Liu Che, the crown prince in Hangu Pass, received the news of the victory in Guancheng earlier than Emperor Jing and the ministers in the capital through the harrier eagle of Yu Linwei. He handed over Yulin and Huben to Gongsun Kunxie to control the subordinate country, and deliberately left Yulin servants to shoot Gongsun He and Tiger Ben servants to shoot Mayu, leading Zhang Qian and Li Danghu, under the escort of more than ten dead soldiers, galloped lightly, and returned to Chang'an City in just two days.

Now that the city is victorious and the people's hearts are greatly boosted, the princes and kings led by King Liang are not crazy, so they naturally dare not risk the disapproval of the world, and then raise troops to usurp at this time. Moreover, there are 8,000 tiger ben and more than 1,000 Yulin to cooperate with the local county soldiers to defend Hangu Pass, once Gongsun He uses high explosives, even if King Liang waves hundreds of thousands of troops, he will inevitably hate the pass.

The reason why Liu Che is so anxious to return to Beijing is first to attend the state banquet, when the country is celebrating the great victory at the border pass, if the prince does not attend, I am afraid that rumors will spread again. Secondly, after the soldiers escorted more than 50,000 Xiongnu prisoners of war into Beijing to offer prisoners, it was a little tricky to deal with prisoners of war.

Of the more than 50,000 prisoners of war, 50,000 of them, excluding the wounded, were still able to work immediately. After all, the soldiers of the Han army are not good at stubble, and many prisoners of war who have difficulty moving are secretly beheaded as military merits. The Han generals also adopted a tacit attitude towards it, after all, the Han army had never taken care of the wounded prisoners of war, and it was much easier to transport the head than to transport the wounded soldiers to Beijing to sacrifice prisoners. In this way, most of the captives who can really survive to Chang'an City are able-bodied men.

Now the Han magnates are waiting for these cheap laborers. In the past two years, Emperor Jing, under the advice of the crown prince Liu Che, did not make as much effort to deal with the issue of land annexation as in history, and as a large number of craftsmen and farmers from various counties in Guanzhong entered the newly opened workshops around Chang'an, the Guanzhong Plain, as the economic and agricultural center of the Han Dynasty, there was a huge shortage of labor, especially the powerful families held a large number of grain fields, and there was a faint shortage of cultivated population.

Liu Che does not care about a small amount of grain fields being abandoned, with the development and popularization of chemical fertilizers and improved seeds, the yield of grain fields per mu in Guanzhong counties will increase a lot this year, and an appropriate reduction in the cultivated area is what he hopes to see. After all, soil and water conservation in the Guanzhong Plain is related to whether the future Yellow River management plan will be well achieved.

"Emperor, the road construction you drew up is a bit interesting, why don't you build the road in my Han Territory first, but it is the thousands of miles of asphalt road leading to the Western Regions first?" After reading the article presented by Liu Che, Emperor Jing asked suspiciously, in his impression, this precious son should not be without purpose.

Liu Che already smiled pointedly: "Does my father think that these thousands of miles of asphalt avenue are not within the territory of my Great Han?" ”

Emperor Jing stroked his beard, and naturally understood what Liu Che meant, now that the right part of the Xiongnu has been disabled, and the 50,000 cavalry of the Xiqiang tribes have been trapped and died outside the border fortress of Beidi County, it is a matter of time before the Xiqiang is cleaned up. This is also the main reason why Emperor Jing did not immediately veto Liu Che's road construction plan, and good roads are the biggest guarantee for logistics supply.

Emperor Jing pondered for a moment, and then replied: "I naturally know the truth of this, but if this road is only for marching and transporting grain and grass, I don't believe that you will be so concerned. According to your mercenary surname, I am afraid there are other benefits. ”

When Liu Che heard this, he smiled helplessly and said, "Could it be that Erchen is so unbearable in the eyes of his father?" Erchen is said to be worried about the country and the people, and he is planning for the country! ”

Emperor Jing raised his eyebrows and glanced at him with slanted eyes, without words, his face was full of contempt.

Liu Che scratched his head and said cheekily: "Father really knows everything, the reason why his son wants to build this road is not only for the purpose of transferring troops, but also to open up a business route to the Western Regions. ”

Emperor Jing frowned, and said disapprovingly: "I am a great Han land, but the Western Regions is a barren land, and it seems that the gains outweigh the losses by spending so much effort for trade." ”

Liu Che's head was full of black lines, and he was full of insults at the emperor's father for taking ignorance as an interesting idea. The famous Silk Road turned out to be a move that outweighed the losses in his eyes, and he would laugh off his big teeth in future generations. Of course, Liu Che, who traveled to the Han Dynasty for more than ten years, gradually understood the thinking of the ruling leaders in the early Han Dynasty, and to some extent, there was nothing wrong with their thinking. For the Silk Road, which was highly praised by later generations, Liu Che has a different understanding.

Historically, the Silk Road opened during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was mainly to export silk to the West and import various luxury goods such as jade and spices. To reiterate, precious metals such as gold and silver in the early Han Dynasty were not used as the main currency in circulation, especially silver, but only as ornaments, so the Silk Road did not bring much gold and silver to the Han Dynasty.

The Silk Road reopened during the Tang Dynasty greatly stimulated the consumption of the Tang people. Because commercial and trade exchanges first bring people material wealth, which can be seen and touched, and secondly, the influence of spiritual differences brought to people by different commodity source regions.

The Silk Road trade was a dazzling array of goods, from slaves, entertainers, and kabuki to domestic animals and beasts, from furs, plants, spices, and pigments to gold, silver, jewelry, ores, and metals, and from utensils, teeth, horns, weapons, books, and musical instruments. And the entry of foreign crafts, religions, customs, etc. with merchants is too numerous to mention.

All this has become the consumption object and consumption fashion of the Tang people, especially the high-ranking families in the Tang Dynasty. Relatively speaking, the financial and material resources of the Tang people were much stronger than those of some other dynasties, so they themselves had enough ability to pursue super consumption, and the development of Silk Road trade activities only provided them with more opportunities.

It is only natural that there are many people who try their best to live in strange places, and the rich not only buy rare treasures, but also keep pets and slaves at home as much as possible.

The emperor and the royal family took the lead, the gentry and the wealthy families followed suit, and the common people also played exotic things. The Tang Dynasty was an era of foreign goods, when the pursuit of all kinds of foreign luxuries and curiosities began to spread from the court and became widespread among the general class of urban dwellers.

It can be seen that the Silk Road was actually the earliest import and export channel for luxury goods for China, and it once triggered China's extravagance and attitude towards the world. Later generations of historians have always been proud of the role of disseminating culture and science and technology to the outside world, and Liu Che is even more despised, which is purely harmful and not beneficial. At this time, Huaxia's science and technology led the world, and it spread wantonly without charging any patent fees.

Closing the country to the outside world or opening up trade without restrictions is a terrible policy for an empire. Liu Che really didn't want the Silk Road he opened up to bring luxury to the Han Dynasty, but he brought advanced technology to foreign peoples.

Liu Che pondered for a moment and said, "Father, the Western Regions are indeed barren, but they are not useless. I don't know if the world map presented by the son before the emperor has ever been seen by the emperor? ”

Emperor Jing bowed his head slightly and said: "Although the war has been stalemate for several months, I have also taken the time to take a few looks, but I didn't expect that there is such a vast territory outside the Han Dynasty. ”

"Does my father not believe it?" Emperor Jing's indifferent attitude made Liu Che a little surprised, and asked suspiciously.

Emperor Jing shook his head and said with a smile: "I believe that the emperor will not deceive, so naturally I believe it, why does the emperor ask such a question?" ”

"My Chinese calendar comes from the recognition of living in the middle of heaven and earth, the so-called Zhuxia, China also. How could the father have no doubts about the map of the four seas presented by his son? Don't you think this picture violates the grandeur of the Han Celestial Empire? Liu Che's face was full of confusion, and he was ready to be questioned by the emperor's father as early as when he presented a brief map of Eurasia. Now seeing that the emperor's father is happy to accept it, it is like a fist that has been gathering momentum for a long time to hit the cotton, which is really a little unacceptable.

Emperor Jing's face was full of surprise, and he frowned and said: "I have already asked you to do less businessmen and craftsmen, and read more scriptures and history, what is the Heavenly Empire, you are the so-called frog at the bottom of the well in Zhuangzi!" China has a great etiquette, so it is called Xia, and the beauty of the uniform is called Hua, and the essence of China lies in etiquette and education, and the size of the territory, where to live What does it have to do with it? ! ”

When Liu Che heard this, he couldn't help but open his mouth wide. Grandma's bear, a double master's degree in New China, was despised by ancient intellectuals who were more than 2,000 years behind. In the end, the mentality of the Celestial Empire was formed by which unreliable dynasty, it seems that the ruling class in the early Han Dynasty was very clear-minded. Empress Dowager Dou and her daughters all think that the Han Dynasty will not exist forever and will be replaced sooner or later; And Emperor Jing, the son of the Han Dynasty, doesn't seem to think that the Han Dynasty is the kingdom of the Heavenly Empire.

Liu Che's face was full of frustration, but he couldn't help but feel a little joy in his heart. Since the ruling class in the early Han Dynasty had such a reliable mentality, many plans in the future will inevitably have fewer doubtful voices.

Liu Che pretended to be sincerely taught, and answered: "What my father taught me is that after all matters are dealt with, the sons and daughters must study the scriptures and history behind closed doors. ”

He paused, and then replied: "Since my father has no doubts about the map of the four seas of the world presented by his son, he naturally knows that there is still an extremely vast territory west of the Han Dynasty. The son ordered people to investigate in many ways, and learned that the population of the West is large, and the products are also abundant. In the future, whether the Han Dynasty built roads or rivers, it would need a large number of slaves. The many barbarians of the West are the best laborers. ”

Emperor Jing's eyes lit up, and he asked interestingly: "The emperor's words are a bit meaningful, the Qin Emperor Yingzheng of the previous dynasty built the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Miles, recruited millions of husbands, and made the people's resentment boiling. I have read a few of the items you have submitted, and it takes a lot of labor to build a road or a river. Originally, there was still a little worry, but now it sounds like the emperor has a plan. ”

Liu Che naturally did not forget to put on a high hat for the emperor's father: "My father is wise, and the reason why my sons want to build a trade route to the Western Regions is to use the rare objects of the Han Dynasty, such as silk and glass, in exchange for a large number of barbarian slaves, as well as various resources needed for the development of the Han Dynasty." ”

Emperor Jing was puzzled: "I know the benefits of obtaining slaves, but what are the so-called resources of the emperor?" ”

Liu Che shrugged his shoulders and still had to explain the modern phrase he blurted out: "The so-called resources, in short, are food, minerals, livestock, and other things that help the development of the country, and strictly speaking, slaves are also a resource." ”

Emperor Jing nodded thoughtfully, the ruler of an agrarian society attached great importance to grain and livestock. At first, Emperor Jing did not pay attention to the Northwest Trade Route, the main reason was that he felt that the Western Regions only had luxury things such as jade and spices, which did not help the development of the Han Dynasty. If you can get the so-called resources in Liu Che's mouth, you should vigorously support it.

Liu Che saw that the emperor's father was moved, and hurriedly added another fire: "Does my father know what kind of things the asphalt needed by his sons and ministers to build roads, the lamp oil sold by Tian's family, and the main raw materials of high explosives?" “

Emperor Jing thought for a moment before he replied, "I have heard from Sun Quanyu that it should be the fat water produced by Shangjun, right?" It's what you call oil, and don't you even have some Rausch oil workshops? ”

Liu Che nodded, and sure enough, nothing could escape the emperor's father's sight, and he hurriedly tempted: "The amount of oil in Shangjun is too small, and it is inconvenient to exploit it. And in many places in the western barbarians, oil is like spring water gushing out of the ground, and the quality is excellent. If it can be controlled in the hands of my big man......"

Emperor Jing was overjoyed when he heard this, and he deeply understood the power of high explosives. This victory in Guancheng and the previous battle of Yanmen Pass are inseparable from oil, and naturally the more the better. He pondered for a moment and asked, "It's just that the road from the west to Dahan is long, and I'm afraid that the emperor will lose money by transporting oil." ”

Liu Che said confidently: "The reason why Erchen mentioned oil is just to let my father know that the barbarian land in the West is not really barren, and there are still many precious resources that can be used for the development of my Han Dynasty." ”

Indeed, oil is not the most urgently needed thing for Dahan's industrialization, and Liu Che's plan also adopts more of a strategy of local refining for oil. However, the various natural resources of the West, including the most important human resources, are the most coveted by Liu Che. Even if it costs a little more freight, it is better than digging mineral deposits everywhere in Dahan and burning forests to reclaim wasteland.

That night, Emperor Jing and Liu Che, father and son, talked all night in the Pingyu Hall of Weiyang Palace, and the sinister laughter echoed in the sky for a long time, which made people creepy.

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