Huo Guang was slightly surprised: "No matter?"
Liu Tan said, "The market is different from other things. Building a city in Dunhuang was our own business, and the reasons were legitimate. But the market... that has to be handled by the Central Government. I don't care. They can build it however they want. As long as we have our territory and shops, it's fine. Even the security of the market, if the emperor doesn't give the order personally, we won't be involved."
Of course, in addition to this issue, another major point is that economic development cannot always rely on the court. In other words, the court can provide guidance in the initial stage and not interfere too much later. The best result is to just formulate rules and let the market economy develop on its own.
This is the only way to allow the market to flourish, and the court can mainly serve as a supervisory function.
However, the concept of market economy is too complicated, and Liu Tan has only a vague understanding of it. He only knows that it is not good to be too involved, so he cannot explain more and can only choose a reason that is easiest to convince Huo Guang.
Huo Guang thought about it and it was indeed true. The Northern Border Kingdom was too close to the mutual trade, or in other words, the mutual trade was basically within the scope of the Northern Border Kingdom. Liu Tan had already come up with many ideas to make money around the mutual trade. If he continued, he would probably arouse envy.
Huo Guang asked, "Should we send an envoy to the capital?"
Such a big thing may not be able to be clearly written in a letter, so someone must be sent to explain it clearly.
Liu Tan simply said, "Let Jiang Chong go. He's in charge of the negotiations anyway and knows more about the details. If someone else goes and fails to explain things clearly, it could lead to misunderstandings and ruin things."
Huo Guang originally wanted to say that Jiang Chong was not suitable at the moment, but after thinking about it, he realized that Liu Tan must have considered this issue. He still chose Jiang Chong, and naturally he had his considerations.
Jiang Chong was a little surprised when he learned that he was going to be sent to Beijing, but he still packed his bags carefully and came to say goodbye to Liu Tan before leaving. He also asked Liu Tan what he could say and what he could not say.
Liu Tan waved his hand and said generously, "There are no secrets in the Northern Kingdom that cannot be revealed to the public. Just answer whatever the emperor asks you. But... do you know why I sent you and not your subordinates?"
Although Jiang Chong knew everything about the negotiations, the negotiations were not his sole achievement. He had countless people working with him, and those people were also good choices.
Jiang Chong was a little confused: "I don't know."
Liu Tan hooked his finger at Jiang Chong, who immediately leaned over. Liu Tan whispered, "Your face is a flaw, but it's also evidence. When you get there, if anyone asks, don't be shy. Just tell them about the Xiongnu's southward advance last year and tell them how serious it was. Do you understand?"
Jiang Chong suddenly realized: "Your Highness, are you asking me to play the victim?"
Liu Tan reached out and patted him on the head. "Weren't you quite eloquent during the negotiations? Do you know how to speak? What do you mean by playing the victim? This is called seeking truth from facts!"
Jiang Chong held onto his hair crown and said quickly, "I did say something wrong, but... I don't understand. Your Highness, please explain it more clearly. I'm afraid I might have misunderstood your intentions and ruined your plans."
Liu Tan said, "It's nothing, just letting these people know that the Northern Territory is not safe at all now."
Seeing that Jiang Chong was still somewhat puzzled, he said, "We defeated Wu Shilu before. Although the process was tortuous, the result was good. Not only good, but also very good. It can be said that in recent years, the Han Dynasty has rarely achieved such results in battles with the Xiongnu. I am happy, but I am also worried. What if Chang'an thinks our victory was easy?"
Jiang Chong understood and immediately understood what Liu Tan meant.
No one in Chang'an knew the current situation of the Northern Border Kingdom. Even if the Huns came again and the Northern Border Kingdom wanted to ask for help, they would not think that the Northern Border Kingdom was really in danger.
Since blowing up the coal mine can repel the Huns, let's blow it up again.
Anyway, the coal mine is not theirs. What's more, many people are now looking for the existence of the coal mine. If they find it, Liu Tan's coal mine will explode and they will lose a competitor.
Even if no one else said it, the King of Qi and the King of Changyi would definitely think so.
What Liu Tan wanted to do was to shut these people up and not let them flatter him to death. The Northern Border Kingdom’s current strength was simply not enough to compete with the Huns.
Even the bombing of the coal mine failed to drive Wu Shilu away. If Lu Xuan hadn't appeared, who knows what the situation would be now.
Jiang Chong understood and said immediately, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I know what to do."
Liu Tan patted his shoulder and said, "Of course I trust you. Also, that's nothing serious. You did it to protect the Northern Kingdom, the Han Dynasty, and the people. This is your meritorious service. How could I discard you just because of a minor injury? Look at the people of Shuofang City. Are they afraid of you?"
Jiang Chong's eyes reddened. In fact, he didn't regret his original choice until now. He was just a little nervous, always feeling that his official career was uncertain.
Now that he had Liu Tan's affirmation, he finally felt relieved. He wiped his tears and said, "But those people in Chang'an may not... I'm afraid I'm going to abandon His Highness's people."
Liu Tan said: "I'll tell you a way."
Jiang Chong looked up at Liu Tan, who said, "If anyone dares to laugh at the scar on your face, go beat him up. If you can't beat him, let the guards around you beat him up. Well, I'll choose a few guards for you from the Thousand Man Corps later. They're very obedient now. Although they may not be very good at fighting, they're quite strong and should be enough for you."
Jiang Chong: ???
What kind of solution is this?
He coughed lightly and said, "Your Highness, Sven, Sven."
Liu Tan sneered, "They're laughing right in front of you, so why bother being polite? If they ask you to hold them responsible, just say I agreed."
Jiang Chong was stunned: "Your Highness?"
Liu Tan said, "Remember, those who go out from the Northern Territory can eat anything and never suffer any loss."
Jiang Chong was both moved and amused. This style was truly that of the King of the North.
After Liu Tan finished giving Jiang Chong some advice, Gongshu Yi ran over happily and said, "Your Highness, I've figured it out."
When Liu Tan took a look at the new crossbow, he found that there was indeed a small quiver underneath. However, unlike the vertical quiver he had imagined, this quiver was actually horizontal and wider than the arrow groove. However, because the crossbow was wider, it was not a problem. The height of the quiver was basically the same as the trigger.
Liu Tan took a look and asked, "How many can be put in?"
Gongshu Yi said proudly, "Fifteen!"
Liu Tan was a little surprised. He originally thought that being able to fire ten bullets would be good enough. If the accuracy was good, ten bullets would be enough to knock down a team of people.
He turned around and went to the shooting range to try it out. The speed of loading the arrow was not slow. After all, he still had to wind the string. As long as the crossbowman moved fast enough, the speed of loading the arrow could theoretically keep up.
Liu Tan was so happy that he rewarded them with gold, as well as a lot of cloth and copper coins. The gold he rewarded was Linzhi gold, which was given as an honorary prop. He gave it to these people so that they could find a place to worship it and use it to brag to their descendants when they passed on the family line.
What is truly practical is of course cloth and copper coins.
Liu Tan asked Wei Deng to come over and asked, "Is this overall production difficult?"
Gongshu Yi thought for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be that difficult. Your Highness's craftsmen can make it. It's just that the materials... since the entire crossbow is made of bronze, it might be a bit expensive."
Liu Tan waved his hand: "That's not a big deal!"
Gongshu Yi originally wanted to say that it was no problem for them to produce in small quantities, but when he heard what Liu Tan said, he swallowed his words immediately - he almost forgot that their Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory had a copper mine.
After Wei Deng came over, he tried the crossbow and immediately couldn't bear to let go of it.
Liu Tan said with a smile: "You will definitely have one in the future. Just give this back to the owner first."
As the first crossbow, this thing is of commemorative significance. Liu Tan thinks Gongshu Yi should want to keep it.
Wei Deng was a little reluctant to leave, but since Liu Tan had spoken, he didn't say anything. He just sighed and said, "If only the tread crossbow could be this convenient. My father often regretted that there were too few tread crossbows and too few people who could use them."
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then slowly turned to look at Gongshu Yi: "Look..."
Gongshu Yi said with some difficulty: "I think... it's a bit difficult."
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