Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

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 and convenient as Guanzhong cities. 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 the bad traffic conditions here.

Although 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 is no road in the world. When more people walk on it, it becomes a road.

Li Tai originally didn't like the traffic environment in Guanzhong. The dirt roads had not been systematically hardened. The dust was flying when running, and it was muddy and slippery in rainy and snowy weather. 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 all day long in his heart, 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 arriving in Longxi, Li Tai discovered that Guanzhong can definitely be called a prosperous area with convenient transportation. All the way from Longguan to Tianshui, he had never encountered any formed road with a length of more than 20 miles, and there was almost no infrastructure.

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 go hunting in the wild under the guidance of a guide. This is because various construction projects in northern Shaanxi have just started, and the exchange of materials between different regions is still not frequent enough, so the road traffic restrictions are 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 a headache.

Regarding this, one 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 were even damaged 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. It is the most cost-effective method 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 envy 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 support him. Li Sanqi is still curious about this. I will answer it for you later. We still need transportation capacity for the westward journey. When we turn back, we will give Li Sanqi a few more. For fun."

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 hundreds of kilograms of weight, 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 astonishing. Although Li Xian was also responsible for a part of the army's supplies, his share was obviously not of such a scale, and some of the transport 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. It just needs to get the materials in place as soon as possible. After all, the military is urging us to leave 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 ways of integrating and allocating resources.

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 stole 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 an expedition is not just food and grass. It also requires various tent tents and camping equipment, 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 government-made 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 state capital, where it will be sent to Weizhou.

The last batch of supplies was shipped two days ago, and now even if Li Tai wanted to hitch a ride on Li Xian's camel herd, there was no goods to send. Moreover, the Weizhou army was about to set off, but the shortage of some supplies was still huge. Duguxin wrote several letters to urge him, and his words became increasingly harsh, but Li Tai was also a clever woman who could not make a living without rice.

At present, all the official 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 camels made him envious, and he saw some possibility of solving the problem. If done properly, the material gap may be filled before the army sets off.

"The camels brought by the lower lord are not just 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 was running away with so many camels because they were 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 trip 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 and out of Yuanhe, and then go to Yanze to trade with Hu merchants.

However, this journey has become more dangerous in recent years, with goods and people being lost frequently. 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 for 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 was involved with Rouran.

In previous years, 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 got into the bed of the Gao family, and all the camels raised by the Yuanzhou people were smashed into her hands. It's true that the camel can't escape the circle, and my big brother He Liuhun has the final say!

Deep in Hexi, Guazhou is surrounded by barren deserts on both sides. It is also an important trade town for east-west exchanges, so the demand for camels is huge.

In fact, according to the most reasonable approach, Li Xian should first purchase a batch of goods in the countryside, transport them to Hexi, and then sell them together with the camels. This would be much more profitable than simply driving the camels. But after all, we are still fighting now, and it is hard to say how this war will go, 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 his 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 price, if it can be sold in this village, I will be very happy!"

Li Xian's eyes suddenly lit up after hearing this, 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 numbers 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 look on his 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 don’t dare to 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."

Li Tai, of course, has to pretend to be perfect. There is no shortage of anything in a foreign country 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. There are so many investment opportunities. 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! I can't afford such a black-hearted nephew.

When Li Xian heard this, he immediately moved slightly and looked at Li Tai's expression carefully. He couldn't help but secretly wonder if this boy's face is worth a million pieces of silk? Of course he is not some country man who has never seen the world, but he has never heard of a million bolts of silk, and he can't even open his mouth to talk about it.