A group of fast horses rushed out of Chang 'an to chase after Zhang Jiuling who had left for a few days.
The meeting in the imperial court continued. The matter of Zhang Jiuling had to wait until they caught up with him.
"I request the Governor of Guangzhou to report the types and quantity of goods traded between Guangzhou and Kunlun. If the quantity is too large, we will open the market."
Yao Chong did not know how many things in Guangzhou needed to be exchanged. If they opened the market rashly, they would send people to manage it and waste money.
Zhang Shuo took a sip of tea and put down the cup. "Your Majesty, did Li Yi mention this?"
"Yes!" Li Longji responded.
"I think we should immediately set up the market." Zhang Shuo got the answer and immediately supported it.
Lu Huaishen glanced at Zhang Shuo and said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, what did Li Yi say?"
"Take the initiative to go out and sell. Use silk and ceramics to exchange for things outside. Finally, come back with a ship of grain and collect taxes." Li Longji did not hide it.
"We need the market. Long Ze will be happy. "Yao Chong did not need to ask anymore.
When going out to sell things, they could control the quantity and have a department to manage it.
Lu Huaishen added, "One more ship of grain is one more year's worth of food for a hundred households. It will be accumulated and transported. Even if there are losses on the way, the people will not be hungry."
Li Longji nodded. He had not thought about how to eat the grain. It was still early.
He looked at Yuan Qianyao. "It's your turn."
Yuan Qianyao lowered his head and pondered. After a while, he said, "When people are outside, it is difficult to communicate. If there are conflicts in the market, it will damage the reputation of the Tang dynasty. We should be careful."
He paused and said, "However, the market should be opened, but not collect taxes from Kunlun people. This is to show the kindness of the Tang dynasty."
"I understand." Li Longji did not make a conclusion.
The four of them left and returned to the Political Affairs Hall.
At night, Li Longji's family of three went to the Li Family Zhuangzi. Empress Wang took the little fellow for a run.
Ever since the little fellow could run, he couldn't stay idle. Unlike some children who always felt tired and wanted adults to carry them, the little fellow didn't want to be carried.
"Third Brother, you're here. Let's take a look at the model we made." Li Yi brought Li Longji to the river.
There was a small dam built by the river. When the water reached here, it flowed faster, simulating the Hukou Waterfall.
Beside the waterfall there was a smaller river, and a boat a few inches long passed through the sluice gate.
First, the boat stopped at a low point, and then the sluice gate closed. The water continued to flow, and the water level rose until it was at the same level as the platform above. The boat went over.
Continuing forward, they arrived at another location with a sluice gate. The boat stopped, the sluice gate closed, and the water level rose.
"Third Elder Brother, look. The river is dug out from the side of the Hukou Waterfall. It goes up layer by layer, and there are more than ten boats going up at once."
Li Yi demonstrated and explained with a small model.
Then, he repeated the same method and did the opposite.
Li Longji looked at it. "Good idea. What about the other one?"
"The other one is here." Li Yi brought Li Longji to another location, which was not far away.
It was also simulating the Hukou Waterfall. A board was placed diagonally, and the angle was not big. On the board, there was a row of rollers.
Li Yi tied the boat with a rope and pulled it up the slanted board. The bottom of the boat touched the rollers, and the rollers rotated, and the boat was pulled up.
The board was placed flat on the track, and there were wheels under the board. The wheels of a train were stuck on the track.
Pulling the rope on the board, the wheels rolled, and the board moved forward on the track.
On the other side, there were ropes behind the board. The board tilted, and the boat slid down.
"Brother Yi, let's go with this track. It uses a lot of iron, but we can afford it now." Li Longji made his choice.
"Don't want the gradual rise?" Li Yi felt that the first one was better.
"The stones of the Hukou Waterfall are too hard. Each rise requires too many stones, and there is not enough water. The water around the Hukou Waterfall will gather towards the Hukou Waterfall."
Li Longji explained to Li Yi. Although the profit model was well done, it was useless.
Traveling on the track was like traveling on dry land, and it was convenient to have the track.
Li Yi lowered his head and thought for a while, and showed an embarrassed smile: "I forgot that our current level of technology is not enough to support it."
He pulled the board back and forth on the track: "The track does not use too much iron. I originally planned to use the 250 stone boat, but now I have decided to use 100 stone."
Li Yi had previously considered a 15 ton boat, and found that if they used the track, the boat would sink, and the track had to be able to withstand it.
Using hand gourds to pull a 15 ton boat was also tiring, but changing it to 6 tons of 100 stone was relatively easier.
The key was the rollers on the board. If the boat was too heavy, it would crush the rollers.
Li Longji squatted down and looked at the track: "Use cement on both sides of the track, and use animals to pull it. Make two tracks, one going up, one going down."
"Okay, I can fill the track now, and we can start construction in winter." Li Yi's method of making the track was to fill it.
Li Longji looked at the track again and suggested: "If it is only 100 stone, use wooden tracks. The wheels can be made of iron, and put it on the wooden tracks."
Li Yi looked up at the sky. He calculated the bearing area of the six-ton thing and the bearing capacity of the wood.
A 100 stone boat was placed on a wooden board with eight wheels under it.
"A 150 stone boat is also fine, the wooden tracks are not a problem." Li Yi wanted to increase the boat's transport capacity again.
"Make a few more types and see if it works. If it doesn't work, use it on other rivers."
Li Longji did not know how to calculate, but he would try.
"Okay, from 100 stone to 300 stone, make five types." Li Yi agreed. Each type was increased by 50 stone.
It did not matter if the boat was wider or narrower, as long as the distance between the wheels under the board was not changed.
"Everyone agreed to the establishment of Guangzhou City's Department of Shipping in the imperial court today, but Yuan Qianyao did not think that sending a team out would be beneficial to the Tang dynasty."
Li Longji prepared to go back and ask people to build wooden tracks at Hukou Waterfall. He changed the topic and talked about the Department of Shipping.
After he finished talking about Yuan Qianyao's worries, Li Yi pursed his lips: "It's just a business deal, how can it damage the Tang dynasty's reputation? Will the Tang dynasty take the initiative to bully others?"
Li Yi realized that Yuan Qianyao was simple-minded. At this moment, he was thinking about other people's opinions.
Li Yi smiled: "If we don't take other people's taxes and don't take the initiative to buy and sell, what's the point of the Department of Shipping?"
"What are the good things outside?" Li Longji did not care about what Yuan Qianyao said, but Yuan Qianyao could not make the decision.
"There are a lot. Ivory, pearls, corals, tortoiseshell, gold and silver, animals and plants that we have never seen before, spices.
We can use things that we can grow to exchange for them. Their smelting skills are not very good, so we can also exchange ironware for things like knives and iron pots. "
Li Yi said a few things simply. He valued gold and silver, spices, and grains.
Ivory and rhinoceros horns as Chinese medicine? Then tortoiseshell, corals, and pearls could also be used as medicine.
"Okay, we should go out and build more ships." Li Longji did not care about anything. Anyway, he paid less and got more in return.
"I have a map, a sea map." Li Yi added fuel to the fire.
"There's no need to use your lifespan to exchange for it. When the time comes, let them make the trip themselves. The predecessors also left some things behind." Li Longji asked first.
Li Yi shook his head: "There's no need for lifespan."
Li Longji smiled: "The more, the better."
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