Chapter 1139: A Bit Jealous (1)
Yang Ruxin deflated immediately upon hearing that. It seemed she had taken it for granted; the ancient world was not without its shrewd businessmen. Since nobody had embarked on this venture, it indicated that the profits to be gained were not commensurate with the risks involved, not enough to tempt anyone.
"However..." Gu Qingheng smiled, "if Xinxin wants to do it, it’s not impossible... For land, we could use the Imperial Post Stations... For waterways, we could rely on the grain transport guild..."
"Imperial Post Stations? Grain transport guild?" Yang Ruxin’s eyes lit up.
"Right." Gu Qingheng nodded, "Those bandits and pirates are very astute, except for those who are in open rebellion or truly blind, they would not dare to rob the caravans of the Imperial Post Stations, as doing so would be a suicide mission..."
The Great Xuan Dynasty had established post stations in major transportation hubs in the north, south, east, and west, manned by soldiers dispatched by the Imperial Court, primarily for the transportation of supplies needed by the Imperial Court and for intelligence transmission, much like how Yang Guifei of the Tang Dynasty was fond of lychees, brought swiftly to Beijing from Lingnan through these post stations.
Waterways were convenient, largely controlled by the grain transport guild, and in the Great Xuan Dynasty, the guild was an organ of the Imperial Court. The head of the grain transport guild was a Fifth-rank official, a higher rank than even the local magistrate.
The cargo transported by the grain transport was generally in large quantities, such as salt, grain, and Official Silver, among other things. Occasionally, it would also transport various goods from the north to the south.
Although the sea ban had not been enacted in this era, maritime shipping was still fraught with difficulty. It is said that Wa Country was the nearest foreign nation by sea, but a round trip could take several months, and safety was not guaranteed. Sometimes when a sea vessel docked, they seemed to bring a lot of goods, but in reality, there was hardly enough to go around. Who would need to retail it?
Those who had access to these matters were not from ordinary households.