General Qin

In the house, the officials watched.

Zhao Tuo shook his head and immediately attracted a surprised look.

The First Emperor's thick eyebrows knitted together, displeasure rising in his heart.

Why did he name Zhao Tuo to conquer?

First of all, it was naturally because of the emperor's extreme hatred for the assassin.

Zhang Liang couldn't catch them, but North Korea and Zhenbi in Haidong couldn't escape.

The First Emperor wanted to use the world's famous generals and the power of thunder to kill all the small barbarian countries that dared to participate in the assassination. Only in this way can the world be shocked. Therefore, this battle can only be won but not defeated, and things like Li You's defeat of the southwestern barbarians must not happen. Therefore, it is safe to let Zhao Tuo lead the army.

Secondly, the First Emperor wanted to give Zhao Tuo a chance to become a noble prince and let him stand at the top of the Qin title.

But Zhao Tuo actually shook his head!

Could it be that this boy doesn't want to avenge me?

Or do you think I shouldn’t start this war?

The First Emperor felt very uncomfortable and stared at Zhao Tuo closely.

Zhao Tuo looked calm and said: "The small state of Xinbao and North Korea did not know the power of heaven and helped Zhang Liang and other bandits to commit rebellion. They are guilty of the greatest crime. We, the Qin Dynasty, should punish them with heavenly troops to frighten the world."

Zhao Tuo first expressed his attitude in one sentence to avoid misunderstanding by the First Emperor.

Sure enough, after seeing Zhao Tuo's statement, the First Emperor's face relaxed slightly.

Zhao Tuo then continued: "In the past, I studied the art of war with the Marquis of Wucheng and the Duke of Wei. I once heard about the art of using troops, driving thousands of chariots, thousands of leather chariots, carrying a hundred thousand armor, and feeding food for thousands of miles. Then the internal and external expenses , for the use of guests, the materials of glue and paint, and the service of chariots and armor, it costs a thousand gold a day, and then a hundred thousand troops can lift them."

"Today our Qin Dynasty is campaigning in all directions, with General Li in the north attacking the Hu Yi, General Wang in the west attacking the Yuezhi, General Feng in the south conquering Baiyue, and General Ren conquering the southwestern Yi..."

Among the ministers, when Li Si, the court lieutenant, heard the sentence "General Ren conquers the southwestern barbarians," his brows jumped, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.

At this time, the First Emperor and the officials already knew what Zhao Tuo wanted to say.

Fighting requires money and food!

Since the Qin Dynasty was unified, it has been fighting non-stop, with wars in the southeast, northwest, and northwest.

Except for the small defeat in the southwest, there were endless triumphs in the other directions, which made Da Qin's territory continue to expand. In the northwest, it even captured a large number of cattle and horses, which looked really mighty and domineering.

But with this continuous victory, the grain and baggage accumulated in the Qin State's treasury over the years is also constantly being consumed.

Especially during the same period, large-scale projects such as imperial mausoleums, palaces, and Chidao were launched. It can be said that the Qin State has been almost completely drained in the past two years. The fiscal revenue is close to a deficit. It is necessary to increase taxes from the head of Guizhou to maintain this year. Wang Li's expenses for conquering the Yueshi.

Under such circumstances, if we want to raise another large army to attack the distant barbarian country in the east of the sea, how can we afford it?

Zhi Su Neishi Wang Wu looked at Zhao Tuo with moist eyes.

As an important minister in managing the country's finances, he has always been under great pressure. Even when he goes to bed at night, he plans the financial revenue and expenditure in his dreams, wishing he could break a piece of money into two.

The First Emperor was going to conquer the Haidong barbarians before other wars were over. Wang Wu was naturally reluctant, but he didn't have the guts to say no to the emperor, so he could only comply against his will.

Now I see Zhao Tuo standing up, I am really excited.

Martial Arts Lord, what a good man!

Compared with Wang Wu's emotion, the First Emperor's face turned gloomy again.

"So what Marquis Wu Gong wants to tell me is that Haidong can't be beaten for the time being?"

"Fight, of course we have to fight! When I heard that the Haidong barbarians sent assassins to help Zhang Liang, I was filled with anger and wanted to kill them immediately!"

Naturally, Zhao Tuo would not take the wrong political stance. He had his own ideas: "I just believe that Xunba and Korea are just small barbarian countries. They have few weapons and armors, no strong bows and crossbows, and there is no need to send large armies." In a conquest, you only need to divert troops all the way to destroy them, just as Confucius said in the past, how can you cut a chicken with an ox's knife?"

"If I were to lead an army on an expedition, it would take several months to gather troops and horses to transport food and fodder. If I were to lead an army to conquer Haidong, it would also take several months on the road. This is a time-consuming matter that consumes food and is not good for the country."

"If you send an envoy to Liaodong, you can pass the edict to General Li Xin in more than a month. Your Majesty will order him to lead the army south from Liaodong. With General Li's ability, North Korea and Xinba can be completely wiped out in ten months. , Only with such a power of thunder to destroy the country can we show the majesty of our Great Qin! I hope your majesty will understand clearly!"

Zhao Tuo finished his thoughts in one breath.

According to what he had learned during this period, Zhenbao and North Korea were really just novice-level enemies.

The so-called Xie people are the barbarian ethnic groups in the Liaodong Peninsula. They are divided into Xie people and Xie people. The two groups merge at different times. In ancient times, they were also called "Beifa" and they were one of the barbarians from all directions who paid tribute to the Central Plains. Its military strength is not strong, and it was defeated and ruled by Yan State before, so it is not a big enemy.

As for North Korea, it is an ancient country with a history of more than 800 years. It is a descendant of Jizi, one of the three benefactors of the Yin and Shang Dynasties.

When the Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang Dynasty, Jizi led the Yin people to flee across the sea to the southern part of the peninsula and established the ancient Chen Kingdom. In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the country of Jishi moved northward and moved to the Liangyi area, integrated with the local indigenous Liangyi people, and changed the country's name to Korea, which is today's Jishi Korea.

After generations of accumulation, Jishi Korea's national power became slightly stronger and became a major country on the peninsula. When the Zhou Dynasty was in decline, he saw that the Yan State was proclaimed king, so he also called himself the King of Korea and wanted to fight against the Yan State.

Later, Korea and the Yan State fought, and the Yan general Qin Kai defeated them. Hundreds of miles of land were taken away, and Manfanhan was used as the boundary. It is still alive today.

In Zhao Tuo's eyes, what level is Yan State?

Among the seven heroes of the Warring States Period, Qin was the strongest, while Han and Yan were the weakest.

Even the weakest state of Yan can easily defeat the Han Dynasty and North Korea, let alone Li Xin, who is now well-equipped and has just defeated Donghu.

So asking Li Xin to fight from Liaodong would save time, effort and money, which is much better than Zhao Tuo recruiting troops across the sea to fight North Korea in the Central Plains.

In fact, not only Zhao Tuo had this idea, but the two prime ministers were also aware of it. However, they were frightened by the emperor's anger towards the assassins and did not dare to speak at will. They were afraid that they would say the right thing and offend the emperor's taboo emotionally.

Now seeing Zhao Tuo bringing it up, with him standing in front of him, the officials quickly followed suit.

"I believe that what Marquis Wu Gong said is true. If General Li is ordered to attack North Korea from Liaodong, he will surely win quickly!"

"General Li has defeated the armies of Xinba and North Korea in Liaodong. He is quite familiar with these two barbarians. If he leads the army, he will be invincible!"

The two prime ministers agreed with Zhao Tuo's proposal.

Wang Wu and other officials also quickly agreed.

On the main seat, the First Emperor took a deep breath.

In his angry mood, he naturally wanted Zhao Tuo, whom he valued most, to lead an army to annihilate the Haidong barbarians and avenge him.

But now, he had to admit that what Zhao Tuo said made sense.

It was far better to let Li Xin, who had experience in fighting against the Han Dynasty and North Korea, move down from the southeast of Liaoning to capture Haidong than to have Zhao Tuo send troops from the Central Plains. This was why all the ministers rushed to agree.

As a talented and strategic king, he naturally knew how to choose.

It was only clear that Zhao Tuo refused his order, which still made the First Emperor feel very uncomfortable.

The First Emperor stared at Zhao Tuo closely and asked: "Wugong Marquis gave up the expedition, didn't he want to be promoted to a noble lord?"

"Of course I do."

Zhao Tuo said solemnly: "But rather than going to Haidong, I want to be by your Majesty's side more!"

He looked at the emperor's body with worry in his eyes.

Although the First Emperor was in front of him, he tried his best to pretend that he was not injured. But Zhao Tuo and the First Emperor had known each other for eight years. They could naturally feel what the other person was like in normal times and what kind of state he was in now.

How could Zhao Tuo lead his army to conquer North Korea when he had just been assassinated and the emperor was injured and sick?

History has changed greatly. If something happens to the emperor, it will be all over.

The First Emperor was startled, and his sharp eyes suddenly softened.

He got it.

Zhao Tuo did not want to go to war, and would rather give up the title of marquis that was easily available. In addition to thinking about the country, Zhao Tuo also wanted to stay by his side.

Because of sitting for a long time, the pain in my waist seemed to have disappeared a lot at this moment.

The First Emperor took a deep breath.

The original dissatisfaction caused by Zhao Tuo's rejection disappeared all at once, leaving only emotion in my heart.

"Zhao Tuo loves me more than any other prince."

The First Emperor sighed in his heart, then raised his head and announced his decision to the ministers.

"The countries of Haidong and North Korea colluded with the traitor Zhang Liang and sent assassins to plot against me. This is a great treason."

"I ordered the great commander to build Li Xin and lead an army to attack Haidong, so that I could destroy the Xinjiang and North Korea."

"Take Lord Canghai, the head of the King of Korea!"

Related references to Jishi Korea: Meng Wentong's "Research on Ethnic Minorities of Zhou and Qin" and Miao Wei's "History of Jishi Korea"