The prisoner presentation ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple was held more grandly this time. Although it was a tragic victory, it still knocked down the arrogance of the Huns.
Regarding this reward, the emperor directly ordered that all rewards be severe, and the compensation for all soldiers killed in battle was also raised to the highest level.
As Liang Wang and Liu Deng were the biggest contributors to this battle, the rewards this time were naturally even more anticipated.
Just when everyone was worrying about how to reward Liu Deng for this battle, Liu Deng's memorial arrived directly.
"Is it too hasty to build three cities at once?"
Seeing the memorial sent by Liu Deng, Shen Tujia was stunned on the spot.
"I think that building the city is the real imperative!"
Looking at the map Liu Deng sent up, Liu Qi's mind flew to nowhere.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
"Prime Minister, look, if we build three new cities here, we only need to station 20,000 to 30,000 troops in each city. If the Huns want to come back again!"
While Liu Qi was talking, he reached out and picked up three flags and inserted them directly into the sand table in front of him.
Although Shen Tujia was not familiar with military affairs, he still had a good grasp of the overall situation.
"If these three Z-shaped cities are built, they can serve as each other's horns! Unless the Huns attack with an entire nation again, these three cities will be three deadly thorns stuck in their necks!"
After Liu Qi finished speaking, a strange light appeared in his eyes.
"Wonderful!"
Hearing what the emperor said, even Shen Tujia couldn't help but cheer!
"And that's not all. Look, Prime Minister, if we build three more cities here, here, and here again!"
Which emperor doesn't like to expand territory? Looking at the great rivers and mountains on the sand table in front of him, even Liu Qi became excited.
"Then...then all south of the Yellow River will be my big man's territory from now on!"
Shen Tujia's throat seemed to have been punched hard, and his voice changed.
"Yes, and with the support of these cities, we can rely on potatoes and corn to make these cities self-sufficient in a short time!"
The emperor's breathing had begun to quicken. Liu Deng specifically mentioned an experiment that Shuofang was doing at the back of the memorial.
A piece of raw land is just the simplest slash-and-burn cultivation. After planting potatoes, the yield of one acre of land has reached a terrifying eighty stone per mu!
If this thousand-mile grassland were planted on this scale, how much food would be needed!
More importantly, potatoes are not only edible by humans, but can also be used as feed for war horses.
"Self-sufficient..."
Shen Tujia's breathing began to quicken.
In wars in this cold weapon era, the reason for failure is actually not the powerful enemy in many cases, but rather the huge logistical pressure.
If these newly built cities can quickly become self-sufficient, it will mean that the court can save a large amount of military expenses every year.
And that's not all. A new city only needs three to five years of operation to accumulate a considerable amount of food.
In a few years, that huge grassland will become the new tax land of the imperial court.
If you calculate it this way, it won't take long for the money from the city to be earned back.
"Look at the list of new city construction projects this guy has listed. Although the cities he built before are all within the territory of Dai, they are still of great reference value! Even if his cost is increased by three to Four times, this price is also a good deal!”
Liu Deng's memorials never talk about vain things. Most of the time, he talks about data, how much does it cost to do something, and how much work can be done in how long.
They are all listed there one by one. Although those terms are indeed a bit unfamiliar, with a little thought, you can probably understand the meaning of these terms.
Even a person who is not very proficient in civil engineering, after understanding this memorial, can basically roughly calculate how much it will cost, how long, and how much manpower it will take to build the entire city.
"If that's the case, then the construction cost of these three cities, including the initial cost, is only three to four million dollars..."
Seeing that the numbers listed by Liu Deng were Shen Tujia, everyone was stunned.
If all these items were not clearly listed in front of them, according to their calculations, if they wanted to build three new cities, the money needed to build them would be in the tens of millions.
"Actually, there is an easier way!"
Liu Qi rolled his eyes and said suddenly.
"What does your Majesty mean?"
"Just think of these three new cities as my reward to Liu Deng! Everything within a hundred miles of the three new cities belongs to him!"
Liu Qi blinked and said.
Shen Tujia was stunned for a moment, but he soon understood.
Although it is indeed a bit unkind to do so, Liu Deng would probably be happy to accept it if he heard the news.
Although a lot of manpower and material resources did need to be invested in the early stage, with the current war situation between the Han and the Huns, it would actually take less than a few years for the Huns to completely surrender.
When that time comes, these three cities will become the only way to the grassland.
After all, the imperial court needed horses, cattle and sheep on the grassland, and the Huns on the grassland needed the living supplies provided by the Han Dynasty.
This business route alone can make Liu Deng a lot of money.
But for the court, this was indeed a cost-effective deal.
On the one hand, it saves a lot of money in building the city.
On the other hand, the military expenditure saved every year is also an astronomical figure.
And with these three cities blocking the way, the recovery of the entire Hetao land is only a matter of time!
The Huns' route south was completely cut off. Only with the help of King Aries and King Hunxie who were entrenched in the Hetao area, Zhou Yafu and the others could free their hands. Isn't it a simple matter to deal with them?
"Your Majesty, it's just that it might not sound good if you say this..."
Shen Tujia coughed dryly. After all, Liu Deng had made great achievements this time.
"If I really give him the hometown of Zhao State, that would be a real compliment! This guy is a smart man, he will understand what I mean!"
Liu Qi smiled indifferently.
Speaking of which, Liu Deng really gave him a headache.
All the other princes are now thinking about how to get money from the court.
Only this boy has been fighting a real war in the south and north in these years. His contribution is really great, which makes him, the emperor, very helpless.
Now I am just in my early twenties, but I am actually looking at the point where I have no title and no reward...
