Can I get to the other side?

At this moment, Ma Teng was really frightened.

Tian Feng is Yuan Shao's confidant. If Ma Chao is connected with Tian Feng, it will definitely be a capital crime for rebellion!

Thinking of the scene where the whole Yuan family had their heads rolling that day, Ma Teng felt chills in his heart. He knelt on the ground and said tremblingly: "My Ma family is loyal to the great Han! My son Meng Qi is also loyal to Your Majesty. Fuji, there is absolutely no chance of betrayal, Your Majesty!”

"I am willing to swear an oath to my ancestors!"

"If my son Meng Qi betrays Your Majesty, my Ma family will be cut off from all descendants, and everyone in the family will die without a burial place!"

Ma Teng also risked his life and swore on the spot.

However, all the ministers present looked at it coldly and sneered at this in their hearts - the Ma family was loyal to the Han Dynasty, so who was the person who rebelled before?

Liu Xie said calmly: "Marquis Huaili, there is no need to panic. Whether your son has rebelled is not yet known."

"However, according to the letter, not only did your son secretly meet Tian Feng, but he even allowed him to stay in the military camp. Such behavior is really puzzling to me."

"Although I don't doubt the loyalty of Marquis Huaili and your son to the Han Dynasty, after all, this matter is of great importance, and I cannot judge it lightly."

"So until I get a reasonable explanation, it would be better for Marquis Huaili to stay in the mansion... Where is the guard?"

Zhang He came out of the queue and said, "I'm here!"

Liu Xie raised his eyes and said: "Send Marquis Huaili home and put someone under his supervision. You will not leave the house without my permission."

"promise!"

Zhang He clasped his fists heavily.

Ma Teng wanted to defend himself when he heard this, but he didn't know how to explain it, because Ma Chao's behavior really looked too much like treason.

It makes sense to meet Tian Feng.

But what's the point of leaving Tian Feng in the military camp?

The most outrageous thing is that after doing these things, he didn't write a memorial to report to the emperor!

He and his two sons came to Yecheng to act as protons. Now that Ma Chao does such a thing, he will definitely be implicated.

House arrest is relatively light. If Ma Chao and Tian Feng really collude to rebel in the future, then all three of them, father and son, will undoubtedly die!

"Your Majesty, take the order."

Although Ma Teng was unwilling and disbelieving, he could only accept the emperor's treatment at this time, because this was the fate of Proton.

Under the watch of the ministers, Ma Teng was escorted by the Yulin Guards, left the Tai'an Palace in despair, and finally disappeared.

After Ma Teng left, Cui Yan shook his head and said, "Liangzhou thieves are Liangzhou thieves. The Ma family is full of misdeeds. It really smeared General Fubo's face!"

"Ma Chao is even more capricious. Now that his biological father and brother are being held hostage in Yecheng, he still dares to collude with the rebels. He is really an unfaithful and unfilial person."

Since the Ma family had a criminal record, after hearing the contents of the secret letter, all the officials in the palace agreed that Ma Chao might have been connected with Tian Feng and even planned to rebel.

Otherwise, why would you want to meet Tian Feng in private? After meeting, why don't you go to the emperor to explain various situations?

Don’t you know that Tian Feng is against the party?

Liu Xie said: "There is no point in discussing these now. I can't place my hope on Ma Chao's loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Before the spring begins, no matter what the price, Bingzhou must be captured!"

"There is no room for loss in this vital area!"

It is right to prepare for the worst in everything, which is why he insisted on sending troops to attack Bingzhou in winter. The sooner he could capture it, the better.

We can't rely on Ma Chao to be a loyal minister and good general, right?

"But Your Majesty." Sima Yi said with a worried look: "The weather has become increasingly cold recently. Even if we prepare warm clothes for the soldiers, they may not be able to withstand the severe cold."

"What's more, hundreds of thousands of people have flooded into Wei County now, and the people also need clothing to keep out the cold. Otherwise, I don't know how many people will freeze to death in one winter."

Relieving people in winter is the most difficult.

Because we have to face the two major enemies of hunger and cold at the same time, food, clothing, shelter, firewood, etc. are all necessities.

Not to mention how much warm clothing must be prepared for the army to withstand the cold. If all the supplies are provided to the army, many refugees will freeze to death.

Liu Xie's answer was unusually cold, and he looked at Sima Yi with sharp eyes, "If Ma Chao rebels and Bingzhou cannot be captured, then the whole of Hebei will be exposed to the iron hoof of the Xiliang army!"

"The lives of those people are important, but I cannot ignore the people of Hebei, or even the whole world, because of this group of people!"

"You can't have your cake and eat it too, do you still need me to teach you?"

The voice is not loud, but full of majesty.

It fell heavily on Sima Yi's heart.

Sima Yi trembled all over and felt his scalp numb, like a ray of light on his back. He quickly knelt down and said, "I made a mistake for a moment, please forgive me!"

Liu Xie snorted and looked away.

Didn't he know that giving priority to providing warm clothing to the army would cause many people to freeze to death, but so what?

He could not let Hebei, which he had fought so hard to win, be lost.

He couldn't let those soldiers die in vain.

He couldn't let the opportunity to end the troubled times, unify the world, and save the people of the world from war slip away just because of the woman's kindness!

As an emperor, you can be kind.

But even more so, we must be cold-blooded!

Because some choices are destined to be full of sacrifices. He must make a choice whether he will lose the big because of the big or the big because of the small.

When Yang Biao, Cui Yan and others heard this, a trace of deep fear flashed in their eyes, and their awe for Liu Xie deepened in their hearts.

They all thought Liu Xie was too lenient to the people before, but now it seems that this emperor is the truly cold-blooded one who will do whatever it takes for the sake of the overall situation.

A true cold-blooded emperor.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu looked at each other and remained silent.

They know Liu Xie best as a person, he is not ruthless or cold-blooded enough.

As an emperor, such a personality would do more harm than good.

But the decision Liu Xie made today made them realize that the emperor had quietly undergone a huge change.

Sensing the somewhat silent and depressing atmosphere in the hall, Liu Xie continued: "Young ladies, don't worry too much. I have also made preparations for the cold-weather clothing."

"Bring your stuff up."

Following Liu Xie's order, two Yulin guards carried a box into the hall, placed it on the ground, and then opened it.

All the ministers in the palace looked at the box, which contained some clothes.

But these clothes were not any of the ones they were familiar with. The style was very strange. They were not open like other clothes, but in one piece.

"Why does this dress look so weird?"

Fu Wan looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure out why. He couldn't help but stretched out his hand to touch it, and then retracted it as if he was electrocuted, showing a look of surprise.

"What kind of fabric is this? Why does it feel so prickly? It's not soft at all. It's not even comparable to the most ordinary fabrics."

Other ministers also gathered to watch.

Looking and touching the clothes.

Liu Xie smiled and said: "This is a sweater. It is made of wool and has excellent thermal insulation effect. Dear friends, you can try it on."

When it comes to keeping warm from the cold, apart from cotton coats and down jackets, there are only sweaters. In this era, cotton is not yet popular, let alone luxury goods like down jackets.

Sweaters are undoubtedly the most cost-effective option.

Because the raw material of sweaters is wool, and wool is not valuable, you can buy a large number of them from foreign tribes for a little money.

Mrs. Zhen had hoarded a lot of wool early.

The sweaters in front of him were the finished products he asked Zhen to weave on a loom, and he planned to use them as warm clothing for his army sergeants.

"How do you wear this?"

Yang Xiu asked doubtfully while holding a sweater.

He had never worn anything like this.

"Look at me."

So the elder of the Zhen clan took it over and demonstrated it to the ministers. While putting it on, he said, "Just wear it this way. It's quite simple and very warm."

"Although the sweater is a bit prickly, as long as you wear an undershirt underneath the sweater, you'll be fine."

"In addition to sweaters, there are also wool gloves, wool pants, hoods, and wool socks. Many people in my Zhen clan have already started wearing them. They are indeed very warm."

Like a salesman, Mr. Zhen took out sweaters, gloves, socks, and hoods one by one from the box and distributed them to the ministers, and demonstrated them one by one.

The ministers all tried to wear them, and soon a group of weirdos wearing sweaters, gloves, and hoods appeared in the hall.

"This... is too ugly."

Cui Yan pays great attention to appearance. When he saw the weird look after putting on the sweater and gloves, he couldn't help showing disgust.

Liu Xie glanced at Cui Yan and ignored him. He just looked at the excited Zhang Liao and asked with a smile: "Wen Yuan, how do you like these clothes?"

"Your Majesty, this is a good thing!"

Zhang Liao was full of praise for this and said excitedly: "These sweaters, gloves, and hoods are really warm. If every sergeant in the army has such a set, they will not be afraid of marching in winter!"

He doesn't care if it looks good or not.

As long as it’s practical!

These sweaters, gloves, and socks are simply not too useful for military sergeants. Not only can they keep the body warm, they can even take care of their hands and feet!

Liu Xie nodded and said: "I originally planned to provide these clothes to the refugees after weaving them, but now we have to give priority to supplying them to the army."

"But with the sweaters here, we don't have to spend a lot of fabric to make warm clothes for the soldiers. The extra fabric can be distributed to the refugees."

If there had been no sweaters, a lot of money would have been spent buying fabrics and making warm clothing to ensure that the soldiers could wear them warmly.

But where does the money come from? Where does the fabric come from?

We can only use money and materials donated by major families, which will inevitably lead to many refugees starving to death and freezing to death!

But now that we have sweaters and can use low-priced wool as raw materials, we don't have to use the money and supplies used to provide relief to the people.

Although many refugees would freeze to death without a sweater to protect themselves from the cold, Liu Xie has tried his best.

"I see."

Jia Xu touched the sweater, his eyes sparkling, and he said to Liu Xie with admiration: "Your Majesty established the textile workshop to let the refugees work in it and make sweaters."

"In this way, it can not only provide the refugees with opportunities to work, but also make warm clothes for the army sergeants. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone!"

He had to admire Liu Xie's thoughtfulness.

Zhang Liao also said with confidence: "Your Majesty, with these clothes, fighting in winter will not be a problem, and attacking Bingzhou is completely feasible!"

"That's good."

Liu Xie said to the Zhen clan elder who was still wearing a sweater and woolen trousers: "Establish a textile workshop as soon as possible so that all the refugees can be involved in production."

"I will start a war against Bingzhou around the end of the year. Before that, each soldier on the expedition must be given a set of warm clothes."

"Can it be done?"

Hearing Liu Xie's words, the elder of the Zhen clan suddenly felt a burst of pressure in his heart. Fortunately, the labor force is now fully sufficient. After thinking about it for a moment, he said solemnly: "I will do my best!"

The attack on Bingzhou was thus finalized.

This time no one raised any objections.

The appearance of sweater made the ministers who were originally worried about attacking Bingzhou dispel their worries.

As long as the problem of warmth is solved, fighting in winter will not be a problem - their enemies don't have sweaters to wear!

We have no enemy, and this is a huge advantage.

After discussing this matter, the remaining issue is the 30,000 Montenegrin troops. The ownership of these 30,000 troops also needs to be arranged.

But Liu Xie already has a candidate in mind.

He turned his attention to Lu Bu and said: "The Marquis of Zhending Township has handed over the military power of the Montenegro Army. The 30,000 Montenegro Army will be handed over to Duke Wen."

"Mr. Wen, don't let me down."

Although there is no shortage of powerful generals under his command, the only generals who can command tens of thousands of people are Lu Bu and Zhang Liao.

Qu Yi is only suitable for charging into battle, and the most suitable position for him is to enter the camp first.

Zhang He is a growing general who has not experienced much war experience at the moment. Liu Xie is really worried when he rashly hands over 30,000 troops to him.

What's more, he also has to command the Habayashi Guards.

However, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong were not qualified enough to convince the public.

But after much thought, Liu Xie decided to hand over these 30,000 people to Lu Bu. After all, they were his father-in-law, and he also needed to further enhance Lu Bu's deterrence.

After hearing this, all the ministers looked at Lu Bu.

There was a look of shock in his eyes.

Lu Bu originally had 30,000 troops under his command. Although 10,000 were handed over to Commander Zhang Liao, they could still be said to have a heavy army!

Now Liu Xie has handed over 30,000 Montenegrin troops to him, so the army in his hands is already nearly 50,000!

In other words, Lu Bu alone commands 80% of Liu Xie's troops!

What kind of trust is this?

Feeling the expectation in Liu Xie's eyes, Lu Bu trembled, immediately knelt down on one knee and said in a deep voice: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

Liu Xie nodded with satisfaction, then smiled at Yang Biao, Fu Wan, Cui Yan and others: "Tomorrow I will set up a stone monument outside the south gate to engrave the names of the ten people who donated the most money, food and materials this time for the people to pay their respects. "

"My dear friends, don't be late tomorrow."

When Yang Biao and others heard this, their faces suddenly turned bitter. Although their hearts were bleeding with pain, they could only smile on the surface.

…

After the court meeting, Lu Bu returned to the military camp.

As soon as he returned to the camp, he began to pace back and forth, sighing and looking very troubled.

Chen Gong was handling military affairs in the tent. Seeing this, he couldn't help but feel doubtful and asked: "What's wrong with the general? Why are you so worried?"

Lu Bu has always been careless. What could make him so worried?

"well."

Lu Bu let out a long sigh and said with a sad face: "Didn't the Montenegro Army surrender? Your Majesty asked me to lead the Montenegro Army, which is a total of 30,000 people."

"Thirty thousand people?"

Chen Gong was startled by this number, and then said excitedly: "This is a good thing! Your Majesty allows the general to command so many troops, isn't it a sign of your trust in the general?"

"General, you should obviously be happy, why are you still worried?"

He wondered if Lu Bu was showing off deliberately.

It was too late for the other generals to be happy that they had gained such trust from the emperor, but Lu Bu began to feel troubled.

"You don't understand Gongtai." Lu Bu shook his head and said with a grimace: "Your Majesty only needs to leave 30,000 troops to me, but I have a lot to consider."

"Training 30,000 Montenegrin troops is a trivial matter. The key is equipment. Where can I find equipment for them?"