After a month of operation, most of the properties in Luoyang City in the future were sold out, and Zhang Yan made a lot of money, which was considered to have temporarily solved the existing economic crisis in a certain process.

After the treasury became full, Zhang Yan began to become stingy, all expenses were carefully calculated, and personally took the lead, advocating diligence and thrift, opposing extravagance and waste, and emulating Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty.

In addition, Zhang Yan sent people to explore the whereabouts of the gold mine, preparing to dig the gold mine, and make long-term plans.

In the past month, Zhang Yan was busy with how to make money from those merchants during the day, and at night, Zhang Yan read these books, and from these books, he could experience and understand the ways of governing the country of the sons and hundreds of schools of thought of the pre-Qin Dynasty, as well as their different policies.

For example, he read a number of pre-Qin works such as "Guanzi", "Han Feizi", "Mencius", "Mozi", "Xunzi", etc., and if he encountered something he did not understand, he was not ashamed to ask and ask his staff for advice, so as to get its meaning.

It can be said that Zhang Yan feels more and more like a real manager.

As the saying goes, he is now actually the master of the entire country, and any decision he makes will change the fate of the country. Therefore, he is very careful in everything he does now, for fear that he will make a bad decision and ruin the country he has worked so hard to fight.

The sale of the title, as well as the sale of real estate in Luoyang, have come to an end for the time being, and Pengcheng has once again regained its former peace. But in Zhang Yan's heart. Always keep in mind what Mi Zhu said to him. Enrich the people first, then enrich the country, strengthen the army again, and finally dominate.

In ancient times, the people were tied to the land, and the land was their lifeblood, and if they could increase their food production, it would be equivalent to increasing their income. But now there is no chemical fertilizer and no pesticides in this society, and he can only rely on the sky for food when farming, and he is not an agronomist, so he really has no way to increase yield.

However, Zhang Yan thought of introducing high-yield crops from outside the Han Dynasty, such as corn and potatoes, which were all crops with higher yields per mu, but. Both of these crops are native to the Americas, and it is necessary to get both crops. It was necessary to cross the vast Pacific Ocean, and with the shipbuilding technology and navigation technology of this era, it was simply impossible to cross the Pacific Ocean and reach South America.

Therefore, Zhang Yan had to find another way, based on his understanding of history, and gradually locked his eyes on the Western Regions.

The Western Regions is a magical place, during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions, and brought back a lot of things from the Western Regions, such as alfalfa, grapes, pomegranates, flax (sesame), beans (broad beans), courgettes (cucumbers), garlic, carrots, etc., as well as various woollen fabrics, furs, good horses, camels, lions, ostriches, etc., were successively introduced into the Han Dynasty, and even Western music, dance, painting, sculpture, and acrobatics were also introduced into the Han Dynasty, which had a positive impact on ancient Chinese culture and art.

Although many plants were transmitted to the Han Dynasty, due to the strict xenophobia of the Han Dynasty and the fact that the general public was not very willing to accept things from the Western Regions, these plants were only planted in the royal gardens, and very few were spread to the society.

From the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to the present, it has experienced hundreds of years of history in between, and there are also periods when wars are more frequent, so it is still unknown whether these plants can survive on Chinese soil.

China is so big, if you want to find this plant, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack, it is better to go directly to the Western Regions and bring these things back, and the more the better.

However, to go to the Western Regions, it is not so smooth, the territory controlled by Zhang Yan is only to the boundary of Yongzhou, and the place west of Yongzhou is the area where the two warlords Ma Teng and Han Sui are divided, and in the land of Liangzhou, there are still many Qiang people and Hu people living together.

And just last year, Ma Teng and Han Sui also attacked Yongzhou in order to support Yuan Shao, if it wasn't for Niu Jin's stubborn defense of Chencang, I was afraid that Yongzhou had already been harassed by Ma Teng and Han Sui.

The plan to enrich the people is imminent, and the Western Regions must also go, but how to get through Liangzhou, which was divided by the warlords, has become a headache for Zhang Yan.

At this stage, Zhang Yan's sphere of influence is very large, but the troops are not very sufficient, and the army he has arranged on the northern border must not be loosened in the slightest, otherwise the nomads on the steppe will make a comeback, and at that time, the danger will be even greater.

So, Zhang Yan called Zhang Zhao, Chen Qun, Gu Yong, and Dong Zhao, four henchmen in Beijing, to discuss.

Zhang Zhao, Chen Qun, Gu Yong, Dong Zhao four people arrived at the Yanwang Mansion, after a greeting, Zhang Yan straight to the point: "Ma Teng, Han Sui two people rely on the mountain high emperor far away, divided in Liangzhou, often have the intention of invading Yongzhou, last year also openly aided the abuse, in support of Yuan Shao to attack Yongzhou, if it were not for General Niu Jin swore to block them outside Chencang City, I am afraid that today's Yongzhou is their territory." I wonder if you can get rid of these two people for me? ”

Zhang Zhao, Chen Qun, Gu Yong, and Dong Zhao are all smart people, obedient and obedient, they know very well the meaning of Zhang Yan's words, this is the rhythm of preparing for the Western Expedition!

"His Royal Highness King Yan, now that our army has been defeated in Jiangdong, the treasury has just been solidified, and all places are using money, if you use troops in Liangzhou at this time, I am afraid that it is not a wise move." Chen Qun spoke first.

"King Yan, if you want to use troops in Liangzhou, you must gather a large army, and the division must be victorious, and our army is currently insufficient, and it is impossible to gather so many troops, but Liangzhou is a place where the people are fierce and brave, and they are brave and good at fighting, plus Ma Teng and Han Sui also colluded with the Qiang people and the Hu people, and their military strength must not be underestimated. Zhang Zhao said.

Gu Yong continued: "King Yan has just pacified Hebei, Hebei has not yet all returned to the center, and Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Sun Quan of Jiangdong, and Gongsun Kang of Liaodong are all ready to move. ”

Zhang Yan heard that Zhang Zhao, Chen Qun, and Gu Yong all gave opposing opinions together, but Dong Zhao didn't speak, so he glanced at Dong Zhao and asked, "Gongren, what is your opinion?" ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Zhao, Chen Qun, Gu Yong, and the four people, including Zhang Yan, all focused their eyes on Dong Zhao.

Dong Zhao pondered for a moment, and then said slowly: "If King Yan wants to get rid of Ma Teng and Han Sui, he may not have to use force to solve ......."

"What do you think?" Zhang Yan immediately interrupted Dong Zhao's words and asked impatiently.

"His Royal Highness King Yan did not follow the next holy decree to recruit Ma Teng and Han Sui into the court as officials, if these two people are willing to come, the rest of the matter will be solved. If they don't come, it's not too late to do something else. Moreover, this time to send the holy decree to Xiliang, I am willing to go in person, so that I can see with my own eyes what the military strength of Ma Teng and Han Sui is. Dong Zhao said.

Zhang Yan felt that what Dong Zhao said was feasible, so he looked around at Zhang Zhao, Chen Qun, and Gu Yong, and asked, "What do you think of this plan?" ”

Zhang Zhao, Chen Qun, and Gu Yong did not hold any more objections, as long as they did not use force, they had no opinions.

Zhang Yan said: "Since everyone has no opinions, let's do it." Immediately drafted a holy decree, enshrined Ma Teng as a guard lieutenant, Han Sui as a court lieutenant, and a first-class earl, and entered Beijing within a month to report on his work! ”

The holy decree was quickly drafted, Zhang Yan personally stamped the jade seal of the kingdom, and then handed the holy decree to Dong Zhao, Dong Zhao took twenty followers, took the holy decree, and left Pengcheng on the same day, all the way to the west, to Liangzhou. (To be continued......)