Shangdang and Yecheng are the two counties with the most important strategic position in Zhao State. One guards the southwest corner of Zhao State, and the other guards the southern border of Zhao State. As long as these two counties are present, Zhao State will have no worries.
Yecheng is only a few dozen miles away from Handan, and you can easily reach it for sightseeing. Zhao Kuo had already been there once last year, so this time he decided to make Shangdang his first stop.
As for other counties and counties, although they also have borders with Yan and Qi, the threat to Zhao from the two countries is far less than that of Qin and Wei, so naturally they do not pay as much attention as Shangdang and Yecheng.
Now that Hedong is back in the hands of Wei, there is Wei as a barrier between Shangdang and Qin, but to be honest, Zhao Kuo is actually not optimistic about Wei.
No matter in terms of national strength or popular support, the Wei State had no advantage. When the Qin State captured Anyi, it expelled all the Wei people in the city and then moved in with the Qin people from Guanzhong.
Although Hedong is the hometown of the Wei State, it is hard to say where people's hearts are between Qin and Wei.
And once it’s fresh, it’s the second time it’s ripe.
The Qin State knew the terrain of Hedong very well, and it would be much easier to capture Hedong again than the first time.
Hedong can at most delay the Qin army's attack and give Zhao time to prepare, but it cannot be relied upon. It is still Zhao's own responsibility to resist the Qin army.
The importance of Ye County is no less than that of Shangdang, because the threat of Wei to Zhao is no less than that of Qin.
Even if Wei Wuji, the younger brother of the King of Wei, becomes the prime minister of Zhao, and the relationship between the two countries is so good that he can wear a pair of trousers, and there is no need to collect taxes when crossing the border, it will not change the fact that... beating Zhao in the Six Kingdoms
The country that beat the hardest was not Qin, but Wei.
Qin didn't even capture Handan, the capital of Zhao, but Wei captured it forcefully.
Of course, in this world, Zhao State was not tricked and killed by Qin State with an army of 450,000, otherwise Qin State would be ranked first.
When Yecheng was still in the hands of the Wei State, it was only sixty miles away from Handan, the capital of the Zhao State. It arrived in a hurry and posed a serious threat to the security of the Zhao State.
This is also the reason why Zhao Kuo had to take the city of Ye from the hands of the Wei State. If he didn't come, the south of Zhao State would never be protected.
The enemy's army can reach your own capital in one day. How dare you set up industry near the capital?
Fortunately, with the help of Zhao Kuo, Wei State recovered Hedong, Hanoi, and part of Nanyang, gained a large area of territory, and quickly ceded Ye City to Zhao State.
Otherwise, after the Five Kingdoms attack Zhao, Zhao Kuo will also use the momentum of great victory to force Wei to cede Yecheng.
It can even be said that Wei, an ally, is not as important as Yecheng.
There are no eternal friends between countries, only eternal interests.
King Wei's head was in good and bad days, and no one knew what was going on in his little head. Maybe one day, he would suddenly break up and join Qin in attacking Zhao.
It is better for such an important city as Yecheng to be in Zhao's own hands.
The rolling wheels rolled over the official road.
Perhaps it was early spring, everyone was busy cultivating fields, and there were not many pedestrians on the road.
In fact, with the population density here in this era, except for a few big cities, it is difficult to experience the feeling of busy traffic.
People have settled on both sides of some roads, especially in places with convenient transportation such as intersections, and have formed the size of villages.
"See, I said at the beginning that as long as the road is repaired, people will come to settle on the edge. There is no need to worry about whether there are people or not." Zhao Kuo pointed outside and said.
No one echoed…
Liu Ping was in another carriage, and An Ning and others had no idea about it.
Under normal circumstances, they never get involved in political affairs.
"After we pass Jinyang, are we still going to Heshang?" An Ning pulled Xiao Ponu off his body, put him in the car, and let him play with Xiao Zhao Zheng.
Bin sat aside, playing with the small wooden sword that Zhao Kuo had rewarded him not long ago, imagining that he would become a knight who could kill one person in ten steps and leave no trace for thousands of miles, while listening to the conversation of Zhao Kuo and others.
"Yes, the Hetao has been developed for more than two years. We must go and see how it is and be aware of it." Zhao Kuo nodded.
"Do you want to go to the grassland? I haven't seen the grassland yet." An Ning said excitedly.
"There is grassland in Hetao, but we also have to go to Monan. The main road from Hetao to the grassland has been built, so it won't be too tiring." Zhao Kuo said.
Speaking of which, although Zhao State has established a county in Monan, it is completely different from other counties. The population of Monan is only more than 10,000, and there are only tens of thousands of slaves, which is not as good as a larger city.
Moreover, there are no counties under Monan County, but rather various ranches and processing plants, which are equivalent to Zhao's meat supply base, mainly for the army, and the nobles will also take this opportunity to take advantage.
Generally speaking, Zhao Kuo would turn a blind eye as long as he did not cross the line.
Although farming can be done on the grasslands near rivers, Zhao State does not lack that cultivated land, so it is better to keep it for grazing.
Of course, it must be pasture-based grazing, not nomadic grazing.
If we return to the nomadic way, it won't be long before the grasslands will be surrounded by the Hu people again. The Zhao people who moved to Zhao will not only not assimilate the Hu people, but will also be assimilated by the Hu people.
The carrying capacity of the grassland is limited, so make the pasture larger, build water conservancy, artificially plant grass, and move back to the Great Wall for the winter. Anyway, don't think about running around.
As long as they don't run around and don't restore the habits of the nomadic people, Zhao State can always control the grassland. Even if Zhao State is destroyed in the future, the new Chinese state that succeeds Zhao State will continue to control the grassland.
It will not be like in history, when one grassland country is destroyed and another country grows up, and when one country is destroyed, another country grows up, like leeks, which can never be cut off.
However, the current forage yield is a bit low, making it difficult to maintain a very large pasture. Zhao Kuo also hoped that the caravan could bring alfalfa back from the Western Regions. As a result, several years have passed, and there is not even a trace of the caravan.
If they don't come back by the end of this year, the possibility of Mao Sui and others surviving will be very, very low, and Zhao Kuo will organize a second caravan.
"When the time comes, I will definitely gallop on the grassland." An Ning said happily. She can ride a horse, but her equestrian skills are better than most cavalry.
"I want it too." Xiao Po Nu shouted immediately.
Bin and Zhao Zheng also raised their heads, with light shining in their eyes. They rode horses on the grassland, the wind and waves roared past their ears, and they were surrounded by endless prairie. It was very refreshing to think about it.
"Except for Bin, who can get a pony and learn to ride a horse, neither of you can. It will take a few years before you can." An Ning said immediately.
"Mom!" the little slave threw himself into his mother's arms and yelled.