The goal of Ang Lee's trip was to explore the route in advance, and then write out a detailed road construction plan. After reporting it to the imperial court, he could pick a good day to start the construction. Although the Tang Dynasty was building everywhere at this time, and both manpower and financial resources were very tight, building a direct railway to the Indian Sea would be of great benefit to the prestige of the Tang Empire. As an emperor who liked to achieve great things, as well as those greedy ministers, they would not refuse.
In the past, the southwest had always been a barren land full of miasma. People of a higher status were not willing to go there. But after the railway was built, such a situation no longer existed. On the train, there was no such thing as hard work, and one would not be infected by the miasma. One could reach any southwest place comfortably and enjoy the scenery happily. If one continued to travel further, one could even go to the Indian Sea to enjoy the sea breeze. This feeling was even more wonderful.
Therefore, Ang Lee believed that as long as he could come up with a feasible plan, this plan to build the railway would definitely be approved by the imperial court. Then, the railway could be completed in a few decades at most. If he did not hesitate to invest in manpower, it would not be difficult to open to traffic within ten years. After all, there were many people along the way, so it should not be a problem to use some money to hire Nanzhao and the Pyu to work. The Pyu also had amazing elephants. These elephants were far more capable than horses in transporting all kinds of construction materials. In addition, some of the oversized finished products were difficult to transport with ordinary animals. If elephants were used, the difficulty of transportation would be greatly reduced. The Pyu did not just train one or two elephants, but thousands of them. Once so many elephants were mobilized, the efficiency of work would be greatly increased. In addition, after so many years of development, the number of machines produced in Chang 'an was naturally increasing. Various kinds of machines for building roads and bridges had also begun to appear. With these machines, the road construction would definitely be twice the result with half the effort.
In short, Li An had made up his mind to build the railway to India, and it would be best if he could do it within ten years. The precondition for all of this was that he had to come up with a plan within two years. The precondition for this was that he had to personally inspect the site to see if the terrain and geology were suitable for the construction of the railway, as well as the cost of the construction. Of course, Li An could not report to the imperial court only after he had finished inspecting the entire road. Instead, he would report to the imperial court after inspecting a section of the road, and then let the imperial court build it first. Of course, this section of the road could not be too short, or else it would be meaningless.
Previously, the railway that Ang Lee had designed to Yizhou City in Central Sichuan had been approved by the imperial court. Moreover, they were concentrating on the construction. Almost one-third of the manpower in Central Sichuan had been transferred to the railway. The capital had also transferred a lot of machines and technical talents. All kinds of resources were also transferred to the railway. It seemed that the railway would be completed in a few years.
After this section of the railway was built, the next step was naturally the railway from Yizhou City to Guichang City, which was designed by Ang Lee. This was what the imperial court had promised Zhao Yefu. It was also the condition for Dongnu Province to completely belong to the Tang Dynasty. This route had not been built yet. After all, the manpower had been transferred to build the important railway in Central Sichuan. As long as the railway from the capital to Yizhou City was smooth, the railway from Yizhou City to Guichang City could be built. After all, there were still a lot of construction materials and manpower that needed to be transferred from the capital. If there was a railway, these materials could be transferred to Yizhou City more easily. Then, they could be transported directly to the west. If this railway was not built, the pressure to build the railway to Guichang City would be too great. The cost would be at least several times higher.
At this time, more than half of the railway from the capital to Yizhou City in Central Sichuan had been built. The last one-third of the railway was still under intense construction. It was believed that with the mobilization ability of the Tang Dynasty, it could be completed in two years at most. At that time, the freed manpower could be used to build the railway from Guichang City to Yizhou City.
Considering the diversity of transportation, while the railway was being built, a reliable hard road would also be built from Yizhou City to Guichang City. The two roads had to be built at the same time. For this reason, Dongnu Province and the Western Border Area along the way had to provide manpower. Central Sichuan even needed to provide a large number of manpower.
According to the plan, as long as the railway from Yizhou City to Guichang City was built, the next step would be to build the railway to Nanzhao. However, in this road construction plan, there were big differences among the factions in the imperial court. Some people thought that since the railway from Yizhou City would be built to Guichang City, it would be better to continue south along Guichang City, enter the western mountainous area of Nanzhao, and then continue south into the Pyu Autonomous Region until it reached the sea. However, some people thought that the construction of the western mountainous area was more difficult and more expensive. It was better to continue south from Yizhou City, pass through the eastern part of Nanzhao, and then enter the Pyu Autonomous Region until it reached the sea. However, in this way, the railway from Yizhou City to Guichang City would become a dead end. For Yizhou City, this was a great thing. In this way, Yizhou City would become an important transportation route. However, for Guichang City, the loss would be greater. After all, in the future, the materials from the Pyu Autonomous Region and Nanzhao would not need to enter Guichang City. This place would become a branch of the railway artery of the Tang Dynasty, and it would not have the ability to transport any important roads.
Which route the railway would take was a matter of great interest. A slight change in the route would cause a lot of changes in related interests. Therefore, the competition was naturally fierce. However, the focus of the competition was not the east line or the thin line, but the thin passage of the east line. After all, the important ministers of the Tang Dynasty basically had no interests in Guichang City, so they naturally preferred to take the east line, which was to go south from Yizhou City. However, they had different opinions about the specific route.
Ang Lee was naturally well aware of this. However, according to Ang Lee's plan, both the east and the west lines must be built. One more railway would naturally lead to more prosperity, which was of great benefit to the long-term development of the Tang Empire. However, there was a sequence of construction. Ang Lee felt that it was better to follow the ministers' wishes and build the east line first. After the east line was opened to traffic, it would not be too late to build the west line.
Because the terrain of the east line was relatively good, Ang Lee did not need to do it himself. It was enough to let the talents he cultivated explore the terrain. Ang Lee personally explored the route in the west, hoping to find the best route and build the road with the lowest cost.
In the following days, Ang Lee almost spent every day with Zhao Yefu. As for the rest of the soldiers, in addition to occasionally going to the terraced fields to plant and collect vegetables, most of the time they secretly met the young ladies they cared about. They were so happy that they forgot about home.
"An, are we going to Nanzhao next month?"
Zhao Yefu looked at a piece of green vegetables in front of her and asked.
Li An nodded and casually plucked a vegetable. He replied, "Yes, Yofu also wants to go with us."
"Of course. I am already yours. Naturally, I will always follow you. I will follow you wherever you go."
Zhao Yefu replied without hesitation.
Ang Lee smiled faintly and said, "Well, then you can follow me. Let's go south together. We will have a companion along the way."
Obviously, Ang Lee did not reject taking Zhao Yefu with him. In this way, he could have a woman to accompany him on the way. It was a good trip. However, with Zhao Yefu following him, if he met a beautiful young lady on the way, Ang Lee was afraid that he would have to restrain himself. He could not have some fun.
"Yes, I haven't seen rabbits for many days. How many are there now?"
Ang Lee suddenly asked.
In fact, these days, he had been paying attention to the terraced fields outside the city. He had put the matter of breeding rabbits at the back of his mind. That was why he asked Zhao Yefu.
Zhao Yefu said with a smile, "It has only been two or three months and the number of rabbits has exceeded 100,000. Now, there are four breeding sites in Wangcheng. Some breeding rabbits have been sent to other cities for the officials of each city to breed. When the number of rabbits increases, they will be distributed to the people. In the future, everyone here will be able to raise rabbits."
"In the past, there was no shortage of food here, so the people were not very enthusiastic about raising rabbits. This time, they are afraid of starvation, so I believe they will be very willing to raise rabbits. You don't have to worry about this. In addition, the rabbit meat here is not good. Such good rabbit meat was made to taste like that by your chef. No wonder the people are not keen on raising rabbits. If you want rabbit meat to taste good, cooking skills are very important. I will write a secret recipe and hand it to the officials here so they can spread it."
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"It's getting late. Let's go back!"
Zhao Yefu looked at the setting sun and said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Okay, let's go back now. Today, I will cook in person."
More than a month passed quickly. Yang Xuan, who took his time, finally arrived in Guichang City. After the handover, Dongnu Province was closed. It was replaced by Dongnu Province of the Tang Dynasty. Zhao Daiwen was appointed as the first Provincial Governor of Dongnu Province. The rest of the former officials of Dongnu Province were also appointed. Everyone was treated well. No one suffered too much loss. Some losses were negligible. In order to smoothly take over Dongnu Province, the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty also made a lot of concessions. After all, compared with the expansion of the territory, these concessions were very insignificant. The Tang Empire could fully afford it.
This time, since Yang Xuan had come, he would not leave in a short time. He had to stay here for at least two years. He could not leave until the situation here was completely stabilized. His official position was the Defense Governor of Dongnu Province, which was a lower official position than the Provincial Governor. It was temporary.
Naturally, there were more than 5,000 people who stayed with him. Among them, there were only 3,000 soldiers, but they were all elite troops. Chen Zhuang, who was in charge of the troops, was the elder brother of Chen Long, who was next to Ang Lee. This time, the two brothers got together and drank almost every day to talk.
However, the days when they talked were destined to be short, because Ang Lee was about to enter Nanzhao. Chen Long naturally had to follow and guard him all the way. Chen Zhuang had to assist Yang Xuan to take root in Dongnu Province and stabilize the situation here. The two brothers were destined to be separated.
"Chen Long, the vanguard troops can set off in advance. Let's go right away."
Ang Lee ordered.
When they set off, Ang Lee did not alert anyone and set off quietly. After all, the scene of seeing them off was too troublesome. It was better to avoid trouble.
Many days ago, Ang Lee had sent someone to inform Nanzhao and received a welcome invitation. Naturally, all kinds of materials and vehicles were prepared.
Because he needed to take Zhao Yefu with him to the south this time, the luggage was naturally a little more. There were also more carriages for people. Zhao Yefu was not the only woman accompanying him. There were also six maids who were responsible for serving Zhao Yefu. In this way, it would be more convenient on the road. If there were no maids, it would be really inconvenient for Zhao Yefu to follow Li An alone.
Although Ang Lee was invited by Nanzhao, the King of Nanzhao was not sincere. He probably hated Ang Lee in his heart. However, Ang Lee came on behalf of the Tang dynasty, so he had to be very welcoming.
At this time, in the palace of Nanzhao, Gelofeng's face was gloomy. Several maids who served him beside him dared not to breathe when they saw that their master was in a bad mood.
Of course, in fact, what made Gelofeng most angry was that Dongnu Province no longer existed and was replaced by the Eastern Maiden Province of the Tang dynasty. This was a very bad sign. Since Dongnu Province could become the Eastern Maiden Province, it was naturally possible for other affiliated countries to be completely integrated by the Tang dynasty. Their Nanzhao would also have such a day.
Despite the huge gap in strength, Gelofeng was ambitious. He did not like to be under others, did not like to listen to others, and be others' subordinate. After all, people always had a goal in life. He was already a king, and his next goal was naturally to be the emperor. Now, not only was he getting farther and farther away from this goal, but even his identity as a king might no longer exist. Of course, he was in a bad mood.
His most trusted subordinate, Duan Jianwei, had died in the Eastern Maiden Province. Although this did not implicate him, he had lost such a close confidant after all. It was easier said than done to find the same confidant.
"Your Majesty, Duan Chu wants to see you."
A soldier said.
"Let him in!"
Gelofeng said softly.
Soon, the middle-aged man named Duan Chu strode in and then directly knelt in front of Gelofeng.
"Get up! There's no need to be so polite. "
Gelofeng said.
Duan Chu was Duan Jianwei's nephew. The age difference between him and Duan Jianwei was not very big, but the gap between their talents was relatively large. He was a person without much talent. The only advantage he had was his strength. He was a strong warrior.
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