Duan Chu suddenly asked for an audience because he knew that Ang Lee was going to enter Nanzhao. He came here for revenge. His uncle was killed by Ang Lee. As his closest nephew, he naturally wanted to avenge his uncle.
Gelofeng naturally agreed with Duan Chu's desire to avenge his uncle. However, he felt that it was too dangerous. Once they were discovered, Nanzhao would be destroyed. He did not dare to do such a dangerous thing, so he could not make up his mind.
"My lord, why are you still hesitating? This person only has a few hundred people with him. This is a good opportunity for us to take action. As long as we do it secretly, no one will find out."
Duan Chu said.
"It's easy for you to say, but if something happens to him in our territory, how can we explain it clearly? Once we arouse the anger of the Tang dynasty, we'll be finished. Not only can we not deal with him, but we also have to send troops to protect him. Alas!"
Gelofeng said helplessly.
Obviously, as long as Ang Lee entered their territory, he represented the Tang dynasty. They had to ensure Ang Lee's safety. Otherwise, no matter what the reason was, they would not be able to absolve themselves from the blame. This made Gelofeng feel extremely helpless.
Duan Chu thought for a moment and said, "My lord, you're right. I was reckless."
However, although he agreed verbally, a fierce light flashed in Duan Chu's eyes. It seemed that he already had his own plan.
After Duan Chu left, Gelofeng closed his eyes and rested with a gloomy face. He was really worried about the future of Nanzhao. At this time, Nanzhao was actually divided into two. If it was annexed, the foundation that their ancestors had accumulated for hundreds of years would be all gone.
But even though he knew this, he had no way to solve the problem. After all, the Great Tang Empire was far too powerful. Compared to the Great Tang Empire, the half of Nanzhao he controlled was far too weak. If he fought against the Great Tang, it would be like smashing an egg against a rock. There was no hope of victory.
Ang Lee's team set off from Guichang City and arrived at the border of Nanzhao. According to the normal speed of travel, it would take about ten days. However, Ang Lee still needed to plan for the future railway along the way. Therefore, the speed of travel was naturally slower. When they encountered unfavorable terrain, they would need to inspect the surrounding areas to see if they could find an alternative route. After all, building a railway was not a joke. The choice of route was very important. A good terrain could greatly save time and cost. On the other hand, unfavorable planning would increase the time and cost of building the road. At the same time, it would also greatly increase the cost.
"Assistant Minister Li, the roads here are terrible. If we were to build a road here, the cost would be sky high. The terrain here is not suitable for building a railway."
A technical talent who set off with Ang Lee said.
One of the main purposes of going south this time was to explore the road and prepare to build a railway to the Indian Sea. The West Road was one of Ang Lee's main targets. However, when Ang Lee really explored here, he realized how difficult it was to build a road. The difficulty of building a road was far beyond Ang Lee's imagination. Although he already had a map of this place, when he actually came to take a look, he found that the map was too rough. The actual geographical conditions were even worse. Building a road in such an environment was too difficult and the cost was beyond imagination.
However, this was a strategic passage. Even if the cost was high, it still had to be built. At worst, it could be built later. In addition, Ang Lee still did not know the situation of the East Road. If the East Road's situation was worse, then he could only choose the West Road. However, according to Ang Lee's estimation, the East Road's situation might be slightly better. In addition, there were more cities and people along the East Road. In terms of mobilizing manpower, it was naturally more convenient than the West Road. Therefore, the West Road that Ang Lee personally explored could only be used as a road for future construction. There was no hope of building a road in ten years.
"That's right. The terrain here is simply too terrible. Building a road in this environment truly is rather difficult, but it can still be done. It's just that the cost will be a little higher. The Great Tang is currently developing by leaps and bounds, and it's hard to say how powerful it will be in ten years. Once the Great Tang is even richer, spending a little more money to build a railway here isn't impossible. I believe that this day won't be too far away, and it should happen in ten years."
Ang Lee said with certainty.
Hearing this, everyone nodded affirmatively. They had all seen the speed of the Tang dynasty's development. The rapid improvement of the Tang dynasty's development was also obvious to all. Everyone's heart was filled with infinite pride.
"It's been a tiring day. Let's go to the village ahead to have a rest!"
Ang Lee looked at the small village not far away and said.
Not long ago, there was a great turmoil here. Many villagers were forced to become rebels. However, at present, this matter was over. The villagers' lives had also returned to the right track, as if nothing had happened.
This small village was not large. There were only about fifty or sixty families, and the population was no more than two or three hundred people. It was a very small village.
A group of children were playing at the entrance of the village. Several old men were sitting on stones nearby, looking at these naughty children. A gust of wind blew, raising a cloud of dust and covering these naughty children. However, as soon as the wind and sand passed, these children's figures appeared again.
The two willow trees at the entrance of the village were old at a glance. They were at least three or five hundred years old, which was enough to prove the history of this village. This was a relatively long village that had been passed down for many generations.
The arrival of Ang Lee naturally attracted the attention of the old men and children. The old men looked at Ang Lee and his group with curiosity and vigilance, while the children were more shy and scared. They stopped playing and ran behind the old men. Some hid behind the big willow trees, quietly showing half of their heads, and vigilantly looking at Ang Lee and his group.
"Old man, what village is this?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Shuangliu Village?"
The old man looked at Ang Lee and replied blankly.
These country people had not seen much of the world, so it was normal for them to be a little dull. Most of the hardworking people were like this.
"Shuangliu Village. There are two willow trees here. This name is not bad."
Ang Lee said to himself.
Soon, a kind-looking old man walked over. He seemed to be the village chief of this village.
"Old Liu, Old Liu is here."
The group of children seemed to like Old Liu very much. When they saw the old man, they immediately ran over and hugged Old Liu's legs, acting spoiled.
"Old Liu, you are the village chief of Shuangliu Village, right?"
Ang Lee asked.
Old Liu saw Ang Lee and his group and was a little surprised. He quickly nodded and said, "Yes, I am the village chief of this village. May I ask who you are?"
Ang Lee smiled and said, "I am a businessman passing by. I just came to take a look."
"Oh, then please come in! This village of ours … "
Old Liu seemed to be very enthusiastic and talkative. He seemed to have endless things to say. He told Ang Lee all the things he wanted to know and those he did not want to know.
Through Elder Liu's introduction, Li An had a clearer understanding of Shuangliu Village. The population of this village was small, but it was relatively simple. After the chaos of the bandits, the village had suffered great losses. At least a quarter of the villagers had died of unnatural causes. Some of them had starved to death, while others had been forced to become bandits and died in the chaos. However, this was all in the past. Elder Liu was still very confident about the future of Shuangliu Village. In Elder Liu's opinion, Shuangliu Village was a blessed place. Even if it encountered a great disaster, Shuangliu Village would be able to withstand it no matter how great the disaster was.
At this time, the village had received some food and seeds from the army. Life was basically on the right track. The young people in the village were under the command of the county officials. They were transforming the terraced fields in the wild and were preparing to plant crops immediately. Some of the women and the elderly were gathering wild fruits and vegetables in the mountains. After all, the amount of food provided by the army was not a lot. It could only ensure that the strong men were full. The women and the elderly could only eat half full. If there was not enough food, they could only go to the mountains to gather wild fruits and vegetables. Fortunately, the people in the mountains were able to endure hardships. They could still overcome such difficulties.
Ang Lee took out some candies and gave them to the children in the village. Soon, he became closer to the children and learned a lot of things that Old Liu did not say. These children did not have a filter and basically dared to say anything. After all, children's words carried no harm. Children's words were more honest than adults'.
Shuangliu Village was a very inconspicuous village. The reason why Ang Lee spent a lot of effort to enter this village was because the road that Ang Lee planned would pass by this village. As for the local terrain, no one was more familiar with it than the villagers. Ang Lee wanted to know if there was a terrain nearby that was more advantageous for road construction and could save the cost of road construction.
After talking for a while, Ang Lee gained a lot. From what Old Liu and the children told him, Ang Lee knew that there was a relatively large canyon 15 kilometers to the west of the village. The canyon was relatively flat. In Ang Lee's opinion, the effect of road construction on this terrain would be very good.
However, as for what the valley Elder Liu was talking about looked like, he had to go and take a look in person to be sure. After all, Elder Liu did not know much about road construction, and his description might not be the same as what Li An had imagined. This trip was a must.
Ang Lee's purpose of continuing his journey south was to explore the road. Therefore, as long as he encountered a place that he should go, he would definitely go. This was not considered a waste of time. This was the decision of this trip's mission.
Because the canyon was 15 kilometers away, it was obviously a waste of time to bring a large group of people there. For this reason, Ang Lee only chose 30 people to ride with him. The rest of the main force continued to move along the original route. After all, the speed of a large group of people was very slow. After Ang Lee went to explore the canyon, he could quickly catch up with the large group.
Although the mountain road was rugged and difficult to travel, the horses could barely pass through. In less than two hours, Ang Lee and his group of 30 people arrived at the canyon that Old Liu spoke of. Standing on a small hill and looking around, the canyon in front of them was panoramic.
"The terrain of this canyon is quite good. It seems that it is indeed very suitable for building a railway. If the nearby railway passes through here, the cost can be reduced by several times. With this canyon, there is no need to blow up the mountain."
It should be known that a huge amount of black gunpowder was needed to blow up a mountain. Although there was no shortage of black gunpowder at this time in the Tang dynasty, it was very dangerous to produce this kind of thing, and the cost was relatively high. Almost every road, bridge, and mining place needed black gunpowder. Basically, it was in short supply. Therefore, it was better to reduce the demand for black gunpowder as much as possible.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. The production and transportation of black gunpowder is not easy. Moreover, it needs the imperial court to send troops to protect it. The more it is used, the greater the risk of leakage. Generally, the imperial court is not willing to transfer this kind of black gunpowder unless it is a very important project."
Chen Long said.
"Let's go. Let's walk around the canyon and see how long it is."
Ang Lee said and led a group of people to search along the canyon bit by bit.
This inconspicuous canyon was actually 50 to 60 miles long, which was beyond Ang Lee's expectation. The map obtained from Guichang City was a relatively general map. Although every city and mountain and river were marked, places such as Shuangliu Village and the nearby valleys were not marked. After all, the person who drew the map only made a rough drawing, or in other words, marked the main places. In the heart of the person who drew the map, such places like Shuangliu Village and the nearby valleys were negligible. Therefore, the person who drew the map naturally neglected them. However, for Ang Lee, every detail of the terrain was very important. Therefore, some places that were not marked on the map could only be explored by himself. Although it was very difficult, Ang Lee enjoyed it and did not feel that it was too hard.
Ang Lee took out the map in his arms and made some changes to the map. The neglected Shuangliu Village and the nearby valleys were clearly marked out.
"In the future, when we build the road, we only need to take a detour from Shuangliu Village and walk through the valley 30 miles away. We can save more than 80% of the construction cost and at least 60% of the construction time."
After marking the map, Ang Lee said with satisfaction.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. Fortunately, we found this flat valley. Although it is less than 10 feet wide, it is enough for the construction of the road."
The technical talent at the side said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "That's right. Fortunately, this valley was found. Otherwise, the loss would be too great. Let's go, we should go back."
After wasting some time in the valley, Li An's group was ready to leave. However, Li An did not plan to go back the way he came. Instead, he planned to catch up with the team in front of him from another path. According to the map, taking another path would converge with the previous path, and he might even be able to get ahead of the team.
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