Han official!

Chapter 45 Aristocratic Manor
The Didao Great Wall is located at the upper end of the Wei River. It takes two days to reach it by water, and one day by horseback riding to reach Hezuo on the east bank of the river, which is the Lanzhou area.

It only takes three days to reach Hezuo from Chang'an, which is less time than Guo Jie takes to return to Chen County in Henei County.

Breakfast (bu, 12:45-13:30), the climate outside Didao is as cold and dry as Chang'an. The outline of the Gaolan Mountain, a continuous high mountain range, gradually becomes clear, and the sound of a rapidly flowing river can be heard in the front.

A convoy of merchants' open wagons finally arrived at the foot of Gaolan Mountain.

Gaolan Mountain starts from Longwei Mountain in the west and ends at Laolanggou in the east. The mountain range is continuous, towering and winding, like a coiled dragon lying in front of a fertile land.

There was no one living around, and the nearest beacon tower was dozens of miles away. Only herds of goats and bison passed by from time to time.

The nomadic Xiongnu people on the west bank of the Yellow River looked up at Gaolan Mountain countless times. When they approached the Yellow River, they saw the towering mountains on the other side of the Yellow River and sighed at the sight of the river.

So they called the mountain Gaolan Mountain.

The sky of the Xiongnu was called Qilian. Gaolan, Wulan, and Helan have similar pronunciations to Qilian. Gaolan Mountain means high as the sky.

The leader of the traveling merchants was Guo Jie. This time, when he went to the future aristocratic manor, he brought with him Zhang Qian, Wei Guang, Yi Zong and all the other people. He also brought with him all the crimson-robed knights from Hui Ren's family.

In addition, there were many prisoners imprisoned in the Ting'an of Gaojie Duting and Zhichengmenmenting. They were prisoners who were sentenced to labor for committing crimes but were released by paying certain amounts of money or providing labor.

Building aristocratic manors requires a large amount of manpower.

It is impossible to spend money without spending it.

Ting'an held hundreds of prisoners, all of whom were laborers who did not need to be paid, only given food.

Everyone was trembling with fear along the way, fearing that they would encounter the Huns who were foraging in the valley. It was not until they saw the towering Gaolan Mountain that everyone felt at ease.

"Exactly here."

Guo Jiefang put down the map in his hand and said happily, "Lanzhou is built at the foot of Gaolan Mountain. I will enclose 500 acres of land and hand it over to Minister Sang for registration."

Except for Wei Guang, everyone is curious about Hezuo.

More of ecstasy.

The Han people have always had a special passion for land.

Zhang Qian jumped off the open carriage. It was inconvenient for him to squat down because he was wearing red fish scale armor, so he grabbed a handful of soil, smelled it, and then put it in his mouth to taste it.

"Okay!"

Zhang Qian's eyes lit up. He stood up and looked at the vast expanse of land further north of Hezuo. He raised his fist and waved his arm, "Such fertile land cannot be allowed to be occupied by foreigners. Sooner or later, it will surely become the territory of the Han Dynasty!"

Wei Guang, Yi Zong and others became excited.

"Haha, well said! Sooner or later I'll lead my men straight to the Xiongnu royal court and kill all the foreigners who have offended the Han Dynasty!"

"Good! Take the Xiongnu Chanyu back to Chang'an and draw him into pieces!"

"Haha, we'll even hang the Xiongnu Chanyu's head on Gao Street!"

Guo Jie looked up and saw the angry faces of the young Zhang Qian, the young Wei Guang, the young Yi Zong and others. His blood also became hot and his heart was filled with excitement.

Others may be bragging.

These young men have done far more than they boasted.

I can't even blow it out.

The achievements of these young men were astonishing. They opened up the Western Regions, destroyed several countries, and expanded the territory by more than a thousand miles.

Ji Shaogong was older, and he arranged for the red-robed knights and the executioners to start building a temporary residence, which was built against the mountain and beside the river.

In the future, the aristocratic manors will be impregnable, convenient for irrigation and farming, prosperous agriculture and sericulture, and conducive to business.

Zhang Qian, Wei Guang and others rushed to help, and with the construction in full swing, everything seemed to be thriving.

For the next fortnight, Chang'an was bustling with activity, celebrating the Beginning of Spring. Officials and common people were abuzz with activity, leaving the capital with no important matters to attend to. This gave Guo Jie ample time to build his family estates. The Burma Road, stretching over 2,000 miles, was built using primitive methods relying on human labor in just nine months, even through the mountains of the southwest.

More than half a month was enough time for Guo Jie to build the outer wall of the family manor that surrounded 500 acres of fertile land.

"Mr. Guo."

Ji Shaogong came over with a map in his hand. He was uneasy about the manor he was about to build, and even a little worried: "The mansion he is going to build this time is...

He gritted his teeth and said, "It's too stable. It's almost a country in its own right."

According to the drawing by Guo Jie, the aristocratic manor was built with its back against Gaolan Mountain, and tributaries of the river were diverted to surround the walls.

There are fertile fields and spacious houses, with mountains behind and rivers beside, ditches and ponds surrounding them, bamboo forests all around, fields and gardens in front, and orchards behind.

Sandalwood, lacquer, mulberry and hemp, all become a market behind closed doors.

There are silkworm rooms, weaving rooms, koji rooms, granaries, etc.

It is a manor where farming, animal husbandry, and flax retting are integrated into life and production.

In addition, there is a sentry post in the front, a watchtower in the back, as well as piers, horse faces and other military buildings.

In the future, several tributaries of the river will also be included.

It looks like a map of a village, but in fact it far exceeds the circumference of the village, and it is like a country in itself.

"It doesn't matter."

Guo Jie chuckled, thinking this was a manor from the Wei and Jin dynasties hundreds of years later, only developed hundreds of years earlier. "This is Hezuo. Across the river is the Xiongnu's pasture. The southwest is still a plateau infested with Qiang people. Even if the Han Dynasty expelled the Xiongnu, Jincheng still needed to guard against foreign tribes. To anyone's eyes, it's just a larger neighborhood built to guard against attacks from the Rong and Di people."

As long as the Qiang people are there, they can keep the enemy at bay.

The Qiang people were not destroyed until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty when they were conquered by Sanming of Liangzhou.

It's early.

The Qiang people were a loose group, far inferior to the Xiongnu, yet they could still become a treasure land for earning military merits.

There are Han Chinese families in the Western Regions that have existed for more than a thousand years.

The Song Dynasty, which was most wary of military generals taking power, also had the hereditary Zhe family generals who were the prefects of the frontier.

It’s because of the border troubles.

Guo Jie developed his family estates hundreds of years in advance, so he didn't have to worry about the court's suspicion. In any case, the Qiang people would not be wiped out until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Ji Shaogong suddenly understood and no longer had any concerns. He said happily, "With the help of the criminals, we can use the rammed earth method to build a wall to defend against foreign enemies in at most half a month. With the wall outside, the people in Luzuo Village will have a stable home, and the silkworm rooms, weaving rooms, and yeast rooms will be expanded step by step."

He was calm and composed, but when he thought about the future of the aristocratic manor, he couldn't help but feel excited: "Step by step, we will achieve the manor that Mr. Guo envisioned, where farming, animal husbandry, and retting are integrated, where life and production are integrated."

Gan's father pretended to be tamping the earth, but he was actually standing by and listening to the conversation between the two. When he heard about the prosperous and fruitful scene of farming, animal husbandry, and hemp retting, he felt indescribably excited.

He hesitated and said, "Mr. Guo, can I stay here with Mr. Ji?"

Gan's father was very nervous. After all, he was a Hun, not a Han Chinese, and would not be trusted as much as Ji Shaogong.

"it is good."

Guo Jie said "OK" and changed from kneeling to standing on the carriage, looking at the bustling scene.

Everything is ready.

The rest is up to time.

(End of this chapter)