sjar Chapter 692 I want to see the pyramids.
Chapter 692 I want to see the pyramids.
Wen Qi understood what was said and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, do you want to march into the west and expand the territory for China?"
Ye Kun chuckled: "I want to go see the pyramids!"
Wen Qi laughed: "Your Majesty's great ambitions will be taken to a higher level!"
On the second day after arriving in Chang'an, Ye Kun interrogated Zhao Biao alone.
As soon as they met, Zhao Biao knelt down, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, I deserve to die."
Looking at Zhao Biao with white hair, Ye Kun sighed:
"Stand up and talk. We are brothers after all. I feel uncomfortable if you kneel down."
Zhao Biao stood up and stood in front of Ye Kun with his hands hanging down.
Ye Kun shook his head: "Zhao Biao, if you were me, how would you deal with this matter? You have your own army and are trying to split the Western Regions. The evidence is irrefutable. You also set up checkpoints privately, cut off commercial taxes, and amassed millions of gold. Tell me, how should I deal with you?"
Zhao Biao shed tears and said: "Your Majesty, I have no intention of betraying you. It's just that I didn't teach my sons well. My sons are too rampant...
We have already handed over all the money, which is now in Zhuge Hong's hands. Please, Your Majesty, execute me and spare the lives of my children."
Zhuge Hong also sent a telegram to Ye Kun a few days ago, informing him that Zhao Biao and his vassals had been seized, with a total property worth over one million taels of gold!
Several of Zhao Biao's sons built palaces in the city of Cheshi and collected thousands of beauties, which was even more exaggerated than the imperial palace!
But all of this has now been sealed up by Zhuge Hong.
Ye Kun was speechless for a long time, and then he said:
"I will not kill you, nor will I kill your son. But I want your son to atone for his sins."
Zhao Biao was overjoyed and raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I will definitely change my past and serve you."
"You should thank Jiang Laowu. He was the one who pleaded for you."
Ye Kun pointed at the map and said, "I will give your eldest son 5,000 soldiers and horses, and let him conquer Dayuan. If he fails, don't come back and die there."
Zhao Biao has been in the Western Regions for many years and still has some confidants.
Ye Kun asked Zhao Biao's trusted troops to attack Dayuan, which was a strategy that killed two birds with one stone.
Zhao Biao said in surprise: "Your Majesty, we have already planted several hundred spies in Dayuan. Five thousand soldiers are enough to capture Dayuan City!"
Ye Kun nodded: "You and Zhao Baoguo, come with me to the Western Regions. The rest of my family will stay in Chang'an. If you fail, or betray your country and surrender to the enemy, all your family members will be beheaded. If you make amends and win the battle, I will allow you to return to your hometown to retire, become a rich man, and preserve your reputation for the rest of your life."
Zhao Biao knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty..."
Ye Kun stayed in Chang'an for only three days before preparing to go to the Western Regions.
Coincidentally, Zhuge Hong sent people to deliver Zhao Biao's private property from the Western Regions.
Fifty carts of various gold, silver and treasures!
Ye Kun ordered Wen Qi to count this huge sum of money and not hand it over to the court, but to store it in a warehouse in Chang'an as military expenses for the future Western Expedition.
With so much money, we can cover half of the military expenses for the Western Expedition.
Before going to the Western Regions, Ye Kun also instructed Wen Qi to make logistical preparations for the Western Expedition and to transport grain and fodder from Guanzhong to the Western Regions.
Wen Axiu also stayed in Chang'an to accompany her old father.
In early September, Ye Kun led the team to various places in the Western Regions.
The Western Regions are too large. From Chang'an to Dunhuang, it is farther than Zhuo County.
It took about ten days to reach Jincheng County.
Zhuge Hong had already left Jincheng and was now in charge of the overall situation in the Western Regions in the city of Cheshi.
Ye Kun inspected the entire route and finally arrived in Dunhuang a month later.
At this time, Dunhuang had entered winter, with dry and cold weather and fierce north winds.
However, the ecological environment of Dunhuang was better than that of later times, with less water shortage and a small population, so the damage to resources was not great.
Half of the permanent residents here are Chinese farming troops and merchant protection teams.
The governor of Dunhuang came to greet him.
Ye Kun was outside the city, looking around with a telescope, and asked, "How many military and civilian population are there in and outside Dunhuang now?"
The governor replied: "There are 130,000 people, half of whom are soldiers stationed in the fields."
Ye Kun nodded: "Where is the largest Tuntian farm and ranch?"
"To the west of the city, at the Zhaojiahe Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Base. There are two pastures, two farms, more than 30,000 people, covering an area of several hundred miles."
“Why is it called Zhaojiahe?”
"It was built by Zhao Biao before."
"I understand." Ye Kun nodded: "Let's go into the city. I'll go to the Zhaojiahe Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Base in a few days."
The city of Dunhuang was not large, and at that time, there were no murals or cave art.
However, as a major station on the Silk Road, Dunhuang was still prosperous and materially abundant.
Ye Kun asked the governor: "There are many Han immigrants in the Western Regions. They come from the interior. Can they adapt here?"
The governor smiled and said, "I was uncomfortable at first, but later I got used to it and found it very good. The Han people who came here before rarely ate vegetables and were prone to illness. The emperor proposed a vegetable plan, distributing large quantities of dried vegetables and tea leaves to supplement...vegetarian..."
“It’s vitamins.”
"Yes, it's vitamins. Now we all take vitamins. If we take more, we won't get sick."
"The vegetables you eat are rich in vitamins. Vitamins are invisible to you, they are trace elements." Ye Kun explained again:
"In the past, the guards along the Great Wall often fell ill, suffering from bleeding gums, constipation, etc., all because of the lack of vegetables. Therefore, I supplied a large amount of dried vegetables, pickles and tea from the inland areas, and asked you to grow more vegetables, all for your health."
The governor nodded and bowed: "Yes, yes, we are very healthy now."
Ye Kun sighed.
This bird governor obviously lacks scientific literacy.
Five miles outside Dunhuang City, there is a large petroleum industry research institute.
Because the oil here can be transported from the West over a shorter distance.
On the third day, Ye Kun went to the Petroleum Technology Institute to investigate and see the plastic products, kerosene and gasoline they had made.
The gasoline refining technology here is already very good.
In addition to gasoline, kerosene and diesel, we also developed petroleum gas and inferior plastics.
What makes Ye Kun happiest is that the asphalt road research here has achieved gratifying results.
Outside the Science and Technology City, there is a circle of asphalt roads with a smooth surface.
Ye Kun walked on the asphalt road and asked, "Will this kind of asphalt road melt in the summer and stick to your shoes?"
In fact, asphalt roads are easy to make. You can pave the road directly using raw asphalt.
The problem is quality.
Before Ye Kun traveled through time, the asphalt road in his hometown was of poor quality. During the hot summer months, the road surface was soft and sticky.
If you want the asphalt road to be of good quality, you have to add some things.
Ye Kun didn’t know what it was specifically, so he could only let everyone figure it out slowly.
The person in charge of the laboratory said:
"After several years of exploration and testing, asphalt roads are basically usable. When the temperature is extremely high in summer, the surface will melt a little bit, and a layer of fine sand needs to be swept on it. Sprinkling sand can guarantee the quality for ten days.
In addition, we have also built 20 miles of asphalt road on the westbound highway, which is in normal use and is highly praised by the business travel teams. If the oil supply keeps up, we can increase the number of road construction workers and build more asphalt roads.”