Cai Ji stood on the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty surrounded by Pang Tong, Tian Yu, Lu Yan, Zhao Yun and others, overlooking the endless grasslands and mountains in the north, and his mind couldn't help but appear in his mind the Tang Dynasty poet Li Yi's "Plugged Song" - "The Great Wall City built by Qin has been destroyed, and the Han Wu went north to Taiwan." In ancient times, the conquests were endless, and today there are still soldiers coming from heaven. ＂

For the Han people, who lived on agriculture, the struggle with the nomadic people outside the country was a protracted tug-of-war. The core of the struggle is neither the collision between civilizations nor the antagonism between ethnic groups, but the struggle for living space and survival resources. Between the 4th and 7th centuries A.D., due to changes in climate and environment, ethnic groups in high latitudes began to migrate on a large scale. China, India, Persia, Rome, and the ancient civilizations of Eurasia were invaded by barbarians from high latitudes at about the same time. Later historians referred to this period as the "Great Migration of Peoples", and some bluntly referred to it as the "Barbarian Invasion".

In short, whether you want it or not, the barbarians will come eventually. This is a global knockout competition, natural selection, survival of the fittest. The surviving nations will move on to the next round of struggle, and the losers will be wiped off the planet once and for all. The Han people survived this barbarian migration at a high cost, and successfully fought back at the end to open the Tang Dynasty, which is also rare in the world. But as a time-traveler, Cai Ji is not satisfied with this, in her opinion, since she is familiar with the historical process, it is her responsibility to minimize the cost.

"Qi Hou, two hundred miles away is Bai Mountain. Youzhou Zhizhong Tian Yu pointed to the rolling mountains in the distance, interrupting Cai Ji's thoughts.

"Wouldn't the Xianbei people only need one day to come to the city? Cai Ji, who came back to his senses, frowned slightly.

Unexpectedly, the Yamen general who was standing on the side raised the corners of his mouth, shook his head and said, "The march is not like flying right away, and the Hu people don't nail the horseshoe, even if one person has two horses, he will run a hundred and ten miles a day at most." ＂

Cai Ji was played by Koji. Only then did I remember that the Central Plains official road set up a post station every twenty miles. When passing on urgent documents, each post station will use fast horses to transmit, and when the horse is tired, it will change horses at the post stations along the way, so as to run continuously to ensure the speed of 300 miles, 400 miles, 600 miles, and even 800 miles a day. The cavalry of the Qi army can reach a speed of 200 miles a day without sparing horsepower. But the war horses of the Qi army were nailed with iron horseshoe, which was more wear-resistant. Therefore, as Koji Yan said, if Hu Ren, who does not nail horseshoe, learns the running method of Qi Jun, not to mention the endurance of the war horse, the horse's hooves alone must run badly.

"Lonely has almost forgotten that the horseshoe is unique to the Central Plains. Cai Ji smiled self-deprecatingly.

"It's a pity... The horseshoe was supposed to be the exclusive property of the Qi army. Pang Tong sighed slightly angrily.

Cai Ji knew that Pang Tong was unwilling, and the horseshoe was learned by Cao Jun before, and Cao Cao was cheap. However, the invention of horseshoe, which has a low technical content, once popularized on a large scale in the military. It's hard to keep it a secret. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that with the large-scale invasion of Cao's army to the south, the horseshoe will soon spread to Jingyang and Yangzhou. In fact, compared with the southern transmission of horseshoe, Cai Ji's real concern is that horseshoe and stirrups flow into the grassland and are learned by nomadic peoples such as Xianbei and Xiongnu. After all, the first priority of the Qi army was to resist the invasion of the northern barbarians, and as the scale of the battle between the two sides gradually expanded, the horseshoe and stirrup would eventually flow outside the pass.

Come to think of it. Cai Ji waved his hand worriedly, "Horseshoe is not a complicated thing. Don't say Cao Cao. It's just a Hulu outside the Saiwai, and he has fought with the Qi army a few times, so I'm afraid I can also get a glimpse of the whole picture. ＂

As soon as Cai Ji said this, Pang Tong's face suddenly changed. He was just promoted to Youzhou and knew very well that Cai Ji's words were not alarmist, and there were many different races in Youzhou. The border line is long, and it is almost impossible to keep the secret of the horseshoe for a long time. But it was impossible for the Qi army not to use stirrups and horseshoes. Therefore, instead of choking on food, it is imperative to find another way to remedy it. So after pondering for a moment, Pang Tong solemnly bowed his hand to Cai Ji and said. "The matter is very important, and I implore the Lord to restart the monopoly of salt and iron, and strictly prohibit the export of iron! ＂

Pang Tong's mention was recognized by Cai Ji. Iron tools are related to the national economy, people's livelihood and military defense, and the rulers of the Central Plains Dynasty in successive dynasties will ban the export of iron tools to inhibit the development of armaments by barbarians outside the Guan. It must be known that the barbarians outside the customs generally do not know smelting, and although they have a large area of coal and iron ore, they can't even build an iron pot. If there were no iron transporters from outside the Central Plains, the tribes on the grassland could only use animal bones to make arrowheads. Even the more skilled Huns only entered the Bronze Age. Therefore, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented the monopoly of salt and iron, which on the one hand increased the financial revenue, and on the other hand, it also effectively restricted the development of the Xiongnu's armament, laying the foundation for the future conquest of the Xiongnu.

However, no matter how good the policy is, it must be implemented by people after all, and once the rule of the Central Plains Dynasty is corrupted, then policies such as the monopoly of salt and iron will be useless. Just as in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, inheriting the system of the Western Han Dynasty, the iron smelting industry was still monopolized by the state. However, the powerful sect of the Eastern Han Dynasty was powerful, and often set up private workshops and made their own ironware. Under the repeated prohibitions of the government, finally in the second year of Zhanghe (88 AD), Emperor Han He ascended the throne and announced the ban on salt and iron. Since then, most of the iron-smelting industry in various places has been privately owned by powerful landlords, and iron tools have also begun to flow into the customs in large quantities.

So at this time, Cai Ji did not agree to Pang Tong, but pointed to the difficulty and said, "Salt and iron monopoly? I am afraid that there are few people who follow the rules and regulations when it goes down with a government order, and there are many people who violate the rules. ＂

"What's so hard about that. Those who do not obey the order will be killed! Koji Yan on the side said disapprovingly.

Koji Yan is not a native of Youzhou, so it is not surprising that he would say such tough words. Therefore, Cai Ji didn't pay attention to him, but set his eyes on Tian Yu, who represented the local forces in Youzhou. Seeing the latter step forward, he bowed his hand to Cai Ji and said, "In troubled times, those who use heavy codes and sell iron should be punished according to the crime of thieves!" ＂

What Cai Ji wants is Tian Yu's statement. Although the method of salt and iron monopoly was first proposed by Pang Tong, Cai Ji did not intend to let Pang Tong be in charge of this matter. First, the big war was imminent, and she didn't want to distract Pang Tong, who was a military advisor. The second is that Cai Ji doesn't want Pang Tong to offend too many people in Youzhou deep down. After all, the people of Youzhou are fierce, and once the local heroes jump over the wall in a hurry, they will inevitably make assassinations and other actions. Under the intersection, Tian Yu is a local celebrity in Youzhou, and he is more familiar with the powerful sect party in Youzhou than Pang Tong, and is a suitable person to be in charge of the salt and iron monopoly. What's more, Cai Ji used the excuse of Xianbei to invade the south to become a salt and iron monopoly, which also had the intention of testing the local powerful sect in Youzhou. So the next moment, she instructed Tian Yu. "Good. The monopoly of salt and iron in Youzhou will be entrusted to the state. ＂

Tian Yu didn't know that Cai Ji was testing his loyalty to the local heroes in Youzhou. Although Cai Ji is a woman, although Tian Yu has only been in contact with Cai Ji for a few days, after more than a year of working with Zhang Liao, Pang Tong, Lu Yan and others, Tian Yu is sure that the Qi Hou in front of him is by no means easy to give. For there is a lord and there are his subordinates. Enterprising and orderly, although Cai Ji's predecessors were far away in Youzhou, she had already communicated with her subordinates such as Zhang Liao and Pang Tong, and announced to all parties in Youzhou what kind of Youzhou she wanted.

"Yu is determined to live up to the trust of Qi Hou! Tian Yu did not hesitate to clench his fists and lead the order.

Faced with Tian Yu's sonorous reply, Cai Ji nodded with satisfaction. At the same time, a melodious and heavy horn sound faintly sounded in the raging wild wind outside the pass, and Cai Ji and the others quickly stopped the topic. Holding the battlements in his hand and following the prestige, he saw a black iron horse on the floor line on the other side of the Great Wall surging towards this side like a tide. However, Cai Ji on the city wall was not intimidated by this menacing black tide, but instead raised the corners of his mouth to reveal a proud smile. Because the flag fluttering in the wind on the opposite side has a huge word "Liao" written on it.

Zhang Liao took the lead and led the cavalry to gallop in the direction of the Great Wall, and his black cloak swept up in the wind, like a big peng spreading its wings and flying high. Zhang Liao is a native of Yanmen Mayi, Bingzhou, and grew up on the edge of the Great Wall since he was a child. It can be said that the Great Wall standing on the wasteland is not only a memory of his childhood, but also his ambition when he was young. According to the elders of Zhang Liao's family, the Ma Yi Zhang family is a descendant of Nie Weng Yi. In order to avoid resentment, he changed his surname to Zhang. The "resentment" here refers to the strategy of Ma Yi during the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

The first year of the Han Dynasty (i.e., 134 BC). Zhang Liao's ancestor Nie Yi, out of familiarity with the Xiongnu and anxiety about the Han Dynasty's constant troubles, built a letter to Emperor Wu through Daxing Wang Hui, and after making peace, the Han Dynasty had won the trust of the Xiongnu, as long as it was tempted to benefit, it would definitely be defeated. So Nie Yi was ordered to use himself as bait and go to the Hun camp in person. Shan Yu, the military minister at that time, surrendered by deception, and even claimed that he could kill the county order of Mayi, force the city of Mayi to surrender, and then get all the property of the city. Just take your word for it. and greedy for profit, he immediately planned to raise an army. After Nie Yi returned to the Han Dynasty, he falsely called the head of the chief of Mayi with the head of a criminal to show that the time had come to lure the Xiongnu army deep into the important land.

The plan was originally carried out according to Lì, but when he was marching, he found that there were only livestock between the city and the field, and there was no one in sight, so he became suspicious. He sent troops to capture a pillbox and captured a lieutenant. The lieutenant revealed the truth that more than 300,000 Han troops had already been ambushed near Mayi, and Shan Yu, who saw through the conspiracy, retreated in shock, and the Han army's ambush was useless. After judging the shape, Wang Hui thought that he had missed the best opportunity to attack the Xiongnu army, so he decided to withdraw his troops and return to the division, and the "Ma Yi Strategy" ended in failure. As a wealthy family of Yanmen, the Nie clan offended the Xiongnu and failed to help the Han army achieve a strategy, so it gradually declined in the following years, until even the descendants changed their names and surnames in order to protect themselves.

Zhang Liao, as a descendant of Nie Yi, of course felt that such an ending was very unfair to his ancestors. Although the Mayi conspiracy failed, it finally ended the peaceful policy pursued by the Xiongnu at the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, and also opened the prelude to the Han-Hun all-out war. Even if Nie Yi has no merit, he has hard work, and Nie Yi's descendants can't sink like this. Therefore, even after stumbling under the tent of He Jin, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu for several years, Zhang Liao never gave up the dream of "sealing the wolf and living in Xu" in his heart. And at this moment, he is even more convinced that he will be able to achieve the will of his ancestors, because he Zhang Liao has finally found a trustworthy lord this time!

As Zhang Liao's soldiers and horses crossed the stone marker in the land of a stone's throw, two rows of trombones on the Great Wall suddenly rose up to the sky, and greeted the returning soldiers with a whining chorus. Zhang Liao immediately raised his horsewhip and pointed at the towering Great Wall in front of him, and said to a middle-aged man about forty years old beside him, "Captain Yan, look, Qi Hou is on the city. ”

The middle-aged man in front of him who was running side by side with Zhang Liao was Yan Rou, the captain of Wuhuan. This person can be regarded as a well-known legend in Youzhou. It is said that Yan Rou was originally a native of Guangyang, Yan Kingdom (near present-day Beijing), and was taken captive by Karasuma and Xianbei when he was young. Because Yan Rou is quite famous among the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes, and he is a Han Chinese, he is quite valued by the princes in the Guannei. He was first promoted as Karasuma Sima by Yuyang Taishou Xian Yufu and others, and then formed a family with Yuan Shao. Even Cao Cao, who was far away in Xudu, used the name of the Son of Heaven to make Yan Rou the captain of Wuhuan and gave him the title of Marquis of Guannei during the Battle of Guandu. However, whether it is Xian Yufu, who has the grace of knowing Yan Rou, or his son-in-law Yuan Shang, or Cao Cao, who coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes, Yan Rou's attitude is to listen to the seal and not listen to the tune. But this time, in the face of Cai Anzhen, the Marquis of Qi who had no relatives and no reason with him, Yan Rou had to leave his territory and come to meet the female prince in person.

The reason why Yan Rou made such a choice is actually very simple, that is, the county officials are not as good as the current management. After more than a year of wait-and-see, Yan Rou can be regarded as a good student who has seen the methods of Zhang Liao and Pang Tong, and knows that these two are by no means comparable to the previous Gongsun Zan and Yuan Xi. In addition, Tian Yu wrote several times to persuade him to surrender to Cai Ji, so after weighing the pros and cons, Yan Rou personally burned the letter sent by Gao Gan, and then followed Zhang Liao to Daijun. The reason why he refused to follow Gao Gan to start an incident was that on the one hand, he was not optimistic about Gao Gan's ability, and on the other hand, it was also related to Yuan Tan's notoriety of abandoning his father and running away. In Yan Rou's opinion, if a person can even betray his own father, then he can also betray anyone else, and the Xianbei people have always respected martial arts and do not pay attention to faith. The experience of surviving in the Northland for many years told Yan Rou that forming an alliance with such untrustworthy and unrighteous people would only end up in ruin.

Looking at the beautiful shadow in the city at this moment, Yan Rou couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of her heart, "I never thought that Qi Hou would be so young. ”

"Captain Yan must not underestimate my family master because she is young." Zhang Liao turned his head and warned in a deep voice.

"How dare you, how dare you. Ganluo worshiped the prime minister twelve, Huo went to the sick and weak crown marquis, since ancient times heroes came out of youth, it is a soft honor to be summoned by Qi Hou in person. Yan Rou hurriedly changed her words. However, he was a little curious about the women in the city. What kind of woman can make a general like Zhang Wenyuan surrender. (To be continued......)