Here, inside and outside, up and down, from Yizhou to Yongliang, from Yongliang to Guanzhong, when can we get rid of the support of money?
Even if Nanzhong continuously transported copper ore and the Chengdu Mint minted money day and night, they could not withstand Liu Zhang's huge expenditure.
Copper coins can be manufactured continuously, but the productivity of this era is far from keeping up with Liu Zhang's speed of making money.
The entire Han Dynasty only produced so much grain every year. No matter how much money there was, it was useless. There was no grain for Liu Zhang to buy.
Moreover, because of the trust that Yizhou people have in the Chamber of Commerce, there is little food left at home.
Once the food is exhausted, it will be a disaster for the entire Yizhou!
Fortunately, Jia Xu is in charge of Chengdu, and Liu Zhang believes that he will be able to maintain the current balance.
Once a crisis comes, Jia Xu will definitely inform it in advance.
At that time, what Liu Zhang had to consider was not when to cease fighting, but to stop the war immediately.
Liu Zhang naturally loved war horses of Red Rabbit and Shali Fei's level, but he did not expect to get them right away.
The ordinary Dawan horses from the Western Regions were Liu Zhang's most urgent need.
Even the most common Dawan horse is superior to the Liangzhou war horse in terms of endurance, load-bearing, speed, etc.
It can be said that the most essential bloodline of the Dawan horse is superior to the war horses produced in Liangzhou.
Now that Wu Feng Camp is a light-armored cavalry, doesn’t Liu Zhang want to turn Wu Feng Camp into a heavy-armored cavalry?
of course not!
The reason is very simple. It's not that Liu Zhang couldn't make heavy armor, nor that the quality of his soldiers was poor. The most important reason was the war horses.
In the past, due to the serious aging of the war horses, they were completely unable to gallop while wearing heavy armor.
Even if he puts on special light armor, his physical strength cannot meet the optimal combat needs.
Fortunately, after defeating Han Sui and Ma Teng in succession, Liu Zhang received a great complement of horses.
However, after repeated trials, Liangzhou war horses were also unable to meet the needs of heavy armored cavalry.
Liu Zhang wanted to build an invincible cavalry regiment, and the Dawan horses in the Western Regions were an indispensable hard condition.
Unfortunately, without the whereabouts of the merchant, it is almost impossible to obtain the Dawan horse.
"Hey, I lost an opportunity to get a war horse..."
Dayuan Kingdom is still very far away from Dunhuang County, which is the most edge of the Han Dynasty. It is the westernmost of the countries in the entire Western Region, and it is very difficult for Liu Zhang to reach it on his own.
Cheng Gongying was a little confused. He didn't expect Liu Zhang to be so depressed.
"My lord, don't worry. There are three natural horse farms in the Han Dynasty. Now that we occupy one and intimidate the other, we can naturally produce a steady stream of war horses."
Liu Zhang knew the three major racecourses mentioned by Cheng Gongying. One was the Hexi Corridor area that ran through Dunhuang County, Jiuquan County, and Zhangye County.
The vast land north of the Qilian Mountains has unique geographical advantages and climatic conditions, which are very suitable for breeding horses.
Next is You, near the Yinshan Mountains on the border. The conditions in this place are also very favorable. However, due to frequent harassment by the Xianbei people, overall, it is far inferior to the Hexi Corridor.
Finally, there is the Hetao Plain. This vast area has rich water and grass and fertile land. It has unique advantages whether it is farming or animal husbandry.
It is a pity that such fertile land was given to the Southern Xiongnu by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu.
It was precisely because of the favorable conditions in the Hetao area that the Southern Huns were able to regain their vitality.
The Southern Xiongnu were not grateful for being taken in by the Han Dynasty. In the second year of Xingping, that is, 195 AD, they took advantage of the gap between the princes' struggles for hegemony and forcibly occupied many cities along the Yellow River.
Liu Zhang didn't want to comment on his ancestor Liu Xiu's move. In short, the Southern Huns raised Liu Bao, a bastard.
If Liu Zhang had not appeared, Cai Yan would have been kidnapped by Liu Bao, the Xian King of Zuo, five years ago.
The evils committed by the Southern Huns were far more than that. Liu Bao's son Liu Yuan later proclaimed himself emperor in Bingzhou, and his grandson Liu Cong personally destroyed the Western Jin Dynasty.
In short, when Liu Zhang thought of Hetao, he would think of the Southern Huns, and when he thought of the Southern Huns, he would think of Liu Bao, and his heart was instantly filled with hatred.
"My lord...what's wrong with you?"
Unexpectedly, Liu Zhang's reaction was so great, and Cheng Gongying was even more surprised.
"Oh, Mr. Chenggong, I'm fine!"
Liu Zhang suppressed his anger continuously, and when he completely digested the land of Guanzhong, the first one to deal with was the Southern Xiongnu.
"My lord, don't worry. Even if we only have land west of Hexi, we will have a steady supply of war horses."
Liu Zhang shook his head. After occupying Yongliang Prefecture, the source of the war horses was naturally not the object of his worries.
"Mr. Chenggong, the Dawan Kingdom in the Western Regions is rich in fine horses, called Dawan horses. Among them, the best horses are also called sweat-blooded horses!"
"Whether it's the red rabbit under Lu Bu's crotch or the Shali Fei that Meng Qi rides, they should both be bloody horses."
"Even an ordinary Dawan horse has a much higher combat capability than the war horses produced in Hexi."
Cheng Gongying did not object to what Liu Zhang said, but in his opinion, the war horses produced in Hexi were sufficient.
Whether it was Dong Zhuo, Ma Teng or Han Sui, they all used Hexi war horses to gain the reputation of Liangzhou cavalry.
"My lord, even so, the Hexi war horses are coveted by all the princes in the world."
Liu Zhang smiled and nodded. He fully agreed with this statement.
Fortunately for Yuan Shao, after all, he has the Yinshan Mountains in You and Erzhou, and he can also trade with Xianbei and Wuhuan.
Cao Cao made good friends with the Southern Xiongnu and could also get war horses from the Southern Xiongnu, but the number was ultimately insufficient.
Not to mention Liu Biao and Sun Quan, they were completely hard to find.
For Cao Cao, the Hexi War Horse is naturally extremely precious. For Liu Biao and Sun Quan, the Hexi War Horse can be regarded as a treasure!
However, this also illustrates a problem. In terms of hardware, the cavalry composed of Hexi war horses cannot crush the cavalry under Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
"Sir, you don't know. I intend to build heavy armor cavalry! But the war horses produced in Liangzhou cannot bear the heavy armor at all."
"If you want to have an invincible heavy armored cavalry, the Western Region Dawan Horse will be indispensable and irreplaceable!"
Cheng Gongying frowned. It was extremely difficult to obtain Dawan horses from the Western Regions, not to mention that there were definitely not a few needed to form an army.
"My lord, since the decline of the imperial court, the Palace of the Governor of the Western Regions has existed in name only!"
"The Kingdom of Dawan is still farther west than the other countries in the Western Regions. The Changshi Mansion is in a state of decline, and it is even less possible to seek the Dawan Horse."
Nowadays, the world is in chaos. Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liangzhou has been completely out of control.
Without Liangzhou, the imperial court would be even less able to control the Mansion of the Governor of the Western Regions.
Liu Zhang was also aware of this problem, but how easy was it to revitalize the Governor's Palace in the Western Regions?
There are more than fifty countries, large and small, in the Western Region!
If you want them to surrender, you must send at least ten thousand troops to intimidate them, and you also need a person with outstanding ability to serve as a long history.
Ma Teng had been occupying the four counties in Hexi until then. Liu Zhang turned to look at Ma Chao, preparing to learn about the situation in the Western Regions.
