Liu Xin called Cai He to him, pointed at the sheepskin map, and said, "Go there again and tell Wologis that I want these places!"
Cai He was stunned and said: "Your Majesty, this may be a bit difficult!"
The areas designated by Liu Xin were all oil-rich areas in his mind. Of course, these areas now look barren and not eye-catching. However, his requirements are higher than those of Aldaban and Cai. The scope of discussions has more than doubled, which still makes Cai He feel pressured. -》
But Liu Xin smiled and said: "What's the difficulty? I'm not occupying their land, I'm just renting it!"
"Rent." Jushou asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, we did not seize these lands by force, but obtained them with soldiers and armor. Why do we need to rent them?" [
Liu Xin shook his head and said: "To compare ourselves, if others want to occupy the Han's territory, will you be willing to do so? Even if you can't defeat them now, will you still find ways to regain your own land in the future? So, let's take advantage of others' danger now and 'force' With Vologis, we gave up a large area of land, but if Vologis goes back on his word in the future, then we will be beyond our reach!"
Zhang Fei patted his chest and said loudly: "What are you afraid of? If he dares to go back on his word, I, Lao Zhang, will lead his people over and wipe out their entire country!"
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "I am not afraid of war, but people will die in war. Although the soldiers are brave, I don't want their lives to pass away casually, so why not solve it in a peaceful way? Woolen cloth!"
Guo Jia stood up and said: "Your Majesty, since it is a lease, how long is the lease term, how much is the rent, and what is the use of it after renting it?"
Now that it is known that this area is not fertile land, and Liu Xin wants to change from trading to renting, the ministers will inevitably have the same doubts as Guo Jia.
Liu Xin thought for a while and said: "I plan not to set a lease period, that is, a limited-time lease. During the lease period, all the people on this land must abide by the laws of the Han Dynasty. As for rent, this land is full of deserts. It’s very poor, so naturally it’s not much higher. We can provide Parthia with 300,000 auxiliary soldiers, which can at least offset the rent for 30 years. After 30 years, we can settle with them at 100,000 taels of silver per year!”
The reason why there is no lease period is because Liu Xin remembered the later US military base at Guantanamo in Cuba, which had no time limit. Although Cuba and the United States have long been in hostile relations, and the Cuban government does not recognize the legitimacy of Guantanamo. ”, but the Americans could not be driven away no matter what.
The land that Liu Xin wanted to seize now belonged to Parthia. By renting it, he could reduce the hostility of the Parthians on the one hand and give himself a legal advantage on the other.
As for whether he can hold on to this enclave, Liu Xin is not very worried. Looking at the world, even if the heavy armored regiments of the Great Qin Empire are in front of him, Liu Xin is confident that he will defeat them. What he is worried about is that his ancestors have lived in this land for generations. Can the people above accept them?
However, Liu Xin believes that as long as the people can live a good life, no matter which ethnic group they belong to, they can be recognized by them, and he can further sinicize the local ethnic groups through immigration, intermarriage, dissemination and other means. Once you occupy the space first, there will always be a way to solve the problem.
As for rent, there is no need to pay extra for the first thirty years. Who knows whether Parthia will still be a complete country after thirty years. In Liu Xin’s impression, the Parthian Empire should not exist for many years. Even then Parthia still exists, and one hundred thousand taels of silver a year is really nothing to a big man.
The only thing Liu Xin couldn't explain was what the place was going to be used for. He hesitated for a moment and had to smile: "Although Da Qin is very hostile and ambitious towards our Han Dynasty, there is no deal between Da Han and Da Qin. If there is no way to separate, the goods of the Han Dynasty will one day be sold to Daqin. Parthia is on the main road in the middle. By renting this land, we can build military camps and station troops all year round to protect our own caravans. , to prevent them from being bloodbathed by the Qin people like those foreign caravans!"
The benefits brought by trade are obvious. Even if Jushou, Tian Feng and others have relatively old ideas, they have already been able to accept them after following Liu Xin for so many years. Liu Xin's reasons are quite reasonable. Kuai Yue also proposed that they can be compared In the case of Seoul, a market was set up there.
Liu Xin was still not sure about Kang Ju's safety. He thought about it and transferred 10,000 infantrymen from the First Army to accompany Cai He. He only announced that he would exchange defenses with the Han army stationed in Beitian City. In fact, now The Han troops stationed in Beitian City all came from the Western Region Army, and were mainly cavalry. The infantry of the First Army should not be replaced at all. Liu Xin was worried that the road was blocked by heavy snow. In case something happened in Kangju's country, he would not be able to rescue him, and the Second Army would not be able to rescue him. The infantry of the first legion are good at attacking and defending the city. If the Qin invaders, their presence can help Ban Touer to hold on to the city of Beitian.
At this time, snowflakes were already falling in Chang'an City, and the Western Region was even whiter. However, Cai He had to pack up and go north again. However, everything went smoothly from Chang'an City to Uzbeli Fortress. Sili and Liang Each state has a dedicated road protection team, and military stations are set up along the main roads in the Western Regions. As soon as the snow stops, the snow on the road will be cleared quickly.
Along the way, in addition to Cai He's team, you can also encounter some caravans from time to time. After winter, the weather in the north will become extremely cold. Many caravans have prepared their goods early and will not go out at this time. , these caravans encountered along the way were actually employed by the imperial court, and the camel horses and carts were not transporting goods destined for the West, but large quantities of grain, grass, and equipment for defending the city.
Liu Xin still likes to be prepared for emergencies. Although he does not plan to have a war with Da Qin for the time being, he must not relax his preparations. These grains and various equipment will be transported to Uzbeli and Turugelt respectively. A fortress.
With so much food and grass, it would not be a problem for the defenders of the two fortresses to have enough food for ten or eight years. Therefore, the purpose of Liu Xin hoarding so much food and grass here is not only to strengthen the long-term defense of these two fortresses. Ability.
Not in his position and not pursuing politics, Cai He only focused on his own foreign affairs and didn't care what these caravans were doing. He kept shouting and moving forward, and the caravans along the way gave way to them one after another, without wasting much time. [
However, after leaving Uzbeli Fortress, the situation was completely different. The snow was already up to the ankles, and everything was silvery white. Even the road could not be seen clearly. Cai He led the team one foot deep and one foot shallow. After groping forward for half a month, we finally arrived at the city of Bhotan.
At this time, there was still a peaceful atmosphere in Kangju. The clouds of the war between Daqin and Parthia had not yet drifted here, but Ban Tou'er had already received Liu Xin's warning and began to quietly make preparations to use Liu Xin The soldiers sent here have armed an army of 60,000 people, and the Han military captains stationed in Kangju are serving as instructors to train them.
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However, Kangju's national strength is weak and cannot support a huge army. It is impossible for all of these 60,000 soldiers to be standing armies, but half of them are half army and half civilians. It is winter now, and the people are already With nothing to do at home, we can use this time to gather together the young and strong people, but after the spring begins, most of the soldiers will be busy with their own livelihoods.
Therefore, Ban Tou'er was still very nervous about the war in the north. She even told Sister Cleia to guard her children every step of the way. Once she heard that the Qin army broke through the Parthian defense line and attacked here, she would quickly bring them with her. She fled to the Han Dynasty with her children. It was not until she saw that Liu Xin sent her another 10,000 elite soldiers that Ban Taoer felt relieved. However, Cai He could not relax. After resting for two days in Beitian City, he returned to the Han Dynasty. Continue north, braving the wind and snow to the city of Susa.
Because the Qin army had retreated, Wologis was in an extremely relaxed mood these days. He was drinking wine and enjoying singing and dancing in the hall. When he heard that the Han envoy was here again, he couldn't help but ordered Cai He to come in.
After hearing what Cai He conveyed to Liu Xin, Vologis laughed loudly and said: "Okay, okay, it's exactly what I want. It doesn't matter whether you pay the rent or not. Just remember that those places are my Parthian territory." That’s it!”
As a monarch, Vologis certainly does not want his territory to be lost in his own hands. Moreover, Parthia is at the center of the east-west trade route and its trade is developed. As long as the attack of the Qin people is repelled, Qian asks him whether I have cared about it.
But I saw Lemitu frowning and sneered: "I gave it to you for free, but you don't want it, but you rent it instead. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty has such good intentions!"
Cai He chuckled and said: "According to the original intention of our Emperor, the three hundred thousand soldiers will not be sold to you until they see cash. It was only after the foreign ministers repeatedly persuaded Your Majesty that Your Majesty reluctantly agreed. However, our Emperor Your Majesty said that Parthia is too far away from the Han Dynasty. If these places are placed under the territory of the Han Dynasty, it will be a burden on the Han Dynasty. Therefore, your Majesty decided to rent it instead!"
Seeing the confusion on Wologis's face, Cai He continued to explain: "The king still doesn't understand, renting things is much more flexible in dealing with them. If these places can be put to use, then naturally continue to rent them." , if it is of no use and even becomes a burden to the big man, then it’s hard to say and the only choice is to return it to the king!”
While Vorogis lowered his head and considered what Cai He meant, Artaban could no longer hold his breath and stood up and said loudly: "That's not okay."