At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 468: One-day tour in Chang'an
On June 5th of the 19th year of the Han Dynasty, in Chang'an City, at the Taiwei Mansion, General Deng Zong, the Supervisory General, and General Wu Sheng, the Assistant General, summoned all the naval elites who had come to Chang'an City.

Wu Sheng looked at them and said, "I think you have understood why I recruited you to Chang'an this time. The development of the Han Dynasty has entered a bottleneck period, and my Han army is even more so. The world is invincible, the Han Dynasty has entered a prosperous era, and the people of the world enjoy a peaceful life.

But the soldiers of our Han Dynasty should be prepared for danger in times of peace. The emperor intends to send two fleets to explore the unknown world from the east and west. These two fleets are the two eyes of the Han Dynasty, helping the court to better understand the world and spread the civilization of our Han Dynasty to more vast lands. "

"But the places we are sailing to are all unknown. I can tell you clearly that when your fleet sails out of the territory of the Han Dynasty, you will have no rear and no support, and you don't know what dangers you will encounter. You can only rely on yourself to get through it all. It is not an exaggeration to say that you are in danger of death. So if you don't want to take risks, you can raise the issue now. The court will not force you."

Liu Bi and others said excitedly: "We are willing to be the eyes of the Han Dynasty."

Deng Zong said: "Well, you are worthy of being my Han soldiers. Due to the special nature of this mission, I will give you a month's vacation to spend time with your family. After a month, the selection of captains and officers for the two expedition teams will officially begin."

June 6th, Chang'an City, Peihou Mansion.

Liu Bi was excited all night, but when he woke up the next day and faced a one-month vacation, he didn't know what to do.

Chang'an City was a little too unfamiliar to him. Except for two visits to Chang'an to report on his work, he had never been to Chang'an City. He had been staying in a wild place like Wa Island for more than ten years. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was isolated from the world. However, Chang'an City was the most prosperous capital of the Han Dynasty. The population of the city was more than that of the entire Wa Island. Facing the streets full of people coming and going and cars, Liu Bi was even a little at a loss.

Liu Bi was originally a son of a good family. His parents made a living by farming. Although the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty was fierce, Pei County was not affected too strongly. Sishui County remained in a transparent state during the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty.

When many people in Pei County felt that the world was in chaos, the Han Dynasty had already unified the country and peace was restored.

The Liu family was shocked to find that Liu Ji, who was away from home all day, had become a founding hero of the Han Dynasty. The Liu family rose to prominence overnight and became the most powerful noble family in the Han Dynasty, and even established a vassal state in Liaodong.

It was with Liu Bang's help that Liu Bi studied at the Han Military Academy and became a naval officer after graduation.

Unfortunately, Liu Bi was disappointed. After he graduated from the military academy, the Han Dynasty had wiped out its last enemy, the Huns. The Han army was massively cut, leaving only 8 standing troops. Fortunately, he joined the navy and escaped this wave of disarmament.

But even if they stayed in the Han army, it would be difficult to find opportunities to make achievements. Fortunately, the North Sea Fleet soon discovered the Wo Island and found a large number of gold, silver mines, sulfur mines and other precious resources on the island. Thanks to these discoveries, the North Sea Fleet was not completely overwhelmed by the South Sea Fleet.

He also took advantage of the gold rush to accumulate merits and quickly crossed the threshold of an officer with a salary of 30 stones. However, there is a price to pay. He was able to become a captain with a salary of 2000 stones at the age of , but the price was that he was out of touch with the mainstream society of the Han Dynasty for ten years. He couldn't even understand many of the facilities in Chang'an City.

When Liu Bi was still thinking about whether to go back to his hometown, he saw his two cousins ​​Liu Ruyi and Liu Heng coming over carrying something like a circle.

Ruyi smiled and said, "Cousin, you didn't go to the Taiwei Mansion?"

Liu Bi said: "The Taiwei Mansion has given you a month's vacation, and you are still thinking about whether to go back home to be with your parents."

Ruyi said, "What's so good about staying in my hometown? Brother, why don't you just ask Zhongfu and the others to come to Chang'an City to play? After the autumn harvest, Chang'an City is the busiest. At that time, the county governors and princes of the Han Dynasty will gather in Chang'an. There will be many fun and beautiful things in Chang'an City."

Liu Bang also took Liu Ruyi to his hometown several times, and Pei County was naturally different from Chang'an City. After Liu Ruyi stayed there a few times, he felt that his hometown was too boring. Although he went to his hometown every few years, he did not find much change in Pei County. On the contrary, when he stayed in Chang'an City, he could feel the rapid changes in Chang'an City.

Liu Bi thought about it and it made sense. His parents had never been to Chang'an City. After a life-threatening voyage, he might not have the chance to accompany his parents in the future. Liu Bi decided to send a message back to his hometown and ask his parents to come to Chang'an to reunite.

Liu Ruyi suddenly grabbed Liu Bi and said, "Brother, it seems that you have never been to Chang'an City. I will take you to visit Chang'an City."

Liu Bi asked curiously, "What are these things on you?"

Liu Heng said: "This is a life buoy, brother, you are not a naval officer, how can you not recognize a life buoy?"

Liu Bi looked embarrassed, he had never seen this thing before. The Han Navy also had life jackets, but they were not the plastic life jackets of later generations. Instead, they were life jackets made of light wood from southern China.

Liu Ruyi said: "This lifebuoy is a new product developed by Changan. It's not surprising that you don't know about it. I heard from the teacher that this thing is made of vulcanized Eucommia gum."

With the development of steam engines, the demand for sealing rubber in the Han Dynasty became higher and higher. The rubber trees of later generations did not exist in the Han Dynasty at that time, but that did not mean that the Han Dynasty did not have other plants that could produce latex. Some of them were replaced by cow glue, and another was replaced by a gelatinous substance produced by the Eucommia ulmoides tree. Except for the fact that their production capacity was not as good as that of rubber, their other functions could perfectly replace the rubber tree. Now the Eucommia ulmoides tree has become a new economic crop in the Han Dynasty, and is planted in counties in the north and south.

Then Liu Ruyi and Liu Heng took Liu Bi out. The three of them got on a horse-drawn carriage, and Liu Bi found that there were many people on the carriage. Liu Bi, who was wearing a military uniform, quickly attracted the attention of the people on the carriage.

An old man asked, "Where did you join the army, young man?"

Liu Bi said: "North Sea Fleet!"

The old man was surprised and said, "That's a good place. I heard that there is gold and silver everywhere on the Japanese island. Everyone who goes to the island gets rich. There is even a legend that someone just picked up a piece of gold nugget by the river. Have you ever encountered such a good thing?"

Liu Bi said: "I am a soldier. Even if I find gold, I have to hand it over to the army. This kind of thing may happen once or twice in the past two years. As a large amount of gold has been dug out, there is no such good thing as picking up gold anymore. There are more than 100,000 people on the island now, and very few are so lucky."

The old man didn't believe it and said, "Even if there are few lucky ones, mining gold will always make money."

The people around him also looked at Liu Bi with curiosity. The craze for the Spice Islands has subsided in recent years, and even the craze for the Western Regions is the same. No matter how much Ji Bu united the princes of the Western Regions to control the quantity of Hetian jade and agate, it is easy to control others, but it is very difficult to control one's own greed. Since the first time that Ji Bu and his team imported Hetian jade to the Han Dynasty, the amount of Hetian jade and agate they imported to the Han Dynasty has increased 1 times in recent years. The price naturally dropped due to the large increase in production capacity. Now the middle-class families in the Han Dynasty can also buy a few jade pendants and bracelets made of Hetian jade and agate, which has led to a decline in the attractiveness of Hetian jade and agate to the people of the Han Dynasty.

Nowadays, the common people of the Han Dynasty only regard Hetian jade and agate as luxury goods, or light luxury goods if you add a modifier. Middle-class families can afford them if they grit their teeth, but their status has declined, and Hetian jade and agate will no longer be seen as symbols of wealth.

On the contrary, the gold and silver of the Japanese island are destined to be scarce. In fact, due to the surge in the industrial capacity of the Han Dynasty, the wealth of the entire society has increased by more than ten times, and the gold and silver needed as equivalents have also increased exponentially. The value of gold and silver has not fallen, but is in a slow upward stage. Now those who want to get rich in the Han Dynasty generally rush to the Treasure Island.

Liu Bi said: "If you are lucky, you can earn hundreds of thousands of yuan a year digging for gold on Wo Island. If you are unlucky, you can earn tens of thousands of yuan. However, the prices on Wo Island are also high. The price of grain is six or seven times that of Chang'an City. The prices of other items are also about the same. You earn a lot but you also spend a lot. Most gold diggers spend their money on wine and women and will soon spend all the gold they have accumulated. Only those who are frugal can bring gold back to the Han Dynasty."

"How many of those who are willing to risk crossing the sea to go to the Japanese island to dig and do business are honest people? Most of them are the kind of violent and aggressive wanderers. Even if they make money, they will spend it quickly. Therefore, there are very few who can make a fortune in the Japanese island. I think it is better to live in Chang'an City."

The old man sighed and said, "You are right, young man. If you cannot control your greed, no matter how much money you have, it will all go away."

After getting off the carriage, Liu Ruyi and Liu Heng took Liu Bi to a water park in Dahan. Because it was already summer in Guanzhong, there were a lot of people in the water park. The middle class in Chang'an City also liked to play in the water park in the summer, especially after the summer vacation, students filled these water parks.

The water skateboards, water diving platforms, water surfing pools and various facilities he had never seen before opened Liu Bi's eyes. As a person who soaks in the sea all year round, he had no idea how water activities could be performed in so many ways.

Liu Ruyi and his friends took Liu Bi to play until noon. After they had lunch, Ruyi took Liu Bi to the Han Dynasty's football field.

Liu Ruyi said excitedly: "Today is the match between Bashang Steel Factory and Chang'an Chariot Factory. These two football teams are super strong teams in the Han Dynasty. This year, Bashang Steel Factory has found a super striker and is now suppressing Chang'an Chariot Factory."

The Han Dynasty now has a football league, which is divided into 9 divisions according to the Kyushu region. Based on the results, the top three and four teams in each division will compete in the finals at the end of the season. A total of 32 teams will gather in Chang'an to decide the winner in one game and finally decide the final champion.

The Guanzhong Division is the strongest division of the entire Han football team. There is no other reason for this. There are too many large factories with high profits. They can spend huge amounts of money to buy star players.

The Bashang Iron and Steel Plant team and the Chang'an Chariot and Horse Factory team are among the two strongest teams in Guanzhong.

Liu Heng said excitedly: "Jinniu is the best striker in the Han Dynasty. He has scored 30 goals this season. The Bashang Steel Factory team will definitely become the champion this year."

Perhaps influenced by Liu Bang, both Liu Ruyi and Liu Heng loved football very much. They both joined the school team, but their level was not very good. They were substitutes for substitutes and generally could not play in football games. They could only sit in the stands and cheer for their school team.

Liu Bi smiled calmly and said, "How good can he be? Brother has played football for more than ten years. Ordinary people can't stop him at all."

Influenced by the Yellow River Battle that year, the Han army had a tradition of playing football. Liu Bi and his men were bored during their vacation on the Wa Island, and football was the quickest and most convenient way to pass the time. They even formed a small football league based on ships in the North Sea Fleet on the Wa Island. Every holiday, members of two different warships would compete against each other. Liu Bi led his fleet to win two league championships and was considered a veteran strong team in the North Sea Fleet.

But Liu Bi soon knew why this so-called Taurus was so popular. Taurus had golden hair and was tall and strong, nearly nine feet tall. However, despite his tall stature, his movements were extremely agile. He could easily fiddle with the ball twice and run past the defenders. Moreover, his running speed was not slow at all. The defensive players he passed could not catch up with him at all.

On the field, he often pressed against two defenders, headed the ball into the goal, and then raised his hands high to accept the cheers from the audience.

Taurus scored two goals in the first half alone, and he truly deserves the title of super striker. The audience in the stadium were calling Taurus' name.

Looking at the golden bull receiving cheers from the audience, Liu Bi said with regret: "This is a man who could defeat ten thousand enemies, but now he can only entertain the people of Chang'an with football. It's really like a golden bell being destroyed and a clay pot making a thundering sound."

With this strength, speed, and explosive power, if Taurus were fully armed and wearing iron armor, it would be no problem for him to defeat a hundred people alone, and killing generals and seizing flags would be no problem. If we go back a dozen years, he would definitely be a fierce general that all the princes in the world would be madly fighting for.

It's a pity that this Taurus appeared in the wrong era. Now the world is at peace, the Han Dynasty is invincible, and there is no use for brave generals. Perhaps he thought of his own situation. Although he has always shown his bravery, he has never fought a war with a real scale of more than a thousand people. Peace in the world is indeed the greatest sorrow of a soldier.

Liu Ruyi said, "Becoming a football player is not bad either. Now Jinniu earns hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, the highest among all the players. How many people in the whole Han Dynasty don't know him?"

After watching a football match, it was already late. Liu Bi thought that Liu Ruyi and the others would go home, but he didn't expect that the two of them took him to the pedestrian street in Chang'an City.

Liu Ruyi smiled and said, "Brother, if you come to Chang'an and don't go to the pedestrian street, it's like coming here for nothing."

Liu Bi said, "It's getting late. Let's go back. Father Ji must be worried."

Liu Ruyi smiled and said, "I have already told my father that I will take my brother to visit Chang'an City."

Soon Liu Bi understood why Liu said that not visiting the pedestrian street is equivalent to not visiting Chang'an City.

Although the sky was getting dark, the pedestrian street was brightly lit. There was a street lamp every five meters, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime. Liu Bi was stunned. You know, oil lamps are very expensive. There are more than a thousand oil lamps on this street. It is such a waste to just leave them burning on the street.

Liu Ruyi seemed to see what Liu Bi was thinking. He smiled and said, "After we have fierce fire oil, the price of a pound of lamp oil in our Han Dynasty is less than one penny. The oil lamps on this street cost only a few thousand pennies to burn in one night, but the income generated is dozens or hundreds of times that of these oil lamps. All these expenses are worth it. Because of this pedestrian street, Chang'an now has a new nickname, the City of Light. It is said that when the Hu people see Chang'an City at night, they will kneel down and worship it involuntarily."

Liu Bi looked at this scene and suddenly had a sense of mission to continue the prosperity of the Han Dynasty and pass on the title of City of Light.

(End of this chapter)