Jia Xu’s new investment in Liu Xin was not long ago, and he had experience working under Li Su’s staff. He acted very cautiously. When seeing Liu Xin, he was a little restrained. He didn’t know where to put both hands. In fact, Jia Xu can say He was the first person to pass the imperial examination and was entrusted by Liu Xin. Since leaving Li Yu, with his vicious eyes, Jia Xu has long believed that Liu Xin was his lifelong assistant. The Lord, and because of this, he cherishes this opportunity even more. He always wants to behave better, but in the end he seems a little at a loss.
Liu Xin didn't expect that the legendary "Poison Man" in front of him would become like a primary school student, and it was the second time he met. He couldn't help but feel a little funny. He pointed to the opposite chair and said: "Wenhe, don't be so nervous Well, relax and relax. In the past few months in Xiliang, you have done a good job. I came to you today and just talked casually. Nothing else. Sit down. Sit down. Let's eat and talk."
Now it’s time for lunch. There are a few vegetables and vegetables on the table in front of Liu Xin. No wine is prepared. A large bowl of white rice is placed on each side of the table. Obviously Liu Xin just told me to go with Jia. Had lunch together,
Liu Xin controls a larger site. In order to keep abreast of the dynamics of various places in time, he set a rule. Even if nothing major happens, he must draft a local situation report every month and send it to Xiangyang. Therefore, Liu Xin You can still have a general understanding of the situation in various places, but the details recorded in the bulletin cannot be as detailed as it is more intuitive to speak out by these officials.
However, the world today is not peaceful. Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others are all ready to move aside for the time being. In the three counties of Liangzhou, Sili and Jiangnan occupied by Liu Xin, there are still many bandits and bandits. Liu Xin cannot be stationed. Civil officials and generals from all over the country have left for a long time, so we should seize the time to meet more people as much as possible. Today was delayed by Princess Yang’an for a while. In order to save time, Liu Xin had to invite Jia Xu to lunch.
Being able to have lunch with Liu Xin was something that Jia Xu never expected. He felt a little flattered. He cautiously supported half of his body on the chair opposite Liu Xin, arched his hands and said, "Thank you, Lord Meng. Sincerely, I should do my best. My subordinates are in Liangzhou during this period..."
Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "I know the situation in Liangzhou. You don't need to talk about it anymore. Let's talk about your views on the Western Regions."
"Western Regions," Jia Xu said in surprise, "The lord wants to rebuild the Western Regions Duhu Mansion,"
Liu Xin laughed and said, "Oh, you are a gentleman. I asked you to guess it right away. That’s right, Liu had this intention. The Western Regions are adjacent to Liangzhou, and you are from Liangzhou. Liu wanted to let you As the Protector of the Western Regions, I don’t know what you want."
The prefects of the Western Regions are no better than the prefects of the counties. It is the real power to manage the army and dismount the people. It is quite powerful, but Jia Xu’s face does not see any joy, frowning and groaning: "My Han Dynasty has lost control of the Western Regions. I have been in control of the Western Regions for many years. Nowadays, the various forces in the Western Regions are intricate, but my big man did not infiltrate it. It is not easy for the lord to rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate.
"Come on, eat some food first," Liu Xin pointed to the plate in front of him, and said with a smile: "It is precisely because this matter is difficult to handle, that I need to ask you Jia Wenhe to go out."
Hearing that he wanted to be the guardian of the Western Regions, Jia Xu felt too much pressure. The food on the chopsticks could not be delivered to his mouth for a long time. After thinking for a long time, he said, "I'm the lord, my subordinate thought I was a specialty of the Han Dynasty. Rich, and the Western Regions are really barren land, not worthy of the lord’s importance, the top priority should be..."
"Whether to rebuild the Western Regions Duhu Mansion or when to rebuild the Western Regions Duhu Mansion is not a topic to be discussed today. Liu called you to prepare you and gradually shift the focus of your work to the Western Regions." Liu Xin waved his hand and interrupted Jia Xu. He pointed to a plate of broad beans on the table and said: "Wenhe, look at this kind of beans, they came from the Western Regions. The West is not only lacking in our big guys. There are still many technologies that we don’t master. If they can be introduced, it will be of great help to improving people’s lives."
Jia Xu thought for a while and said: "The Lord's words are reasonable, but it is not difficult to obtain these things. You only need to send a mission to the Western Regions, or even farther places, and everything will be resolved."
Liu Xin shook his head and said, "More than that, Wenhe, do you know where the horses we need come from?"
Jia Xu said without hesitation: "My big man lacks a place to raise horses. Most of the horses I need come from the exchange with the grassland tribes such as the Xiongnu and Xianbei."
Liu Xin nodded and said: "Yes, my big Han's horses came mainly through the exchange. These grassland tribes used to have nothing to do with the big Han, but in recent years, they have repeatedly invaded the borders of my big Han. Sooner or later, they will become a confidant. The most powerful and sharp arms have an irreplaceable role on the battlefield. Once the court engages with these grassland tribes, my big man will lose the source of horses. Without a powerful cavalry, I will eventually be controlled by others. Therefore, we must plan ahead. Find a source that can provide war horses,"
Jia Xu said in surprise: "From ancient times to the present, the biggest enemy of our Han Dynasty has been the Huns. Now the Huns have been divided into two branches, and the southern Huns have been attached to the court. Xianbei is not so powerful. I repeatedly harassed the border between China and Han, actually because there are many items that they cannot obtain through the exchange. If the court vigorously opens the border market to meet their needs for salt and iron cloth, it should be possible to prevent such things from happening again. Subordinates think, After all, these grassland tribes will not become a major threat to the court,"
Liu Xin also knows that since the Huns were divided into two, the entire northern frontier of the Han Dynasty enjoyed peace for hundreds of years. It is precisely because of this stability that people have forgotten the threat from the grasslands, until later in the Western Jin Dynasty, the imperial court was weak and empty. It finally led to a catastrophe and formed a situation of five chaos in China. Not only that, for thousands of years, the entire Han nation has been harassed and threatened by nomadic tribes on the grasslands, and there have been many tragedies of national destruction and family destruction.
Of course, Jia Xu would not know the evolution of history after more than a hundred years, but Liu Xin had to pay attention to it. Since Liu Xin has come here, he must find ways to prevent this from happening. The most thorough way is to place the vast grassland. Under my absolute control, and want to control the grassland, you can’t do without a powerful cavalry.
Seeing Jia Xu’s astonishment, Liu Xin knew that some things were unclear for a while, so he waved his hand and said, “Wenhe, no one can predict what will happen in the future. Even if it’s not for horses, you can get through. The passage with the West is also extremely important. Today, my wife bought some jewellery from the market. It is said that it was trafficked from the Western Regions. Western jewellery can be shipped here. Similarly, the silk and white porcelain produced by my big Han The goods can also be sold to the West. In any case, the Western Regions Protectorate must be rebuilt. You will be responsible for this matter. I want to go to the Western Regions in person in the summer and autumn next year.
Liu Xin’s words have already come up to this point. Jia Xu has no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the errand. Although today’s lunch was eaten with Liu Xin, it was cooked with ordinary ingredients in the prefecture. These delicacies that came out of Jia Xu’s mouth are not taste at all.
At this time, Tao Qian from Xuzhou was also restless.
Ever since Zhang Liao led his army back to Xiangyang, Tao Qian seemed to have a heart attack. Although he had forged a grudge with Liu Xin in the process of chasing after Mi Zhu, Tao Qian was not afraid, because Liu Xin's strength was no matter how powerful he was, he would be left. It was still very far away, and he was worried that Liu Xin would retaliate.
As a precaution, Tao Qian also transferred Liu Bei and Guan Yu to Xuzhou. Today, Liu Bei not only owns the Mi’s house and property, but also controls part of Xuzhou’s real power. The army under his direct command has reached 30,000.
With Liu Bei and Guan Yu by his side, Tao Qian's mood was slightly relaxed, but soon another thing broke the short-lived tranquility.
This incident originated from a letter sent by Cao Cao’s messenger. Cao Cao said in the letter that he would take his father’s family from Shandong to Puyang and need to travel to Xuzhou. I would like to ask Tao Qian for his convenience.
It stands to reason that borrowing is not a big deal, but Tao Qian is now the target of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao competing for, and Tao Qian himself is more inclined to Yuan Shao, and he has been in touch with Yuan Shao secretly, and now, suddenly received a letter from Cao Cao. Tao Qian couldn't help but feel a little undecided.
Although Tao Qian is old, he is not stupid. Of course he knows that whether Cao Cao or Yuan Shao is true, he will not be sincerely thinking about Liu Jiajiang. Now, he and Liu Xin have torn apart their faces and desperately need to find another backer. , But there can only be one backer. If you step on two boats, you may die even more miserably.
Of course, Cao Cao didn’t need to borrow from Tao Qian. His father’s family could still reach Puyang, but he had to go around a big circle and take a few more unreasonable roads. However, now there are riots everywhere, bandits and bandits are rampant, so take one more step. Road, it means more danger, Cao Cao also had to ask Tao Qian to borrow the way. At the same time, Cao Cao also believed that he had no reason not to agree to such a simple matter.
Tao Qian thought about it, but couldn't make up his mind, so he asked Liu Bei to come over. In fact, although Mi Zhu was gone, there were Chen Gui, Chen Deng and Sun Gan under Tao Qian's hand, but, Because in the incident of Mi Zhu leaving, Chen Gui and others pretended to be deaf and dumb, and Tao Qian didn't dare to trust them anymore. Now he encountered something big or small, the first thing he remembered was Liu Bei and Liu Bei. It seems to have become his most important confidant,
After reading the letter from Cao Cao, Liu Bei said with a smile: "The lord not only has to lend to Cao Cao, but he also has to send soldiers to protect him."