"Nail household?" Although he knew that Liu Xin would come up with some new words from time to time, Xiang Lang couldn't help but ask.

In fact, in this era, there is no nail household, and it is Liu Xin who decides the life and death of others, just a matter of one sentence, let alone demolishing a house? Of course, Liu Xin couldn't explain the origin of the word nail household to him, so he had to snort and say, "You see that there is only this house left here, is it erected here like a big nail?" ”

He heard Yang Biao say that Liu Xin lived here when Liu Xin was in Chang'an last year, and he was quite satisfied with this place, so he suggested that Xiang Lang not demolish these houses for the time being. However, neither Jia Xu nor Xiang Lang expected that the surrounding houses had been demolished, and these houses were lonely, which seemed a little desolate. The two of them glanced at each other, and they were both a little apprehensive.

But I heard Liu Xin continue: "I'm just joking, in fact, it's just one night, it doesn't matter where you live." It's not too early, Wenhe, you stay for a while, and everyone else will come back. ”

Liu Xin, as the lord of these people, came all the way to Chang'an, and according to etiquette, he should hold a banquet to catch him up. But construction is going on everywhere in Chang'an City, and it is really impossible to find any suitable place, in order to be prepared, Xu Huang still proposed to set up the banquet in the military camp outside the city first, even so, everyone still felt a little embarrassed. Liu Xin seemed to see their embarrassment, and suddenly issued this order, which just solved their problem, so everyone retreated, leaving Jia Xu alone to accompany Liu Xin into this side hall.

A study has already been cleaned up in the side hall. In the study, Jia Xu sat upright, arched his hand towards Liu Xin, and said: "My subordinates were ordered by the lord to envoy to the countries of the Western Regions, and they only returned to Chang'an a few days ago. The countries reacted differently to the Lord's desire to re-establish the Protectorate of the Western Regions. Qiuzi, Yanqi, Shanshan and other countries all expressed their support, while Wusun and Dawan made it clear that they did not want the power of the Han Dynasty to return to the Western Regions, and the rest of the countries were mostly on the sidelines. ”

Liu Xin nodded and said, "Liu has long expected that the reset of the Western Regions Protectorate will not go so smoothly. I don't know what Loulanguo's opinion is? ”

Among the countries in the Western Regions, the only thing Liu Xin remembered was the ancient kingdom of Loulan, so he asked without thinking, but he heard Jia Xu smile and said: "Back to the lord, Loulan is Shanshan." ”

Liu Xin suddenly felt that he had put too little effort into this area, and actually made such a big joke, so he couldn't help coughing twice and said, "According to Mr. Shi's view, where is this Western Regions Protectorate more appropriate?" ”

Jia Xu said: "The lord wants to set up the capital of the Western Regions in order to open up a trade route to the West. If the countries are not satisfied, it will be difficult to settle the trade routes, and it will be useless to set up a capital to protect them. ”

Liu Xin couldn't help but groan: "The land in Liangzhou is barren, and it is still difficult to solve the food and clothing of the people, let alone support the army to fight." If a large army is sent into the Western Regions, logistics and supply will be a big problem, but I mean that we should not make a big move for the time being, and try to win the support of as many countries as possible to ensure the smooth flow of trade routes. Wenhe, do you think we should go to which country to go first on this trip to the Western Regions? ”

Jia Xu said: "Whether the lord goes to Yumen Pass or Yangguan, Shanshan is the closest, and King Shanshan is also quite supportive of the lord's re-establishment of the Western Regions. Therefore, the subordinates thought that the first stop of the Lord's trip to the Western Regions could be Shanshan. ”

Liu Xin had a long conversation with Jia Xu, and even dinner was sent directly to the study by Laniel. After staying in the state pastoral mansion for half a year, Lanny has already cooked a good dish, which makes Jia Xu full of praise.

Through this long talk, Liu Xin finally had a general understanding of the situation in the Western Regions, and he realized that things were far from being as simple as he imagined. In fact, from the Western Regions Protectorate in the Western Han Dynasty to the Western Regions Governor's Mansion in the Eastern Han Dynasty, they were abandoned several times, and each time they were re-established through wars.

The Western Regions are now much more complex than ever. Although there is no threat from the Xiongnu, Wusun and Dawan have been out of the control of the Han for many years, and they will not surrender easily. Moreover, Wusun and Dawan's hands have already reached into other countries in the Western Regions, and many small countries have been controlled by them. The three relatively large countries of Qiuzi, Shanshan, and Yanqi also agreed to help Liu Xin reset the Western Regions Protectorate in order to be able to confront Wusun and Dawan.

Liu Xin's purpose in setting up the Western Regions Protectorate was, of course, to be able to effectively control the Western Regions and serve as a springboard for further control of the Middle East, which is rich in oil resources, in the future. But that is only Liu Xin's vision, I don't know if it can be realized, and his top priority is to restart the Silk Road.

In fact, the Silk Road has always existed, but due to the loss of the support of the Western Regions Protectorate, Han caravans rarely reached their destinations smoothly. In addition to the complex relations between the countries of the Western Regions, the bandits active in the Western Regions were also a major threat to the Han merchants. There are more than 10 bandits, large and small, in the Western Regions, and these bandits come and go, killing people and goods, and doing everything. Most of the time, the local governments of the countries in the Western Regions turn a blind eye and close one eye, and the officers and soldiers of some countries even occasionally make cameos as bandits.

Therefore, in recent years, most of the footsteps of the Han caravans stopped at Yumen Pass or Yangguan, and most of the profits of the goods were earned by those merchants in the Western Regions. What Liu Xin has to do is to change this status quo and provide a strong force guarantee for the Han merchants to ensure that they can reach their destination safely.

Liu Xin stood in front of the map and looked at it for a long time, pointed his finger lightly on it, and said: "Wenhe, according to what you said, the first stop will be set up in Shanshan, and then through Jimo, Jingjue, Tianliao, Shache, and Shule, a permanent market will be set up outside the city of Wuji, and then a fortress will be established in the Uzberi Pass and the Tulugort Pass, and a heavy army will be stationed, and the capital will be located in the Qiancheng of Qiuzi Country. For the countries of the Western Regions, as long as they are willing to be placed under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Protectorate, they can promise no taxes, no food, no conscription, and their safety will be protected by the Han army. ”

Jia Xu gasped and said, "The lord is so generous, I don't know how much it will cost to retain such a military force in the Western Regions for a long time. ”

Liu Xin waved his hand and said: "Silk, porcelain and tea are the three major commodities exclusively operated by the government, and I am sure that the sales of these three commodities in the Western Regions are absolutely smooth, as long as they can be transported safely, the only variable depends on whether the Shule Kingdom can agree to us to set up a permanent market there." ”

Jia Xu arched his hand and said: "Shule is friendly with Dawan, most of them are also intimidated by Dawan's military strength, since the lord is stationed there with heavy troops, how dare he disobey?" ”

The plan was decided, Jia Xu gave up and retreated, and Liu Xin also got up and walked to the backyard. When Lanier heard the footsteps, she hurriedly greeted her, said a deep blessing, and said, "Master Qiqi, the Seventh Lady has gone for a walk in the garden. ”

Liu Xin frowned and asked, "Who went with Madame?" ”

Lanier said without thinking: "The Seventh Lady said that she wanted to be alone for a while, so she didn't let the slave and maid accompany her. ”

Construction is going on everywhere in Chang'an City, and the surrounding area of this house is in ruins, and although the garden where Diao Chan went was once the back garden of Taishifu, it has been unattended for most of the year, and it must have been desolate. Although before this, Xu Huang had asked people to carefully search the surrounding area, and later Dian Wei took his personal guards to carefully inspect all corners, there should not be a single idle person waiting, but Liu Xin was still a little worried, waved his hand at Lanier, and walked straight to the back garden.

There is a pond in the garden, there is a pavilion by the pond, Minchan leaned on the railing of the pavilion, was looking at the reflection in the pond silently, suddenly felt a gust of wind behind her, hurriedly looked back, but saw Liu Xinzheng untied his robe and draped it on her, and said with concern: "It's so late, why did you come here, be careful of catching a cold." ”

Mink Chan said: "I can't sleep, come out for a walk." ”

Liu Xin blamed: "Then you should also take Lanier with you, so that you can take care of it, even if you bring Qiling, it is late at night, if something happens, how can I rest assured." ”

Minchan leaned her head on Liu Xin's shoulder and said softly: "I just want to walk alone, just pay attention next time." Besides, Lanier and Sister Yan are also hard enough, and Qiling was too excited along the way, and now she is too tired to sleep. I don't want to disturb them. ”

Liu Chang felt that Minchan's words were a little flickering, looked up and looked around, and by the bright moonlight, he suddenly found that there seemed to be something behind the pavilion, and when he looked at it, it turned out to be an incense case, and couldn't help but ask suspiciously: "Chan'er, what are you doing?" ”

Her secret was discovered by Liu Xin, and Minchan's pretty face couldn't help but blush slightly, and she said in a little panic: "Today is the night of the full moon, and the slave family will worship the moon god by the way." ”

Liu Xin couldn't help but think of the legend of Mink Chan worshipping the moon, looked up at the sky, the full moon was still hanging high in the sky, it seemed that Chang'e in the moon did not feel that her beauty was not as good as Minchan and hid in the clouds, and couldn't help laughing: "Good and dignified, what kind of moon god to worship." Chan'er, you have a mind. ”

Minchan hurriedly twisted her body and said, "What do the slave family have in mind." ”

Liu Xin said: "No, you must have something in mind, I am your man, it is your god, how can you hide it from me!" ”

Seeing that Liu Xin seemed to be a little angry, Minchan couldn't help but flash a few crystal tears in her eyes, and said in a trembling voice: "The slave family has been with the master for half a year, and he is favored by the master." It's just that the slave family's body is quite unlucky, and there has been no movement yet, and the slave family is anxious, so they worship the moon god and ask the moon god to bless ......"

Her voice grew smaller and quieter, until even Liu Xin couldn't hear it. However, Liu Xin already understood that Minchan wanted to ask the moon god for a son, so she couldn't help but laugh, hugged Minchan tightly in her arms, and said, "Do you want to have a child?" ”

Minchan said "En" lightly and nodded.

Liu Xin touched her jet-black hair, smelled the faint body fragrance that seemed to be absent, and couldn't help but feel a flutter, and couldn't help but walk up and down with a pair of hands, and whispered in her ear: "Then what's the use of you worshipping the moon god, it's better to worship the lord and let the lord work harder." ”

Minchan's body softened, snorted, and suddenly said: "Don't, master, slave family, slave family today, it's inconvenient today." ”