After the destruction of the Jin Dynasty, the territory of China since ancient times was completely unified, and the Great Wei Empire completed the cause of great unification.

When he had nothing to do, Ran Min asked people to count the territory area of all dynasties.

"Father, according to the measurement value you gave, the ministers of the Household Department and Shangshu Province have already counted the territory area of the past dynasties."

The crown prince Ran Ming handed the piece in his hand to Ran Min and said, "The Xia Dynasty is about 500,000 square kilometers, the Shang Dynasty is about 1 million square kilometers, and the Zhou Dynasty is more than 2.5 million square kilometers. This was followed by the Great Unification Dynasty, the first of which was the Qin, whose territory at its peak was about 3.3 million square kilometers. ”

"Its east reaches the sea and Korea; west to Lintao, Qiangzhong; south to the north of the village; The north is plugged according to the river, and Yinshan to Liaodong! The Western Han Dynasty is more than 5.5 million square kilometers, and its east reaches the sea; south to the South China Sea Islands; west to the east bank of the Penchi River in Central Asia; northwest to the north bank of the Balkal Kash Pool; North to the Great Wall. ”

"By the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the territory had shrunk a bit, but it also had more than 5.4 million square kilometers. During the Three Kingdoms era, Wei had more than 2.6 million square kilometers, Wu more than 1.5 million square kilometers, and Shu more than 1.2 million square kilometers. Until the unification of the Western Jin Dynasty, it was more than 5.3 million square kilometers. ”

Ran Min bowed slightly: "What about my Da Wei?" What is the current territory of the Great Wei? ”

"If you don't count the vassal states, including the Western Regions, the territory of my Great Wei is vast, basically inheriting all the land in the Han Dynasty, with an area of about 5.43 million square kilometers."

Hearing this, Ran Min fell into deep thought for a while.

"Father?"

"The territory of Great Wei is still too small."

Ran Ming smiled bitterly: "Father, how small is such a large territory?" The territory of our Great Wei is only a little smaller than that of the Western Han Dynasty. ”

Ran Min waved his hand, and then took out a long-cherished map, spread it out on the treasure case, pointed to the name of the country and the national border marked on it, and said lightly: "Ah Ying, take a look, this is the map that I have asked the secret guards to disguise themselves as merchants over the years, or the secret guards who went out with the merchants, or the scholars who were funded by the imperial court and went to the West to study. ”

Ran Ming looked at the various places on the map, and couldn't help but be dumbfounded for a while.

"I'm so small?"

"It's not that I'm too small, it's that this world is too big!"

Ran Min took out a map from the bottom of the dragon chair, put it in front of Ran Ming, and said, "Look at it again, this is a world map." ”

This is a map drawn by Ran Min himself according to his memory, although it is not accurate and ugly, but he can know the approximate location.

"Our Great Wei is located in Asia, with the American continent to the east, and it is divided into South America and North America. To the west of Great Wei, to the west of Asia, is Europe, and below is Africa. ”

Seeing this map, Ran Ming was dumbfounded: "Father, is this true?" ”

"Absolutely."

"Looking at it this way, my Da Wei is indeed too small. But...... Father, I'm afraid that these places are all outside the world, and all the people who live are savages who drink blood, right? ”

Ran Min squinted his eyes and said, "Some places are like this, but more places and countries are similar to Great Wei. We have a Silk Road in China, which passes through the Western Regions from Chang'an and leads directly to Daqin! The porcelain, silk and tea of our Middle-earth are all exported to this Great Qin, and Great Qin is our Middle-earth's name for this country, in fact, we should call it the Roman Empire. ”

"The Roman Empire?"

"Yes. The Roman Empire is a large empire centered on the Mediterranean Sea and spanning three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, with an area of more than 5.5 million square kilometers, which is about the same as our Great Wei, and even twice as many people as our Great Wei. ”

When Ran Ming heard this, he couldn't help but gasp: "This ...... Is there really an empire in the world that is stronger than our Great Wei? ”

"Of course, the current Roman Empire has declined, but in this world, there are not many countries that can be compared to our Great Wei. In addition to the Roman Empire, there are also the Sassanid Dynasty and the Arabians, these places, these countries, are all things that our Wei State needs to conquer one by one. ”

Hearing this, Ran Ming said with a little cry and laughter: "Father, this is unlikely, right?" There are so many worlds, how can I conquer it? Eliminate an Eastern Jin Dynasty, eliminate a Western Liang, we are so time-consuming and laborious, to conquer these places one by one, this has to go to the Year of the Monkey and the month of the horse? ”

Ran Min shook his head and said, "A-Ying, do you know Alexander? ”

"I don't know."

"Alexander was resourceful, and in his short thirteen years as king of Macedonia, he conquered all of Greece and then destroyed the Persian Empire. In the vast land spanning Europe and Asia, a huge empire with Babylon as its capital was established, stretching from Greece and Macedonia in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east, to the first waterfall of the Nile in the south, and to the medicine and water in the north. It has achieved unprecedented brilliant achievements! ”

Looking at the scorching light emanating from Ran Min's eyes, Ran Ming was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Father, don't you want to be the second Alexander?" ”

"Nope! I want to surpass him! To complete a cause that has never been done before and no one after us! ”

This...... It's crazy!

Ran Ming couldn't help but sigh and said, "Father, although the son doesn't want to discourage your enthusiasm, I have to say it. At present, the country has just settled down, and the Xianbei people are still rampant, and the border troubles are undecided. Father, your ambitions are too great, and the empire may not be able to bear your ambitions. ”

"And to go on an expedition to so many places, across such a long route, the amount of money and food that the army has to consume is an astronomical amount! Not to mention, the point is how long will the empire go on an expedition? Father, you have been extremely poor all your life, but I am afraid that you will not be able to complete it. ”

Ran Min clenched his fists and said loudly: "Since I can't finish it, it's up to you to finish it!" If you can't do it, let your son, my grandson, do it! There will be no end to the number of children and grandchildren, and I believe that one day, as long as our Great Wei is determined to forge ahead and always expand externally, sooner or later, the Great Wei Empire will definitely become the only great empire in the world! ”

"Father, why are you so passionate about land? Is it just for the merit of opening up territory? ”

Ran Ming persuaded bitterly: "Your Majesty, Erchen has to say an ancient saying. The warlike will die, and the forgotten war will be dangerous! During the period of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, the generals Zang Gong and Ma Wu heard of the drought in the territory of the Northern Xiongnu, and also wrote a letter requesting an expedition to the Northern Xiongnu on the grounds that "the Xiongnu are greedy for profit, have no courtesy letters, are poor, and are robbed, and the edge is poisoned by it, and the middle guo is worried about its resistance". ”

"But Liu Xiu said, 'There is no good governance in the country today, the catastrophe is endless, the people are frightened, people do not protect themselves, and they want to go back to the far side? Confucius said: The worries of Ji Sun are not in the moment. And Beidi Shangqiang's reason politely declined the request of his subordinates. ”

"The Eastern Han Dynasty obviously has the ability to defeat the Northern Xiongnu, why didn't it go out to conquer the outside world? Is Liu Xiu cowardly? No, by no means. The Xiongnu lived as a nomadic herder, and if they united with the Southern Xiongnu and sent troops on an expedition, even if they defeated the Northern Xiongnu, they still could not be completely eradicated. ”

"Moreover, this move not only emptied the treasury, but also only made a wedding dress for others, the area outside the Seychelles is not suitable for farming, but it is the fertile soil of the Southern Xiongnu, and the Southern Xiongnu can take the opportunity to expand northward, and the strength will definitely be strengthened again. Even if the Southern Xiongnu did not expand, the Xianbei tribes in the northeast would definitely take the opportunity to advance westward. Why make your opponent strong? ”

Ran Ming talked eloquently.

For his point of view, Ran Min still agrees very much.

You must know that the reason why the Xiongnu split was caused by the conflict of interests.

The reason why the Southern Xiongnu took the initiative to reconcile and asked for an expedition together was mainly based on their own interests, not specifically for the Eastern Han Dynasty to eliminate the Northern Xiongnu. You must know that the eight Xiongnu under his command also attacked the border of the Eastern Han Dynasty and plundered the people.

In fact, the general Zang Gong has already mentioned that the Xiongnu "have no polite letter".

Back then, the Southern Xiongnu and the Eastern Han Dynasty allied forces and finally eliminated the Northern Xiongnu after a lot of hardships. The coalition forces were victorious, and in the evening there was a big celebration feast, and cheers were everywhere.

However, under the cover of night, the Southern Xiongnu quietly cut off the Han army's grain route, and then turned around and killed the Han army. The Eastern Han Dynasty was furious and immediately crusaded against the Southern Xiongnu, so the war resumed.

At this time, Wuhuan and Xiqiang, which had not yet been annexed, also took the opportunity to attack, and the entire Eastern Han Dynasty frontier was in an emergency.

"Sun Tzu's Art of War" has a cloud: "If the army is violent for a long time, the country will not be enough", "The princes will take advantage of its shortcomings".

Although it is only hypothetical, who can guarantee that it will not happen, and who can guarantee that the Xiongnu will not go south to attack the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is already empty?

Even if the Southern Xiongnu did not rebel at that time, who can guarantee that the Southern Xiongnu would obediently migrate? You must know that at that time, Xihe County and other places were rich in water and grass, and the Southern Xiongnu had coveted it for a long time.

During the reign of Emperor Han He, Geng Kui defeated the Northern Xiongnu, and Mobei became an empty land for a while, but the Southern Xiongnu at that time still did not move north.

Even if the Southern Xiongnu were willing to move north, would the Eight Xiongnu be dissatisfied? You must know that after making peace with the Western Han Dynasty, Hu Han Evil Shan personally ordered all tribes to return to their homeland, and many tribes were still reluctant to move. Even if they are honest when they move north, who can guarantee that the Xiongnu will not accumulate strength in the future, and who can guarantee that Shan Yu will not become the next Maodun after reunification?

No one can guarantee it.

Therefore, Liu Xiu thought that "if I am strong, the enemy will attach to it", and at present, it is better to let them coexist and contain each other, and our dynasty will take the opportunity to develop its national strength. However, Liu Xiu did make a mistake at that time, and the Southern Xiongnu should not be allowed to move inward, although this may have been a stopgap measure.

On the contrary, Liu Xiu should strengthen the governance and defense of Yunzhong, and he could send the Geng family, who was loyal and familiar with the northern Xinjiang, to guard Youyun, and the Southern Xiongnu would definitely not dare to attack.

Ran Min squinted his eyes and said: "Ah Ying, are you advising me not to be as reckless as Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but to be diligent and love the people like Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu, do a good job in internal affairs, persuade farmers and mulberries, bury my head in developing national strength, and rest with the people?" ”

"Yes."