Chapter 1337: Han Banner World (Twenty-Seven) New Things

The news that they spared no effort to build a supply camp in the desert made Wang Jian a little frightened, and Huang Xiao beside him changed color. Mei Hua observed his expression and knew his concern, and explained frankly: "General, these supply camps are only for welcoming the general and for use when the general returns. We only crossed half of the desert, with this oasis as the boundary. Of course, if the general feels it is inappropriate, we will immediately dismantle these supply camps after the general returns."

Crossing half of the desert, with this oasis as the boundary, and the other party only welcomed here, the subtext here is that the country established by the Han Dynasty and him, Wang Jian, in the future will be bounded by this oasis.

"General Mei is too suspicious. I just think that it is not worth spending so much manpower and material resources just for Wang's visit." Wang Jian blushed slightly, and felt ashamed of himself for being cautious*pig*pig*island*novel*ww.huzu.

"For the Han army today, this is nothing." Mei Hua said lightly, "The general is an important guest of the king, so he should be more serious."

Since the Han army has come to greet him, Wang Jian simply rested for another night in this oasis. After crossing half of the desert, his soldiers were already very tired. He didn't want his soldiers to lose face in front of Mei Hua. After a night's rest, when they set out on the road the next day, these cavalrymen were indeed full of energy. At least in the current slower march, they looked no worse than the Han army.

Of course, the weapons of both sides cannot be compared. This young guard corps of the Han army is the emperor's personal army. They are all wearing plate armor. This kind of armor has strong protective ability and is heavy. It is more than one level better than the chain armor equipped by the Qin army. As far as Wang Jian knows. This kind of plate armor is extremely expensive. Of course, he didn't know that the Han army had long passed the primitive stage of hand-made plate armor. It only took a few breaths to form a set of plate armor using a hydraulically driven punch.

Apart from the armor, this Han army was armed to the teeth. Under each person's helmet, they all wore a thin hood with holes only above the nose and eyes. Wang Jian knew its function, which was used to prevent wind and sand in the desert. He didn't expect that the Han army would even uniformly equip this, with the same style and color, which was custom-made at a glance. Then look at his own subordinates. They were all kinds of things. Some used silk cloth, some used coarse cloth, and some even tore a piece of linen from somewhere and covered their faces.

When it comes to weapons, it's even more incomparable. This Han army used a light saber with a narrow blade. Last night, his soldiers saw how sharp this saber was. There was a crossbow inserted next to each person's saddle. This was not a single-shot crossbow. It was a continuous crossbow. Mei Hua also demonstrated it to him yesterday. This crossbow was upgraded from the original Han army's continuous crossbow. The range did not increase much, but the weight of the entire crossbow was half lighter than that of the original crossbow. Outside the bag of crossbows, there were rows of crossbow arrows in special sleeves.

His own soldiers. Or only in fighting will or spirit and spirit can he compete with the other side! Looking at his cavalry,

Wang Jian sighed in his heart.

At dusk the next day, Wang Jian saw the supply camp that Mei Hua mentioned. It was called a supply camp, but it looked like a heavily guarded camp. Rows of grass-green tents were surrounded by fences, and on top of the fences, there was a barbed wire mesh. Every ten meters or so, there was a watchtower, but there were no heavy weapons such as bed crossbows on it.

Wang Jian once again cast a suspicious look at Mei Hua. And Mei Hua had to take on the responsibility of explaining again.

"General, these soldiers who are building the supply camp are all from the Third Military Region. In fact, they are no longer real combat soldiers, but Commander Helan doesn't want them to forget their identities, so this time they are sent out as an opportunity to train, so everything is done according to the requirements of wartime."

"Third Military Region!" Wang Jian murmured.

"General, don't get me wrong. This Third Military Region is not aimed at you. When we set up the Third Military Region, we didn't know where you were. The purpose of setting up the Third Military Region is just to control the vast area of ​​the Northwest. You know, this place used to be a place where bandits were rampant. Moreover, it is also to open up the Northwest. These soldiers were cut from the guards, yamen runners, and constables. Although they receive military pay, they are not regular troops."

"How many troops are there in the Third Military Region now?" Wang Jian asked.

Mei Hua smiled and said, "There are about a million people in the area controlled by the Third Military Region, and about half of them are the guards and their families. Their main task is to reclaim wasteland and farm. When we arrived at the Third Military Region, the general understood it at a glance. In the Third Military Region, there are less than 10,000 regular troops."

"So that's it!" Wang Jian nodded and felt relieved. A regular army of about 10,000 people has to control an area where millions of people live. I'm afraid they are not vigilant enough, so how can they have the spare energy to expand outward?

Mei Hua was laughing in his heart. The Third Military Region did have only more than 10,000 regular troops, but they were not dispersed, but concentrated. Because in the Northwest, each farm was a unit. They had weapons and were enough to protect themselves. Moreover, these farms based on military combat units did not need the Third Military Region to manage any security and management issues. Now in the Northwest, everything was still managed according to military law.

There was a supply camp every 100 miles, which greatly increased their marching speed. Ten days later, Wang Jian's horse hooves stepped on the pace of the Third Military Region, but the scene in front of him made him feel like he was in a dream.

The large area of ​​poplar trees in front of him blocked his sight. The neat poplar trees stood like soldiers, extending infinitely to both sides in front of him. Although most of them were only as thick as wine glasses, there were so many of them that he was still shocked. A few years ago, when he left here, there was nothing here except some low shrubs.

"These trees were planted by the king under the order of the Third Military District. Even now, this work is still being done." Mei Hua looked at the dense forest in front of him and said proudly that in a few years, this place will be covered with green trees.

"Why does your King of Han also care about planting trees, and what is the purpose of planting trees?" Wang Jian asked puzzledly.

"Prevent wind and sand!" Mei Hua pointed to the endless desert behind him. The king said that these wind and sand will erode our land day by day, "turning the best land into a desert like theirs, so we have to plant trees and grass, like a wall, to keep these sands out. I heard from the people of the Third Military District that in the past two years, there have indeed been fewer windy and sandy days in the Mengchi area."

Wang Jian remained silent, and was once again shocked by the wealth of the Han Dynasty. These trees, as well as the manpower to plant these trees and ensure their survival, are all white silver and require strong financial support.

"The king said that this is called planting trees for future generations to enjoy the shade. Maybe our generation will not realize their usefulness, but in our next generation, these sand-proof forests will play an important role." Mei Hua said with a smile.

"The King of Han has always been far-sighted. I admire him very much." Wang Jian said sincerely. While he was still thinking about how to survive and how to live a better life, the King of Han was already thinking about the future generations many years later. The two were obviously not on the same level at all.

After crossing this sand-proof forest that was unknown how long but several miles deep, another scene appeared in front of Wang Jian.

A scene of a paradise on earth.

The crops that had just grown above people's knees stretched out endlessly in front of Wang Jian, swaying in the breeze. A road stretched out in front of him. The gray road was enough for two carriages to travel side by side. Their flatness made Wang Jian really confused. The horseshoes made a crisp sound when the horseshoes stepped on them.

Wang Jian stared at the road intently. He could tell that it was not a stone slab.

"General, this road surface is made of cement, and it is very smooth. With this road surface, we no longer have to worry about the muddy road in rainy and snowy weather." Mei Hua explained with a smile. "In fact, many houses in our Han Dynasty have begun to be built with it. It is very strong, stronger than ordinary stones."

"What is cement?" From the literal meaning, Wang Jian could not figure out what it was.

"Oh, this is a building material. It was invented by the late Minister of Works Guo Quan when he was building a road. Our king named it cement. Of course, we don't understand why the king gave it such a name, but the king is always right, isn't he?" Mei Hua said with a smile.

"Is this thing expensive?"

"Of course not. If it were expensive, how could it be used to build roads? In fact, it is very simple to build." Mei Hua smiled. "But the Third Military Region is too far away from the mainland, so now only the main road has been built here. Unlike the inland areas, this kind of cement road has been popularized. Even some villages with good economic conditions have begun to use cement to build roads. But now we have built a highway from Dayan County to Mengchi, and the conditions here will get better and better in the future. General, you have been away from the Central Plains for several years, and many new things have been invented. When you arrive in Dayan County, you will see more new things."

"Yes, I have been away from the Central Plains for too long." Wang Jian reined in his horse and looked over the endless green crops, looking at the rows of villages in the distance, where there was smoke rising.

And a few years ago, this place was a wilderness. (To be continued...)