The folding fan shook gently, the sideburns fluttered, and Zhang Keji's half of the white face was as warm as jade in the candlelight, exuding a faint bookish atmosphere.

"Since the Wei Dynasty, there have been hundreds of eastward invasions of the Western Regions in the past 400 years, and as many as three times in the past ten years", Zhang Keji said with a smile: "However, the number of times I have counterattacked the Western Regions in the Central Plains is only a handful, and Zhang has made statistics, the Great Wei Dynasty has gone out of the customs six times, and our dynasty has only two times, all at the beginning of the founding of the country. ”

Jiang Anyi has studied the "History of Wei", and he also knows some about the history of this dynasty, and knows that Zhang Keji is right, the two times of this dynasty went out to attack the Western Regions at the beginning of the founding of the country, one hundred and thirty years ago. Emperor Wei Ming sent the general Feng Guangye to lead 100,000 troops to the Western Regions to conquer the countries of the Western Regions, and subjugated the most powerful countries at that time, such as Gaotu and Xiuli, and the Gaotu countries were divided into Weiche, Juci, Rongmi and other countries, and the countries of the Western Regions were forced to pay tribute to the Wei State, and did not dare to invade the east for 40 years. Later, Emperor Wei Yuan was a traitor, the dynasty was in turmoil, and the countries of the Western Regions resumed their eastward invasion again.

"For hundreds of years, the Western Regions have been divided and merged, and the fighting has not stopped, but the trade routes with the Central Plains have never been interrupted, the countries of the Western Regions covet the prosperity of the Central Plains, and Huazhou and the Western Regions face each other across the Gobi, becoming the first place of the invasion of the Western Regions.

Zhang Keji looked at Jiang Anyi and said: "Today's son has great ambitions, has the heart to expand the territory, and calm the border troubles. Allow the lord to open the border city in Huazhou, Tuntian self-sufficiency, Huazhou is becoming more and more prosperous, taxes leap to the forefront of the states, and the people of the world no longer regard Huazhou as a wild land, which is the work of the lord. ”

Jiang Anyi said humbly: "The Son of Heaven is wise, Jiang is trusted by the Son of Heaven, and the people serve him, but it is just the right time, and he should not make great contributions." ”

Zhang Keji said with a smile: "Since the lord does not take the great governance of Huazhou as his contribution, he can intentionally follow the example of Feng Guangye of the Wei Dynasty, conquer the countries of the Western Regions in the west, and establish great achievements." ”

Jiang Anyi's heart stirred, and he said angrily: "If you can emulate the sages to win forty years of stability for the people of Huazhou, Jiang has no regrets in this life, but the north is not peaceful, I am worried that the court is unwilling to start a border provocation in the west, and the treasury is not able to support the war of the Western Regions." ”

"It's man-made", Zhang Keji said categorically: "Zhang thought that the last three or five years was a good opportunity for the westward expedition. ”

Jiang Anyi pondered for a moment and said: "The countries of the Western Regions have been newly defeated, and their national strength has declined, but Huazhou has also suffered from military rebellion, and it is urgent to recover its vitality, and the court has a heavy army to defend the northern desert, and the Anxi Protectorate only has 80,000 soldiers and horses, and the newly recruited soldiers need to be trained for a year before they can come in handy, and the war is fought with money and food, if the court is used to support, it is impossible for Huazhou to use troops abroad." ”

Zhang Keji chuckled lightly and said: "The time and place are favorable, and everyone is here, and the lord will listen to Zhang's details." ”

"Let's talk about the time of heaven first, in Zhang's view, the time of heaven does not only refer to the climatic conditions, but the time given by God is the time of heaven." A confident smile appeared on the corner of Zhang Keji's mouth, and he said calmly: "The Son of Heaven is seriously ill, and I am afraid that he will die soon." The prince's behavior was criticized by the world, and after he ascended the throne, he would definitely want to make achievements, and the lord would gladly agree to use troops to the countries of the Western Regions at this time. If the lord can subdue the countries of the Western Regions and expand the territory, the new emperor's civil and martial arts are better than the previous emperor, and he will soon be able to unite the people and stabilize the world. ”

Jiang Anyi smiled bitterly, with the temperament of the prince

, as Mr. Zhang guessed, he can now be called famous, if it were not for the prosperity of Huazhou and the stability of the people, he would not really be able to take this risk and invite this merit. There is one thing that Mr. Zhang has not yet said clearly, once he loses, the prince covets the family property and just takes the opportunity to encroach.

Zhang Keji picked up the tea, looked at Jiang Anyi with a smile, and said, "Lord, do you have to think carefully about the gains and losses of victory or defeat?" ”

Jiang Anyi also picked up the teacup, drank it all and said, "Please tell me about the location." ”

"Geographical advantages not only refer to the environment, but also external conditions", Zhang Keji gently put down the teacup, and said: "The Western Regions are newly defeated, the countries are centrifuged, the small countries are complaining about the big countries, and they spend a lot of money to redeem the prisoners of war, and the domestic political situation is unstable. In addition, the improved Thunderbolt can quickly defeat the Western Regions Coalition Army, and it will be invincible to attack the city and defeat the enemy during the Western Expedition. ”

Jiang Anyi's mind flashed the appearance of Rona and Garon, if the army attacked the Shasu Kingdom, would it be considered fratricidal. Xinfei knew the relationship between Luo Na and Jiang Anyi, and mentioned to him intentionally or unintentionally a few days ago that Queen Shasu's harem was promiscuous, with countless faces, Jiang Anyi was secretly sulking, but he was helpless. He and Lorna are just a dewy marriage, and he can't control her, but his son Longgai is his own flesh and blood, but he must not be taught bad by Lorna.

Zhang Keji didn't know about Jiang Anyi's lawsuit, and continued: "As for the people, the lord has newly defeated the Western Regions coalition army, the soldiers of the Anxi battalion have great respect for the lord, and the people of Huazhou are even more grateful to the lord. ”

Jiang Anyi had a headache, Mr. Zhang had a very heavy sense of crisis, he always felt that he was not safe, and secretly stored the dead for himself to ambush the forces, and now he let himself show kindness to the soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate, it was clear that he wanted to support the army and respect himself, how could the court agree.

"It takes at least 100,000 troops to conquer the countries of the Western Regions, the labor expedition crosses thousands of miles of Gobi, the supply is difficult, the money and food consumed are days, the treasury of the court is empty, it is already difficult to deal with the Northern Desert, and it is simply unable to support the western expedition, when Feng Guangye went west, the Wei Dynasty was at the peak of its strength, even so it was prepared for ten years, and the court probably would not let me stay in Huazhou for ten years." Jiang Anyi calmed down and sighed.

Zhang Keji smiled: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, if the lord has the heart to go west, he may wish to prepare first, even if he can't go west in person, he can also lay the foundation for future generations. As for money and food, the countries of the Western Regions have repeatedly invaded, where does their money and food come from? ”

Without waiting for Jiang Anyi to answer, Zhang Keji asked and replied to himself: "It's nothing more than sending troops to plunder, collecting taxes from business travelers, and minerals. ”

In addition to the Western Regions in connection with Zheng State, it is also connected with the Northern Desert, Anyin, Moju and other countries, and the business and travel are continuous, coupled with the rich minerals of the Western Regions, including gold, copper, jade, gems and other things, and a large number of porcelain, silk, tea and other things are exchanged from Zheng State every year. Zheng Guo's wealth stimulated the Western Regions to covet Zheng Guo, this benevolent and generous neighbor, the Central Plains for hundreds of years to adopt a defensive military policy, for the Western Regions countries is simply an inexhaustible treasure trove, out of money to organize to plunder, the few counterattacks as long as you send people to show surrender, offer some gifts, you can get rich rewards, win or lose

It's a good deal.

Jiang Anyi served as the history of the Huazhou Assassin when he specialized in the history of the Western Regions, and was deeply angry that the powerful Central Plains was bullied by relatively weak neighbors, he escaped from the Northern Desert through the Western Regions, and saw that the Zheng people who were taken captive were not as good as pigs and dogs in the Western Regions, Zhang Keji would occasionally mention to him what he had seen and heard in the Western Regions, when he was the assassin of Huazhou, those orphans, widows, old and young in the Fuci Nursery were all given by the people of the Western Regions, and it was said that Jiang Anyi's hatred for the people of the Western Regions was especially above the Northern Desert.

"The lord is worried about money and food, this is indeed a problem", Zhang Keji took out a silk handkerchief from his arms and spread it on the table, Jiang Anyi saw that the silk handkerchief had turned yellow, some years, the lines on the silk handkerchief were vertical and horizontal, like a sub-map.

Zhang Keji's eyes showed a look of remembrance, and said: "When I was a county magistrate in Huangren County, I liked to play around in my spare time, and I was a frequent place to go to the Gobi outside the country, and I was more familiar with the situation of hundreds of miles in the Gobi for several years. ”

Pointing to the silk handkerchief with his hand, Zhang Keji said: "Lord, please see, these three places are Jingmen, Cumulus Cloud, and Zhenshan Three Passes." One hundred and fifty miles southwest of Cumulus Pass, I found a jade mine, far away from the trade routes, and there is no trace of it, so it should not have been discovered so far. And here, about a hundred and twenty miles from Jingmen Pass, there is a dry riverbed, in which I stumbled upon gold nuggets, and there must be a gold mine nearby. ”

Jiang Anyi's heart was shocked, and Zheng Lu stipulated that the minerals were owned by the state, and the Ministry of Industry organized manual mining, and the local prefecture and county capitals would raise funds to provide subsidies. Chuzhou has a lot of gold, it is a big tax state, and every year the court gives Chuzhou 800,000 yuan of gold mine profits, so it is fat and short to be an official in Chuzhou. The jade and gold mines discovered by Zhang Keji are in the Gobi Desert outside Sanguan, which theoretically do not belong to Zheng Guo, and if they can be mined, they can be called rich and rival countries, and the perfume of the Jiang family is just a small profit compared to it.

"Later, I met Zhuo Niang, and originally intended to give this treasure map to the clan in exchange for my grandfather's consent to me and Zhuo Niang, but Zhuo Niang saw the letter and said goodbye, and the later lord already knew. After I married Zhuo Niang, there was always a stalk in my heart, and I didn't tell her about this treasure map, thinking that I would hand it over to Zhen'er in the future. Zhang Keji said lightly with sadness.

Jiang Anyi sighed: "The past is over, Mr. doesn't have to be sad." This treasure map is yours, so you might as well give it to Zhen'er. ”

Zhang Keji said with a smile: "The lord treats me like a mountain, Zhen'er is even more like you flesh and blood, she married a stone and lives happily, what do you want so much money for?" As for the dogs' food and clothing, I am indispensable for their food, this treasure map is just a seedling for them to cause trouble, the lord intends to go west, it is the season of money, and it can be used to make contributions, and the lord does not need to shirk. ”

Jiang Anyi stood up, bowed deeply to Zhang Keji, and said: "Mr. Jiang has thanked Mr. Jiang, and also thanked Mr. for the people of Huazhou, if the Western Regions can be pacified, the people of Huazhou will all thank Mr. ”

Zhang Keji stood up and saluted: "What Zhang does is the lord, and the people of Huazhou should thank the lord if they want to thank him." ”

Sitting down again, Zhang Keji said: "The westward expedition needs to wait for the opportunity, first let Long Wei draw a map of the Gobi in detail, and then set up a military town in the oasis as a supply place for the west, let General Guan send troops to clear the horse thieves, which can not only train the troops but also capture the horse thieves to ensure the safety of the westward road, and those captured horse thieves should not be wasted, and the excavation of two mineral deposits in the future will be useful......"