The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"The great thing is done..."

When the emperor gave an oral order to Heifu to write the plan of westward expansion in detail in the memorial, Heifu knew that Qin Shihuang had made a choice.

"The desire to expand the territory, the benefits of practical interests, and the dream of immortality, three-pronged approach, can make the emperor change the national policy."

The emperor held the six reins, and his goal determined the direction of the empire. In this way, the wheel of history, under the guidance of Heifu, slowly deviated from the original track...

At least for a few years, Heifu's subordinates in Yuzhang can farm with peace of mind, and don't have to suffer in the tropical rain forest of Nanyue early.

But the Qiang people and Rong tribes around Guanxi, as well as the Xiongnu and Yuezhi, are afraid that they will tremble under the tyranny of Qin Shihuang...

Heifu thought that he was quite rigorous in this matter. Heaven knows, earth knows, he knows, and Wu Zhi knows.

Wu Zhi was already half buried in the ground. In order to compete with the alchemists of Yan and Qi, he had to bring out the legend of the Queen Mother of the West, which had been circulating in the world for a long time. Hei Fu only provided a handwritten copy of "The Biography of Emperor Mu" so that the old witch could say more details. As for the term "black dog", it was the emperor's own idea.

Although Meng Tian had also suggested garrisoning Shangjun to prepare for the Xiongnu, the proposal to expand westward was indeed initiated by Hei Fu, and it is understandable that the emperor regarded him as a guide.

It was not a sudden impulse for Hei Fu to make Qin expand westward, but it was a well-thought-out decision.

Historically, although Qin also made Meng Tian build the Great Wall in the north to guard the fence, it kept the Xiongnu away for more than 700 miles, so that the Hu people did not dare to go south to herd horses, and the scholars did not dare to bend their bows to complain.

But the Xiongnu rose again during the Chu-Han period, and combined with the Yuezhi and Donghu, it became a huge empire covering thousands of miles and became a strong enemy of the Central Plains. Liu Bang almost lost his life in the siege of Baideng, and then he relied on marriage to barely maintain the situation. The Xiongnu Empire suppressed the Han Dynasty for decades, and it was not completely resolved by Emperor Wu of Han.

So Heifu thought, could Qin's attack on the Xiongnu be earlier and more severe?

Anyway, the grasslands now are dominated by the Xiongnu, Yuezhi, and Donghu. If we can defeat them one by one and eliminate a major hidden danger for China, wouldn't it be wonderful?

Fighting the Xiongnu seems to have nothing to do with the search for the country of the Queen Mother of the West, but Heifu still found a way to force a connection.

When he read "The Biography of Emperor Mu", he was confused about many place names in it, such as "Hezongshi", the starting point of King Mu of Zhou's westward journey. After consulting Zhang Cang, Zhang Cang said that the country of Hezongshi might be the Hetao area west of Yunzhong Jiuyuan.

During the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, the State of Zhao had occupied the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain and built fortresses such as Yunzhong, Jiuyuan, and Gaoque. More than ten years ago, the Qin army controlled the area and stationed troops there. Meng Tian set out from there to attack Dai State to the east and defend against the support of the Xiongnu.

Today, the Hetao and Henan areas where the Hezong clan was located in the past are in the hands of the Xiongnu and are used as winter pastures. Although Heifu also knows that the route here is unreliable, with this reason, there is one more reason to fight the Xiongnu, right?

The Yellow River has a hundred harms, but only one benefit. Although the Yellow River is not so fierce these days, the Hetao is indeed a good place. Not only is there a vast sky and vast wilderness, and cattle and sheep can be seen when the wind blows the grass low, there are also many forests, and in the more fertile areas, some agriculture can be operated.

However, Heifu only mentioned the Xiongnu roughly, and said that he did not know much and dared not speak rashly. Please ask Your Majesty to find another minister who is familiar with the Xiongnu to discuss.

Who else can be this candidate except Meng Tian, the Shaofu Shaojian? Since Meng Tian was able to successfully defeat the Xiongnu in history, he should be able to take charge this time, and Heifu does not need to worry about it.

He was personally more interested in the Western Regions.

Heifu thought that standing still would only delay progress, and civilizations in different regions needed to communicate!

One can learn from others' experience. China had superior technology, and so did Greece and Rome. In addition to science and technology, civilizations in different regions had different technology trees due to different natural environments, and even domesticated completely different crops and animals, and then slowly spread to other places.

For example, wheat, barley, sheep, and horses were all introduced from the west and north to the Central Plains before gradually spreading. But Heifu still didn't see many common fruits and vegetables in later generations: watermelon, grapes, melons, pomegranates, sesame seeds, walnuts, cucumbers, peppers, spinach...

He really wanted to eat watermelon and drink grape juice in the hot summer, sprinkle a circle of sesame seeds on the hot wheat cakes, and sprinkle some pepper when cooking...

There was also a tall and long-legged Scythian horse, alfalfa that could be used as high-quality feed for horses, and cotton that would clothe the world in the future, all of which were not available in the Central Plains.

These things are neither near nor far. They are in the Western Regions, Central Asia, and West Asia. The current Western Regions should be a bunch of oasis countries scattered all over the place, living on the Jade Road. For the wolf-like Qin army, they are simply lambs to be slaughtered.

And crossing the Pamir Plateau, you can get in touch with some Greek kingdoms left behind by Alexander's Eastern Expedition...

It only takes a few steps to establish exchanges between the seemingly isolated East and West worlds. It's quite exciting to think about it.

And the way of exchanges can be trade or conquest!

That's why He Fu believes that opening up to the west is more beneficial than the Baiyue who will be included in the rule of the Central Plains sooner or later, and it will be difficult to go south. In another thousand years, Southeast Asia will also be a nightmare full of miasma for the people of the Central Plains.

But what if China can open its eyes to see the world in the aggressive Qin Dynasty? It's not about how much land can be conquered in a short period of time, but about the benefits brought in the long run.

"Of course, the premise of all this is to pass the level of Zhuqiang and Hexi Yuezhi first. And if you want to take Hexi, Henan, and Hetao, you have to start by consolidating Longxi, Beidi, and Shangjun..."

Heifu knew that you can't eat a fat man in one bite, which is why he didn't worry that Qin Shihuang would be angry with him because he couldn't find the Queen Mother of the West.

"It will take at least three years to build roads, immigrate, build military frontiers, and train cavalry in the three counties?"

"After that, it will take at least three years to fight the Xiongnu, fight the Yuezhi, and take over Hexi and Hetao?"

So according to Heifu's idea, it will take six or seven years for the Qin army to reach Dunhuang and set up outposts.

As for the Western Regions, before the roads are built, the army can't pass through. At most, they can send a few caravans to take a look along the "Jade Road", the predecessor of the Silk Road.

In such a vast area of southern and northern Xinjiang, how could merchants and envoys easily find the fictitious "Queen Mother of the West"? It would take several more years to go back and forth. When the envoys traveled all over the Western Regions and came back to report, Qin Shihuang might have passed away, and there was no need to wait for the Queen Mother of the West...

Hei Fu's wishful thinking was called "dig but not fill", just sell but not care about after-sales service.

"At least we can get something from going west, which is better than wasting money and letting the magicians go overseas to find immortals."

Although it was considered "deceiving the emperor", Hei Fu did it with confidence.

With the technological level of this era, ships could only sail along the coastline at most, and would sink if they sailed a little further out. Things like starting the Age of Exploration to colonize Japan and go to America to find corn and potatoes were just like the Queen Mother of the West that Qin Shihuang loved, a mirage, an illusion that was out of reach.

Although his ideas were wild and unrestrained, most of them could not be told to outsiders. Heifu's memorial still had to be written in a strict manner. He spread out paper and ink on the table, held the Meng Tian pen, and began to write.

"I have heard Xunzi say that without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles; without accumulating small streams, one cannot form rivers and seas. Now that Your Majesty wants to do something a thousand miles away in the west, you should also start with small steps and small streams. First, you should open up the wasteland in the three counties, immigrate tens of thousands of households to fill it, let them cultivate the fields and store grain, and also recruit the sons of the three counties to join the army, practice riding and shooting, and galloping. After three years of military formation, you can go out to open up the land..."

...

A day later, Heifu's memorial had been delivered to Qin Shihuang's palace. Zhao Gao, the commander of the Central Chariot House, happened to be there. When he saw that Qin Shihuang immediately put down his government affairs after learning about it and wanted to read Heifu's memorial first, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

But more of it was shock.

"Heifu is only 25 or 26 years old, so young, he can lead important national policies, Li Si back then was no more than that?"

What's more infuriating is that his name is Heifu, and when he was a pavilion chief, he called himself "Qin's Heavenly Dog", which happened to correspond to the black dog that led the way in Qin Shihuang's dream. With this incident, Heifu gained more trust from the emperor, and the bad medicine Zhao Gao had used before was completely ineffective.

Although Zhao Gao felt that the "Queen Mother of the West" thing that Wu Zhi said was a bit suspicious, he was very smart and knew that he couldn't ruin the emperor's interest when he was in high spirits, so he could only keep this matter in his heart and not make trouble for the time being.

At this time, the usher brought up the memorial, which was actually a thick stack of paper. Qin Shihuang couldn't help but sigh: "Heifu's memorial should have thousands of words. If it is a bamboo slip, it may weigh several kilograms. Paper is really light and easy to use..."

Zhao Gao could only agree.

But when Qin Shi Huang opened Hei Fu's memorial, he frowned. Zhao Gao was moved, thinking that Hei Fu had said something to make the emperor unhappy.

But after reading a few pages, Qin Shi Huang's brows soon relaxed, and he laughed and scolded:

"As expected of the first person to initiate this matter, Hei Fu claimed that he was a southerner and did not understand the affairs of Guanxi. He hoped that I could ask the prime minister and the censor to discuss it, but he wrote it in great detail and was quite insightful."

"It's just that the name he gave to the Western Expansion Strategy is really... weird."

Qin Shi Huang read the title of the article again, and always felt that something was wrong.

While shaking his head, he put the hemp paper on the table. Zhao Gao happened to see five big words written on the first page...

"Western... Great Development?"