In early May, the first batch of eastbound officials, carriages and horses left Xijing and headed for Luoyang.
I don’t know since when, the number of four-wheel carriages driving on the post road suddenly increased.
Car after car, whether traveling east or west, is loaded with cargo.
It has been a few years since this new type of transportation came into being.
It was actually a bit tepid at the beginning, mainly because the imperial court was buying it. To be more precise, it was the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Privy Council who were buying it - the imperial court also needed to transport a large number of vehicles and could not always levy them from the private sector.
But in the past three years, hundreds of vehicles have been sold every year.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has opened three vehicle factories in Jicheng, Lingbao and Baoji, which are basically operating at full capacity. After the Spring Festival this year, a new four-wheel carriage workshop was found on the outskirts of Pengcheng County, Xuzhou.
Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs has various problems, the governor of the government, Zhongye, is very confident about his own abilities and the abilities of his subordinates. After being consulted by the sage, he has made a decision: spend three years
Over time, major woolen cloth workshops are slowly closing down because it is becoming increasingly difficult to make money.
While closing the wool textile workshop, they also opened four-wheel carriage, soap, and sugar workshops. These are all things they believe can continue to provide profits to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a long time in the future - at least more than ten years.
Business.
Cui Jujian, the young eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and He Yunlian, the prime minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, felt that they might be too optimistic.
Although the court cracked down hard, more and more private workshops started building four-wheeled carriages for sale in private. Some even hid in the mountains, felling wood on the spot, drying it in the shade, and processing it. The investigation was really tight, and once the door was closed,
I'll go home and rest for a while, but it's difficult to completely eliminate it.
He Yunlian felt that when private four-wheel carriage workshops bloomed everywhere, it would be difficult for the court to punish everyone. At that time, it would only be able to collect a sum of money, issue them a license, and let them go. Even if they don't
Reluctance - in fact, a saint may not be unwilling.
"This four-wheeled carriage was definitely not made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs." On the way to Weinan County, He Yunlian pointed his horsewhip and said.
The carriage was slightly larger than the one modeled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the interior of the carriage was piled with layers of woolen cloth. The scene was so spectacular that the original appearance of the carriage was almost invisible.
"How come this carriage didn't collapse?" Young Master Gao Lun looked at the four-wheeled carriages loaded with goods in amazement.
It was filled with cloth, and there was even a corner of bundled cloth extending out from the driver's head. When walking on the first-class national highway, it was like a moving hill. You couldn't see the carriage, you couldn't see the driver, there was only the "mountain"...
"We can only walk like this on first-class national highways." He Yunlian also smiled and said: "The saint was dedicated to practicing this way, but some people didn't think so. Now it seems that four-wheeled carriages and first-class national highways are simply incredible.
Equipped with. The old-style two-wheeled carriage can pull twenty dendrobium of grain, which is considered large, but the four-wheeled carriage can pull fifty or sixty dendrobium."
"If it is replaced with an iron frame and a few more heavy draft horses are used, it should be able to pull more cargo." Gao Lun said.
He Yunlian laughed loudly, saying that this young man didn't understand anything.
It is true that the main thing that limits the carrying capacity of a four-wheeled carriage is the road and the carriage. The upper limit of the wooden carriage is there, so it is impossible to load too much cargo. Road conditions are also very critical. On country roads with complicated road conditions, a four-wheeled carriage is used to transport
That's just asking for trouble.
There are now two first-class national highways in the north and south. If you replace the carriage with an iron frame and use more and stronger draft horses to tow it, maybe you can try a hundred dendrobiums.
But how is this possible? Iron is such a precious thing, but can it be used to build a car? Is it affordable?
Gao Lun was a little dissatisfied. The young master's temper got so bad that he almost called a servant on the spot and told him to rush to Lingbao Carriage Workshop to order a four-wheeled carriage with an iron frame, and then find ten horses and eight horses.
It's a heavy-duty draft horse that doesn't have to do anything. It just pulls goods for me and "plays" every day.
"This year the Pengcheng car workshop will be built, and there will probably be a new one in Jingyuan." He Yunlian subconsciously turned his head and looked to the west.
On the straight and wide post road, there was an endless stream of royal carriages and horses.
The flags of the Forbidden Army soldiers were spread all over the mountains and plains, extending to the end of the west.
From Chang'an to the west, the post road is divided into two branches, namely the north and south lines.
The southern route takes Fengxiang Town, Hewei Town and Lanzhou in the late Tang Dynasty, and the northern route takes Jingyuan Town, Huizhou and the Hexi Corridor.
Baoji Car Workshop is located on the southern line. This time, a car workshop is also built in Jingzhou on the northern line.
The reason is not just to make money.
The weather is getting colder and colder. The sericulture industry in Kansai is struggling to maintain its pace, and silk production is decreasing day by day. What's more, since the Mid-Tang Dynasty, not many people in Kansai have planted mulberry and raised silkworms. Many people plant mulberry and silkworms in front and behind their houses.
Fruit trees, elm trees, etc.
To put it bluntly, the saint wanted to give the people of Kansai more opportunities to earn cash.
A family has about thirty or fifty jujube elm trees, which is a lot of wealth, but if it cannot be sold, it means nothing.
Lingbao Car Workshop purchases cart materials in Qizhou. The cost of wood for a car is more than 20,000 yuan - only elm, mulberry, and jujube wood that are more than 20 years old are not needed. Those that are too small are not needed.
Twenty thousand dollars is definitely a huge amount of money for ordinary people. If his family's mature trees were enough for a car and they sold them all, even if they were spread over twenty years, they would still have thousands of dollars a year.
After paying all kinds of cash taxes, you can still have half of it left to support your family, and you can even save up for a few years to buy a bullock to improve agricultural production efficiency.
The people of Qizhou can now enjoy this benefit.
Many farmers can sell a few trees every year. Although they are likely to be charged a fortune by second-rate dealers, they still get a lot, which is enough to improve their lives.
This is what the peaceful and prosperous times looked like!
In the early years of the former Tang Dynasty, people had a surplus of grain for one year after farming for three years. After paying off the rent, they still had some cloth left at home, which they could exchange for things in the market to supplement their household income.
At that time, people could even go to temples to donate money and materials, take family outings, watch various plays, drink and eat meat during festivals and festivals - this can be seen in many rural life described in Tang poems.
After all, there are only over 10 million people in the country, and the land has just been equally divided. You can plant as much land as you want, because too much has been left uncultivated.
What really broke their good life was the surge in population, which led to the continuous division of family property.
The life of the people of Qizhou under the rule of Daxia was still not as good as that of the early Tang Dynasty, but it was definitely better than in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, much better.
And the saint is really good to the people of Kansai, trying every means to create ways for them to make money. But his various methods may only be effective for a few decades, right?
Kansai was protected too well by him, and there were too many people. Family property was divided from generation to generation. In the early years, households that could sell ten trees a year might only be able to sell two or three trees a few decades later. The gap is too big.
big.
On this point, the article "Zhizhi·Population" is really good. It tells the world's knowledgeable people all the bloody facts and it depends on whether they are willing to change.
****
Outside Chang'an City, under Brother Tie's jealous gaze, Yansun bowed and saluted, bid farewell to his family, and prepared to head westward to the Yalong Valley through Shuzhong.
The only thing that made him a little "embarrassed" was probably that his wife, Cai Bangshi, hurried to the roadside and retched before he could say a few words.
Seeing this situation, the Tibetan envoys were overjoyed and came forward to congratulate him one after another.
Yansun's expression changed drastically, then he burst into laughter and said, "I'm going to have a second son again."
The Tubo people were overjoyed, and some even proposed to send people to investigate and tell Cai Bang's family the good news.
Brother Tie sneered again and again, full of ridicule.
Seeing the expression on her husband's face, Mrs. Meru felt even colder in her heart. This is why when she served the Bodhisattva, she would hold the Bodhisattva's waist tightly until the end and refused to let go.
There is no need to be completely devoted to this kind of man.
Pei Xiu, the chief registrar of Honglu Temple and the son of Pei Yuan, the governor of Huguang Road, stood aside and urged softly: "It's time for the prince to go on his way."
Behind him stood hundreds of palace guards, who would escort the group to the Yaron Valley.
The Jianchuan Governor's Mansion has been officially abolished and Sangzhou was established, named after the Sangchuan land in the south.
Sangzhou is the sixth Zhengzhou under the jurisdiction of Yunnan Province, and governs eight counties including Tieqiao, Jianchuan, and Yulu.
It was originally planned to be enfeoffed, but before the vassal king could claim the vassalship, something happened in the Yalong Valley, and it was no longer suitable as a fiefdom.
The reason is also very simple. In order to maintain sufficient influence in the Yalong Valley, the imperial court will station a certain number of troops in Sangzhou and set up administrative offices. The number of officials and generals will not be small, and they will also treat local people as appropriate.
It would be very inconvenient if it were a fiefdom owned by a feudal lord, so we simply set up Zhengzhou and put it under the direct jurisdiction of Yunnan Province.
After Pei Xiu sends Yansun and his party to the Yalong Valley, he will first go back to Luoyang to report on his work, and then return to Sangzhou to prepare for the establishment of the administrative office of the Lifan Yuan. From now on, this office will be permanently stationed here, as the general office.
The direct institution through which the Xia court exerted influence in the Yalong Valley.
The saint obviously had a big plan, and Pei Xiu had already known about it.
"On the way, I'll trouble you, Master Pei." Yansun got on his horse and said with a smile.
"It's easy to say, it's easy to say, it's all for the imperial court." Pei Xiuyi got on his horse and looked at the group of Tibetan nobles surrounding Yansun, feeling a little worried.
These nobles are so enthusiastic.
Just now, the interpreter secretly told him that there were actually several nobles vying to give Yansun a woman to be his second concubine.
If Yansun gives birth to a younger prince after he returns, will he still care about his eldest son who remains in the capital as a hostage?
This is not necessarily the case!
If it really comes to that point, given the prince's temperament, he will definitely not give up, and there is no doubt that there will be another raging war.
But the terrain of Tubo is not so easy to fight. Although there were many reasons for the Battle of Dafeichuan in the Tang Dynasty, diseases were prevalent in the army. The soldiers were out of breath after walking a few steps, and their physical exertion was much higher than before, which made them very uncomfortable.
Adaptation, these are also important reasons that cannot be ignored.
But the prince really knew how to fight, and there was no way he would give up. What happened, alas! I can only hope that the Shengjie Army can slowly adapt to the local environment.
The sound of horse hoofbeats slowly sounded, and Pei Xiu, Yansun and dozens of people slowly disappeared at the end of the west.
Meru handed the baby in her arms to the wet nurse and walked over to support Cai Bang.
Brother Tie's eyes were looking straight at the smoke to the west.
Jide is gone, he already has a place to go, where is mine?
Jide, I'm afraid he won't even be able to give birth to a child, so what's the use of going back? In the end, the Yalong Valley is still ruled by the remnants of Shao's thief and Cai Bang's adultery. Isn't it ridiculous?
But I still have a chance!
"The holy chariot has set off!" someone suddenly shouted.
Brother Tie withdrew his gaze and looked in the direction of Chang'an City, only to see the shining silver-saddled warriors, surrounded by a luxurious four-wheeled carriage, leaving Chunming Gate and heading east.
Brother Tie became more and more anxious, as if he would be further away from Zamp's dream if he went to Luoyang.
But no one cares what he thinks.
Even his wife is exchanging experiences in raising babies and raising children with Cai Bangshi, just like good sisters.
I still remember that a few years ago, they were meeting at Zhongbalazna. They were fighting openly and secretly and had a lot of quarrels. But now they are so close...
Another sound of horse hoofbeats came, and everyone looked for sound.
But I saw more than a hundred young men with Henan accents, carrying knives and bows, talking and laughing loudly, leading their horses through the southern path, all the way to the west.
Brother Tie suddenly felt heart palpitations.
After staying in the Central Plains for so long, some things gradually became clear to me. Most of these young men were military children who had practiced martial arts since childhood. They could not inherit their father's career as soldiers, so they went west alone to seek wealth in the Western Regions.
The more these people there are, the more stable the Western Regions under the Xia Dynasty will be. Relatively speaking, the greater the threat to Xiong Xiong will be.
This - how is this possible!
I paid such a high price, there is no way I would have nothing.
