The officials in the hall nodded in agreement upon hearing Li Ying's words.

Hu Guang said, "Your Majesty, the Grand Commandant is right. We must be wary of Tan Shihuai!"

"Indeed, when the Western Qiang rebelled, the late emperor offered Tan Shihuai the title of king and a marriage alliance to prevent chaos in the northern frontier, but they refused. Now that the Western Qiang have been pacified and the northern army is growing stronger, they have become vassals and paid tribute. It is clear that they have great ambitions!"

Chen Fan also looked at Liu Hong with a solemn expression.

"Indeed! Tan Shihuai is no ordinary man!"

"Your Majesty must be on guard!"

The officials also spoke out, expressing that they were not as pleased as they had initially been about Tan Shihuai's submission.

"Yes, your concerns are not without merit. But now that Tan Shihuai has submitted, what should we do?"

Liu Hong nodded, his face grave as he looked at the officials and asked for their solutions.

Li Ying immediately spoke up: "Your Majesty, no matter how much we guard against it, it is better to strengthen ourselves. I believe we should recruit soldiers again to expand our military equipment and restore the Shandan military horse farm in Hexi. When our Han cavalry is fully formed, no matter how powerful the grasslands are, they will be no match for our Han!"

Liu Hong nodded and said in a deep voice:

"Yes, Grand Commandant is right. Now there is only the Hanyang Horse Ranch left, and the supply of warhorses is insufficient. Our great Han Dynasty's warhorses are always at the mercy of others. This feeling is truly unpleasant!"

The Shandan Military Horse Ranch, located in the central part of the four prefectures of Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Wuwei, was established by Huo Qubing after he defeated the Xiongnu and opened up the Hexi Corridor.

Geographically speaking, it is a vast ranch spanning Gansu and Qinghai provinces, and is currently the world's largest military horse farm.

Its area was equivalent to two times the size of present-day Yiwu City.

It combines grasslands, woodlands, and arable land, and has always been a major source of horses and livestock for the Central Plains dynasties.

At its peak, in just over a decade, it raised 2 million fine horses, 1 million camels, and countless cattle and sheep.

The existence of the Shandan military horse farm was one of the main reasons that ensured Emperor Wu of Han's victory in the decisive battle against the Xiongnu in the northern desert.

Liu Hong naturally attached great importance to this ranch that was passed down to later generations.

Cao Song also spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty is right. The royal transport fleet urgently needs to be expanded, but horses are expensive. In addition to trade with other countries, it would be better to have our own fleet!"

"Yes, yes, the Shandan Military Horse Ranch is extremely important, but it urgently needs to be restored!"

"Indeed, if that place is restored, it can provide tens of thousands of fine horses to the Han Dynasty every year. In this way, the cavalry and transportation industry of our Han Dynasty will be greatly developed!"

The officials echoed this sentiment, arguing that horses were essential for military transport, and with the development of commerce, the demand for horses would further increase in the future.

In the past, buying horses required a huge sum of money to purchase them from the grasslands. Even if purchased at ten times the price on the border, it was still quite expensive, and people were rarely willing to sell them.

This feeling of being choked made the officials very uncomfortable.

Subsequently, Liu Hong and his officials discussed the restoration of the horse administration and the relocation and expansion of horse farms, establishing four new horse farms in Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang, and Wuwei.

The Royal Trading Company collaborated with the Imperial Court to jointly oversee the construction of the horse ranch, which also included planning for the development of various local industrial resources.

They established pasture supervisors, horse officials, and various other functional officials to raise and care for horses.

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, Zhao Zhong, and Lü Qiang!"

"Your subject is here!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing the emperor call his name, Cao Song, Zhao Zhong, and Lü Qiang hurriedly came to the main hall and bowed to Liu Hong.

Liu Hong looked at the three of them and said in a deep voice:

"By imperial decree, after the court session, officials and merchants shall immediately be organized to go to the four prefectures of Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Wuwei to establish horse ranches and merchant branches! They shall be stationed in the four prefectures!"

They could engage in commercial trade with the Western Regions, the Eastern Qiang, the Western Qiang, the Xiongnu, and the Xianbei, and purchase large quantities of horses for breeding and grazing!

"Your humble servants obey!"

Cao Song, Zhao Zhong, and Lü Qiang responded in unison.

Finally, Chen Fan looked at Liu Hong with a worried expression and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, the horse administration of our Great Han has been neglected for many years, and there are few people skilled in horse herding. Now that the scale has expanded so much, we don't know where to find horse herders?"

Liu Hong thought for a moment, then said, "We can send slaves who know how to raise horses to various places to be in charge of herding horses!"

They could also send messages to the grasslands, the Northeast, and the Northwest, hiring their older herders—those people have spent their lives herding horses and are quite skilled at it!

"Your Majesty's method is excellent. Those elderly people are considered useless in their own land, and I believe they would be very willing to send them over to raise horses for our Great Han!"

"Absolutely! Moreover, those older people have little fighting ability, which greatly reduces the risk of them causing trouble!"

"Moreover, as they get older, they eat less, so their energy expenditure is lower!"

The officials also chimed in, expressing their approval of Liu Hong's method, their words revealing the capitalists' style.

"Haha~, what you all say is correct. The selection of slaves and the hiring of horse herders can be left to the Royal Trading Company!"

"This servant obeys!"

Zhao Zhong quickly and respectfully accepted the order.

Then Liu Hong looked at Li Ying and said in a deep voice:

"The Grand Commandant may issue orders to Duan Jiong, Zhang Huan, Lu Zhi, and the border counties in the northwest and northeast, instructing them to recruit soldiers after autumn."

The armies of You, Bing, and Liang have each received an additional 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry! The number of troops in each border prefecture has increased from 2,000 to 4,000!

He then ordered all armies to send their junior and middle-ranking officers, along with the commanders of the border prefectures, to Luoyang for training and assessment!

"promise!"

Li Ying respectfully accepted the order and immediately returned to the ranks.

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