Hazhusu said solemnly: "I obey your Majesty's order. Zalut has now stationed most of his cavalry near the Wolf Court and the western border to guard against Xiongnu sneak attacks. There are basically no troops stationed in the central and southern parts. Although he did not say it explicitly, the villain guessed , to show his loyalty to His Majesty."
I chuckled: "Hazhusu, you are not as thoughtful as Zarut."
Hazhusu was stunned and asked in confusion: "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
I stared at the candlelight and said slowly: "He knows that you are mine. If he said it in front of you to reassure me, wouldn't it be pretentious? In fact, I will become suspicious of him."
Hazhusu suddenly realized and asked, "Are there any countermeasures to be taken?"
I waved my hand: "It doesn't matter, just follow what I say. Unless he has evil intentions, just help him. Do you have soldiers in your hands?"
Hazhusu nodded: "There are about 10,000 personal guards who can be absolutely trusted."
"That's enough." I picked up a brocade box from the side and handed it to him: "Give this to Zarut, and tell him that I heard that he was pregnant with a son, so I shouldn't reward him with anything. The jade plate in this brocade box is The best quality jade deserves to be mine."
Hazhusu quickly took it and asked curiously: "How did your majesty know that he had a son? I thought it was a trivial matter, so I didn't tell your majesty or Master Feng."
I smiled calmly: "Of course I have news about you."
Wu Jian's habit of spreading scouts far and wide remained at the border, and there were spies of Great Qin everywhere among the barbarians, not to mention Zarut's side.
Then he continued: "You know the subtleties. You think this is a small matter, but it is a big deal to Zarut. Of course, you must tell him that you told me the news, so as not to make him suspicious."
The more you give him an unexpected surprise for such a small thing that is important to you but of no value to others, the more grateful he will be.
Hazhusu cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty is thoughtful and thoughtful, and I admire you!"
"Okay," I stood up and said, "Geyue will discuss the details of the mutual trade with you tomorrow. Don't worry, both you and Zarut are used by Great Qin, and Great Qin will not let Beihu suffer."
Loyalty, like love, will pass over time and needs to be strengthened from time to time.
Hazhusu was very grateful. After all, he was his compatriot. He quickly bowed and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"You will stay in Baoyue Building next to me tonight to avoid arousing suspicion. Go ahead." I ordered someone to take him to Baoyue Building and live in quietly.
He greeted Ying Lan again and returned to Xianyang Palace.
Three days later, Xingren Wendai returned to Beihu with Hazhusu with Da Qin's credentials. The details of the trade had been finalized. After the two countries exchanged credentials, they could open and close the trade.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of February, and Qiwan hurried into the Sihai Palace with Meng Hanyu's report.
"Your Majesty, the envoy from the Western Regions has entered the territory of Daqin and will arrive in Xianyang in about a month."
I took a look at the report and nodded: "Let Meng Hanyu take care of their envoys all the way. After all, they sent their credentials in advance. Don't be rude."
When Zhang Gou came back, in addition to many gifts from the Western Regions, he also brought credentials from dozens of countries. He promised to go to Da Qin as an envoy after the posthouse in Da Qin was repaired. Now the city of Zhangye has just been built more than half, and Dunhuang and Jiuquan only have incomplete post houses. How come the countries in the Western Regions arrived so quickly?
He shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He didn't have the energy to care about them right now. He just wanted to do business with Da Qin normally.
Once the story of the Western Region was announced to the world, it immediately aroused the interest of many people. After all, a trip there would bring in twenty times the profit, so who wouldn't be tempted. It's just that most people are not businessmen, so they can only look forward to the Western Regions and sigh.
Even so, many merchants have now settled in Wuwei, and the number of caravans registered in Geyue alone has reached 20. Compared with the current business environment in Da Qin, this number is already large, and they are all relatively strong business families. Of course, there is still a big gap compared with semi-state-owned enterprises such as Pasteur and Urumqi.
The reason for stationing in Wuwei is that Wuwei is used as a transit station. Silk and porcelain must be purchased from Jiangnan or Bashu, and salt must be purchased from Hanzhong. It will take at least half a month to get from these places to Wuwei, and then from Wuwei to the Western Regions. If you travel quickly, it will also take half a month, not counting the time back. . If the caravan goes all the way to the Western Regions, it will be short of people and horses, and it will consume too much energy.
After thinking about it, I pointed to the porcelain vase in the palace and ordered: "Qiwan, please inform Peng Ze's official kiln office to try your best to bake several exquisite and large pieces of porcelain. They should be as big as possible, at least no bigger than the first time. The porcelain vase that came out is small."
This piece of porcelain is no longer small and quite exquisite, so I placed it in the Sihai Palace.
"In addition, tell Jiangnan Weaving to send a few pieces of each of the designs and colors they can weave to Xianyang. They must use the best silk and weavers."
"Inform Tiewu to build the best sword for me. Remember to tell him its function, which is to use it to cut with the swords of the people from the Western Regions. He will naturally know what kind of blade to use."
Qi Wan bowed and guessed: "Your Majesty wants to show the best of Great Qin to the envoys from the Western Regions?"
I nodded: "You have seen the singers and slaves sent from the Western Regions. They are completely different from the Qin people. If you don't want them to develop like the Xiongnu and become the enemies of Great Qin, we must let them know the national power of our Great Qin. This is One meeting will shock them!"
Qi Wan understood and immediately went to the side hall to prepare. Although the west side hall is my study, it is mostly used as Qiwan's secretary room.
After Qiwan entered, Meng He walked in.
"Your Majesty, the imperial censor wants to see you."
I put down the report I just picked up, Meng He turned around and went out, and Yu He walked in.
"I have met His Majesty."
"Excuse me, what's the matter?" I vaguely guessed.
Yu He cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the affairs of the fourteen counties along the Deshui River have been investigated clearly. The more serious ones are the three downstream counties where people freeze to death. The forced increase of households is also the largest among the three counties. There are basically only two people per household. Compared with other counties, the average number of people per household is five, which means the number of households is too high.”
Yu He glanced at me, his expression a little unnatural, and continued: "However, the governors of the three counties were only appointed governors after the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor. They have been working hard to change since taking office. The taxes in the head of Guizhou have been gradually reduced. . But I didn’t expect it to be so cold last winter, so people froze to death.”
I snorted coldly: "Of the fourteen major counties, no one froze to death in the ten in the north. However, people froze to death in the three downstream counties. They have the nerve to quibble? ... Where is there another county?"
Only then did I realize that Yu He was talking about only thirteen counties.
Yu He responded: "Back to your majesty, the other one is Sanchuan County. Li You, the governor of Sanchuan County, took office as the county governor in the 32nd year of the First Emperor, and it has been ten years now. Li You has worked hard during his tenure, and Sanchuan County has basically recovered. It is the downstream county. The only one among the four counties where no one froze to death."
I narrowed my eyes slightly: "Have you checked carefully?"
Li You is Li Si's son, so I would naturally wonder whether Li Si has some connection with Yu He.
