Zhou Yafu was wielding the halberd, running back and forth proudly in front of a group of Lang officials to show off, when he suddenly felt that his feet were loosened, half of his body suddenly became shorter, and the halberd couldn't help but fall to the ground.

In the exclamation of the palace people, he hurriedly hugged the horse's neck as it was, grabbed the reins, and slowly stopped the horse.

Liu Ji looked at it for a long time, and suddenly realized,

"It turns out that this little stepping place has such a miraculous effect."

He turned his words, his eyes turned on Han Xin, and asked lightly,

"Han Xin, I see that you are very familiar with it, did you know that there was this kind of equipment early on?"

Han Xin's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth to defend himself, but he heard Lu Pheasant say gently,

"Your Majesty's words are wrong, this is obviously an idea that I racked my brains, and I just caught up with the horses in the palace today, and it happened to be put into practice.

Just because the king of Chu helped a little on the spot, it was really unfair for him to grab the credit. ”

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere seemed surprisingly harmonious, as if they had returned to the years when they were reckless and entrepreneurial, and a group of people spoke freely without barriers.

Zhou Yafu turned over and dismounted, everyone swarmed around the horse, Xiahou Ying excitedly held the hemp rope to look left and right, and then lifted the saddle to take a look, and said to Liu Ji,

"Try to make it better, you can connect these two loops directly to the saddle, so that it will be more stable, and it will not wear down the horse's back——"

"——Simply change it to an iron ring or a copper ring, which is stronger."

As soon as everyone came into contact with new things, it was inevitable that they would still be confined to the initial form of the rope, so Lu Pheasant simply went straight to the point, gestured with his hands, and explained to the onlookers,

"We don't have to stick to iron hoop covers, since we can smelt iron, why not just make iron pedals, and hang the pedals on both sides of the saddle with soft leather straps at both ends.

In this way, even if you encounter an unforeseen situation in battle, you can quickly break free. ”

Liu Ji rolled his eyes, sketched a general shape in his mind, and said,

"Well, the queen is right, if you want to do it, make it into an iron or copper pedal, which is wider, so that the load is heavy, and the rider is comfortable to step on, and can afford to pick up long weapons."

"Tsk, such a whimsical idea, I'm afraid the Huns can't think of it, anyway, the minister has been wandering around the grassland for a few months, and he has never seen such an object at all."

Liu Jing smacked his lips, looked at Lu Pheasant in admiration, and sighed,

"Even if they steal the teacher and learn the stirrup, they are not afraid.

The iron weapons of the Central Plains could never be made by the Huns. Wherever our halberd goes, even the fastest shooter on the grassland can't catch up. ”

***

At sunset that day, Liu Ji paced to the North Palace, and when he saw Lu Pheasant, he had nothing to say.

"The coral tree that Zhao Tuo gave to the king of Changsha will arrive tomorrow, and you can come and see it then.

By the way, there were also a few mackerels that were delivered, each of which was said to be five or six feet long, and it was extremely large. ”

He scratched his head and finally cut to the chase,

"I was thinking, if I really negotiated with Zhao Tuo, what should I give him back?"

Lu Pheasant sat on the chair that Shaofu Xin had built for her, facing a very high wooden table, and was eating with 飧 (sūn), when she saw Liu Ji coming, she stood up and gave in humbly.

Liu Ji looked at her newly purchased strange object, waved his hand and said,

"No, you eat yours. I'll talk to you a few words, and I'm going to go to Qi Ji to use it. ”

"Well,"

Lu Pheasant smiled, "Let me think about it, the return gift must always be impartial, and it must also have a bit of a deterrent effect." ”

"I'll leave it to you, don't lose our face."

Seeing that the preoccupied emperor was about to leave, Lu Pheasant knew in his heart, so he caught up with two steps and asked,

"Your Majesty is worried, who should train the troops?

Liu Ji's feet froze, and he asked knowingly,

"Training, what kind of soldiers?"

"Deal with the elite horsemen of the Huns."

"Oh, I thought, either infant, or fan, or Zhou Bo.

What, what does the queen think? ”

"In my opinion, you have a better choice."

Liu Ji's face was as cold as ice, and he slowly turned around and stood still, his dark pupils were bottomless,

"You mean Han Shin?"

Lu Pheasant held his head high fearlessly, looking straight into his eyes,

"What I'm talking about is Han Shin. Didn't Your Majesty think of him first? I just don't want to admit it. ”

***

Liu Ji stared at the woman in front of him, his face full of disbelief,

"You mother-in-law, why are you crazy today, talking nonsense!

It's too late for me to cut his military power, for the sake of his protection of Lu Xuan, I only spared his life, and you still want him to lead the army, it's like conspiring with the tiger-"

He couldn't hold his mouth for a while, almost revealing all the resentment and fear in his heart.

Yes, after enduring it for so many years, every time I think of Han Xin holding heavy troops in his hands, Liu Ji is like sitting on pins and needles, and it is difficult to sleep and eat.

"Your Majesty, don't be angry, you just need to ask yourself, do you want to be rid of the Huns?

Or do you want to leave this mess for your children and grandchildren to clean up? ”

"I thought to myself, if the first emperor can send the general Meng Tian to the north to chase the Huns, I can also do it.

If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have cut back on food and clothing, Taoguang and obscurity, and those fanbangs and snakes at the moment when the country was in ruins. ”

Liu Ji's chest was stuffy, a few days ago he was still discussing with Xiao He, who had a sad face, after all the expenses, the treasury was really empty, so he could postpone the construction of his own mausoleum first, and everything was mainly to supply people's livelihood and train soldiers.

Lu Pheasant nodded slowly,

"That's it, the one who achieves great things, doesn't stick to small things.

Since it is a decisive battle against the backwater with the strength of the country, then we must win, and we must destroy the main combat power of the Xiongnu in one fell swoop, so that they will not be able to attack the border from now on, and can only obediently follow the rules we have formulated. ”

In the empty hall, Liu Ji's restless pacing echoed, and seeing that the emperor was silent, Lu Pheasant said again,

"I remember that before the decisive battle, I told you that the imperial general is like flying a kite, no matter how high and far the kite flies, as long as the line is always in His Majesty's hands, it can be retracted and released freely."

"Well, you said that, I remember.

If Han Xin is regarded as a kite, then what is your so-called kite string? ”

Lu Pheasant sat back in his chair and leaned back on the thick woven turtle back pattern brocade cushion.

This seems to be a habit left over from the previous life, she always likes to sit still and watch the man in front of her pacing anxiously, whether that person is her husband or her son.

"We're not just talking about Han Shin today, I'm just going to take him as an example.

Your Majesty is also the one who leads the troops, in your opinion, what is the military power in the hands of the generals who lead the troops? ”

"Military power—"

Liu Ji chewed on this word, thoughtful,

"Generals train troops on weekdays and command troops in wartime, and the so-called raising troops for a thousand days and using troops for a while, they have both the right to raise troops and the right to use soldiers."

"So, has Your Majesty ever thought about dividing the two affairs of raising troops and sending troops into two?"

"Split in two?"

"Take Han Xin as an example, Your Majesty can send him to train troops and give him the weight of holding troops, but the power of this elite cavalry to send troops must be firmly held in the hands of the imperial court and in the hands of Your Majesty."

"In this way, my soldiers and horses are left to him to practice, he is just the head of the cavalry sent by me, but what does that mean?"

Liu Ji's face was cloudy, and he sat on the edge of the couch and fell into deep thought.