Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is May of the sixth year of Jianyuan.

The large number of convoys slowed down the journey, and the poor road conditions forced the convoys to be cautious.

We set out in autumn, but unfortunately winter came too early and too violently.

Fortunately, after winter came, the team had not completely left the Han Dynasty, so they were finally able to spend the winter safely in the Han Dynasty. It was not until the weather got a little better that they started on their way again.

This time they took the southern road, the latest road discovered by the scouts.

The road is not very wide. The narrowest part can only allow a carriage to pass, and it requires climbing over mountains and ridges.

Although we have tried our best to avoid some steep mountains, there are still some that cannot be avoided.

Although the journey is long and difficult, we still have to walk in the future.

Zhao Tuo embarked on his journey to the west as he wished, and was successfully transferred to the post of military envoy to the Western Regions.

While marching, he kept thinking about a question: where should the Imperial Envoy's residence be located?

According to Lu Jia's description, the countries in the Western Regions are not powerful. They can move around here with the escort of a thousand people in the mission. This time, the first batch of garrisons sent to the Western Regions has 15,000 people. There is no reason to mess around.

Not as good as Lu Jia.

The most important reason why only 15,000 people were photographed was that this year was a turning point for the Han army.

And it is still a very important year.

After the reorganization of the Han army, the first batch of Han army officers and soldiers will retire from active service in the fall of this year.

Theoretically, this group of retired soldiers will number more than 300,000.

Because the first batch was originally adapted from the old system, the number of people was also the largest.

At the same time, in order to avoid having to do this once every five years, the imperial court's recruitment plan for next year is to recruit 200,000 people.

In other words, theoretically, between the end of autumn and the beginning of next spring, before new recruits join the army, the Han army will have a strength gap of up to 300,000 people throughout the winter. Even if new recruits join the army next year, the strength gap will still be 100,000 people.

The imperial court hopes to gradually offset the impact of the first batch of 300,000 retired soldiers by recruiting 200,000 new soldiers each year.

In other words, in the next three years, the total strength of the Han Dynasty will not increase. It will not be until the fourth year that tens of thousands more troops will be added.

How much the subsequent increase will be will be determined based on the actual situation.

The imperial court defined the number of Han troops as one million men.

Although these 300,000 retired veterans will leave about 30,000 people behind, this is still not enough.

After all, the base is so large that troops need to be deployed everywhere.

Therefore, unless the Western Region encounters some devastating disaster, it is impossible for the imperial court to send a second batch of troops over within three years.

Zhao Tuo's task within three years was to sort out the southern part of the Western Region, restructure it, and assimilate the people in the southern part of the Western Region.

Of course, there is no risk of retirement for the 15,000 people who marched into the Western Regions. Because this group is composed of two-year soldiers and three-year soldiers, they can basically carry it until the second group of main force comes over and then retire.

The only thing that made Zhao Tuo feel uncomfortable was that the control of this army was not in his hands.

Instead, a separate Western Region General's Mansion was set up? During peacetime, the Western Region General's Mansion had to follow the arrangements of the Western Region's economic envoys, and during war, it was completely reversed.

It's not so much obeying? It's more like cooperating? Because in terms of official rank, the Western Region General and the Western Region Manager are at the same level.

The only thing that Zhao Tuo could suppress against the generals of the Western Regions was his own title.

But the title itself is an honor and does not represent real power.

Zhao Tuo is a smart man again? Why did the emperor set it up like this? It was obviously to protect himself? After all, he was a person with a criminal record and had to be on guard.

Facing his partner, Zhao Tuo did not dare to be careless at all, even though he was unknown.

This young general named Yang Biao was also among the first generation generals of the Han Dynasty.

Although his current statement is not that prominent, his resume is one that no one dares to ignore.

First of all, he is one of the five hundred warriors in the Xingyang camp? The leader of these five hundred warriors is naturally the emperor himself.

The next ones were equally scary, including General Zhang Buyi of the Imperial Guard, General Chen Tieshan of Guanzhong, Song Yi, Governor of Yingchuan County, and others.

Yang Biao has participated in all the wars since the emperor's founding. On the territory of the Han Dynasty, he is the real root of Miaohong.

When he destroyed Qin, he was under Guan Ying. When he was destroying Chu, he was under Han Xin. Later, he went north with Han Xin to form cavalry and participated in several battle missions against the Xiongnu.

Before becoming the general of the Western Regions, he was the deputy general of the cavalry of the Northern Army and Han Xin's deputy.

Now that he has enough qualifications, experience, and military exploits, plus he is one of the five hundred warriors and has support from people in the court, he naturally becomes the general of the Western Regions.

As the saying goes, no one can stop the wave of the times. Even a pig standing on the wave of the times will take off.

This sentence is undoubtedly the most appropriate to apply to the Five Hundred Heroes.

Among these five hundred people, more than one hundred died in the battle. Among the remaining three hundred people, there were a total of eleven people with an official rank of three or above, twenty-seven with an official rank of five or above, and sixty with an official rank of seven or above. Six people.

Those who are still in the army, the lowest ranking is also the city defense captain.

And those who had retired from active service long ago were clearly arranged, and the last one was the chief officer of a department in the county.

As for the more than 100 people who died in the war, the emperor took the lead, and everyone participated, and each year they gave part of the money and food to their families.

This group of people are the only ones in the Han Dynasty who dare to play like this, mainly because their leader Da Ge is too strong.

Similarly, this group of people are also staunch royalists and the emperor's absolute confidants. Although some people are not of high rank, they have formed three classes: upper, middle and lower, allowing different classes to have direct connections with the emperor. The qualification for dialogue has greatly deterred some people with ill intentions.

For Zhao Tuo, having such a partner is a good thing, but it is also a bad thing.

If you are honest and honest, you will be good to me and everyone will be good, and no one will be short of credit.

But if he still committed the same thoughts he had in earlier years, Yang Biao would probably have killed him first without the emperor having to take action.

"General Yang, can you consider the control of the territory?" Zhao Tuo finally found Yang Biao and asked for his opinion.

According to the emperor's arrangement, in order to facilitate communication, the Western Regions Economic Envoy's Palace and the Western Regions General's Palace should be located in the same city.

How to choose the place was left to Zhao Tuo, but Zhao Tuo did not dare to make this decision himself.

"It's fine if Zhao Jinglue decides on this matter. His Majesty has already explained that Zhao Jinglue will take the lead in everything. Besides, Zhao Jinglue has much more experience in this kind of matter than me, so I won't get involved in this matter randomly, so as not to disturb Zhao Jinglue's decision." Arrangement." Yang Biao replied in a harmonious voice.

"..." Zhao Tuo's heart was filled with dissatisfaction.

What he said was quite good, and he came across as a very approachable and kind person.

But if I didn't know your identity, I might have been fooled by you.

This group of people is very capable. Although they are not top-notch, they will never be held back in doing things.

You said that if you let him lead the troops to fight the Xiongnu, this may be a question mark.

But if you want him to control the entire Western Region, that's absolutely fine.

After all, even if he is one of the five hundred warriors, the emperor will not mess around in this kind of matter.

Yang Biao successively followed the emperor, Guan Ying, and Han Xin. Not to mention that he learned all their skills, even if everyone only learned three points, it is enough to be used here.

Zhao Tuo didn't think he had no idea about where to choose.

"I think this first step should be done in Loulan. It is the closest place to Dahan. It is easy to communicate about anything and it is not easy to be cut off by others. Then we will gradually advance westward and decide whether to transfer treatment according to the situation.

Land, as for the final choice, I prefer Qiemo or Khotan. As for whether to choose to build a city locally or build another city, we have to wait until we get to the place and then decide based on the situation!" Zhao Tuo directly expressed his thoughts.

The emperor really delegated power in this matter. He didn't ask him about the arrangements at all. He said he would be responsible for it, so he was the one responsible.

After getting the map of the Western Regions from Lu Jia, he had been thinking about this issue.

But for the entire Western Region, it is naturally best and most suitable to place it in Luntai or Gumo's Nancheng.

However, the imperial court divided the entire Western Region into two, and they were responsible for the southern region, so it was not appropriate to place it in Luntai or Nancheng in the middle.

Their territory can only be placed in the south, and Mo and Nancheng each have a river going north, so it will be more convenient to communicate with the north in the future.

But the problem is not without its problems. Although the distance is a little far, the river goes directly north, which is just in time to connect with Nancheng in Gumo.

Moreover, the end of the river first went eastward to the territory of Loulan, then circled behind Bailongdui, and then headed northwest again. The distance covered in this circle was a bit far.

"From a military point of view, as long as these places are not in deserts, it will be the same wherever they are placed. From an administrative point of view, I can't say anything about it..." Yang Biao shrugged with a smile, although we

We have an identity and a backing, but we can't always use the backing to oppress others.

Whether he was with the emperor or Guan Ying Han Xin, Yang Biao learned one thing.

As long as your skills are strong enough, even if you fart, they will say it's a good thing.

But if you rely on connections to get to the top, and shamelessly use your status to oppress others, even if you roast a whole lamb, it will still stink to others.

Therefore, Yang Biao is also very good at using it in this area. I will only talk about my basic requirements, and you can do whatever you want with the rest.

As a general's palace, the most basic requirement is naturally convenient transportation and convenient command.

Otherwise, if the General's Mansion goes into the desert and it takes several days to travel to deliver the news, then what nonsense is that?

"That……"

Zhao Tuo was about to speak, but was interrupted by a slightly embarrassed cavalryman.
Chapter completed!