Chapter 321 Longyou meets old friend
From Guanzhong to Longyou, the most convenient and quickest road is to go west along the Weishui River. You don't even need to identify the specific road. You can reach Qinzhou just by walking along the Weishui River.
After Li Tai sent Lady Miaoyin back to Huazhou City, he stayed in Shangyuan for a few days and explained some details of industrial management, such as expanding the coverage of the Qi Yai industry and setting up a fleet of vehicles to help the villagers transport wheat crops. etc.
When it comes to winning people's hearts, he has always been unwilling to lag behind. What's more, this move will not only facilitate the people of Weibei Township, but also expand the influence and coverage of the Luoshui water conservancy system in Guanzhong.
Although the water system and water flow of the Wei River far exceed that of the Luoshui River, there is no systematic and centralized water conservancy supervision. High-ranking officials and powerful families each control a certain period of time. There is friction and internal friction between them, and the overall benefits are far inferior. In Luoshui.
In the end, Li Tai took only 500 elite troops with him when he went to Long. The others either stayed in the countryside temporarily to look after their property, or were assigned to Fangcheng strongholds along the Luoshui River.
In addition to the five hundred elite soldiers, Li Tai also brought a batch of grain cakes produced in his own manor, on the one hand as a gift to Longyoubai Wharf, and on the other hand, to see if he could open up a market.
When talking about Longyou and Hexi, many people's first reaction is to dominate the Western Regions and the Silk Road. Military and commerce are the two largest and most distinctive symbols here, and Li Tai is no exception.
He knew that after the series of disputes in Longbian ended, the Hexi Silk Road would continue to be smooth. With the recovery and development of productivity in Guanzhong, and the successive inclusion of Sichuan and Shannan in the territory, this ancient trade route would It was once again rejuvenated, allowing commercial exchanges between the East and the West to continue.
Although he has not yet been there, Li Tai can't wait to get a piece of the pie. Although he doesn't have any clear plans yet, his expectations for this are quite high.
Because he was delayed for a few days in the countryside, when he returned to Chang'an, Dugu Xin and Shi Ning had already set off first.
After all, the energy of change in Li Tai's era was not large enough to affect the development of the situation in Longyou. As expected, Liangzhou Governor Yu Wenzhong and He rebelled against the city, so the two of them hurried on the road without waiting for Li Tai to set off together. .
Although Li Tai was left behind, he did not escape the incident. Instead, he temporarily added a supervisor to transport grain and grass, inspecting and supervising the states and counties along the Weishui River to transport grain and grass to the Guancang Station along the Weishui River for future use. The road army started to march and the supplies were consumed.
Because Li Tai was not the last one, Kaifu Yifeng's team, who also needed to lead the army to participate in the war, had to leave from Huazhou. Neither the imperial court nor the Bafu had sufficient reserves of food and supplies to prepare for such changes, so they had to recruit food along the way and get food wherever they went.
Li Tai, the food supervisor, stopped and walked along the way, and he could be regarded as admiring the personnel and powerful faces of the states and counties along the Weishui River.
The political foundation for people's livelihood in Kansai is already weak, and the recruitment of Go rightists and the holding of grand parades year after year have also prevented the local people from adequate rest and recuperation.
Along Li Tai's journey, no county was able to complete the task on time or ahead of schedule. It was only through repeated urging and even threats that he stumbled and mobilized the supplies.
In some places where there was really no ability to deliver supplies, Li Tai did not blindly intimidate and force him. After all, this was not his job. If he really wanted to offend these local officials and local powerful people, he might one day The team will be retaliated against when crossing the border.
Anyway, Hou Lu Yifeng is also a seasoned veteran with rich experience in marching and fighting. If he really runs out of food and disperses his troops while marching in Guanzhong, not only will he be in trouble, but the Western Wei regime will also be in trouble.
When heading west to reach Chencang, the road ahead splits into two.
One is to continue westward along the Weishui River, and then travel several hundred miles to reach Shangfeng City, where the prefecture of Qinzhou is located, which is Tianshuanggui. However, this road has Longshan Mountain to the north and Qinling Mountains to the south. The Wei River flows between the two mountains and washes out a long and narrow valley, which is the so-called Chencang Narrow Road. Although it is passable, it is not flat after all. A clear avenue.
However, during the flood season, the Weishui River in this section of Chencang Narrow Road has abundant water, and water transportation may be hindered by ravines. However, the giant trees and fine timber from Longyou can flow down the river and be transported to the Guanzhong Plain through waterways for use in various palace landscapes. of creation.
Even in later generations, the profits of the timber business were considerable, and in ancient times without steel and concrete, buying and selling timber was even more profitable.
Although the world has not yet reached peace and the people's customs are not luxurious, buildings made of high-quality wood not only look majestic, but also have outstanding military defense properties. Therefore, a piece of high-quality wood that can serve as a beam is often used in Guanzhong. They are all worth thousands of dollars or more.
Dugu Xinjiu's town in Longxi naturally relies on Long to feed Long and fully utilizes the economic value of Chencang Narrow Road. Every year, he orders his troops to transport a large amount of high-quality wood down through the waterway. For this purpose, they even have a special Land was occupied near Chencang to build a manor dock wall, and a large number of tribesmen were stationed here.
Of course, the reason he used was also very legitimate. Not far from the south bank of the Wei River at this end was Xiegu Sanguan, which could lead directly to Hanzhong. Stationing some troops here could coordinate with local forces to prevent the Nanliang army from attacking here. After all, as early as the Three Kingdoms period, the Shu army led by Zhuge Liang almost trampled these roads to pieces.
Chencang is the most important supply station before entering Long, so Li Tai stayed here for a few more days to collect grain and grass. After all, if there were insufficient preparations here, Qinzhou would be responsible for Yifeng's troops if they moved forward. His army was running out of food. Although Li Tai has not officially entered the town to take up his new position, he can still distinguish between the inside and the outside.
As Dugu Xin's newly certified son-in-law, Li Tai was naturally invited by the Dugu family who stayed here to stay and rest temporarily in the manor. After moving into this manor, Li Tai couldn't help but be surprised by the wealth of his father-in-law's family.
This manor is no smaller than a small city. It is located in a plateau valley on the north bank of the Weishui River. The solid earth and heavily rammed walls are more than ten feet high, and all kinds of defense facilities are available.
But the most impressive thing is the tall and spacious nave located in the center of the manor. The entire hall has two double eaves. The pillars supporting the rows of corridors are several meters thick. The beam in the hall is even more staggeringly thick. I'm afraid even the imperial palace in Chang'an City doesn't have such amazing materials. Even if there are no more wonderful carvings, this hall is already extremely majestic when it stands here.
In addition to the permanent staff, the manor also stores various grades of wood. Since this year has not yet entered the flood season, new wood has not been shipped yet, so all that is left behind are the remaining remnants of last year.
But even if it is a defective product, the quality is quite impressive, and it may not be used as a beam or column. It is also made of high-quality materials for making car, ship, door panels, tables and couches. However, there are not so many craftsmen in the manor for processing, so these scrap materials can often only be chopped and burned.
Li Tai felt heartbroken when he heard the villagers talk about such a wasteful way of disposing of scraps. Although the process of processing wood is very complicated, and it is difficult to gather enough qualified craftsmen, with exquisite methods and extensive methods, no matter what product is processed, it is better than burning it!
Although he can't be the home of the Dugu family yet, he still keeps this matter in mind. With the experience of building a large spinning wheel in Shangyuan Township, he plans to take the time to see if he can come up with several kinds of animal-powered processing machines. lathe.
In later generations, the Yellow River suffered serious soil erosion and frequent flooding, which was also closely related to the deforestation in the upper reaches.
Although Li Tai is not so stupid as to become an environmental protection warrior in this medieval era, he knows that he will have to pay a high price in the future, so he naturally has to improve the current resource utilization rate, and he can no longer be so extensive without being frugal.
Li Tai stayed in Chencang until late February. After the troops led by Lu Yifeng were approaching, and there was really no more money to be squeezed out of Qizhou at this time, he set off to continue westward.
He did not choose the shorter but more rugged Chencang narrow road, but instead went up the Qishui River, a tributary of the Wei River, passing through Longguan and passing through Longshan, which was gradually becoming more and more mountainous.
This Longguan Road is also the main road connecting Guanzhong to Longyou. When you enter the western foothills of Longshan, you enter the Longyou area. There are fewer and fewer residential villages here. Even if there are people living together along the way, there are mostly military buildings such as garrison walls. You must check the talisman and official documents before walking on the Longguan Road.
Such measures are not only to prevent people within the pass from fleeing to Longguan in large numbers, but also to ensure security between the pass and the region.
There are many Di and Qiang tribes scattered in Lueyang, Qin'an and other areas at the western foot of Longshan Mountain, and they are still not all subject to the jurisdiction of the Bafu. After the Battle of Mangshan in the ninth year of Datong, a large-scale Qingshui broke out in this area. Di rebellion. After those Di chiefs were moved to Huazhou, they helped Li Tai raise prices to build a market due to the shortage of daily necessities.
Although the Di people in this situation no longer dare to blatantly resist the rule of the Western Wei Dynasty on a large scale, they are still making small moves secretly. As long as you leave the control area of the government troops stationed along the way, danger may occur at any time.
Not long after Li Tai and his party passed Longguan, they saw a group of people outside a post pavilion dozens of miles away from Heyang, the capital of Lueyang County.
This team also has more than 500 people, but not all of them are armored soldiers. Currently, there are more than ten people wearing official robes, followed by a varying number of domestic slaves. Several carts of wine and meat are placed outside the post pavilion, obviously in Welcome someone with courtesy.
Li Tai felt that he didn't have such a big reputation in Longyou, and he was wondering if there was another important person coming to Longyou from behind.
"Li Lang... No, sir, are you okay? Are you surprised to learn that the envoy is about to take up his post here? The low-ranking officials and officials have already been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"
Heland, who had served as the governor of Gao Zhongmi's Situ Mansion before and was now the governor of Lueyang County, strode forward to greet Li Taishen from a distance, and then slowly raised his head, his face full of kindness. Warm smile.
I supplemented the information on Long You today, so I started writing it late. I will write more tomorrow, sorry. . .