After chatting with Xi Zhicai and others for a few minutes, Liu Hong handed the gift list to Xi Zhicai.

"Zhicai, let your Military and Political Affairs Department handle these matters. It will save you from blocking the Grand Minister of Agriculture's door all day long."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After receiving the gift list, Xi Zhicai happily began to examine it.

"Huh? This Zhang family's gift list is quite unique."

Upon seeing the gift list sent by Zhang's father, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

"What's the difference?" Liu Hong asked.

"Your Majesty, you see, the Zhang family intends to build five schools in various parts of Zhuojun and present them to the government."

As he spoke, Xi Zhicai handed Liu Hong the list of gifts from the Zhang family, along with the school design drawings that Zhang Fei had drawn.

"It's rare to find such a thoughtful family like the Zhang family. Very well, if all the great families in the world understood my intentions as well as the Zhang family, I wouldn't have to worry so much."

Looking at the Zhang family's gift list, Liu Hong couldn't help but smile.

“Yes, Your Majesty, if all merchants were like this, the country would have a much easier time with the popularization of education,” Zhang Zhao chimed in.

“That’s right.” Liu Hong nodded, then looked at Zhang Rang beside him: “Alright, call all those big merchants in.”

"promise!"

Zhang Rang accepted the order and quickly turned to leave.

Soon, the wealthy merchants of Zhuojun, their hearts filled with joy, followed Zhang Rang and strode quickly toward the main hall of the prefectural governor's mansion.

Zhang Fei also lowered his head and hid behind his father.

Upon entering the hall, everyone bowed to Liu Hong as instructed by the etiquette officials.

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, and may the Han Dynasty live ten thousand years."

"No need for formalities!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After the greetings, everyone stood there with their heads bowed, looking quite reserved.

"I have summoned you all here today for no other reason than to have a casual chat. Please do not be so formal and sit down to talk."

"promise!!"

The group agreed and then took their seats on either side of the hall.

Zhang Fei suddenly became somewhat conspicuous, because there was no seat for him, so he had to stand behind his father.

Liu Hong recognized Zhang Fei at a glance, but just smiled and didn't say anything more.

Looking around at everyone, Liu Hong said, "You are all well-known wealthy families and merchants in Zhuojun, and you usually have many exchanges with those areas in northern Youzhou. I wonder what you think of the commercial value of Goguryeo, Buyeo and other places?"

"this......"

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts skipped a beat, and they were somewhat puzzled by the meaning of the emperor's words.

Some people who had done business with Goguryeo and Buyeo people showed a hint of fear on their faces, thinking that the emperor was going to investigate them.

Seeing this, Xi Zhicai laughed and said, "Gentlemen, there's no need to worry. You are all good merchants of our Great Han. His Majesty's question is to know whether, in your opinion, Goguryeo and Buyeo have any value for doing business?"

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Qing also quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Goguryeo, Buyeo and other places are extremely rich in products, such as horses, red jade, various rare furs and medicinal materials, which are very popular in the Han Dynasty."

Meanwhile, our Han dynasty's silk, cooking pots, pottery, and wine were highly sought after in both regions.

Liu Hong nodded: "Then what are the benefits of your trade with Goguryeo and Buyeo?"

Su Qing said, "Your Majesty, both places are bitterly cold and mostly mountainous forests, making the roads difficult to travel and rife with bandits. It is only possible to pass through once a year, which is beneficial, but not much."

Liu Hong raised an eyebrow: "So, the main reason is still the road?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Those barbarians are ignorant and foolish. They have no idea about the convenience of roads, so they never build roads. In many places, there isn't even a small bridge. They are isolated from the world year after year. People inside can't get out, and people outside can't get in."

"Once, I led a caravan to Goguryeo. We passed a small river, and on the other side of the river, villagers from a village brought many top-quality medicinal herbs as thick as an arm and wanted to exchange them for my goods. Unfortunately, there was no bridge, so we couldn't cross."

“I once encountered some people who wanted to trade good horses for goods. Those horses were absolutely top-quality warhorses, but because the road was so bad, I was afraid of breaking the horses’ hooves, so I didn’t dare to bring them back.”

"I've had that happen to me once too..."

Immediately, Su Qing and the other merchants in the hall began to complain about the situation of trading with Goguryeo and Buyeo.

Ultimately, the main problem is transportation. What could have been a lucrative business turned into an obstacle due to inadequate roads and bridges.

After everyone finished complaining, Liu Hong said in a deep voice, "I am personally leading this expedition in accordance with the will of the people, to crush Goguryeo."

Of course, this campaign against Goguryeo was not only to demonstrate Han power and hegemony, but also to develop and manage the region, completely incorporating Goguryeo into our territory and making it an integral part of our great Han Dynasty.

Liu Hong's words clearly reached the ears of everyone present, and everyone was stunned.

Expanding territory was a feat unparalleled in the Han Dynasty for hundreds of years since Emperor Wu of Han. People never expected that the current emperor would have such ambitions.

For a moment, the entire hall was completely silent, and everyone looked at the young emperor with shock in their eyes.

Standing behind Zhang's father, Zhang Fei was also filled with excitement. What young man doesn't yearn to expand his territory and become famous for all time?

Amidst the shock, everyone began to ponder the meaning behind the emperor's words.

Now that the emperor intends to annex Goguryeo, it will undoubtedly be much easier for them to trade.

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