The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1222 Free-Range Farming [Please Subscribe*Please Vote for Monthly Tickets]

"No, are all you military generals so irresponsible?" Han Fei frowned as he looked at Li Ren and Dian Qing.

The last person to do this was Wu Qi, but Wu Qi was first and foremost the governor of Hexi, and only secondly a military general. He was a model of a general who could also become a prime minister, so Wu Qi's reforms were simply a return to his original duties.

Fan Yuqi was a military general by birth and was known for his military background. I've never heard of him knowing anything about reform.

"I accept being surpassed by my junior brother Tonggu, Wang Wan, and Wei Zhuang, but being outdone by a military general is something I'm somewhat unwilling to accept!"

Li Ren and Dian Qing also fell silent.

Why is it that while other military generals are making progress, they are stuck in the same place?
It was already quite disheartening that a soldier like Luo Bing became a master of military strategy.

Now, another figure has emerged, Fan Yuqi, who has embarked on a reform path that even civil officials have not been able to follow.

In comparison, they seem to be truly wasting their lives.

"Should we get involved?" An Qisheng asked, frowning.

The Yan Kingdom fled to Yingzhou, already in dire straits. If they were to continue pursuing them, it would be somewhat inhumane.

Most importantly, Bingzhou has no navy, and its central territory is inland, so it can't control maritime affairs.

"This is not a world of emotions. Three people are too crowded, two people are just right. For the empire, a three-way balance of power, with the three parties checking and balancing each other, is the most stable."

"If the Yan Kingdom and Fan Yuqi can forge such a path to maritime hegemony, I wouldn't mind giving them some assistance."

Yan Yan said with a smile.

If there were only two great empires in the world, Qin and Bingzhou, then Qin and Bingzhou would inevitably fight each other in the future. Now that Yan has strongly intervened, forming a three-way balance of power, it is actually a good thing for the two great empires.

This is especially beneficial to Bingzhou.

Bingzhou ultimately had too small a population.

If Qin were to go to war with Bingzhou, Qin could lose many times, but Bingzhou would be completely destroyed if it lost even once.

Now that the State of Yan is rising in power, Bingzhou and the State of Yan can unite to restrain the State of Qin, preventing Qin from easily launching a military campaign.

"Should we inform Xianyang?" An Qisheng breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, he also hoped that the Yan state could rise to power, as this would be more beneficial than harmful to Bingzhou.

Although Bingzhou seems to be able to compete with Qin now, that's only because of Yan Yan's existence.

When Yan Yan passes away, the world will change, and the Qin state will only grow stronger, completely leaving Bingzhou behind in terms of national strength and military power.

At that time, Bingzhou would either be forced to migrate north or west like the nomadic peoples of the past, or it would be destroyed and become part of the Qin state.

Therefore, they needed an ally to watch over each other, and the State of Yan was the best choice.

Sometimes An Qisheng even wondered if Yan Yan had foreseen the future of Bingzhou by deliberately letting Yan State go and giving Yan State the sea chart of Yingzhou, and that was why he did it intentionally.

"Notifying them won't help. Qin hasn't even resolved this internally yet. Even if we tell them, they won't have the time or resources to deal with it."

Yan Yan shook his head, saying that it was no use telling Qin, as Qin could not possibly abandon its centralized land-based empire to pursue maritime hegemony.

Moreover, the state of Luzon was conquered by the state of Yan, and even if the state of Qin were shameless, it would never dare to compete with the state of Yan for it.

Now that the State of Yan has found a reform path that is different from that of the Central Plains of China, it is impossible for it to simply hand over Luzon, which it has already acquired.

If the Qin state insists on seizing Luzon, then a war between the Yan and Qin states is inevitable.

Even knowing they couldn't win, the Yan state would definitely fight back.

Even if they are defeated in battle, their hope and backbone will remain. If they do not fight, they will only make concessions again and again when facing Qin and Bingzhou in the future, and eventually they will have no choice but to retire.

This is not what the Yan state wants, so even if it means defeat and national annihilation, they will inevitably go to war with the Qin state.

After all, the Yan state had already retreated once; where else could it retreat to?

An Qisheng and Li Ren also analyzed from administrative and military perspectives that the Qin state was definitely waiting for Bingzhou's reaction.

They will observe Bingzhou's attitude before deciding on the ownership of Luzon.

If Bingzhou also has its eye on Luzon, then Qin and Bingzhou will join forces to replace Yan.

If Bingzhou has no intention of attacking, they will have no legitimate reason to do so and will not be able to take action against Luzon.

Therefore, Ying Zheng waited anxiously in Qinian Palace, but never received a response from Bingzhou, or rather, no response was the best answer.

"A three-way power struggle!" Ying Zheng sighed.

Upon reaching his position, he naturally thought that all land under heaven belonged to the king, and all people within the realm were his subjects, including Bingzhou and Yingzhou.

However, neither the Qin state then nor the Qin state now has the ability to destroy the two other states. In fact, they need to play along with the two states to avoid them interfering in the war for unification.

"Perhaps this is the best outcome!" Although Ying Zheng looked down on some Confucianists, he still acknowledged some of their doctrines.

For example, Mencius said, "If a country has no external enemies, it will surely perish."

If there were no external threats, the various factions within Qin would probably fight each other for power, even to the point of tearing each other apart.

Only when there is still an external threat to Qin will the conflict shift outward, and everyone will unite as one to deal with the external enemy.

Bingzhou and the future Yan state of Yingzhou may be the biggest external threats to Qin. As long as these two states exist, it is unlikely that Qin will cause trouble internally.

"Let's leave two whetstones for those who come after us!" Ying Zheng closed the scroll.

As for whether Qin will destroy the other two states or the other two states will destroy Qin, he can't control that anymore. He has done the best he can and left an absolute foundation for future generations. If he can still lose even after all that, then no matter how much he has done, it's like selling his grandfather's land without a care in the world, and he deserves it.

"Let me see just how far the Yan Kingdom can go!"

Ying Zheng looked eastward, a surge of fighting spirit rising within him. He was eager to know how far Yan could ultimately rise and whether it would be qualified to stand as one of the three powers alongside Qin and Bingzhou.

"Write!" Ying Zheng turned his head and whispered.

The scribe hurriedly spread out the papers, waiting for Ying Zheng to dictate.

"Send a message to Fusu and tell him that I have prepared a fat sheep for him, waiting for him to slaughter it himself in the future!"

The scribe only needed to record the information; he didn't need to understand Ying Zheng's meaning.

After all, Ying Zheng's leaps in thinking and his overall vision were beyond the reach of most people.

In Ying Zheng's eyes, apart from Bingzhou, even Bingzhou was not a real opponent, let alone the State of Yan.

He could let the Yan state develop unchecked, like livestock he raised himself, waiting to fatten them up before slaughtering them.

The State of Yan was a fat sheep left by Ying Zheng for Fusu, waiting for Fusu to take it back in the future.

Therefore, he tacitly approved of the development of the Yan state, waiting for it to become wealthy and eventually be taken over by the Qin state.

He placed high hopes on Fusu.

If they can't even deal with the Later Yan who were driven to the island, how can they possibly control the vast Qin Empire?
So he waited and saw how far the Yan state could develop.

(End of this chapter)