General Qin

"Da Qin currently has two major issues that urgently need to be resolved. One is that it has been nearly three years since General Wang led his troops to conquer Wusun in the west."

"Wusun was cunning and fled to avoid fighting, which made it difficult for our army to make achievements. However, this matter is related to the prestige of our country, Qin. We cannot let it go lightly. We can only keep fighting."

In Xianyang Palace, the newly succeeded second emperor was studying with the right prime minister Zhao Tuo the important issues that Qin State urgently needs to solve.

It has been more than two years, almost three years, since Wang Li led his army to attack Wusun, but there has been no result yet.

It's not that Wang Li's abilities are incompetent, but that the Wusun people learned from the previous experience of the Huns and Yueshi being defeated by the Qin army. When faced with Wang Li's army's conquest, they simply fled without fighting, allowing the Qin army to repeatedly defeat them.

Wusun is originally from the Xingguo. They are nomadic people who move around. They have no key points in the city to guard, so they can run without any psychological burden.

Although the Qin army had some vassal troops from the Yuezhi and Xiongnu, these outsiders also did not know the local geographical environment and were inferior to the Wusun people in this regard, making it difficult to achieve success in pursuit and making the war protracted.

Wu Sun Tzu said: If you use battles, you will win, but if you use them for a long time, your troops will be blunt and your enemies will be defeated; if you attack a city, your strength will be weakened; if you use your troops for a long time, your country will be short of resources.

The Qin army crossed thousands of miles to attack Wusun, and this is the situation they are facing now.

After fighting for a long time without success, the division's veterans were exhausted.

At the same time, materials were transported for thousands of miles, and many civilians were used along the way. The loss of food, grass and military equipment was incalculable, no less than the consumption of Zhao Tuo's conquest of Baiyue. In particular, the two wars fought together greatly consumed Qin's national power, and the treasury that was finally filled was gradually depleted.

When the First Emperor was here, because of his strong character, he could not tolerate a mere Wusun country robbing his caravan and killing the Qin envoys with impunity.

The envoy of Qin who kills me will be killed no matter how far away he is!

Even though the Battle of Wusun was a trap, the First Emperor would jump in without hesitation and destroy the countries outside the fortress at all costs. This is the dignity of the emperor.

One of the four major regrets that the First Emperor said to Zhao Tuo on Tianbaotai was that he could not witness Wusun Kunmo hanging his head in Xianyang, which showed his desire for revenge.

It’s just that the First Emperor has passed away.

The Qin State that the second emperor took over looked strong and mighty, but in fact there were many hidden dangers. The treasury was about to be exhausted, the army was on endless expeditions, and the people in Guizhou were resentful. This was a huge problem.

If he wants this empire to be stable, he must solve it.

"The Battle of Wusun should be stopped, otherwise the finances of the Qin Dynasty will be exhausted, the soldiers will complain, and the head of Guizhou will be tired. If this continues, it will damage the country's foundation. But this matter is related to the power of the Qin Dynasty, so it should not be stopped."

Zhao Tuo's views were basically the same as Fusu's and he proposed a solution.

"On the grounds that the late emperor passed away, we ordered our Qin army officers and soldiers to return to the army to mourn. At the same time, we handed over the newly captured Wusun land to some Xiongnu and Yuezhi people, and ordered them to continue to conquer Wusun. We offered rewards of money and goods to the Wusun people. The heads are used as bait to make these barbarians fight and kill each other."

"In this way, the Battle of Wusun is still going on in name, and there is no intention to disobey the late emperor. In the future, our Great Qin will only need to reward the barbarians to attack and weaken the enemy, which is far more cost-effective than directly sending a large army. Stabilize the domestic situation first. , wait until the world has rested for a few years and the country has sufficient strength, then we will postpone the affairs of Tu Wusun and the Western Regions."

Fusu stroked his palm and praised: "The Marquis of Zhenguo is indeed a master of military art. This method of using Hu to control Hu is indeed much better than sending troops from Da Qin to conquer Wusun. I will announce this matter in the court tomorrow and order General Wang to Return with your troops."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Zhao Tuo praised.

The Qin State has conquered so much land in the past few years. North Korea in the east, Hetao and Yinshan in the north, Baiyue in the south, and Yuezhi in the west are all open spaces.

Qin's immigration speed could not keep up, and no matter how much Wusun territory it conquered, it would be useless and could only be left vacant. It would still be taken back by the Wusun people after the Qin army withdrew. It would be better to reward these newly conquered lands to the Yuezhi people and the Huns, and let them fight with Wusun dogs and dogs, and both sides will consume each other.

In this way, he could achieve multiple goals with one fell swoop. He could not only attack Wusun, but also consume the power of the Yuezhi and Xiongnu dogs.

"Hu people are all shameless people. When using culture and economy to assimilate them, we must also consume their power appropriately."

After solving the Wusun incident, the second major thing Zhao Tuo mentioned was Baiyue, whom he had been worried about.

First of all, after Qin Shihuang's triumphant return in the thirty-seventh year, he told the First Emperor that the soldiers of the Southern Expedition wanted to return home and were complaining. The First Emperor had already agreed to his request to reduce the southern garrison and rotate the soldiers.

But compared to this, immigration to Baiyue is a big problem.

More than half of the work of relocating hundreds of thousands of criminals and untouchables from all over the world to the land south of Lingnan has been completed.

According to the plan of the First Emperor, Li Si and others, this is just the beginning. There will be a second wave of immigrants later. They will use Qin people to assimilate Lingnan and make that land completely an indivisible territory of Qin.

"According to information from the county guards and garrison generals in Nanhai County, Guilin County, Minzhong County and other places, such a large-scale migration of people from the Qin State to the south has caused panic among the Vietnamese people in the south, and there have been many conflicts and even bloodshed between the two sides. If left unchecked, If this matter continues, Baiyue may be at risk of rebellion."

Zhao Tuo looked serious.

This is true.

The Yue people and the Zhu Xia people are of different races and have very different cultural traditions. They have no sense of identity with the Qin State. They originally relied on force to conquer.

According to Zhao Tuo's original plan, the Qin State used soft power to erode Baiyue, cultivate the Vietnamese people's closeness and recognition of the Central Plains culture, and then gradually immigrate little by little. It would take dozens or hundreds of years to conquer that place sooner or later. Digestion.

But now if the First Emperor and Li Si do what they did, maybe just like history, the south will fall into rebellion again. Even if Qin finally forcibly subdues the Yue people, it will pay a heavy price.

"There are already enough people to enrich Lingnan, so the next migration of people should be abandoned. At the same time, we should strictly manage the Qin people who migrated to the south to reduce their conflicts with the Yue people. After the Baiyue people return, we will increase the Qin people's presence. The dominion there.”

Zhao Tuo talked eloquently and expressed all his thoughts.

"What the Prime Minister said is that the Qin Dynasty has been fighting for several years, the treasury has been exhausted, the head of Guizhou is in mourning, and the soldiers have returned home with their hearts full. I also pity the hearts of the people in the world."

Fusu said with some compassion.

He has been deeply influenced by the Chu clan and Confucian culture since he was a child. Although Xiong Qi rebelled against Qin, which separated him from them, his character and thoughts have been subtly influenced by so many years of study.

In addition, Fusu once followed Mengtian to supervise the construction of the Northland, and saw with his own eyes how pitiful the civilian laborers and garrison soldiers who were recruited were. They were used as consumables to work on the Daqin infrastructure, which made him even more concerned about the common people of the world. A little more compassion.

Da Qin wants to go to war, what should we do if we don’t have money? Then increase taxes and levies in the capital of Guizhou. What to do if there are no soldiers? Then there will be a large-scale military service and corvee service.

When the First Emperor was here, Fusu controlled his temper and stopped contradicting him, but he actually sympathized with Qian Shou in his heart. He felt that his father acted too hastily and violently, and did not treat Qian Shou as a human being.

The world of Da Qin was created by the lives of the leaders of Guizhou.

Now that the late emperor has left and Fusu has become the second emperor, he thinks it is time for a change.

In particular, he has the support of Right Prime Minister Zhao Tuo.

"I have made up my mind. Starting tomorrow, we will stop the war in the west and stop the migration of people in the south. I want to rest with the people, so that the world will be healthy and the head of Guizhou will be peaceful. There will be no need for military revolution."

The second emperor spoke with a firm voice, setting the tone for the subsequent development of Qin.

"Your Majesty's move is a blessing to the Qin Dynasty and to all people in the world."

Zhao Tuo spoke sincerely.

It's time for Qin's chariot to stop for refueling and repairs.

Proper maintenance can make your car go further.

On the second day, the right prime minister Zhao Tuo reported to the court, fully explaining the pros and cons of the two major events, and asked the emperor to stop the westward expedition and the southward migration.

As soon as this proposal came out, all the ministers were shocked.

As soon as Prime Minister Zhao took power, he had to accomplish two major things.

But looking at the appearance of the second emperor, all the ministers knew the outcome of this matter.

One is the head of the hundred officials.

One is the supreme one in the world.

With the two of them joining forces, who in the court would dare to have any objection?

All the ministers bowed their heads and seconded the proposal.

The second emperor issued an edict and sent an envoy to Hexi, ordering the Qin generals and kings to leave the army. At the same time, the emigration of people to Baiyue was stopped, and the original second batch of immigration plans was canceled directly.

The whole thing was executed smoothly and smoothly.

Prime Minister Zuo Li Si watched this scene silently.

He glanced at the Second Emperor on the stage.

Then he looked at Zhao Tuo, who looked heroic and stood in front of him with his head held high.

Today's decision was obviously discussed secretly by the monarch and his ministers.

Stop the Western Expedition and stop relocating the people, that's all.

But the two discussed secretly without notifying him, Prime Minister Zuo, in advance.

Li Si felt a little tight in his chest.

"Will there still be a place for me, Li Si, to stand in the Great Qin Dynasty in the future?"