourself."
Speaking of this, she suddenly remembered something and said quickly:
"The identity of the eldest princess is somewhat useful on weekdays. After returning home, I will send someone to deliver a token."
"Don't dare to say anything else. If you go to Guanxi all the way, if someone dares to embarrass you from an official or at a checkpoint, just say that they are from the princess's house."
"Even Sima Yi, the governor who guards Guanzhong, as long as you don't take the initiative to cause trouble, I think he will give me some noodles."
Mi Shiyilang was moved and said: "Thank you very much, princess."
Princess Qinghe said angrily: "Why do you call me princess again?"
"Qinghe..."
"In a few days, I will go to the palace again to ask Your Majesty to invite the goddess to your house to pray for you and keep you safe on your journey."
Hearing the word "Goddess", Mi Shiyilang almost choked on his own saliva:
"Qinghe, you really mean it, I really don't know how to repay you..."
Mi Shiyilang is anxious to rush to Kansai, and there are people who are more anxious than him.
In February in Guanzhong, the snow had just finished melting. Lian Zhao, who was sent out by Cao Rui, had already arrived in Chang'an and read out the decree to Sima Yi:
When the Grand Sima conscripted his husband, he moved to Chang'an as a bronze man, and Cheng Lupan and others went to Luoyang.
After Sima Yi heard the imperial edict, he was still a little stunned and couldn't believe it, even though he was a sophisticated and experienced man.
But he reacted quickly, covered up his gaffe, and followed the order.
When the news spread, some people couldn't bear it anymore and came to Sima Yi:
"Da... Sima, it is the beginning of spring, and it is the time for farming and farming. If we recruit laborers, not only will the people be in turmoil, it will also affect the grain harvest in Guanzhong!"
This person was none other than Deng Ai, who was promoted by Sima Yi.
In the past few years, under the authorization of Sima Yi, Deng Ai relied on his experience in farming in Runan to vigorously carry out farming in Guanzhong, with remarkable results.
Nowadays, the army in Guanzhong is not only in sufficient supply of food, but is even able to make some savings.
This is Deng Ai's political achievement. When I heard that His Majesty suddenly wanted to recruit servants, why should I not be anxious?
Moving the bronze figures and dew-bearing trays to Luoyang sounds simple, but that's because others don't know how heavy these things are and how many laborers are needed.
How could Deng Ai not know this?
The bronze figures originated from the twelve golden figures cast by Qin Shihuang. The smallest one is three feet high and the largest one is five feet high.
It can weigh as little as a thousand stones (thirty tons), or as heavy as 340,000 kilograms (eighty-seven tons).
Although there are only two left now, such a huge and heavy thing is integrated into one piece. How much manpower will be needed to move it to Luoyang?
The dew-catching plate was made by Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is "twenty feet high and seven circles wide. It is made of copper and has an immortal holding his palms up to catch the dew."
Compared with the copper figure, the dew-bearing plate is even better.
However, the dew-receiving plate is not one piece, so it can be disassembled and transported, which is more convenient than the bronze man.
But the manpower and material resources required are even greater than those of the Bronze Man.
In addition to the bells, bamboo poles and other items, the total number of laborers required would not be less than tens of thousands.
Not to mention, there is a section of road from Chang'an to Luoyang, called the Xiaohan Ancient Road, which is hundreds of miles long.
There are dangerous mountains in the south, big rivers in the north, Hangu in the east, and Tongguan in the west. There are many dangerous roads, and the narrowest ones can only be driven along the same track, or you have to climb over the mountains.
If such a huge and heavy object is transported on this stretch of road, how many more manpower will be needed?
After all, there is nothing to do in Guanzhong this year!
Without the angel sent by Cao Rui present, Sima Yi's face also darkened.
He knows that His Majesty is fond of civil work and loves women.
In fact, in the past few years, he had made several memorials to persuade His Majesty not to use more people to build the palace.
As for female sex, just treat it as His Majesty's personal hobby and turn a blind eye.
Over the past two or three years, I thought His Majesty had listened, but I didn’t expect that he would actually issue such a decree today!
He wants to conquer all the people in Guanzhong!
Before Longyou was lost, the conquest was conquest. After all, as long as Hanzhong was blocked, the Shu captives could only do nothing unless they had wings.
And now?
Guanzhong is like a broken house. The east wall has collapsed, the north wall has collapsed in half, and the south wall is full of holes.
The only intact east wall did not provide much support.
Only the original pillars in the house were able to hold them together, but His Majesty unexpectedly thought of removing them.
Enter his mother's!
Even though Sima Yi was patient enough, he still couldn't help but cursed in his heart.
As I said at the beginning, I don't have to worry about anything in Guanzhong, as long as I can stop the Shu people.
Now I realize that the original so-called "not asking" means that you don't even ask for my opinion, but just take the piss out of Guanzhong?
Not a human being?
No wonder Sima Yi was so furious.
In fact, it was because I didn't come to Chang'an and didn't know how much pressure the Shu captives put on Guanzhong.
After the battle in Xiaoguan, Feng Thief's ghost cavalry became famous enough to stop the children crying at night in Guanzhong.
Especially the soldiers who escaped from the Battle of Xiaoguan, many of them have already had serious psychological shadows in their hearts, and their expressions changed after hearing about Shu.
Therefore, in the years after Sima Yi became the governor of Guanzhong, he only did two things.
The first is to accumulate grain in the fields.
The second is to dig trenches and build walls.
Of course, digging ditches and building walls is not a big image project like Cao Rui.
Instead, they build camps, dig trenches, erect ramparts, and lay out antlers...
Anyway, everything that can block the cavalry's advance has been arranged.
Just outside Chang'an City, the newly built small partition city under the city has five floors.
Outside the small city, if you look around, you will see large and small fortresses, so densely packed that you can't even see the edge.
The Wei State originally conquered the world with its fine cavalry, but now it dare not compete with the Shu people in cavalry. It is simply humiliating.
But Sima Yi didn't care about this. As long as he could defend Guanzhong, he would pretend that he couldn't hear anything others said.
Some of these defensive measures were even learned from the Shu captive generals in Anding County.
Because over the years, Sima Yi had never thought about recapturing Anding County, the barrier to the northwest of Chang'an.
I just heard that the Shu general who guarded An Ding was a man named Liu Yin.
It was he who led the remaining soldiers to defend the street pavilion, allowing Zhang He to finally defeat him.
Sima Yi also sent troops to attack Anding County several times in the beginning, but Liu Yin defended Linjing City like a turtle shell, which was almost airtight.
Even when his opponent showed flaws, he turned a blind eye and only wanted to defend the city.
If he could not capture Linjing in the shortest time, he was also afraid that reinforcements from Shu captives would come from Hanzhong and Longyou, which would lead to Guanzhong being ignored, so Sima Yi had no choice but to give up in the end.
Regarding this matter, Wei State's Grand Sima learned some new defensive methods from Liu Yin that he had never seen before, which was not without gain.
Facing Shu captives, the more defensive measures there are, the better.
What Sima Yi didn't expect was that before the Shu captives could take action, it was his own emperor who stabbed him in the back.
If you serve the people of Guanzhong for your own selfish desires, are you really not afraid of Shu captives suddenly attacking Guanzhong?
"No, this must be because His Majesty was temporarily confused and did not understand the situation in Guanzhong."
Sima Yi took a deep breath and calmed down his emotions, "I have to go back to Luoyang!"
"What about the servant?"
Deng Ai asked anxiously.
Sima Yi's eyes flashed: "For the work of servants, we must first collect them according to the angel's instructions."
"But……"
Deng Ai became even more anxious.
"Recruiting slave laborers can't be done in a short while. You have to give us some time."
Sima Yi pressed his hand and said, "Besides, for such a big event as carrying the bronze man's dew tray, you always need to be fully prepared."
Deng Ai suddenly realized.
Just when Chang'an and Luoyang were arguing with each other about Tongren and Chenglupan, Li Yi, who joined the army in the Prime Minister's Office, came to Wuwei County to govern Guzang in early March.
He carried it with him and personally delivered a letter to Governor Feng.
After reading the letter written by the Han Dynasty Prime Minister, Governor Feng raised the corners of his mouth slightly and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The playful look on his face was something that even Li Yi, who called him his brother, couldn't see through.
"Brother?"
Governor Feng carefully put the letter away and said lightly: