The environment inside the mountain was so harsh that before the army arrived, it was estimated that half of the soldiers would fall.
Hey, how can I think of a way to dissuade His Highness?
These thoughts flashed through everyone's minds.
Li Ke glanced at everyone's expressions. He probably knew what everyone was thinking. He paused for a moment, and then Li Ke said lightly: "Let me ask, in some parts of Lingnan Road, rice can also be cooked twice, or even Is it ripe?"
"Okay." Everyone nodded, not knowing why His Highness asked this.
"In other words, there is actually no shortage of food in Lingnan?"
"No shortage." No one said anything. In fact, there is no shortage of food in the entire Tang Dynasty. The main reason is that the population of the Tang Dynasty is small now. Even in Guanzhong, where the population is concentrated, compared to the peak of the Han Dynasty or other dynasties in later generations, there is no shortage of food. The population is estimated to be only a fraction.
If there is no shortage of cultivated land, there will naturally be no shortage of food.
Historically, natural disasters in the early Tang Dynasty still caused people to starve to death. This was actually because food was not allocated in time. Food from places such as Lingnan could not be transported to the disaster-stricken areas at all, and food transported from other areas was of no avail.
The second part of the reason is that the Tang Dynasty was just founded in the early days and had been fighting for many years. A lot of food collected from local areas was given priority to the army. This meant that the official had no food reserves, and of course it could not cope with the famine. With the ancient transportation conditions, temporary How can it be possible that there will not be refugees?
Secondly, when there is a disaster year and you want to buy grain, even people in non-disaster areas do not dare to sell grain because they are afraid of disaster in their own place. The accumulation of these reasons led to the end of Wude and the beginning of Zhenguan. of food shortage.
Moreover, when the Tang Dynasty was just established, there were many wastes waiting to be renovated. The official water transportation power was insufficient, and the commerce was not as developed as that of the later Song Dynasty. Both official and private transportation power were lacking. The Tang Dynasty's treasury was poor, and Li Shimin and others did not understand the principle of economic circulation. The treasury was poor and they wanted to save money, so they would not do some things if they could.
But an ordinary person in later generations knows a truth. Saving can only save small money, but big money can never be saved, especially for the country.
There is no shortage of food in Lingnan, but it does not mean that all the people in Lingnan have food. For example, Li Ke knows that the tribes in the mountains must be short of food.
Think about it, more than a thousand years later, the mountainous areas of Yunnan are full of various poverty-stricken areas, and even many ethnic minorities in the mountains have to rely on the mountains to live on without national poverty alleviation policies. You can imagine their lives in the Tang Dynasty.
"I understand. Although we have no way to communicate with these Barbarian tribes, I think you must be able to contact several Barbarian tribes, right?" Li Ke looked at them and asked.
"Of course it's okay." No one was surprised. Some of these tribes were unwilling to communicate with the Han people, so naturally some were less resistant. It would definitely be okay to contact a few barbarian tribes.
"Okay, then the matter is settled. You can go back and think about it. Then I will give you three days. We will talk again in three days. By the way, Sun Simiao, Taoist Master Sun, also came with me. He can help you take a look first. Body." Li Ke smiled and nodded.
If Li Ke remembers correctly, there are several people here who are about to die. For example, Qiu He seems to have passed away next year. If Sun Simiao is here, is it okay to let him live for another year or two? Old people like Qiu He, although they are a little older, are still very influential. How can this be possible if they die next year?
Why can't he live for another two or three years? After all, he has to wait until the Tang Dynasty takes over Southeast Asia before he dies.
Some clan members sent by the Tang Dynasty, such as Li Daoxing, died in office last year due to miasma. It is a pity that if he dies again this year, Li Ke will definitely be able to save him.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Regarding this, everyone was full of joy. Sun Simiao's reputation was well known in Lingnan Road, not to mention that Datang Weekly had publicized it several times. Of course they knew it, and it was like this The old god gives you medical treatment, but you can't even ask for it.
The ancients all knew that doctors become more powerful as they get older!
Even a doctor who didn't have much knowledge when he was young can already treat most diseases with just experience after decades of treating them.
After the discussion was completed, the next step was for the guests and the host to enjoy themselves. After the meal was finished, everyone left one after another. After they left, a man in his forties walked in.
"Your Highness, Li Dai, has met." The man saluted Li Ke excitedly.
"No courtesy, how about it? Is the weather on Lingnan Road suitable for you?" Li Ke asked with a smile. Li Dai is the person in charge of Yuelai Trading Company on Lingnan Road.
"When I return to His Highness, I have already adapted. I was a little uncomfortable when I first came here, but in the past few years I have adapted more." Li Dai's tone was still a little excited. This is His Highness in real life.
"Don't get excited. I will stay here for a while. You can see me often. It's not okay to be so excited." Li Ke made a joke.
"Yes." Li Dai took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, "Your Highness, this is what you need."
After calming down, Li Dai handed a document he brought over to Li Ke.
Li Ke took it and looked at it. It was mainly about the prices of goods in Lingnan Road. The top item was grain. The food in Guangzhou is currently 100 Wen per stone, while the cheapest food in other state capitals in Lingnan Road is only 60 Wen per stone. , judging from the price of 120 yuan per stone in Chang'an, the price here is only half of that in Chang'an.
In other words, it is profitable to buy grain from Lingnan Road at a price of 60 cents and then transport it to Chang'an on a new type of ship. If you don't make much profit, you can earn 10 cents per stone of grain based on the minimum profit. A 1,200-ton ship can load The cargo is 700 tons, about 11,500 shi, and the profit is more than 100 guan.
It may seem that the profit is not high, but don't forget that the Tang Dynasty made no money at all transporting grain in the past and was losing money. But now it can still make money. This is a huge progress in itself, and it will have a great impact on promoting grain trade. Influence.
As long as there is profit, there are businessmen willing to do it.
The consumption of food transported by land is too great. From Lingnan to Chang'an, the loss is estimated to be close to 80%, or even 90%. For one stone of food, the people on the road have to eat 90%.
But large ships don't have this problem. They can transport enough food at one time, and if it's a cargo ship, it doesn't need too many people at all, just basic sailors.
Then there is the price of salt. Li Ke’s Red Sea Salt is not sold here. After all, it can be consumed in other places in the Tang Dynasty, and there is no need to sell it here, but it is actually sold in Guangzhou! But it was not Li Ke who sold it, but other businessmen who bought Li Ke's high-grade salt in Chang'an and sold it back to Guangzhou.
Not to mention, there are actually many wealthy businessmen here buying it.
