Three Kingdoms

Feiqian often looks like a mascot and doesn't seem to do any specific work. Because most of the specific matters are completed by Fei Qian's men, whether it is agriculture or industry, military or scriptures, more often than not Fei Qian only serves as a guiding suggestion and seems to be simply moving. Just talking, so some people think that Fei Qian is useless, or that without Fei Qian, wouldn’t the world stop turning around?

Indeed, without Fei Qian, the world is still going around.

In other words, even without all human beings, the world is still going around.

If the existing life span of the earth is condensed into one hour, then human beings are creatures that only appeared at the last second of the last minute. Such a type of creature that only exists for "one second" and claims to be the master of the earth is just a blind man trying to touch the elephant.

The biggest role of Fei Qian is that when many people in Han Dynasty were still blindly touching elephants, they could know in advance what this elephant might look like...

Perhaps only those social beasts in later generations who have entered the society and worked in certain companies can truly realize how rare it is to have a leader with clear goals, who pays attention to facts, and who never shirks the blame or shrinks back.

It's like the present moment.

There are also disputes within the Agricultural Society. Of course, this dispute is not about the distribution of benefits, but about academic differences.

Not far from the experimental field is the breeding farm. The Agricultural Society not only cultivates and researches Zhuanghe, but also develops livestock technology. In the breeding farm, it is naturally the place where livestock and poultry varieties are selected, which is the same project as Zhuang He's seed selection. And now in the breeding farm, there are about a dozen agricultural bachelors gathered around, watching and listening to the two people in the middle arguing.

The disputing party is Cui Cheng.

Cui Cheng is a descendant of Cui Shi.

Cui Shi wrote a "Monthly Order of the Four People", and he once served as the governor of many places and served as a minister. However, after Cui Shi died of illness, his family was left alone and there was no funeral expenses. Guang Luxun Yang Ci, Imperial Servant Yuan Feng, and Shaofu Duan Jue prepared a coffin and burial tools for him, and Dahong Yuan Wei planted a monument to praise his virtues.

So it is obvious that there is no future in writing books. The more you write, the poorer you become... Ahem, it is obvious that Cui Shi did not leave much property to his descendants. In addition, after Cui Shi's death, the war immediately broke out and Cuicheng was homeless. He traveled until he arrived in Chang'an. With his knowledge of agriculture and livestock, and of course the "Four People's Monthly Orders", he became an agricultural bachelor in Chang'an, and quickly found his own research project. Horse.

On the other side is Wang Yun.

Wang Yun is from Taiyuan. Because he is familiar with the Hu people's cattle and horses, he is responsible for the breeding of war horses in the breeding farm.

However, just as forum buildings often fall apart, the original question of war horses and slaves gradually changed to whether they should conquer the Western Regions.

The agricultural bachelors standing around the two people had their own opinions, either supporting this or feeling that that was right, so they started talking among themselves, making the noise loud.

Many people who were attracted by the quarrel stood outside and looked around, asking and discussing with each other.

Many people are already aware of the fact that Lu Bu, the Protector of the Western Regions, sent troops, and some even connected Lu Bu's second expedition to Chigu with Li Guangli's conquest of Dawan.

Yes, Lu Bu captured Chigu the first time, but this does not mean anything, because in the first war, Lu Bu did not really reach Dawan, but only reached almost half the distance, and now Lu Bu not only I want to attack Chigu again and march into Dawan...

Li Guangli's conquest of Dayuan was indeed successful, but the consequences were too tragic. Only a few tenths of the soldiers returned to Yumen, many of them buried their bones in foreign lands, and the treasury of Chang'an Sanfu was also empty. All these war expenses At that time, it was finally passed on to the local counties. In order to flatter themselves, local county officials imposed excessive taxes and extortionate taxes, which led to the rise of thieves in the last years of Emperor Xiaowu and chaos in the world.

Many people are worried that Lu Bu's expedition this time is not optimistic. War is the root cause of chaos, and now it affects Guanzhong, and may even affect the wider world.

Cui Cheng said that Lu Bu, the Protector of the Western Regions, did not need to attack Dawan at all, and Dawan's war horses were not necessarily that good. Now the Han Dynasty needed to improve the horses, especially the endurance and strength of the horses, and carry out key training. and screening.

Wang Yun said that Lu Bu was not wrong in attacking Dawan. It was not only a matter of good war horses, but also that he had to show a certain strength in the Western Regions. Otherwise, once he was considered weak and bullied by the people of the Western Regions, it would basically be equivalent to giving up. The war will no longer be fought in the Western Regions, but may be fought in Longyou or even Chang'an. If you want to fight, you must have better war horses to provide what is needed for the war. End the battle as quickly as possible, and the losses will naturally be smaller. Therefore, Cuicheng did not have the conditions to cultivate subdued horses, so he had to concentrate on cultivating war horses.

Cui Cheng thought this was a fallacy and did not consider long-term issues. Everyone knew that if you attack a country thousands of miles away, half of the goods will be lost without fighting. In the end, you will get dozens of so-called well-bred war horses. What is the use of the illusory surrender of the people in the Western Regions? ? On the other hand, the horse is suitable for agricultural production and transportation, which is an important means of consolidating the foundation and cultivating the people.

But after the building becomes crooked, it will become more and more crooked...

"Someone thinks that Marquis Wen shouldn't go to the west!" Someone shouted loudly, "Marquis Wen was originally guilty, but Qiaoqi pardoned him and ordered him to make amends for his past mistakes. Now if he causes trouble again, he may be suspected of supporting the bandits!" 』

Some people began to say that Lu Bu could correct his mistakes and that there was no need to hold on to his previous mistakes. Some people said that Lu Bu was not a small mistake, but a crime that seemed to be disloyal and deceiving the emperor. It was simply a crime that both humans and gods were angry about, and even the clan could be destroyed. Now He was allowed to redeem his past deeds, but he even thought about expanding the war and conquering Dawan for the second time. It was obviously out of good intentions.

Then there was another discussion. Some people said that Lu Bu was loyal, while others said that Lu Bu was a traitor...

"Marquis Wen fought against Chigu in the past, but he beheaded two thousand Guishang soldiers!" The other states in the Western Regions also have more than a thousand heads! If this plan is used, Marquis Wen will be able to take advantage of it and be exempted from his crime! 』

"It is said that many of the leaders of Guishan and other states in the Western Regions were rotted away by the time the Longxi military meritorious officials went to inspect them. Who knows whether they were soldiers or not? What if they were indiscriminately killed and passed off as Guishan people?" What's more, it's not like I've never seen this before..."

"I think the Hussars should send an envoy to investigate this matter thoroughly!" If Marquis Wen lies about the number of beheadings, he should be severely punished according to Emperor Xiaowen’s old story! 』

"absurd! To this day, what old stories of Xiaowen are still used? ! 』

"Bold!" Emperor Xiaowen was also orthodox to the Han Dynasty, so why not? 』

"Shuzi..."

"Dog thief..."

Just as the argument was about to turn into an all-out martial arts showdown, someone suddenly heard someone shouting loudly: "The great Han hussar general is here!" quiet! 』

The people who were arguing fiercely were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly arranged their crowns and robes, and then saluted Fei Qian and Zao Zhi who were approaching.

Zao Zhi's face was not very pretty.

It was like when the leaders of the Education Bureau inspected the school, a group of students happened to be arguing in the back playground, and then almost started a fight...

Fei Qian smiled slightly and didn't seem to be angry because of these people's argument. He even patted Zao Zhi's arm who was about to step forward to scold him, indicating that Zao Zhi didn't need to get angry.

Most of the people in the Agricultural Society are bachelors of agriculture, or doctors of agriculture who teach bachelors of agriculture relevant knowledge. Although they are studying and researching agriculture-related content, it does not mean that these people are not allowed to discuss political affairs.

What's more, these agricultural bachelors may be promoted to local officials in the future, assisting or presiding over the government. It is not necessarily a good thing if they only have a passing knowledge of agriculture and do not have any political abilities.

So after getting to know each other a little bit, Fei Qian was not angry because of their quarrel, but felt that they should not focus their main energy on the argument...

"Even if one does not count the merits of his head, he who captures the enemy's chief according to the laws of the Han Dynasty is worthy of being a lord." Fei Qian smiled slightly and said, "Lu Fengxian defeated the enemy's troops in the Western Region three times and destroyed the country in two ways." There is no doubt about the contribution of the Western Regions. It is certainly sinful to lie about military merits, but to refuse to reward them despite knowing that they are meritorious is not the same as committing a sin. 』

"However, shouldn't the merits and demerits, the magnitude of rewards and punishments, be discussed while sitting in the court?" ” Fei Qian smiled and stretched out his hand to indicate the environment of the breeding farm, “Why bother competing with birds and cows and horses? 』

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then started laughing.

Lu Bu conquered the Western Regions before and regained the authority of the Western Regions. This is a fact that no one can deny. Even if Lu Bu conquers Dawan again now, it does not mean that he will not acknowledge his previous achievements, or simply slander his previous achievements. The first level is to take credit...

After everyone calmed down, Fei Qian brought the main topic back and said, "As for the choice between war horses and rhinos... it's a good topic... What do you think?" 』

Horse breeds need to be bred.

After Feiqian Chang'an Sanfu lit up the research tree for the seeds of seedlings, other livestock, including pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks, etc., successively started research on varieties.

There is a whole area suitable for various kinds of research in Feiqian Northland.

That's right, it's the Hetao Plain.

The Hetao Plain is located on the northern border, with the Yellow River running through it. It has abundant water and grass, forming environmental conditions suitable for both farming and animal husbandry. Therefore, it has become a battleground between the Central Plains regime and the northern nomads. On this piece of land, there are mountains, water, plains, grasslands and deserts, as well as the collision of farming and nomadic life.

Cui Cheng took a step forward first, held his hands as a gift, and said in a deep voice, "The current situation in the Western Regions, we should follow the old rules of the Hetao!" To defend against foreign enemies, the Han Dynasty built cities, flints, beacons, barriers, and pavilions. However, although barrier pavilions are easy to arrange, they cannot resist the enemy! If you want to defend yourself from the enemy, you must have a city defense! There may be more than a thousand cities and five hundred fires. In addition to food in the village, vegetables, pickled beans, etc. are also needed, as well as utensils, all of which need to be transported! Things like this should be conveyed to the emperor! Horse! Not a war horse! 』

Wang Yun listened on the sidelines, frowned and waved his hands, saying, "No, no!" The most important thing in the Western Region is the war horse! The Western Region is far larger than Henan! The city's fire and beacon barriers are insufficient to defend them, so how can they be strengthened? Therefore, you should use war horses to ride on the emperor. If there is any chaos, it will come in a moment! The only use of horses is for farming and transportation. How can they travel thousands of miles and rule all nations? ! Is the benefit of the hussar horse the result of the slave horse? 』

"Wrong, wrong!" Nowadays, war horses are already sufficient, and adding more will not see any benefit. However, slave horses are not enough, and adding more can benefit thousands of households..."

"No, no..."

The two people were talking and arguing with each other again. It was obvious that no one could convince the other.

After Fei Qian occupied Pingyang, he re-cultivated the abandoned fields and repaired water conservancy facilities. All these actions enabled Fei Qian to obtain a large amount of grain output in the early days of Pingyang, and he had corresponding savings to provide Fei Qian for subsequent military operations. action.

However, as Feiqian Pingyang continues to operate, a parabola appears in agricultural output. It seems that there is an invisible ceiling pressing on the upper end of agricultural output, making it very difficult to break through after the agricultural output per mu reaches a certain value.

This problem is not limited to Fei Qian's Pingyang. Looking at the entire era and the entire dynasty, from the Western Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, after the total population reached a value of about 50 million, the total grain production hit the ceiling, causing the total population to not rise, forming a double gap. It was not until the Southern Song Dynasty that the bottleneck of 50 million people was broken due to the large-scale development of Jiangnan.

When the fleet had no way to cross the Bering Strait to reach the American continent and obtain high-yield sweet potatoes, corns, potatoes and other products, Fei Qian could only think about how to expand agricultural harvests under limited conditions.

The Hetao area was close to the border of the Han Dynasty and had constant conflicts with the Xiongnu. In the early Han Dynasty, a large number of troops were sent to garrison, so a huge amount of food and grass was needed to maintain the survival of the army and ensure military operations.

Calculated according to the usual proportions, if Feiqian deploys about 30,000 troops in the Hetao area, it will cost about 800,000 dan in a year, and another 50,000 yuan will be given for military salary and salary expenses.

If Fei Qian was mentally disabled for a while and listened to the bewitchment of some single-celled animals, blindly expanding the scope of the war and increasing the number of soldiers, then the financial and food pressure would be even greater. Even if you can deceive yourself in terms of military salary and salary, you can show some left-pocket and right-pocket tricks, but food and grass will be gone after you eat them. It will have to wait for Zhuang He to harvest again in the second year, and during this period If something goes wrong at any point in time, the dominoes may collapse when they fall.

During the Western Han Dynasty, in order to maintain the money and food needs of the huge frontier army, Chao Cuo's suggestion was accepted, "Let the world bring millet to the border, so as to be exempted from crime by receiving nobility", that is, the grain was raised from the inner county in the form of bringing millet to the frontier to pay homage to the nobility. And transported to border counties. This method is not only inefficient, but also produces various drawbacks. Fraud occurs in an endless stream. Corrupt officials use their hands and mouths during the transportation process.

Therefore, after realizing the shortcomings of this "millet export" plan, at the suggestion of Zhu Fuyan, farming began in the Hetao area. The grain produced could solve the food problem for the border garrison on the spot, and also provided a more stable foundation for the Western Han Dynasty to resist the Xiongnu. material security.

This became the most proactive, active and long-term example of frontier development in Chinese history.

This is what Cui Cheng just called "the old rules of the Hetao".

Cuicheng means to ensure the long-term peace and stability of the Western Region. Blindly strengthening force will only lead to constant losses. We must strengthen the guidance of civil affairs, use small forts, beacons and other defenses, and then add farming and transportation to build a Only the network system can ensure the rule of the Western Regions.

What Wang Yun meant was the traditional concept of strengthening the mobility of troops, that is, more and better war horses, which represented stronger force, and it would naturally be possible to control the Western Regions.

As Fei Qian's world map hanging in the lobby of the Husband's Office spread more and more widely, many people were slightly skeptical on the one hand, and on the other hand, they were also considering more and more distant plans. The place is not blocked by mountains, rivers, forests, deserts and Gobi.

This is indeed a problem.

Perhaps it is also a bottleneck at the moment.

The Han Dynasty was the first dynasty to use cavalry tactics alone on a large scale. The Qin Dynasty, or the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, also had cavalry, but at that time the cavalry was basically a part of the army, used in conjunction with chariots and infantry. Most of the time, it was only used as a partial army, not as a main combat unit. .

The subsequent feudal dynasties of China did not make great breakthroughs in the use of cavalry, and even shrank. Even the big braided dynasty, which claimed to be founded on cavalry, did not make many breakthroughs in cavalry tactics. In the Ming Dynasty, it had already Even when the musketeers appeared, he still insisted on his bow and arrow tactics, and was finally beaten by the Eight-Nation Allied Forces until the curtain fell off...

The Han Dynasty had a much wider territory than the Qin Dynasty. It was impossible for these border areas to be used as those ignorant Confucian scholars said, only those areas that could be cultivated were selected for use, and the rest of the areas were abandoned.

If there is a frontier, there must be a long border, and these borders were defended by the Great Wall, beacons, and pavilions in the Han Dynasty. But no matter what kind of fortifications it is, soldiers need to be stationed there, and these Great Walls, beacons, and pavilions will not automatically produce food and vegetables for the soldiers stationed there to eat, like in the game.

Arranging soldiers for defense means providing sufficient food. Otherwise, not to mention fending off the enemy, famine can directly defeat any strong defender.

In order to solve the food problem, the Han Dynasty adopted the policy of relocating people to the border areas and promoting farming. However, this was still not enough. Not all the Great Walls, beacons, and pavilions had the conditions for farming, and not all areas could grow crops. Grain, which naturally requires various transshipments, and what is needed to transship grain and grass are horses and baggage vehicles.

Horses were needed for battle, and horses were needed for transportation.

The question now is, should we carry out special research on war horses, or should we just follow the old method, just study war horses, and then use retired war horses and substandard horses as war horses?

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