Chapter 271: Qin State, who wants to exchange war horses for food

When Zhang Di did not leave, Li Rubing didn't care about him. As for whether Zhang Di would raise troops north to compete with Zhao for counties and counties, trying to regain the hometown of Chu, Li Rubing said that if Zhang Di really had this idea, he would teach Zhang Di a lesson that he would never forget.

After leaving Fuyang, Li Rubing led a large army eastward, heading towards the East Sea and Guangling, and started his operation to sweep the southern part of Qi State.

Just when Zhao Qi was fighting the final decisive battle in the Central Plains and Deng Chu was thinking differently, the Qin State in Guanzhong finally ushered in a rare period of rest.

Since moving the capital to Chang'an, Qin has been trapped in the wave of resistance from the Han people. Although the people in Guanzhong were all Qin people hundreds of years ago, after more than two hundred years of rule, the concept of Qin has long been erased in the hearts of the people of Guanzhong. During the Qin Dynasty's entry into the pass, a large number of Guanzhong spirits died in the hands of the Qin army, which also made the people of Guanzhong very hatred of the Qin people. For more than half a year, Qin has been committed to quelling rebellions everywhere in Guanzhong. Under the bloody suppression of the Qin army, the resistance of Han people in Guanzhong began to silence. However, due to the excessive bloody methods of the Qin army in suppressing the turmoil in various places, the population of Guanzhong was sharply reduced, especially the strong men. Qin had to start migrating from the local population to enrich Guanzhong.

In Chang'an, in the Xuanshi Hall, the King of Qin was discussing matters with Prime Minister Yuan Xiao and Censor Yuan Xiao, General Meng Zhan, Taiwei Bai Qi and others.

"You have reported to the king that hundreds of thousands of Qin people have entered the pass in Wuwei, Jiuquan, Dunhuang and other places. My ministers and others have migrated all the Han people in Chang'an City to other places according to the king's wishes, and they have made room for the Qin people." Yuan Xiao reported to the King of Qin for the results of the migration of the people.

The King of Qin was a little impulsive when he entered the pass rashly. In the past six months, the King of Qin had been assassinated in Chang'an City no less than ten times. The frequency was so high that it was even more powerful than Qin Shihuang back then. This made the King of Qin make up his mind to move all the Han people in Chang'an City out of Chang'an, and then migrate the Qin people into Chang'an, and completely turn Chang'an City into Chang'an.

The King of Qin nodded and said, "Okay, with the support of the Qin people, I will be in the middle of the Qin people. "This is the best news that the King of Qin has heard except for the quelling of turmoil in various places. After arriving in Chang'an, the King of Qin felt deeply that people in the world were not as good as those in the Qin people, and only Qin people were the foundation of Qin.

However, if there is good news, there will be bad news. This is Baili In and Out, saying: "King, in the past two years, the war in Guanzhong has been constantly turbulent, and a large amount of fertile land is abandoned. Now the autumn harvest is coming, but the food that can be collected in Guanzhong is probably less than one-tenth of that in previous years. Moreover, due to the death of a large number of strong men, many places in Guanzhong have been empty. According to my estimate, it is unlikely that of Guanzhong's food will last until next year's autumn harvest."

This is a big problem. The war between the Qin and Han Dynasties lasted for more than two years. Later, the Qin army entered the pass and Guanzhong continued to be in turmoil for more than half a year. After three years of fighting, the entire Guanzhong was basically defeated. Moreover, during the war, hundreds of thousands of people died in the Qin and Han people, and the loss of population also became a major problem for the Qin State.

Although the Qin State is vast in territory now, due to years of war, the population of both Guanzhong and Xiliang has dropped sharply. Therefore, the Qin State at this time was even weaker than before. In addition to the population, another area that plagued Qin State was grain. Xiliang, the local area of ​​Qin State was originally barren and was not a grain-producing area. The fertile land in Guanzhong also suffered from years of war, resulting in a large gap in the current Qin State's grain.

The King of Qin frowned and said, "Then is there any way to quickly solve the problem of food?" Population recovery takes time, and food is the top priority.

Yuan Xiao thought for a while and said, "Return to the king, I have been analyzing it over the past few days. If you want to solve the food problem, there are only two ways."

"What is it? Yuan Xiang said quickly!" When the King of Qin heard that there was a way, his originally frown brows also stretched out.

Yuan Xiao replied: "One of this is to send troops to seize the land of Bashu. Bashu is the country of Tianfu. In the past, the ancestors obtained a large amount of food after seizing Bashu, and were able to defeat and unify the world. As long as we take Bashu, our Qin Dynasty will get a natural granary and the grain problem will be solved."

"Seeing Bashu is certainly the best way, but now our Qin Dynasty has just experienced years of war. Both the soldiers and the money and grain have suffered a lot. The existing money and grain cannot support our army's war southward. This plan cannot be done." The King of Qin sighed and said, "To attack Bashu can solve the dilemma of Qin, but Qin is unable to fight now. What Qin lacks the most is food, so how can he take out food to fight Bashu? Moreover, now that Guanzhong is initially determined, a large number of troops need to be guarded, so you should not move lightly. Besides, if Qin really has the ability to send troops, isn't it good to go to the Central Plains to get benefits? Why must we chew the hard bone of Bashu?

"Since the king also thinks this first plan is not feasible, then the only second plan is." Yuan Xiao continued: "This second plan is to buy grain from Deng State. Deng State plays in grain production areas such as Huainan, Jingchu, and Jiangdong. The domestic grain must be very abundant. As long as a batch of grain can be purchased from Deng State and supported until next year's autumn harvest, the gap in Daqin's grain can be solved."

"Prime Yuan, although Deng State has no rift with our Great Qin, now that our Great Qin has entered the pass, we will inevitably fight with Deng State in the future. Deng State is so unwise that he sells grain to me for some yellow and white things?" Hearing this second plan, the King of Qin frowned even more. Deng State has food, but now the heroes are competing for hegemony, and this grain is the most important strategic material. Why should Deng State sell it to you? Although there is no conflict between Deng and Qin, fighting for the world is all enemies. Deng State is not stupid, how could he sell grain to Qin State's enemies?

"King, of course, Deng State will not sell grain to me for the sake of yellow and white goods. Deng State promotes business. When it comes to yellow and white goods, there is probably no country in the world that can be more than Deng State. But what if I, Qin State has bargaining chips that Deng State cannot refuse?" Yuan Xiao said with a smile.

"The bargaining chip that Deng State cannot refuse? What is that?" The King of Qin was puzzled. He could not think of anything that Deng State could not refuse.

Yuan Xiao pretended to be mysterious and said, "War Horse!"

"What! The king must not. The war horses are the weapon that our Great Qin relies on to compete for the world, so how can we sell it to Deng State? The reason why Deng State was not good at interfering in the battle of Guanzhong and now did not dare to intervene in the battle of Central Plains is because Deng State is afraid of our Great Qin and the cavalry of Zhao State. If Deng State has a large number of war horses, it can completely form an iron cavalry comparable to our Great Qin State. It may be difficult to have an advantage in the future when facing Deng State!" Meng Zhan was the first to jump out to oppose. As a commander general, he knew very well the importance of cavalry. Deng State's infantry was the only one in the world, but the cavalry was its shortcomings. If Deng State had a large number of cavalry, it would be difficult to balance Deng State in the future.

The King of Qin also felt that Meng Zhan’s words were very reasonable, so he hesitated: “Secretary Yuan, General Meng is right. Apart from war horses, can he trade with Deng State with other things, even if he gives more gold and silver.”

Yuan Xiao shook his head and said, "King, the wealth of Deng is the best in the world. What else can I do to attract Deng besides fighting horses? As for the problem that General Meng said, I think it is not a problem at all. As we all know, the formation of cavalry cannot be achieved overnight. Without years of hard work, it is impossible to do it. Besides, the southerners are not good at cavalry. Even if Deng has cavalry, how can they compete with our Qin Iron Cavalry?"

The King of Qin thought about it carefully, but felt that it was not impossible, so he asked Meng Zhan and Bai Qi: "What do General Meng and Taiwei Bai think?"

Meng Zhan and Bai Qi looked at each other and thought about it carefully. They also felt that Yuan Xiao was right. As generals of the commanding army, they also knew very well that the difficulty of cavalry forming an army was not enough to have war horses, so they all nodded and said, "You can give it a try!"

Seeing that Meng Zhan and Bai Qi agreed, the King of Qin said to Baili Jin: "Doctor Baili, please go to Wancheng in person to discuss the transaction with Deng Guo and get as much food as possible for me, Daqin."
Chapter completed!