"Okay, since I have promised you, I can't break my word." Liu Tao thought for a while, "But not this year, you must wait until the new senior officials in Gansu take office, and you can go to the army after you take over." ”

After a pause, he teased: "Ma Teng has been fighting in the Western Regions for so long, and he is only General Anxi, and he will be promoted to General Pingxi at most next year, and if you take office, you will be directly General Zhengxi......"

"My subordinates think that General Zhenxi is also okay." Cao Cao naturally knew the order of the four expeditions, four towns, four levels and four peaces, and above that, there were the generals of the front and back, the left and right generals, and above them were the general of the chariot cavalry, the general of the hussars and the general.

In other words, the four generals are already considered to be high-level generals. Divide the world into four major military regions, and General Zhengxi is the supreme person in charge of the Western Military Region and belongs to the resident generals.

"Okay, anyway, you're still young, and it's absolutely no problem to be promoted to General Zhengxi in twenty years." Liu Tao said with a smile, "Meng De, after being a civil official for so many years, can you still use weapons?" ”

"The minister has been preparing for this day!" Cao Cao replied affirmatively.

Liu Tao actually noticed that Cao Cao's body shape was very uniform, and there was no trace of slacking off when he became a civil official, and then began to get rich. Perhaps, in his free time, he is also constantly exercising himself.

What reason does a man who has been preparing for this day for several years have to stop him from pursuing his dream?

"Then prepare well!" Liu Tao laughed, "It's almost time, accompany me to have a meal, and by the way, talk about things in the northwest?" If you only rely on Jinyiwei, you always feel that you don't know it comprehensively. ”

"The minister must know everything and say everything!" Cao Cao replied flattered, and then followed Liu Tao to the side hall.

Of course, the food is still the best, and it can't be said to be the most expensive, but Liu Tao's appetite is indeed stronger than ordinary people. You say that this is not indiscriminate, it is not good for gold and silver treasures, it is not good for great success, and you like to drink and eat, but is it not okay?

Anyway, this expense, the budget of a pen is approved, don't meet Daoguang, eat an egg for sixty taels of silver, and patch two hundred taels of silver.

"The hospitality was not good, after all, there was no preparation in advance." After the meal, Liu Tao said politely.

"Haha, such a delicacy has already surprised the minister." Cao Cao said with a smile, not perfunctory, but sighed that the palace was really well fed, no wonder I saw many officials all the way, and their physiques were a little plump.

After all, if you work in the palace, you must provide lunch, so you can't let the officials go back to eat at noon, or bring a food box over and wait for lunch, right?

The huge imperial dining room is only for the emperor and concubines, which is a bit of a waste. As for the eunuch palace maid, the Inner Servant Province also has a kitchen, which is separate from the imperial dining room.

After all, the ingredients for the emperor must be carefully selected, especially the emperor must eat carefully. As for the eunuchs and palace maids, there are too many of them, and the financial expenses for cooking with this material are astronomical every month.

This ordinary lunch, three dishes and one soup, is actually not much, but each dish is very fine, and the combination of meat and vegetables is also very good, without particularly heavy oil and salt. The price of materials should not be expensive, and it is not expensive, Your Majesty usually has no hobbies, as long as it is not excessive, in fact, as a courtier, you can't interfere.

I even think that His Majesty's hobby is a bit 'simple'.

After all, even Confucius said that "you don't get tired of eating, and you don't get tired of being fine." At the same time, it must be admitted that he himself is good at food. Unfortunately, there is indeed no commendable food in Gansu.

"Knowing that Aiqing is also delicious," Liu Tao reminded, "I really became the general of Zhenxi, and when I went to the Western Regions, I faced thousands ......of miles of yellow sand, and the food was even more scarce." Can you really bear such a hard life? ”

"Chen has always dreamed of being able to open the Western Regions again, restart the Silk Road, and even go to the West to see those countries that have not been seen. Compared with this, the appetite is just a small desire, and the minister cannot forget his dream because of the small desire. Cao Cao's attitude was very firm.

"Haha, come on, then my globe is here!" Liu Tao laughed, and then commanded.

Naturally, someone brought over the globe he ordered to make, similar to the world map, as long as it is a modern person, more or less, he can always see it once or twice in his life.

With his memory, as long as he has seen it once, then he can search it out, and then draw it according to his memory.

The biggest problem is that I don't know if anything has changed since 196 A.D. and nearly 2,000 years later. But even if the territory of the mainland changes, it can't be so fast, right?

"This is ......" Cao Cao had actually guessed that the ministers had actually said this legendary world map in private. There are also people who have drawn it from memory, but it is incomplete in the end. When several people put it together, you will find that there are many places that do not overlap.

"This is where we live, and this is the truth of this world." Liu Tao stroked the globe. Seriously, every time you pet it, you feel a sense of intimacy.

"It's just ......" Cao Cao didn't understand a little, if the world was a ball, then people wouldn't roll down on it?

"Why we don't fall off the ball, you can think for yourself. I'll give you a hint, it's to throw up a five-baht coin......" Liu Tao didn't tell him the answer directly, "Come, I'll talk to you a little bit." ”

Immediately on the globe, the location of Huaxia was pointed out. Cao Cao looked at the map and could probably distinguish it, and then found that there were large areas of land in the north, northeast, south and southwest of China.

"If you want to start from the Western Regions......" Liu Tao pointed to the location of the Western Regions, "here...... The terrain here is almost desert. Civilizations were also mostly built on a few rivers. There's even a sea here, just a little bit of range. ”

Speaking of which, the Dead Sea 2,000 years ago should not have been that small, right? Maybe the salt is not so thick, so thick that it can make people unable to sink, so it is still not so introduced.

On this afternoon, he spent an hour talking about a lot of things in the West, and also showed that he did not see much, and there may be differences from the actual situation. Cao Cao was fascinated by what he had never touched, an area he had never touched.

I heard that Da Shi actually made three times the profit by transiting the goods of Huaxia, which is somewhat unpleasant. It's a pity that judging from the map, if Huaxia wants to attack that side on a large scale, supply will be a serious problem, unless the railway is repaired.

Of course, if you look down, the climate over there will be much better...... That is, there is a globe to have such a vision. Anyone in this era may only focus on the line of the Western Regions.

"My follow-up plan must indeed be to conquer the southern barbarians, and then open up the southwest. From here, the road to the body poison is opened, and finally from the body poison to the big food...... But before that, maybe Aiqing has already laid down this place for me, right? Liu Tao said with a smile.

"The minister is willing to do his best for His Majesty to take here!" Cao Cao suddenly had a goal to fight for.