Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Again, as the Minister of Finance, Guo Zong is naturally full of favor for those wars that can bring wealth and business routes to the Han Kingdom, and now the war to attack the Western Regions undoubtedly perfectly meets Guo Zong's requirements.

Pang Nuan, who had been very quiet all this time, also spoke at this time: "If we attack the Western Regions, how will we solve the supply problem after such a long journey?"

This is indeed a big problem. In history, why the Central Plains dynasty often found it difficult to control and develop the Western Regions, because the distance between the Western Regions and the Central Plains was too far.

It was not Xiang Yan who gave the answer, but Li Mu, who has been in charge of the reorganization and preparation of the First Army: "This is very simple. We have two horses, one horse can carry more than a month's rations, and there are sufficient water sources on the road. , and can also feed on the enemy by the way, so there is no problem."

Since Zhao Kuo "invented" meat floss and other military dry food that is easy to carry and relatively light enough in weight, coupled with the fact that the saddle relieves the fatigue of the knight, the horseshoe protects the horse's four hooves and improves the horse's ability to run for a long time With the superposition of many factors, the cavalry of the Han Dynasty has undergone an earth-shaking improvement in terms of mobility and long-term combat capability after leaving the base camp for a long time.

This is why Li Mu was able to answer Pang Nuan so confidently.

Pang Nuan nodded, and suddenly asked another question: "Where is the end point of this conquest of the Western Regions?"

Wars always have a goal, but judging from the map, the Han Kingdom is located on the easternmost side of the Asian continent. Theoretically speaking, all places west of the Han Kingdom can be called the Western Regions. It is impossible to fight all the way to Western Europe, right?

Li Mu chuckled and gestured towards Xiang Yan.

Xiang Yan immediately understood, picked up the baton in her hand, and pointed to the map in front of her: "The goal of the southern expedition this time is set in the Pearl River Delta in the south of Lingnan, where we will build a new city of the Great Han Dynasty to fight against the local people. effective governance.

As for the Western Regions, our initial goal is this large lake. According to Nightingale Spy, the locals call it Lake Balkhash. The east bank of this large lake is a desert, and the east of the desert is a valley plain. A brand new city was established in this river valley plain to effectively rule all the Western Regions east of the Great Lakes. "

In fact, this strategic goal was reported to Zhao Kuo in advance and was agreed by Zhao Kuo.

Zhao Kuo's idea has actually been decided long ago, that is to become the largest dynasty in China, surpassing the area of ​​any dynasty in China in history!Therefore, whether it is Lake Balkhash or Lingnan, they belong to the boundary of China's actual rule in history, which is why Zhao Kuo set these two goals for the first expansion of the Han Dynasty.

After listening to Xiang Yan's statement, the important ministers present did not have any major opinions.

In the civil war in China back then, everyone's level was about the same, so it must be able to expand slowly.

But now?

The current Great Han Kingdom is a super monster that gathers the power of the entire China, and the pace of external expansion will naturally become much faster!According to Xiang Yan's strategic plan this time, it is estimated that the Great Han Kingdom will be able to acquire a territory of about 270 million square kilometers at one time, which is definitely a very remarkable expansion.

The prime minister, Xu Li, spoke again: "So, how many troops are we going to dispatch this time?"

The person who can answer this question is obviously not Xiang Yan, but the Lieutenant Li Mu who is the right prime minister: "The First Legion as cavalry does not need too many soldiers and horses, one hundred thousand is enough.

Although the Third Corps is pure infantry, due to the inconvenient transportation in the Lingnan area, only 15 people were dispatched this time, a total of 25 people. "

After hearing this number, the expressions of Xu Li and Guo Zong eased a lot at the same time.

Xu Li is the great steward of the Han Kingdom in the true sense, and Guo Zong is in charge of the money bag. The less the Han Dynasty sent troops, the better it would be for them.

Pang Nuan asked worriedly: "Only 25 people have to be divided into two groups, is that enough?"

In fact, it wasn't just Pang Nuan, there were several people present who thought so, but they didn't say it out loud.

You must know that in the past when Zhao Guo fought wars, the starting price was 20. At that time, Zhao Guo was only one of the seven heroes of the Warring States Period.

Now that the Han Kingdom has unified the Seven Kingdoms, why are there still 25 soldiers and horses, and they have to be divided into two groups?

Faced with this question from Pang Nuan, Li Mu couldn't help laughing: "Prime Minister Pang is worrying too much, let me tell you this, even if you take South Korea and Yan, the weakest of the seven heroes of the Warring States Period, It is invincible in places like Lingnan and the Western Regions.

So this time we seem to have few soldiers and horses, but in fact there are enough. "

Li Mu didn't say a word, that is, this time the army of the Han Dynasty was not only equipped with gunpowder, but also had new types of arms such as Musketeers.

This time, although there are not many soldiers and horses in the Great Han Kingdom, when it comes to combat effectiveness, Li Mu just wants to say, yes, who!Looking at this scene, Zhao Kuo also smiled happily: "Very well, since you all have no opinions, then let's make this decision.

I will personally lead the First Army to conquer the west, and Xiang Yan will be responsible for the Third Army to conquer Lingnan! "

After hearing Zhao Kuo's order, all the Han ministers present were taken aback.

Zhao Kuo, actually want to conscript again?

Chapter 1119 That's the end of the royal conquest

Everyone was shocked, of course, because of the news that Zhao Kuo was going to march in person.

This news was not communicated to anyone in advance, so even Li Mu, Xiang Yan and others showed the same shocked expression on their faces.

As the prime minister, Xu Li was the first to come back to his senses, and said hurriedly to Zhao Kuo: "Your Majesty, the western expedition is thousands of miles away, why should Your Majesty take such a risk?

Please think twice, Your Majesty. "

Next, Pang Nuan, Li Mu and others also spoke up one after another, trying to dissuade Zhao Kuo.

As they said, this Western Expedition is different from any previous war, because the Western Expedition is about facing a brand new and unknown enemy, and no one knows what will happen.

To put it bluntly, if something happens along the way and the emperor Zhao Kuo dies on the way, what will happen to the newly established Han Kingdom?

Therefore, it is understandable that everyone now opposes Zhao Kuo Yujia's request for personal conquest in unison.

Courtiers can take risks, but the emperor really can't take risks, because the emperor is too important.

Facing everyone's persuasion, Zhao Kuo laughed.

"You people, of course I know what you think, and I also know that you are doing it for my own good, but this time I have decided on the royal conquest after careful consideration, so please don't object."

Doesn't Zhao Kuo know the risks that may be brought about by the imperial conquest?

Of course not.

But for Zhao Kuo, he knows one thing very clearly, that is, although he is a time traveler, he only has one life to live in this world.

Could it be that it is enough to just stay in the imperial palace of the imperial capital, deal with endless memorials day after day, and wait for the good news from afar?

No, that's not the life Zhao Kuo wants.

Now that he has traveled to this era, what Zhao Kuo wants to do is to take a walk around the world, see the difference between this "ancient" and modern places, appreciate more customs, see more beautiful scenery, and enjoy More victories!Qin Shihuang liked to tour the world, and Kangxi and Qianlong liked to go to the south of the Yangtze River. These are relatively safe tours, but Zhao Kuo doesn't like them.

For Zhao Kuo, the adventurous gene has already been integrated into his body, what he desires even more is to explore strange places, and look forward to new things being revealed in front of him!Therefore, Zhao Kuo wants to conquer in person!Therefore, even though Zhao Kuo had listened to the opinions of these important ministers of the Han Dynasty, he still would not adopt them.

After listening to Zhao Kuo's almost completely unquestionable will, the important officials of the Han Dynasty present also looked at each other in blank dismay.

For them, although Zhao Kuo has always been very dignified, in fact, Zhao Kuo is willing to discuss many things with the ministers. It is indeed a very rare case to directly ignore the opinions of all the ministers like today. Condition.

After a long silence, Xu Li sighed and said, "Since His Majesty is going to go to war, will the crown prince still be in charge of the country during the expedition?"

From Xu Li's point of view, he is the most loyal person to Zhao Kuo, so even though Zhao Kuo's order sounds so unreasonable, as long as Xu Li dissuades him once, he will not continue to raise questions, but turn to Consider how to arrange things according to Zhao Kuo's order.

Zhao Kuo looked at Xu Li and felt satisfied in his heart. You are indeed my uncle Xu. Although you are not very famous in the history books, to me, you are the best candidate for prime minister in my heart!Zhao Kuo glanced at the ministers around him, and said calmly: "Do you have any objections?"

As the prime minister, Xu Li had already chosen to second the proposal, and the other important officials of the Han Dynasty who were present naturally saw the situation clearly and expressed their approval for His Majesty's personal conquest.

Zhao Kuo became more and more satisfied, and laughed: "Since this is the case, then the same as before, let the prime minister Xu Li assist the prince Zhao Qian to supervise the country, and the two prime ministers Xu Li and Pang Nuan discuss and report the usual affairs. The prince and queen will do.

If there is any major military affairs, then the two prime ministers Xu Li and Pang Nuan, together with Guo Zong, Su Li, Lu Buwei, and Xun Kuang, will discuss it.

After the approval of the six Qing families, it will be reported to the queen, and the queen will stamp the jade seal for approval. "

Although impulsive is impulsive, Zhao Kuo also knows that his expedition to the Western Regions this time is indeed different from the past. It may be normal for him not to come back for a year or two, and he knows everything about the Western Regions, so he wants to contact Dijing. It is also very difficult, unlike the previous war to destroy Chu, where news can be obtained in a few days.

So this time Zhao Kuo also made a relatively complete design, and arranged a total of six important officials in advance to discuss and decide possible emergencies.

These six people are all outstanding figures of the Han Dynasty, and there is absolutely no problem in the situation that the six people negotiated together.

Just in case, Zhao Kuo specially added a queen to come in as a supervisor. The prince Zhao Qian is still too young after all, but the queen Tian Wan is Zhao Qian's biological mother and the former princess of Qi State. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, enough to ensure that the worst does not happen.

After seeing that Zhao Kuo had made such a proper arrangement, these important ministers of the Han Dynasty could no longer say any objections.

Zhao Kuo continued: "In addition, Taiwei Li Mu, Minister of Intelligence Mao Sui, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Si, and Chief of Staff Xiang Yan all followed the widow to go to the expedition, and the Chief of Staff Sima Shang was dispatched to Jiujiang County to be responsible for the next A strategy for Lingnan."

Since it is a personal conquest by the royal driver, besides the people left behind, Zhao Kuo must also bring a group of people to accompany him. A golden combination of partners.

Xu Li thought about it, but he was still a little worried, so he couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, the old minister thought about it again, and think that the 15 cavalry in the Western Expedition may still be too little, or add it to [-]."

Pang Nuan's eyes lit up slightly, and he hurriedly said, "That's right, the veteran also thinks it's safer to add 15."

Zhao Kuo couldn't help being dumb when he heard the words.

In fact, Zhao Kuo also understands the thoughts of these two people very well. It is nothing more than thinking that having more soldiers and horses by Zhao Kuo's side can ensure Zhao Kuo's safety more.

Zhao Kuo rubbed his temples and glanced at the other ministers.

Xu Li coughed heavily and said, "What do you colleagues think?"

Obviously, Xu Li was implying, no, expressly pointing out to other people.

When the other people heard it, they naturally spoke up one after another, expressing their agreement to Xu Li's suggestion.

After all, everyone belongs to the important ministers of the Han Kingdom, and they are closely bound to the interests of the Han Kingdom. Naturally, they don't want Zhao Kuo to have an accident.

Zhao Kuo had no choice but to say: "Yes, please, let's increase the Western Expeditionary Army to 15."

Today's Zhao State completely occupies the north and south grasslands of the desert previously occupied by the Xiongnu and Donghu, so in theory, if it is fully recruited, it can recruit 40 cavalry. Now "only" recruiting 15 is naturally not a problem.

After confirming this point, the monarchs and ministers discussed some details, and then this meeting came to an end.

It is still December and winter has just arrived, and the next Han Dynasty will have three months to prepare for war.

After Zhao Kuo finished the discussion, he was in a very happy mood.

For Zhao Kuo, he has been fighting outside all these years, which also gave him a habit of feeling a little itchy after not fighting for a long time.

Now that the start of the war has been decided, Zhao Kuo naturally let out a sigh of relief, and just wait for the courtiers to arrange everything with peace of mind.

Zhao Kuo thought for a while, and said to the eunuch next to him, "Let's go, go to the queen's side to have a look."

Zhao Kuo came to Tian Wan's palace in his royal car.

After arriving, Zhao Kuo was in vain.

A female officer respectfully knelt in front of Zhao Kuo and said, "Your Majesty, the empress queen and the two noble concubines took a few princes and princesses to visit the imperial garden today."

As she said that, the female officer still didn't forget to twist slightly in front of Zhao Kuo, revealing some beautiful figures that attracted people's daydreams.

Everyone knows that Zhao Kuo only has three women. If Zhao Kuo can take a fancy to this, wouldn't he immediately become His Majesty's No.4 woman?

It's a pity that this female official is destined to be disappointed. After learning that her three wives and children are all going to the Royal Garden, Zhao Kuo also went to the Royal Garden immediately.

In the imperial garden, light snow fluttered down, covering the earth with a light layer of white.

It was actually rather cold at this time, but the air in the Imperial Garden was filled with laughter.

Several princes and princesses form cliques, playfully hide behind the snow-covered flowers and fight in snow battles. From time to time, one or two of them are shot too accurately by their brothers and sisters. With snowflakes on one end, weeping and crying, she went to complain to her mother.

In the pavilion not far away, Zhao Kuo's three women looked at all this with smiles, and their moods were also different.

Yiquwei was gearing up, smiled at Tian Wan, and said, "Sister Queen, look at how badly the little ones are being bullied by these big kids, let's let my sister go up to help these little ones, it will definitely let the big kids know something That's called a mistake!"

Even though Tian Wan was cultivated as a lady, at this moment, she couldn't help but feel the urge to help her forehead: "My good sister, why are you an imperial concubine, why do you still want to have a snowball fight with the children?"

Yi Quwei said with a smile: "Sister Queen's words are wrong, although I am an imperial concubine, but first of all I am a woman from the grassland.

Although I am very happy to follow my husband all these years, but there is no place for me to play, just let me play! "

At the end, Yiquwei also directly pulled up Tian Wan's sleeves, as if her younger sister was coquettish to her older sister.

On the side, Qiu'er was holding two crying children in her arms, watching the scene with a smile, without saying a word.

Tian Wan was speechless, and finally sighed helplessly after a long while: "Sister Yiqu, can you use this reason every time?

All right, all right, you're great, let's go. "

Yi Quwei cheered, and was about to rush out of the pavilion to participate in the children's snowball fight, but was hugged lazily by a person, and said with a smile, "Where is my noble concubine going?"

Yiquwei was surprised at first, and then she was overjoyed. She turned around and hung on Zhao Kuo's body: "Your Majesty, you are finally here!"

Zhao Kuo was caught off guard by Yiquwei's jump, and almost fell down while holding Yiquwei. He took two steps back before he stabilized, causing Tian Wan and Qiu'er to exclaim.

Zhao Kuo was speechless, and kissed Yiqu Weihong's cheeks forcefully: "My dear concubine, you can really surprise me, okay, sit down, I have something to talk to today. Say it."

In this way, Zhao Kuo told the three women that he would go to the Western Regions next year.

To Zhao Kuo's surprise, Tian Wan did not dissuade him after hearing the news, but smiled and said, "Since Your Majesty has made up his mind, I wish you victory and return."

Zhao Kuo snorted, and couldn't help being a little surprised: "Queen, you didn't stop me?"

Tian Wan smiled softly: "Your Majesty was joking, the concubine is His Majesty's woman, and I already knew that what His Majesty is going to do is a great cause that other emperors will never be able to accomplish, so how could the concubine stop His Majesty?

But having said that, there is still one condition for the concubine. "

Zhao Kuo asked curiously, "What conditions?"

Tian Wan pointed to Yi Quwei beside her, and said with a smile: "There is a woman here who wants to be free. Why not ask His Majesty to let her accompany His Majesty, and follow His Majesty to go west."

After Tian Wan finished speaking, before Zhao Kuo could reply, Yi Quwei was the first to jump up: "Okay, that's it! Your Majesty, you can take me with you!"

For Yi Quwei, she really longed for that feeling of running freely.

Although it is possible to run in the palace of the imperial capital, the palace is still too small for a child of the grassland like Yiquwei!Seeing this, Qiu'er also smiled and said: "Sister Yiquwei follows, and it can also reassure His Majesty, lest he be seduced by the Yidi woman who came out of nowhere."

Tian Wan also couldn't help laughing, and said: "Your Majesty Yi Di's concubine can also marry, but the concubine thinks that marrying two is almost enough, what does Your Majesty think?"

Zhao Kuo smiled, and suddenly hugged Tian Wan and Qiu'er directly: "I think, I will talk about Concubine Yi Di later, and now I should focus on the beautiful woman in front of me! Alright, let the child Let's play here, let's go back to the palace first!"