"Merton, you must help me!" Soon after receiving the order, Su Dingfang went directly to the Right Valley to block Meton's request for help.
"What are you talking about? Just teach me, Meton. Brother Su is now the vanguard of the Western Expedition. You are the most important. As long as I can do it, just tell me." Meton said straightforwardly.
"Brother Mo, I want you to provide me with a batch of four-wheeled carriages." Su Dingfang said embarrassedly. Carriages were the most important means of transporting grain. However, the Mo Family was a manufacturer of four-wheeled carriages. No one in Chang 'an had more carriages than the Mo Family Village. Su Dingfang's first thought was to ask Meton.
Meton said straightforwardly, "What's so difficult about that? Since Brother Su has asked, I will support you. In order to support Brother Su, the Mo Family Village will provide you with 300 four-wheeled carriages. How about it? "
For an ordinary person, a four-wheeled carriage was the foundation of a family's livelihood. For the Mo Family Village, four-wheeled carriages were just a business of the Mo Family Village. It was not too difficult.
Su Dingfang said hesitantly, "I'm afraid 300 carriages are just a drop in the bucket! I need to escort the grain for an army of 200,000. According to Minister Dai's estimation, I need at least 1,500 carriages. Can the Mo Family Village provide me with more carriages? "
Meton looked at Su Dingfang with a strange look and said, "Brother Su, are you thinking of directly recruiting 1,500 carriages and sending them to Lanzhou at once?"
Su Dingfang was puzzled and said, "Exactly? Otherwise, how can it be enough for an army of 200,000? "
Meton suddenly patted his forehead and said with a sigh, "I don't know if Brother Su has heard of the Mo Family Village's express passenger service from Chang 'an to Luoyang."
Su Dingfang raised his voice and said, "Brother Mo, you are looking down on me! Luoyang is 800 miles away from Chang 'an. The express carriages of the Mo Family Village arrive in a day. This is the fastest carriage in Chang' an. Everyone in Chang 'an knows about it. "
Su Dingfang was not exaggerating at all. The Lantern Festival had made the express carriage of the Mo Family Village famous. Now the express carriage business from Luoyang to Chang 'an City was booming.
Meton showed a trace of complacency and said, "Brother Su, you don't know. Not only can the passenger transport of the Village of Mo reach Chang 'an in one day, even the freight transport of the Village of Mo reach Luoyang in two days. With a load of 5,000 kilograms, the average daily distance is 400 miles."
Su Dingfang thought for a while and said, "Brother Mo, what you mean is that we should change the people and horses instead of the carriages this time, just like the Mo Family Village!"
Thinking of this, Su Dingfang's eyes couldn't help but brighten. If the military provisions this time could be transported like the Mo Family Village's cargo, then wouldn't the speed be greatly increased? They could reach Lan Zhou in the next day. In this way, they would definitely be able to show their faces in front of the Emperor.
"No, I think that Brother Su can even change his car!" Meton shook his head and said.
"Brother Mo, please teach me!" Su Dingfang respectfully asked for advice.
Meton picked up a branch and drew a long zigzag line on the ground. He also drew three circles in the middle of the line and wrote three names of the places. He said, "Brother Su, please take a look. From Chang 'an to Lan Zhou, we pass by Dingxi, Tianshui, and Chencang. If Brother Su uses the three cities as a transit point, you can certainly greatly increase the speed of transporting the provisions without wasting the manpower of the people. "
Su Dingfang looked at the three cities and couldn't help but ponder.
Meton nodded and said, "If we let an ordinary person go thousands of miles to escort the provisions, I'm afraid that the people will be furious. If we let the people of Chang 'an only transport the provisions to Chencang, I'm afraid that they will gladly go."
Su Dingfang nodded and said. Chencang was only 300 miles away from Chang 'an and could return in two days. Naturally, there was not much of a problem in recruiting the people. Meton continued, "With the carriages of Chang' an alone, it can be said that it's easy to recruit 1,500 four-wheeled wagons. Moreover, it won't affect the livelihood of the people. As for Chencang to Tianshui, and then to Dingxi, it's easy to recruit 100 four-wheeled wagons from each city. The Mo Family Village can support Brother Su with 300 four-wheeled trains. In this way, you don't need to let the people travel thousands of miles, nor do you need to make a big fuss. Brother Su can also complete the task of transporting the provisions at the fastest speed. "
"200 carriages in each city? Isn't this too little? We can't transport much provisions. "Su Dingfang asked with uncertainty.
Meton had an idea and said, "If you want to be faster, I have a way to guarantee that you can increase the speed by 30%.
"It can still be increased?" Su Dingfang couldn't help but look at Meton suspiciously. To be able to transport 1,500 miles in five days was already an incredible speed. In Meton's eyes, it was still not the limit.
Meton nodded affirmatively and said, "Since ancient times, it's common sense to work when the sun rises and rest when the sun sets. When night falls, there will be no one on the road. I wonder if you've ever thought of transporting provisions day and night."
"Day and night!" Su Dingfang suddenly raised his head in shock and looked at Meton in disbelief.
Meton nodded affirmatively and said, "People don't want to travel at night. First, they're afraid of bandits and it's not safe. Second, all the cities have a curfew, so there's no place to stay. Third, it's too tiring to travel a long distance. However, for Brother Su, this shouldn't be a difficult thing! "
Su Dingfang laughed and said, "This time, there are escorting soldiers escorting the provisions. In the Tang dynasty, I don't think there's anyone who's blind enough to have any ideas about the provisions."
Meton nodded. As for the curfew, with the military's warrant, the curfew naturally didn't affect the soldiers. Other than that, it's nothing more than hiring more workers. Traveling at night only consumes a little bit of oil and slows down the speed. Anyway, the four-wheeled trucks aren't fast.
If we can escort the provisions day and night, as long as there are enough men and horses, I can guarantee that the first batch of provisions will be delivered from Chang 'an City to Lanzhou City in three days.
"Three days." Su Dingfang couldn't help but be shocked. If he could really do it, he might be able to show his face in front of Li Shimin immediately.
Previously, when he was the Grand Chancellor, it only took three days to travel from Lanzhou City to Chang 'an City with an empty carriage. But he, with a full load of provisions, could also arrive in three days.
Su Dingfang laughed and said, "A man with a great reputation lives up to his name. Brother Mo, you really live up to your reputation. Problems that are very tricky in the eyes of ordinary people can be easily solved by you!"
Meton laughed and showed his signature shy smile. He said, "Brother Mo, you think too highly of me. After the brick road is built, I'm afraid that the express transportation business of Village Mo will be extended from Chang 'an City to Longyou. This is just a plan created by Village Mo. Brother Su, I've troubled you to explore the road in advance. I hope you can forgive me for my selfishness."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
