The emperor said that Dawan's horses were good and turned his attention to Dong Zhongshu:
"Master has made many suggestions recently, mentioning shipbuilding. I have already agreed and started making preliminary preparations.
But it has not yet been decided how much to invest and how many ships to build.
I have seen the construction steps of the Infallible Boat that Master brought back from the rubbings taken from Emperor Qin's Mausoleum. I am afraid it will cost a lot of money.
What do you think? "
Limited by contemporary knowledge, when it comes to ships, even the emperor believed that they could be built or not built.
Even if it agrees to build a ship, there will not be much investment.
Only Huo Qubing, a time traveler like the First Emperor, had a different perspective and could fully realize the importance of building ships and dominating the sea.
In this era, it is impossible to build an air force with a longer radiation range and more initiative.
The navy becomes extra important, providing great convenience in defending territory, defending against enemies, maritime trade, exploration, etc.
The First Emperor was aware of the importance of maritime territory, so he mobilized Qin to develop shipbuilding technology.
The First Emperor specifically mentioned this in his handwriting.
Huo Qubing held the ceremony and said, "I have some suggestions regarding shipbuilding."
"The Qin people have devoted themselves to researching the shipbuilding technology. When we build it again, we, the Han Dynasty, will be based on the Qin people. This will save a lot of upfront consumption and get twice the result with half the effort.
Firstly, and secondly, it is true that the cost of building a ship is not small, and the benefits it brings are even greater.
If you control the maritime territory, you will have the right to speak about the ocean. Sea routes extend in all directions, as evidenced by the nautical charts left by Qin Dynasty's explorations. Opening up sea frontiers can further strengthen our Han Dynasty, which is no less beneficial than gaining access to the Western Regions.
Your Majesty, just imagine that it would take tens of thousands of troops to open up the Western Region, and it would take many years of preparation and layout to finally achieve it.
To open up the sea, we only need to build ships. Comparing the two aspects, why not build them?
Not only build it, but also expand it as much as possible.
After the ship is built, all the countries that can be reached by sea will be within the shooting range of our great Han Dynasty. Isn’t it wonderful? "
The emperor's gaze grew brighter.
His ambition is to achieve great success.
Huo Qubing talked about the benefits of shipbuilding in terms of profit and military respectively, and the last sentence particularly moved the emperor.
All accessible countries are within the range of my great Han...
Liu Che nodded slightly, put both hands on the low mat, supported the low mat, and looked around the crowd, his posture was very oppressive:
"In this way, if there is a surplus from taxes, we can invest more in shipbuilding."
Da Sinong respectfully agreed.
Dong Zhongshu on the side stroked his beard and smiled, feeling happy.
This is the advantage of forming a "party". He plays in the front line and Huo Qubing assists.
Soon after, the small court meeting in the study broke up.
The sun is shining brightly and the autumn wind is slightly cold.
Everyone went out separately.
Dong Zhongshu walked briskly and caught up with Huo Qubing, who was discussing the military restructuring with Wei Qing: "I was about to thank Lang Zhongling for his support in helping build the ship."
Huo Qubing said: "This is a matter of great benefit to the country, Master, why should you thank me?
I had promised Master earlier that I would build a Confucian Temple, and your Majesty has been informed of it many days ago. I agreed to the construction of the Confucian Temple, but I wonder how the preparations went? "
Dong Zhongshu smiled: "This is the second thing I came here to thank Huo Hou.
I am originally an old man, but now I have many things to ask for. I am really ashamed to be busy in the court. "
Huo Qubing said: "Master, if you have any errands to do, you can leave them to my brother and let him exercise more."
"Huo Guang's talent is beyond my expectation. If Huo Hou can send him to me, he should do his best to teach him.
Huo Hou has something to do. I will visit you later and we can talk in detail. "
After separating from Dong Zhongshu, Huo Qubing followed his uncle to a side hall on the right wing of the front hall of Weiyang Palace where the great general and great Sima were.
This is the place where Wei Qingwu, the most powerful minister, sits as the number one military general of the Han Dynasty and handles the military affairs of the world.
The interior of the General's Hall is simply decorated.
There is only a long table, on which are placed the seals of generals and military memorials sent from all over the world.
Behind the long case, on the left and right is a general's armor given by the emperor himself, and on the other side is a big gun.
Huo Qubing glanced at the official documents piled on the desk, which looked like a small mountain, and he secretly felt dizzy.
He manages a hundred thousand imperial troops and already feels overwhelmed with affairs every day.
My uncle is in charge of the entire Han military system, with millions of troops, and there are so many things to do, you can imagine.
There are also emperors who control the affairs of the world, and they are all heavy manual workers.
"If you want to make some adjustments to the military system, I support it.
But we must remember not to take too big a step, proceed step by step, and be optimistic about the opportunity. The burden on the national treasury is very heavy right now. "
Wei Qing taught earnestly: “To resist foreign enemies and manage state affairs, money is needed everywhere.
If our demand is too high, the state treasury will be unable to make ends meet, causing taxes to rise. Only then can we increase treasury revenue. What follows is an increase in the burden on the people. You and I have to consider these things when we are in a position to do things. We must know the choices. "
Huo Qubing and Su Rong agreed.
The nephew and uncle came across the plan to adjust the military system and then went their separate ways.
Huo Qubing returned to the Forbidden Army Hall and was busy for a while. There was a message from the army outside the door that Dong Zhongshu came to visit again.
This time he also brought a few people with him, but they were the original kings of Wensu, Weitou, Shule and other countries in the Western Regions.
In addition, there is a lake blue rocking skirt, with multiple gold lacquer bracelets on her snow-white wrists, like Roshna wearing jingle bells.
Among the countries in the Western Regions, except for Qiuci, the leaders of Gumo and Gumo received preferential treatment. After being rewarded by the emperor, they returned to the Western Regions to govern the local areas.
Most of the masters of other countries were moved to the Han Dynasty and chose places to live.
Roshna has a high status in the Western Region, but has no actual position.
After everything in the Western Region was settled, she was not in a hurry to go back. She still stayed in Chang'an and had a lot of contacts with Liu Qing.
Huo Qubing had not seen this beauty from the Western Regions for a while.
"Your Majesty asked Lang Zhongling to deal with the affairs of Dawan, so I asked a few of them to come with me."
Master Dong wanted to reciprocate the favor and deliberately found someone who was familiar with Dawan.
The Weitou who came over and the Lord of Shule were all people whose original border was not far from Dawan and who knew the situation relatively well.
Huo Qubing motioned for several people to take their seats: "What news do you know about Dawan?"
Many of these former lords of the Western Regions currently have titles awarded by the emperor, but they are all empty titles. The emperor could not stop them from doing business, and planned to use them to promote and speed up commercial trade between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions.
Being able to contact and close the relationship with the champion, these former lords of small countries in the Western Regions came in a hurry.
"The current head of the country in Dawan is the newly succeeded Wu Widow. He forced his father and brother to give up the throne and became the head of the country. He is only four or five years older than the Marquis."
The two beards above the corners of the Shule Kingdom's lips trembled slightly, and his voice was soothing. As he spoke, he asked his attendants to translate:
"Wu Wei is a man with a strong character and no shortage of means and ambition. I'm afraid it won't be easy for Marquis Huo to want Dawan to take the initiative to hand over a good horse."
"Dawan established its capital in Guishan City, bordering Kangju in the north and Dayuezhi in the south. These two countries also stared at Dawan's bloody horses.
In the past, more than half of Dawan's fine horses were obtained from these two countries.
Both Kangju and Dayuezhi were powerful countries. If the Han wanted Dayuan's horses, they would steal things from them. "
Several heads of the Western Regions spoke out one after another.
It means that Dayuan is in a safe place, supported by the Dayue clan, and is not easy to mess with. It is a place of dispute in the Western Regions.
Roshna continued: "Dawan had many alliances with Kangju and Dayue clan in the past. The Xiongnu also asked for good horses from it, but Dawan refused. The Xiongnu wanted to send troops to conquer, so Dayue clan and Kangju allied themselves. Send troops to assist in defense.
The Huns weighed the pros and cons and finally chose to retreat. "
Historically, when Emperor Wu asked for horses from Dawan, he initially sent envoys with thousands of gold to Dawan to purchase horses.
The leader of the Dawan Kingdom thought that the Han Dynasty was far away, and the condescending attitude of the Han envoys made the leader of the Dawan Kingdom very angry. Not only did he refuse to trade, he also killed the Han envoy, kept his property, and sent a letter to ridicule Liu Che.
Emperor Wu was furious, so he sent General Li Guang of the Second Division to lead an army to attack Dawan. The battles lasted for four years.
During this period, there were many battles. Li Guangli and Dawan, a small country with less than one county, actually fought with a win or loss, and the soldiers suffered heavy losses.
Later, they were able to win by relying on a protracted war, repeatedly adding troops, and because of Dawan's own internal strife.
Of course, there were many objective factors involved in the expedition to Dawan in history. The distance is too far, and no one in this world can use the means of marching and planning an expedition of thousands of miles. The failure of the battle cannot be entirely blamed on Li Guangli's incompetence. The actual difficulties are also real.
Roshna said worriedly: "Going to Dawan to ask for horses will consume a lot of money if we go on an expedition.
There are no longer a few places with good horses among the countries in our Western Regions. Wusun, Qiuci, and Yanqi have all returned to the Han. Does Huo Hou insist on horses from Dayuan? "
Her words concealed the intention for Huo Qubing to stop.
Several other former kings of the Western Regions also nodded in agreement.
They were worried that asking for horses would trigger Kangju, Dayuezhi and Dawan to join forces, causing another dispute in the Western Regions, which would be a disaster rather than a blessing.
"It's very difficult to go to Dawan to ask for horses. Even if you get Dawan's horses, it's like snatching them from Kangju and Dayue clan. From now on, there will be unrest in the west of our Western Region.
The two countries are attacking day and night, making it difficult to resist. "A few people said one after another.
Huo Qubing thought that it would be so troublesome to go to Dawan to get a horse. He thought I was Li Guangli's fake general.
Huo Qubing said calmly: "The Dayue clan was driven westward by the Huns. The first time they moved was to the place where the Wusun people now live. Later, when they found out that the Huns would not allow it, they continued to move westward in despair.
They were forced twice by the Xiongnu and didn't dare to resist. How can they be considered a strong country? "
"Now the Xiongnu, whom the Dayue clan is afraid of and dare not fight, have become the defeated generals of my Han Dynasty. This time when they go to Dawan to beg horses, if the Dayue clan dares to participate and say no, I will take care of them together with the Dayue clan and let them go. He moved westward for the third time, and so did Kangju.”
Huo Qubing shouted in a deep voice: "Come here, send Zhao Anji, restore Lu Zhi, Yao to call over."
The messenger outside received the order and rushed to deliver it.
Not long after, Huo Qubing's third lieutenant came in from the door with clanging armor.
"Forbidden Army Colonel Zhao Anji, Fu Luzhi, Yao Zhao, have met Lang Zhongling!"
"I now order the three of you to command five thousand troops, divided into three groups, one light and two dark, to cooperate with each other. Your Majesty wants Dawan's horses, do you know what to do?"
"I know, let's talk about the truth first. If it doesn't make sense, we will use the troops to see whose fist is stronger." Yao Zhao said loudly.
Huo Qubing laughed and said, "You're just talking nonsense. How many of you are needed to talk the truth? Just take action. Dawan has a lot of criminal records and won't take the initiative to submit. Why bother talking to him."
On Fu Luzhi's ferocious face, the short scar on the eyebrow arch twitched slightly, extremely ferocious: "Please tell me, Sir, how far can we go?"
Huo Qubing: "We will be outside. There are no regulations. It depends on the situation. You are allowed to do whatever you want.
However, either you don't fight, or you have to fight hard enough. Making your opponent fearful is the most basic combat requirement. "
Fu Luzhi's short scar twitched again. He took Huo Qubing not only because of his invincibility, but also because of his temper. If you are tied up in a fight, you will get a fart.
Lang Zhongling always gave orders happily and acted as he pleased.
Fu Luzhi was full of thoughts, but Huo Qubing mobilized his full enthusiasm with just a few words.
"Okay, you go."
"Wei!" The three of them agreed in unison, with overwhelming momentum.
"Kang Ju and Da Yuezhi may send troops to support us, but if they send troops, the war will continue for a while, which will increase the consumption. Do you three understand what I mean?" Huo Qubing warned.
"Don't worry, Sir. The three of us will seize Dawan as quickly as possible without giving it a chance to breathe." Zhao Anji said.
Among the three, he is the most stable and courageous, so he is given the responsibility to lead the special operations team, which is very suitable for infiltrating behind enemy lines and killing and beheading enemies.
Wen Su, the leader of the Weitou kingdoms still had the intention of admonishing him, but after thinking about it for a moment, he did not speak again.
Huo Qubing has many arrogant and powerful generals under his command. He can't stop him even if he wants to, and no one will pay attention to them.
A quarter of an hour later, several people came out of Huo Qubing's Forbidden Army Command Hall, but they couldn't help but discuss with each other.
Lord Wensu said: "Dawan is one of the powerful countries in our western region, with a standing army of 20,000 troops. If we are able to live comfortably and have the support of the Dayue clan, we can add tens of thousands more troops at any time.
If the champion sends five thousand troops there, what chance does he have of winning? "
The leader of Weitou Kingdom said: "I can't help but advise you on this matter. Let's look at it later."
"The champion is known all over the world to be good at using troops. At the beginning, Wusun also had 30,000 elite troops, but they were defeated by the Han army in one battle. There may be some mystery in his use of troops that we cannot see.
The Han army was marching at an extraordinary speed. It would take only a few days for the news to be sent back. "The Lord of Shule said.
Forbidden Army Hall.
After the others left, Dong Zhongshu stood up and said, "Huo Hou, if there is nothing else, should we set off too?"
(End of chapter)
