The horse-drawn carriage galloped lightly on the avenue from Bonan to Qingyang. This avenue is also one of the main traffic arteries planned in the northwest. Not only is the road surface smooth and spacious, but also there are intermittent shading fir trees on both sides. Once you arrive, In autumn, from a distance, the rows of fir trees guarding both sides of the road are like guards wearing golden armor, which is very pleasing to the eye. Although this road has a large flow of people and vehicles all year round, the good road conditions still make the horse-drawn carriages running on the avenue seem very brisk.
The soft and sweet sound of the wind chimes made people feel like they were back in a girl's boudoir. The silk gauze blowing in the breeze caressed the two girls sitting at the windows on both sides of the carriage like lovers, but both of them seemed to have something on their mind. The beautiful and charming spring scenery outside the window could not move their hearts. Although they looked out the window from time to time, anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that the two women were absent-minded.
After a long talk at Partridge Pass, the relationship between the two women seemed to have become much closer. From Partridge Pass to Bonan via Yangmakou, which is more than a hundred miles away, the two women rode in the same car, and the sea and sky were bright all the way. , talking about everything, some people say that it is the most troublesome for two outstanding women to get together. In order to prove that they are not inferior to each other's talent, they will show themselves as much as possible, even if there is no audience next to them.
Although they were chatting and laughing all the way, one was naturally smart but shrewd, and the other was calm and restrained but hidden sharpness. After it was difficult for each other to find out the details of the other, the two women seemed to have adopted the same method, which was to stir up the topic as much as possible. Let the other party talk openly, and maybe you can glean something from the other party's words. However, it seems that the two women later violated their original intentions. They saw the other party quoting eloquent words, but how could they endure it? No matter how they could endure it, they started to confront each other tit for tat. Each tried their best and refused to give in to each other.
However, even though they were talking about the past and the present, regardless of the current situation, the two women gradually admired each other's opinions during the conversation. You must know that the two women are both very conceited people. Now in this world, it is necessary to find a person who can talk with each other quite well. It is quite difficult to be a person of the same sex, and the friendship between the two women is gradually warming up during the verbal exchanges. However, both women still maintain a bottom line of caution, that is, they will never reveal their true identities.
The carriage seemed extremely quiet, with only the sound of wind coming in through the cracks in the door and window lattice, and then slipping out with a swipe. The two women were both thinking about the scene they had just seen from the Bonanxi City Gate early in the morning. Unexpectedly, as soon as the city gate opened early in the morning, an endless motorcade entered the city with great vigor, and some of them entered the major businesses in the city. In the warehouse, some of them paid the tax directly through the personnel of the Taxation Department, and then turned south and went straight to the Mati Town River Port Terminal, which was dozens of miles away, and then loaded the ship there and headed east.
Yesterday, the two women were supposed to set off to the west, but as soon as they entered Bonan City, both women wanted to see the beautiful scenery of this long-declined porcelain capital in the west of the empire.
When the two of them inspected the Baishui Town kiln area on the outskirts of the city and the giant trading market in the city's central business district, the two women were stunned and stunned. The kiln area of Baishui Town, which stretches for more than ten miles, has formed an extremely large and busy industrial and commercial mixed area. There is an endless stream of caravans coming to purchase goods and negotiate, and various service industries have emerged as a result. Business is booming and the place is overcrowded. Businessmen from all over the place simply live there for convenience. A small labor market has even spontaneously formed there. Skilled workers can be immediately recruited by the kiln owners at high wages, while unskilled workers can also be recruited by the kiln owners. They will first undergo a period of pre-work training and then gradually adapt. Work.
The trading market in Bonan City was an eye-opener for the two girls. Compared with the trading market in the imperial capital, the scale was naturally much smaller. However, this was only a trading market in a remote city of the empire, and its liveliness was no less than that of the trading market in Bonan City. Markets in those big cities. Due to the special nature of Bonan, the trading area for ceramic products naturally accounts for a large proportion. Merchants with huge funds can mobilize huge sums of money to buy out a large number of products from the kiln owners in the kiln area, and then hoard them in warehouses for urgent needs. If foreign merchants of goods want convenience and speed, they can negotiate directly here, which is much faster and more efficient than buying in the kiln district. Of course, there are also shrewd kiln owners who reserve part of their goods, or open their own shops, with a kiln shop waiting for a price. As long as there is a suitable merchant, they can sell it at a good price.
Everywhere in Bonan City, which is full of vitality and vitality, has had a huge impact on the two girls. Although the two girls had heard about the rapid development of the Northwest through various channels before coming to the Northwest, in their minds The northwest is still synonymous with frontier land.
In their imagination, no matter how fast the northwest develops, it is impossible to change much in just a few years. They must know that Bonan ranked first among dozens of mansions in the empire a few years ago, before Li Wufeng took charge of the northwest. The top three from the bottom, especially Lin Yuexin, knew better, because the intelligence officers who returned from the northwest learned that Bonan City at that time was already dilapidated and dying, not even comparable to some large market towns in the Central Plains and Jiangnan. Seeing it today , why can't it shock her? In contrast, the steady development of Sanjiang County and the northwest seemed to lack an indescribable feeling. Lin Yuexin tried hard to find in her mind, yes, that is the word, vigor, a kind of vigorous and upward vigor. , Sanjiang under the rule of his Lin family gave me the feeling that it lacked this kind of momentum.
And Sophia was also filled with emotion. During her two years in the imperial capital, she had also heard about the rapid development of the northwest. However, she was influenced by Situ Yushuang and believed that the northwest was just driving away the Luobi people after Li Wufeng took over. The economy It was just a normal recovery. The news media's boasting about Li Wufeng was just for political needs. At that time, Northwest China needed such an image to boost people's morale and morale, so it was just a vague impression. She was more interested in the other party's military capabilities. Unexpectedly, she was stunned by Li Wufeng's ability in economic management when she saw it in Bonancheng. , which made her even more curious about this mysterious character.
With a long glance at Lin Yuexin, who was still in a state of deep thought, Sophia asked softly in her magnetic voice: "Sister, you seem to have something on your mind. Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Lin Yuexin was awakened from her deep thoughts and cheered up. "It's just that I have never been out so far, so I feel a little tired."
"Then why don't you go to Qingyang and have a good rest? It seems that your body is not very good. If you get sick from overwork, it will delay things." Sophia gave the other party a deep look and said with concern.
"Well, it looks like I need to take a rest in Qingyang. Fortunately, I still have plenty of time, so there's no need to be in a hurry." Lin Yuexin agreed smoothly.
From time to time, the galloping carriages overtook the caravans laden with goods on the road. The heavy cargo made these convoys much slower than the carriages, and because pottery and porcelain were fragile items, they also had a great impact on the speed of the carriages. limit. Looking at the rows of caravans left behind in front of them, Sophia and Lin Yuexin's hearts were filled with unspeakable feelings.
"Sister, it seems that the situation in the west is not as tense as what I heard at home. So many caravans are still transporting goods to the west. They should all be heading to the Central and Western Continent or the Tengger Grassland area. I don't see anything worrying about them?" Sophia came to the northwest under the pretense of inspecting the security situation of the trade routes. Seeing the situation in front of her, she naturally used the topic to her advantage.
"Well, I'm not sure about this, but I didn't hear much about this in Bonan yesterday. Maybe Li Wufeng has solved the problem in the west." Lin Yuexin was also a little confused. After all, Both the Western Region and Luzon had heard that they were fighting with Li Wufeng some time ago, but there was still no accurate information about the specific situation when she left Sanjiang, so she could not make an accurate judgment. The behavior of Zao Bonan and his party was already somewhat eye-catching. Therefore, I dare not inquire casually, so as not to attract the attention of interested people.
"Resolved? Oh, then this Li Wufeng is really capable. He can easily solve both the Western Region and Luzon. He is worthy of being the number one general in the empire." After realizing that the other party's identity was unusual, , Sophia intentionally or unintentionally brought up various sensitive issues involving the empire during the conversation, hoping to use these questions to probe the other party's reaction. At this time, she also deliberately mentioned it to see the other party's level of concern.
"Well, it counts. Not only is that guy a good hand in fighting, sister, look at the situation in Bonan City under his governance. How can it look like a half-desolate small town? I'm afraid it's more prosperous than it was a few decades ago. Even more so than before, right?" What Lin Yuexin valued more was the other party's ability to know people and make good use of them and to develop the economy. Although Li Wufeng could not do everything by himself, he would definitely make the final decision on the main strategy for economic development. , and how to choose the chief official of a place is the best way to test the governing ability and political skills of a Jiedushi who controls a huge territory. According to observing Bonan's current performance, whether it is Li Wufeng or Bonan The local chief officials of the government performed surprisingly well.
"My sister seems to have a high opinion of this Li Wufeng? But to be honest, my ears are full of this man's deeds in the imperial capital. The newspapers and magazines in the imperial capital have praised him as one of the few in the world and considered him to be the most important person in the empire. He is a unique young hero since the establishment. It is a pity that I have never had the opportunity to see his true face. I really want to see what kind of person he is." Sophia did not want to hide her curiosity about Li Wufeng.