The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Shaofu Cheng Heifu, you are the only one among all the people present who has been to Jiangnan and the southernmost part of the Five Ridges of Limen. What do you think?"

The emperor asked in the hall, and Heifu was startled and immediately stood up and walked to the hall to bow.

The elders of the Meng, Xi, and Bai tribes did not know this young upstart. They asked the people next to them and learned that he was the one who conquered Yuzhang in the south, opened up a thousand miles of land, and made "Heifu Paper". They suddenly realized, and then became worried.

"The garrison in Jiangnan started with this person. He probably strongly supported this move!"

The three tribe leaders Meng, Xi, and Bai guessed wrong. Heifu did not oppose immigration to enrich Yuzhang and Changsha, but opposed going a step further, crossing the Five Ridges and conquering Baiyue in the south...

If you take too big a step, you will get hurt.

Hei Fu vaguely remembered that in history, the Qin army's southern expedition seemed to have mobilized 500,000 troops, fought for several years, and suffered heavy losses before it took over Guangdong and Guangxi. Even without this memory, after a personal trip to the Wuling area, Hei Fu could draw the following conclusion: the southern expedition to Baiyue was a big pit!

It was not because Baiyue was so powerful. Nanyue, Xiou, and Minyue had at most entered the city-state stage, with small towns and mixed in the jungle. The population was not large, and the weapons and equipment were even more backward than those in the Central Plains.

The biggest obstacle for outsiders was the climate.

Although the northerners' imagination of the south being full of "miasma" and "poisonous insects" was a bit exaggerated, it was indeed not easy to survive in the Lingnan region at that time. Not only was schistosomiasis difficult to find a cure for in this era, but there were also many tropical diseases such as malaria waiting for the Qin army. A thousand years later in the Tang Dynasty, Guangdong and Guangxi were still exile places that the Central Plains people were afraid of. More than two hundred years before Christ, they went to conquer without adequate transportation and logistics, and losses were certain.

And the first to die must be the Yuzhang garrison that served as the vanguard, Heifu's old subordinates, Xiao Tao, Dongmen Bao, Li Xian, and 3,000 Nanjun soldiers...

Heifu didn't want his relatives and direct descendants to die. He thought that it was not the right time to march south, at least not now.

But he couldn't tell the truth, because there were many signs that Qin Shihuang had already made Lingnan the next military target. It was as difficult as climbing to the sky to change his majesty's mind...

Moreover, Qin Shihuang threw the ball to Heifu at this time, and the meaning was too obvious: just follow my meaning and shout 666!

So Heifu thought about it and said, "I think the garrison in the south of the Yangtze River cannot be stopped!"

Meng, Xi, and Bai, the three elders, blew their beards and glared, while Qin Shihuang smiled.

Hei Fu explained his reasons: "I was ordered by your majesty to go to the sustenance room to read books, so I know that during the time of our ancestor King Huiwen, General Sima Cuo and Prime Minister Zhang Yi argued about whether to destroy Bashu or Han first. General Sima said that to enrich a country, one must expand its territory. I deeply agree with him!"

"When I asked to build Nanchang City, I said that the land of Chu and Yue in the south of the Yangtze River is rich in products, but the land is vast and the population is sparse. The land of Sanjin and Huaihan is just the opposite, with small land and many people, and insufficient land. If the nobles of Sanjin, Huaihan and Qianshou can be moved to fill the land of Yuzhang and Changsha in the south of the Yangtze River, we can burn forests and open up wasteland, build cities, fill walls and gullies, and fill acres and borrow money."

"Let them use oxen to plow and compost instead of slash-and-burn farming. In hot places, rice can be harvested twice a year. After several generations, Jiangnan will become a granary, as rich as Nanjun and Huainan. Not only will it save the local people from freezing and starvation, but it can even feed back to China like the millet from Bashu is sold in Xianyang! And the rhinoceros horns, elephant tusks, and fragrant woods in the south can also be continuously transported to Guanzhong."

"Therefore, your Majesty's sending soldiers to garrison Jiangnan and fill Changsha and Yuzhang is like King Huiwen's opening up Bashu, and it will benefit future generations!"

Qin Shihuang was very satisfied with Heifu's answer: "Your words are very good, this is a strategy that will benefit future generations."

He then looked at the patriarchs of the Meng, Xi, and Bai clans, and said meaningfully: "Military law says that a general forgets his family and forgets his relatives when he crosses the border. The three clans are a 400-year-old family. It is understandable to consider the safety of private children, but I am the master of the world, and I have to forget my family and relatives for the overall situation and long-term considerations..."

The heads of the Meng, Xi, and Bai clans felt a little aggrieved, but they dared not speak.

No one in the court or the public dared to openly oppose the national policy decided by Qin Shihuang.

Among the people in the hall, only Zhao Gao keenly noticed that when Heifu talked about sending troops to the south of the Yangtze River, he mentioned the Central Plains and Huainan, but did not mention Guanxi, which was closely related to Meng, Xi, and Bai.

"Heifu, Heifu, what do you want to say?" Zhao Gao felt that Heifu must have something to say.

As he expected, Hei Fu bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, I haven't finished yet!"

Everyone's eyes were focused on Hei Fu again, and they heard him say:

"Opening up wasteland, cultivating, and harvesting are things of the four seasons, not something that can be accomplished overnight. Relocating people, building cities, and widening roads are things that take several years or decades, not a year or two. Therefore, I think that the development of southern Xinjiang can be a long-term strategy and should be done slowly. But now, if some places can be developed, they can quickly make profits!"

"Oh? What place is it?"

Hei Fu catered to Qin Shihuang's preferences and said "quick profits". The emperor really didn't dislike it and let him continue.

Hei Fu looked up and said, "Guanxi!"

The so-called Guanxi, in contrast to Guandong, is the area west of Hangu Pass. This is the center of Qin and the most densely populated area. Where else can be developed?

Hei Fu's words made the ministers in the palace laugh. Nei Shi Teng, who also accompanied Qin Shi Huang on his tour to Yong, coughed lightly and came out to reprimand his son-in-law:

"Shao Fu Cheng, Nei Shi is also short of people. In order to accommodate 120,000 immigrants from Shandong, many of the five gardens in Weinan surrounded by forests have been opened up and more than ten cities have been built. You said that you want to open up Guanxi. Do you want Your Majesty to open up the remaining royal forests as well?"

"That's not what I mean." Hei Fu had already informed his father-in-law, and now he sang the same tune.

"The land of Guanxi is not only the Neishi, but also Longxi, Beidi and Shangjun. They are also vast and sparsely populated. Instead of sending the children of Guanxi such as Meng, Xi and Bai to travel thousands of miles to the south of the Yangtze River where they are not used to the climate and soil, why not let them garrison the three counties nearby?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Meng, Xi and Bai and smiled, "Just now the three dukes also said that as long as the children stay in Guanxi, it will be fine, right? I wonder if the children of the three families are willing to go to the three counties?"

The three counties are close to the Rongdi, and they practice war preparations, noble strength, and hunting first. Therefore, Qin poems are full of hunting and hunting. Compared with the distant and terrifying south of the Yangtze River, Longxi, Beidi and Shangjun are equivalent to being at the doorstep. Meng, Xi and Bai nodded repeatedly:

"We Guanxi people would rather go to Longbei than travel far to the Yangtze and Huai Rivers."

Heifu bowed to Qin Shihuang again and said, "I would like to talk about the benefits."

Although the emperor was a little surprised that Heifu, who was born and raised in the south, would suddenly talk about developing the three counties, he nodded and said, "Yes."

"This move has two benefits, one is long-term and the other is immediate."

"Although Yiqu and Baidi have long been extinct, there are still many Rongdi and registered people living together in the three counties, and their power has not been extinguished. Now that the world is unified, there are still hidden dangers in the heart of Guanxi, which must be dealt with!"

Heifu said this with reason. Yiqu State was a great enemy of Qin. Two hundred years ago, the King of Yiqu sent a large army to attack Qin, from Jingbei to Weinan. Later, Yiqu also participated in the Six Kingdoms Alliance and defeated the Qin army in the Battle of Libo. In the end, it was thanks to the Queen Mother Xuan's seduction of women that the King of Yiqu was killed in Ganquan Mountain, and the former site of Yiqu became Beidi County.

After the destruction of Yiqu, the Yiqu Rong people did not disappear. Their nobles either used "Gongsun" or "Yiqu" as their surnames, enjoyed aristocratic power, and were called "Rong Di Jun Gong", active in Beidi, Shangjun, and Longxi. In the Qinian Palace Incident, Lao Ai colluded with some of the "Rong Di Jun Gong" to cause chaos.

Afterwards, Qin Shihuang broke up some tribes and assimilated many Yiqu people through immigrants and intermarriage. However, the Rong people who were not registered in the three counties still accounted for one-third of the population. They were half-farming and half-grazing, using fur as taxes, and joined the Qin army as cavalry to fight, and also contributed to the war of unification.

After Heifu returned to Xianyang, he went to Zhang Cang, a scholar, to make up for his lessons. With these cases as a basis, his proposal seemed logical.

"Now that the world is unified, I think we can divide it into Shandong immigrants and Zong clan children to fill it, so that Rongdi can gradually be influenced by Chinese culture, which is a long-term benefit."

Qin Shihuang pondered for a moment, and then said: "What is the immediate benefit?"

Hei Fu said: "When I was in Xianyang, I heard Rong merchant Wu Shiyan say that to the west of Longxi and Beidi, there is Hexi, where Yuezhi, Diqiang live. To the north of Shangjun, there are Henan and Hetao, where Baiyang and Xiongnu live. These three places are vast and sparsely populated, and the water and grass are suitable for animal husbandry. Therefore, the livestock in Hexi and Hetao are the most abundant in the world. The large amount of livestock purchased by Wu every year is obtained from various tribes."

This is the business that Qin Shihuang asked Wu Shilang brothers to do for more than ten years. Qin promoted ox-plowing, and there were thousands of chariots and tens of thousands of cavalry. The demand for cattle and horses was huge. It was far from enough to rely on the Central Plains to raise them, and they had to be supplemented from outside the Great Wall.

"I also heard that the people of the tribes are tough and brave. Children can ride sheep and shoot birds and mice with bows. When they grow up, they can shoot foxes and rabbits. Adult men can pull strong bows, wear armor, ride war horses, and come and go like the wind. Their custom is that when there is no war, they roam freely and hunt birds and beasts as a profession. When the situation is urgent, everyone practices offensive and combat skills so that they can invade and plunder. This is their nature, like a wolf."

"So every autumn and winter, these Rongdi tribes cross the border, invade the border counties, burn, kill, plunder, and take away people. When our ancestor King Zhao was in power, in order to prevent the Xiongnu and other tribes from plundering and harassing the south, and concentrate on unifying the world in the east, he built the Great Wall in the three counties to resist the Hu."

The ministers in the hall nodded frequently. The northwestern border of Qin was not bad, but the two countries of Yan and Zhao were even more harassed. However, Yan defeated the Donghu and expanded its territory by thousands of miles. Zhao also defeated the Xiongnu with Li Mu. Like Qin, the two countries built the Great Wall in the border counties in order to focus on the struggle for supremacy in the Central Plains.

"Now that the four seas have been united, in my opinion, Your Majesty is not only the master of the Central Plains, but also the master of the barbarians and the eight wildernesses. Our Great Qin has strong soldiers and horses, and we don't have to stay within the Great Wall, but can expand outward! Not only can we avenge the suffering of being plundered for a hundred years, but we can also directly seize the grasslands of Hexi, Henan, and Hetao, and seize tens of thousands of their livestock. This is an urgent benefit. If we can firmly occupy the three places, we can have cattle and horses in the north of the Great Wall and millet and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, and we can also complement each other!"

After saying this, seeing that the emperor still did not express his opinion, Hei Fu continued:

"I have heard that if you want a tree to grow tall, you must strengthen its roots; if you want a river to flow far, you must dredge its source. If the roots are not strong, you want the tree to grow tall; if the source is not deep, you want the river to flow far. Although I am stupid, I know that it is impossible, let alone wise people. Immigrating to the three counties of Guanxi is the way to consolidate the foundation of Guanzhong, and going abroad to wipe out the tribes is the move to open up the source. To enrich a country, you must expand its territory. Opening up the land of the five ridges in the south of the Yangtze River is expansion, and expanding the land of the Hu Rong in the northwest is also expansion. But one is far and the other is near, one is slow and the other is urgent, one is the root and the other is the branch. I think we should go to the northwest first and then the Lingnan."

"This is just my humble opinion, I hope Your Majesty will consider it!"