The days are getting hotter and hotter day by day, and before you know it, you have entered June. The new wheat in the Central Plains came down, and the railway was about to reach Juyan, and Shengzhou began to prepare for the delivery of grain to Juyan.

In the tavern on the side of the road, Zhao Chengshan said to the ancient staff: "The railway has arrived in Juyan, maybe it will be repaired to Yizhou next year, and it will be much more convenient to transport goods from the Western Regions to the Central Plains in the future." You are from Yizhou, you can transport goods from there and sell them to the Central Plains. My family has a store in the state, which is very convenient. If you want to sell to the Central Plains, you can also find another merchant in the capital. ”

Gu Yuanwai said: "I don't know that the merchants of the Western Regions are now trafficking goods, the north road is Gaochang, and then the north goes north to the Khitan Shangjing Road, and after arriving in Fengzhou, it crosses Yinshan, and then goes to Hezhou." The south road enters Tibet from Youchang City, and then goes to Qingtang and enters Qinzhou. Illinois is in the middle, and the north and south roads don't go there. How much is there to produce locally? If there is no trade route, there will be no goods. ”

Zhao Chengshan said: "The railway leads to Yizhou, and the future trade route will inevitably take the railway." Gaochang is only a few hundred miles away from Yizhou, and it is not easy to traffic goods? It is a treasure in the south, and you can also go to Yizhou. ”

Gu Yuanwai shook his head: "It should be like this, but according to the information I got, this is not the case." Gao Chang knew that the Song army was going to enter Yizhou, and he didn't want to surrender, so he was negotiating with the Black Khan. As long as the two families are combined, they don't open the road to Yizhou, which one has a way? This time, when I go back to Illino, I have to find another way to sell goods. The current Yizhou is a place sandwiched in the middle and no one cares about it, where there are any trade routes. ”

When Zhao Chengshan heard this, he couldn't help but be a little anxious: "You finally went to the Central Plains and made some money, how can you give up this path?" The railway to Yizhou, the merchants must go from there, and who can stop it! ”

Gu Yuanwai said: "At the festival level, merchants sell goods, and they only need the permission of the local government." If not, why did the Han Dynasty have a trade route through the Western Regions? The place is unstable, the road cannot be moved, and no merchant can do business. ”

Zhao Chengshan nodded, a little depressed, took a sip of wine, and asked Gu Yuanwai: "Then I see that Jin San is there, there have been continuous caravans, and the business is very prosperous, how did he do it?" ”

Gu Yuanwai said: "How can you compare with Jin San? He is one of the few big merchants in the Western Regions, and he doesn't know how many stores. And the network has been going west, and there is never a shortage of goods, which is not comparable to those of us. ”

Gu Yuanwai was a businessman who followed Chen Xizhi into Beijing, lived in Shengzhou for more than a month, and became acquainted with Zhao Chengshan. Zhao Chengshan was originally from Bingzhou, and someone in his family was a soldier, so he went to Shengzhou to manage the granary. A few days ago, I checked the grain depot and lost dozens of dollars, and I was bent on making up for it. After getting acquainted with Gu Yuanwai, he thought about taking advantage of the opportunity of the construction of the railway to open up a trade route from Yizhou to the Central Plains. I don't want to listen to what Gu Yuanwai said, this matter is not so easy. Yizhou is too far away from Black Khan to the south, and is at odds with nearby Gaochang, where there is no goods.

After drinking for a while, Zhao Chengshan said depressedly: "Could it be that even if the railway is repaired to Yizhou, there is no trade opportunity?" Such a useless railway, where did the imperial court come from! ”

Gu Yuanwai said: "It's different for the imperial court. There is nothing to have no trade routes for a short time, but after a long time, it will naturally be able to make Gaochang and Heihan agree. But it's hard to say how much time it will take. ”

Gao Chang was defeated by the Black Khan, lost Qiuzi, closed the gate to the southern part of the Western Regions, and cut off the trade routes outside the Gu Yuan. How to find opportunities after going back, I don't have the bottom in my heart now, and I'm worrying about myself.

Zhao Chengshan always felt that the construction of the railway to Yizhou would inevitably give rise to new trade routes. It's just that I can't think of how this trade route came out.

In the Shuaifu, Du Zhongxiao asked Li Fugui: "If it is soon, it will be the end of the month, or if it is late, it will be next month, and the railway will be repaired to Juyan." As soon as they arrived in Juyan, they asked to bring as many supplies as possible. The most important thing now is to stock up in Shengzhou, and second, to transport the railway and carriages to the other side of the Yellow River. During this time, the grain and grass in the Central Plains increased, was there a special provision for Juyan's army? ”

Li Fugui said: "Back to the festival, the lower officials have set up a separate granary in Juyan, and the stock is sufficient. It's just that this year, before autumn, most of the preparations are mainly wheat noodles, and there are not many rice and millet. The most important thing is that the horse material is not yet available. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This matter is important, and it is necessary to prevent accidents, and prepare more materials." Can this railway run in winter? ”

Li Fugui shook his head: "This is very difficult to say. According to the way the road builders repaired the road last year, the wind and sand are particularly strong in winter, and I don't know if I can run. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, I don't know if I can train in winter, and the number of preparations will be more." With the support of the imperial court, we collected grain and grass from several roads, and we could not miss the opportunity. In addition, the trains and carriages transported here from the Central Plains should be sent to Hezhou as soon as possible and transported across the Yellow River. Now is the best season and the river is well-watered, don't miss the opportunity. When the train arrives, the goods can be transported by rail. ”

Lee Fu-gyu agreed. The railway leads to Hezhou, and the Yellow River is crossed by ferry, and the current good weather should be taken advantage of. After the railway was opened, the cities along the road did not rely on local grain, but on grain transported from the Central Plains. As long as there are business opportunities, the population will be greatly improved. Hezhou is on the main road, once the Western Regions trade route is opened, it can develop into a prosperous and lively place.

Du Zhongxiao stood up, looked out the window, and said, "After the railway is repaired to Juyan, and then repaired all the way west to Yizhou, it will be connected to the Central Plains." The previous dynasties lost the Western Regions, all of which were first lost in Hexi and Guanzhong, isolated from traffic, and had to be lost. With the railway, it is different, except for Hexi, there is also this road to go. By the way, after reaching Illinois, will there be a trade route from there? When will there be such a trade route? ”

Li Fugui said: "According to the knowledge of the lower officials, there is no trade route in Yizhou now, otherwise Chen Ximing would not agree to stay in the capital." Now the merchants of the Western Regions, the north road is from Gaochang to the north, along the Khitan Shangjing Road to the east, and in Fengzhou south into Hezhou. The south road is from Yochang City to the Tibetan Tribes, and enters the Central Plains after entering Qinzhou. If the railway leads to Yizhou, because Gaochang and Heihan fought, the merchants on the southern road could not arrive, so they could only look at the merchants on the northern route. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "When the merchants of the Western Regions arrived in Shengzhou, they all gathered at Jinsan. Do you have any news of him, would you like to change from Khitan to Yizhou? The railway was built there, and along the way, it saved a lot of fares. ”

Li Fugui said: "According to what we know now, Jin San restricts the merchants of the Western Regions and does not change the trade route. Yizhou and Gaochang are not in harmony, there are few caravans between the two cities, if the merchants of the Western Regions do not change the old road, the railway is useless. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, was silent for a while, and said, "Why is Jin San unwilling to change the old path?" ”

Li Fugui said: "According to the news that the lower officials got, he still has to do business with the Khitan, and he has changed a new road, and it is not easy for the Khitan to do it." However, Xia Guan believes that the most important thing is that as long as the merchants of the Western Regions listen to him, the road expenses are expensive, and the price is higher, and they will not be able to make less money. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled when he heard it: "It's a good idea, the road fee is expensive, and the price is recovered." Only, aren't there any other businessmen? ”

Li Fugui said: "The caravans in the Western Regions are mainly Sogdians. Jin San was a Sogdian, he spoke, and the caravan did not violate much. ”

The Sogdians were originally in the river, and during the Tang Dynasty, a large number of them entered the Central Plains, such as An Lushan. After the Anshi Rebellion, some of them fled back to the Western Regions, and some of them were gradually sinicized. In the Western Regions, the Sogdians were mainly engaged in business, as well as books and arithmetic, and had a deep relationship with the political power. Jin San is guarding the old road, but I'm afraid it has something to do with Gaochang. The Uighurs and Sogdians, who were already in harmony with each other, were the ruling class in the Western Regions.

Du Zhongxiao looked out the window, thinking about the future situation in the Western Regions, and had a headache for a while. This was an international trade route, and unlike commercial activities within the Song Dynasty, it had to rely on international merchants. If a businessman gets involved in politics, a lot of things are very troublesome.