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

When we arrived at the front hall, all the generals were already waiting to pay their respects.

"Greetings to His Highness, and to the Princess."

Seeing the two men arrive, all the generals saluted in unison.

"No gifts."

Ning Quan waved his hand and spoke.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Everyone responded again.

Afterwards, Ning Quan brought Li Wanyue to the first seat and sat down.

The ministers stood on both sides and listened quietly.

"The wedding of the king and his wife is a relief."

"Next, we will devote all our energy to the construction and development of Hulan."

Ning Quan pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"I will obey the imperial edict!"

"I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness, even if it means death!"

All the generals said in unison.

"very good!"

"County Magistrate Zhang, are you ready for your mission to the Western Regions?"

Ning Quan asked.

"Your Highness, everything is ready and we can set off at any time."

Zhang Tinggao clasped his fists and said.

"Okay, let's set off immediately. I hope to hear good news from you soon."

"promise."

Zhang Tinggao immediately accepted the order.

"General Zhang Liao, how are the preparations for suppressing the bandits going?"

"Your Highness, everything is ready and we are just waiting for your order."

"Okay, you should set off immediately and try to wipe out all the bandits as soon as possible!"

Ning Quan nodded.

"The general will obey the order."

Zhang Liao cupped his fists and accepted the order.

"General Li Jing, are we a little short of troops?"

Ning Quan looked at Li Jing and asked.

"Your Majesty, I can only say that it is barely adequate."

"General Zhang Liao took away two thousand bandits, leaving less than five thousand in the city."

Li Jing replied.

"Well...I have also considered this."

"In that case, let's recruit some more soldiers, what do you think, General Li?"

Ning Quan nodded.

"Of course, but where will the troops come from?"

Li Jing asked doubtfully.

"Let's select them from the slaves. With over 20,000 slaves, we can probably pick out 2,000."

Ning Quan smiled.

"Well, that's fine too..."

"But we're worried they won't work hard enough. If we want slaves to work hard, we have to provide incentives, such as various rewards or even freedom."

Li Jing thought for a moment and then spoke.

"General Li is absolutely right. Rewards are motivation, especially when someone regains their freedom. The Persian soldiers are a perfect example."

"Then give them a reward. You will handle this matter, and the specific means of reward will be determined by you."

"Here."

Li Jing cupped his fists and said.

"Another thing is that among our slaves there are many children."

"Prime Minister, I intend to enroll all these children in school. What do you think?"

Ning Quan looked at Zhuge Liang and said.

"I understand your Highness's intention. I believe this is feasible. If we cultivate this from a young age, we can not only make the child remember your Highness's kindness, but also help him become a useful talent in the future."

Zhuge Liang replied.

"Well, since the Prime Minister agrees, then let's do it. Prime Minister, you will be responsible for this matter."

Ning Quan nodded and said.

"Your Majesty is wise, and I will definitely fulfill my mission."

Zhuge Liang said respectfully.

"Well, what else do you guys need?"

Ning Quan looked around and asked.

"Since there is no one, General Li and the Prime Minister will stay, and everyone else can go."

Ning Quan said calmly.

"According to the order."

All the ministers responded in unison and then withdrew.

"General Li, in addition to recruiting soldiers, training them is also a top priority. We have so many war horses now that we can easily convert all our soldiers into cavalry."

After everyone left, Ning Quan looked at Li Jing and smiled.

"Your Highness is wise. I understand."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Within six months, I will train an elite cavalry unit for Your Highness."

Li Jing immediately clasped his fists and said.

"Well, so good."

"There's another thing. Generals Huo and Lu haven't returned from their pursuit of the Xiongnu yet, and no news has been sent back."

"This makes me very worried. Send out scouts immediately to gather information and find out what their situation is."

"Yes, I will arrange it right away."

Li Jing responded.

"Well, let's go."

"My minister retire."

Li Jing clasped his fists and retreated.

"Prime Minister, let's go to the slave camp and see those children."

"Education must start with children; they are our future."

"Wanyue, let's go together."

After Li Jing left, Ning Quan said to Zhuge Liang and Wanyue.

.........

The so-called slave camp was actually the original Hun camp.

There was no way to accommodate so many slaves in the city, so the Hun camp came in handy.

Including previously captured bandits and prisoners exiled by the court, a total of nearly 25,000 people are currently being detained here.

In addition, Li Cunxiao's heavy cavalry was also stationed here, including 500 heavy cavalry, 1,000 knight attendants and 2,000 auxiliary soldiers, totaling 3,500 people.

They were stationed here, partly because there was no room in the city, and partly to take care of the slaves.

"I greet your highness and the princess."

Upon learning that Ning Quan had arrived at the camp, Li Cunxiao hurried out to greet him.

"Be flat."

Ning Quan waved his hand slightly.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

"This king wishes to see the slave children. You lead the way."

"Yes, Your Highness, please!"

Li Cunxiao said respectfully, and then led Ning Quan, Zhuge Liang and others to the northwest corner of the camp.

The slave camp was divided into different areas. The northwest corner was for the elderly, the weak, women and children, the northeast corner was a barracks, and the rest was for young and strong laborers.

Right now, all the young and strong slaves are building the city walls, so there are only the elderly, the weak, women and children in the camp.

Arriving at the northwest corner of the slave camp, Ning Quan saw a group of ragged, disheveled children playing through the fence.

These children are all under ten years old, the oldest are eight or nine years old, and the youngest are three or two years old.

There are quite a few of them, at least five or six hundred at first glance.

All these children were pale, skinny, and looked malnourished.

Not far from them were many women and elderly people.

They were also skinny, with dull expressions, and seemed numb.

This is what slave life is like. It is normal to not have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear.

Fortunately, it is summer now. If it were winter, I am afraid many people would have frozen to death.

Because eating, drinking, defecating and urinating all took place here, the air was filled with a strong smell of blood, which was nauseating, even before I got close.

“Ugh~~~!”

Upon smelling the odor, Li Wanyue couldn't help but vomit, and her face turned pale in an instant.

"Don't go in, just wait at a distance."

Seeing this, Ning Quan hurriedly asked Wanyue to wait in the distance.

"Your Highness, the total number of children here is 730."

Li Cunxiao stood by the fence, pointed at the child inside, and said respectfully.

"What about the Han children? How many are there?"

"Your Highness, only thirty or forty."

Li Cunxiao replied.

"Thirty or forty is too little. Take me in to have a look."

Ning Quan said after a moment of silence.

"promise."

Li Cunxiao responded, then pushed open the gate and walked in with Ning Quan.

The children inside the fence heard the noise and looked up at the gate, but when they saw Ning Quan, Li Cunxiao and others, their eyes were filled with fear and they fled in panic.

The adults were even more panicked. They quickly called the children back and hid behind them, fearing that the children would be taken away.