Why ancient merchants chose waterways to transport goods

The road is slow, and you have to go over the mountains and mountains. It is relatively unsafe on land, and there are many horse thieves and robbers; Overland traffic is smaller. If you have fewer people and more goods, it is not easy to manage camel teams and horse teams on land, and the ship is relatively large, and the management personnel do not need so much.

Waterways have always been an important mode of transportation, with many advantages, such as large carrying capacity, can borrow wind power, etc., while land routes were not developed at that time, there were no cars and trains, transportation had to rely on livestock, the cost was much larger, and waterways saved money.

The cost of waterways is low, the volume is large, there is no toll, it is not easy to be robbed, and there is no need for inns to stay overnight, and the ancient means of transportation are generally slow If the waterway is smooth, it is faster than the land route (the status of merchants in ancient times was relatively low, and the post station could not enter, so if the land route, if the horse was tired, it could not change the horse.) ）

The cost of waterways is low, the volume is large, there is no toll, it is not easy to be robbed, and there is no need for inns to stay overnight, and the ancient means of transportation are generally slow If the waterway is smooth, it is faster than the land route (the status of merchants in ancient times was relatively low, and the post station could not enter, so if the land route, if the horse was tired, it could not change the horse.) ）

1. All 1, large capacity of water transportation.

2. The cost of water transportation is low.

3. Waterway transportation can transport bulky, low-value, bulky and various bulk goods.

4. Waterway transportation is suitable for medium and long-distance transportation.

5. Waterway transportation has high comfort for personnel and low loss for materials.

Compared with other modes of transportation, waterway transportation has the following characteristics:

First, waterway transportation has large carrying capacity, low cost, low energy consumption and low investment, which is one of the important ways of domestic and international transportation in some countries. For example, one Mississippi River is equivalent to 10 railroads, and one Rhine is worth 20 railroads. In addition, the construction of 1 km of railways or roads covers more than 3 hectares of land, while the use of sea or natural rivers for water transport occupies a small area.

In China's total freight volume, water transport accounts for the second largest proportion of railways and roads.

Second, it is greatly restricted and influenced by natural conditions. That is, it is obviously restricted and influenced by the geographical distribution of oceans and rivers and their gelogical, geomorphological, hydrological and meteorological conditions and factors; Water transport routes cannot be arbitrarily extended over the vast land, so water transport should be coordinated with railway, road and pipeline transport, and combined transport should be implemented.

Third, the development and utilization involves a wide range. For example, natural rivers involve navigation, irrigation, flood control and drainage, hydroelectric power, aquaculture, and production and domestic water; The coastal zone and bay involve port construction, agricultural reclamation, marine aquaculture, coastal industry and marine fishing.

In ancient times, China rarely transported military supplies by waterway, because the navigation conditions of the rivers were relatively poor, the tonnage of ships was limited, and many waterways could not pass large ships. The waterways in southern China are shallow and meandering, restricting movement; The north is relatively arid, there are few rivers, the waterways are even more inconvenient, and the few large rivers that flow too fast. Of course, if the destination happens to have a waterway, it will still take the waterway, after all, the volume is large and the cost is relatively low.

Europe paid more attention to water transportation in ancient times, because their road conditions were very poor, and the horses were very high, and the cost of land was much higher than that of waterways. Most of Europe's rivers had long flows, slower flows, and suitable water depths, coupled with the rulers' emphasis on inland waterway transportation and the excavation of a large number of canals, in fact, the speed and cost-effectiveness of waterway transportation was much higher than that of land transportation.

Of course, whether it is China or Europe, in ancient times, military supplies were mainly transported by land, and water transportation lacked military protection and was less secure; A large number of troops can be sent along by land, which can not only put troops but also protect materials, plus land transportation is flexible and convenient, and the dependence on natural factors is small, so military supplies are still mainly by land.

Of course. For example, Qin Shi Huang repaired the Ling Canal, connected the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, and finally conquered Lingnan.

It should be based on the marching situation of the army, but the army travels by land but the supplies are transported by water, and the soldiers must not starve to death.