Chapter 595 [Second Update] 595
What Huo Guang originally wanted to ask was whether Liu Tan wanted to focus on spring plowing first or conduct the palace examination first. Of course, he didn't want Liu Tan to start working as soon as he came back. Huo Guang just wanted to ask Liu Tan's intention so that he could make preparations.
Unexpectedly, Liu Tan gave him another answer.
So...what the hell is farming?
Liu Tan said to Huo Guang, "My father has given me a new mission: to grow wheat and rice."
Huo Guang: ???
For a moment, he almost suspected that Liu Tan was fooling him. After all, the Northern Border was not suitable for farming. It was not a problem of the amount of land, but the climate here was not suitable.
Huo Guang had also heard of the plant rice. It usually grows in the south and is unlikely to grow in the north.
Liu Tan faced Huo Guang's suspicious gaze very calmly. Well, Liu Che did hand the matter over to him, but Liu Che didn't seem to be particularly serious at the time.
But Liu Tan didn't care. With one more kind of food, the Han Dynasty's ability to resist risks would be stronger, and its supplies would be more abundant.
You know, enough food means enough population.
Every prosperous era will usher in a population explosion. There are records of this in the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties. As for the Han Dynasty... at least it was a little worse than the later dynasties.
So Liu Tan decided to give it a try, and if he failed, then he wouldn’t succeed.
Compared with rice, wheat is easier to grow and is also easier to promote in areas north of the Yangtze River.
After all, rice is more dependent on water.
After Liu Tan returned, he asked someone to clean up the greenhouse, which was almost abandoned, and planned to try planting the seeds he brought.
The first step is screening, by lowering the temperature little by little to select cold-resistant plants, and then improve them step by step.
This will probably take a long time, but it doesn't matter, Liu Tan has plenty of patience to wait.
The temperature was just right for planting, so Liu Tan personally went to the greenhouse to take a look. After thinking for a while, he said, "Don't plant it in the soil yet."
The palace servants, who were already on high alert, were extremely nervous:???
Where should we plant food if not in the soil?
Liu Tan originally wanted to sprinkle it directly into the soil, but if it was left in the soil, he wouldn’t know whether it would germinate or not. What if there was no movement?
It would be better to use hydroponics from the beginning, and then observe little by little to see what the various situations are, including which ones germinate and which ones don’t.
Liu Tan brought back a lot of seeds, and the rice and wheat must be separated. Anyway, he has a lot of people under him, so he can just let them record them in batches.
First soak the seeds. Liu Tan remembered that he also soaked the seeds when he planted flowers. However, except for those that grew in water, they were generally not soaked for too long, at most an hour and a half.
Just for observation, Liu Tan specially divided it into several portions, one for soaking for one and a half hours, one for soaking for three hours, and one for soaking for a day.
After soaking, place the seeds in a relatively moist environment. Do not soak them in water, but spray them with water regularly and in a fixed amount so that they can grow seedlings or roots.
Of course, these are all Liu Tan’s own experiences in growing flowers, so he did not directly command people to do so. Instead, he gave his subordinates some choices, either doing so or letting them use other methods.
After all, the people he hired were all good at farming, and they actually had more experience in this area than him.
But no matter who you are, all you can do is wait until the seeds really sprout.
While waiting, Liu Tan went to deal with other things.
The first is spring plowing. After a year of development, the area of soybean cultivation in the Northern Country has increased a lot.
The common people can’t get along with anything else, but they will never get along with money.
Then there were some other messy financial matters. Liu Tan took a look at the expenditures and found that military spending had increased a lot last year. So even though it was considered a good year, the Northern Border Kingdom's treasury was still not very abundant.
Even Huo Guang couldn't help but sigh and said, "I think our treasury can no longer save money."
Every time the treasury had just a little more money, he would feel a little relieved, but then there would be places where money needed to be spent, and it would cost a lot of money.
As a result, there is always a little basic money left in the national treasury - the so-called basic money actually exists to defend against risks. For example, some natural disasters and man-made disasters require funding for disaster relief, and all of this money must come from here.
This was Huo Guang's bottom line. Even if he was really at the end of his rope and called on wealthy gentry to donate, he would not touch this part of the money.
After hearing this, Liu Tan smiled and said, "Don't worry, money is earned, not saved, so you have to spend it when you need to!"
Huo Guang shook his head slightly. This was only because they met Liu Tan. If it were someone else, the entire Northern Border Kingdom would probably be dragged down by now.
Liu Tan asked casually, "How's the military replacement plan we mentioned earlier going?"
He had originally planned to build the army into an elite group bit by bit, but his father insisted on seeking help from an immortal, forcing him to postpone all his previous plans.
Fortunately, there was still the reliable Prime Minister Huo Guang. Huo Guang said directly: "The replacement is already being done gradually. Now the replacement in Shoujiang City has basically been completed, but those soldiers are still a little behind the elite regiment."
Liu Tan didn't care too much. All the members of his elite team were carefully selected. The original standards were so strict that Wei Buyi and others once doubted whether they could still select anyone.
Their basic physical fitness is the best, so the training requirements must be more stringent. In addition, the food Liu Tan provides them is also the best, and the army they raise cannot even compare with Liu Che's Yulin Army.
If one really wants to replace all the troops of the Northern Border Kingdom bit by bit, it is impossible to completely unify the standards, and it is even more impossible to follow the standards of the elite regiment. In that case, at most tens of thousands of people can be selected.
It sounds like a lot of people, but the problem is that the land area of the Northern Border Kingdom is really very large, much larger than the entire Western Region. How can tens of thousands of people be enough?
Therefore, Liu Tan set a preliminary standard at the beginning, which was that the border garrison must be stronger, and then to train a few elite divisions in peacetime, select them according to the special standards, and then lower the rest.
In fact, Liu Tan's replacement was basically about letting some people who were too old, too young, or the only sons in the family go back.
The Northern Congress is developing better and better. Once the basic livelihood of the people is improved, they will start to develop things like medical care and increase the average life expectancy.
Of course, these are long-term plans.
According to Huo Guang, the screening has been completed. What is being done now is to train the soldiers according to Liu Tan's standards, and then select the most elite ones from these corps for reorganization.
Liu Tan looked at the current progress, calculated it, and said, "In addition to these selected people, there should also be a role model who has made his mark with his own abilities."
Huo Guang was stunned for a moment and looked at Liu Tan: "Well... then what are the standards? Do we need to conduct a confrontation exercise?"
At this point, Huo Guang frowned. Confrontation exercises were very expensive. Liu Tan's previous requirement that soldiers must be given sufficient food had increased expenses a lot, but compared to confrontation exercises, those were nothing.
A confrontation exercise may sound like an exercise, but the general specifications are based on regular warfare. From soldiers to logistical supplies, everything must be simulated exactly the same, otherwise the exercise will lose its meaning.
This is naturally very expensive.
Liu Tan smiled and said, "No, after all, the exercise isn't a real battlefield. It's just for them to familiarize themselves with the terrain. If there are new tactics or something, they can practice them. There's no need for it in normal times."
With that money, it would be better to give the soldiers more meat, eggs, etc.
Alas, Liu Tan originally wanted to ensure the soldiers' protein supply, and it would be best if he added some meat and eggs, but he was ruthlessly hit by reality - his treasury did not have that much money.
He did say that the palace could receive subsidies, but was ruthlessly rejected by Huo Guang, so now he feels like the kind of person who has to live a hard life even though he has mountains of gold and silver.
Every time the army was mentioned, he would make careful calculations with Huo Guang. He would hold exercises for the elite regiment from time to time, but he didn't dare to do so for the regular army.
Huo Guang couldn't help but glance at Liu Tan subconsciously when he heard the words "real battlefield" and whispered, "Your Highness wants to..."
Liu Tan waved his hand: "Let's see when the opportunity arises."
Huo Guang understood. He knew that Xulihu took advantage of his absence and the crisis of the Han Dynasty to launch a surprise attack. It was impossible that Liu Tan really didn't care at all and would take revenge sooner or later.
Huo Guang was a little worried because Liu Tan never mentioned this matter after he came back. Now... he felt that he could write a eulogy for Xulihu in advance.
He knew Liu Tan too well. If Liu Tan was in the Northern Border Kingdom before, he would definitely fight back at that time.
If this is the case, it would be a good thing for Xulihu. In that case, as long as the Han Dynasty wins and can gain some advantages, and Xulihu takes the initiative to withdraw its troops, then His Highness should not pursue it relentlessly.
But now things have been going on for a long time, and their prince may have owed Xulihu countless debts. It can basically be said that the fight will not end until one side is dead.
When Huo Guang thought about this, he felt that he should increase military spending.
Even though the Northern Border Kingdom’s treasury is not so full now, Huo Guang feels that he needs to take advantage of this opportunity to solve the problem once and for all.
As long as they can really destroy Xuli Lake, even if they cannot destroy the Huns, at least they can severely damage their vitality. They may not be able to pose a threat to the Northern Border Kingdom within 50 years. At that time, the Northern Border Kingdom can develop with peace of mind.
Otherwise, the Northern Border Kingdom would have to develop while guarding against foreign enemies, and some cities close to the border would not dare to develop no matter how qualified they were, for fear that they would be occupied by the Huns and become victims of the war.
It would be better to hold your breath and fight quickly, and it would be over after the battle. If you wait too long, the people and soldiers will forget how hateful the Huns were, and problems will arise more easily.
Originally, Liu Tan didn't want to tell Huo Guang about his plans, for fear that Huo Guang would try to persuade him again. However, when he saw the various budgets reported by Huo Guang, he was shocked.
He specifically called Huo Guang over and asked, "The column about military expenditure...are you sure?"
Huo Guang glanced at him calmly and said, "If we don't allocate more now, it might be too late when Your Highness wants to send troops later."
Liu Tan suddenly laughed dryly: "When did I say I was going to send troops? Haven't you seen that I have been farming recently?"
Huo Guang raised his eyebrows and said, "Your Highness, there's no need to talk about this with me, right?"
Liu Tan was silent for a moment. "I don't know when it will be a good time. I'm still waiting for news. The information our people stationed in the Xiongnu were given was too vague. We can only rely on Axuan."
Huo Guang felt somewhat powerless when talking about this. He did not want the Northern Border Kingdom's intelligence system to be too dependent on the Wusun Kingdom.
Liu Tan and Lu Xuan's relationship is their own business. Although it is impossible for the two countries to be completely unrelated under such circumstances, the question is whether it is better not to be involved with each other.
Unexpectedly, the Wusun Kingdom had a natural advantage over them in gathering intelligence on the Xiongnu. The most they could do now was to train some people who looked like Xiongnu and then send them over.
However, this process will be relatively long, and it will definitely not be as much as what the Wusun Kingdom can get now.
Huo Guang sighed and asked, "What does the King of Wusun think?"
Although he was very unhappy with Lu Xuan for abducting their prince, Huo Guang had to admit that when it came to fighting, all the people in their Northern Border Kingdom put together might not be as good as Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan's talent in this area was too great. Of course, no matter how great he was, in Huo Guang's heart, he was still not as good as his uncle and brother.
Liu Tan raised his chin and said, "Let him speak for himself."
It happened that Lu Xuan was walking inside with the Seventh Prince Liu Ku in his arms. Upon hearing this, he glanced at Liu Tan and asked in confusion, "What?"
Liu Tan said, "Prime Minister Huo is planning to increase military spending and make preparations in advance, so I'd like to ask when is the best time to send troops."
Lu Xuan thought for a moment and said, "That depends on how you want to fight. If you want to win without any effort, it's best to wait a year or two. If you want a big victory, well, the earliest you can wait is after the autumn harvest."
Liu Tan's heart stirred. He looked up at Lu Xuan and asked, "Can the child you sent really compete with Xulihu?"
Lu Xuan smiled. "Before, Xulihu wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to weaken his power, but that kid wasn't stupid. He took the opportunity to win over some of the people who were suppressed by Xulihu, and he was able to withstand the pressure. Coincidentally, Xulihu was defeated this time, and he expanded his territory. It's a bit difficult to challenge Xulihu now, but it won't take years. We can help him."
If that child hadn't had Lu Xuan's secret help, he would have collapsed long ago. The main reason he was able to hold on now was because Lu Xuan gave him a lot of money.
Liu Tan asked him to put Liu Ku down, then thought for a while before saying, "Waiting for the Xiongnu to destroy themselves is not a very interesting thing. Who knows how long it will take? During this time, perhaps Xilihu will desperately start a war to divert internal pressure. We are not afraid of the Xiongnu, but we still want to live a peaceful life. We can't give them this opportunity."
Lu Xuan said, "Let's wait a while. Even if we send troops now, the pressure from the Northern Territory will be enormous. And the pressure on me...is not small either."
The Wusun Kingdom has been relying on war to support its people in recent years, but as wars become more frequent, it is becoming difficult to support its people...
The most important thing is that the population is gradually increasing, and the things looted may not be enough for him to send troops. This is not a very appropriate calculation, so it is better to stabilize it first.
Liu Tan also knew this. He wanted Lu Xuan to stay out of this matter. Strictly speaking, this matter was a grudge between him and Xulihu. But he also knew that even if he said so, Lu Xuan might not listen.
He simply changed the subject and asked, "A large part of the Wusun Kingdom's territory is now desert. Have you calculated how much arable land there is?"
Lu Xuan said, "Don't worry, it's not too little. Besides, if we can't grow food, can't we grow something drought-resistant? I've also asked people to plant saltwood."
Liu Tan had previously mentioned that saltwood was good for improving soil and water, so Lu Xuan remembered it. Even if saltwood could not improve the soil and water problems in that area, it could still produce certain economic benefits - Cistanche deserticola could grow on saltwood.
Now part of the Northern Border Country's income is provided by Cistanche deserticola. Although the main source is still taxes, it is already impressive that Cistanche deserticola, as a single variety, can occupy a place in the Northern Border Country's annual financial report.
Of course, Lu Xuan dared to do this because he had the support of the Han Dynasty and could buy food from the Northern Border Country. He did not have to worry about the problem of insufficient food as long as they had enough money.
What's more, since it is a domestic transaction, there are no tariffs on the price, which is much lower than the prices in other Western countries.
Liu Tan also knew about this matter and simply said, "Since you are here, let's work out a strategic cooperation agreement."
Lu Xuan was bewildered: What is that?
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