This news is more important than the previous human trafficking.
Frankly speaking, human trafficking only made them angry, but when it came to horse gear and ironware, it gave them a sense of crisis.
Huo Guang immediately put Huo Shou's affairs aside and looked up and asked, "Did they get it?"
Lu Xuan's hair had already been dried. Fu Yu tied it up for him and then stepped aside.
Lu Xuan shook his head and said, "Some of the ironware must have been smuggled in, but not the horse gear. How could these people have access to it?"
Liu Tan now has to calculate the money from the national treasury even if he wants to promote the sight, and even in the Surrender City, he has to select a group of people to use it first. The cost of the sight is not that high, let alone the horse harness.
Horse harnesses are now more of a noble item. Liu Tan once thought about promoting it, but Chang'an didn't pay much attention to it, and he didn't have that much money, so he always wanted to take it slow.
Unexpectedly, this delay prevented the Huns from succeeding.
Liu Tan said, "The harness needs to be tightened. From now on, no private manufacture is allowed! Anyone with new harness must ascend the throne, and any damaged harness must be replaced with a new one!"
He had not been too strict about horse harnesses before. The only thing was that other places had to get his permission if they wanted to make them except those in his workshop.
Now there is no authorization, only his workshops can make horse harnesses, and the control of horse harnesses must be as strict as that of sharp weapons.
Huo Guang frowned and said, "They chose the Northern Border Kingdom simply because it's close. We can manage ourselves but not Chang'an."
The emperor, empress, crown prince and other royal family members were in Chang'an. Liu Tan couldn't stop them from using horse harnesses, but he couldn't force these people to buy horse harnesses only from him.
The materials used to make horse harnesses are not that rare, and the harnesses of nobles usually have many decorations. They prefer to let their own craftsmen do these, which is easier to adjust.
Liu Tan said helplessly: "I will write a letter to my father, but... it's difficult."
The reason he was able to dominate the Northern Kingdom was because he was on the same page with everyone else. Even if they weren't, it didn't matter. All the people in the key positions were his confidants, and he could kick them out immediately if they weren't suitable.
The main reason is that the personnel composition of the royal capital is simple, and the county governors in various places... are also the unpopular ones. They have no way to resist Liu Tan’s dictatorial rule.
But Chang'an... unless Liu Che issues the same order as him, it will be difficult to completely eliminate it.
So Liu Tan said decisively after he finished speaking: "I will start recruiting people to expand the scale of the workshop, and the horse harnesses must be promoted as soon as possible."
Huo Guang got a headache after hearing this, and Lin Xiu's face turned green.
The Lantern Festival has just passed, and this year's Lantern Festival was considered a success. Although not many people came, the overall living standards in Shuofang City have improved a lot, so the consumption capacity of the people has increased, and commercial tax revenue has increased a lot.
Huo Guang and Lin Xiu had just thought that they could relax a little this year, but they didn't expect that they would soon have to spend money again.
Promoting horse harnesses for the cavalry...that's a lot of money.
But they also knew that there was no other way. Unless the horse harness could be hidden all the time, it would be best to use the horse harness to give the Northern Border cavalry an advantage. Otherwise, when the other side really got the horse harness and began to master the production method of the new horse harness, they would be in a passive position.
Liu Tan said, "I will also submit a petition regarding this matter. Now the most important question is, where did they get the ironware?"
Liu Tan understood very well the position of iron in cold weapon warfare. The Huns' metal smelting level was still very backward, yet it posed such a great threat to the Han Dynasty. If they mastered metal smelting, especially the smelting of iron, could the Northern Border Kingdom still withstand the other side's attack?
Therefore, after arriving in the Northern Border, he kept a very strict watch on ironware and issued an order to the whole country.
These people in the royal capital definitely can’t get it, so... where did they get it from?
Lu Xuan said, "It's not the Northern Territory, but the Yan Kingdom."
Liu Tan: ???
Not only was he surprised, but even Huo Guang and the others were very surprised: "Yan State?"
Lin Xiu was a little confused: "It's so far, how did they do it?"
Huo Guang was also a little surprised: "No, we have very strict control over the entry and exit of ironware. Basically, any ironware cannot leave the customs. How did they get it out?"
Lu Xuan said, "They're quite large, with traces of activity from the Northern Border to the Yan State. Previously, they were mainly based in Shuofang City, but after Ah Tan arrived, Shuofang City became strictly regulated, making it difficult for them to transport goods. So, they shifted their ironware smuggling business to the Yan State, leaving only the people they smuggled in the Northern Border."
Liu Tan frowned: "Do you know how much they shipped out?"
Lu Xuan shook his head. "Countless. They've been doing this for decades, so the number must be enormous."
Decades later, Liu Tan thought about how so many ironware had fallen into the hands of the Xiongnu, and he couldn't help but vent his anger and ask, "What is the King of Yan doing?"
Although he had not discovered the existence of these people before, he had basically eliminated the smuggling of ironware here.
As for human trafficking, frankly speaking, Liu Tan can only formulate very strict laws, but even so it is difficult to eradicate these criminals.
Even in later generations when human trafficking was banned, it was impossible to completely eliminate it, not to mention that human trafficking is allowed by law these days, while what is not allowed by law is human trafficking.
The source of the people being bought and sold was difficult to verify, so after discovering that someone was being abducted and sold, he had no intention of punishing anyone.
The only way to deal with this is to catch one and punish him severely, using torture as a deterrent. However, no matter how harsh the punishment is, there will always be people who take the risk.
Huo Guang's face was not looking good either. The entire border between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu was very long, with the Northern Border Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom each occupying a part, of which the Northern Border Kingdom occupied a larger part. After all, the Xiongnu's range of activities had not yet moved eastward, so the Yan Kingdom was actually safer than the Northern Border Kingdom.
As a result, they managed to hold their ground, but Yan State failed to keep its promise. Who wouldn't be angry?
Liu Tan said, "I will also write a letter to tell my father about this matter."
He originally wanted to write a letter to Liu Dan, but thinking about the situation of the princes of the Liu family, he felt that even if he wrote to Liu Dan, it might not be of any use. Or, as a younger brother, it would be easy for others to find fault with him if he gave instructions to his elder brother, so he might as well hand it over to the prince or his father.
Everyone responded in a sullen voice. There was no other way.
Huo Guang changed the subject and said, "It's almost time to test the plow. Is Your Highness ready?"
Liu Tan said, "The Gongshu family is already making new plows."
"A new plow?" Huo Guang was a little surprised. "Where did it come from?"
Liu Tan was just debating whether to say it was a gift from the gods when Lu Xuan said, "It was improved by Ah Tan."
Huo Guang's expression was between belief and disbelief. He asked directly, "Your Highness, do you know how to use a treadle plow?"
Why is he so unconvinced when someone who has never even touched a treadle plow before suddenly talks about an improved plow?
Liu Tan said very simply: "No!"
Huo Guang looked at him quietly. Liu Tan met his gaze and said confidently, "That's why we need to change it to something more useful because it doesn't work!"
Huo Guang said tiredly, "It's good that Your Highness understands this."
Forget it, I can cheat anyway, it’s just a formality.
Because the trial plowing itself carries some color of praying for a good harvest, Huo Guang thought that Liu Tan was so superstitious. If he did a good job, maybe God would be kinder to the Northern Border Kingdom and send more water so that they could harvest more grain.
Last year, Emperor Wu of Han exempted the Northern Border Kingdom from taxes because he felt sorry for Liu Tan. This year, he probably won't do so again. This will invisibly increase their expenses, which will also be a burden for the Northern Border Kingdom.
Liu Tan knew what Huo Guang was thinking by looking at his expression. He suddenly said, "Actually, there's something I've been thinking about for a long time."
Everyone looked at him, and Liu Tan said, "The Northern Kingdom has a limited amount of arable land, especially fertile land. If we want to develop, we can't pin all our hopes on farming."
As soon as he said this, no one knew how to respond.
Farming is something that is ingrained into the genes of the people living on this land, especially in this era when commerce is not well developed. Now that Liu Tan tells them that they cannot rely solely on farming, everyone finds it difficult to accept.
Lin Xiu summoned up the courage to speak, "Isn't Your Highness already planning to improve the soil and divert water for irrigation?"
Liu Tan asked, "Do you know how long that will take? I'm not saying I'll give up farming, but before that, we have to find another way out."
Farming must not be abandoned. If they rely entirely on external food inputs, once they encounter any natural disasters or man-made disasters, they may not have any ability to resist the risks.
However, even if we start now, improving soil erosion will require a lot of manpower, material resources and time.
Liu Tan is not a god who can make the soil of the Northern Border Kingdom suitable for farming overnight.
What's more, water diversion and irrigation is not a matter of overnight. Their mother river has a bad temper and cannot be moved casually. Preparations must be made.
When Huo Guang heard him say this, he knew that he must have a plan in mind, and he couldn't help asking, "Then your highness wants to develop business?"
Liu Tan said, "It's not that I want to, but the Northern Border Kingdom now has unique advantages. We have a gateway to the Western Regions and a trade with the Xiongnu. We must seize these two things. I also have unique ceramics. When I saw what Zhang Qian brought back from the Western Regions, I thought about forming a caravan to take our goods there to trade with them. However, it was difficult to move in Chang'an at that time. Now is the perfect time."
When everyone heard about the trade, their expressions were not very good.
Liu Tan said calmly, "We have a grudge against the Xiongnu, but not against money. Even if this trade can stabilize the Xiongnu, reduce their invasions from the south, and give the northern border countries a break, then it's worth it."
Of course everyone knows this truth, but they just discovered that the Huns were secretly buying ironware, so they couldn't help but get angry.
Huo Guang asked, "What else?"
"Animal husbandry," Liu Tan said with a smile, "of course we have to make use of such good pastures."
Huo Guang frowned. "I'm afraid it won't be easy. Fresh meat is perishable, and the amount that can be sold in the Northern Territory is limited."
Liu Tan said mysteriously, "There's more to cattle and sheep than just meat."
As the leader of the nomadic tribe, Lu Xuan asked very perceptively, "Anything else?"
Liu Tan said, "I won't tell you!"
He suppressed his smile and said, "I'll tell you when I figure it out. By the way, catch as many of those who are selling off their rights as you can. Once you're caught, tear them to pieces and throw them into the streets!"
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