In the spring of the third year of Emperor Jing's reign, under the strong suggestion of the crown prince Liu Che, Emperor Jing issued an edict to lift the ban on entering Hangu Pass.

In order to protect the safety of the capital Xianyang, the Qin Dynasty was strictly punished, and no official document from the government was used as a special pass to enter and leave the Hangu Pass, which was the ban.

After the founding of the Han Dynasty, the government was harmonious, and although thieves and rebellions were not extinct, they were no longer the main contradictions in society. In order to show peace, the imperial court once lifted the ban on Hangu Pass, and only needed to hold a talisman similar to the road guide to pass.

However, after the rebellion of Wu Chu, Emperor Jing reinstated the Hangu Pass, and even more intensified the order to use the silk as a voucher to enter and exit the checkpoint, the silk is made of silk, which is much more precious than the bamboo talisman, and the number of people issued is also very small, so the number of people who have cleared the Hangu Pass has plummeted. This has formed a serious isolation between Guanzhong and the Central Plains, and has an extremely bad impact on the circulation of goods.

The reason why Emperor Jing accepted Liu Che's suggestion was not only because the princes of the Central Plains had been severely damaged and could no longer resist the central government, but also because a large number of materials had to be quickly transported from Guanzhong to the Central Plains and even southern Xinjiang.

Last year, due to the limited output of sulfuric acid factories, the fertilizer factories often ran idle, and the fertilizer produced was only supplied to the government fields in the seven counties of Gyeonggi. The remaining small amount of fertilizer was divided up by the Han magnates who had invested in the Royal Industrial Group according to the proportion of equity.

Last winter, a large number of sulfuric acid and fertilizer workshops were quickly completed after strict site selection and careful planning, and the production capacity increased several times in an instant. Not only did there be no problem in supplying the official fields of the Gyeonggi counties, but even the fertilizers needed for the feudal kingdom that the princes had handed over to the imperial court had already been shipped.

Seeing that spring ploughing is imminent, the Han magnates who have tasted the sweetness last year have also confirmed that chemical fertilizers can increase the miraculous effect of at least 50% of the yield per mu, how can they still let the royal family eat alone. They all went to Emperor Jing, hoping to get more fertilizer to apply in their respective fiefdoms.

At this time, the middle and upper reaches of the Wei River and the Yellow River were just beginning to thaw, and water transportation was a nightmare idea for millions of stone fertilizers. Hangu Pass is the only passage that can be transported quickly, and even if Emperor Jing is the son of the Han Dynasty, he has to consider the major families who have green eyes in order to obtain it as soon as possible, so he agreed to Liu Che's suggestion to lift the ban on Hangu.

The second thing to be transported in large quantities is asphalt, and the major families that originally invested in the Royal Industrial Group received a huge amount of dividends before the New Year. However, they did not use all the money to buy the asphalt concocted by the oil mills. It was only because Emperor Jing had issued an edict that the Shaofu issued the right of way to the top families in each county, allowing them to collect caravan tolls on the asphalt roads they had built.

Of course, the right of way is strictly restricted. First of all, the quality of the road should be reviewed by the Shaofu people, and the toll standard also has a corresponding level. If there is a violation, if the circumstances are serious, it will be nationalized, which is enough to make the road builders lose all their money. There is no doubt about this among the major families, there are no rules, and in the face of the strong imperial power, they do not have the slightest idea of touching the bottom limit of the Son of Heaven.

Liu Fei, chairman of the Royal Industrial Group, was not disappointed by the loss of the monopoly position of the right of way, but was extremely excited. He learned the news of lifting the ban early, and in the face of the imminent blowout of cargo flow, the group's "Imperial Logistics" finally ushered in a rare opportunity.

The crown prince Liu Che once drew the structural drawings of many large cars, and ordered the craftsmen of the Gewu Yuan in the inner courtyard of the orphan and the prince Zhan Shifu to try to make them respectively. Much progress has been made in the fact that four-wheeled trucks with iron axles can carry much more cargo than the original animal-powered two-wheelers and human-powered wheelbarrows.

In fact, four-wheeled vehicle driving appeared in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but it was soon abandoned.

Originally, a four-wheeled vehicle was nothing more than a box with a window, suspended from a reed frame by a belt, and the passengers sitting opposite each other had to endure constant shaking and jumping. In addition, because ancient Chinese cars did not have a steering mechanism, four-wheeled vehicles often required a large turning radius, and it was even more difficult to turn around on narrow roads.

Secondly, although four-wheeled vehicles carry a large amount of cargo, they are not convenient in China. Especially in the Loess Plateau, the birthplace of civilization, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the former wheels will have deep ruts when pressed, and the wheels will be unstable when there are too many wheels; The latter, which in ancient times were full of swamps and forest lakes, was equally unsuitable. The North China Plain can take a four-wheeled vehicle, but the area occupied is too small, and you can't keep changing the car, or a two-wheeled vehicle is suitable. Precipitation in China is concentrated in summer, dirt roads are easily washed out, and two-wheelers are easier to pass than four-wheelers.

The road problem is now solved with the asphalt road that is about to be paved. Even if there was no time to pave the asphalt road, the imperial court ordered all counties to repair the Qin Dynasty straight road as soon as possible, and re-compacted the road section with loose soil. Even at the request of the superintendent sent by the Shaofu, the road surface was reorganized. Let the middle of the road surface be slightly raised to form a small arc, so that when it rains, the water does not collect, but flows to the edges and disperses to the stone ditches on both sides.

And the steering system of four-wheeled vehicle driving is Liu Che's best skill.

Today, the smelting technology of the Han Dynasty can completely produce the front steering mechanism designed by the ancient Romans. To make the front wheels smaller than the rear wheels, four-wheelers use a rotating front axle to rotate in the direction of rotation, a full rim and rim for strength, and a hub with metal edges to reduce friction. The front axle is then made together with the twin wheel bars, which are connected to the chassis by a rotating pivot shaft, so that it is easy to steer.

As for the shock absorption system, Liu Che is powerless, after all, there is no spring, let alone rubber. He could only analyze the structure of some shock absorbers according to later generations, and left it to the craftsmen to figure it out themselves.

In fact, although there were no springs in ancient China, the wheels were made of whole wooden strips, which had a certain elastic surname. Secondly, wooden wheels are not bare, and the wheels are generally wrapped in hemp to achieve shock absorption. Of course, the wealthy and powerful people wrapped it in a very thick cloth or leather, which not only prevented flooding, but also had a considerable shock-absorbing effect.

The final result made Liu Che admire the wisdom of the ancients, and the craftsmen set up Fu Rabbit and Dang Rabbit on the car to achieve the effect of shock absorption......

The rabbit is placed on the axle, the shape is similar to a cuboid, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and the upper flat is loaded. There is a semicircular notch under it, which is clamped in conjunction with the shaft. The three of Yu, the rabbit and the shaft are tied with leather strips. In this way, it plays a certain role in protecting the shaft and the bottom wood, and has a good shock absorption effect.

When the rabbit is very simple, it is a wooden block component placed under the two wheels and above the axle to prevent the wheels from moving sideways to assist the rabbit in shock absorption.

Liu Che looked at the rabbit and rabbit components in front of him in disbelief, swallowed his saliva with difficulty, and couldn't help blurting out: "I'll wipe it!" Can shock-absorbing spring steel plates be done like this? Pure wooden structure? Geely and BYD, your car shock absorption is so bad, are you worthy of your ancestors?! ”

Liu Che felt that he had studied for graduate school in mechanical engineering in vain, and that the exam-oriented education of later generations had really poisoned creativity. The only thing he could do now was to switch some parts of the rabbit and the rabbit to metal. Then he rewarded the craftsmen who participated in the production, talent!

In short, Imperial Logistics' carrying capacity has increased dramatically since the continuous acquisition of four-wheeled vehicles, at least in Gyeonggi counties. The shrewd Liu Fei was naturally not satisfied with freight, and since Liu Che had described to him about the prospects of the transportation industry, he had long been eager to try what Liu Che called manned transportation.

In the early Han Dynasty, when agriculture was heavy and merchants were suppressed, merchants were not allowed to ride horses and cars. But the so-called car refers to the car with a crown, which is the so-called "Chinese car". Therefore, the merchants often went off the rails and rode in carts that were long and uncrowned, and were often drawn by oxen or donkeys rather than horses.

The first "bus" of the Han Empire appeared within the Imperial Industrial Group, which was only used by the craftsmen under the group. Because a large number of newly built workshops are located in the suburbs of Chang'an, and most of the craftsmen still choose to settle in the city, they have to walk more than ten miles every time, leaving early and returning late.

Naturally, the buses are not free, and from the workshops on the outskirts of Chang'an to the civilian areas in the north of Chang'an, each person has to charge a baht. The two baht spent on a round trip can buy five catties of corn, which is more than enough for an ordinary family of four in Chang'an City.

However, compared to some of the craftsmen in the group, especially the stewards in the workshops, the two baht is only a drop in the bucket. The craftsmen paid at least a few hundred dollars a month, and the stewards made thousands of dollars a month.

On the wide road outside the farm, Aunt Wang looked at the four-wheeled donkey cart driving on the avenue with a displeased face, and muttered endlessly: "Why don't you let us sit?" Isn't it just a baht, and I can't pay for it? ……”

The female companion beside her hurriedly comforted: "Forget it, the handlebar style has been said, only the craftsmen and stewards of the Royal Industrial Group can take this Raushzi bus, it was specially ordered by their host, what else can you do?" ”

Aunt Wang had no choice but to pout helplessly and stop squeaking. Who calls the owner of the family bullish, don't look at the owner of the Tian business group is the uncle of the country, I heard that the owner of the family is still the prince.

Of course, it is not only Aunt Wang who complains, there are tens of thousands of craftsmen in Chang'an City, and there are not a few who are willing to spend two baht per day to ride. Even in the workshops of Chang'an West City, the craftsmen waiting in line for a ride are overcrowded. The distance from Xishi to Beique Luli is also more than ten miles, which is not closer than some suburban workshops.

After half a month of trial, Liu Fei was overjoyed in the face of such a hot demand. He ordered the original 20 four-wheeled donkey carts to be directly increased to 200, which was enough to meet the internal needs of the royal industrial group. (To be continued.) )