Under the stimulation of Ang Lee, the soldiers under his command were very active. They were scattered around the Cloud Dragon Mountain Range, with fifty people in a large group and five in a small group, carefully investigating the surroundings. While they were investigating the terrain, they were also searching for precious medicinal herbs. Of course, if they encountered delicious wild fruits, they would not be polite. Not to mention wild beasts, they would directly hunt and eat their meat.
With such a group of people entering the Cloud Dragon Mountain Range, the wild animals in the mountains were completely unlucky. Just the relatively large cattle and sheep prey had been hunted by hundreds. As for small prey such as wild rabbits and pheasants, more than ten thousand of them had been hunted in less than half a month. Almost every soldier could hunt about ten small prey.
According to Ang Lee's rules, whoever found the precious medicinal herbs would be their own. Similarly, the prey they hunted also belonged to them. Ang Lee would not ask for it, and neither would the other generals.
However, even so, when they encountered good prey, the soldiers below would still offer it to Ang Lee, especially when there were more hunting gifts. If they did not offer it to Ang Lee, they would not be able to finish it themselves. If they carried it with them, it would be more difficult, especially for large cattle prey. One of them was enough for fifty people to eat for several days.
"Assistant Minister Li, this Cloud Dragon Mountain Range is too big. I estimate that it will take at least a year and a half to explore it!"
Chen Long said with a smile.
He also liked the atmosphere here. If he could continue to work here, it would be good.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "You're thinking too much. No matter how big the Cloud Dragon Mountain Range is, it won't take a year and a half! At most, it will take two or three months. We must determine the route and let the soldiers in charge of drawing not slack off. "
Ang Lee said with a serious face.
The Cloud Dragon Mountain Range was only an important place for the railway to pass through in the future. Although it was very important, Ang Lee could not waste too much time here. Two or three months should be enough. Ang Lee did not think that it would take too long.
In addition to exploring the terrain, the soldiers also had another duty, and that was to explore the resources. There was a large amount of wood in the mountain that did not need to be explored. It was all on the surface and could be seen at a glance. There might also be some mineral resources in the mountain. These mineral resources were the focus of the exploration. These mineral resources were very important. Once they were discovered, they could save a lot of costs when building the railway in the future, thus saving the burden of the imperial court. Along the way, Ang Lee and his group discovered a lot of mineral resources. The existence of these mineral resources made Ang Lee very happy. However, building the railway required a huge amount of mineral resources. No matter how many mineral resources they discovered along the way, it was still slightly insufficient for building the railway. After all, in addition to the railway, they also needed various tunnels and bridges. The demand for minerals was even greater, not to mention that after the railway was built, there would also be a lot of auxiliary facilities. These auxiliary facilities also required a lot of mineral resources. Without enough mineral resources to support them, it was obviously impossible. The more mineral resources along the way, the more convenient it would be when building the railway.
With more than a thousand soldiers searching together, the probability of discovering mineral resources was naturally higher. Iron ores, copper ores, and even gold ores were discovered. This made Ang Lee very happy.
Especially iron ores, which were the mineral resources that were most urgently needed for building the railway. The iron ores that were discovered were very large. It was a very large iron ore mine that occupied a very large area. It was estimated that it could be mined for hundreds of years.
The more such iron ores that were discovered, the better. Ang Lee let the soldiers continue to search for mineral resources. As long as they discovered mineral resources, they would be given a lot of rewards.
When Ang Lee made a move, naturally, it would not be a small amount. All the soldiers who discovered mineral veins were rewarded. Not only were there rewards in terms of money, there were also rewards in terms of positions.
Three months later, Ang Lee and his group discovered a total of twenty-five mineral resources in the Cloud Dragon Mineral Vein. Among them, there were as many as three of the most important iron ore veins. These three ore veins were more than thirty miles apart. They were located in different locations and were not the same vein. If they were too close, they could only be regarded as one vein.
A mountain area was a mountain area. There were always more mineral veins. The stones on the mountain could be mineral veins. There were mountains everywhere. Naturally, many mineral veins could be found. This was also within Ang Lee's expectations.
Being able to discover so many mineral veins, Ang Lee's mood was naturally very good. These were important resources for the future of the Tang Empire. They were very important for building roads and houses. Ang Lee marked these mineral resources on the map. In this way, it would be much more convenient to send people to mine in the future.
After three months of delay, Ang Lee and his group naturally had to continue moving forward. They could not stay in the Cloud Dragon Mountain Range for too long, so as not to affect the exploration below.
Not long after leaving the Cloud Dragon Mountain Range, Ang Lee heard a very good news that made him very happy. Gelofeng, the former Emperor of Nanzhao, was caught by the troops of the Tang Empire. His guards fought desperately and were all killed. Gelofeng himself was captured alive. This guy had some backbone. When he was captured, he actually wanted to commit suicide. However, he was restrained by the soldiers of the Tang Empire.
"Good, very good. His Majesty will be very happy to know that we were able to capture Gelofeng alive."
Ang Lee said with satisfaction.
"Gelofeng is just a stray dog. Let me lead the troops to chase after him. I can also capture this guy."
Chen Long said.
"That's enough. You've already made a lot of contributions. Give this opportunity to the other generals! Haha! "
Ang Lee said.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. We can't take all the credit."
Chen Long said with a smile.
There was a village not far ahead. This was the first village that Ang Lee and his group encountered after leaving the Cloud Dragon Mountain Range. This village was very small, with a total population of only a hundred people. The sign at the entrance of the village said "Black Mountain Village".
"Assistant Minister Li, it's getting late. There is a village ahead. Let's go to the village to rest or find an open space to camp."
Chen Long asked.
Ang Lee said, "Of course, let's camp outside the village. Let's go to the village and take a look. Bring more candies for the children in the village to try."
After that, Ang Lee and Chen Long entered the Black Mountain Village. There were a few pastoral dogs at the entrance of the village, barking at Ang Lee in a very unfriendly manner. This was the nature of pastoral dogs. They were like this when they saw strangers, so Ang Lee naturally wouldn't be angry.
Seeing that the dogs were barking too loudly, a few villagers walked out of the village. There were old, young, and young people. They looked curiously at Ang Lee and his group and seemed a little surprised.
"Old man, we are just passing by. Can we come in and take a look?"
Ang Lee said with a smile.
The old man looked at the thousands of soldiers outside the village and looked a little scared. He hurriedly said, "I don't dare, I don't dare. Please come in."
After that, he asked the young man behind him to drive the dogs away. These dogs kept barking and the old man was worried that Ang Lee would be unhappy.
"Our village hasn't had a distinguished guest for a long time. This place is too remote. Usually, no one comes here."
The old man said.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "We came here in advance to explore the terrain. In the future, when the road is built here, it won't be remote anymore. This place might develop into a city, the kind with tens of thousands of people."
"A city? No way! This place is too remote. Why do you want to build a road here? "
The old man was very curious.
"Because we want to build a road to the Tianzhu Sea in the West and South. We will probably pass through here, haha!"
Ang Lee didn't hide it. Anyway, he had nothing to do and chatted with the old man was quite happy.
"The Tianzhu Sea in the Southwest is still very far away. To build such a long road, it will cost a lot of money."
The old man was shocked. Although he hadn't traveled far, he had heard that there was a sea in the Southwest. However, it was too far away from their village. He had never been there and didn't even dare to think about it. According to the local transportation conditions, it would take at least half a year for the villagers in their village to reach the Tianzhu Sea. After all, they couldn't travel fast and had to rest along the way. The route couldn't be straight either. If they ran out of money, they would have to stop and look for work. In short, it was very troublesome to make a trip to the seaside. From Ang Lee's point of view, the Tianzhu Sea wasn't too far from Black Mountain Village. From the old man's point of view, the Tianzhu Sea was too far away. He didn't even dare to think about it.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Old man, no matter how much money it costs, this road must be built. As long as this road is built, it will only take half a day to travel from Black Mountain Village to the seaside. We can make a round trip in a day. It's very convenient!"
"You can make a round trip in a day? So fast?"
The old man's jaw dropped. This was beyond his knowledge. Apart from being shocked, the old man's face was full of disbelief. He had a rough understanding of the distance between the Tianzhu Sea and Black Mountain Village. His people would need a year to make a round trip. If the road was built, they could make a round trip in a day. This was simply unimaginable. He couldn't believe it was real.
"Alright, it's fine if you don't believe me. Anyway, when the road is built, you will believe me."
Ang Lee said with a smile.
The old man smiled and said, "There are many mountains here. It's not easy to build a road. It won't be built without decades. This old man won't live for decades. I'm afraid that before the road is built, I'll be dead. I won't have the chance to see this day come."
It was obvious that the old man knew himself well. He was already in his seventies and was considered to have lived a long life. He didn't have much time left. Indeed, he couldn't wait until the day the road was built. Once he thought about how he didn't have much time left, the old man became dejected.
"Old man, why is this place called Black Mountain Village? There's a mountain nearby called Black Mountain, right? "
Ang Lee changed the topic.
The old man pointed into the distance and said, "The mountain over there is a black pine forest. This pine tree is dark green. From afar, it looks dark, especially when it's cloudy. That's why this mountain is called Black Mountain. However, the soil on the mountain is red. It's just that there are too many plants that cover the soil."
Li An was very clear that the Black Pine Forest that the old man was talking about was actually a type of pine tree. The so-called dark green color was actually a dark green color. It could also be called dark green. Because the color was darker, it was not wrong to call it dark green. This type of pine tree's vitality was very tenacious. Even if it grew in the crevices of rocks, it could still thrive. Therefore, the entire mountain was dominated by this type of pine tree. It caused this mountain to have almost no other tree species, only this type of black pine tree.
Pine trees could normally secrete rosin. Rosin was a type of oil and was especially suitable for fuel. The local people would often go up the mountain to chop down the black pine trees and bring them back to the village to dry. Then, they would be able to obtain high-quality firewood.
Because there were very few people in the village and the Black Mountain was very large, no matter how much the villagers chopped down, the black pine forest on the Black Mountain would not decrease. Of course, the villagers were not stupid. They would not focus on one place and would definitely split up to chop down the trees. Every year, they would chop down an area. Every twenty years, the pine trees in the previously chopped area would grow back again. This way, the pine trees on the mountain would never be completely chopped down. The villagers of Black Mountain Village would always have an endless supply of wood.
The thick pine trees could be used to build houses, while the branches and small pine trees could be used as firewood. These pine trees were the foundation of the survival of the people of Black Mountain Village. Without these pine trees, it would be difficult for the village to continue existing in this place.
Ang Lee looked at the black pine forest in the distance and realised that the black pine forest was very large. For such a large black pine forest, there would definitely be wild beasts roaming around. Moreover, the size of the wild beasts would definitely not be small. A pack of wolves would definitely be a necessity.
"Elder, in this black mountain, there should be wild beasts! There must be a lot of prey. "
Ang Lee opened his mouth and asked.
The elder replied: "There are wild beasts. Black bears, leopards, wolves. There are many wild beasts. There are even more grass-eating prey. Hares and pheasants are the most. There are also many deer and goats. There is also a herd of a few hundred wild cows. However, these prey are all in the hinterland of the black mountain. In the black pine forest that we can see now, there are fewer prey. There are also very few large prey. The hunters in our village, every time they enter the mountain to hunt, they have to bring ten days' worth of food. They have to go deep into the mountain to be able to hunt enough prey. It is also more dangerous. Many villagers in our village have been eaten by wild beasts. Almost every seven to eight years, a villager would die in the mouth of a wild beast. "
After listening to the elder's description, Ang Lee had a preliminary understanding of the black mountain. The black mountain was very rich in resources. Other than a large amount of pine trees, there were also countless prey. It was these resources that fed the villagers of Black Mountain Village, allowing them to continue living here.
Ang Lee was very interested in the black mountain forest. After all, the railway would need to pass through the black mountain forest in the future. Ang Lee had to explore the mountain and find the most suitable route to build the railway.
"Elder, we want to explore the mountain. Can your tribesmen lead the way for us? We will pay you. We will not treat you unfairly. "
Ang Lee opened his mouth and stated his request.
The elder naturally did not dare to refuse. He smiled and said: "Of course we can. Our village has the most hunters. We can lead the way for you."
After he finished speaking, he turned to look at the villagers and gave them a few simple instructions. He let the villagers go back and find a hunter who could lead the way. They were all commoners and could not afford to offend a big shot like Ang Lee.
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