It was nine in the morning.
With the sound of the bell, the first four-wheeled bus loaded with pedestrians set off from the South City Gate. This public transportation system, which was called the travel revolution by later generations, first appeared in the Tang dynasty.
At the same time, in front of the Vermilion Bird Gate, another four-wheeled bus loaded with pedestrians set off from the north to the south.
The two carriages traveled opposite each other. Every time they arrived at a stop, there would be pedestrians getting on the carriages one after another. At the same time, there would also be pedestrians getting off the carriages one after another. This way, the four-wheeled carriages would not be empty.
Once the public transportation appeared in Chang 'an, it immediately caused an uproar.
Four-wheeled carriages were a luxury product. How could ordinary people have a chance to ride them? After the news that the public transportation on Vermilion Bird Avenue was free spread, not only the users of this street, but also the people of other streets could not help but come to experience it. Anyway, it was free.
As a result, the public transportation on Vermilion Bird Avenue was unusually popular. It was full every day. Fortunately, Meton had expected this and made preparations in advance to ensure that the public transportation carriages operated normally.
It was fast and convenient.
After the citizens of Chang 'an experienced it, they immediately praised it. One spread it to ten, ten to a hundred, and soon the whole city knew about it.
At the same time, Mo Magazine heavily promoted the idea of public transportation, which made the idea of public transportation even more popular.
"Why is it only available on Vermilion Bird Avenue? My house is on the Fourth Street. If it were available here, there would be many public transportation carriages!" Someone said regretfully.
"The Fourth Street is nothing. The East City and the West City need it more."
The East City and the West City were the most active places in Chang 'an City. Every day, there was a huge flow of people. At this time, the most people got off at Vermilion Bird Avenue were the stops near the East City and the West City.
"There are also many people who want to ride at the East City Gate …"
…
Some people appreciated it, some people regretted it, and of course, some people were not optimistic about the public transportation carriages.
"It's just a loss. Who doesn't want to ride free things? If it costs money, I'll see how many people will ride it."
At this time, public transportation was popular. Free was indeed one of the reasons. Although one penny was not much, it was not too much. After all, it was not known whether the public transportation carriages could succeed after charging money.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. In the blink of an eye, it was the first day of the public transportation carriages.
"How can no one ride it? Brother Mo, don't worry. With me, even if there is no one, I will help you support the scene." Standing in front of the Little Wild Goose Pagoda, Qin Huaiyu puffed out his chest and waved the Kaiyuan Tongbao in his hand.
Cheng Chumo and the other two also nodded their heads and stretched out their hands, revealing a handful of Kai Yuan Tong Bao.
Meton held his forehead helplessly and said, "So you guys dragged me to take the bus to make up the numbers."
"If it's not enough, I promise to bring all the students from the Imperial College here. I guarantee that every bus will be full," Cheng Chumo said generously.
Meton said snappily, "Forget it! Besides, judging from Yi Men's attire, they don't look like people who take the bus. "
Qin Huaiyu and the other two were dressed in brocade robes with beautiful jade belts. They were dressed like young masters and did not look like they were destined to take the public transport.
"A single coin stumps a hero. Even heroes have times when they are in trouble."
It was rare for Yuchi Baolin to be so humorous, but his face was so dark that he did not look like a hero at all.
Meton was speechless. He finally understood that the three of them were just here to join in the fun. Every time Meton came up with something new, the three of them would have an extraordinary interest in it.
Soon, a four-wheeled bus arrived with the sound of hooves and stopped at the stop sign of the Little Wild Goose Pagoda.
"Get off first, please line up and get on!"
A black-clothed coachman in his thirties shouted loudly. These coachmen were the most experienced coachmen in Chang 'an City and were specially hired by the Chang' an County Government. Every one of them had rich driving experience.
After the people on the bus got off, Meton and the other three lined up to get on the bus.
"Please insert the coins when you get on the bus," the coachman shouted again.
At the door of the bus, there was a special money box that was about the height of a person. The four of them inserted a Kai Yuan Tong Bao. The money fell into the money box and made a loud sound before sliding back into the money box.
The loud sound was so ear-piercing that it could be heard clearly in the entire bus. In this way, whether the pedestrians inserted the coins or not could be heard clearly.
The four-wheeled bus could only carry 16 people at most. In fact, Meton had only designed eight seats and eight standing spaces in order to reduce the load and increase the bus's endurance.
When Meton and the other three got on the bus, there was only one seat left.
Qin Huaiyu and the other two looked at each other and immediately understood what the others were thinking. They were about to snatch the seat when they saw the person sitting next to them. They could not help but be stunned.
"Brother Mo, you should sit!" The three of them tacitly pushed Meton out.
Meton looked at the empty seat beside him and Li Shimin's half-smile. He glared at the three of them angrily.
"Young man, come and sit here!" Wei Zheng, who was sitting beside Li Shimin, added insult to injury.
Meton was about to cry in his heart. He did not expect to meet these two big shots on patrol today.
Su Luosheng's purpose of choosing the Vermilion Bird Avenue was to show off his achievements in front of Li Shimin and the officials. However, he did get what he wanted, but Meton fell into the pit.
At this moment, it just so happened that an Old Man and a woman in their sixties got on the bus together. Meton had an idea and turned to the side. "This kid's body is still strong. Let this old lady sit!"
"Thank you! Young man! "The old man said gratefully and reached out to help the old woman sit down.
"Young man, not bad. Please take the initiative to give up your seat to the old, the weak, the sick, the pregnant, and the passengers carrying children," the black coachman said loudly.
The black-clothed coachman shouted three times, and only then did Li Shiming realize that everyone on the carriage was looking at him. Li Shiming was baffled, and when he turned his head to look, he found that he was the closest to the old man.
Qin Huaiyu and the others could not help but wipe the cold sweat on the black coachman's forehead. The ignorant were really fearless. He actually asked Li Shimin to give up his seat in the middle of the street.
The whole scene suddenly became silent.
However, Li Shimin laughed and did not care at all. He suddenly stood up.
"Old man, please sit here!"
Li Shimin invited the old man to his seat, while he reached out to the carriage's armrest and stood together with Qin Huaiyu and the others.
In an instant, Qin Huaiyu and the others felt like they were sitting on pins and needles.
Who would have thought that with the cycle of reincarnation, they would still not be able to escape this calamity?
Of course, they did not dare to let Li Shimin stand for too long. After one stop, everyone got off the bus.
"Please line up and get on the bus!"
"Please insert the coins automatically!"
"Please automatically …"
…
With the black coachman's voice, another batch of passengers got on the bus. The four-wheeled bus set off again.
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