After three days of rest and reorganization, Ang Lee led the Tang Dynasty fleet to continue their journey to the base of departure, which was Guangzhou Port at the southern tip of the Tang Dynasty's mainland.
At this time, Guangzhou had already been connected to the railway. The train from Chang 'an City of the Tang Dynasty could directly reach the station outside Guangzhou City. This was of great strategic importance for the Tang Dynasty to better control the south. At the same time, this railway was also a link to the southern region of the Tang Dynasty. It played a very important role in promoting the commerce in the southern region of the Tang Dynasty. Along the way, all the places had received great benefits.
After the railway was opened, almost all the businessmen set their sights on this railway. Because compared with the speed and price of the railway, the original transportation method was too outdated. If the businessmen did not make changes, they would be eliminated by the times.
Because too much manpower was mobilized to lay the railway, the railway could be laid in a relatively short time. However, because the Tang Dynasty had laid railway tracks everywhere and there were railway stations everywhere, the demand for trains was very high.
However, there was only one workshop in Chang 'an City that produced trains in the Tang Dynasty. The production capacity was relatively insufficient. Therefore, the number of trains was insufficient. In this case, all the trains in operation were basically running at full capacity without any rest time. The drivers could rotate between two shifts, but the trains could not be rotated. They could only keep adding water and oil and carry out the best maintenance to prevent the trains from breaking down.
Because of the serious shortage of trains, there would be a lot of competition during the production and after the factory. This made Yu Chaoen, who was in charge of the Railway Administration, very anxious.
The competition during the production was mainly about which type of train to produce first, especially the competition for the carriages. There were passenger carriages and freight carriages. Passenger carriages were also divided into ordinary carriages and private rooms for nobles.
Because of the shortage of goods and materials, the businessmen collectively asked for priority in the production of freight carriages to meet the demand of freight as soon as possible. The pressure of passenger transportation was also great. The nobles and officials who liked to go out often asked for priority in the construction of passenger carriages. They even asked for more luxurious private rooms to satisfy their selfish desires.
In short, different people would have different requirements, and they would make their own requests to the railway bureau in their own unique ways.
These demands were obviously contradictory. After all, there was only so much production capacity. If they could take care of one side, they would not be able to take care of the other side. If they could take care of a few at the same time, there would not be any disputes.
There was a lot of pressure from all sides. Yu Chaoen was facing the needs of many interest groups. If he didn't handle it well, he would definitely be caught by someone with ulterior motives. If he didn't handle it well, this fat job would be snatched away by someone else.
According to the long-term development goal of the Tang Empire, it was naturally safer to give priority to the production of low-grade freight and passenger trains. In this way, the flow of personnel and materials could be mobilized to the maximum extent, and the greatest benefits could be generated.
But in this way, the nobles' travel would not be so comfortable. Did they have to let the noble lords and their families sit on the same hard seats as the commoners? In such a chaotic situation, wouldn't their beautiful wives and concubines be seen by the poor brats? This would be a great humiliation.
Yu Chao En naturally understood this logic, but he was a man who knew how to adapt to the circumstances. He naturally understood that even the big picture had to follow the interests of the nobles. He could not let these old men suffer for the sake of the overall development of the Tang Empire. Thus, he could only order for the workshop to prioritize the production of high-class private carriages, followed by freight carriages, and lastly, the production of normal carriages with hard seats.
After the production of a train, the next thing to face was the problem of distribution. At this time, there were not enough trains on all the railway lines. As long as the subordinates heard that a train had come off the line from the workshop, they would fight for it. Some of them even went to Yu Chaoen to act shamelessly, telling him that they would be eaten alive by anxious businessmen if they didn't increase the number of trains.
Of course, what these subordinates said was true. They did encounter threats. Some people might have doubts, thinking that their status was not low and that they had the power to decide the fate of the businessmen. Whichever businessman's goods they let onto the train, that businessman's goods would reach the destination faster. If they deliberately sabotaged the goods, the businessman's goods could only be piled up in the warehouse. Therefore, these businessmen couldn't wait to curry favor with them. How would they dare to offend them?
This was because businessmen were also divided into classes. Ordinary small businessmen naturally did not dare to offend them. Otherwise, they would not be able to bear the consequences. However, it was different for some businessmen who were subordinates of the nobles. Their backers were too strong. Yu Chaoen's subordinates really could not afford to offend them. Even if they were beaten, they did not dare to say anything.
For example, once, a big businessman who sold Hushu treasures heard that the freight trains were full. He was so angry that he made a scene at the Luoyang Railway Station. He demanded that the goods of other businessmen be put down first and let their goods be loaded first. Otherwise, they would not be able to bear the consequences.
This big businessman was Yang Guozhong's confidant. He was responsible for selling products for Yang Guozhong and was mainly responsible for the sales of Hushu treasures. He was extremely arrogant, and Yu Chaoen's subordinates did not dare to offend him.
Yang Guozhong was not the only powerful person in the Tang dynasty. These powerful people all had their own businesses. If these powerful people all made things difficult for the Railway Bureau, then they, as subordinates, really couldn't do anything.
In the face of such a bad situation, Yu Chaoen also had a headache. Both sides were his own flesh and blood. It was not good to favor anyone. What he wanted to do most was to increase the production of the trains. In this way, there would be more supply. However, increasing the production was not so easy.
The industrialization of the Tang dynasty had been fully launched, and talents and labor continued to be needed in all walks of life. In other words, there was a shortage of people in all aspects, and there were not many surplus resources to be tilted to the manufacturing of trains. This directly led to the difficulty of increasing the production of trains on a large scale, especially the manufacturing of luxury compartments. It was the most time-consuming process, and many materials were not easy to prepare.
The train was invented by Ang Lee after he came to the Tang dynasty. However, Ang Lee may have never dreamed that the train he invented, while bringing convenience, also caused a lot of conflicts. Many businessmen and powerful people fought for the right to use the railway. There were even many bloody incidents, which attracted the attention of the imperial court.
However, in the case of too many monks and too little gruel, the imperial court could not come up with a solution that satisfied all parties. They could only constantly balance and mediate, making all parties take a step back and earn money together. If it was not enough, they would punish whoever made a mistake and even kill one person to warn the others to deter such behavior of snatching railway resources.
In other words, the only feasible way to completely solve the problem of railway competition was to increase the production of trains, which was a difficult idea to realize. Another way was to increase the speed of the trains, but increasing the speed would increase the danger, which was more difficult than increasing the production of trains.
This problem had been troubling Yu Chaoen and the entire imperial court of the Tang dynasty. The most promising person to change all of this was Ang Lee. Therefore, almost everyone was looking forward to Ang Lee returning to the Tang dynasty as soon as possible to solve this thorny problem.
It was estimated that Ang Lee, who was returning, would feel a lot of pressure if he knew what everyone was thinking. Of course, he would also be very happy. After all, being recognized by everyone meant that Ang Lee was the best and the most powerful person.
When passing through the Nansha area, Ang Lee asked the ships to slow down and pay attention to the surrounding hydrology in case the fleet hit the reefs.
After all, there were a lot of reefs in this area, and there were terrible reefs everywhere. The steamships of the Tang dynasty were not small in tonnage. If they hit the reefs, it would be very bad. It was very likely that the ships would be destroyed and people would be killed. Ang Lee would not allow this to happen, so he would rather let the fleet sail slowly. It did not matter if they went slowly, but safety could not be ignored.
"Assistant Minister Li, this area is full of reefs. It is not a good place for passing merchant ships, but for the fishermen of the Tang dynasty, this is a paradise! The small fishing boats around are busy fishing. I heard that every fishing trip can bring a very good profit. "
A subordinate stood on the deck with Ang Lee and looked at the surrounding small fishing villages and said.
Some of these small fishing villages were very close to the Tang Dynasty fleet, while some were very far away. They were all fishing near the surrounding reefs. These natural reefs were important places for fish to reproduce. Most fish liked to live in places with reefs. In the deep sea without reefs, fish resources were relatively rare.
Ang Lee gently picked up the binoculars and carefully observed. He found that the surrounding fishing boats were all fishermen of the Tang dynasty. He could clearly tell from the structure of the boats and the clothes of the crew.
"They are all fishermen of the Tang dynasty. It seems that this place already belonged to the Hua Xia in the Tang dynasty era. This is the homeland of the Hua Xia!"
Ang Lee sighed and said.
"Assistant Minister Li, what are you talking about? Your humble servant is confused. "
Li An's subordinates were puzzled when they heard Li An muttering to himself.
Ang Lee suddenly had a whim. He looked at his subordinate with a smile and said, "If someone told you that I am not from this era, but from more than a thousand years in the future, would you believe it?"
"From a thousand years in the future? How is that possible? Assistant Minister Li, you can't say these things casually."
The subordinate was so scared that he seemed to be trembling.
After all, in the Tang dynasty era, the level of science and people's cognition were still too low. Things like time travel were naturally incomprehensible to the people of this era, and even taboo.
Ang Lee smiled and waved his hand. "Don't be nervous. It's just a joke. Hahaha!"
After that, he continued to look at the fishermen who were fishing in the distance.
In order to make a living, these fishermen were constantly fishing. At the same time, they raised their heads from time to time and looked at the passing Tang Dynasty fleet.
Although most of them had seen the steam ships in Guangzhou Harbor, they were still very excited to see such a large fleet for the first time. They wanted to take a few more glances, as if it would be a great loss if they did not take a few more glances.
Ang Lee was very happy to see so many Tang Dynasty fishing boats in the Nansha area. This was enough to show that the ancestors of Hua Xia had been active here for a long time. There was no doubt that this area belonged to the Hua Xia.
If the people of later generations could come to this era and take a look, they would not accuse the Hua Xia of bullying the weak and drawing the national border to other people's doorstep. Because this was originally their territory and had never belonged to others. This territory had always belonged to the people of Hua Xia.
At this time, the fishermen of the Tang Dynasty could fish in the Nansha area with ease, which made Ang Lee sigh. The people of later generations of Hua Xia were not so lucky. When they went out to fish, they were easily bullied by the official ships of the surrounding small countries. They even had to endure the attacks of guns and cannons. In many cases, they could not even keep their lives. It could be said that they suffered a lot of humiliation.
The reason was that in the era of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Empire was the most powerful benevolent country in the world. It had enough strength to support its own people. Naturally, the surrounding countries did not dare to make trouble without reason. These countries were even affiliated with the Tang Dynasty and had to pay tribute to the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty every year. Therefore, naturally, there was no reason to interfere with the fishermen of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, their navy was too weak and might not be able to deal with the fishermen of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, the fishing technology of this era was very backward. There were all kinds of fish in the reef. Anyway, they were all natural resources and belonged to whoever caught them. The reason was so simple. In later generations, because the fishing machines were too advanced, many fish resources were on the verge of extinction. Therefore, there was naturally competition and all kinds of conflicts were highlighted.
"The fish caught here can be transported to Chang 'an by train after landing in Guangzhou. When we get back to Chang' an, maybe we can eat the fish they catch now? Haha! "
Ang Lee put down the binoculars and said with a smile.
His subordinate stepped forward and said with a smile, "These fishermen are shrewd. They all know that living fish are more valuable than dead fish. Therefore, when they encounter valuable fish, they will carefully raise them with seawater. Only the worthless fish will be stored in the warehouse under the ship. These live fish will be sold to fishmongers at a higher price. Then, the fishmongers will use wooden buckets filled with seawater to carefully serve these live fish all the way to Chang 'an. Finally, they will be sold to fishmongers in the capital at a higher price. Then, these valuable live fish will be sold to high-end restaurants in the capital, as well as the noble prince's mansions and even the Imperial Palace. These are all Assistant Minister Li's credit. If it weren't for Assistant Minister Li's railway, it would have been very difficult to transport the live fish from Guangzhou to the capital. It is estimated that they would have completely gone bad halfway. "
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