Vermilion Bird Avenue.
It was the central axis of Chang 'an, from the Vermilion Bird Gate of the imperial city to the Illustrious Virtue Gate of the southern city gate. It divided Chang' an into two.
Vermilion Bird Avenue was 150 steps wide and 10 miles long. It was the only avenue that led into the inner city of Chang 'an. Every day, a large number of foreign ambassadors and merchants entered Chang' an through Vermilion Bird Avenue.
It could be said that Vermilion Bird Avenue was the busiest street in Chang 'an and even in the entire Tang dynasty. It was also the place that officials had to pass through to enter the palace.
Su Luosheng wanted to make a political achievement and be noticed by Li Shimin and the other officials. Vermilion Bird Avenue was naturally the best choice.
The sun rose and a new day began.
Chang 'an was bustling as usual. A large number of merchants poured into Chang' an to start a busy day, each working for their own livelihood.
However, many attentive people found that on the wooden poles of the city's warning system on both sides of Vermilion Bird Avenue, there was a simple sign with the names of places written on it every half mile.
"Kaihua Square, Anyi Square, Daxing Shan Temple, Xiaoyan Pagoda …"
Every sign had a famous building or landmark nearby written on it, followed by the name of the market.
"Bus stop sign."
Many people chewed on this new word and did not understand it.
On the tower of the southern city gate.
Meton and Su Luosheng stood side by side.
Su Luosheng had no experience in taking a bus and was completely confused. Meton decided to be a good person and take over all the planning.
Standing on the tower, Meton could not help but feel emotional. When he first entered Chang 'an, he had a conflict with the guard of the southern city gate. He did not expect that in less than a year, he would be invited to the tower of the southern city gate by Su Luosheng as a VIP.
"Illustrious Virtue Gate!"
Su Luosheng was slightly excited as he looked at the three big words below the tower and the five brand new four-wheeled buses neatly arranged.
The four-wheeled buses were the latest products of the Mo Family Village. Putting aside the other messy designs, they strived for maximum capacity. Therefore, every four-wheeled bus was at least twice the size of a normal four-wheeled carriage.
According to Meton's original plan, he was going to build a batch of bus stops on Vermilion Bird Avenue. However, Su Luosheng could not wait that long. He did not want to let nearly a hundred horses freeload in Chang 'an County.
On the other hand, the Chang 'an County Government had not spent a single cent on this pilot project. It was impossible for Su Luosheng to pay for the construction of the bus station. At least, before the public transport system had any results, he would not act unless he saw a rabbit.
Meton had no other choice. Meton could only hang a few signs as bus stop signs and complete the structure of the bus as quickly as possible. Today was the first day of the bus trial.
"Four horses, Lord Su is really generous!" Meton saw that there were four horses in front of each four-wheeled carriage.
"Since it's a test, we must do our best," Su Luosheng said proudly without any shame.
For this pilot project, Su Luosheng not only doubled the number of horses, but also specially prepared 20 horses for rotation. On the basis of ensuring the horse's power, he did not change the horses and carriages, allowing the four-wheeled buses to run continuously. He strived for perfection.
"If Lord Su can be more generous, the public transport carriage will definitely be better." Meton was still regretting that there were no bus stops.
"The taxes collected by the county are all from the people. How can it be wasted on such a flashy place?"
Su Luosheng said. In his opinion, if such a big thing could be done for the benefit of the country and the people without spending money, wouldn't it be better for his political achievements?
Meton praised, "Chang 'an City has County Magistrate Su. It's really a blessing for the people."
To be honest, although Su Luosheng was usually a little bureaucratic and utilitarian, it was a good thing for the people of Chang 'an City. It was because of Su Luosheng's utilitarian nature that the public transport system could appear in Chang' an City at the fastest speed.
"Can this really work?"
Although everything was ready, Su Luosheng was still a little worried because it was a new thing after all.
Meton and County Magistrate Su set the public transport carriage trial time at Sishi, which was between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. in the future. This was the time when the people of Chang 'an City were more active.
Of course, Sishi was better because there would be more people. However, public transport was a new thing after all. At least two hours had to be set aside for publicity.
At every bus stop on both sides of Vermilion Bird Avenue, there would be a yamen runner promoting public transport carriages.
"Public transport carriages are the good governance of the county magistrate. He empathized with the difficulties of the poor and specially set up public transport carriages to carry people to and from Vermilion Bird Avenue. During the trial period, all rides are free." Under the South City Gate stop, Arrester Cao personally went down and promoted with all his might.
"Free rides?"
Immediately, many ordinary people and passing merchants became interested.
Free was a foolproof move that Meton had specially thought of to promote public transport carriages. In any era, free was the most attractive word.
Moreover, in this era, only the rich could own horses and carriages. Ordinary people did not have the opportunity to ride carriages, especially when it was free.
"County Magistrate Su is really a righteous man!" Many people shouted from the bottom of their hearts.
"May I know how long the trial period will be?" A man in cyan in the crowd suddenly asked. Immediately, others looked sideways. This was the question they were most concerned about.
Cao Li said loudly, "Half a month."
Meton was prepared to set a trial period of one month. Unfortunately, the stingy Su Luosheng rejected the idea. The daily consumption of horses was terrifying. If they were to feed these horses for free for a month, the Chang 'an county government would probably go bankrupt.
"What about after a month?" The man in cyan asked again.
"After a month, of course, there will be a fee. After all, these horses need to eat grass and feed. We also need to hire a professional driver," Cao Li said.
"A fee?"
Suddenly, everyone was disappointed. The carriage was expensive and there were four horses. This was not something ordinary people could afford.
"How much is the fee per ride?" The man in cyan asked loudly.
Cao Li replied, "One penny. No matter how far it is, it will be one penny."
"One penny?" Suddenly, everyone was in an uproar.
Even an ordinary person would be able to take out a copper coin. Riding such a carriage only cost one copper coin. This was simply unimaginable. Spending only one copper coin would save a lot of time. This was simply too cost-effective.
Seeing the eager expressions of many people below the city gate tower, Meton said proudly, "Don't worry, Lord Su. As long as the people ride the public transport carriage, no matter where they get off at, they can reach the destination within 200 steps. Once they experience the convenience of riding the public transport, everything else will be logical."
The one-month free period was to cultivate the market and let the people of Chang 'an accept the new concept of public transport carriages. When people got used to riding the public transport, they would not want to travel on foot.
"In the future, with more and more public transport routes, the people of Chang 'an will definitely choose public transport carriages as their first choice."
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