I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 941 Target the whole world (Chapter 5K2)

The next morning, in front of Chongde Hall.

Civil and military officials lined up, but they were more restless than usual. As soon as the palace gate opened, everyone rushed into the palace impatiently, their eyes all looking up at the steps - there was not only the seated Empress Wannian, but also a familiar figure.

Su Yao was wearing a red royal robe, standing with his hands behind his back. The morning light shone through the glazed tiles on the roof of the palace, coating his body with a layer of gold, making him look like a god.

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Long live the Tang King!"

All the officials knelt down and bowed, their voices echoing in the hall. Many people stole glances at this legendary figure who had "come back from the dead", trying to find clues on his face.

"Everyone, please get up."

Su Yao's voice was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly. He looked around at the crowd, and his eyes lingered for a moment on a few ministers with strange expressions, frightening them so much that they almost knelt down again.

"I'm sure you've all heard about my experience." Su Yao raised his lips slightly, "This is a mysterious secret, so I can't say much. But there is one thing I must tell the world today."

He clapped his hands, and the attendants immediately carried a huge silk map and slowly unfolded it in the hall. When the unprecedented pattern was fully revealed, the whole court was in an uproar -

It turned out to be a complete world map covering the area west of the Western Regions and south of the South China Sea!

"This is what the Emperor of Heaven showed me when my soul left my body." Su Yao lied calmly, pointing his finger at a red country in the east of the map. "As you can see, my Han Empire only occupies a corner of this world."

"what?!"

When this map came out, even those who had seen Su Yao take out various detailed and shocking maps from time to time before were all stunned.

"How is this possible?!"

Huangfu Song was the first to cry out in surprise. His trembling fingers hovered over the map, but he did not dare to touch it at all:
"The territory of our Han Dynasty is less than one-tenth of the world's territory? The land outside the Western Region is so vast?!"

During the Han Dynasty, China was not the closed-door country that it became in later generations, completely ignorant of the world.

The Han envoys, who were extremely enterprising and pioneering, traveled far and wide. They explored the Silk Road and crossed the Pamir Mountains. They not only built the Protectorate of the Western Regions to monitor the countries in the Western Regions, but also established connections with the Kushan (Yuezhi) and Parthian (Parthian) Empires at the time. Everyone knew each other and even sent envoys to each other.

The Han Dynasty established contact with the Parthian Empire as early as when Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions. In the same year that Zhang Qian returned to the Han Dynasty after his last diplomatic mission, his deputy envoy to the Western Regions arrived at the capital of the Parthian Empire and was received with great ceremony by Mithridates II, with 20,000 officers and soldiers lining the streets to welcome him.

However, the two countries were still too far apart, with the Kushans and Kangju in between. Interactions were limited to trade and travel, occasional rumors from afar, and occasional monks from the Western Regions.

I had no idea that the Parthian Empire had such a large territory and was almost located in the center of the world on the map of the King of Tang.

However, compared to Parthia, they were much more familiar with Kushan.

During the reign of Emperor He of Han Dynasty, the two sides formed an alliance when Ban Chao conquered the Western Regions, and sent troops together to pacify Shule and defeat Shache. Later, the Kushan king even became proud of his achievements and asked Emperor He of Han to marry his princess. In the end, he was flatly rejected, and the two sides turned against each other and fought a war.

The Kushan king at that time, confident of his country's strength, attempted to take advantage of the fact that the Han Dynasty was fighting a great war with the Northern Huns. He sent a deputy king named Xie to lead an army of 70,000 from west to east, across the Pamir Mountains to attack Ban Chao, in an attempt to expel the Han Dynasty and establish his own hegemony in the Western Regions.

Naturally, Ban Chao would not let them succeed so easily. He immediately mobilized the garrisoned Han troops and recruited the coalition forces of the Western Regions to fight against them.

The final result was naturally a great victory for the coalition forces of the Protectorate of the Western Regions, and the Kushans admitted defeat and paid compensation. From then on, the two countries maintained friendly relations and paid tribute every year. This situation even lasted for decades. Even though the Han Dynasty later abandoned the Western Regions several times and then opened them up again and again, the Kushans never became an enemy of the Han Dynasty again.

It was not until the reign of Emperor Huan that the Han Dynasty began to weaken and was plagued by internal and external troubles. In the second year of Yuanjia (152 AD), Zheng Jing, the chief historian of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, was killed by Khotan. Then in the first year of Yongxing (153 AD), Aluduo, the king of the rear part of Cheshi, rebelled against the Han Dynasty. From then on, the rule of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions gradually collapsed. It was not until the reign of Emperor Ling that the Qiang in Liangzhou continued to cause chaos, the passage to the Western Regions was cut off, and the Han Dynasty finally lost the Western Regions completely, and no longer had any information about the West.

Now, looking at Su Yao's map, not only the territories of the Han Dynasty and the countries in the Western Regions were clearly drawn, but the territories of Kushan and Parthia were far beyond everyone's imagination.

What is even more shocking is that to the west of Parthia, there is a vast territory marked as "Rome".

Its territory is not only as vast as that of the Han Dynasty, but its visual impact is even greater!
"What kind of country is this Rome? How could its territory be comparable to that of the Han Dynasty at its peak? This is unheard of!"

Jia Xu narrowed his eyes, staring at the unfamiliar territory on the map, his voice trembling slightly.

Su Yao smiled slightly, and slid his finger westward along the Silk Road, straight to the Mediterranean coast:

"This country is also called Daqin. It has been established for nearly a thousand years. Its capital, Rome, has a population of over a million. Its territory is connected by land and sea, spanning three continents, and it has a million soldiers."

"Daqin?!"

Even the usually calm Lu Zhi exclaimed:
"In the past, Gan Ying, an official of the Western Regions Protectorate, was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to Daqin. He went straight to the coast of the Western Sea, but was blocked by the Parthians and could not go out to sea. He returned without success."

"According to the records, the Great Qin Kingdom had 'an area of ​​several thousand miles and more than four hundred cities'. How could it be so vast?!"

Su Yao smiled but did not answer, and pointed to the south of Anxi:
"This is Tianzhu, the birthplace of the Buddha worshipped in the White Horse Temple. The country was once very powerful, but now it has been divided into dozens of small states and warlords. Most of the territory has now been annexed by the Hundred-Chapter King."

It must be said that not all of Su Yao's words were true. Some parts of them were actually "artistically processed" in order to enhance persuasiveness.

However, naturally, no one in the audience would understand. As Su Yao continued his explanation, the ministers in the hall stared as if they were listening to a foreign language. They stared with their eyes wide open, afraid of missing any information.

Even the most learned Cai Yong nodded frequently like a child at this moment.

Then, Su Yao suddenly turned his finger and pointed outside the East China Sea:

"This is an island country among the Wa people. Among them is a big country called Yamatai. Its queen Himiko once sent envoys to Liaodong. Going further east -"

His finger slid across the vast ocean, and then suddenly flicked it to the other side of the map, landing on a large unfamiliar continent in the far west:
"This place is called Yinzhou, where civilizations such as Maya and Aztec live. Its pyramids are majestic and magnificent, not inferior to those in Chang'an Weiyang."

"Yin Zhou?!"

Yuan Shao didn't care why Su Yao said to go east, but his finger pointed to the west. He just suddenly widened his eyes:
"Could it be that this is where the remnants of the Shang Dynasty live? When King Wu conquered King Zhou, there were indeed records of the Shang people crossing the sea to the east!"

Su Yao smiled but said nothing, which was considered as tacit agreement. People of this era believed in the legend of the Shang Dynasty's eastward migration, which saved him the trouble of explaining.

"This picture of the Tang King is truly incredible."

Jia Xu suddenly spoke, his eyes gleaming:

"But I don't know what the Tang King wants to do by showing this picture?"

This question immediately calmed down the boiling court.

Everyone realized that His Royal Highness the King of Tang, who had just experienced a scene of resurrection from the dead, suddenly took out such a shocking map, definitely not just to broaden everyone's horizons.

Considering the general's past behavior, many people felt a little uneasy.

No way, no way.

We have just pacified the world, so no matter how hard you try, it won’t happen, right?
This map can't be taken out for
"Of course it's for the expedition!"

hiss--

As soon as Su Yao finished speaking, the whole room was filled with gasps.

"Going to war???"

"Your Majesty Tang, you can't do that!"

"General, please think twice!"

After a period of silence, suddenly fierce opposition broke out in the court.

The ivory tablet of Grand Tutor Lu Zhi had just fallen to the ground in shock, so he quickly picked it up and stepped out to urge:
"Your Majesty, since the Liangzhou Qiang Rebellion and the Yellow Turban Rebellion, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued in various places, and the court has been plagued by internal and external troubles. The Ten Eunuchs and Dong Zhuo's rebellion tore the world apart, causing the people to be displaced and their bodies to be exposed in the wilderness." "Now, although your majesty has fortunately turned the tide and restored unity, the treasuries of various states are still empty, many farms are still abandoned, and many refugees still need to be resettled. There are still ruins before our eyes. How can the court have the spare energy to launch a large-scale expedition, and a long expedition across thousands of miles?"

"That's what the Master said."

Jia Xu, who had always stood on Su Yao's side, couldn't help but stand up and persuade him:
"The Emperor of Tang was wise and far-sighted. He broke the shackles of family background in selecting officials through the imperial examination system, rectified the administration of officials through the system of performance evaluation, and evenly balanced taxes through the system of land measurement. Each of these new policies was a benevolent policy that would benefit future generations, but at the same time they also required a lot of manpower and financial support."

"Now that the country has just been settled, the new policies of the states have just been implemented and are still in the process of adjustment. It will take time for local officials to become familiar with the implementation of the new system. If we rashly raise troops at this time, I am afraid that the new policies will be abandoned halfway and all the previous efforts will be wasted."

Then, Shangshu Ling Zhu Jun also stepped forward to advise: "Your Majesty, King Tang, I also agree with what the Grand Tutor and Minister Jia said."

"As the saying goes, if the internal affairs are not stable, then the external wars will be difficult to pacify. At present, the water conservancy projects in various places are in disrepair. For example, the Yellow River Basin is often worried about floods, and the Huai River Basin also needs to dredge the river. Although the border is peaceful, many passes along the Great Wall are damaged and need manpower to repair. Moreover, the people in various states have just recovered from the war. If corvée and taxes are imposed again, it may cause resentment among the people and shake the foundation of the country."

Imperial Censor Wang Yun also said: "King Tang, although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered the Xiongnu in the north and won great prestige, it also caused domestic consumption and reduced the population by half. Today, our Han Dynasty has just gone through a chaotic era and has not yet recovered. If we go on an expedition overseas, it will be difficult to raise food, supplies, and recruit soldiers, not to mention the ships and equipment needed to cross the ocean. It is definitely not something that can be prepared in a short period of time."

Even the military commander Huangfu Song, after hearing Su Yao's bold words, did not think about making great military achievements, but said worriedly:

"General, although our army is brave and good at fighting, long-distance travel and unfamiliarity with the local climate are the biggest taboos in military strategy. Moreover, we are on an expedition to a foreign country where we are unfamiliar with the terrain, climate, and customs. We don't know the strength of the enemy, so the risks are unpredictable."

"What benefit will the territory thousands of miles away bring to our people, no matter how vast it is? It is better to recuperate first and then make progress when our national strength is strong."

Thanks to the seniority of Huangfu Song, although other people had the same idea, few dared to say it openly.

An expedition thousands of miles away?

What a joke.

This is simply the general's vanity.

Such turmoil will cost the people a lot of money and is definitely not a sign of a prosperous era. If the general insists on having his own way, he may follow the same path as the tyrannical Qin Dynasty which ended in its demise.

Overtly or covertly, all the ministers echoed the opposition.

Loyal ministers and generals were worried that the severe loss of the national treasury would cause instability in the government and the world would be in chaos again. Even those with ulterior motives took the opportunity to fan the flames and try to shake Su Yao's prestige.

This scene made the Eternal Empress behind Su Yao frown.

Before going to court, Su Yao actually expressed to him the idea of ​​going on an expedition.

Although Wannian had just recovered from the surprise, he still had ten thousand objections.

On the one hand, she didn't want to let Su Yao go, but the more important thing was that she had been in power for nearly three years and was well aware of how much opposition there would be in the court.

But Su Yao said confidently that he had his own way.

Now, as expected, a huge wave of opposition has been raised. Such an uproar has directly washed away his previous miracle of coming back to life.
This made Wannian very anxious. He just coughed and was about to say something to help, but Su Yao smiled and said, "Everyone, please be patient."

Su Yao raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, with a mysterious smile on his face:
"How could I not know what you are all worried about? However, this expedition is not a momentary thought of wanting to expand military power, but to resolve the dilemma that our great Han has faced for hundreds of years."

"what?"

"What does King Tang mean?"

Su Yao laughed and looked around at everyone and asked:

"Do you know why during the Three Dynasties, the people were honest and the society was in good order? Even the Zhou Dynasty, with many princes, was able to enjoy a long history of more than 800 years. But since the Qin King conquered the world, our dynasty has been declining every hundred years, becoming increasingly troubled. Even if knowledgeable people tried their best, it was difficult to reverse its decline. As a result, there were traitors like Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo who deposed and enthroned emperors, usurped state power, and caused the country to fall apart and the people to suffer?"

Su Yao's question was like a heavy hammer, hitting the hearts of all the civil and military officials. The hall was suddenly silent, and even the sound of breathing became clearly audible.

Lu Zhi's white beard trembled slightly, and a trace of surprise flashed in his turbid eyes. He had debated this question with his disciples countless times when he was lecturing at the Imperial Academy, but he had never come up with a satisfactory answer.

"The King of Tang asked." Jia Xu narrowed his eyes, and his fingers in his sleeves unconsciously rubbed the jade ring, "Could it be related to this world map?"

Su Yao stood with his hands behind his back, the golden thread on his red royal robe flowing in the morning light: "Have you ever thought that since the unification of the Qin and Han dynasties, the territory of the world has reached its peak, but the cycle of order and chaos has accelerated?"

He tapped the map with his finger, drawing a line from Guanzhong to the East China Sea: "Because administrative governance and land carrying capacity have limits!"

Su Yao's voice echoed in the hall, resoundingly:
"During the Three Dynasties, the princes were divided into different regions, each ruling a different area. The population was sparse, but the land was vast. Even if one country declined, another would rise. The Zhou emperor was only in the middle to coordinate, so the country was able to enjoy a long life."

"Since the Qin Dynasty annexed the six states, the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system and unified the country. The imperial court directly ruled the people. Although the territory was vast, the population grew, land was annexed, and the powerful became stronger. The imperial court's tax revenue decreased day by day, and the finances were in trouble. In the end, it had to levy heavy taxes, which triggered a popular uprising."

"What's even more terrifying is——"

Su Yao suddenly raised his voice and poked his finger heavily on the map:

"When the world is in chaos, the ambitious people will no longer have the restraint of the princes and can expand at will, eventually forming giant bandits like Yuan Shu and Dong Zhuo, who will harm the people!"

This remark was like a revelation, and many ministers fell into deep thought. Wang Yun murmured, "The King of Tang is saying that the feudal system has its own reasons?"

"No."

Su Yao shook his head:

"The feudal system is no longer appropriate. What I want to say is that our Han Dynasty must open up new living space!"

He pointed his finger towards Rome and said word by word:

"When this country was first established, it was just a small city-state with weak people. But it has grown into a giant that has surpassed the Han Dynasty. It relies on its continuous expansion, using swords as plowshares, fighting to support the war, and constantly expanding the living territory for its people and absorbing the surrounding ethnic groups for its own use."

"Since Emperor Wu, our great Han has conquered the Xiongnu in the north and pacified the Baiyue in the south, but the lands we have gained are not fertile lands. The people can only thrive in the Central Plains and have not been able to truly look out to the world."

Su Yao's voice became more and more excited:
"Now that our dynasty has just begun to implement new policies, the imperial examination system has broken the monopoly of the aristocratic families, the land measurement order has curbed the annexation of the powerful, and the unified circulation of money and bills has promoted trade. This is the strategy to strengthen administrative governance capabilities and prepare the country for development."

"If, at the same time, we can take advantage of this opportunity when our battle-hardened troops are still at their peak and expand our territory, following the example of the Romans, then our Han Dynasty will surely be able to break out of this vicious cycle of order and chaos!"

Su Yao suddenly unfolded another map. Unlike the previous map which only had country names and territories, this one was marked with densely packed routes, trade routes, and information on specialty products:
"Everyone, please look! Sun Ce has discovered a natural harbor in Rinan County. It can be used as a base to connect directly to the countries in the South China Sea, and even all the way to India and the West Sea. What's even better is-"

His finger suddenly pointed beyond the East China Sea:

"The land in the South Seas is rich in water and grass, and grain can be harvested three times a year. The Japanese archipelago is rich in gold and silver minerals, and the Yinzhou continent is also a fertile land of thousands of miles. Compared with the richness, the number of local indigenous people and their military equipment are not worth mentioning. If we can open up these territories, the people of our great Han will no longer have to be trapped in the Central Plains!"

"This this"

"However, these places are far away, and their development will probably require a great deal of time and manpower."

Su Yao's words were extremely inspiring, but of course not everyone was infected by this grand vision.

From the map, just by looking at the size and proportion of the Han territory, they can intuitively feel the remoteness of these places. There are also large areas of uncolored open space, which obviously makes sense for them to be ownerless.

It's very simple. Even in the territory of the Han Dynasty, the vast land in the south is mostly filled with smoke and miasma, making it difficult to develop.

How long will it take to make these uninhabited places profitable?
The people in the court are not amateurs without administrative experience, and they will not be led astray by a few bold words.

"So, our main target is in the Western Region."

Su Yao smiled faintly, then pointed his finger towards the Western Regions, passing through Kangju, Kushan, Parthia and other countries all the way to Rome:
"Unlike those territories that have not been developed by humans, there are many ancient countries with prosperous economy and culture to the west of this place. It is even said that the earliest human civilization was born in the Fertile Crescent here."

"If our army can advance all the way west, open up trade routes, and make the four seas submit, not only can we truly realize the great cause of making all the lands of the Han Dynasty the lands of the sun and the moon, but the wealth and land we gain will also be endless. This will surely help our Han Dynasty break out of the cycle of order and chaos and lay the foundation for eternal peace!"

(End of this chapter)