10,000 good horses, can form 10,000 cavalry, in November, the Zhao army has selected 8,000 people from the infantry to join the cavalry sequence, when the recruits are training, because of the lack of horses, the cavalry sometimes have to give their own mounts to the recruits for training, when each cavalry is equipped with war horses, the training process will be greatly accelerated.

1,500 mares can give birth to the same number of ponies every year, plus the mares of the original horse breeding farms in Zhao Di and Yandi, more than 2,000 war horses can be added every year in the future.

In the Dezheng Palace, the king and his courtiers were full of joy.

There is only one exception, that is the Ministry of Industry Shangshu Yoda, he sat on his knees with a gloomy expression, waiting for him to be investigated and punished by the Criminal Department and judged by the law.

Zhao Xie said again: "The household department is responsible for the purchase of the horses, and the preparations will be made within five days, and the Ministry of Commerce will cooperate with the work!" ”

Zhang Xing and his uncle separated from Qi Qi to receive the order.

Zhang Xing said again: "Great King, according to the original grain reserves, plus the purchase from the Qi State last month, according to the grain harvest in previous years, it is estimated that it is only barely enough for the needs of nearly 300,000 troops. If you exchange food for horses, you may run out of food in the future. ”

The materials needed to buy 12,000 horses were very large, and before leaving, Zhao Xie specially told He Xi not to exchange food as much as possible.

The nomadic people were dependent on the agrarian society, and lacked not only salt, cloth, tea, etc., but also crops. Nomads live on animal husbandry and cannot completely detach themselves from farming, and it is impossible to eat only beef and mutton every day.

When He Yan was negotiating with the elders, the elders made it clear that there must be food in the materials exchanged, and He Yan had made every effort to reduce the proportion of grain in the total materials traded, and that Zhao did not lack salt and cloth, but what was in short supply was food.

Despite this, the amount of food required for this transaction is equivalent to the consumption of 280,000 Zhao troops in a month.

Although there was a slight surplus of grain in the occupied Yandi, it was still not enough to make up for the shortfall.

Zhao Xie said: "The household department will allocate it first, and prepare all the materials within five days. If there is not enough food in the future, find another way. ”

There are too many supplies needed, and five days is a bit tight, but it won't take long for Mao Dun to raid Donghu, and the transaction must be completed as soon as possible to avoid long nights and dreams.

In fact, Zhao Xie understands that the current grain reserves are based on the consumption of 280,000 troops, although some grain needs to be transferred, but after the war with the Han army, there will always be casualties among the soldiers, and the number of soldiers will decrease, and the food consumed will naturally decrease, but there are some things that should not be said clearly. Otherwise, the king hoped that some of the soldiers would be killed in battle to save food, and the consequences would be terrible.

"Obey the order!"

Zhang Xing was ordered to return to his seat.

Zhao Xie said loudly: "Reaching a deal with Donghu, congratulations, at noon today, a banquet was set up in this Dezheng Palace, and the widow congratulated the secretaries." ”

He instructed the eunuchs to prepare a lunch meal and singing and dancing.

Next, we will discuss the details in detail.

When it was almost noon, the chamberlain moved the table into the main hall, put one in front of each courtier, prepared the bowls, chopsticks and wine glasses, and then brought the meal.

Wine was poured into each wine glass, Zhao Xie raised the wine glass, and said loudly: "Today, the widow has fun with the people. ”

He and his servants drank the wine from their cups.

Immediately, various musical instruments were moved into the main hall, and musicians and dancers entered, and the musicians played the music, and the dancers danced to the music.

This is the first time since Zhao Xie crossed over to appreciate ancient songs and dances.

In a cheerful atmosphere, the monarchs and ministers enjoyed singing and dancing while eating and drinking.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a variety of cultures were formed in China. There are mainly Qin culture, Yanzhao culture, Qilu culture, Chu culture, etc. The songs and dances in the Dezheng Palace have strong Yanzhao cultural characteristics.

The eunuch Ling Li Ji was also here, and when the banquet was halfway through, Li Ji whispered to Zhao Xie: "King, if you fancy any dancing girl, you can be pampered." ”

Although Zhao Xie is in a good mood and the dancers are quite passable, they are not her dishes.

After the banquet, Zhao Xie met Xue Ding of the Mo family in the study, and Huang Tingjing was also here.

Xue Ding was in his forties and wore a coarse cloth short brown; Huang Tingjing is wearing an official uniform because he is a big official.

Xue Ding gave Zhao Xie a courtesy.

Zhao Xie said: "I heard that Huang Aiqing mentioned you, and I finally look forward to it!" ”

Xue Ding said: "Juzi ordered me to come to serve the king, and as a person from the Mo family, I didn't dare to disobey, so I rushed here!" ”

Then he will explain in detail what he has learned, and put forward suggestions for improvement in the current ironmaking process. The level of smelting technology is theoretically outstanding in this era.

Whether it is ancient or modern, it is not easy to make a breakthrough in a certain field of science and technology, in the early Warring States and Han dynasties, the Mohists were undoubtedly a scientific research and practice team, and there were many technical talents in the team, Huang Tingjing and Xue Ding were among the leaders.

Zhao Xie took out a piece of paper and handed it to Xue Ding.

Xue Ding took a look, and on the far right were the four big words "Frying Steel Technology", and then looked at the specific content, and immediately showed a look of surprise. The casting technology written here is a step up from the method of improvement he proposed.

After reading it, Xue Ding, who was extremely excited, asked: "King, it is impossible for mortals to have such attainments, presumably this is the guidance of Haotian God?" These are his most direct words.

"It doesn't matter, what matters is whether the technology is practical or not," Zhao said. ”

Xue Ding has real talent and real learning in technology, but from this point of view, he really can't speak and get along with people, whether it is modern or ancient, and not everyone understands human feelings and is good at socializing. Zhao Xie doesn't care so much, as long as he is useful to himself, he is more tolerant of different people.

Huang Tingjing on the side said: "Just test according to the method written by the king!" ”

Xue Ding said: "I dare to conclude that the steel forged by this method must be better!" ”

At this time, Huang Tingjing said with joy on his face: "Great King, the minister has made great progress in the research of repeating crossbows, you can try to make it first, and if the range is not enough, then improve it." ”

He again went on to give specific technical details, mainly in the improvement of the launch device, to ensure that the rebound speed should be fast and the elastic force should be sufficient when firing continuously.

Zhao Xie was also happy, and said: "Aiqing has done a good job, quickly make it for testing, and put it into use as soon as possible." Both of them need to remember that the crossbow and steel frying techniques must not be leaked! Repeaters were made first, and the steelmaking process was improved before other tools were made. ”

The two of them took orders together.

After the interview, the two men came out of the palace and returned in a carriage.

In the carriage, Huang Tingjing pointed out that it was inappropriate to speak when meeting with the king.

Xue Ding said: "Juzi, this steel frying technique is indeed not something that mortals can come up with, it must be the guidance of the gods, what's wrong?" ”

For Xue Ding, who only knew how to immerse himself in research, Huang Tingjing was very helpless and said: "There is nothing wrong with this, but it is not appropriate to say it in front of the king." ”

Xue Ding scratched his head, as if he had realized.