"This humble subject has selfish motives!" Modun said proudly, looking as if he was in the right.
Li Shimin's face could not help but twitch. How thick was this brat's skin? He was actually so shameless.
"Since ancient times, all rich places, without exception, are places with dense water and land traffic. Yangzhou is the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. Yizhou is the center of Shu Zhou. Roads extend in all directions. Luoyang is the center of the Grand Canal. Both the water and land roads connect. Chang 'an is even more so. … It can be seen that roads are very important to cities. "Meton analyzed.
Li Shimin and the officials carefully pondered, and only then did they realize that indeed, some large cities were mostly built with convenient transportation.
Meton spread out his hands and said, "But there is no good transportation in the mountain area south of Village Mo. What should we do?"
"If you want to be rich, you have to build roads first!"
Li Shimin was shocked and blurted out.
Merton said, "Yes, if you want to be rich, you have to build roads first. Village Mo is developing day by day and there are many carriages and horses. The original rammed earth official road can no longer meet the needs of Village Mo. Village Mo needs a road that can bear the load of four-wheeled carriages even in rainy days. "
Meton talked about the selfishness of Village Mo in front of the officials. It could even be said that they were ambitious.
The officials couldn't help but look serious. At first, they didn't take the slogan of building roads to get rich seriously. They just took it as a limerick and laughed it off. But they didn't expect that Mo Family was not just a slogan. They not only analyzed it in an orderly way, but also put it into practice.
"Wait, you mean the roads can be opened in rainy days." Cheng Yaojin suddenly said in surprise.
Meton said proudly, "Of course. You have all walked on Vermilion Bird Avenue in rainy days. Have you ever encountered any mud?"
The officials shook their heads immediately. Vermilion Bird Avenue was the facade of Tang dynasty. All the roads were paved with bricks. Even in rainy days, they could still walk normally.
"In the past, when it rained, the roads would be extremely muddy, and the business trips would be cut off. Sometimes, it would even be cut off for more than a month. The Mo Family Village uses white ashes to solidify the soil, and uses green bricks to pave the roads. Even if the rain is pouring down, the roads will not be affected at all." Meton explained.
It was only then that Duan Lun understood why Morton had spent so much effort mixing lime and laying bricks.
The officials also calculated that the brick road led directly from the Mo Family Village to Chang 'an City. From then on, the Mo Family Village would enter a period of rapid development and would be rich.
"If you want to be rich, you must first build roads." The officials carefully pondered over this sentence and could not help but sigh. It could be said that although Mo Jiazi had spent a lot of money to build the road, he had ensured the development of the Mo Family Village for ten years. From the perspective of the Mo Family Village, it was not an exaggeration to say that this brick road was the road to prosperity for the Mo Family Village. No wonder Mo Jiazi acted first and reported later, ignoring the public discussion and building the road overnight.
Wei Zheng also understood the logic behind this, and his tone of criticism softened.
"Gallop!"
A four-wheeled carriage ran along the brick road and went straight to the South City Gate. When it was about to reach the city gate, the officials saw clearly that it was Qin Huaiyu and the other two who were driving the carriage.
Cheng Yaojin suddenly shouted angrily, "These three brats dare to ride horses on the street. The Old Man will peel off their skin!"
Now that all the officials were present, if the three of them rode horses on the street, they would be used against them and Cheng Yaojin would lose face.
Qin Qiong and Yuchi Baolin were also furious, and they looked as if they expected better from them.
Meton hurriedly dissuaded them, "Uncles, please don't blame us. This is the Mo Family Village, and we are conducting a road test. These three brothers volunteered to test the speed of the brick road. Moreover, all the intersections are guarded by Brother Mo Jiazi, who clears the road and ensures the safety of the pedestrians. There will be no problem."
Qin Huaiyu and the other two saw that Meton was building a brick road, and even hid it from them. They came to denounce him in an imposing manner. Meton was helpless, and could only let the three of them test the speed of the brick road. The three of them immediately ran away excitedly.
Cheng Yaojin focused his eyes and found that there was indeed someone who was responsible for maintaining order at the foot of the city. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
The sound of brakes sounded, and the carriage slowly stopped in front of the South City Gate.
Qin Huaiyu and the other two jumped down and carried out a huge hourglass from the four-wheeled carriage. When they saw that there was still a lot of sand, they immediately cheered loudly, "A hundred miles in two hours."
Hundred Mile Mo Family Village was the distance between Chang 'an City and Hundred Mile Mo Family Village. A four-wheeled carriage actually covered the distance in two hours, with an average speed of fifty miles per hour. It was naturally nothing in the future, but in this era, it was an incredible speed.
"A hundred miles in two hours!" The officials were also shocked. Chang 'an City was only eight hundred miles away from Luoyang City. If a brick road was laid, wouldn't it be possible to reach the city in a day?
Li Shimin's mind quickly turned, and his eyes were unfocused.
However, this was not the end. Very quickly, a second carriage came, but this was a four-wheeled carriage.
Mo Si jumped down from the carriage and opened the carriage, revealing a carriage full of bricks. He proudly said, "Two-horse four-wheeled carriage, carrying a load of five thousand jin, fifty miles in two hours."
"Carrying a load of five thousand jin, fifty miles in two hours." Li Shimin's eyes lit up.
"Beloved Official Li, how far is Chang 'an City from Longyou City?" Li Shimin asked Li Jing.
"Replying to Your Majesty, it is close to one thousand five hundred miles." Li Jing replied.
"How long will it take to transport the provisions from Chang 'an City to Longyou?" Li Shimin asked again.
Li Jing bitterly said, "At least one month. If there is a rainy day, it is impossible to estimate."
Li Shimin abruptly raised his head and looked at the official road in the south of the city. His mood was fluctuating. One thousand five hundred miles would take more than a month. On the official road in the south of the city, it would take two hours to travel fifty miles. Excluding meals and rest, if one walked for twelve hours a day, they would be able to travel three hundred miles a day.
One thousand five hundred miles, that would only take five days. Furthermore, even if there was a torrential downpour, they would still be able to reach the destination on time.
In ancient times, before the soldiers and horses moved, the provisions would move first. One could imagine the importance of provisions. Furthermore, the loss of provisions during transportation was extremely serious. Ten thousand jin of provisions would be transported from Chang 'an City to Longyou. After deducting the expenses along the way, it would be good if there was still fifty percent of the provisions left. If there was a rainy day, delaying the military was a common matter. It could be said that provisions were the key to determining the outcome of a war.
If there was such a brick road from Chang 'an City to Longyou, coupled with the large load capacity of the four-wheeled carriages, it would be guaranteed that the provisions would be delivered on time in five days. There would not be any loss along the way.
"I implore Your Majesty to build a brick road to Longyou!" Li Jing suddenly stepped forward and said.
His eyes were extremely sharp. At a glance, he could see how important an unimpeded logistics line was to the military of the Tang dynasty.
"I implore Your Majesty to build this road." A group of military generals also immediately understood the significance of the brick road to the military and suggested one after another.
Wei Zheng immediately glared and shouted, "Meton, I'm afraid this is your real purpose. When you were building this brick road, you must have been planning for this day!"
Everyone knew that Meton was obsessed with eliminating the Tuyuhun. He even did not hesitate to give up the snow salt secret technique. In Wei Zheng's view, Meton must have thrown out the brick road to tempt His Majesty to build a brick road so that he could eliminate the Tuyuhun in one fell swoop.
Meton laughed and said, "Lord Wei, you've underestimated me. How could I pursue a brick road? The brick road of the Tang dynasty was crisscrossing and crisscrossing, and the ten crisscrossing paths of the Tang dynasty were connected. This is my real purpose."
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