Li Yan and Lei Ming didn't come out of the inn until it was dark, and when Li Yan heard Ashina Muli say that he wanted 100,000 catties of pig iron, the whole person was stunned.

This is not a small amount, although the production of pig iron in Xihai is more than enough now, but after all, this is a transaction with the Rouran people, and the amount is too large.

After thinking about it for a long time, Li Yan decided to agree. Now Xiliang is in urgent need of war horses, and it is difficult to fight back in the face of the Huns' iron cavalry without enough war horses.

Ashina Muli was extremely happy when he heard Li Yan's agreement. But when he heard that Li Yan opened his mouth to be 10,000 war horses, Ashina Muli shouted that it was impossible. This has far exceeded Hu Lu's expectations, last year Hu Lu and Li Yan reached an agreement of 50,000 catties of pig iron for 3,000 war horses, and now Li Yan Lion opened his mouth to ask for 10,000 catties of pig iron for 10,000 war horses, this Li Yan wants the entire small tribe of war horses to give him all.

The final result of the discussion was that Li Yan agreed to exchange 100,000 catties of pig iron with the Rouran people, but the Rouran people needed to exchange 8,000 war horses for two transactions.

"General, it's too easy for this war horse to come, right? I only produce more than 3,000 horses a year in the West Sea, and the general exchanged 8,000 war horses in just a few words. Lei Ming asked with a look of surprise.

"There's no way around it. Now that my Daliang War Horse is lacking, I can only exchange pig iron for the war horses of the Rouran people. In addition, according to Hao Shenglai's report, the iron ore of the Black Stone Cliff is now more difficult to mine than before, and it is estimated that the iron ore of the Black Stone Cliff will be exhausted in a few years, so it is not a long-term solution to exchange pig iron for war horses. If you don't take the opportunity to knock him now, it will be difficult in the future, and besides, the more the Rouran people fight to the death with the Wei State, the safer my Xihai will be. Li Yan sighed and said.

"What the general said is that the last general understands."

"Let's go."

Half a month later, on the border of Xihai and Rouran, Han Qian exchanged pig iron and war horses with Ashina Muli. After the two sides checked that there were no mistakes, one south and one north left.

In the camp outside Xihai City, Li Yan looked at thousands of war horses, and it was difficult to suppress the excitement in his heart.

"Brother Han, select three thousand war horses from them and send them back to Jiuquan City overnight, and hand them over to the prince for disposal, this is my letter, you have to hand it over to the prince yourself." Li Yan took out the letter from his arms and handed it to Han Qian.

"Childe, don't worry." Han Qian clenched his fists and said.

Lei Ming looked at so many war horses, and his heart felt like honey, but when he heard that Li Yan was going to send most of the war horses back to Jiuquan City, he instantly became anxious.

"General, didn't these war horses stay in the West Sea?" Lei Ming asked puzzled.

"Now there are 4,000 cavalry in the West Sea, which is more than enough to defend the West Sea, and the cavalry in the Lejun camp is less than 20,000 now, and they have to face the fierce Hun army, and the pressure they face is much greater than that of our West Sea."

"General, these generals all understand, but looking at so many war horses inevitably itches in my heart." Lei Ming said embarrassedly.

"You. You will be indispensable in the future. Now Longshoujian is building 500 spears for you, all of which are forged with good steel, and they are good for training, and the big war between my Daliang and the Huns is not far away. ”

"The general can rest assured, Lei Ming will definitely live up to the general's trust."

In the big camp, Iron Hammer was training Mo Dao soldiers, under the scorching sun, everyone was out of breath, and hundreds of people were holding Mo Dao like a steel wall.

Li Yan and Lei Ming looked at these sergeants who were practicing chopping, and nodded from time to time.

These sergeants were selected by Iron Hammer from the Zhenbei Army for a month, all of them were big-shouldered and round-waisted, and the roar in the camp shook the sky, and Lei Ming looked at the cold and shining Mo Dao with palpitations.

"General, these Mo knives are indeed a sharp weapon against the iron cavalry, chopping on the war horse, the cavalry will lose its combat power if it does not die, but the cost is huge."

"As long as you can defeat the Hun Iron Cavalry, it's all worth it." Li Yan stared at the Mo Dao soldiers in the camp and said coldly.

The Zhenbei Army has now recruited more than 1,000 new soldiers in the past month or so, and it is becoming more and more difficult to recruit these days, and it has only recruited less than 20 people for a few days, which makes Ling Hu Dezhao anxious.

For this situation, Li Yan had already expected in his heart that Xihai was close to the border, and the population here was extremely sparse, and most of these recruited recruits were displaced people who had been displaced to Xihai, but now the number of displaced people has been greatly reduced.

Zhenbei General's Mansion.

Li Yan and Linghu Dezhao sat in the hall, and after more than a month of understanding, Linghu Dezhao was able to clearly understand the situation in the West Sea. Today's Zhenbei Army can be said to be the elite of the Xiliang Army, and Li Yan has developed and grown the Zhenbei Army in more than a year, which really makes Linghu Dezhao admire.

"Brother Dezhao, grandpa promised me to expand the army in the north of the town, but I need to take care of the grain and grass for the expansion of the army, and I need an extra 100,000 stone of grain a year, how is this good?" Li Yan asked with a worried expression.

"Huh. It's not hard to say, it's just up to you how you decide. Linghu Dezhao said with a smile.

"Brother Dezhao, don't sell it. Let's talk about how to solve the problem of food and grass for the expansion of the army. Li Yan got up and walked to Ling Hu Dezhao's side and asked.

"Reclamation." Ling Hu Dezhao spat out two words from his mouth.

When Li Yan heard this, his face changed. "What? My town's northern army went to Tuntian to farm? ”

"The territory of the West Sea is vast and sparsely populated, but it has a unique advantage, the water and grass on the shore of Juyanhai Lake are abundant, the land is fertile, if it is cultivated, it will not be a problem to harvest 100,000 stone grain and grass in the next year. It's up to you to want it or not. Linghu Dezhao took a sip of water and said leisurely.

Li Yan was a little abrupt in his heart, this may be a way, now there are more than 10,000 people in the Zhenbei Army, as long as the reasonable arrangement should not affect the combat strength, so that the problem of food and grass for the expansion of the army can be solved.

"Good. Brother Dezhao, this matter will be handed over to you, Lei Ming and General Iron Hammer will go and say, the personnel arrangement is up to you, but it cannot affect the daily training of the Zhenbei Army. Li Yan became the shopkeeper, and he handed over these things to Linghu Dezhao to handle, and Li Yan was relieved in his heart.

"What about recruitment?" Linghu Dezhao asked.

"Recruitment can not stop, last night Jiuquan City came to report, the Huns recently defeated the bald Xianbei in Hongchiling, now Nanliang is ready to negotiate peace with the Huns, the north of Hongchiling belongs to the Huns, the Huns also asked the bald Tan to dye his son's bald hair as a quality, Nanliang is about to destroy the country, it is estimated that it will agree to the requirements of the Huns, so we still have to prepare early."

"Good. I understand. ”