The Cheng Chumo brothers didn't know what to say. Their family had two caravans trading with the Western Regions, which brought in a lot of money every year. Since everyone was going to lose this part, they had nothing to say. What's more, the two brothers were commanders of the army stationed in the Western Regions, and they couldn't drag the court down.
Li Chengyi had the least to worry about. This guy had no interests in the Western Regions. He fully supported the court's move. He also discovered outside that after the court's military stations were set up, many people who wanted to rebel against the court hid themselves.
Originally, they wanted to dig these people out, but later Li Xiang told them that once these people hid, it might be a lifetime hiatus, because they still had a chance of success in their rebellion now, but if they just hid like this, they probably would have no chance at all in the future.
As the days of peace grew, the people of the Western Regions were no longer willing to join them in rebellion. So if these people went into hiding, it would mean the end of their lives. This was also what the Tang Dynasty court hoped to see most. In the future, we only had one thing to do, that is, to improve the economy of the Western Regions and make the people's lives a real improvement. Who would think of rebelling with them? Rebellion is punishable by death, and no one has a second thought.
The few people have been staying in the tent for quite some time, so it's a good opportunity for them to come out and visit the military station, which is also the largest one within dozens of miles. Especially Xiao Shougui and his civil servants, they had never even seen a model before, so now they have to learn more about it, as this is also their life-saving place.
After the implementation of the prefecture-county system in the Western Regions, more than 20 officials were killed by local people, so the construction of military stations was urgent. If there were a military station near their base, these people's lives might have been saved. Once a crisis occurred, a signal could be sent to the military station immediately, and the army here could arrive in the shortest time.
If the situation is extremely critical, these people can also escape on fast horses. As long as you can enter the gate of the military station, with the current social strength of the local area, they will definitely not be able to do anything to you, unless they also have the weapons of the Tang Dynasty army, but this is impossible.
After the war, Cheng Chumo issued an order throughout the Western Regions that anyone who picked up weapons and equipment of the Tang army and did not hand them over within a month would have their entire family exterminated. He also killed quite a few people, which frightened all the people in the Western Regions.
The area of the military station is not very large, only about 5,000 square meters. Most of the area is a small square used for training. There is a circle of stables around it, which are specially used to raise their war horses. Many soldiers are now training outside.
The surrounding walls are about two and a half meters high, and most of them are made of local adobe. If brick and stone structures are used, it would be too difficult. However, the court commissioner has said that in the next one to two years, a layer of brick and stone structure will be added to the outside of these adobes. Otherwise, these adobes will not last long. But at this stage, it is still extremely difficult to transport bricks, so the adobes will be used first.
"Some of our Ministry of Works officials have already begun searching for suitable soil in the Western Regions. Once they find it, we'll be able to make bricks there. I can then use the materials nearby, eliminating the need to transport them from the Central Plains, saving both money and time."
This proposal was also put forward by Xiao Shougui. Instead of transporting a large number of bricks from the Central Plains to here, it would be better to send a few technical officials to let them look for suitable soil in the Western Regions. Although most of the Western Regions are deserts and Gobi deserts, there are still some oases. If we can find them, it will be a great thing for us.
"Then I'll have to treat these people to a good drink and get them to work harder. This adobe wall may look fine in the first year, but it might be a bit fragile in the second year. But if we add a layer of bricks on the outside, it won't be as strong as the city walls in the Central Plains, but it will at least be half as strong. The surrounding area is not stable now, so we have to do a good job of defense."
Cheng Chuliang said happily that he originally thought that all the bricks had to be transported from the Central Plains. Even if they were transported from Gaochang Kingdom, it would take a lot of time on the road. But if several brickyards were built in the Western Regions, a lot of time would be saved.
The most important thing is that we make bricks ourselves, which can reduce costs a lot. We cannot ask the court for money for everything. The court has so many places to spend money. Other regions do not ask for money, but we ask for money every day, then the officials in our region may be labeled as incompetent.
Isn't everyone working so hard in the Western Regions just to get promoted in the future? If the court deems you incompetent, then even if they transfer you back to the capital, they'll likely just find you a random, sinecure. What future do you have? Even being Li Xiang's brother-in-law is useless.
The two brothers realized that being Li Xiang's brother-in-law sometimes gives you opportunities, but you have to fight for it. Take the opportunity in the Western Regions for example. The sand the two brothers have eaten in the past two years is probably almost as much as their weight. This is the opportunity given by Li Xiang.
The opportunity is in front of you, and you must seize it. If you can't seize it, or if you don't have the ability, then you should just be a rich young man in Chang'an City.
"Emergency drill..."
Just when a few people wanted to continue the inspection, the stationmaster shouted, and hundreds of soldiers around immediately climbed up the surrounding walls fully armed. Even the cook who was cooking had a knife in his hand, and the people who were sleeping in the house were also running while equipping their weapons.
Cheng Chuliang and the other two were also watching these people, silently calculating the time in their hearts. All armies in the Western Regions used warhorses to attack. If you were not fast enough, the enemy would be in front of you in the blink of an eye. The two-meter-high wall would not be able to contain them for long. So, now, the race against time is to save your own life. This kind of emergency drill is practiced almost once or twice a day...
