Zhou Yafu was waving his halberd, galloping back and forth to show off proudly in front of a group of officials, when suddenly he felt his feet loosen up, half of his body suddenly fell down, and the halberd fell to the ground involuntarily.
Amidst the exclamations of the palace people, he quickly hugged the horse's neck tightly, tightened the reins, and slowly stopped the horse. Fang calmed down and looked carefully. It turned out that the rope on one foot was broken, causing the horse to lose strength. He was so steady that he almost fell off his horse.
Liu Ji looked at it for a long time and suddenly realized,
"It turns out that this small stepping stone has such a miraculous effect."
He changed the subject, glanced at Han Xin, and asked lightly,
"Han Xin, I think you are very familiar with it. Did you know about this kind of equipment early on?"
Han Xin's face turned pale and he opened his mouth to defend, but he heard Lu Pheasant's warm words,
"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. This is obviously an idea that I racked my brains for. I just happened to put it into practice when the horse came to the palace today.
Just because the King of Chu helped a little on the spot, it was really unfair for him to take the credit. "
Everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere seemed surprisingly harmonious. It seemed that it was back to the days when we were reckless and entrepreneurial, and a group of people could talk freely without any barriers.
Zhou Yafu turned over and dismounted, and everyone swarmed around the horse. Xia Houying excitedly held up the hemp rope and looked left and right, then opened the saddle and took a look, and said to Liu Ji,
"I will try to improve it. You can connect these two loop ropes directly to the saddle. This way, it will be more stable and will not damage the horse's back -"
"——Simply change it to an iron ring or a copper ring, make it stronger."
As soon as everyone came into contact with new things, they were inevitably limited to the initial form of the circle rope. Lu Zhi simply got straight to the point and explained to the onlookers with gestures with his hands,
"We don't have to stick to iron hoops. Since we can smelt iron, why not just make them look like iron pedals. The two ends of the pedals are hung on both sides of the saddle with soft leather straps.
In this way, even if something unexpected happens in the face of battle, you can get out quickly. "
Liu Ji rolled his eyes, sketched the general shape in his mind, nodded and said,
"Well, the queen is right. If you want to make it, make it into iron or copper pedals, wider, so that the load can be heavy, the rider can ride comfortably, and can wield long weapons."
"Tsk, tsk, such a fantastic idea, I am afraid that even the Huns would not have thought of it. Anyway, I have been wandering around the grassland for several months and have never seen such an object at all."
Liu Jing smacked his lips, looked at Lu Pheasant with admiration, and sighed,
"Even if they steal the lesson and use the stirrups, they are not afraid.
The iron weapons in the Central Plains were beyond the reach of the Huns. Wherever our halberd goes, even the fastest archer on the grassland can't catch it. "
***
At sunset that day, Liu Ji walked to the Beigong. When he saw Lu Pheasant, he had nothing to say.
"The coral tree that Zhao Tuo gave to the King of Changsha will arrive tomorrow, and you can come and take a look at it then.
By the way, there were also a few mackerel fish that were sent together. It is said that each one is five or six feet long and extremely huge. "
He scratched his head and finally got to the point.
"I was just thinking, if the negotiation with Zhao Tuo is really successful, what should I give him in return?"
Lu Pheasant was sitting on the chair newly built for her by the Shaofu, facing a very high wooden table, and was eating with sūn. Seeing Liu Ji coming, she stood up and gave way.
Liu Ji looked at her newly purchased strange objects with eyes, waved her hand and said,
"No, you eat what you have. I'll say a few words to you and then go to Qi Ji's place to use it."
"That's fine,"
Lu Pheasant smiled and said, "Let me think about it, the return gift must be impartial and have a deterrent effect."
"Then I'll leave it to you. Don't lose our face."
Seeing the preoccupied emperor raising his foot to leave, Lv Zhi understood, so he caught up two steps and asked,
"Your Majesty is worried about who should train the troops?
Liu Ji hesitated, asking questions even though he knew better.
"Training troops, what kind of troops are you training?"
"Deal with the Xiongnu's elite cavalry."
"Oh, I was thinking, either Guan Ying, Fan Kuai, or Zhou Bo.
Why, what does the Queen have to say? "
"In my opinion, you clearly have a better choice."
Liu Ji's face was as cold as ice. He slowly turned around and stood still. His dark pupils were bottomless.
"You mean Han Xin?"
Lu Zhi raised his head fearlessly and looked straight into his eyes.
"What I'm talking about is Han Xin. Didn't His Majesty think of him first? He just didn't want to admit it."
***
Liu Ji stared at the woman in front of him with an expression of disbelief on his face.
"You mother-in-law, why have you lost your mind and gone crazy today, talking nonsense!
It's too late for me to reduce his military power. I only spared his life for the sake of Lu Wan being recommended by his superiors. You still want to let him lead the army. You are simply seeking the skin of a tiger——"
He couldn't hold back his words for a moment and almost revealed all the resentment and fear deep in his heart.
Yes, after enduring it for so many years, Liu Ji felt like he was sitting on pins and needles every time he thought about the heavy troops Han Xin had in his hands. He had just stopped fighting and finally made a surprise move in Tao County and took away his military power. How could he let him go again? Leading troops?
"Your Majesty, don't be angry for now. Just ask yourself, do you want to end the Huns' troubles?
Or do you want to leave this mess to your children and grandchildren to clean up? "
"I naturally thought that if the First Emperor could send General Meng Tian to the north to drive the Huns, I could do the same.
If it hadn't been for this, I would not have scrimped on food, kept a low profile, and kept a low profile with those foreign countries at a time when the country was in dire straits. "
Liu Ji's chest felt tight. A few days ago, he had discussed with the sad-looking Xiao He. After all the expenditures, the national treasury was really empty. He could postpone the construction of his own mausoleum for now and focus on supplying people's livelihood and training troops.
Lu Pheasant nodded slowly,
“That’s it, those who achieve great things don’t stick to trivial matters.
Since this is a decisive battle involving all the strength of the country, we must win and destroy the Xiongnu's main combat power in one fell swoop so that they will never be able to invade the border and can only obediently follow the rules we set. "
The empty hall echoed with Liu Ji's restless pacing. Seeing the emperor's silence, Lu Pheasant said again,
"I remember before the decisive battle at Gaixia, I once told you that being an imperial general is like flying a kite. No matter how high or far the kite flies, as long as the string is always held in His Majesty's hand, it can be retracted and flown freely."
"Well, you said that, I remember.
If Han Xin is regarded as a kite, then what is the so-called kite string? "
Lu Pheasant sat back on the chair, leaning against the thick cushions woven with turtle back patterns.
This seemed to be a habit left over from the previous life. She always liked to sit quietly and watch the man in front of her pacing anxiously, whether that man was her husband or her son.
"What we are talking about today is not just Han Xin, I am just taking him as an example.
Your Majesty is also the one who leads the troops. In your opinion, what exactly is the military power in the hands of the general who leads the troops? "
"military power--"
Liu Ji chewed this word thoughtfully,
"Generals train troops on weekdays and command them in war. It is said that they can raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a short period of time. They have the right to both raise and use troops."
"Then, has your Majesty ever thought about dividing the two matters of raising troops and sending troops into two?"
"split into two?"
"Take Han Xin as an example. Your Majesty can send him to train troops and give him the strength to control the troops, but the power to dispatch this elite cavalry must be firmly in the hands of the court and your Majesty."
"In this way, I can let him train my soldiers and horses. He is just a cavalry instructor sent by me, but does this mean?"
Liu Ji's face was gloomy and he sat down on the edge of the couch, lost in thought.
