The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 439: Hetao Hexi
If he hadn't eaten too much of these things, he wouldn't have died suddenly before the age of 50.

I need to tell Nian'er about this and ask her to keep a close eye on it and not let them add anything else.

It is better to use more herbs and less minerals. Wu Shi San is not a good thing either.

If you want to truly prolong your life, you can't let the effects of the medicine distract you.

Ying Zheng made up his mind to go to Nian Duan today.

The two of them were very passionate and inseparable these two days, and Ying Zheng was very greedy for her.

After all, the elder sister smells so good.

Gentle, considerate, intelligent, and infatuated, Ying Zheng simply couldn't resist her.

Ying Zheng shook his head and came back to his senses. Besides, there really are mythical beasts in this world.

The black dragon of Weishui cannot be moved, because it is one of our own.

But the one at Dongting Lake?
There is also the little Pixiu of Loulan.

"Come here, call Xiang Lisheng to see me."

After Xiang Lisheng hurried over, Ying Zheng offered him a seat and asked with a smile, "I summoned you because I have something to ask you."

Xiang Lisheng replied: "Please tell me, my king. I will tell you everything I know."

Ying Zheng asked, "Do you know that among the three Mohist schools, there is a person named Lu who is good at mechanical engineering? He is about 40 or 50 years old now."

Xiang Lisheng quickly went over in his mind all the people he knew who were skilled in mechanical engineering, and made sure that there was no one with the surname Lu.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I don't have any impression of such a person. Apart from Qin Mo, there are only Chu Mo and others who are masters of mechanical arts. I don't know much about Chu Mo. If he lives in seclusion, it's normal that I don't know him."

Ying Zheng nodded: "That's normal. Do you know where Mr. Yingxing is now?"

Xiang Lisheng replied, "Your Majesty, Master Yingxing has been doing great deeds everywhere, and he is elusive. I don't know where he is now, but if Your Majesty wants to summon him, I have the Mohist way to contact Master Yingxing."

"Okay, please help me contact Mr. Yingxing. I really need to ask him something."

Xiang Lisheng was confused, but he still obeyed the order respectfully: "I obey your order."

After Xiang Lisheng left, Ying Zheng thought that he had to do two things at the same time.

Besides, it is time to establish a base for development westwards.

For the current Central Plains dynasty, there is no threat from the east and south, and it can be seen with the naked eye that there will be no threat within a thousand years.

The threat always comes from the west and north, mainly the nomadic peoples in the north.

The key to dealing with the threat from nomadic peoples is to occupy the Hetao Plain and the Hexi Corridor.

The Hetao region generally refers to the area east of the Helan Mountains, west of the Luliang Mountains, south of the Yin Mountains, and north of the Great Wall.

Because the Yellow River first flows northward along the Helan Mountains, then flows eastward due to the blockage of the Yin Mountains, and then flows southward along the Luliang Mountains, forming a "J"-shaped bend, a fertile alluvial plain is formed here with abundant irrigation water sources, which is suitable for agricultural development.

It is also an excellent animal husbandry base with abundant grass and water, suitable for grazing, providing a large number of livestock for nomadic peoples, making it an excellent place for raising horses.

The Hetao Plain is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin. It is a major transportation route connecting the east and the west and the north and the south. It has the convenience of water transportation on the Yellow River, and the land transportation is also very developed. It leads to North China in the east, the Western Regions in the west, the Central Plains in the south, and the Mongolian Plateau in the north.

For the Central Plains dynasty, occupying the Hetao Plain could serve as a frontier position to resist the invasion of nomadic peoples from the north and act as a barrier. Sending troops from here could proactively attack the nomadic peoples and safeguard the security of the Central Plains.

For nomadic peoples, the Hetao Plain was an important passage and springboard for them to plunder southwards. After obtaining the Hetao Plain, they could more easily attack the Central Plains dynasty and obtain abundant supplies and wealth.

This place is an absolutely strategic location for both sides, which is advantageous for both attack and defense, and is a place that must be fought for.

Both strategic position and production value are absolutely top priority!

The Hetao is divided into the front, back and west parts of the Hetao.

Now the front and back are all in the hands of Zhao. A small part of Henan belongs to Daqin, and part belongs to Linhu. Linhu is now a dog of Zhao. The rest of Henan and Xitao are now in the hands of Dayuezhi and Xiongnu.

As for the Hexi Corridor, its importance is even greater than that of the Hetao Plain.

The Hexi Corridor is located west of the Yellow River, sandwiched between the Qilian Mountains, the Heli Mountains, the Longshou Mountains and other mountain ranges. It is about one thousand kilometers long from east to west. It is an important channel connecting the Western Regions and the Central Plains.

The Hexi Corridor not only connects the east and the west, but also connects the Mongolian Plateau in the north and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the south. For the Central Plains dynasty, controlling the Hexi Corridor can effectively resist the southward migration of nomadic peoples in the north and the northward migration of forces such as Tubo in the south.

Only by controlling the Hexi Corridor can the security of the Central Plains be guaranteed, and the Western Regions can be effectively governed and managed. This is the only way to expand to the Western Regions. In addition, the Hexi Corridor has abundant water resources and fertile land, which is suitable for agricultural production. There are conditions for large-scale reclamation and agricultural development here. In addition, the Hexi Corridor has vast grasslands, which are suitable for the development of animal husbandry and are also an excellent place for raising horses.

The Hexi Corridor has an absolutely important position in transportation, military, economy and culture. It is an absolutely indispensable part if the Central Plains dynasty wants to prosper and become strong.

The Hexi Corridor is now under the control of the Dayuezhi.

The production model of nomadic peoples determines their system of universal military service. The advantage of this model is its strong military mobilization capabilities. Although the population is small, it still has the advantage of the number of soldiers. With a limited population base, almost all adult men can participate in combat, which greatly increases the size of the army.

In addition, their rapid mobilization, strong individual combat effectiveness, and difficult living conditions also make it easier for them to adapt to harsh environments.

The strategies and tactics are flexible, and guerrilla tactics are used freely. "Advance when it is advantageous, retreat when it is disadvantageous, and do not be ashamed to escape."

They will not engage in head-on combat with the enemy, but will adjust their tactics in a timely manner according to the battlefield situation to achieve the greatest victory at the lowest cost. For them, there is no such thing as face, victory is the most important thing.

Of course, there are also disadvantages. Nomadic people live by following water and grass, their economic system is fragile and mainly relies on animal husbandry. They have a single economic structure, a weak economic foundation, limited production capacity, and no ability to wage long-term wars, otherwise they will collapse on their own.

The political system, cultural development, technological development, and even the military system were all lagging behind those of the Central Plains dynasties. The social organization and management of the nomadic peoples were relatively loose, and there was a lack of a unified command system. This also led to many internal conflicts within the tribes, making it difficult to truly unite. If there was a powerful king, it would be fine, otherwise it would be a mess, and internal conflicts could easily lead to division.

The fragile and single production model depends on the weather. A cold winter or a plague is enough to wipe out one or even several tribes.

Judging from the current situation, the forces in the Central Plains are much stronger than those in the grasslands.

Because now everyone in the Central Plains is a soldier.

The Central Plains has all the advantages of nomadic peoples, but without their disadvantages.

In terms of organizational and management capabilities, political systems, production models and scales, cultural development, scientific and technological development, military system, and even the quality of soldiers and military equipment, they are completely overwhelming the nomadic peoples around them.

Not to mention the unification, not to mention the State of Zhao, even the current State of Yan is still fighting against the barbarians.

Now is a good time to strike hard at the nomads.

Today, the main nomadic peoples around the Central Plains are, from west to north, the Qiang tribes, the Dayuezhi, the Linhu, the Xiongnu, and the Donghu.

The strongest ones today are Donghu and Xiongnu, but these two were severely beaten by the Qin and Zhao states a few years ago, and it took them more than 20 years to recover.

Among them, the Donghu suffered heavy losses and were almost forced to flee to the area of ​​Baishan and Heishui. In that era, that place was really not suitable for survival.

The Xiongnu now have many tribes and have not yet been unified. They are not as good as the Donghu. Because they dare not move south, they are now competing with the Donghu for living space.

As for Linhu, he is almost gone. He is now serving as a dog of Zhao State, bordering Daqin and Xiongnu. He can only eat sand. His remaining living space is extremely bad, and no one is too lazy to fight him.

As for the Dayuezhi, haha, this group of people had basically no fighting power. They couldn't even defeat the Xiongnu and Wusun, so they could only bully the Qiang people. There was no record of the Dayuezhi invading the Qin Dynasty.

Even if he had two guts, he would not dare to be the enemy of the Qin Dynasty.

As for the Qiang people, let’s put it this way, now they have to strike whatever posture the Qin State asks them to strike, and they have to do it with a smile, for fear that the Qin State will not be satisfied.

The number of Qiang tribes and their disorder were far greater than those of the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu.

At most, there were more than 150 tribes, scattered like this, with basically no fighting power.

Now that they are in such a mess, it is a good time to control the Hexi Corridor and Henan.

As long as the Hexi Corridor is taken in advance, the entire Western Regions, the Dayuezhi and even many Qiang tribes can be taken at their will.

It would be easy to take over Henan and the entire Hetao Plain in the future, and it would cut off the possibility of a strategic offensive by the Huns.

Now is the best time.

After the unification of the empire, it was bound to develop the Western Regions. Instead of building at that time, it would be better to make some preparations in advance, establish farmland and build cities, and settle down first. Anyway, the Great Yuezhi would not dare to say no.

There is another most effective trick against nomadic peoples, and Wei Qing and Huo Qubing have already given a perfect answer to it.

Nomadic people rely on animal husbandry for their production and lifestyle, and their main livestock are cattle, horses and sheep.

Their weakest time is spring, when the snow begins to melt and their winter reserves are depleted. In early spring, everything comes back to life and it takes time for grass to grow, so the supply of grass is insufficient.

The climate is cold in winter, and nomadic peoples' livestock are susceptible to various diseases. After suffering from diseases in winter, the surviving livestock are in poor health in spring.

As the temperature rises in spring, pathogens such as bacteria and viruses become active. In addition, livestock have been weak in winter and their immunity has not yet fully recovered, leading to a high incidence of epidemics in spring.

Livestock are at their most vulnerable at this time, and horses are not capable of running long distances.

(End of this chapter)