Chen Zhengtai soon went and returned.

I returned to the carriage and sat down obediently in the corner of the carriage.

Zhang Qian reluctantly poured tea for Chen Zhengtai.

Chen Zhengtai smiled and took the tea handed over by Zhang Qian, took a sip of tea, and then said to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, I have been informed that this line has been opened for 400 miles. The reason why Erchen adopts wooden rails is because wooden rails are easier to lay, as long as they are willing to spend money, the progress of the project will not be slow. ”

Chen Zhengtai immediately said: "Of course, this is only the early stage, first lay the roadbed and wooden rails, and in the future, you can also take iron sheets to wrap the wooden rails, and even in the future, directly replace them with rails......"

Li Shimin and Zhang Qian were dumbfounded, and sighed deeply in their hearts, the rails, crazy, steel is still very scarce in this era, at some point, if it is because of the lack of copper, this iron can even be directly cast into iron money, laying a track of thousands of miles, isn't this equivalent to laying money on the ground, almost going around the Tang Dynasty?

I'm afraid that the cost is more than 30 times that of the current wooden rail.

It's terrible, the wooden rails have already scattered the money like paper.

Chen Zhengtai also has to lay railroad tracks.

From this Chen Zhengtai's tone, it seems to be ...... This lays wooden rails and saves money.

Li Shimin's eyes widened, and he looked at Chen Zhengtai in astonishment.

Chen Zhengtai didn't care what Li Shimin thought, but continued: "This wooden rail also has disadvantages, that is, it must be carefully maintained, but ...... As long as it is completely completed in the future, there will be countless cars and horses along the way, as long as there are people driving, there is no need to worry too much, and the cost of maintenance can be earned through various stations in the future. ”

As he spoke, the carriage moved.

The huge carriage, on the wooden rails, made a creaking sound and shook a little.

The carriage was pulled by two horses, and after a brief jolt, it ...... Li Shimin turned his eyes and saw that outside the crystal window, countless scenes began to move backwards.

The interior of the carriage is obviously wrapped in soft objects, so although there is noise, it is still in a controllable range.

Li Shimin couldn't help but stand up, and when he reached the crystal window, Zhang Qian's embarrassed voice came from behind him: "It's weird and scary." ”

It's really scary, and it's a bit fierce.

After the two healthy horses pulled the carriage, the carriage seemed to gallop desperately with the horses along the huge inertia.

This speed ...... Much faster than Li Shimin imagined, you know...... This carriage should be very heavy, after all, the carriage is quite large, and there are furnishings in it.

But under the drive of the rolling bearing, once the carriage is pulled up, the wheels will rotate wildly, and because the wheels fit with the wooden rails at the bottom, there is almost no friction, and the car seems to be like a wild horse, without any obstacles.

Li Shimin's astonished discovery...... Front and rear ...... It was also like this, these chariots and horses, some of which were loaded with a large number of guards, and some of which were ...... It is loaded with a lot of packs, but the speed is amazing.

Of course, this speed is nothing to Chen Zhengtai, even if it is a backward steam train in later generations, the speed is faster than this, but for Li Shimin, his heart is quite shocked.

The carriage in front and behind has a load capacity several times that of an ordinary carriage, which is terrifying...... But they can run at such crazy speeds, this ...... It's not easy.

Li Shimin's heart was shocked, and he became interested for a while, and asked with a serious face.

"How much can this car travel per day?"

Chen Zhengtai talked eloquently: "Every 100 miles, there will be a special station to provide horse changes and supplies, if you don't stop along the way, just keep changing horses, a day, it can be 300 miles." ”

Three hundred miles......

Li Shimin's body was shocked.

In fact, this speed, if it is just one person, along the official road, using the post station, and transmitting information, it can actually be done in Datang.

But if a group of people, plus the provisions of these people, can do 300 a day, this is terrible.

Li Shimin is a person who leads troops, and he knows that with soldiers, horses and supplies, even if he is in a hurry, he can travel 30 miles a day, and he is already an elite soldier.

And in the vast steppe, perhaps because there is no obstacle, the Turks can travel hundreds of miles a day, and no matter how much, it is unheard of, after all...... This is a large number of men and horses, to carry a large amount of horse feed, and people also have to carry a lot of dry food, people have to rest, and horses have to rest.

But the man sat on the cart, obviously in a state of rest all the time, and the road may be bumpy, but it is not as tiring as the rider has been driving the horse all the time.

As for changing horses along the way and setting up stations, this is nothing, after all, in the grassland, the most are horses.

Three hundred in a day, this is just like the Kunpeng in "Zhuangzi, Getaway".

Li Shimin's interest was high.

At first, he could feel the horses pulling the carriage, and then he felt that the carriage was just running along the wooden tracks.

He couldn't help muttering: "Three hundred miles a day, three hundred ...... a day"

Zhang Qian on the side couldn't help but change his face suddenly, with an unbelievable look.

I can't help but admire Chen Zhengtai in my heart, it's really amazing.

Chen Zhengtai sat on the side, but he looked very calm.

He even thought in his heart, three hundred a day, is still ......

I think that at the beginning, my god car Wuling Hongguang, with one foot on the accelerator, I could run 3,000 miles 24 hours a day. That's it...... You also need to sleep and get off the bus to eat and drink on the way.

It's just that it's almost a miracle for this day and age.

If it weren't for his own experience, Li Shimin would never believe it, and he even felt that Chen Zhengtai was talking about it.

At this moment, Li Shimin experienced it himself, and the scenery along the road moved back wildly, and he was sure that Chen Zhengtai's words were not adulterated, and he was suddenly full of interest.

Because the carriage has been traveling in a hurry, it did not stop until about one hundred and fifty miles, and it seemed that when it arrived at a station, Li Shimin got off the train, and the people at the station began to replace the horses, and suddenly, Li Shimin had discovered that he was about to arrive at the grassland in a short time.

This pass is not far from the grassland, and the wooden track is a straight road, and it is as straight as possible, without too many twists and turns.

Behind a long line of carriages and horses, also stopped steadily, the guards in the car, also got off the car to rest, these guards, it seems that they did not expect that the journey, so smooth, so excited to get off, and the process of changing horses is very short, because the people in the station, obviously have experience, they are well-trained, a moment of effort, and someone notified everyone to board the car.

Li Shimin even took a nap in the carriage, and when he woke up, he found that he had actually arrived on the grassland, and outside the window, there was lush green grass, blowing in the wind, up and down, like a green ocean......

At this time, the grassland can not actually be called the desert of later generations, because of the Tang Dynasty, the rain was abundant, so the grass grew very fiercely, and it was ...... far away I saw some scattered cattle and sheep, and I don't know if they were wild animals or lost by the shepherds.

Li Shimin can even see that occasionally, there are some people patrolling the road next to this wooden track, they are riding horses, and some people seem to be driving their cattle and sheep.

Look at their appearance, they are actually dressed as Han people, threes and threes.

Chen Zhengtai saw Li Shimin's curiosity, so he explained with a smile.

"Pastures have been set up near every station, and the people of this ranch, in addition to herding cattle and sheep, have also taken on some guard and security duties. Nature...... The trail is long, and it's impossible for them to do it all full-time, just let them make sure that there are no horse thieves and squacks nearby. The Chen family even has seventeen pastures along the way, and there will be more in the future, and most of the herdsmen are Han Chinese, recruited from Guanzhong. ”

Li Shimin felt more and more surprised, his eyes were full of puzzlement, and he looked at Chen Zhengtai.

"Han people herding horses?"

Chen Zhengtai bowed his head and then smiled.

"Your Majesty, of course it is difficult for the Han people to herd horses, but I only heard that the Hu people can herd horses before, just because the Hu people have no other livelihood. To tell the truth, who is willing to eat and drink in this grassland, but now the Chen family here, for the cattle and horses in the pasture, have set a purchase price to ensure that their cattle and horses can be exchanged for money at any time after they grow up, in addition, around Shuofang and along the railway, there are also some merchants, gathered, because the herdsmen have money, so they are also willing to peddle vegetables and fruits and goods transported from Guanzhong in the market, in the future with this wooden track, the transportation of goods will be much more convenient, for herdsmen, horse herding is just a profession, weekday food, clothing, housing and transportation, in fact, will not be worse than Guanzhong. The Han people are also people, no different from the Hu people, they can herd horses, why can't the Han people? The main thing is to see how to protect their livelihood and interests, and they are naturally willing to do it. ”

Chen Zhengtai paused: "The cattle and horses in the pasture here will be transported to Shuofang or Guanzhong, which can be supplemented to Guanzhong livestock in the future, and can also provide a large amount of fur and meat, which are interconnected with each other, in fact, what the Central Plains has been lacking is animal husbandry and meat, but this grassland is occupied by the Hu people, so cattle, sheep and horses are monopolized by them, and the mutual market of the imperial court, the transaction volume is not high, if a large number of cattle, sheep and fur can be poured in, this is a good thing for the grassland and the Central Plains." ”

Li Shimin bowed his head, but he was still a little relieved about the Han people herding horses.

It's just that at this time, he has a little more expectations in his heart for Shuo Fang.

………………

"Great Khan." Someone hurried into the tent of the Turki Khan.

Although the Turki Khan was a vassal to the Tang Dynasty and was named the King of Guiyi, in fact, on the steppe, he still called himself the Great Khan and commanded the Eastern Turkic tribes.

It's just that...... Because of the attachment of the Turki Khan, in fact, the various Hu tribes controlled by the Eastern Turks have actually been divided, and the Turki Khan used the support given by the Tang Dynasty to barely control the people of the Eastern Turk headquarters.

These days, the Turki Khan can be described as restless.

More and more Han people poured into the grassland, which completely changed his mentality.

The original Tuli Khan still believed that he and the Tang Dynasty could coexist, as long as he got the support of the Tang Dynasty, he could reunify the grassland, and he could become the co-lord of the grassland like his ancestor Qiming Khan.

It's just that the Han people entered the grassland, which means that the Tang Dynasty will actually control these grasslands, at first, he was not worried, and even he thought that these people who could not adapt to the grassland at all were just a group of fat sheep.

And in the past two years, he feels more and more that his wishful thinking has been completely wrong.

These Han people who flocked out of the customs quickly occupied the pastures, established pastures, built cities, and even tried to cultivate agriculture outside the city.

What will happen in the long run? The Turki Khan could not have imagined.

He even smelled a hint of danger, once the power of these Han people continued to swell, then...... There is really no place for the Turks in this world.

Although there were many conflicts, the contradictions between him and the Han people began to deepen, but at this time, he still could not make up his mind.

After all, Tuli Khan knew very well that behind these Han people was the increasingly powerful Tang Dynasty, and once he decided to rebel, then the Tang Dynasty's military horses would quickly retaliate.

He wasn't even afraid of the Tang Dynasty, but he knew very well that now that the various tribes on the grassland were rising, if they suffered the blows of the Tang Dynasty, then the Turkic tribes might be swallowed up by the other Hu tribes that rose with it.

Therefore, the Turki Khan could only endure it.

And at this time...... A letter arrived.

As soon as he saw the opening of the letter, the face of the Turi Khan suddenly became solemn.

It seems that with instinctive reverence for the owner of the letter, the Tuli Khan stood up and opened the letter.

After reading the letter for the most part, the Turki Khan looked a little incredulous.

He muttered: "The Tang Emperor actually entered the grassland, not only that, but even the 'brother' of Ben Khan actually came. There aren't too many servants around them. ”

The Turki Khan couldn't help but ask the others in the tent: "Is there any news like this from other places?" ”

The Turks also have their own news channels in Chang'an, and if there is really any movement, there should be news.

The other generals shook their heads one after another, looking confused.

"Could this be a trick of the Han Chinese?"

"Nope." Tuli Khan shook his head and sighed: "This is Mr. Qingzhu's handwriting, there will be no fake, in this way, this matter is a very confidential matter, even in Datang, there are not too many people who know these things." ”

"Mr. Aotake......"

The crowd was stunned.

Especially one or two people who know the inside story, some people can't help but ask, "What else does the letter say?" ”

He said...... If the Tang Emperor can be taken, then the Turkic Ministry will be able to take what the Tang Dynasty wants. This Li Shimin is so arrogant that he dares to go deep into the desert alone, and he brings hundreds of people with him, I know that he is brave, but acting like this is really incomprehensible. ”