Expanding a civil fort is simple to say, but it still requires a set of procedures.
It's easy to talk to the court, but this matter also involves Youzhou Prefecture and Prince Yan.
Since the grassland trade began, Prince Yan has completely lost the pressure from the prairie wolf tribe. Moreover, there have been more businessmen coming and going, and a lot of money has been made.
Especially his son, together with Shopkeeper Wei, opened a Shengfa Department Store in the Commercial Market near Shanhaiguan, making money every day.
When he learned the news, he also knew that he had been trapped by the court.
But knowing that he was trapped, he had no choice. He could neither abandon his son nor the interests of the Trade Fair.
But recently, he has become vaguely uneasy, because there have been memorials against him in the court. Someone went to the court saying that the northern border is becoming increasingly stable, and proposed to abolish some of the border troops.
The border army is the foundation of Prince Yan's livelihood. What if it is abolished?
Although His Majesty the Emperor reprimanded the officials who submitted the report, Prince Yan still felt uneasy.
Not only was there news in the court, but even the border troops were somewhat unsettled. In the past, they had to be on guard against attacks from the prairie people every day. But now it's better, and they are all smiling when they see the prairie people.
After all, who wouldn’t be happy seeing money?
But if this continues and the armaments are in ruins, what fighting capacity will the frontier army have? If the frontier army has no fighting capacity, what capital does Prince Yan have to stand here?
However, at this time, an official letter from Yang Xuan arrived at Prince Yan's desk.
What the letter said was that due to the prosperity of the trade market, the earthen fort was about to be expanded, and Prince Yan was requested to send troops to garrison it.
Prince Yan looked at the letter and fell into deep thought. After a long time, he finally showed a smile: "This Yang Xuan is really a wonderful person."
The Tumu Fort area was originally the territory of the Dasheng Dynasty. In the past, it was basically abandoned because it was always harassed by the grassland people. However, now that there are more people due to trade, it is reasonable to apply for garrison.
In this way, Prince Yan's border troops would have a place to play their role again.
The letter also described the current situation of the trade fair. Because there were too many people, he also requested Prince Yan to send officials and set up an official office to handle civil affairs.
This is obviously equivalent to expanding the territory.
It was the territory of both the Dasheng Dynasty and Youzhou Prefecture.
And the territory of Youzhou Prefecture is not the territory of Prince Yan.
However, Yang Xuan suggested this matter, and there was still a process to go to the court. After all, the imperial power had to be respected for the sake of face.
All of Yang Xuan's arrangements were going on in an orderly manner, but in the royal court of the Prairie Wolf Clan, a huge storm was already brewing.
Although the Lord of the Grassland, Yihaqi, agreed to the trade and gained a lot of benefits from it, there were still people in the royal court who held objections.
They have made money, and Dasheng Dynasty will only make more, not less. Dasheng is already wealthy. When Dasheng develops, won't the grassland face the disaster of genocide?
In the words of later generations, Ihaqi Ursu and others belong to the doves on the grassland, while these people are hawks.
What they think about is never peaceful development, but burning, killing and looting. Why use trade when they can get wealth with a saber?
The person who proposed these ideas was the Fucha tribe on the grassland. The power of this tribe is no worse than that of the Essin tribe. It can even be said that if it were not for the former glory of the Essin tribe and the prestige of the Golden Family, the position of the Lord of the grassland would not be the same.
It may not be Ihaqi's turn yet.
Fuchardo is now the chief of the Fucha tribe and a representative figure of the hawks. He has always been resentful of Yihaqi taking the position of Wolf Lord. This time he found such an excuse to pick a fight.
The various tribes were dissatisfied with Yihaqi.
They even connected with the Oara Kingdom in the west and wanted to intermarry with the Oara Kingdom in order to increase their strength. The candidate for the intermarriage was Sosna's daughter, Lizhu, known as the Pearl of the Grassland.
This is why Lizhu followed the caravan all the way to Tumubao.
When the Golden Family unified the grasslands, Wala was also part of this huge empire. Later, when the wolf clan declined, Wala developed and is now no less powerful than the wolf clan led by Yihaqi.
Yang Xuan has been busy expanding the civil fort during this period. He thought that Lizhu would come for a trip and play for a while before going back, but he did not expect that it was already winter and she had no intention of leaving.
Yang Xuan was puzzled. If it snowed, she wouldn't be able to leave even if she wanted to.
Is it possible that he still wants to celebrate the New Year here?
The most important thing is that this Lizhu is like a follower, following Yang Xuan all day long. Sosna's caravan has gone back and forth several times, except bringing a few letters and some gifts to Yang Xuan, nothing else.
He said that he just asked Yang Xuan to take good care of Lizhu.
Yang Xuan was a little confused. I am also a young man of eighteen or nineteen years old. Well, if you put such a beautiful girl next to me, are you not afraid that I will eat her?
In fact, it's not surprising that Yang Xuan thought so. The way Lizhu clung to Yang Xuan was clearly like a little girl's love for spring.
Even a kid like Zhang Junbao noticed it and used it to tease Yang Xuan. How could Sosna know?
But Yang Xuan couldn't really do anything to Lizhu. After all, she was the pearl on the grassland. If anything happened, Yang Xuan couldn't bear the responsibility if it caused a dispute between the two countries.
But for such a beautiful girl to stick to Yang Xuan all day long, Yang Xuan couldn't bear it.
Fortunately, just when Yang Xuan was bored, Guan Yunrong came.
In order to get rid of Lizhu, Yang Xuan personally went to Juyongguan to meet Guan Yunrong.
Of course, another reason is that Guan Qingxian, the head of the Suzhou Guan family, also came.
According to Guan Yunrong's description, this investment in the grassland is no small matter. Once it is put into production, it will likely change the entire pattern of the Guan family. As the head of the family, how could he not come and take a look at the situation.
"Mr. Guan, welcome."
"Master Yang came to welcome you personally, how can this old man bear the responsibility?"
In the prosperous dynasty, as long as you have grandchildren, you can call yourself an old man, while being old is a way of saying that you are self-effacing.
"Mr. Guan, you're welcome. Miss Guan and I have been friends for many years. Mr. Guan is here to support the development of the imperial court, both in public and private affairs. The younger generation should welcome him."
After a polite exchange of greetings, the two parties took their seats. Although he was in Juyongguan, Yang Xuan's status was not trivial. Prince Yan specially ordered someone to arrange a courtyard for Yang Xuan to entertain guests.
After all, Yang Xuan gave him a brilliant idea. As soon as spring began, he could send troops to garrison. Even the county government was ready, and officials could move in as soon as they arrived.
Moreover, Yang Xuan was deeply trusted by His Majesty the Emperor. If it were not for his status as a vassal king, he would have wanted to invite Yang Xuan to dinner.
Yang Xuan entertained the head of the Guan family, and the atmosphere at the banquet was naturally harmonious. Guan Qingxian even took the initiative to ask Yang Xuan if he was married.
When this topic came up, everyone knew what Guan Qingxian meant. Guan Yunrong was so embarrassed that she found an excuse to hide out, but Yang Xuan just pretended to be stupid and ignored the matter.
It's not that he wants to let down Guan Yunrong, but there is a princess over there. Yang Xuan feels that he can't handle His Majesty the Emperor just yet, so he can only wait and see.
After resting for a night, everyone left the customs and headed north to Tumubao.