This is also the reason why Handan and other three counties had to cultivate fields before the agricultural season.
Winter wheat must be sown and grown to a certain height before the weather gets cold, so that the wheat seedlings can withstand the cold and successfully survive the winter.
Shen Bing continued:
"The food and grass issue is just one of them."
"If we wait to destroy Yan at this time, who will stop the Xiongnu in the north of Yan?"
"Although our Qin Dynasty has a strong army and strong horses, it has seriously insufficient soldiers after conquering South Korea and destroying Zhao."
"If the Yan Kingdom is destroyed again at this time..."
Ying Zheng nodded in agreement.
What Shen Bing said is true, and this is what Ying Zheng has always had a headache for.
Although it is great to add other countries to the territory, these newly destroyed vassal states require troops to occupy and will not be able to recruit troops for a while.
There is no need to elaborate on the reasons. For example, the Zhao State in front of us has a situation where there are few men for many years of fighting.
And the scarcity of men is only one of the reasons. The hatred of the people of Zhao towards Qin also needs time to be digested.
If we recruit troops from the three counties without any urgency at this time, we are afraid that they will become rebels as soon as they are organized.
This is also the main reason why the Qin State only had more than 100,000 soldiers in the three counties after it destroyed Zhao. Even the 100,000 reinforcements brought by Ying Zheng were cobbled together:
There are many places where Qin needs to use its troops.
The Huns from the north use a wave.
The vast land of our country is used in a wave.
Korea uses a wave.
When they arrived in Zhao, there were only a few soldiers left.
Destroy Yan at this time and under such circumstances?
You must know that Yan State is different from other vassal states in that it has a long border with the Xiongnu in the north.
In addition, Yan State also needs to station troops to prevent the people from causing chaos...
In other words, you won't get any benefits at all, but it requires a large number of soldiers to be stationed and stationed for a long time.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng was secretly shocked:
I must have been so angry with that Ji Dan that I couldn't even think of this!
Fortunately, I was so greedy that I ate this dumpling, otherwise the battle to destroy Yan would have easily begun...
Qin will have to be dragged down by Yan for several years.
While Ying Zheng was secretly rejoicing, Shen Bing added thoughtfully:
"On the contrary, this Wei State... I feel that there is no need to delay."
At this time, even Zhao Gao couldn't help but add:
"If our army destroys the Yan and Wei kingdoms, it will be a trouble for the Qin Dynasty."
"Now that the engineer feels that Qin should not destroy Yan, why does Wei still have no time to delay?"
This was also confused by Ying Zheng.
King Wei of Wei has always been very obedient. Wei relies on the strong city of Daliang. Whenever there is a war, he retreats to the city and cannot get out.
That is to say, there is more than enough to defend the city, but not enough to attack.
Just like this time, Wei State was only frightened and immediately sent envoys to sue for peace.
How could such a country be a threat if it was surrounded by Qin on three sides?
There’s no time to wait?!
Shen Bing smiled and asked instead:
"Do you know why it is difficult to transport the military rations transferred from Xianyang to the three counties?"
Zhao Gao replied:
"Isn't it because of the bandits?"
Shen Bing nodded:
"It's really because of the bandits."
"But that's just the surface."
"Think about it more carefully: Zhao State suffered an earthquake first and then a drought. The people in the country were starving and dying everywhere. Even the soldiers were emaciated and unable to fight. How could the bandits survive in the mountains?"
"And there are such a large number, there are thousands of them at every turn..."
Ying Zheng couldn't help being surprised:
"The engineer is talking about the Wei State..."
Shen Bing replied:
"Who else could it be if it wasn't Wei?"
"The Wei State is not like the Yan State. Its terrain is flat, fertile and has beautiful soil, and its grain is harvested twice a year."
"How can they be reluctant to part with this little food and grass?"
"If my prediction is correct, then most of the bandits should be on the border between Wei and Zhao."
"There are even Wei soldiers pretending to be among the bandits!"
This is a tactic that has been used in modern times. What does it mean to provide some food and property for the benefit of the country?
It's just that it's still new in this era, and there are even many vassal states that don't know how to use it.
The State of Yan is one of them. When the State of Zhao was fighting against the State of Qin, the State of Yan also took advantage of the danger and attacked the State of Zhao again and again...
Ying Zheng couldn't bear it after hearing this. He stood up with a "Teng" sound and cursed:
"This Wei State is so brave, he actually treated me like a three-year-old child!"
Shen Bing was confused when he heard this.
The Wei State is playing with the Wei State, so how come you, a horse dealer, are treated like a three-year-old child?
After Ying Zheng cursed, he realized something was wrong and quickly explained in a pretentious manner:
"What the engineer doesn't know is that a batch of war horses were robbed on the way to Handan not long ago."
"I thought it fell into the hands of bandits before."
"When the engineer said this, I realized that Wei Guo had done something secretly."
Shen Bing was relieved.
"You're in bad luck!"
"I'm afraid all these war horses are in the hands of Wei State and they may never come back!"
Ying Zheng put on a sad face and replied:
"What I'm saying is that business is hard to do!"
After a pause, Shen Bing continued:
"So, the biggest hidden danger in the three counties is actually Wei State, not Yan State, let alone Dai State."
"Whether Dai Guo can cause rebellion is actually decided by the people of the three counties."
Ying Zhengqi said:
"Why should the people of the three counties decide?"
Shen Bing carefully put the next batch of dumplings into the wok and answered:
"If the three counties can be governed and the people live a prosperous life, they will no longer think about Zhao and support Qin."
"On the contrary, the people will support Zhao and rebel against Qin."
"So if the three counties are strong, the country will be weak; if the three counties are weak, the country will be strong."
"Now that the drought in the three counties has been cured, it looks like there will be a good harvest next year, so I am worried about not being able to represent the country."
Ying Zheng nodded repeatedly:
"That makes sense, that makes sense!"
Shen Bing added:
"But the bandits are not like this because they are controlled by Wei State."
"They not only guard the choke points between Qin and the three counties, but they will also do everything possible to provoke civil strife in the three counties."
"Therefore, there will be no peace in the Wei State unless the three counties are eliminated."
"And if Da Qin destroys Wei, there will be no problems in destroying Yan!"
Ying Zheng was greatly impressed:
"It is true what the engineer said."
"Wei can grow winter grain and there will be a harvest next year."
"Furthermore, Wei has a lot of land and is located in the middle of the border with Chu and Qi. It will be of great benefit to destroy Chu and Qi in the future..."
"Haha, what a joke! I was just talking."
Shen Bing sighed in his heart.
This horse dealer also has a huge appetite, and he has reached the level of destroying Chu and Qi.
If it was Ying Zheng who said this, it would be more or less the same.
However, Shen Bing's words were actually spoken from Ying Zheng's perspective.
The benefits don't stop there.
For example, destroying Wei can actually save troops:
Qin State surrounded Wei State in a circle, basically spreading its troops to surround Wei State in a circle.
If Wei is destroyed... the winding border line will be straightened in an instant. Therefore, not only will more troops not be needed to destroy Wei, but a large number of troops will be saved.
It’s a hundred benefits and no harm, so why not do it?
Now let’s see what that guy Ying Zheng thinks.
However, Shen Bing didn't have much hope for it, because in history, although Ying Zheng did not destroy the Yan State, he defeated Jicheng and drove Yan King Xi to the north.
In the end, perhaps it was because it was too cold in the north and there were not enough troops to continue the fight.
This is one of the reasons why Qin needed to rest for four years after this.
Why are you doing this thankless job?
If Ying Zheng were in front of him, Shen Bing would scold him bloody!