The study of the state pastor's mansion is naturally manned day and night, and the one on duty tonight is the clever little girl Arou. Although this little girl was illiterate, she was very smart, and she had been extremely cautious since she heard that the four maids that Liu Xin had brought back from Chang'an had been expelled for being too talkative. Because most of the time the study is not patronized at night, keeping vigil in the study is actually a relatively easy thing, and there are ready-made beds in the wing room next door, and the night watchman can sleep in it, which is licensed by Liu Xin. However, Arou didn't sleep, every time it was her turn to be on duty at night, she didn't go to sleep, she hoped to wait for a chance to perform. Today, she finally got her wish and waited for this opportunity.

It was just the fourth watch, Liu Xin came to the study, which surprised and delighted Arou, she hurriedly made tea for Liu Xin and stood aside. Liu Xin was also very surprised that this little girl didn't go to sleep, but all his thoughts were on the map, and he didn't talk to her until she asked her to ask for advice.

Ah Rou was taken aback when she heard Liu Xin's order, and hurriedly said: "Master, it's still early before dawn, I'm afraid Lord Fu hasn't gotten up yet, ...... at this time."

Speaking of which, Arou suddenly stopped, the master has an order, just implement it, how can you learn from those girls to talk more, in case the old man gets angry, won't his hard work this night be in vain? As soon as she thought of this, she couldn't say any more, and she wanted to slap herself twice.

Liu Xin suddenly realized, smiled embarrassedly, and said, "You reminded him right, how could you call him here so early." Alright, wait until dawn to send someone to invite him. Well, you're very nice, what's your name? ”

There are a lot of maids in the house, and they have always been managed by a few ladies, and Liu Xin doesn't care much, although they look familiar, they are rarely able to call their names. When Arou heard Liu Xin ask her, she hurriedly bowed and said, "Slave Arou." ”

Ah Rou is naturally full of love, it is not dawn yet, in case she can get Liu Xin's favor, she will ascend to the sky in one step, and her steps involuntarily moved forward.

But I heard Liu Xin nod and said, "Well, you understand things very well, not bad." Tomorrow I will talk to my wife to find you a good family, and you will not have to be a slave here. ”

Ah Rou secretly complained in her heart, she was flattering Minchan, and she gave up her rest time to show herself, nothing more than hoping to enjoy the glory and wealth one day, but she got such a result, she was really smart but was mistaken by cleverness, she couldn't help crying without tears.

How could she hide her little caution from Liu Xin? Liu Xin and Ma Yun have the same thoughts, in this state pastoral mansion, except for a few important positions, the other maids and servants only need to be honest and willing to work, and they don't need to be clever, let alone be cautious. In Liu Xin's opinion, this arrangement is the best reward for her, it is much better than giving her to a house slave, not to mention that the mansion will allocate some property to her as her dowry, but it will not treat her badly.

The sky gradually brightened, Liu Xin finished practicing, had breakfast, and his mood calmed down, and he no longer looked like he was roaring like just now. At this time, Fu Zhu also rushed over. The two came to the study and sat down, Liu Xin pointed to the map, and said, "Gonghe, take a look, if you build a city here, is it possible?" ”

"Build the city!" Fu Zhi couldn't help but be stunned by Liu Xin's bold idea, and hurriedly said, "There are no bricks and stones on the grassland, not even large timber, and it is unimaginable to build a city, which has never been done before." ”

Liu Xin proposed the idea of building a city, although it was due to Zhu Qian's unintentional words, but after thinking twice, he felt that it should still be feasible. In Liu Xin's impression, not to mention that there were many modern cities in Inner Mongolia and Mongolia in later generations, even after the Yuan Dynasty, some cities gradually emerged on the Mongolian steppe, indicating that it should be possible to build cities on the grassland.

The reason why there are no cities on the grasslands now is because those nomads don't need cities at all, and they don't have the concept of cities, they only have mobile tent groups, which is also the main reason why it is difficult to really control them since the Han Dynasty, although they defeated the Xiongnu.

However, if cities are built on the steppe, the situation is different, and the migration path of these nomadic tribes will be interrupted, and they can be divided and controlled. Moreover, the nomadic tribes did not have large siege equipment and did not master the usual siege tactics. A city towering over the grassland, which can be attacked and defended, can always maintain a deterrent to the nomadic tribes.

Liu Xin had long known that he would be skeptical about building a grassland city, so he waved his hand and said in an unquestionable tone: "Just because our predecessors haven't done it doesn't mean that we can't do it." There is no brick and stone to transport from the Central Plains, and I believe that although the price is high, it will not exceed the construction of a Great Wall, right? ”

The construction of the Great Wall began in the Warring States Period, and later after Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, he ordered the Great Wall to connect the Great Walls of each country, and until now, the Great Wall has played an important role in defending against the nomads of the grasslands. However, Qin Shi Huang mobilized a large number of people to build the Great Wall, which not only consumed the national strength, but also increased the burden on the people, and was also an important reason for accelerating the demise of the violent Qin.

But Liu Xin knew that although the Great Wall could effectively block the invasion of nomads, it had an Achilles' heel, and if a certain point on the Great Wall was broken, then the entire Great Wall would be useless. In the later generations of his memory, those nomads invaded the Central Plains more than once, and the Great Wall could not stop their iron hooves. Moreover, the Great Wall is not built once and for all, and a large number of troops must be stationed and repaired regularly, which requires a lot of expenditure.

If you build a few cities on the grassland to effectively control the grassland, then the Great Wall will become the second line of defense from the front line, and play a supporting role for the cities on the grassland, and you don't need to spend too much financial and manpower on it, you only need to strengthen control over the most important points. This also has the advantage of protecting villages and towns beyond the Great Wall from being harassed by nomadic tribes.

Seeing that Fu Zhu fell into deep thought, Liu Xin continued: "Don't be in a hurry to answer me about this matter, you can discuss it with them, it is best to discuss it with the establishment of the five Xiongnu departments, and strive to build a city in each of the five departments." However, it must not be delayed for too long, it must be determined after the early spring of next year, and then mobilize manpower and materials, and strive to build it properly before the winter of next year! ”

After a few days, the 60,000 soldiers who went out to the grassland for the second time withdrew to Xiliang one after another, although many of them were already familiar with the use of war horses, but after all, they were not from a nomadic background, and there were still many people who were not suitable for it on the grassland. These news reached Xiangyang, which strengthened Liu Xin's determination to establish a city on the grassland.

If you want to control the Xiongnu tribes, you must show them your tough fist, not only that, but maintaining a certain scale of military strength on the grassland can also quell the conflict between the Xiongnu tribes in time, and deter the Xianbei, Wuheng and other tribes who are about to move. However, if the soldiers sent to the steppe are not accustomed to the soil and water for a long time, the combat effectiveness of the army will be reduced, and even non-combat attrition will occur, and the deterrent power will also be greatly reduced.

It's different if you have a city under your control, and the soldiers who are cruising in the steppe can enter the city every once in a while to recuperate, and always maintain a strong fighting force. Only cavalry cruised in the grassland, but the composition of the Han army was mainly infantry, and the established cities could be completely defended by the infantry, which could ensure that a large number of cavalry would be used on the blade.

Because the Xiongnu tribes swore allegiance to the Han Dynasty, the threat on the northern border of Xiliang was suddenly reduced a lot, and the wedding date of Sun Ce and Liu Rui was getting closer and closer, except for Wei Yan and Jia Xu who still stayed in Liangzhou, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, and Ma Chao all began to embark on the return journey.

Liu Xin put down the military information documents sent by Xiliang and breathed a long sigh of relief, the Huns were calmed down in a daze, and they could finally have a stable New Year.

Suddenly, a little maid outside the door cautiously walked in and said, "Master, Lord Chen Gong is asking to see you outside." ”

Liu Xin looked up, a little faced, guessed that it was a new tune to replace Arou, couldn't help nodding, and said, "En, please let him in." ”

"No." The little maid agreed, turned around and walked out of the study.

Liu Xin was stunned for a moment, then called her and said, "Come back, what's your name?" ”

The maid had obviously heard of Arou's story, and when she saw the look of panic, she trembled and said, "The slave's surname is Xia, and her nickname is Feifei. ”

"Oh, Xia Feifei." Liu Xin smiled and said, "Your voice is very good, I will ask the second lady to teach you to sing when I have time." You go and ask Mr. Chen to come in first. ”

Xia Feifei walked out of the study door and covered her chest hard, it was really dangerous just now, and she thought that the old man had asked her name and drove her out of the house like he did to Arou, but it turned out to be just a false alarm.

To tell the truth, these maids were originally from rich and noble families, but their father and brother were defeated in the battle with Liu Xin, and they were also used as official slaves. And Ma Yun is a person who pursues beauty, and those who can be selected to be selected to serve as maids in the state pastoral mansion naturally have a bit of a look, and the ones who are sent to the study are the best among them, Ah Rou is like this, and Xia Feifei is also like this. Maids also have the dream of maids, since they have the important capital of beautiful appearance, and have the opportunity to dangle in front of Liu Xin, of course they are not willing to be only a subordinate for the rest of their lives, and they all hope that one day they can fly on the branches like Zhu Qian.

Ah Rou has been kicked out, Xia Feifei doesn't want to follow in Ah Rou's footsteps, she has to take her time and can't be in a hurry. Therefore, when Liu Xin asked what she answered, she didn't dare to say more, so she was so frightened that her face was like earth, and she even forgot to say thank you to Liu Xin casually about letting her learn to sing with Bian Yu.

Liu Xin looked at Xia Feifei's helpless appearance, and couldn't help laughing, their little caution had already been seen through by Liu Xin, but at least this Xia Feifei was not as scheming as Ah Rou, so she could stay for a while.

When he was in a trance, Chen Gong walked in and said, "Lord, my subordinates have something important to report!" ”