msmithbooks Chapter 363 Surprised?
Chapter 363 Surprised?
"My lord, should we stop supplying food to the Xiongnu? Such an endless supply will only make the Huns stronger. When the time comes, they will be stronger and stronger, won't they want to attack Dayan even more?" Someone asked This opinion was raised at the meeting.
It has been more than a year and a half now. They started trading with the Huns last winter. The large amount of food transported by South Vietnam brought back a large number of cattle and sheep and a small amount of war horses. The cattle and sheep were distributed to the southern people by Li Xu, and the war horses belonged to the cavalry Now the cavalry battalion with 2 horses is the most proud regiment in the capital, and everyone is proud to join the cavalry battalion.
"Bilateral trade can continue, but the food will be stopped first. There is no shortage of food on the grasslands in summer, and other luxury goods will be sent, such as high-quality porcelain, exquisite cloth jewelry, whatever is expensive, do you understand what this king means? ?”
Someone asked puzzledly: "Why does the prince insist on doing business with the Huns? Because the caravans come and go frequently, and the border guards are not good at letting them go, wouldn't it be easy for spies to sneak into the Central Plains?"
Li Xu glanced at the person who spoke, and saw that he was an old man with a white beard. He was not a big official and had a lot of opinions. However, the younger generation of officials basically followed Li Xu's lead and rarely questioned his decisions.
Without waiting for Li Xu to explain, Ji Hanyu stood up and replied: "Master Qiu, is he confused? Since the enemy can arrange for secret operations to enter the Central Plains, can't we get information from Guan coat? The benefits of trade are obvious. Spring farming At that time, those tens of thousands of cows helped the people a lot, not to mention the war horses, what are Lord Qiu worried about?"
Being scolded for being stupid, that Lord Qiu rolled his eyes and fainted with anger, pointing at Ji Hanyu and scolding: "You unfilial person, no wonder you were expelled from the school by your teacher. How can He De stand up like this? On this palace?"
Everyone looked at this scene with nothing to do with their own affairs. From the corner of their eyes, they secretly looked at King Shun's expression. Old Chou was really confused. He dared to scold King Shun's favorite minister in court. Where did he have the confidence?
Prime Minister Wei was quite fair, and one person taught him a lesson and stopped the scolding battle, "What a majestic place above the court, how can you be so presumptuous and talk about things!"
Li Xu praised Prime Minister Wei, without even looking at the old official, he continued to talk about the border trade, "The entry and exit of merchants will indeed increase the responsibility of border defense, but it is impossible for Dayan to close the border and guard the country, not only with the The Xiongnu, trade with other small countries will continue, unless there are special circumstances, it will not stop, what's the problem?"
The old minister surnamed Qiu was probably about to confront Li Xu today, so he stood up and asked: "I remember last year, King Shun thoroughly investigated military expenditures, and the military expenditures of all frontier armies were cut in half. What about larger military expenditures? The Northwest Army is now under the command of General Kou, and he understands the prince’s philosophy best, so should he learn from the eldest prince and use money to win over his subordinates?”
Li Xu still has the spirit of respecting the old and caring for the young, and he is very kind to these elders, but he didn't know that a stab came today, and he didn't know who ordered it.
The matter of building a military fortress in the northwest passed the court meeting a long time ago. Half of the funds were allocated from the treasury, and the other half was allocated from the private treasury of Prince Shun's Mansion. Seeing that King Shun was so generous in subsidizing the Northwest Army, everyone of course nodded in agreement. Why did he suddenly become generous to the Northwest Army? Wasn't it because Kou Xiao was there?
It is understandable that King Shun wants to spend money to build a fortress to ensure the safety of his own people. Everyone will turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye to give King Shun face, not to mention that the construction of this fortress is indeed beneficial to the Northwest.
Prime Minister Wei reprimanded lightly: "Lord Qiu, this matter has already been discussed at that time, there is no need to bring up the old matter again."
Mr. Qiu wiped away his sad tears, and said sadly: "Master Xiang, I am afraid that the Northwest will repeat the same mistakes, and General Kou will become the second King of the North. Wouldn't everyone's expectations be in vain? "
Ji Hanyu pushed back unceremoniously: "The Northwest Army is well managed by General Gui Kou, but the Northwest Civil Affairs is managed by Mr. Wei Lanwei himself. Mr. Qiu can't trust General Kou, can't he also trust Mr. Wei?"
Wei Lan is Xiangye's grandson, doesn't trusting Wei Lan mean distrusting Wei Xiangye?No matter how serious Mr. Qiu's opinions are, he dare not express his opinions to Mr. Wei. King Shun has a soft temper. Although he has good means, the ministers have gradually understood his temper. However, King Shun is still a good talker, and he rarely punishes ministers for verbal disputes at court meetings.
After the court was over, Ji Hanyu was not in a hurry to leave, and entered the imperial study together with several ministers, and now it has completely become the study of King Shun, and the emperor never showed his face, and was addicted to alchemy all day long.
As usual, snacks and fruits have been prepared in the imperial study room. This is Li Xu's understanding of everyone's hard work. Many people don't have time to eat breakfast before going to court. After a court meeting, they are hungry. The adults who leave the palace will basically go to the palace first. Eat something before continuing to the yamen, and the adults who entered the imperial study room enjoyed the meticulous care of King Shun.
The food they ate in the imperial study was varied, and the fruits were even richer. The fruits in the south this season were sweet and juicy, and even the elders couldn't resist the temptation.
"In the past, I only knew that southern lychees were sweet, but I didn't know that there were so many fruits. Fortunately, the prince had a way to send them to the capital, otherwise I would not have such a good fortune." Wei Chengxiang ate with relish.
His attitude towards Li Xu has changed a lot, he is not as resistant as before, a big reason is that he is very satisfied with being fed by Li Xu, his cannibal mouth is soft, and Prime Minister Wei's soft mouth is also softening.
"The best fruits are naturally supplied in the palace, but it is still very difficult for the common people to eat these fruits, so this king wants to make the fruits into cans, which can extend the shelf life, and test the taste for several adults. It can be sent outside the customs."
Soon, some court ladies and eunuchs brought bowls of chilled sweet fruit soup. This was food processed in a factory in South Vietnam. Li Xu didn't know how to get the preservatives. Fortunately, he found rubber and sealed it. It can also be stored for a period of time in a sealed glass jar after the fruit is cooked with sugar.
Canned fruit is very popular in modern times. Apart from being too sweet, Li Xu immediately thought of Kou Xiao. Kou Xiao's taste is definitely not too sweet, and he will definitely like this taste.
After several adults finished eating a bowl of sugar water, the taste is still unsatisfactory. After the fruit is boiled, it will be softer, which is suitable for the teeth of the elderly. In addition, it has been chilled and has a cool and sweet taste, which is rarely rejected by men, women and children.
"Things are rare and expensive. These fruits are rarely eaten in the capital, let alone outside the customs. This business is well done." Kong Jing didn't feel embarrassed to ask for another bowl, thinking of going back and sending someone to Jia's mansion to ask his niece and daughter. Is there such a good thing to get some.
His niece has already married Jia Ping, and Jia Ping is Li Xu's confidant, who has a share of all good things and is more favored than him. The king's people are gone, and like Ji Hanyu and Kou Xiao, they are all in line with the king's party.
Thinking about the four or five years he spent recuperating in South Vietnam, it is actually not difficult to accept this answer.
Li Xu also ate half a bowl of pineapple, coconut fruit and lychee water, and dropped a surprising sentence, "It just so happens that this king has taken a fancy to a piece of land. This time, he asked someone to bring something to exchange the land with Nuhaer. I don't know. Will he or not."
"Land? The lord wants to buy land?" Obviously, what King Shun wants to buy is not in Dayan. No one has ever thought of buying land outside the customs. King Shun may not be the first in history.
"Yes, the king has taken a fancy to a piece of land. It's not big, it's about the size of a small village. Do you think Nuhar will agree?"
Kong Kaen bit the bullet and asked: "Is that place important? Is it a traffic fortress or an important place?"
"No, it's just a piece of wasteland, bordering Dayan, desolate and uninhabited."
"Then...why did you settle on this place? Is there anything special about it?"
Li Xu smiled slightly, and did not intend to tell him, because he himself was not sure, but thought that there might be mines in that place. Of course, the Dayan Dynasty was not in Chinese history, let alone in the 21st century. Everything is just speculation .
But if you can buy something and try it out, there is nothing to lose.
Everyone had already expected Shun Wang's willfulness, so they didn't say much. It's best if the other party agrees, and there is no loss if they don't agree. It's just a wasteland.
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In the northwest, the summer is dry and hot. The Kou family army really loves and hates this place. The winter is bitingly cold, and the summer is so hot that it explodes. How did the people in this place survive?
After taking a cold shower, Kou Xiao entered the barracks with his upper body bare. The drills on the school grounds were in full swing. In order to prevent heat stroke, Kou Xiao deliberately avoided the hottest hours and changed the drills to morning and evening.
Now all the divisions of the Northwest Army have begun to train strictly. Kou Xiao will organize a military camp competition every month. Such aboveboard competition also mobilized the enthusiasm of the soldiers.
"Damn it, when will it rain in this damn weather? The land will be cracked in the sun, right? No wonder rice can't be grown in the north. With this weather, the plants that can survive are also tenacious."
"No, I'm homesick. It's better to be in South Vietnam. There is plenty of rain all year round. I don't know when I can go back."
"According to what Junjun Jiang said, we will have a big battle soon. Maybe we can go back if we win. Doesn't General Kou mean the same thing? Let's just stay away from home. Isn't General Kou here alone? The lord may not be able to bear it." The personal guards talked about Kou Xiao and Li Xu's love life casually, and they didn't shy away from it.
Probably because when they were in South Vietnam, Li Xu and Kou Xiao didn't avoid people, and even got married in an aboveboard manner, so that the Kou family's army accepted it well and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
"Just fight. If you don't fight, there will be no chance of meritorious deeds. We have those fortresses. We are not afraid of the Huns. When the time comes, we will kill them all. Let the Northwest Army also see what the Kou Army is capable of, lest they Tiantian feels that our soldiers in the south are inferior to those in the north.”
"The remaining three fortresses are about to be built?"
"I heard that it's coming soon. There are a steady stream of civilian husbands who volunteer to join. There are plenty of people and they are very motivated. I heard that the work can be completed ahead of schedule."
"Do you think those barbarians outside the pass will be too scared to come over when they see these fortresses? Haha, anyway, I am looking forward to fighting them."
After a while, the sound of horseshoes came from outside the barracks, and there was a large area of messy hoofbeats. The soldier guarding the gate shouted inside: "The horse delivery man is here..."
There are also many cavalry in the Northwest Army, and horses can be regarded as important strategic materials. Every month, the horses that die of illness, exhaustion, and aging will be replaced, so the people in the racecourse and the barracks are very familiar.
"Hey, Brother Ye, are you here to deliver the horse again today?" The soldier guarding the gate greeted with a smile when he saw the black-faced young man on horseback.
"Yeah, I heard that there are a lot of horses that are wasted this time, and the boss is already unhappy. No, he sent me to ask if he understands the value of horses. If it is still the same next month, the racecourse will be in danger." No more horses." Ye Changqing wore a bamboo hat on his head, and he was tanned darker than when he was in South Vietnam.
"Is there any way to do this? Everyone has trained hard, so the cavalry must not have horses to cooperate. If the training is hard, the horses will naturally wear out a lot. These generals have negotiated with your superiors."
Ye Changqing licked his parched lips, took a sip of water from his water bag, "Okay, I'll talk to General Kou and see if he's willing to listen to my opinion."
"Then you can take it easy, General Kou has a big temper, if you offend him, you will be finished." The soldier looked gloating, obviously not a good thing.
"Fuck you." Ye Changqing jumped off the horse and threw the reins to him. "Take care of my horse. I'll send the rest to the stable. Let your men take care of it."
"Just go in by yourself, someone will be waiting."
Ye Changqing swaggered into the barracks. It was not the first time he had come to this barracks, but compared to before, the atmosphere was getting more and more serious. Only the soldiers guarding the gate dared to make a few jokes with him. , one by one walked straight with their backs straight, looking really majestic.
"As expected of the prince's favorite person, he is really talented." Ye Changqing admired Kou Xiao's military training methods, and the Northwest Army has really changed a lot now.
He handed over his horse and went directly to Kou Xiao, but when he learned that he was out with a team, Jiang Qiuming happened to be there, so he bumped into him.
"Why didn't Military Master Jiang turn black at all? Could it be that the sunshine here treats scholars more favorably?" Ye Changqing said when he saw Jiang Qiuming, who was wearing a snow-white gown and had a particularly fair face.
Jiang Qiuming has a suave appearance and a scholarly temperament. He is unique in this military camp and is especially sought after. Of course, it's not that he can't get tanned, but he just pays special attention to sun protection.
"As a military adviser, I don't need to train or raise horses. I stay in the house every day, so I can't get out of the sun. General Ye looks like this now. When I go back to the capital, I don't even need to change my appearance. I'm sure no one will know you." Jiang Qiuming joked.
After entering the house, it felt cool all of a sudden, and Ye Changqing realized that there was an ice basin in the room, which is really a luxury, but they have learned how to make ice, it is not difficult at all, Ye Changqing is a small horse trainer Teacher, it’s not easy to take it out.
Jiang Qiuming cut him a chilled watermelon, sympathizing with him for being a great general but doing a humble job, and he has been hiding his name for these years, and he dare not even accept the honor openly, it is very pitiful.
"Mr. Jiang, don't look at me with such eyes, or I will think you are interested in me."
Jiang Qiuming smiled, "Don't worry, my military advisor prefers white and tender scholars, what about you, hehe..." How shameless a nigger dares to have such confidence.
Ye Changqing sighed, thinking that he was also a handsome and handsome captain back then, how has he been destroyed by the years?
After eating the watermelon, Ye Changqing felt refreshed and asked, "When will General Kou come back?"
"After dark, I have taken people out to explore the wind recently."
It was very dark in the northwest, and Ye Changqing didn't know about this until after he arrived, and he was surprised for a while.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Are you ready to send troops?"
"Let's see the situation after autumn. Who can stand these days? And the Northwest Army is almost ready."
Ye Changqing leaned on the recliner, snatched Jiang Qiuming's fan and shook it, and said in an old man's tone: "A group of little bastards, just practice a little more, and then I will be able to retire and return to the capital." Go enjoy yourself!"
Jiang Qiuming poured him a cup of tea, understanding his hard work, "You can go back now, the prince should miss you too."
"Come on, the person the prince cares about is General Kou, how dare we let the prince think about it."
"Then why don't you let go of your newly promoted official position? This military commander still wants to be promoted." Jiang Qiuming thought depressingly: the surname Ji is with you every day, and the promotion is as fast as flying. Wouldn't it be right to wait for him to return to Beijing? He knelt and bowed?
Ye Changqing smiled, put down his fan and stood up, "Military commander, you still worry about this with General Kou. You are a foreign relative, and you are incomparable."
Jiang Qiu understood him with a glance, "Go away, my family doesn't want to serve you anymore."
"Don't, I have to wait to see General Kou."
"What's the matter with you?"
"On behalf of the lord, visit the concubine. The lord is deeply afraid that his family will report good news but not bad news. By the way, he will also see if the voice and appearance of his concubine are ruined. If it is ruined, he can look for the next spring."
"Who do you think is looking for the next spring? Huh?" A thick voice came from outside the door. Ye Changqing got up, hid behind Jiang Qiuming, grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Didn't you say that he wants Tian Tian?" Did you come back after dark?"
Gently pulling out his sleeves, Jiang Qiuming said gloatingly, "That was in the past. Maybe the general sensed that you were coming today, so he came back specially to see you. Are you surprised? Is it exciting?"
Ye Changqing bravely went up to meet him, gave a big gift, and greeted with a smile: "The general has seen the princess, and the princess is well! The prince will miss you. I can't sleep at night, and I love you so much. How can there be next spring? Listen to me." wrong."