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

"Your Highness, you are awake."

Hearing the noise, Hongxiu Hongping hurriedly pushed the door open and came in.

"Well, I didn't expect that I slept for so long. Why didn't you call me to wake up?"

Ning Quan rubbed his head and asked.

"Your Highness, it was Madam who specifically told me to let you sleep a little longer!"

Hongxiu stuck out her tongue and smiled, saying playfully.

"hehe."

Ning Quan smiled and shook his head, then got up.

Hongxiu and Hongping hurriedly helped him wash and dress.

After tidying up, Ning Quan came to the lobby of the county government office.

At this moment, only Li Jing and Zhuge Liang were in the lobby of the county government office, and the others were probably busy.

"Your Highness, the Xiongnu wounded have been treated. A total of 4,300 have been executed."

"The remaining 16,000 men are now all held captive in the former Xiongnu camp, under the watchful custody of Generals Guan Yu and Zhang Liao."

"Your Highness, we must deal with so many captives as soon as possible, otherwise it will be very troublesome."

When he saw Ning Quan, Li Jing immediately stepped forward to report.

"Yes, I understand. But you should hold on for a few days and wait for the dentist to arrive and sell them."

Ning Quan nodded.

Ning Quan had long planned to sell the Hun prisoners of war to dealers.

Other prisoners of war could be used, but not the Hun prisoners.

On the one hand, because the Huns were brutal and murderous, Ning Quan was worried that they would disobey discipline. The key point was that there were too many of them.

On the other hand, Hulan was too close to the Xiongnu and could easily escape.

Therefore, selling them to dental dealers is the most appropriate option. Selling 16,000 prisoners to dental dealers will definitely bring in a considerable income, and Ning Quan will certainly make the money.

"Yes, I understand."

Hearing this, Li Jing bowed.

"Well, have all the other things been dealt with?" Ning Quan asked again.

"Your Highness, all the captured supplies have been stored, and the wounded have been sent to the infirmary for treatment."

"How many casualties did our army suffer in this battle?"

"Your Highness, our army suffered a total of 3,900 casualties in this battle, including 1,287 killed in action, 300 seriously wounded, and the rest slightly injured."

Li Jing replied.

"Well, the wounded must be properly treated."

"Also, the soldiers have made great contributions in this battle and must be rewarded handsomely."

"How about this: each person will receive fifty taels of silver, the injured will receive double that, and the seriously injured will receive three hundred taels as compensation."

Ning Quan pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Li Jing bowed in thanks.

"How many heavy cavalry casualties were there?"

"Your Highness, there were no heavy cavalry casualties, only about thirty squires were injured."

"Haha, it turns out that heavy cavalry is still powerful."

Hearing this, Ning Quan sighed.

Five hundred heavy cavalry and one thousand knight attendants not only defeated one hundred thousand Xiongnu cavalry, but also did not suffer any losses, which is enough to prove the strength of the heavy cavalry.

"Your Highness, heavy cavalry is indeed powerful, but it also has its drawbacks. First, it is difficult and expensive to train. Second, it lacks mobility and requires suitable terrain for combat."

"So heavy cavalry is acceptable, but not too numerous. If Your Highness wishes to recruit more heavy cavalry, it would be best to cap it at two thousand."

Li Jing reminded.

"Well, I understand."

Hearing this, Ning Quan nodded.

Li Jing was right. Although heavy cavalry was invincible, it had too many restrictions.

The most ideal troop is still the light cavalry, which has outstanding combat effectiveness and good mobility.

"Okay, you've worked hard these past few days, go back and rest early."

"If there's anything, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Then, Ning Quan waved his hand and asked Li Jing to leave.

"promise."

Li Jing bowed and said goodbye.

"Your Highness, once we defeat the Xiongnu, we will have a firm foothold. The next step is rapid development."

After Li Jing left, Zhuge Liang spoke.

"Well, the Prime Minister is right. Now is a great opportunity for our development."

"We need to expand our population, cultivate farmland, and actively develop trade with the Western Regions."

Ning Quan said with a gleam in his eyes.

Although he controlled Hulan, its infrastructure was too poor, with a population of less than 10,000, only one acre of farmland per capita, and almost no business.

Only by actively introducing population, developing agriculture and trade, and attracting more people to settle in Hulan can Hulan prosper.

"Your Highness, regarding the population, can we send people to Hexi and Longyou to spread the word?"

"Also, we can consider introducing some Hu people."

Zhuge Liang suggested.

"Well, this method is feasible."

"Western Hu people can be introduced, but not too many. After all, we need to ensure the proportion of Han people."

Ning Quan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then leave this matter to me."

"As for agricultural development, this has always been the responsibility of the military advisor."

"The military advisor is a talented person. Your Highness can rest assured and leave the task to him."

"But Your Highness, do you have any ideas or plans for business?"

Zhuge Liang continued.

"As for matters concerning commerce, I don't really understand much either."

"All I can think of is to build Hulan into a commodity distribution center to attract more caravans and merchants."

Ning Quan thought for a moment and said.

"Your Highness is wise and generally good."

"But the premise of all this is to ensure that trade routes are unobstructed."

Zhuge Liang reminded.

"Oh, I understand what the Prime Minister means. The bandits in Qilian Mountain have not been completely eliminated. If the bandits are not eliminated, the trade routes will be blocked."

"Don't worry, Prime Minister. I will proceed with this matter as soon as possible." Ning Quan nodded.

"Your Highness, bandits are only one aspect. We also need to send people to the various countries in the Western Regions to engage in mutual trade with them."

Zhuge Liang added.

"Well, that's true. In your opinion, who should I send?"

"Master Man is certainly available, but he's in charge of the city expansion and can't get away."

Ning Quan asked.

"Your Highness, since Master Man is not capable, then send Zhang Tinggao."

"He has lived in Hulan for a long time and is quite familiar with the countries in the Western Regions. He should be able to do the job."

Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Well, then send him."

"Should we send someone to assist him? At least to ensure his safety?"

Ning Quan asked.

"Your Highness, don't worry. Zhang Tinggao is only going there to discuss trade. He won't be in any danger. We can just send a dozen or so soldiers with him."

Zhuge Liang said with a smile.

"Well, then, let's do as the Prime Minister says."

"In addition to these matters, I just suddenly thought, should we expand the scale of our city?"

Ning Quan suddenly asked.

"Your Highness, you and I share the same idea. The Xiongnu's defeat has at least given us two years of stability."

"And the slaves we bought are arriving soon."

"Now that we have slaves and no shortage of money, it's a great time to expand the city."

Zhuge Liang said with a smile.

"OK!"

"That's settled. We'll expand the city immediately."

Ning Quan said with a smile.