After the Mauryan Dynasty withdrew, the Zhao army successfully took over the vast plains between the Arakan Mountains and the Shan State Plateau.
Tian Dan transferred prisoners from the Maurya Dynasty to build cities and roads, and at the same time wrote letters to the court requesting to relocate the people.
At the same time, troops were sent to eliminate the surrounding barbarians and declare sovereignty.
When these barbarians who once crawled at the feet of the Mauryan Dynasty saw Zhao Jun, they knelt on the ground without saying a word and cried bitterly, saying that they had admired Zhao for a long time and wanted to join Zhao for a long time, but they were unable to serve their country.
Zhao Jun did not refuse. Since you admire my country, Zhao, then come to my country to cultivate land and build roads!
What? Not willing?
If you don’t want to be decent, then I, Zhao Jun, will help you be decent!
No one can destroy the friendship between Zhao and Myanmar, not even Myanmar!
Under the influence of Zhao Jun, the surrounding barbarians voluntarily joined the Zhao Kingdom!
With the wealth and population of the barbarians, the construction speed of the southwest has been greatly increased, and huge changes are taking place every day.
A big city gradually rose from the ground, the surrounding forests were slowly reclaimed into fertile fields, and villages were scattered around the city.
Two broad avenues extend from north to south, connecting the Central Plains and southern ports respectively, connecting the sea and land into a whole.
After the Zhao army occupied the Burmese plains, it also opened up the sea channel from the southwest to Zhao State, and grain and grass no longer needed to be transported to the southwest through the endless Hengduan Mountains.
It can be loaded directly on the ship in the Central Plains and transported all the way south from the sea to the front line.
You can even buy grain and grass directly from the Mauryan Dynasty to fight against the Peacock Army...
Although Zhao State and the Maurya Dynasty are at war, trade between the two sides is still going on normally, and mountains of food are continuously transported from the Maurya Dynasty to Zhao State...
However, this situation will not last long. Once the war escalates again, the Mauryan Dynasty will inevitably strictly control strategic resources such as food.
"The State of Zhao actually built such a majestic city in just two months!" Ashande came to the outside of Luofeng City with a group of followers. Looking at the tall and majestic city, he couldn't help but exclaimed.
It is said that Tian Dan was marching here and saw a phoenix landing here, so he decided to build a city here and named it Luofeng City.
Although we still don't know what the situation inside the city is like, looking from the outside, the scale of Luofeng City is no less than that of the main regional city of the Maurya Dynasty, but slightly inferior to the capital Huashi City.
It was absolutely impossible for the Mauryan Dynasty to build a large city in such a short period of time.
Otherwise, it would not be Zhao's turn, and the Mauryan Dynasty would have already built cities on the Burmese plains.
By then, the difficulty for Zhao to capture the Burmese plains will increase several times.
The villages outside the city are distributed in an orderly manner, with farmland surrounding them. There is traffic, chickens and dogs hear each other, and tall mulberry trees stand beside the road. Not far away, a group of men are working hard to dig rivers and build embankments.
Most of them were prisoners of the Mauryan Dynasty.
This time Ashande came here to discuss with Zhao Guo the redemption of prisoners.
Ashande did not go over to say hello, nor did he go to see Tian Dan immediately. Instead, he walked around in a circle.
From Ashande's perspective, one can naturally see that Luofeng City still has many areas for improvement, as well as some hidden dangers.
But before Zhao Jun occupied this place, it was a wilderness. Zhao Jun developed from zero to now in less than two months!
Even Ashande himself couldn't do it in such a short time!
This is nothing, what worries Ashande the most, and even scares him, is that when these barbarians talk about Zhao, what they see in their eyes is not hatred and anger, but fear and respect.
There is no need to say anything about fear, but respect is a bit strange.
This shows that Zhao State not only conquered these barbarians with force, but also gained the recognition of the barbarians spiritually and culturally.
The Mauryan Dynasty occupied this place for more than a year and failed to do these things. Zhao State did it in just two months.
Ashande previously thought that Zhao was rich, but after the war between the two countries, he learned that Zhao's military was very powerful.
Now Ashande realizes that Zhao State is not only economically prosperous and militarily powerful, it must also have an extremely rich culture, and this culture has extremely strong dissemination and centripetal force, even surpassing the local culture of the Maurya Dynasty, otherwise it will definitely be done
Not to this extent.
The Mauryan Dynasty occupied this place for more than a year. The barbarians regarded the Mauryan Dynasty as an enemy and wished to eat its flesh raw. Zhao State only occupied it for two months and resolved the hatred of most of the barbarians. Only a small number of barbarians were still hostile to Zhao State.
In addition, Zhao State has expanded its territory here, and it is already bordering the core area of the Maurya Dynasty.
Everyone understands why others should not be allowed to snore on the side of the bed.
If two empires border on each other, war will inevitably break out between the two sides, let alone if their core areas border on each other.
If we say that in the past, the Mauryan Dynasty only wanted to conquer the Central Plains because of the legendary wealth in the Central Plains area.
Now we have to really consider the threat from Zhao.
This is undoubtedly a challenge for the Maurya Dynasty!
"Envoy, our military advisor invites you to come over." Just when Ashande was about to go to the east of the city to have another look, a Zhao soldier stopped him and said with cupped fists.
"It was discovered so quickly!" Ashande was a little surprised, but on the surface he remained calm and collected a few silver coins from his entourage and handed them to the soldiers, "Lead the way."
The soldier did not refuse and happily took the silver coins.
Although there are no silver coins in Zhao State, any precious metal can be used as currency.
And silver is more valuable than copper.
The few coins Ashande gave casually were enough for a soldier's salary for a month.
"What is the name of the officer in charge of this place in your Zhao country?" Ashande felt happy when he saw the soldiers putting away the silver coins, and asked in fluent Zhao dialect.
The soldier led the way without looking back, as if he had not heard Ashande's words.
"My name is Ashande. I am a member of the Mauryan Dynasty. I once served as an envoy to your State of Zhao and am a good friend of King Zhao. The Shang Lord of your State of Zhao is still my brother-in-law. We can also be considered our own people." Ashande smiled.
said.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhao Mu was named Lord Shang, and Ashande's sister married Zhao Mu.
The soldier still said nothing.
After that, Ashande asked a few more questions, but the soldier didn't say anything.
Ashande's face froze, the soldiers of Zhao State were not willing to do anything for money!
"Your Highness has traveled thousands of miles to come to my country, Zhao, and doesn't even know how to say hello. Please do your best to be a landlord. Otherwise, if you let the king know, you will definitely blame me for not treating you well." Li Si poured a cup of tea and placed it on Ah.
In front of Shan De, he said with a smile.
Ashande frowned slightly. Governor Zhao already knew his identity and specifically mentioned King Zhao. It seemed that it was impossible to exert pressure through Zhao Mu.
"What do you call the general?" Ashande asked.
"Li Si, Deputy Governor of the Southwest." Li Si said with a smile.
"I have met the governor. I will not beat around the bush. The purpose of coming here is to redeem the soldiers of our Maurya Dynasty who were captured by the Zhao army." Ashande said directly.
Both parties in this matter understand that there is no point in going around the bush.
"It is not impossible to redeem the captives, but it depends on the price the Maurya Dynasty plans to pay," Li Si said.
"We, the Maurya Dynasty, are willing to produce a hundred beautiful women, a hundred catties of pearls, agate and tortoiseshell, a hundred ivory, a thousand taels of gold, and a thousand taels of silver," Ashande said.
"Haha! What the envoy said, I, Zhao, will give twice as much to the Maurya Dynasty. Please ask the Maurya Dynasty to send me another 100,000 prisoners from Zhao!" Li Si picked up the teacup, drank it all, and said unceremoniously.
The Zhao army captured nearly 100,000 Peacock troops before and after. These are young and strong labor forces, which are very valuable wherever they are placed. Without these captives, the southwest would not have been able to build so fast.
Those roads that cross mountainous areas would be extremely difficult to build in later generations, let alone in this era. Many people would have to be sacrificed on almost every section.
How can the people of Zhao go through such trouble? They can only use prisoners!
Anyway, there is no preferential treatment for prisoners these days. It is good to just give them food.
The prisoners of the Maurya Dynasty made great contributions to the construction of Zhao's southwest base.
Without these prisoners, Southwest would not be what it is today!
Ashande took some rubbish and wanted to redeem it?
Dreaming!
"This is already the greatest sincerity of my Maurya Dynasty!" Ashande's face darkened, his eyes stared at Li Si, and his terrifying mental power suddenly burst out.
Li Si smiled coldly and looked at Ashande without fear. Even more powerful mental power rushed out, forcefully suppressing Ashande's mental power.
"If this is the sincerity of the Maurya Dynasty, then let's see you on the battlefield. I would like to see if you, the Maurya Dynasty, are more powerful, or my Zhao Kingdom's military superiority!" Li Si said loudly.
Not to mention that the entire Zhao Kingdom is standing behind him, even he himself is not afraid of Ashande at all.
More than ten years ago, he studied theory with Xunzi and Lin Xiangru.
After that, take charge of one side and fight with the army to gain experience.
Later, he presided over the entire Qi State and promoted the economic development of Qi.
Now we are starting to develop Zhao's base in the southwest from scratch.
It can be as small as a county or as large as a country.
From poverty to the point of developing from nothing, to wealth to the point of being in charge of Qi Land, which enjoys the benefits of fishing and salt and is the economic center of the world.
It can be said that Li Si has experienced all stages of regional development.
These valuable experiences have given Li Si enough growth.
Today, Li Si is no longer the grumbling little official in Xia Cai.
In his thirties, at the peak of his life, he is undoubtedly one of the strongest civil servants in the world.
It's impossible for Ashande to regress.
"We, the Maurya Dynasty, are not afraid of any country in the world, not even Zhao. I hope the governor will not destroy the friendship between the two countries, otherwise you will not be able to bear the consequences." Ashande said in a deep voice.
"When will the Maurya Dynasty be able to defeat my country, Zhao, before I utter arrogant words! If the friendship the envoy is talking about is that the Maurya Dynasty sent troops to attack our country Zhao twice, then my country, Zhao, will definitely repay the Maurya Dynasty a lot in the future! Let you feel it.
My friendship with the State of Zhao." Li Si said coldly.
It’s not like Zhao has never fought against the Maurya Dynasty, so who are you trying to scare?
To put it bluntly, the Mauryan Dynasty's army was only at the level of the Qin State, and its commander was not as good as the Qin Army's commander.
At most, the war potential is stronger than that of Qin!
That's all!
"We, the Maurya Dynasty, have explained many times that our country did not attack Zhao State, we just admitted our mistake." Ashande said.
The Maurya Dynasty did admit their mistake at first, but later learned that it was Zhao Guo and began to pretend to be confused. However, Ashande planned to keep this confusion until the end.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, let's first talk about the Maurya Dynasty's compensation to our country, Zhao." Li Si said.
"Compensation? What compensation?" Ashande wondered.
"Don't we need to compensate for the losses caused to our Zhao State? Because of your Maurya Dynasty's misunderstanding, how many civilians were killed in our Zhao Kingdom? How many soldiers were killed in the battle? How much property was lost? Is it just a 'misunderstanding' of the Maurya Dynasty?
That’s the explanation?” Li Si said.
"...How much does Zhao Guo want?" Ashande took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart.
It seems that the captives of the Maurya Dynasty cannot be redeemed without paying some price.
"This depends on the sincerity of the Maurya Dynasty." Li Si planned to test it first.
"The previous conditions will be doubled again." Ashande said.
"Not enough." Li Si said.
"Twice it." Ashande gritted his teeth and said.
"Not enough." Li Si shook his head.
Ashande left, and the two of them broke up.
After Li Si sent someone to inform Tian Dan and others, he went to deal with government affairs.
It is impossible to talk about this kind of thing once, it must be talked about at least two or three times.
The Maurya Dynasty is anxious now, not the Zhao State. As long as the captives are not redeemed for a day, there will be more internal noise.
War can indeed shift contradictions, but only if it is won, or at least undefeated. A failed war cannot shift contradictions, it will only increase them.
Anyway, if the captives stay for one more day, they can work for one more day, and Zhao will not suffer any loss.
In Li Si's view, the redemption of captives by the Mauryan Dynasty was only a trivial matter, and the conditions were secondary. It did not have much impact on the overall situation. The development of Luofeng City was the overall situation.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The war between Zhao State and the Maurya Dynasty will not stop. It may take as short as one or two years, or as long as several years. War will inevitably break out between the two countries again.
Only by developing Luofeng City well can we remain invincible.
Ashande left the city lord's palace in anger. Luofeng City did not have a special place for the envoys to live. I don't know if Li Si forgot it or did it on purpose, and he did not arrange a yard.
Ashande can only find a place to live on his own.
Although the inn in Luofeng City has not yet been built, fortunately, as long as you have money, it is easy to find a place to live and you will not end up living on the streets.
The next day, Ashande brought gifts and began to seek meetings with Zhao Jun officials, hoping to open up negotiations with others.
However, in the military field, Tian Dan, Pang Nuan and others were all training in the military camp, and Ashande could not find anyone at all.
In terms of government affairs, Li Si took care of it.
The rest of them can't stand on the stage, and they don't dare to speak for Ashande at all.
In the end, Ashande had no choice but to ask to see Li Si again.
"One million kilograms of iron, one million kilograms of copper, plus twenty million kilograms of rice. As long as the ransom is delivered, I, the State of Zhao, will release him immediately," Li Si said.
The iron smelting technology of the Mauryan Dynasty was not very good, but the steel produced was no worse than that of Zhao State, mainly because their iron ore was much better than that of Zhao State, with almost no sulfur and other impurities.
No complex smelting process is required to produce extremely fine ironware.
"Too many." Ashande said in a deep voice.
For the Maurya Dynasty, the population was just leeks in the field. After being cut, they would grow back in a few days. Those strong men were not worth so much money.
If the impact of this incident had not been too great, the Maurya Dynasty would not have spent any money to redeem it.
"Let's do this. As long as the Maurya Dynasty hands over Dongge Mountain Pass to our country, Zhao, the compensation will be halved." Li Si said.
Dongge Pass is the only passage through the Arakan Mountains. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Whoever masters Dongge Pass can gain the initiative in the war.
"One million catties of iron, one million catties of copper, and twenty million stones of rice, I, the Mauryan Dynasty, agreed!" Ashande said immediately.