The study area of the Prefectural Mufu is naturally guarded day and night, and the person on duty tonight is the clever little girl Arou. Although this little girl is illiterate, she is very smart. She has ever heard of the four students Liu Xin brought back from Chang'an.
After a maid was kicked out for talking too much, she became extremely cautious. Because most of the time, no one visited the study at night.
Watching the night is actually a relatively easy thing. There are ready-made beds in the wing next door, and the watchers can sleep in them. This is authorized by Liu Xin. However, Ah Rou did not sleep. Every time it was her turn
She was on duty at night, and she didn't even go to sleep. She hoped to wait for an opportunity to perform. Today, she finally got this opportunity.
Just after the fourth watch, Liu Xin came to the study, which surprised and delighted Arou. She quickly made tea for Liu Xin and stood aside with her hands down. Liu Xin was also very surprised that this little girl did not go to bed, but
, all his thoughts were focused on the map, and he did not talk to her until he asked her to ask Jushu.
Arou was surprised when she heard Liu Xin's order and said quickly: "Master, it's still early before dawn. I'm afraid Lord Ju hasn't gotten up yet. At this time..."
At this point, Ah Rou suddenly stopped talking. The master has an order, so he just has to carry it out. Why can't he imitate those girls and talk more? If the master gets angry, won't all his hard work this night be in vain? A thought
At this point, she couldn't continue talking and wanted to slap herself twice.
But Liu Xin suddenly realized it, smiled sheepishly, and said: "You are right to remind me, how could I ask him to come here so early. Okay, wait until dawn and send someone to invite him. Well, you are very good, call him
What name?"
There were many maids in the house, and they were always managed by a few ladies. Liu Xin didn't pay much attention to them. Although they looked familiar, she could rarely call them by their names. When Arou heard Liu Xin ask her, she quickly gave her a blessing.
Said: "Slave Ah Rou."
Arou naturally liked her wholeheartedly. It was still not dawn yet. If she could get Liu Xin's favor, she would reach the sky in one step. Her steps moved forward involuntarily.
But Liu Xin nodded and said, "Well, you understand things very well, that's right. I'll talk to my wife tomorrow and find you a good family so that you don't have to be a slave here."
Ah Rou secretly complained in her heart, she was trying to please Diao Chan, and she was giving up her rest time to express herself, all in the hope that one day she would be able to enjoy glory and wealth, but she got such a result, she was so smart that she was wronged by her cleverness, she couldn't help but cry without tears.
How could she hide her little thoughts from Liu Xin? Liu Xin and Ma Yun had the same idea. Except for a few important positions in the state pastoral palace, other maids and slaves only need to be honest and willing to work. There is no need for them.
How smart are they?
They can't be allowed to be petty. In Liu Xin's opinion, this arrangement is the best reward for her. It is much better than allocating her to a domestic slave, not to mention that the government will also allocate some property to her as her own.
The dowry would not be treated badly by her.
The sky was getting brighter, Liu Xin finished practicing, had breakfast, and her mood calmed down, no longer as anxious as before. At this time, Jushou also rushed over. The two came to the study to sit down, Liu
Xin pointed to the map and said, "Gongyu, take a look, is it possible to build a city here?"
"Build a city!" Jushou couldn't help but be stunned by Liu Xin's bold idea, and quickly said, "There are no bricks or stones on the grassland, or even large-scale timber. It is simply unimaginable to build a city. This has never been done before.
"
Although Liu Xin proposed the idea of building a city because of Zhu Qian's unintentional words, he also thought about it again and again and felt that it should still be feasible. In Liu Xin's impression, not to mention Inner Mongolia and Mongolia in later generations.
There are many modern cities in the capital. Even after the Yuan Dynasty, some cities gradually emerged on the Mongolian grasslands, which shows that it is possible to build cities on the grasslands.
The reason why there are no cities on the grasslands now is that the nomads do not need cities at all, and they have no concept of cities. All they have are mobile tent groups. This is also the case since the Han Dynasty. Although they defeated the Huns, they have been unable to truly control them.
Their main reason.
However, if cities are built on the grasslands, the situation will be different. The migration paths of these nomadic tribes will be interrupted, and they can be separated, making it easier to control them. Moreover, the nomadic tribes do not have large-scale attacks.
They don't have city equipment, nor do they know common siege tactics. A city standing on the grassland, which can be attacked when advancing and defended when retreating, can always maintain a deterrent against nomadic tribes.
Liu Xin had long known that Jushu would be skeptical about building a prairie city. He waved his hand and said in an unquestionable tone: "Just because our predecessors have not done anything before, it does not mean that we cannot do it. Without masonry and wood, we can't do it."
, it can be transported from the Central Plains. I believe that although the cost is high, it will not exceed the cost of building a Great Wall?"
The construction of the Great Wall began during the Warring States Period. Later, after Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, he ordered the Great Walls of various countries to be connected. Until now, the Great Wall has played an important role in resisting the nomads on the grasslands. However, Qin Shihuang launched a large number of
Civilians built the Great Wall, which not only depleted national power but also increased the burden on the people. It was also an important reason for accelerating the demise of the Qin Dynasty.
But Liu Xin knew that although the Great Wall could effectively block the invasion of nomads, it had a fatal weakness. If a certain point on the Great Wall was broken, the entire Great Wall would be useless. In the later generations in his memory, those nomads would
They invaded the Central Plains more than once, and the Great Wall could not stop their iron hooves. Moreover, the Great Wall was not built once and for all. A large number of troops had to be stationed and repaired regularly, which required a lot of expenditure.
If several cities are built on the grassland to effectively control the grassland, then the Great Wall will be transformed from the front line into the second line of defense, supporting the cities on the grassland, and there will be no need to spend too much money on it.
Financial resources and manpower only need to be strengthened to control the most important points. This has the advantage of preventing villages and towns outside the Great Wall from being harassed by nomadic tribes.
Seeing that Jushu was deep in thought, Liu Xin continued: "Don't rush to answer me on this matter. You can discuss it with them. It is best to merge the discussion with the establishment of the five Xiongnu tribes and strive to build a city in each of the five tribes."
.However, it cannot be delayed for too long. It must be determined after the early spring of next year, and then mobilize manpower and materials to strive to complete the construction before next winter!"
A few days later, the 60,000 soldiers who went out to the grassland for the second time gradually withdrew to Xiliang. Although many of them were already familiar with using war horses, they were not nomads after all, and they still had many discomforts on the grassland.
Just gnawing on those beef and mutton every day made many people have blisters on their mouths. The news spread to Xiangyang and strengthened Liu Xin's determination to build a city on the grassland.
If you want to control the Xiongnu tribes, you must show them your strong fist. Not only that, maintaining a certain scale of military strength on the grassland can also promptly quell the conflicts between the Xiongnu tribes and deter the Xianbei, Wuheng and other tribes who are ready to make a move. However,
, if the soldiers sent to the grasslands are not acclimatized for a long time, the combat effectiveness of the army will decrease, and there will even be non-combat attrition, and the deterrent effect will be greatly reduced.
It would be different if you had a city completely under your control. The soldiers roaming on the grassland could enter the city to rest and recuperate every once in a while, always maintaining strong combat effectiveness. The only people roaming on the grassland were cavalry, and the Han army
However, the composition of the city is mainly based on infantry. The established city can be completely defended by infantry, ensuring that a large number of cavalry can be used on the blade.
Because the Xiongnu tribes all swore allegiance to the Han Dynasty, the threat on the northern border of Xiliang was greatly reduced. In addition, Sun Ce and Liu Rui's wedding was approaching. Except for Wei Yan and Jia Xu who still stayed in Liangzhou, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, and Ma Chao
They all started on their way back.
Liu Xin put down the military information document sent from Xiliang and breathed a long sigh of relief. The Xiongnu ministries were calmly pacified in this way, and they could finally have a stable New Year.
Suddenly, a little maid outside the door walked in cautiously and said, "Master, Master Chen Gong is outside asking for an audience."
Liu Xin looked up and looked a little unfamiliar. She guessed that it was the new one who had been transferred to replace Ah Rou. She couldn't help but nodded and said, "Well, please invite him in."
"No." The little maid agreed, turned around and walked out of the study.
Liu Xin was stunned for a moment, then called her and said, "Come back, what's your name?"
The maid had obviously heard of Ah Rou's story. She looked frightened and said tremblingly, "My surname is Xia and my nickname is Feifei."
"Oh, Xia Feifei." Liu Xin smiled and said, "Your voice is very nice. When I have time, I will ask the second lady to teach you how to sing. You go and ask Mr. Chen to come in first."
Xia Feifei walked out of the study room and covered her chest hard. It was so dangerous just now. She thought the master had asked her name and kicked her out of the house like he did Arou. It turned out to be a false alarm.
To be honest, these maids were originally from wealthy families, but their father and brother were defeated in the battle with Liu Xin, and they were also used as official slaves. And Ma Yun is a person who pursues beauty, so she can be selected
Those who work as maids in the Prefectural Mufu are naturally pretty, and those who are sent to the study are even more beautiful.
The best among them are Ah Rou and Xia Feifei. The maids also have the dream of maids. Now that they have the important asset of beautiful appearance and the opportunity to hang out in front of Liu Xin, of course they are not willing to just be a maid for the rest of their lives.
The servants all hope that one day they can fly on the branches like Zhu Qian.
Arou has been expelled. Xia Feifei doesn't want to follow in Arou's footsteps. She has to take her time and not rush. Therefore, she answers whatever Liu Xin asks and doesn't dare to say a word. She is so frightened that her face turns pale. Even Liu Xin
Xin casually said that she should learn singing from Bian Yu, but she even forgot to say thank you.
Liu Xin couldn't help but smile when she saw Xia Feifei's bewildered look. Their little thoughts had been seen through by Liu Xin. However, this Xia Feifei was at least not as scheming as Arou, so she could stay for a while.
While he was lost in thought, Chen Gong walked in, raised his hands and said, "My lord, I have something important to report!"