Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1966: The Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon (Thirteen)
In the First Lingnan War, the empire mobilized an army of 500,000, while the Baiyue barely managed to gather an army of 50,000.

By the time Tu Sui was killed in battle, these 50,000 men were basically killed or wounded, leaving only a few thousand remnants.

Of course, the results achieved in exchange for a casualty rate of up to 90% were also astonishing enough - they wiped out nearly 300,000 troops of the empire.

Although the loss of 300,000 men was caused by a variety of factors, the desperate resistance of the Baiyue army cannot be ignored.

Despite the amazing results, the Baiyue people had basically used up all their strong laborers.

The Baiyue population in the Lingnan region was only a few hundred thousand people, and it would take at least ten years to recover the able-bodied labor force, one-tenth of the total population, but the empire only gave them less than a year.

This amount of time is basically equivalent to no time, and there is no way to recover at all.

The remaining population was basically unable to form an effective resistance.

Under such circumstances, the resistance faced by Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo was too weak.

If this still cannot be done smoothly, then the empire will be in big trouble.

However, even though the empire conquered Lingnan with an unstoppable force, this incident was not very prominent.

There is no point in racing a Ferrari against a wheelchair even if the car wins.

Some people were shocked by the great victory in the Lingnan war, and the small thoughts that had arisen due to the previous turmoil in the empire were immediately suppressed.

However, some people also concluded that the empire was strong on the outside but weak on the inside and was on the decline, which strengthened their confidence in resisting the empire.

In this regard, Ying Zheng still didn't care and focused on his eastern tour.

It is somewhat inappropriate to continue calling it the Eastern Tour, because the journey is already more than halfway through. The convoy has just passed Jiujiang County and Hengshan County, and is about to go west through Nanyang and Huaiyang areas back to Guanzhong.

The convoy will speed up this journey and is expected to return to the imperial capital Xianyang in one month at the latest, or half a month at the earliest.

It is understandable that Ying Zheng did not care about the restlessness of various places.

Because the most dangerous moment for the empire had passed - when both the North and South fronts were simultaneously mired in the quagmire of war.

Now that the war in the north has subsided, with only sporadic attacks from nomadic tribes left, the hundreds of thousands of border troops at the Great Wall Corps headquarters have settled down. While they are firmly stationed in the north, they can provide support to the Central Plains at any time.

The Lingnan Army is advancing steadily, and it is expected that Lingnan will be completely occupied by the beginning of next spring at the latest, or at the end of winter this year (this does not refer to the end of the Zhuanxu calendar).

By then, the 300,000 troops of the Lingnan Legion will be freed from the war, and together with the Great Wall Legion, one in the north and one in the south, they will look towards the Central Plains together.

Not counting ace troops such as the Golden Fire Cavalry, the two major legions in the north and south alone have more than 500,000 elite soldiers. Add to that traditional powerful armies such as the Anxi Town Army, the Dragon and Tiger Cavalry, and the Armored Army, and the empire has nearly one million soldiers.

In this situation, it was really difficult for Ying Zheng to worry about some "rats" hiding in the shadows overthrowing his rule.

This is not the right way to worry about something that may happen next year.

Of course, a strong military force does not mean that the empire is impregnable.

It is certainly lively and bustling with flowers and brocade and the fire boiling, but too much is as bad as too little. If it leads to the opposite effect, the collapse of the building will be imminent.

It’s not that Ying Zheng doesn’t understand this truth, he just has confidence in himself.

As long as he, the emperor, is still here, the empire will be fine!
In a sense, this idea is not wrong.

With Ying Zheng's political skills and political reputation, he could always ensure the stability of the political groups within the court, suppress or balance the contradictions and conflicts among the parties, and ensure the stability of the superstructure of the empire.

As long as the superstructure is stable and there is no problem with the foundation, the building will not collapse suddenly.

Of course, it was obvious that there was something wrong with the foundation of the empire, but in the short term, the most stable and firm foundation would not completely collapse - the endurance of ordinary people was often beyond everyone's imagination.

………………

East Tour Convoy.

The carriage moved slowly on the pipe, and the wheels made a series of rumbling sounds as they pressed over the dry but slightly uneven road surface.

In Ying Zheng's car, he was dealing with many matters recently reported by various counties in the north.

There were arrangements for post-attack work after the attack by northern nomadic tribes, progress reports on the Great Wall straight road project, and some scattered battle reports that required his approval.

Zhao Gao, who usually accompanied Ying Zheng, was nowhere to be seen this time, and was replaced by a mysterious man covered in a black robe - of course, he was just wearing a black robe and a mask, not like Donghuang Taiyi who was covered from head to toe without even showing his eyeballs.

The man in black robe stood at the bottom and said in a hoarse voice that was obviously deliberately concealed:

"It has been basically confirmed that the Imperial Master Gu Xun went out to sea with Mirage to search for immortals."

"Well...what is Donghuang Taiyi's reaction?" Ying Zheng asked without raising his head.

"He didn't seem to care and only replied, "Your Majesty, please wait for good news." The man in black robe responded with a slight smile.

Judging from his tone, he was much more relaxed than Zhao Gao when facing Ying Zheng.

"Since he is so confident, I will not be stingy with my trust." Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng did not pursue Gu Xun's whereabouts.

Since Donghuang Taiyi is not worried, there is no need for him to worry.

"Is there any other news worth noting?"

The man in black robe immediately replied in a hoarse voice, "And the recent movements of Quicksand."

"All of Liusha's forces have been withdrawn to several counties in the north. Those that can be withdrawn have been withdrawn, and those that cannot be withdrawn have been destroyed or abandoned. Even many businesses that were originally operated in Guanzhong have been stopped."

“Has business in Guanzhong stopped?”

Ying Zheng rarely showed surprise.

This is not because Liusha’s business in Guanzhong is so big.

In fact, Liusha has been mainly engaged in specialty business in recent years - that is, trading products from other regions that are not available or scarce in the Central Plains.

This is provided by nomadic tribes in the north, and the main way to obtain it is by robbing.

On the other hand, it is provided by the Lingnan Baiyue region, mainly through normal trade.

This type of business is almost monopolized by Liusha, and the profits are very considerable, so Liusha basically does not operate other normal businesses.

The most well-known exceptions are Zi Lan Xuan and An Xiang Ge.

The former is prescribed to men, and the latter is prescribed to women, and both are highly profitable industries.

But they are known not for their huge profits but for their dishonesty.

Almost all the upper classes in the empire knew about the intricate relationship between Gu Xun and the masters of Zi Lan Xuan and An Xiang Pavilion.

Make money, don't shiver.

However, for businesses that are somewhat vulgar, such as brothels and rouge and powder - especially the former, people of status usually leave the management to white gloves, hiding behind the scenes as a backer and taking the biggest cut.

Gu Xun directly pointed out that this was his business, and even let his woman go out in public to run it personally.

This seems a bit too cheap to many people.

There were even rumors that the Emperor had expressed his dissatisfaction with this and felt that the Imperial Master's behavior was not decent enough.

Interestingly, this rumor is true. Ying Zheng did talk to Gu Xun about the two businesses under his name, and he did think that he didn't need to make money through such an inappropriate method.

Ying Zheng even set a condition for Gu Xun, asking him to stop his business, and the Neifu (similar to the emperor's inner treasury) would make up for the loss of his annual profit.

However, he was still rejected by Gu Xun.

This business was opened by Zi Nu and Ming Zhu, not him, and the purpose was not to make money, but purely to find something to do.

How could he force Zi Nu and Ming Zhu to close their business?
As for reputation, Gu Xun doesn't care anyway.

That's why Ying Zheng was so surprised when he heard the news.

In a blink of an eye, Ying Zheng also figured out why the business of Zilanxuan and Anxiangge had stopped.

"It looks like Quicksand is going to make a big move."

No matter what Liusha wants to do, it will not lack the manpower from Zilanxuan and Anxiang Pavilion.

There is only one possibility that could force Liusha to stop even this small business - they judged that the business in Guanzhong could no longer be operated.

There is basically only one possible reason why the lucrative industry that the national teacher personally takes care of can no longer operate - Liusha may do something that Ying Zheng cannot tolerate next.

This is what Ying Zheng called a 'big move'!
The masked man took over the conversation and said, "Judging from Liusha's current actions, there is only one possibility for them to do something - rebellion."

"They have greatly reduced their sphere of influence, mobilized almost all of their manpower, and tried their best to deceive the imperial court... The only explanation I can think of is that they intend to set up camp in the north and directly resist the empire."

"Apart from this matter, there should be nothing else that is worth Liusha making such a fuss about."

Speaking of this sensitive topic, Ying Zheng, who had been bowing his head over documents, finally raised his head. His eyes, as sharp and cold as an eagle's, did not show anger, but silence instead.

He was wondering.

The masked man's analysis was reasonable, and he agreed with it, but... he really couldn't imagine how Fusu dared to rebel against him?

Although Ying Zheng was dissatisfied with many of Fusu's shortcomings - which might not be considered shortcomings to others - and also had many dislikes for Fusu, Ying Zheng was very clear that his biggest dissatisfaction with Fusu was only one thing, which was that his eldest son was not like himself.

I'm talking about personality, not appearance.

It was precisely because Fusu was not like him that Ying Zheng was very sure that Fusu could not really rebel against him as his "father".

If Fusu had no intention of rebelling... then Liusha's actions were probably presumptuous? Or did Liusha want to leave Fusu behind?

But this still seemed impossible to Ying Zheng.

If Gu Xun wanted to rebel, it would definitely be for Fusu, for his only student.

There was no way he could leave Fusu behind and lead Liusha against the empire.

In other words...blocked at both ends?

"Are you sure that everything Liusha did was based on Gu Xun's orders?" Ying Zheng, with a lot of thoughts in his mind, asked a question.

He thought of another possibility.

Fusu and Gu Xun indeed had no intention of rebelling, but they were not the only two high-ranking officials in Liusha.

As far as Ying Zheng knew, many of Liusha's affairs were actually handled by Han Fei, who had "died" many years ago.

Fusu and Gu Xun might not rebel, but Han Fei has enough reasons to rebel!
The masked man probably guessed what Ying Zheng was thinking and responded immediately:

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be Gu Xun's idea. At least he must know about it and has no objection."

"The actions of the Quicksand are too big, and they started a long time ago. Even if the Imperial Master doesn't ask about the specific development of the Quicksand, it's impossible for him not to be alarmed."

"and……"

At the end, the masked man suddenly paused.

Seeing this, Ying Zheng said calmly, "Just say it."

"Yes." The masked man nodded and replied, "Moreover, Liusha's operation was also assisted by His Highness Fusu and General Meng Tian."

"..." Ying Zheng's eyes darkened, and after a moment of silence, he actually smiled, "All the people are here... I really want to see what they are going to do!"

"Just keep watching. Report to me if anything happens."

"As you wish." The masked man raised his hand and saluted, then disappeared.

After pondering for a moment, Ying Zheng turned his attention back to the files on the desk.

As for the Liusha rebellion, let's wait and see, he is not in a hurry.

It is easy to say "rebellion", but it is extremely difficult to put it into practice.

There is no telling how many ambitious people who want to overthrow the empire are hiding in the world today, but no matter how much they hate Ying Zheng, they can only hide themselves honestly, and no one dares to show up - if there are really any who dare to show up, they will be killed.

Of course, Liusha is very powerful, far beyond the reach of any individual. Even among the anti-Qin forces, there is no one who can be compared with Liusha.

But for the Empire, it made little difference.

Meng Tian may be inclined to support the eldest prince, but the hundreds of thousands of border troops under his command will not follow Meng Tian in being loyal to Fusu, and it is even less likely that they will follow Liusha in rebellion.

As long as there were no problems with the army, rebellion would be just a joke to Ying Zheng.

………………

In the north, in the city of Fushi, the capital of Shangjun County, is the residence of the eldest prince.

As winter approaches, Fusu and Meng Tian become increasingly busy.

However, Fusu's mood was much better than before.

"In the blink of an eye, it's already the beginning of winter."

Fusu held a cup of hot tea and said with a relaxed tone.

Meng Tian, ​​who was sitting below, nodded slightly and agreed, "The temperature is starting to drop rapidly."

"Thanks to your highness' early preparations, I think many lives can be saved this winter."

"Thank you for your compliment, General." Fusu waved his hand, not wanting to take credit for it. "I just made some suggestions and caused you a lot of trouble. To truly solve the problem, you and Mr. Han Fei will help you with all your strength."

"Especially Mr. Han Fei. I didn't expect him to provide so much extra food."

Meng Tian thought for a moment and responded, "Those grains... seem to be related to the Imperial Master."

"Many years ago, the Imperial Master mentioned several special crops to Your Majesty, saying that after breeding and screening, they might be able to produce high-yield varieties with stable yields."

"Initially, His Majesty the Emperor assigned this matter to the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture under the Ministry of Grain. Later, the progress seemed to be less than ideal, so it was taken over by the Imperial Master."

"Mr. Han Fei sent the food produced from those crops."

Actually it’s just potatoes, corn and so on.

These crops, which should not have appeared in the pre-Qin era, existed in the Qin world, but they did not become mainstream. The per-acre yield of private cultivation was also average, but they did fill the food gap for ordinary people to a certain extent.