The existence of Yizhou City was the main reason why the number of ships in the tributary of Wenshui far exceeded that in the main stream of Wenshui. After all, other than a small number of fishing boats, the majority of the ships on the river were merchant ships, and merchant ships were naturally ships used to transport goods. Only when there was frequent business and a large demand for goods could there be a large number of merchant ships. Yizhou City was the economic center of the entire Central Sichuan, so there were naturally many goods in circulation. Other than a portion that needed to be transported by land, there were also many goods that needed to be transported by water. The large demand for transportation caused a large number of merchant ships to appear on this tributary of Wenshui, and it was bustling with activity.
If Ang Lee wanted to hurry to Dongnu Province, he should naturally take the main stream. This way, he could quickly reach Mount Peng, where the tributary converged. He could also reach Mount Peng by taking the tributary, but the speed would be much slower.
And after reaching Mount Peng, Ang Lee could continue south if he took the water route. Then, after reaching Longyou, he could follow the Qingyi River upstream to reach the capital of Dongnu Province. However, this path was not easy to travel. The lower reaches of the Wenshui River were not bad, but the upper reaches of the Qingyi River were very difficult to travel. Moreover, he had to go upstream, so the pressure of traveling was naturally very great. Many of the larger ships in the fleet might not be able to pass through.
If he took the land route, he could follow Mount Peng to the west and take the mountain path to reach the capital of Dongnu Province. This was a bit more tiring, but it was faster than taking the water route, so it was not a bad choice.
There was still some time before reaching Mount Peng, so there was naturally no need to consider whether he should take the water route or the land route. The most important thing to consider was whether to take the main stream to Mount Peng, or to take the tributary to Yizhou City.
"Take the tributary to Yizhou City."
Ang Lee ordered.
Even though it was faster to go to Dongnu Province through the main stream, Ang Lee's mission this time wasn't just to go to Dongnu Province. Another important mission was to inspect the construction of the railway along the way. He wanted to see if the railway line designed by the craftsmen was reasonable. If there was anything not reasonable, Ang Lee would point it out and have them correct it.
The railway to Central Sichuan had to pass through Yizhou City. This was the economic and political center of Central Sichuan, so no matter what, the railway had to pass through Yizhou City. Thus, the best choice was to build the railway along a tributary of the Wenshui. This was because the banks of the river were relatively flat, so the cost of building the road was the lowest. It was also convenient to obtain water, and as long as there was a certain distance between them, there would be no need to worry about the foundation sinking.
The railway line that the Tang dynasty used to pass through Yizhou City was indeed built along a tributary of the Wenshui. Along the way, it would pass through many provinces and counties, which could invigorate the economy along the way. It was very beneficial to the commercial development of Central Sichuan.
Upon hearing Ang Lee's order, the ship captain immediately ordered the fleet to enter the tributary of the Wenshui and prepare to head to the most prosperous city in Jiannan Province, Yizhou City. Before reaching Yizhou City, they had to pass through three counties, namely Bei County, Xipu County, and Chengdu County, before reaching the most prosperous city, Yizhou City. Bei County, Xipu County, and Chengdu County were all large counties in Central Sichuan. Because they were not too far away from Yizhou City, and because they were all cities next to tributaries of the Wenshui, it was very convenient for them to travel by water. Therefore, their economic development was very good, especially Chengdu County, which was the closest to Yizhou City. Its commercial development was also the best. Although it was only a county, it was more prosperous than many provincial cities in Central Sichuan. The population in the city was also quite large. In the future, it would become the economic center of the entire Central Sichuan. It was a very important city.
Ang Lee was not in a hurry to head to Dongnu Province. Inspecting the local customs and topography along the way was also a very important task. The future economic development of Central Sichuan was completely dependent on the construction of the railway. The better the construction of the railway, the lower the chances of failure, and the better the economic development of Central Sichuan would be in the future. On the other hand, the economic development of Central Sichuan would be greatly restricted and interfered with.
"The world is bustling with activity for profit, and the world is bustling with activity for profit. Merchants are all people who don't wake up early without profit, and they all want to earn more money."
Ang Lee stood on the deck of the ship and sighed as he watched the merchant ships pass by.
The merchants on these merchant ships were also looking at Ang Lee's fleet. After all, the scale of Ang Lee's fleet was larger than most merchant fleets. Moreover, there were so many elite Dragon Martial Army soldiers on board. This naturally attracted their attention.
"Assistant Minister Li, what are you talking about? Why can't I understand a single word you said?"
Chen Long stood next to him and asked in confusion.
This saying only existed during the Qing Dynasty, so Chen Long naturally had not heard of it. At the same time, he was not very educated, so it was normal that he could not understand it.
"It means that these merchants are all busy because there is money to be made. That's why there are so many merchant ships on this river."
Ang Lee said.
"Yes! Merchants don't wake up early without profit. They are all profiteers. "
Chen Long said angrily.
Since ancient times, the status of businessmen had always been relatively low. No matter how much money they could earn, their social status could never be raised. The whole society despised businessmen. Even if businessmen were very rich, it could not change the people's contempt for them.
The main reason for this situation was that merchants did not create any materials. They were only responsible for selling them. They bought them from the place of production at a low price and then transported them to a distant place to sell them at a high price. This made many people who buried themselves in farming very unhappy. They felt that these merchants were opportunistic. If all the people in the world stopped farming and ran to sell goods, then wouldn't the empire be destroyed? If all the people stopped producing, then all the materials in society would be gone.
Of course, in fact, merchants also worked very hard. What they earned was also hard work. Every penny was earned by themselves. No penny came from the wind. Sometimes, in order to get a higher reward, merchants would even take risks to buy goods in very dangerous places. Many merchants lost their lives because of this. This kind of higher reward for risking one's life was fair, but it was not understood by people.
In later generations, businessmen had begun to be understood by society, but at the same time, there was a group of people who were not understood, and that was the actors. These people had a much higher income than ordinary people, and they could earn a considerable income just by walking around. This made many people jealous, and they felt that these guys earned money too easily. They almost didn't have to pay much to get a huge amount of money, and it was too easy to earn money like this. Therefore, there were attacks and anger against these people everywhere. If they encountered any natural or man-made disasters, and these guys dared not to donate money, they would be ruthlessly taught a lesson. Donating less money was definitely not enough. After all, their income was too high, and donating a little was not enough to show their sincerity. They had to donate more.
It was said that one minute on the stage was ten years of work off the stage. Acting was also a result of long-term training. Success was really hard to come by, but this success was not understood by many people. Many people only saw the huge reward you got for one minute on the stage, but they would not think about the torture you suffered for ten years of work off the stage. They would think that it was too easy to make money and that you should not get so much money.
The actors of later generations were very similar to the merchants of the Tang Empire. No matter how hard the merchants of the Tang Empire worked, no matter how much they paid, they still lived at the lowest level of society. The merchants mentioned here naturally referred to pure merchants. If the noble family was involved in some business, it was a different story. Because the noble family belonged to the gentry, they were the highest existence among the ranks of the gentry, agriculture, industry, and commerce. People of other ranks could not compare with them. If the noble sent his subordinates to do some business, it could not be counted as the noble, but the noble's subordinates.
"Merchants value profits more than parting. However, merchants also want to survive. If they don't pursue profits, they will starve to death."
Ang Lee said lightly.
"Merchants, merchants are merchants, and they will always be merchants."
There was a trace of contempt in Chen Long's tone. Obviously, in his mind, the status of merchants was always very low. No matter how successful they were, they were inferior.
There were many local specialties in Central Sichuan. Many of them were unique to the land of Shu and could not be found in other places. Similarly, there were many local specialties that could not be found in Central Sichuan. Therefore, merchants had to transport them back and forth to meet the needs of the people.
In the whole of Central Sichuan, the most famous commodity was Sichuan brocade. Tea leaves were also very famous, and there were many local specialties. These local specialties could not be sold for money in Central Sichuan, but if they were transported to the capital and Jiangnan, the price would be many times higher, and there would be no need to worry about sales. With such great profits, merchants naturally would not miss it. In this Wenshui, a large proportion of the merchant ships heading north were transporting goods in the direction of the capital. They had to go against the current and first transport the goods to Songzhou, then take a land route and finally transport them to the capital through the railway. This was the most cost-effective method and the best choice for many merchants.
The speed of the fleet was affected by the number of merchant ships and had already decreased. If they continued to move quickly, there was a risk of colliding with the merchant ships on the other side. It was better to be careful.
Another reason was that the river had narrowed. Previously, they were going through the main stream, but now the main stream had suddenly split into two. Ang Lee was going through the narrower one, which could also be considered a branch. With the narrower river, the speed of the ships was naturally affected. Moreover, there were more ships in the river, so the speed of the fleet was even slower.
Even so, they still reached Bei County in a day.
"Assistant Minister Li, we have reached Bei County. Should we go down and rest?"
The captain asked.
Ang Lee waved his hand and said, "Continue forward. We won't rest at night. We will reach Yizhou as soon as possible."
Therefore, the fleet didn't stop at Bei County. After all, the fleet had plenty of fresh water and food. Even if they didn't dock for three to five days, there wouldn't be much of a problem.
The railway near Bei County was already in the preparation stage. Ang Lee stood on the deck and could already see the roadbed being laid in the distance. Beside the roadbed were piles of wood and stones. These wood and stones were obviously used to pave the railway. From Song Zhou to Yizhou City, the railway had already been fully laid. In order to complete the railway as soon as possible, different sections were being built at the same time. All the residents along the way were mobilized. Those with money contributed, while those without money contributed. Because the railway could benefit everyone, it naturally received strong support from almost all the residents.
Due to the lack of machinery, this section of the railway in Central Sichuan wouldn't be accessible for at least a year. Many places still needed to be drilled and bridges built. This required even more time. It would take even longer to complete the laying of the railway.
After passing Bei County, the sky was already very dark. At night, the fleet didn't stop moving forward. They just slowed down slightly. To prevent ships from colliding in the dark, all the merchant ships were lit with lanterns. This way, it would be easier to spot each other and prevent the tragedy of ships colliding in the dark.
Waterways with frequent commercial activities were inevitably targeted by some criminals. After all, the income obtained from robbing caravans was much higher than the income obtained from honest work. The income obtained from working hard for ten years might not even be comparable to robbing a caravan. As such, these criminals naturally had sufficient reasons to rob caravans. As for the possible punishment and encirclement by the imperial court, they could not care less.
Since ancient times, soldiers would be dispatched to encircle and suppress bandits in any era. Wherever there were bandits robbing merchant ships, there would be soldiers to encircle and suppress them. However, due to certain restrictions, the bandits in ancient times had always been rampant and had never been exterminated. Even in prosperous times, many places were filled with bandits, let alone in troubled times. Almost every mountain had bandits, and it was very risky to go on a long journey.
There would be bandits on the mountains, and there would be water bandits on the waterways. There would even be pirates on the sea. In short, as long as there were pedestrians and merchant ships, there would be bandits.
Wenshui was a rather good commercial route, so water bandits were naturally unavoidable. There had always been water bandits here, but due to the suppression of the imperial court's soldiers, the water bandits here weren't rampant and their scale was relatively small. The largest group only had a few dozen people, and because Wenshui was too narrow, it wasn't easy for the water bandits to hide. Therefore, many of these water bandits usually hid in the nearby mountains. It wasn't wrong to call them mountain bandits, but they robbed merchant ships on both the mountain and the waterways. Whether it was on the mountain or on the waterways, they would all be transported back to their nest.
And because the scale of the bandits wasn't very large, at most a few dozen people, they hid in the tall mountains and dense forests, making it difficult to find them. Therefore, the soldiers were helpless. The cost of searching the mountains was too high, so they could only increase the frequency of their patrols.
Compared to patrolling on the mountain, the soldiers preferred to patrol in Wenshui because it saved more energy. They were all on duty for a day, so spending a day on the water was definitely not as tiring as spending a day in the mountains.
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