Ang Lee felt that it was too tiring to travel by land, and the bumpy journey was very uncomfortable. After the railway entered Maozhou, it was almost built along the Wenshui. Therefore, Ang Lee only needed to travel along the Wenshui. Taking a boat was undoubtedly the best choice. Moreover, there were boats in the Wenshui, but they were not very large. The Wenshui was not very wide, so large boats could not pass through.
A slightly larger boat was only thirty to forty feet wide and less than thirty feet long. It could only hold less than a hundred people. If everyone was squeezed into the cabin, several hundred people could be accommodated, but then there would be no comfort at all.
Ang Lee still had a lot of people with him, so he collected dozens of boats in one go. The best and largest boats were all taken by Ang Lee. Some of them were used to hold carriages and horses, and some were used to transport goods, all of which were needed for the journey.
Apart from the rowers and guards, as well as a small number of servants, there was no one else on Li An's ship. In short, there were more than thirty people spread out on this large ship, making it appear very spacious. The sailors were in the lowest level of the ship, while the guards patrolled the surroundings. Only Li An and a few servants were in the highest level of the ship.
Ang Lee was not seasick. When the scenery was good, he would walk out and stand at the bow, looking at the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Wenshui. If the scenery was bad, Ang Lee would rest in the cabin.
At this moment, what entered Li An's eyes was an endless mountain. This mountain looked quite grand, and the farthest part even reflected light slightly. Obviously, it was the reflection caused by the accumulated snow.
In Central Sichuan, it would not snow even in winter, but at the top of the mountain, which was higher above sea level, it was a different matter. The temperature at the top of the mountain was low, so even if the foot of the mountain was green, it would still snow all year round, which made a very interesting scene. The bottom of a mountain was green, and the top was white. It was very interesting.
"Bastard, this mountain in front of us is Min Mountain, right?"
Ang Lee asked.
Bastard was Ang Lee's small housekeeper. This time, he set out with Ang Lee, mainly to serve him. There were more than ten male and female servants, of course, including servants with good cooking skills. The guards were also the most elite 30 people. In addition, there were also 300 Dragon Martial Army assigned by the imperial court. This force was enough to protect Ang Lee.
"Yes, Alang. This is Min Mountain in Maozhou of Central Sichuan. I heard that Min Mountain stretches for thousands of miles, and you can see it all along the way."
Bastard said.
Ang Lee nodded and fell into deep thought. It was not easy to come here. If he did not have fun, it would be a big loss. Ang Lee was very familiar with Min Mountain, which was also very famous in the future. This mountain stretched for thousands of miles not only had a beautiful environment, but also a lot of treasures. If he did not take some back, he would feel sorry for himself.
The highest part of Min Mountain was more than 5,000 meters above sea level, which was enough to form snow all year round. Below it, there were all kinds of animals and plants. The most famous one was the national treasure of the future, the giant panda. This national treasure should be more common in the Tang dynasty, at least more than in the future. Ang Lee did not mind catching a few and taking them back to raise. Anyway, as long as there was bamboo, it could be raised.
In addition to the giant panda, which was a national treasure, there were also many rare wild animals such as golden monkeys and antelopes. There were countless kinds of birds and hares. Ang Lee, who had not hunted for a long time, was itching to hunt some game. He would feel sorry for himself if he did not hunt some game.
As for the task of going south, Ang Lee did not care about it. Anyway, it would not take much time to go into the mountain to catch the giant panda. It was not a big deal to delay a few days. With Ang Lee's identity, who dared to say anything? Couldn't he go into Min Mountain to investigate the terrain and prepare for road construction in the future? Ang Lee was an expert in this field. If Ang Lee said that his purpose was to observe the terrain, who dared to say no?
However, Min Mountain was really too big. Ang Lee was not sure which area the giant panda lived in. If he went ashore at the wrong place, he might not find the giant panda after a long time. Then the loss would outweigh the gain. Although there were many other game in the mountain, Ang Lee valued the giant panda the most. Other game was not worth his attention.
According to Ang Lee's memory, the giant panda that lived in Min Mountain in the future mainly lived in the spruce-fir forest about 3,000 meters above sea level. There were arrow bamboos under the trees. This was the food that the giant panda needed very much, so they lived there.
Of course, the giant panda was an omnivore. It could eat a lot of things, including small animals. But the food it ate most was bamboo, especially several kinds of bamboo represented by arrow bamboos, which were the giant panda's favorite.
When it was hungry, it would eat the arrow bamboos in the jungle. When it was thirsty, it would drink the spring water left from the top of the mountain. The giant panda's life was very comfortable, so it would lie down and sleep when it was full and had nothing to do. Naturally, its body was very round.
Now that he remembered the living characteristics of the giant panda, it was not difficult to find it again. Ang Lee picked up the binoculars and looked at the mountains in the distance. As long as he found a spruce-fir forest about 3,000 meters above sea level and not too far from the shore, he could stop the boat and dock.
Although the mountains in the distance were far away, the telescope could zoom in a hundred times the distance. In this way, the distant scenery would not be too far away. The large spruce-fir forest could not escape Ang Lee's eyes.
However, after looking for a while, Ang Lee did not find any spruce-fir forest within a certain distance. If the distance was too far, it would waste too much time.
"Bastard, observe the mountains in the distance. If you find a large spruce-fir forest, tell me."
Ang Lee looked for a while and said.
"Alang, how can I see it clearly from so far away?"
Bastard said awkwardly.
Ang Lee taught Bastard step by step for a while before he taught Bastard.
Going along the Wenshui, one could actually go straight to Dongnu Province. After all, Wenshui and the Qingyi River of Dongnu Province would eventually converge into the Min River. It was just that there would be some detours. Moreover, Ang Lee still had to inspect the situation of the railway. Therefore, he was afraid that he could not keep going along the waterway. After entering Shuzhou, he would have to change to the land route. This way, he could reach Dongnu Province faster and he could also inspect the road construction army that had encountered problems along the way. It could be said that it was killing two birds with one stone.
With Bastard in charge of observation, Ang Lee returned to the cabin to rest. Shu Yi and Bao 'er massaged Ang Lee's thighs. Although they were young, their ability to serve people was still very good. They massaged Ang Lee very comfortably.
"Alang, Alang."
Ang Lee fell asleep in a daze. Bastard's voice suddenly came to his ears.
"What's wrong? Did you find a spruce-fir forest?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Alang, it seems so. This little one is not particularly sure."
Bastard said.
Ang Lee walked out of the cabin and looked over with his binoculars. He immediately nodded his head.
"That's right. This is a spruce-fir forest. The height is also correct. There must be cute pandas here. No matter what, I have to catch a few to play with."
Ang Lee said happily.
"Alang, what is a panda?"
Bastard asked.
Ang Lee reprimanded, "If you don't know, don't ask blindly. A panda is a panda. You will know once you catch it."
In fact, the knowledge of ancient people was relatively shallow. Because there was no television in ancient times and there were very few books on animal science. The common people completely relied on personal contact to know animals. They naturally recognized the animals that they came into contact with, but they naturally did not recognize the animals that they had never seen. Therefore, an ordinary person would not know many animals in their lifetime. As long as they had never seen an animal before, they would not recognize it. Bastard was not a native of Central Sichuan. Naturally, he had never seen a panda. Moreover, pandas were so rare that even among the natives of Central Sichuan, there were not many people who had really seen a panda. Most probably, most of them had only heard of it. Hunters might have seen it slightly more.
This was also related to the habits of pandas. Not only were they extremely rare, but they were also very afraid of people. As long as there were people, pandas would hide far away so that people would not easily find them. This was also a kind of self-protection. It was what pandas did to protect themselves from being hurt by humans.
Since he predicted that there would be pandas in the distant forest, Ang Lee naturally had to go and catch a few. Moreover, he had to bring a group of people with him and leave a few people behind to guard the ship.
Although some of the followers had doubts, they did not dare to say anything since Ang Lee had spoken. The mountain road was rugged and difficult to travel. Shu Yi and Bao Er naturally had to stay and wait. Those who were not very good with their legs had to stay as well.
Li An selected more than two hundred people and had them head into the mountains along the mountain path. Because it might take up a lot of time, the chef and the necessary food were also brought along. This was to prevent them from starving on the journey back in a short period of time.
They were not going into the mountain to suppress bandits, and they would not encounter large animals. Therefore, in order to conserve the soldiers' strength, Ang Lee asked the people to take off their heavy armor and set off in light clothes. This way, it would be easier for them to walk.
"Assistant Minister Li, what are we going to do?"
The Captain of the Longwu Army, Chen Long, asked.
This fellow was also Chen Xuanli's son, and he was doing pretty well in the Dragon Martial Army. This time, he was sent to protect Li An, and it could be considered a pretty good job. After all, there wasn't much danger in Great Tang's territory, and the three hundred Dragon Martial Army soldiers wouldn't be afraid of bandits and wild beasts.
Ang Lee replied, "We're going to the mountain to inspect and see if we can build a railway in the future. At the same time, we're going to improve the food. Also, we're going to catch some rare animals alive and bring them back for fun."
"Oh, I see! Then those animals can be hunted, and those need to be caught alive. "
Chen Long asked.
He was worried that the Longwu Army would accidentally kill the animals that needed to be caught alive. That would be bad.
Li An was well prepared. He took out a few drawings from his arms and said, "Have you seen it? This is a giant panda and this is a golden monkey. Both of them can't be killed. We have to catch them alive. You can hunt the rest of the game. Min Mountain is so big that you will get a lot of harvest."
"Yes."
Chen Long answered. He handed the drawings to his soldiers and asked them to pass them around. They must not hurt the panda and the golden monkey. They had to be caught alive.
The news was quickly spread. Li An's drawing was very clear. Not only did he draw the shapes of the giant panda and the golden monkey, but he also drew a living person next to them. Everything was drawn strictly according to the scale. It was impossible to mistake it for someone else after taking a look.
For hunting, it was not difficult to kill animals, but it was not easy to catch them alive. After all, it was much more difficult to catch the prey without killing them. It was obviously more difficult than hunting the prey directly. It was also very challenging.
Chen Long's heart skipped a beat when he first saw the comparison between the giant panda and a human. However, he thought about it again. He had so many people under his command, and he also brought a lot of rope. When the time came, he could just weave a net together. It shouldn't be too much of a problem to injure the giant panda a little. As long as they were captured alive, it would be fine.
"Assistant Minister Li, is the panda really in this forest?"
Chen Long asked curiously.
His eyes were clearly saying, "How did Ang Lee know that there are pandas and golden monkeys in this forest?"
"Maybe!"
Ang Lee said calmly.
Of course, Ang Lee was not sure if there were pandas and golden monkeys in the forest. All of this was just Ang Lee's guess.
"Maybe?"
Chen Long was stunned for a long time. Then he thought about it. Ang Lee's main purpose of this trip should be to scout the terrain and provide support for the construction of the railway in the future. Catching pandas and golden monkeys was just a side trip. With this thought, he calmed down and slowly retreated.
Although it was their first time entering the mountains, there were also mountain people nearby. Therefore, there were also roads in the mountains. These roads were created by the hunters and woodcutters on the mountain year after year. Walking on such roads, it was possible to meet hunters and woodcutters who were cutting firewood. Moreover, the probability was relatively high.
The breeze of early spring was very comfortable as it blew on people's faces. It made people feel particularly wonderful. The leaves of the evergreen trees rustled in the breeze, making people feel even more intoxicated.
Occasionally, birds would fly overhead and chirp, which made people feel the liveliness and vitality of the forest.
These birds were very small and were different from the larger birds of prey. They were not afraid of humans at all. After all, for thousands of years, when humans hunted, they rarely focused on these small and meaty birds. These birds were too small. Not only were they difficult to kill, but even if they were successful, they would not be able to obtain much meat. Therefore, humans always let these birds go and focused on the larger and meaty game. Over time, these birds were not so afraid of humans. Even in a village with a large population, these birds dared to fly around freely. They even stole the grains that humans were drying. Anyway, humans could not do anything to them. At most, they could chase them away with a shout.
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