The ninth son of the emperor was demoted at the beginning. I have a famous Chinese general.

"I will definitely fulfill your mission."

Everyone said in unison again.

"Well, I believe you have the ability."

"General Li, how is the war between Beiting and Huyan going now?"

Then Ning Quan turned around and asked Li Jing.

"Your Highness, at present, the only city left in Beiting that has not been taken is Changhe City. I plan to slowly besiege it."

"Changhe City is extremely short of food. It will surely fall if it is besieged for a few months."

"As for Huyan's tribe, General Huo is leading his troops on a final sweep. Huyan will surely surrender within half a month."

Li Jing said respectfully.

"good very good."

"Next, General Li, do you have any other plans?" Ning Quan continued to ask.

"Your Highness, there are no plans for the future."

"The soldiers have been exhausted after a series of battles and are no longer fit to continue fighting. They must rest and recuperate.

"If there is one, it is to prepare for the takeover of Changhe City."

Li Jing reported.

"Yes, General Li is right. We need to recuperate for a while and thoroughly digest and absorb Beiting."

"As for taking over Changhe City, does the Prime Minister have a plan?"

Ning Quan then looked at Zhuge Liang and said.

"Your Highness, I have a preliminary plan, but it needs further refinement. Once it is complete, I will submit it to Your Highness for final decision."

Zhuge Liang stood up and said.

"Ah, very good."

"One more thing, how are the people in Beiting doing?"

"What is their attitude towards my occupation of Beiting?"

After thinking for a moment, Ning Quan asked.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the people of Beiting are currently safe and sound."

"They all agree with Your Highness's occupation of Beiting and are willing to submit to Your Highness."

Zhuge Liang bowed.

"Well, that's good."

"If the people have any difficulties or requests, Prime Minister, you must do your best to meet them. You will handle this matter with full authority and do not need to report to me."

"The minister obeys the order."

Zhuge Liang bowed.

"I forgot to ask, how many people are there in Beiting now?"

Ning Quan continued to ask.

"Your Highness, Beiting now has a total of 64,000 households and 530,000 people."

"Hahaha, 530,000 hits?"

"So many?"

After hearing this, Ning Quan laughed.

What Ning Quan lacked most was population. Now he suddenly had a population of 530,000, so of course he was happy.

"Your Highness, this does not include the people in Changhe City."

"There are still about 8,000 households and more than 50,000 people in Changhe City."

Zhuge Liang added.

"Ah, very good."

"Once I take over Changhe City, I will have a population of almost 600,000."

Ning Quan said excitedly.

A population of 600,000 is indeed a lot, as the population of Daqian is less than 20 million.

Daqian is located in the Central Plains, a prosperous place with a normal population.

Beiting is a remote and poor place, and having a population of 600,000 is already very good.

"Your Highness, the court has sent an imperial envoy to investigate the heavy cavalry incident. How do you plan to respond?"

Zhuge Liang suddenly asked.

"Don't worry, Prime Minister. I have my own way to deal with this."

"Just focus on your own tasks, and I will take care of the rest."

Ning Quan said with full confidence.

"promise."

Zhuge Liang bowed.

"Your Highness, I have something to report."

"Anxi Protectorate has sent an envoy, hoping to redeem Li Xin. Your Highness needs to make a decision on this matter."

Li Jing suddenly stepped out and said respectfully.

"Who is Li Xin?"

Ning Quan asked in surprise after hearing this.

"Your Highness, Li Xin is the son of Li Chenglin and the son-in-law of Fang Xiaolian."

"He followed Li Chenglin in attacking Hulan and was later captured by me."

Li Jing explained.

"Oh, I see. So we've captured an important figure."

"What do the Anxi side say? What price are they willing to pay?"

Ning Quan said with a smile.

"Your Highness, the Anxi side expressed their willingness to exchange 50,000 taels of silver for Li Xin," Li Jing reported.

"Haha, fifty thousand taels of silver, that's not a small amount."

"What does General Li think about this matter? Should we release him or not?"

Ning Quan asked with a smile.

"I think Li Xin is not a concern, so I'll let him go. Getting 50,000 taels of silver for free is not bad at all."

Li Jing said without hesitation.

"Well, in that case, let's do as General Li says."

"Tell the people from Anxi that I agree."

Ning Quan said with a smile.

“Yes.”

Li Jing accepted the order.

"Do you have anything else to say? If you have nothing else, please go away."

Ning Quan stood up and waved his hand.

"Your humble servants shall take their leave!"

After paying their respects, the ministers left.

After everyone left, Ning Quan turned around and went back to the backyard.

"My husband is back."

"How do you plan to respond to the imperial envoy tomorrow?"

"My brother said that His Majesty takes this matter very seriously and has ordered a thorough investigation. He hopes you can be prepared."

Seeing Ning Quan coming back, Li Wanyue hurriedly came forward and said.

"Haha, the Prime Minister asked me the same thing just now. Don't worry, Madam. I have my own solution."

Ning Quan smiled and touched Li Wanyue's head.

"Well, it's good that my husband knows what's going on."

Hearing this, Li Wanyue smiled and nodded.

The next morning, Ning Quan arrived at the county government hall early.

When we arrived, Ishihara and Li Hengtai were already waiting there.

"I see you, Your Highness."

The two of them saluted.

"No need to be polite. Please take a seat, my two imperial envoys."

Ning Quan said politely.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Your Highness, I have been ordered to come to Hulan this time, mainly to verify the origins of Your Highness's heavy cavalry."

"I wonder if Your Highness has any explanation for the origins of the heavy cavalry?"

After sitting down, Ishihara went straight to the point.

"Master Shi, I didn't hear your question clearly."

"Are you asking about the origins of my heavy cavalry, or the origins of my heavy cavalry equipment?"

Ning Quan looked at Ishihara with a smile and said.

"Your Highness, what difference does it make?"

Ishihara asked in surprise.

"Of course there is a difference. If you're asking about the origins of the heavy cavalry, I can tell you that they were originally soldiers I recruited before."

"If you're asking about the origins of the equipment, then I'll tell you, I picked them up in the desert."

"My soldiers, plus the equipment I found, make up my heavy cavalry. Do you understand?"

Ning Quan said with a smile.

"Found gear?

"Your Highness, you are not joking, are you?"

After hearing Ning Quan's words, Ishihara suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.

It is obvious that the heavy cavalry equipment was picked up from the desert.

Li Taiheng, who was standing by, almost spit out a mouthful of tea and almost choked himself.

Li Taiheng had thought of many reasons for Ning Quan, but he never expected that Ning Quan would give such a reason.

"Why? Lord Shi thinks I'm lying?"

Ning Quan looked at Ishihara coldly and asked.

"No, I would never dare to question Your Highness."

"It's just that this... is really hard to believe."

Ishihara said embarrassedly.

"What's so unbelievable about this? If it's found, it's found. What's so strange about that?"

"If Lord Shi has any questions, please feel free to ask."

Ning Quan said lightly.