At the beginning, I gave up my military power with a cup of wine, and I ascended the throne

Chapter 318 Western Trade Route
The 500,000 elite cavalry of Xiliang is not just a claim; the actual number is even more than that.

Moreover, these 500,000 cavalrymen were all recruited soldiers, unlike those in the Northern Wei and Central Plains, where most of them were soldiers in wartime and farmers in peacetime.

For 500,000 troops, the monthly salary and food is an astronomical figure. Most of the income of the four states of Xiliang is used to support these 500,000 cavalry, although Xiao Han can stabilize the situation.

But the funds are still a bit tight. Fortunately, except for the garrisons in several border fortresses such as Qimen Pass, Shuoyin, Jubei City, and Zangcheng, the other soldiers are not white-collar workers with generous salaries.

In addition to training, they also needed to dig ditches, pave official roads, and reclaim farmland. This not only mobilized manpower for the charge, but also saved a huge amount of expenses for the provincial government.

In addition, the Marquis of Qingzhou would provide aid to Xiliang from time to time, buying some horses or sending some silver, money and food every now and then.

Having completely taken control of the entire Qingzhou, the Marquis of Qingzhou is now extremely wealthy, with the support of hundreds of thousands of cavalry from Xiliang. He has changed his previous cowardly state and is now arrogant and domineering, openly opposing the imperial court in the capital.

By recruiting soldiers and expanding the cavalry, in just two years, Qingzhou had a cavalry of 100,000, which was a strong and powerful force.

"The opening of the Western Region trade route is imminent."

Xiao Han rubbed his brows and smiled bitterly, "I am almost worried to death about the food and drink for 500,000 troops."

"What are you worried about?"

Huang San said: "Mr. Pan and Mr. Guo will help the prince solve his problems."

"Go! Go! Go."

He said unhappily, "Haven't you heard the saying, 'A good cook cannot cook without rice?' No matter how capable Guo Tu and Yuan Shao are, they can't produce anything like me."

Go quickly."

Huang San waved his hand and left quickly. Many of the 500 riders who followed her from Jizhou died in the wars in Xiliang over the years, but most of those who survived held high positions.

Each of them held power in a certain area, or commanded the army, or went to various provinces and counties to serve, and enjoyed wealth and glory.

At the end of every year, Xiao Han would gather them at Shuiyun Mountain to have a heart-to-heart talk.

None of these hundreds of brothers let him down, and no one stood up to serve as an example to others.

This proves that there is nothing wrong with Xiao Han’s judgment of people.

Especially Huang San, who was slapped by Pan Feng in Jizhou City that year. Because of this incident, Xiao Han directly crippled Pan Feng's balls.

Huang San has lived up to everyone's expectations over the years, and has secured his position as the commander of the palace guards, becoming Xiao Han's right-hand man.

The sky was dim and a cool breeze dispelled the heat of the day. The setting sun in the sky quickly retreated and dusk fell.

On the Shuiyun Mountain, lights are lit up, and under the vast night, a white jade disk rises into the sky, casting the light of茭白.

The moonlight and candlelight shone together, echoing each other, making the courtyards extremely hazy.

The white robe fluttered in the evening breeze. With hands on his back, he walked along the bank of Guanyu Lake, stepped onto the wooden bridge, and passed the pavilion in the middle of the lake. From afar, he could see that the lights in the study were still on.

Several figures could be vaguely seen. When they got closer, I could see clearly that they were Miaoyu, Ningxi, Cui'er and several other maids.

"It's so late, are you still busy?"

He stepped into the study and all the girls turned around.

"Your Majesty."

Cui'er hurriedly got up and asked a few maids to make tea.

"Husband."

Ning Xi rubbed his eyes, which were slightly bloodshot.

"What are you discussing?"

He was curious.

"The matter of the garrison in the Western Regions."

Miaoyu said: "If we want to ensure the safety of the trade routes in the Western Regions, we must station a large army west of Shangdang."

"Is it finalized?" He sat down, looking at the huge map of the Western Regions on the wall, frowning slightly.

“It’s roughly settled.”

Miaoyu said: "Station 30,000 troops in Xiacheng, 10,000 heavy cavalry, 10,000 light cavalry, and 10,000 infantry."

"The countries in the Western Regions are not peaceful. Merchants traveling between them are often robbed. Once the trade route is opened, the amount of goods and vehicles traveling between them will increase dramatically. If there is no army stationed there, the safety of these merchant caravans will be a huge problem."

"And some small countries will pretend to be bandits and participate in looting."

“These must be prevented.”

Miaoyu's face was solemn. "30,000 troops are stationed in Xiacheng, mainly cavalry. They will be able to enter the Western Region in a short time."

"It's just that the person who will lead the troops has not yet been decided."

Ning Xi said: "The general stationed in Xiacheng must be brave, resourceful, and good at fighting."

"Let Zhao Mule go."

Xiao Han pondered for a moment: "Xiacheng's geographical location is extremely important. To the north, we need to guard against the Northern Wei, and to the west, we need to suppress the Western Regions. Isn't Lu Ju in Jizhou? Let the two of them go together."

"Madams, do you still remember the order to kill one and kill ten when I first entered Xiliang?"

"Your Majesty, have some tea."

Cui'er walked in.

He took the hot tea and spoke softly.

"Kill one and kill ten."

Ning Xi and Miao Yu murmured to themselves, and then their eyes lit up and they said excitedly: "My husband means that the order to kill one and kill ten is also issued in the Western Region."

"This is feasible, but killing too many people will inevitably provoke resistance."

Ning Xi: "You can change it."

"Of course it needs to be changed."

Xiao Han nodded: "We are going to do business, not to fight with them."

"If a merchant traveler, no matter one person or one vehicle, gets into an accident in the Western Region, the small country where they are located must hand over the murderer within half a month and pay ten times the compensation."

If there is any violation, if one person is killed or injured, ten people will be killed. If ten people are killed or injured, a town within a radius of ten miles will be massacred. If more than thirty people are killed or injured, a city within a radius of one hundred miles will be massacred.

"Your regulations look no different than before, it's better not to change them."

Ning Xi was speechless.

"There are so many small countries in the Western Regions. If they are not intimidated by force, they will be fearless and naturally have nothing to worry about."

He chuckled, "Just like when we conquered the grassland tribes, we first used powerful force to shock them and make them tremble with fear, and then used gentle tactics to make them grateful."

"Regarding the Western Regions trade route, I have already sent someone to inform Yuan Shao and Mr. Guo, as well as Cao Zhang of the Silver and Money Department, to ask them to come up with a plan as soon as possible and open up the trade route as soon as possible."

"After all, our daily expenses are like those of a six-year-old."

Xiao Han curled his lips: "It's really unpleasant to engage in militarism."

He began to understand Xie Xuanli's situation back then. He was surrounded by powerful enemies and without strong cavalry, he would not be able to protect the three states of Ji, You and Yong.

But at that time, Jizhou, with its 300,000 cavalry, was known to be invincible in the world. However, who knew that behind these 300,000 cavalry were the flesh and blood of countless Jizhou people.

Xie Xuanli had no choice, but compared to Xie Xuanli back then, Xiao Han's current situation was much better.

Although the 500,000 Xiliang cavalry were under tremendous pressure, it was ultimately controlled within an tolerable range.

(End of this chapter)