In the First Lingnan War, the empire mobilized an army of 500,000 people, while Baiyue barely scraped together an army of 50,000 people.
By the time Tu Sui died in battle, all 50,000 people had been killed or injured, leaving only a few thousand remnants.
Of course, the casualty rate as high as 90% resulted in shocking results - they wiped out nearly 300,000 of the empire's troops.
Although the loss of these 300,000 men was caused by many reasons, the desperate resistance of the Baiyue army cannot be ignored.
Although the results were astonishing, the Baiyue people had basically exhausted their own strength.
The Baiyue population in the Lingnan region was only a few hundred thousand, and it would take at least ten years for the strong labor force to recover one-tenth of the total population, but the empire only gave them less than a year.
This little time is basically no time, and there is no way to recover at all.
The remaining population is basically no longer able to form effective resistance.
Under this situation, the resistance Ren Xiao and Zhao Tuo faced was too weak.
If this is not enough, then the empire will have great fun.
However, even if the empire pushed Lingnan all the way with unstoppable momentum, it really didn't show much face.
Ferrari and wheelchair racing, there is no point in winning.
Some people were shocked by the great victory in the Lingnan War, and their thoughts that arose due to the previous turmoil in the empire were immediately suppressed.
However, some people believed that the empire was weak on the outside but weak on the inside, and that it was declining. Instead, they strengthened their confidence in resisting the empire.
Ying Zheng still didn't care about this and focused on his eastward tour.
Now it is somewhat inappropriate to continue to call it an eastward tour, because more than half of the journey has passed. The convoy has just passed Hengshan County, Jiujiang County, and is about to return to Guanzhong westward through Nanyang and Huaiyang.
The convoy will speed up during this journey, and it is expected that the convoy will return to the imperial capital Xianyang in one month at the latest and half a month at the earliest.
It’s understandable that Ying Zheng doesn’t care about the turmoil in various places.
Because the most dangerous moment for the empire has passed - that is, when the northern and southern fronts were plunged into the quagmire of war at the same time.
Now that the war in the North has subsided, with only sporadic nomadic tribes intruding, the hundreds of thousands of border troops at the Great Wall Army Headquarters have settled down. While firmly in control of the North, they can support the Central Plains at any time.
The Lingnan Army is advancing steadily, and is expected to be able to completely occupy Lingnan by the beginning of next spring at the latest, and by the end of this winter at the earliest (this does not refer to the end of the Zhuanxu calendar).
By then, the 300,000 troops of the Lingnan Army will also be liberated from the war, and together with the Great Wall Army in the north and south, they can look at the Central Plains in the distance.
Not counting ace troops such as the Golden Fire Cavalry, the two major armies of the North and South alone totaled more than half a million elite troops. Together with the Anxi Town Army, the Dragon and Tiger Cavalry, the Iron Armored Army and other traditional strong armies, the empire had nearly a million troops.
Under such circumstances, it is really difficult for Ying Zheng to worry about some "rats" who have been hiding in the shadow corners to overthrow his rule.
Worrying about the future is not such a worry.
Of course, strong military strength does not mean that the empire is impregnable and unbreakable.
Flowers decorating the brocade and fire cooking oil are no doubt very lively, but going too far is not enough. If the extremes of things are triggered, the building will collapse right before our eyes.
It's not that Ying Zheng doesn't understand this truth, he just has confidence in himself.
As long as he, the emperor, is still there, nothing will happen to the empire!
In a sense, this idea is not bad.
With Ying Zheng's political skills and political reputation, he could always ensure the stability of the political groups within the imperial court, suppress or balance the conflicts between the various parties, and ensure that the superstructure of the empire's edifice became stable.
The superstructure can be stable, and as long as there are no problems with the foundation, the building will not suddenly collapse.
Of course, it is obvious that there is something wrong with the foundation of the empire, but in a short period of time, the most stable and firm foundation will not be completely unable to support it - the endurance of ordinary people can often exceed everyone's imagination.
………………
Eastern patrol team.
The carriage drove slowly on the pipeline, and the wheels made a rumbling sound as they ran over the dry but slightly uneven road.
In Ying Zheng's car, he was dealing with many matters that had recently been reported from various counties in the North.
There were arrangements for the aftermath of the attack by the northern nomadic tribes, progress reports on the Great Wall Straight Project, and some scattered battle reports that required his approval.
Zhao Gao, who usually accompanied Ying Zheng, disappeared this time, replaced by a mysterious man shrouded in black robes - of course, he was just wearing a black robe and a mask, not Donghuang.
The type of Taiyi who is covered from head to toe, not even an eyeball is exposed.
The man in black robe stood at the bottom and said in a hoarse voice that was obviously deliberately concealed:
"It is now basically certain that Gu Xun, the national master, went to sea with Mirage to search for immortals."
"Well...what's Donghuang Taiyi's reaction?" Ying Zheng asked without raising his head.
"He didn't seem to care. He just replied that your Majesty, please wait for the good news." The man in black robe responded with a slight smile.
Judging from his tone, he was much more relaxed than Zhao Gao when facing Ying Zheng.
"Since he is so confident, I can't begrudge him his trust." Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng stopped pursuing Gu Xun's whereabouts.
Since Donghuang Taiyi is not worried, there is no need for him to worry.
"Is there any other news worth paying attention to?"
The man in black robe immediately replied in a hoarse voice, "There is also the recent movement in Quicksand."
"All the power of Quicksand has been reduced to several counties in the Northland. Those that can be evacuated have been evacuated, and those that cannot be evacuated have been destroyed or abandoned. Even many businesses that were originally operating in Guanzhong have been stopped."
"Business in Guanzhong has stopped?"
Ying Zheng showed a rare expression of surprise.
This is not because Liusha's business in Guanzhong is huge.
In fact, Liusha's main business in recent years has been specialized business - that is, products from other regions that are not available or scarce in the Central Plains.
This aspect is provided by the nomadic tribes in the North, and the main way to obtain it is by robbing.
On the other hand, it is provided by the Baiyue region in Lingnan and mainly relies on normal trade.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! This type of business is almost monopolized by Liusha, and the profits are very considerable, so Liusha basically does not operate other normal businesses.
The most well-known exceptions are Zilanxuan and Anxiang Pavilion.
The former is open to men, and the latter is open to women. They are both hugely profitable industries.
However, the reason why they are well known is not because of huge profits, but because of their ignominy.
The upper class of the empire basically knew about the inextricable relationship between the owners of Zilanxuan and Anxiang Pavilion and Gu Xun.
Make money, don't shiver.
But for businesses that are somewhat sleazy, such as romantic places and rouge and gouache - especially the former, people with status usually leave it to white gloves to run it, while they hide behind the scenes as a backer, and it's all over with a big slap on the head.
Gu Xun, on the other hand, directly made it clear that this was his business, and even asked his woman to show up and run it herself.
In the eyes of many people, this is a bit too cheap.
There are even rumors circulating that His Majesty the Emperor expressed his dissatisfaction with this and felt that the behavior of the imperial advisor was not decent enough.
Interestingly, this rumor is true.
Ying Zheng did talk to Gu Xun about the two businesses under his name, and he did think that there was no need for him to make money through such inappropriate methods.
Ying Zheng even made conditions for Gu Xun, asking him to stop his business, and the inner government (similar to the emperor's inner treasury) would fund him to make up for whatever he made less in a year.
However, he was still rejected by Gu Xun.
This business was run by Zi Nu and Ming Zhu, not him, and the purpose was not to make money, but simply to find something to do.
How could he force Zi Nu and Ming Zhu to close their business?
As for reputation, Gu Xun doesn't care anyway.
That's why Ying Zheng was so surprised when he heard the news.
In the blink of an eye, Ying Zheng also figured out why the business of Zilanxuan and Anxiang Pavilion had stopped.
"It seems that Quicksand is going to make big moves."
No matter what Liusha wants to do, it will not be said that he lacks the manpower of Zilanxuan and Anxiang Pavilion.
There is only one possibility to force Liusha to stop even this small business - they judge that the business in Guanzhong cannot continue to operate at all.
As for the reason why the hugely profitable industry under the personal care of the Imperial Master cannot continue to operate, there is basically only one possibility - Liusha may do something that Ying Zheng cannot tolerate next.
This is what Ying Zheng calls the ‘big move’!
The masked man took over the conversation and said, "Judging from Liusha's current actions, there is only one possibility for what they want to do - to rebel."
"Significantly reducing the scope of their influence, mobilizing nearly all-round manpower, and doing everything they can to deceive the imperial court... The only explanation I can think of is that they plan to establish a camp in the north and resist the empire head-on."
"Apart from this matter, there should be nothing else worthy of such a big move by Quicksand."
Speaking of this sensitive topic, Ying Zheng, who had been hunched over his desk, finally raised his head. His sharp and cold eyes like an eagle were not angry, but filled with silence.
He is wondering.
The masked man's analysis was reasonable and he agreed, but...he really couldn't imagine how Fusu dared to rebel against him?
Although Ying Zheng is dissatisfied with Fu Su's many shortcomings - which may not be considered shortcomings to others - and also has many dislikes for Fu Su, Ying Zheng is very clear that his biggest concern for Fu Su is
There is only one dissatisfaction, and that is that his eldest son is not like him.
I'm talking about personality, not appearance.
It is precisely because Fusu is not like him that Ying Zheng is convinced that Fusu cannot really resist his 'father'.
If Fusu has no intention of rebelling...that is to say, Liusha's behavior is probably to make his own decisions? Or does it mean that Liusha wants to leave Fusu alone?
But this is still impossible in Ying Zheng's view.
If Gu Xun wants to rebel, it must be for Fusu and his only student.
It was impossible for him to leave Fusu and lead Liusha against the empire.
In other words...blocking both ends?
"Are you sure that everything Liusha did was due to Gu Xun's orders?" Ying Zheng, who was thinking a lot, asked a question.
He thought of another possibility.
It is true that neither Fusu nor Gu Xun had any plans to rebel, but they were not the only high-level officials in Liusha.
As far as Ying Zheng knew, many affairs in Liusha were actually managed by Han Fei, who had died many years ago.
Fusu and Gu Xun may not rebel, but Han Fei has too many reasons to rebel!
The masked man probably guessed what Ying Zheng was thinking and responded immediately:
"If nothing else, it should be Gu Xun's intention. At least he must know about it and have no objection."
"The movements of Liusha are too big, and they started a long time ago. Even if the Imperial Master doesn't pay much attention to the specific development of Liusha, it's impossible not to be alarmed."
"and……"
After speaking, the masked man suddenly stopped talking.
Upon seeing this, Ying Zheng calmly nodded, "Just say it."
"Yes." The masked man nodded and replied, "Moreover, Liusha's actions were also assisted by His Highness Fusu and General Meng Tian."
"..." Ying Zheng's eyes darkened, and after a moment of silence, he actually smiled, "The people are all ready... I really want to see what they plan to do!"
"You can continue to keep an eye on it, and report to me at any time if there is any situation."
"As ordered." The masked man raised his hand and saluted, and then disappeared.
After Ying Zheng pondered for a moment, he also turned his attention back to the files on the desk.
Let's wait and see about the quicksand rebellion first, he is not in a hurry.
The word "rebellion" sounds simple, but in practice it is extremely difficult.
There are countless ambitious people hiding in the world today who are determined to overthrow the empire, but no matter how much they hate Ying Zheng, they can only hide it honestly, and no one dares to come forward - there are really those who dare to come forward.
Every one of them dies.
Of course, Liusha's strength is far beyond what an individual can compare with. Even among the anti-Qin forces, there is no one who can compare with Liusha.
But for the empire, the difference is not big.
Meng Tian may be inclined to support the eldest son, but the hundreds of thousands of border troops under his command will not follow Meng Tian and become loyal to Fusu, let alone follow Liusha in rebellion.
As long as there are no problems with the army, rebellion will be nothing more than a joke to Ying Zheng.
………………
In the north of the country, there is the eldest son's mansion in the city of Shangjunzhifushi.
As winter approaches, Fusu and Mengtian become increasingly busy.
But Fusu's mood was much better than before.
"In the blink of an eye, it's already the beginning of winter."
Fusu held a cup of hot tea and sighed in a relaxed tone.
Meng Tian sat down and nodded slightly in agreement, "The temperature has begun to drop at an accelerated rate."
"Thanks to Your Highness for making early preparations, I think we can save many lives this winter."
"General, I am so complimentary." Fusu waved his hand, not daring to take credit, "I just gave you my opinion and caused you a lot of trouble. The real solution to the problem depends on the help of you and Mr. Han Fei."
"Especially Mr. Han Fei, I didn't expect him to be able to provide so much extra food."
Meng Tian thought about it for a moment and then responded, "Those grains... seem to be related to the Imperial Master."
"Many years ago, the Imperial Master mentioned several special crops to His Majesty, saying that after breeding and screening, we might be able to obtain stable and high-yield improved varieties."
"At first, His Majesty the Emperor assigned this matter to the agricultural officers under Zhi Su Neishi. Later, the progress seemed to be unsatisfactory, and it was taken over by the Imperial Master."
"What Mr. Han Fei sent is food produced from those crops."
In fact, it’s just potatoes, corn, etc.
In the Qin Dynasty, these crops existed in the world that should not have appeared in the pre-Qin era, but they did not become mainstream. The yield per mu of private cultivation was also average, but to a certain extent, they filled the food vacancies of ordinary people.
