The envoy of the Maurya Dynasty did not know how much trouble his unintentional words had brought to the entire dynasty, otherwise he might even have the intention of committing suicide.
After all, in his impression, the Zhao State and the Maurya Dynasty are thousands of miles apart. At most, there will be a little conflict of interest, and it is impossible to have a war that will overwhelm the country. Whether the Maurya Dynasty wants to attack Zhao State, or Zhao State attacks the Maurya Dynasty, it is an impossible task.
possible things.
Although due to the existence of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the army's marching speed and combat effectiveness have been greatly improved, and to a certain extent, it can break through the limits of the empire's barriers, but the difficulty of transporting food has not been greatly improved.
The journey of tens of thousands of miles and the losses on the road are enough to bring down any empire.
Not to mention, the target of the attack is also an empire.
If there was really a chance, Ashande would not be so easy to talk, give up the war with Zhao State, and instead establish friendly trade exchanges.
"Xunzi, it's better not to be ridiculous. Our Zhao State can't even unify the Central Plains now, so how can we take action against the Maurya Dynasty." Zhao Kuo said with a bitter smile. With the current size of the Maurya Dynasty, if the two countries really go to war, it may be possible.
Who hits whom?
Even if the Zhao State can suppress it in a short time, it will undoubtedly lose in the long term. The war potential of the Mauryan Dynasty is not comparable to that of the current Zhao State, not to mention that there are five hindrances behind the Zhao State.
Zhao wanted to compete with the Mauryan Dynasty only after unifying the Central Plains.
"I will do my best to help the king unify the Central Plains." Xunzi said solemnly, and then slowly knelt on the ground, "I also ask the king to give me certain rights, and I will help the king solve some internal problems."
He has always known Zhao Kuo's scruples, and also knows that the biggest obstacle to Zhao's unification of the world does not come from the outside, but from the inside.
Zhao State has a large number of officials from other countries. This kind of emotion for the mother country cannot be bought by interests, nor can it be justified by reason. When necessary, these people can even die for the country.
It is conceivable that in the future, as Zhao State begins to unify the world, these civil and military ministers who unite around Zhao Kuo are likely to go against each other. Even if they do not go against each other, there will be huge cracks in the friendship between the monarch and his ministers.
This problem is difficult to solve, and Xunzi does not know Zhao Kuo's true thoughts. As a minister, it is not convenient for him to say anything.
But now Xunzi couldn't bear it anymore. It turned out that the various schools of thought had been calling for unification of the world for so long. It was just a joke.
The world is far more vast than the Central Plains. In the past, remote and wild lands were considered not only not wild, but extremely fertile, and even gave birth to dynasties and splendid cultures that were no less than those of the Central Plains.
Since we want to unify, we must unify all these countries, otherwise, what qualifications do we have for being called a great unification?
If Zhao State spends most of its power on useless internal fighting, after unifying the Central Plains, it will still have no power to attack countries like the Mauryan Dynasty.
From now on, everyone must set their goals outside, must use all their abilities, and no one is allowed to be lazy, let alone fight among themselves.
Everything must be based on national affairs.
He also needs to cultivate and select talents for the State of Zhao and ensure the supply of talents for the State of Zhao.
As for aggression that is not in line with Confucian benevolence and etiquette, Xunzi would tell him what enlightenment is and what the Mauryan Dynasty is. They have been an inseparable part of China since ancient times!
"Xunzi just let go and do it." Zhao Kuo helped Xunzi up and said with a smile, "If you encounter any problems, Xunzi can discuss it with Lin Qing."
The personnel sent by Lin Xiangru to explore the northeast have returned. What Zhao Kuo said is not an exaggeration. Although it is all undeveloped wasteland, the soil is extremely fertile and the materials are extremely rich. All kinds of birds and beasts can be seen everywhere, even if they can only be planted for one season. It is also comparable to the entire Central Plains and definitely has development value.
Then Lin Xiangru seemed to be glowing with a second spring. He came to the court before dawn every day, worked overtime at night and went back very late. He was so energetic that he even hummed a ditty on the way back and forth.
When others asked him, Lin Xiangru just smiled and said nothing.
The Prime Minister personally took the lead in working overtime, and the other courtiers cursed in their hearts, but they had no choice but to follow suit, which made Zhao Guo's administrative efficiency much faster.
"I understand." Xunzi thought for a moment and nodded.
In June, Yuan Hua led his fleet back. This time Yuan Hua crossed the Strait of Malacca and reached the mouth of the Ganges River, completing the farthest voyage in the history of Zhao State.
When returning to China, Yuan Hua also brought a large amount of food from Indochina.
Originally, these indigenous people could feed themselves by just scattering some seeds on the ground. Now with the advanced farming technology brought by Zhao State, their output has nearly doubled. They exchanged a large amount of grain and grass for Zhao State's sophisticated weapons and agricultural tools.
Of course, this sophistication is only for the indigenous people. In fact, it is the old weapons that Zhao State retired and did not use. Originally they could only be remade, but now they are all sold to these indigenous people, earning a lot of food for Zhao State.
After entering midsummer, the drought in the Central Plains not only did not improve at all, but intensified. Centered on South Korea and Wei, it spread to all directions. Even Qi was affected. Farmland cracked into pieces, crops withered in large areas, and even trees were withered. Start to die.
People knelt in the fields, looking at the sky in despair, praying devoutly in their hearts, praying for rain. Even a small rain would be enough to save most of the crops, but there was nothing in the sky except the scorching sun. No.
The situation in the southern part of Zhao State was better than that of Han and Wei. Although it was also dry, there was a light rain in the middle, which was able to save part of the harvest and prevent it from being lost.
At the end of July, Zhao Kuo, with Yuan Hua as the chief envoy and Zhao Mu as the deputy envoy, led more than fifty large ships loaded with cargo to the Mauryan Dynasty by sea.
This was the first maritime trade between the Zhao State and the Maurya Dynasty, and it also marked a new process in the entire history of Chinese maritime trade.
…
In August, news came from Zhangye County: The Qiang people came down the mountain!
Needless to say, the conflict between the Zhao State and the Qiang people goes without saying. Even if there were no previous conflicts, after the Zhao State occupied the Hexi Corridor, conflicts with the Qiang people were inevitable.
However, the Qiang people were obviously not mindless. They lay dormant in winter, spring and summer when their strength was relatively weak, and chose to launch an attack on Zhao in autumn when their horses were strong and the entire tribe's combat effectiveness was at its highest.
"A mere Qiang people, as well as a small group of Yuezhi remnants, dare to invade the border of our Zhao Kingdom. Send an order, with Meng Ao as the main general, Meng Wu, Touman, Feng Wuze, Qingshe as deputy generals, and command half of Zhao Fei's cavalry
, Youyun Iron Cavalry, Shesheng Camp, Xuanjia Army, plus 30,000 cavalry, to fight the Qiang people, and are allowed to recruit troops on the spot." Zhao Kuo did not wait for the generals to ask for orders, but directly ordered the generals.
Even if the Qiang people don't take action, he plans to wait until next spring to take the initiative to attack, but now he saves some trouble.
"Nuo." All the generals whose names were called, except Meng Ao, Meng Wu and his son, Tou Man, Feng Wuze, and Qing She, who were not here, all clasped their fists and saluted excitedly.
The other generals saw that Zhao Kuo was obviously training the younger generation of Zhao State, so they stopped asking for orders.
"Teacher... let Taichang serve as the military advisor." Zhao Kuo looked around and finally focused on Lu Zhonglian. Zhao State is still very busy now, and the younger generation of civil servants are all serving as local officials outside. Only
Lu Zhonglian is suitable to accompany the army on the expedition.
"I obey," Lu Zhong said with his fists clasped.
…
Before Zhao State received the news, the Qiang people began to gather. When Zhao Jun arrived at Zhangye County, the Qiang people were still gathering...
Not all Qiang people are willing to be enemies of the Zhao State. Most of the Qiang people are not willing to provoke the behemoth Zhao State, especially those Qiang tribes that did not send a large army to support the Qin State in the first place, and they are even less willing to go to war with the Zhao State.
.
There are also some Qiang people who have good relations with Zhao State and even completely surrender to Zhao State. They are not willing to be enemies of Zhao State.
The Qiang people are different from the Hu people on the grassland. The grassland terrain is flat and endless, and there are basically no obstacles to communication among the tribes. This makes it easier for the Hu people to unify internally. Whether it is the Xiongnu or the Donghu people, they all have nominal leaders, no matter how they compete internally.
, when encountering foreign enemies, we can basically be consistent in dealing with the outside world.
However, the terrain where the Qiang people live is rugged and complex, with towering mountains everywhere. The rolling mountains divide the plateau into one area after another. Climbing from one mountain to another is more difficult than crossing hundreds of miles on the grassland.
.
This makes the Qiang people rarely communicate with each other, and they are more scattered than the Hu people. They don't even have their own leaders. Everything is discussed by several large tribes.
Originally, when several tribes gave the order, other tribes basically followed suit.
But now the situation is different. After the strongest tribes supported Qin last year, 50,000 young men were detained in Zhao and have not returned yet. This has caused the strength and prestige of these tribes to drop significantly.
Other weaker tribes began to make moves.
In addition, Zhao State's road construction, city construction, and land reclamation this year saved many desperate Qiang tribes. They worked with the Zhao State government, and Zhao State paid them wages, allowing them to support their families.
, so as not to starve to death.
The State of Zhao also divided pastures for a few tribes so that they could graze there. If they wanted to farm, they would be given fields.
These people have a natural affection for Zhao Guo, and they are still waiting to continue working for Zhao Guo next year.
If a war is launched against the Zhao State, it is very likely that the Zhao State will no longer accept them or even expel them, so these tribes try their best to prevent this.
The Qiang people were originally scattered, but now that they were mixed up with the Zhao State, each tribe had its own agenda and was at odds with each other. More than half a month had passed, and there was still no unified government order.
Zhao Jun has already rushed to Zhangye from Handan, but the Qiang people are still in Moji.
At the Prefecture of Zhangye County, Meng Ao looked at his son, Touman, Feng Wuze, and Qingshe speechlessly. All the people sent by the imperial court were young generals. Couldn't he be a nanny?
However, except for the youngest among these people, Feng Wuze, who has not yet been born with talent, the other three generals already have talent and are still strong enough to fight these Qiang people.
"This is the Dangling Bell that provides information to our Zhao State. The two Yuhun brothers. It is with their help that I got the news in advance and reported it to the court." Meng Ao pointed to the Dangling Bell, and the two Yuhun brothers said,
Said to everyone.
Dang Ling and Yu Hun bowed to everyone with some embarrassment. This was the first time they saw so many generals. Although they all looked young, they did not dare to look down upon them at all.
"I am Zhao Guotaichang. On behalf of the imperial court, I would like to thank you for your help." Lu Zhong walked up to the two of them, leaned down and saluted, and said solemnly.
"Don't dare, don't dare, sir, please get up quickly." Dangling and Yuhun were flattered. In front of them was a high-ranking official at the level of Zhao Guogong, who actually saluted them as mere Qiang people.
"I wonder if you two are willing to join my country, Zhao?" Lu Zhonglian stared at Dangling and Yuhun closely.
Dangling and Yuhun looked hesitant. They had a good impression of Zhao State and had thought about joining Zhao State, but after asking Meng Ao, they still refused.
Although the Zhao State provided them with fertile pastures, and the entire tribe was still under their management, they only needed to pay taxes on time. With the protection of the Zhao State, they would never encounter oppression and plunder from other tribes in the future.
Seems to be beneficial.
But this kind of treatment can only last for one generation.
Official positions in the State of Zhao cannot be hereditary. Even titles will be inherited by descendants. Naturally, there is no exception for the Qiang people.
If you want to join the Zhao Kingdom, you can. The Zhao Kingdom can maintain your current glory, wealth and status, but only for you. As for your descendants, it depends on their performance.
Moreover, the number of people who can join Zhao State is limited, and Zhao State only wants to win over a small number of people. As for the rest, they should just become slaves and build roads for Zhao State.
If it were not for the purpose of dividing the Qiang people and reducing the difficulty of redressing the Qiang people, Zhao Guo would not even win over a small number of them.
Dangling and Yuhun were unwilling to let the tribe passed down by their ancestors be lost in their own hands, so they chose to refuse.
For some reason, Dangling and Yuhun were more stressed when facing Lu Zhonglian than when facing Meng Ao. Lu Zhonglian's two sharp eyes seemed to see through the two of them. Dangling and Yuhun had a feeling in their hearts. If they made the wrong choice,
, the feeling that there will be no recovery.
"We...are willing to join the Zhao Kingdom." After a while, Yuhun gritted his teeth and said.
Dangling looked at his brother in shock, but out of trust for his brother, Dangling didn't say anything.
"You will know in the future that this choice is correct." Lu Zhonglian smiled and patted Yuhun on the shoulder, "After this battle, there will be no trace of the Qiang people for hundreds of miles near Zhao State."
When Dangling and Yuhun heard this, they immediately trembled.
"General, without further ado, let's summon the lieutenants of the army to discuss military affairs." Lu Zhonglian said.
"My subordinates still have something to do in the tribe, so I'm going to leave first." Dang Ling and Yu Hun said knowingly.
"Do you have any instructions, Your Majesty?" Meng Ao asked when only Lu Zhonglian and others were left in the mansion.
"The king said that he has only one request. From now on, the Zhao Kingdom will no longer be invaded by the Qiang people." Lu Zhonglian said.
Hearing this, Meng Ao rubbed his head with a headache. He was still quite sure of defeating the Qiang people, but it would be difficult to do it once and for all.
The terrain of the Qiang people is so good, with high mountains everywhere. Not only that the combat effectiveness of the Zhao army was greatly reduced after they went up, but even if they could win, they would not be able to stay on the plateau for a long time and would have to withdraw.
When the Qiang people return to the mountains, Zhao will have no choice.