Ang Lee was interested in studying what the golden monkey ate. Fruits, wild fruits, flowers, tender leaves, tree bark, tree roots, chicken, and eggs. The golden monkey ate all of these foods. It seemed that its vitality was quite strong. The more food a species could digest, the easier it was for them to survive.
If they only ate one type of food, it would be very dangerous. Once there was a shortage of this type of food, it would lead to the extinction of the species. The giant panda was like this. It only ate bamboo, and it ate selectively. If it didn't like bamboo, it wouldn't eat it. This was very detrimental to its survival and reproduction, and it could easily lead to the extinction of the species.
In addition, different types of food contained different types of nutrients. The more types of food it ate, the more nutrients it could absorb. This was very beneficial to the health of the species, and it would make the species more competitive.
Also, when there was a shortage of resources, species with a wide range of food could always find something to eat. However, species with only one type of food would not be willing to eat anything else after losing what they ate. As a result, they could only walk towards extinction.
"This golden monkey is not bad! It really eats everything! Then bring some more food over. Bring all the fruits and vegetables in the kitchen and let these two eat to their heart's content. "
Ang Lee said.
There were many ingredients in the kitchen, and all kinds of vegetables and meat were available. If they were all brought to the golden monkey, they could test what the golden monkey could eat! It was likely that the golden monkey could eat anything that humans could eat. After all, humans and monkeys were both primates, and their diets should be similar.
The only difference was that ever since humans learned how to cook, they had to cook a lot of food before they could eat it. Animals, on the other hand, didn't need to be cooked before they could eat it raw. Humans could also eat fruits raw. As for meat and eggs, humans needed to cook them before they could eat them. Animals, on the other hand, didn't need to be cooked.
Li An put in the bean sprouts and vegetables that had been soaked in water from the kitchen. After a short while, the golden monkey began to eat. It seemed to enjoy the food very much and didn't mind that the vegetables were hard to swallow at all.
"Assistant Minister Li, this monkey also eats insects. It eats insects from trees and even flying insects."
The boatman, who lived in this area, seemed to know the golden-haired monkey quite well, so he told Ang Lee.
Ang Lee nodded, but he didn't have any insects to feed the monkeys. He could only experiment in the future when he had the opportunity.
Unknowingly, the sky was completely dark. Fortunately, there was the light of the moon and stars, making the surroundings not so dark. The river and the two mountains and trees could still be seen, just not clearly.
Several lanterns were hung at the bow of the ship to illuminate the deck. After feeding them for a while, the two golden monkeys seemed to be completely full. They only took a bite of the fruit that was thrown into their mouths before putting it down.
The monkey was full, but Ang Lee's dinner had just begun. The Heavenly Paradise Milk Wine he had brought back from Mount Qingcheng and the Ginkgo Chicken Stewed with Ginkgo would be perfect for dinner. In addition, he had brewed some Qingcheng Tea. Drinking it after a full meal would definitely be a form of enjoyment.
At night, the fleet moved very fast. They had been chasing the main fleet in front of them. The sooner they caught up, the better. After a whole night, they still hadn't caught up. It could be seen that Ang Lee had wasted too much time yesterday. Even if the main fleet slowed down by half, they still wouldn't be able to catch up.
In the morning, the weather was good. It was another sunny day. The first thing Ang Lee did after waking up early was to take a variety of food to feed the monkeys. When the monkeys were full, he went to eat breakfast. After eating, Ang Lee went fishing. He hadn't fished for a long time, and his hands were already itching.
However, the difficulty of fishing while the ship was moving at high speed was really a bit high. The probability of catching a fish should be said to be low, but Li An was just doing it for fun. Whether he could really catch a fish or not was actually very important.
The birds in the sky flew back and forth, circling above Ang Lee's head. They were not at all worried about making Ang Lee unhappy and shooting down an arrow.
After a night of rest, the leaves on both sides of the river seemed to have become greener. There were also many beautiful flowers blooming. These were the flowers of the fruit trees on both sides of the river. When autumn came, the fruit trees on both sides of the river would bear a lot of fruit.
Of course, because there was no one to take care of them, the fruits on the side of the road were relatively small. The quality of the products was very average, and they belonged to the category of low-quality fruits. Only fruits that had been artificially cultivated were of high quality. Especially after generations of cultivation, it was very easy to cultivate large and delicious fruits.
Occasionally, some tree branches would float over from the Wenshui. This made Ang Lee very annoyed. When these tree branches pulled on the fishing line, they seriously interfered with Ang Lee's fishing. As a result, Ang Lee didn't catch a single fish. Instead, he broke the fishing line. In a fit of anger, he threw the fishing rod away. In any case, there were many fishing rods. Next time he needed another set of fishing rods.
At noon, Ang Lee's three ships finally caught up with the main fleet in front of them. Looking at the densely packed ships, Ang Lee breathed a sigh of relief. They finally caught up. It seemed that these ships didn't stop at all. They really made Ang Lee chase for a long time.
After the team reunited, they weren't too far away from Jiannan Circuit's administrative center, Yizhou City. They were only about 30 li away. They should be able to reach there before evening. After reaching Yizhou City, the boatman could leave after collecting his salary. Ang Lee wanted to go to Dongnu Province by land, not by water.
In Yizhou City, Ang Lee also needed to rest for a few days. He needed to replenish some supplies, buy some gifts, and rent a lot of carriages before he could set off for Dongnu Province. This stage of preparing supplies couldn't be completed without three to five days. There were too many things to prepare. There were supplies for the journey, supplies for Dongnu Province, and even more food. After all, Dongnu Province had been short of food for the past few years. If several hundred people went to other people's territory and ate other people's food, wouldn't this further increase the burden on Dongnu Province? After bringing enough food and fodder, they didn't need to buy food from Dongnu Province. They could just eat their own food and reduce the pressure on Dongnu Province as much as possible.
"Assistant Minister Li, we'll reach Yizhou City in another 20 li. There are several docks in Yizhou City. The nearest one is only two li away from the city gate, and the furthest one is only a dozen li away. There are all roads leading to Yizhou City. Every day, carriages come and go. It's very lively."
The boatman said.
When they arrived at the docks, it was time for them to part with Ang Lee. They might have to wait at the docks for a few days, or only for a few hours. As long as there were merchants who rented their ships to transport goods, they could immediately load the goods and then leave.
People who traveled by sea all year round were basically familiar with each other. Therefore, they didn't have to wait for all the ships to be loaded with goods before they left. As long as there were a certain number of ships, the boatman would take them away from the docks, and the rest of the ships would naturally be taken away by other ships. These ships didn't all belong to one person. Many people only had one ship, and they just followed the ship's lead. Some people had multiple ships, and their situations were not the same. However, they were familiar with each other, and their business was relatively busy. Therefore, under normal circumstances, there was no conflict. They were all in a cooperative relationship. As long as the business could be maintained well, there wouldn't be too much conflict between them.
"Yes! There are only 20 li left. When we reach Yizhou City, we will have to part ways. When will we see each other again? "
Ang Lee opened his mouth and said.
Being able to meet each other was fate. The next time they met, perhaps there wouldn't be a next time. The boatman was just an ordinary person who made a living on Wenshui. There were too many people like him. Being able to meet in the crowd was fate, and fate wouldn't last forever. When Ang Lee returned, the probability of meeting this boatman by chance was not high.
This was because when Ang Lee returned, he might not necessarily take the water route. It was very likely that he would take the land route. If he took the water route, the probability of meeting him again was relatively high, but if he took the land route, the probability of meeting him again was not high. This old boatman made a living on the water, and generally wouldn't appear on the land route.
Hearing this, the old boatman's expression dimmed for a while, and then he said with a smile, "It's also fate that I can accompany Assistant Minister Li on this journey. I dare not ask for more. However, if fate wills it, we will naturally meet again."
This old man was quite reasonable, and his words were pleasant to listen to.
The 20 li journey, for the fleet going downstream, was a matter of two hours. Soon, the tall buildings of Yizhou City appeared in front of them.
"Assistant Minister Li, the city in front of us is Yizhou City."
The boatman pointed at the tall city in the distance and said.
Ang Lee stood at the bow of the ship and stared at the tall city in the distance. He nodded and said, "Not bad. It has the spirit of the largest city in Central Sichuan. However, compared to Chang 'an, it is still too small. They are not on the same level."
Yi Zhou City was the administrative center of Jiannan Province. Therefore, it was much larger than an ordinary provincial city. It was even larger than a county town. However, it was naturally much weaker than a capital city. Especially after Li An's construction, the scale of the capital city had reached a shocking extent. This wasn't something that Yi Zhou City could compare with.
The boatman agreed and said, "How can Yizhou City be compared to the capital? However, I have never been to the capital. I only heard that the capital is very big and has a lot of people. It is ten times bigger than Yizhou City."
Ang Lee shook his head and said, "It is more than ten times. It is at least thirty to fifty times bigger. If it continues to expand, it will be a hundred times bigger than Yizhou City. Haha!"
This was not Ang Lee bragging. The scale of Chang 'an City was already unprecedented. As the population continued to increase, the number of residential areas outside the city also increased. Moreover, it had been expanding further and further. If it continued to expand like this, the capital would reach the level of ten million people sooner or later. Yizhou City in front of them only had a population of a hundred thousand people. It was already considered a super city in Central Sichuan. After all, an ordinary county only had two or three thousand people. It was already very good to have ten thousand people in a provincial city. A city with a population of a hundred thousand people was definitely a giant.
However, even a giant city like this would become a small dot in front of a city like the capital with a population of millions. It was not that powerful.
People who had stayed in the county for a long time would feel very shocked when they came to Yizhou City. However, people who came from the capital would not feel too much when they saw the scale of Yizhou City.
"Dozens or even hundreds of times. Oh my god! How big is this? Yizhou City is already very big. "
The boatman said in shock.
Ang Lee smiled and looked at the wharf in the distance. He said, "Which wharf do you usually dock at?"
The boatman said, "Not necessarily. Usually, we dock at the wharf with the most empty spaces. There are more empty spaces in front, but it is a little farther from Yizhou City. It is about seven or eight miles away."
Ang Lee said, "It doesn't matter. Let's just dock at the front."
It was not a big deal for Ang Lee to walk a little longer. Moreover, Ang Lee did not plan to enter the city tonight. He planned to camp outside for the night and enjoy the scenery outside the city. It was better to be farther away from the city gate. In addition, there was no curfew in Yizhou City now. If he wanted to enter the city in the middle of the night, there was nothing wrong with that.
The ships soon docked at the wharf one after another. After they stopped, the soldiers and boatmen were busy transporting the goods. All the goods that Ang Lee and his team carried had to be unloaded from the ships. It would take a lot of time. After all, Ang Lee and his team had hundreds of people. They carried a lot of goods. It would take at least two hours to unload them all.
After they went ashore, Ang Lee and a group of guards left the wharf. They rode on horses and wandered around nearby. Most of the men and horses were left to work. The goods piled up like mountains could only be placed near the wharf for the time being. There were not enough carriages to take all the goods away. As long as some soldiers were left to guard them, there would not be much of a problem.
The space of the wharf was limited. If a lot of goods occupied the space, the goods of other merchants would be affected. Therefore, after unloading the goods, the soldiers moved the goods as far away as possible. They moved the goods to an open space one or two hundred meters away from the wharf. In this way, the normal operation of the wharf would not be affected.
These massive goods included food and water, tents and necessary weapons, medicinal herbs, bedding and cotton-padded jackets, raincoats, umbrellas, pots, bowls, ladles and basins, and so on. These were all necessary to be carried. It would not be good if one of them was missing.
These were only the necessities of the people. The team also had a lot of horses, saddles and stirrups for the horses, cleaning tools for the horses, straw and horse materials, and so on. All of these were goods. A team of hundreds of people and dozens of horses. The total amount of goods piled up was definitely not small. This did not include some of the gifts that Ang Lee personally bought for Zhao Yefu. These gifts were also a lot.
With so many goods, it was not enough without more than fifty carriages. It would be better to have a hundred carriages. Then it would be more than enough. Speaking of the efficiency of motor vehicles, the road from Yizhou to Dongnu Province was quite bad. It was already very difficult for people and horses to move. It was not easy for carriages to move, but motor vehicles could not do it at all. In some places, they could not go up at all.
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