Liu Tan was much calmer. The capital was already in ruins, what could be more difficult?
Seeing Liu Tan's calm demeanor, Huo Guang suddenly felt a little uneasy. He quickly adjusted his expression and said, "Right now, this information is only available in Shuofang. Other places still need to be handed over. I might need to make a trip there. That's easy to do, but... once I leave..."
Huo Guang was a little hesitant. Liu Tan's team looked good now, but in fact there were still few people. He was worried that after he left, there would be no one to curb Jiang Chong and Sang Qian.
Of course, he did not doubt Liu Tan's ability, but this should have been his job, so how could he let His Highness do it?
After hearing this, Liu Tan said, "Send someone else. Since there aren't any places that need fighting these days, let Li Buyan and Wei Buyi lead the troops. Otherwise, are we bringing them here just to feed them and have fun?"
Huo Guang hesitated: "This... can they do it?"
Liu Tan stroked his chin. "Wei Buyi should be fine. As for Li Buyan... let's give it a try. It's just a handover, after all. Besides, what does it matter if we have these things or not?"
Anyway, he will make drastic changes in the end, so it’s better to do it bit by bit.
Huo Guang said, "That's not all. Shuofang City is not big, but it's home to four powerful families."
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment: "Four? Just this small town?"
Huo Guang nodded. "This is exactly what I'm talking about as a source of trouble. These four families are deeply intertwined and are all related by marriage. I'm afraid they won't be easy to deal with."
Liu Tan sighed. He had originally thought that such a poor place should not have such obvious class divisions. However, he was wrong. No matter how poor you are, in this era, even the poorest people are still divided into different classes.
Liu Tan simply said, "This matter can't be resolved in a short time. Let's call everyone over after lunch and make a simple agreement."
Although we need to eat, no one can eat well in the current situation.
During the meeting, Liu Tan sat at the top and looked at the people sitting below. Suddenly, he had a real sense of being in charge.
Even if there are not many people, the overall configuration is based on the court. Therefore, if the princes in the Han Dynasty had real power, they would be much more comfortable than the kings of small countries in the Western Regions.
Except for Sang Qian, everyone else present was an old acquaintance, and Liu Tan seemed to be quite uncomfortable with Sang Qian.
He ignored her and simply said, "Everyone should be aware of the situation in Shuofang Province now. Although the other two provinces haven't been handed over yet, they should be similar. What are your thoughts?"
Liu Tan asked the question, and everyone's eyes turned to Huo Guang.
Huo Guang had already prepared a plan and spoke directly, "For now, we should first repair Your Highness's palace. I have looked around and there seems to be no suitable place within the city, so we can only look outside the city."
Liu Tan thought for a moment and said, "This isn't that important. It doesn't matter where you live. The most urgent task is to redevelop Shuofang City. We don't need to make it as prosperous as the capital, but we need it to have the grandeur of a national capital."
Sang Qian had been patient for a long time, but finally, after Huo Guang spoke, he said, "Your Highness, please don't worry about this. We will do our utmost to govern the Northern Border Kingdom and build a palace for Your Highness."
Everyone turned to look at him, which made Sang Qian feel a little uneasy for a moment.
He thought he was right, so why did everyone look at him like that?
Especially Li Buyan and Wei Buyi, one looked at him as if he wanted to beat him up, and the other looked at him as if he was looking at a warrior.
Liu Tan heard Sang Qian's subtext and knew that he wanted to show his talents, and was also telling him that it would be best for the princes not to interfere in the political affairs of their fiefdoms.
Of course, it cannot be said that Sang Qian had any problems. He was also maintaining the rule of the court and working hard to achieve Liu Che's goal of centralization of power.
Unfortunately, he still didn't understand the situation.
Except for Huo Guang who recommended himself, all other officials of the Northern Border Kingdom were appointed by Liu Tan himself. Only Sang Qian was specially prepared by Liu Ju to make things convenient for him.
Liu Tanxin said that it seems that you are not very clear about your own positioning.
But before Liu Tan could say anything, Huo Guang simply glanced at him and said, "The Northern Border is in a state of great complexity, and we all need to work together. Captain Sang has never been outside of Chang'an, so it's best not to make such boasts."
Sang Qian was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what was going on.
Shouldn't the officials of these vassal states be the first to band together and suppress the King of the North? Why was he warned instead?
Sang Qian did not speak rashly this time. After all, his father was Sang Hongyang, and he had warned him before he came out that he should not do anything if he was not sure.
If you really don't know whether you should do it or not, then just look at what Huo Guang did and follow him.
Sang Qian felt a little regretful for a moment. He was impulsive and should have found out the situation first.
Since Huo Guang had spoken up, Liu Tan pretended Sang Qian didn't exist and continued, "We can build a palace, but before that, we need to find out what mineral resources are available in various parts of the Northern Territory. We need to find out where the materials will be shipped from, and then we can decide."
Do we also need to understand the origin of the materials?
Everyone didn't quite understand, but nodded anyway.
Liu Tan said, "I'm sure everyone is aware of the current situation in the Northern Border Kingdom. Change won't happen overnight. You've all seen how the walls of Shuofang City can truly withstand an attack by the Xiongnu. If they can't withstand the plunder, it's not because our soldiers are incompetent, but because the fortifications themselves are substandard!"
Wei Buyi boldly said, "Your Highness, Shuofang City is now the royal capital and is no longer suitable as a frontier city to defend against the Xiongnu. Shoujiang City is now isolated and happens to be in front of Shuofang City. Should we choose a site to build a city so that it can both respond to Shoujiang City and protect the royal capital?"
Liu Tan smiled and said, "Good idea, write it down."
As he spoke, Miao Rui and Bi Gao were writing furiously.
Wei Buyi was very happy when he heard that his proposal was adopted.
Huo Guang then said, "The Commandant's proposal is indeed sound, but I'm afraid that the entire Northern Border Kingdom, let alone Shuofang Prefecture, cannot afford the costs of building a city. Before coming here, I witnessed the construction of Shoujiang City. The imperial court provided a portion of the funds, and Shuofang Prefecture also provided a portion. The portion provided by Shuofang Prefecture was generated from the tax exemptions of that year."
Li Buyan couldn't help but ask, "So, Shuofang Prefecture's annual tax revenue is only enough to build half of Shoujiang City? I... I remember Shoujiang City wasn't very big. So, it seems Shuofang Prefecture's tax revenue is too little."
Liu Tan nodded. "That's right. There's little arable land and few trees. The people have no money, so naturally they can't pay taxes. So the most urgent task is to make the people rich so they can pay taxes. Only then can the entire Shuofang Province, and even the entire Northern Border Kingdom, be revitalized."
Huo Guang sighed, "That's easier said than done. I've also consulted the information on Shuofang Prefecture. It's far too barren. Bingzhou does have some fertile land, but relying on just one area to support an entire nation is unwise."
Sang Qian couldn't help but glance at Huo Guang, thinking that this was too straightforward.
However, Liu Tan was not angry, but simply asked: "The land can also be cultivated. How about planting trees to cultivate the land?"
Liu Tan remembered that many Gobi deserts were formed by soil erosion. If greening could be maintained for a long time, it might not be impossible to improve the environment.
Huo Guang hesitated a bit: "This... I have never heard of it before, but maybe I can give it a try."
Jiang Chong, who had been silent, suddenly said, "No, unless Your Highness can take all the land into his own pocket, otherwise... it is absolutely not feasible."
Of course, it is impossible for Liu Tan to take all those lands under his name. Although all the lands belong to him, he cannot really enclose them.
Liu Tan asked curiously, "Why?"
Jiang Chong asked, "Your Highness, do you know why there are so few trees near Shuofang City?"
Liu Tan asked, "Isn't it because the land is not suitable for planting?"
Jiang Chong shook his head. "No, no matter how barren the land is, there are always trees that can take root. There are almost no trees near Shuofang City right now, and even if there are, most of them are short. This is mainly because the trees here cannot support the consumption of the people."
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment: "Consumption?"
Jiang Chong also became interested and said, "Before the Prime Minister came here, he studied the situation in Shuofang. Winter comes early here, and it's very cold for a long time throughout the year. Therefore, heating is of paramount importance. To keep warm, you need firewood. Unfortunately, there are not many trees here, and most of the firewood is supplied to the local gentry. Therefore, every winter, people die of hunger and cold. In this situation, even if they know it is a waste of resources, the people don't care much. If Your Highness wants to plant trees, I am afraid that by the time you plant them in spring, they will be gone before winter is over."
After hearing this, Liu Tan fell into deep thought. He had never really paid attention to the issue of heating before, or rather, he didn't need to worry about this issue. The common people burned firewood, while the princes and nobles burned more charcoal, and it had to be smokeless.
After Liu Tan came here, he experienced a winter without any discomfort, so he ignored the fact that keeping warm was still very difficult in that era.
However, this also solved a doubt of Liu Tan's. He said that he originally remembered that Shuofang was a place with fertile land, so why was it emphasized that the land was barren?
A large part of his fiefdom was part of what later became Inner Mongolia. Liu Tan didn't know how much arable land there was in Inner Mongolia. He only knew that he had heard from a friend at the Agricultural University that the per capita arable land area in Inner Mongolia was the highest in the country.
Although Inner Mongolia at that time had a small population compared to provinces with larger populations, it definitely had a much larger population than it does now. In this case, why did the people have no land to farm?
If we explain it by saying that excessive felling of trees has destroyed the ecological balance, then that makes sense.
He lowered his head and pondered for a while before saying, "In that case, I have a way that might solve both problems at once."
"Solve them at the same time?" Huo Guang asked curiously.
Liu Tan nodded and asked, "Where's the map?"
Miao Rui and Bigo immediately pulled out a very simple map. Liu Tan looked at it with a look of dismay: "Alas, we still need someone who can draw a map. It's a pity that Wei Guan stayed in Chang'an. It seems I have to choose another one."
Jiang Chong smiled and said, "Then it depends on your Highness's discerning eye for talent."
Liu Tan shook his head. "This time is different from last time. What's there to be afraid of in Han territory? As long as you're good at drawing maps, you'll be fine. We'll look for it later. For now, this place... probably here. Send someone out to look for the purple-red rock. Report back if you find it."
"Purple-red rock?" Huo Guang looked at the map with some surprise. "What's so special about that rock?"
Liu Tan blinked at him and said, "I can't tell you now. I'll know when I find you."
What else could it be?
Coal!
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