At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

"This is not something to be happy about. The Western Regions are vast and sparsely populated. If you don't know the way, you will get lost at any time and die of hunger and thirst. Your mission is very important and you must not slack off. Yet?"

Cao Ren pointed Cao Xiu seriously.

Cao Xiu slightly nodded excitedly.

"I see, I will not disappoint His Majesty's expectations."

"After all, you don't have any experience in running affairs on your own. Your Majesty sent you Zhao Yan, my staff officer, to be the chief historian of the Western Regions. You should listen to Zhao Yan more when you encounter problems."

Cao Ren asked again.

Cao Xiu said he understood.

Chapter 968 Eight What do these people mean by sending beautiful women?

Soon, Cao Xiu, Cao Wenlie, the first Protector of the Western Regions of the Wei Empire, took office.

Cao Xiu took an army of one thousand and a bureaucratic team to Tagan City in the Kingdom of Kucha, established the Protectorate of the Western Regions, and officially took the oath of office.

Then send people to inform the countries of the Western Regions about this, and let them send people to visit him in Gancheng.

According to Guo Peng's order, Cao Ren stationed two captains in Jinmancheng and Liuzhongcheng, the former garrison cities of the Eastern Han Dynasty, named Captain Jinman and Colonel Liuzhong.

These are two cities with a history of garrisoning troops, and Cao Ren sent [-] troops to occupy them.

The other two cities that have no history of garrisoning troops are Nanhe City in Yanqi Kingdom and Shicheng in Gumo Kingdom.

Cao Ren also stationed captains in these two cities, named Captain Nanhe and Captain Shicheng, with [-] troops stationed in these two cities.

In addition to the other Gancheng where Cao Xiu was stationed, these five cities can basically be connected in a line, providing a relatively reliable road for the business travelers of the Wei Empire on the Silk Road of Shanbei Road.

Wei State business travelers can start from Yumen Pass, head directly towards Dawan State, and then turn south.

With the current transportation capacity of Liangzhou, it would be great to maintain a decent Shanbei Road Silk Road. Shannan Road was temporarily put on hold by Guo Peng. Anyway, Shannan Road is not very important right now.

Just like this, the logistical problems of the 3000-strong Western Region garrison are already quite difficult.

This is a very low number of troops, and it is necessary to ensure this number in Guo's opinion, but the transportation of supplies is also a big problem.

On the issue of supplies, Guo Peng was going to ask Cao Xiu to discuss with the countries of Shanbei Province to see if he could study a more appropriate way to provide some food to the troops stationed in various places.

Then reclaim the land near the garrison point and grow food to meet the most basic food supply.

Other supplies can be provided from Liangzhou, carried by official caravans or private caravans to the garrison.

Guo Peng intends to establish a rule that all caravans going to the Western Regions to do business, as long as they pass through the garrison point, they must bring some supplies from Liangzhou to the army.

In this way, it can appropriately reduce the difficulty for the officials to provide food to the troops stationed in the Western Regions, and it can be regarded as making the best use of everything.

The Western Regions is a big game of chess, and it is not easy to play well.

This is just the beginning.

From the first month of the fourth year of Yande to the third month of the fourth year of Yande, when Cao Xiu had just gained a foothold in Gancheng, all the countries in the Western Regions sent envoys to visit Cao Xiu in Gancheng.

They also brought a lot of gifts to Cao Xiu, which made Cao Xiu deeply understand what it meant to be a county magistrate.

Although their co-lord is undoubtedly Emperor Wei, but Emperor Wei is far away in Luoyang, and the sky is high and the emperor is far away. What Emperor Wei said needs to be realized by Cao Xiu in this one-third of an acre of land.

All the countries in the Western Regions know that Cao Xiu is their chief executive. Cao Xiu's words are the best to use here. If you please Cao Xiu, you will be able to seize the opportunity at a certain point in the future and gain benefits that others cannot get.

Wei Tianzi still wanted a bowl of water to be flat, but Cao Xiu was different.

Then Cao Xiu was surprised to find that all these countries were very sensible, and all of them were very polite and brought many gifts to him.

I won’t talk about local specialties, but those edible fruits, dishes, and meat, it doesn’t matter if they are edible, at worst, they will be rewarded to the subordinates for sharing.

Gold, silver and treasure are nothing, they are also material things, so Cao Xiu can share them with everyone, and give them to the soldiers who came with him to defend the border, so as to appease their hearts.

But what do these people mean by sending beautiful women?

Eighteen countries in the Western Regions sent envoys to visit Cao Xiu, and they presented Cao Xiu with 38 beauties with different styles.

Some have fair skin, some have darker complexion, some have straight nose bridges, some have slightly oblate eyes, some have blue eyeballs, some have brownish-yellow eyeballs, and some even have reddish hair.

But without exception, they all looked beautiful, and they didn't wear much. When their eyes rolled around, they conveyed a charming charm that Cao Xiu couldn't control.

Who can stand this?

This immediately made Cao Xiu's mouth dry, and at the same time a little depressed.

"Boran, you said, I can understand them giving me food and drink, and I can understand giving me money, but giving me 38 beauties is...not appropriate."

Cao Xiu asked Zhao Yan to discuss with him.

Zhao Yan looked at these 38 exotic beauties with different styles, smacked his lips, and said, "This... obviously wants to please Cao Duhu. They think that here, Cao Duhu's words are very useful and can help them. for the greater good."

"It's true, but this gift is too generous."

Cao Xiu rubbed his chin, hesitantly: "Everything else is fine, I can still distribute it to the soldiers to appease the soldiers, but these women are really inconvenient. We are all strong soldiers here, far away from Shenzhou, and life is hard.

Therefore, as the protector, I should set an example. I can't spend time and drink alone, hugging left and right, which will damage the morale of the army, and may even provoke a mutiny. Moreover, I can't use the beauties given to me by various countries as camp prostitutes, right? "

Zhao Yan pursed his lips and looked at those beauties.

Then Zhao Yan said: "Cao Duhu, this subordinate suggests that these beauties can be presented to His Majesty in the name of Duhufu, and then present to His Majesty.

We can request that the families of soldiers from the Western Regions be sent to the Western Regions for a reunion to solve this kind of problem. In this way, if someone sends a beautiful woman in the future, the guard will not have to worry about it. "

Speaking of the latter, Zhao Yan's serious face also rarely showed a man's expression.

Cao Xiu immediately stared.

"Good idea! Buran, you are so smart!"

Cao Xiu immediately became happy, and felt that he had found a bosom friend.

So Cao Xiu immediately ordered to send the 38 exotic beauties to Luoyang and dedicate them to Emperor Guo Peng.

Then Cao Xiu put up a form again, saying that life in the Western Regions was boring and difficult, and asked Guo Peng to send the families of the soldiers guarding the Western Regions to the Western Regions for reunion.

Then Cao Xiu sent someone to inform the countries in the Western Regions, telling them that he had accepted the other gifts, but it was not convenient for him to keep the beauties.

Because the families of the soldiers had not yet arrived, but it was hard not to accept their kindness, so these beauties were sent to Luoyang to present to His Majesty the Emperor.

Before this group of beauties from the Western Regions were sent to Luoyang, the countries of the Western Regions knew about this matter, and suddenly felt that there was something wrong with what they did.

It’s okay to send a woman to Cao Xiu, but it’s not good to send a woman to the emperor. If the emperor knows about this and thinks that they care more about protecting Cao Xiu than the emperor himself, and get angry, what should we do?

The countries immediately took remedial measures to find more beauties and send them to Luoyang.

This time, they sent more than before. The Western Regions sent a total of 170 six beauties to Luoyang, with different styles and tastes.

Chapter 969 Nine Everyone is a strong man, not a Buddhist

At the end of March in the fourth year of Yande, Guo Peng got 38 beauties sent by Cao Xiu from the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

When he learned of this, Mr. Guo was stunned, and then he saw Cao Xiu's appearance, and Mr. Guo couldn't laugh or cry.

This guy was worried that if he had a woman and his soldiers had no women, it would damage the morale of the army and cause a mutiny, so he decided to send these beauties to Luoyang to dedicate to Guo Peng, asking Guo Peng to accept them with a smile.

Then he asked Guo Peng to send their families to reunite with them for the sake of the hardships of the soldiers in the Western Regions, so as to reduce the suffering in foreign regions.

I have to say that Cao Xiu was quite clever in doing this. He knew how to use this trick to stabilize the morale of the soldiers and prevent the soldiers from feeling resentful.

Guo will not feel resentment towards the countries of the Western Regions just because of a few women.

Guo himself doesn't care much about female sex.

He has seen too many beauties, and with his status, it is easy to get any woman he wants.

The so-called dazzling eyes, over the years, he even suffered from face blindness, and has lost the ability to distinguish the beauty and ugliness of women.

It's not an exaggeration to say that even his own concubines don't know if they look good or not.

Mr. Guo is an excellent and competent emperor. He devotes himself to state affairs, doesn't like beautiful women at all, and has few desires, so these women are actually of little use to him.

But since the subordinates have the heart, as a leader, they must accept it, and they cannot live up to the kindness of the subordinates.

If you don't accept it or come up with something wrong at this time, it will cause other worries in the subordinates, which is not conducive to stability.

The emperor is actually very difficult.

So although Mr. Guo refused in his heart, he had to accept these 38 exotic beauties in order to help Cao Xiu solve his troubles and take on the responsibility of an emperor.

It is an obligation for the courtiers to share the worries for the emperor, and sometimes it is also a kind of concern for the emperor's courtiers to share the worries.

Of course, these beauties with different styles and different tastes just look different.

A certain Guo waved his hand and asked Su Yuan to send someone to take them into the inner court for inspection, and then silently pointed out the three most beautiful people among them, asking Su Yuan to take special care of them.

Su Yuan understood, and brought these 38 exotic beauties into the court, and planned to teach them something, let them know what it means to enter the Wei court, and what they need to do to survive better.

Most of them will become maids of honor and live in the palace, or they will be rewarded by someone Guo to meritorious ministers to win people's hearts when needed.

As for the three beauties that Guo specifically pointed out, they needed further special training and advanced studies, and they were sure that there was no problem at all, and then they would be sent to Guo.

It takes special effort to choose the right person for the emperor to take care of the emperor's daily life. Su Yuan and others are from the remnants of the eunuchs of the former dynasty. Senior court ladies are also handy.

These women are talented, with fair skin, charming eyebrows, elegant figures, and good at singing and dancing, but their overall quality obviously needs to be improved.

It's time for them to appreciate the profoundness of Chinese civilization.

It is believed that they will learn the real things soon, so they can graduate smoothly, become excellent graduates of the Wei court, and then get a job smoothly.

Bring boundless happiness to someone Guo.

As the emperor of the Great Wei Empire, he was equivalent to the president and chairman of the Guowei Group, and he couldn't live without a few [secretaries] who could see clearly.

This is by no means Guo's lustful heart. Seeing these Central Asian style women whose style is very different from that of Central Plains women, he was moved and wanted to try a different taste.

This is to give face to his subordinates, and it is an act of caring for his subordinates.

Therefore, attention should be paid to wording and sentences in court records. The cause and result of this incident should be recorded according to the [real situation], and must be approved by someone Guo.

The shamelessness of Guo, who has double-standarded to the extreme, can be seen.

Of course, after taking advantage of it, it is natural to have to solve some troubles for the courtiers. That is not what a qualified emperor should do.

Cao Xiu made this request, of course he had to think about it, because it was not a trivial matter.

The family members of 3000 soldiers are at least 3000 people equally. It is already very difficult to provide some daily necessities for [-] people. Another [-] people may also be a problem.

So someone from Guo found Dong Zhao and Zaoyi, and asked Dong Zhao and Zaoyi to discuss with him how to solve the problem raised by Cao Xiu.

Dong Zhao thinks this is a troublesome matter.

"More than 3000 people are not too big a number, but it is more difficult to send these 3000 people to the Western Regions far away from Liangzhou, and to ensure their livelihood. Your Majesty, the supplies we provide to the Western Regions are already exhausted. I have taken on a lot of pressure, if there is more, I am afraid I will not be able to do it."

Zaoyi counted the number of family members of the troops stationed in the Western Regions, and gave a less supportive attitude.

"Your Majesty, there will be a day when the garrisons in various places will be rotated. It is not a big problem to be patient for the time being. Once something happens, there is room for turning around, and we will not look forward and backward."

Zao only considers the situation after the Guo Wei Empire withdraws from the Western Regions from a very realistic point of view.

In the former Han Dynasty, three links and three visits to the Western Regions caused huge losses each time. Zaoyi had no problem starting from this point, but he obviously never understood Guo's desire to possess the Western Regions.

Now that I'm here, I don't intend to leave.

"There is a time difference between the rotation of the garrison. According to the distance of the garrisons in the five cities of the Western Regions, it takes at least three years to have a rotation. If you don't see your family for three years, what will it be like? Think about it, and think about it."

Someone Guo looked at Zaozhi and Dong Zhao.

The two were silent.

Indeed, this is a problem.

Wei Jun's rotation system is not a one-size-fits-all, but a measure for different situations.

In principle, the local time of the garrison is not counted as the time required for the army to go to the local area, but the time of arrival at the local area shall prevail.

Then, in terms of specific details, the time arrangements for the rotation of garrisons in various places are different.

The closer to Luoyang and the more convenient the transportation, the faster the rotation speed of the garrison, which is basically a one-year period.

The farther the distance, the less convenient the transportation, the lower the rotation frequency, one and a half years, eight months a year, two years, two years and three months, etc., are not uniform, but the maximum is no more than three years .