Vol 2 Chapter 2596: Intimidating other countries, World War II Yangping (Part 2)
Chapter 2596: Intimidating other countries, World War II Yangping (Part 2)
Chapter 2592: Intimidating other countries, World War II Yangping (Part 2)
It is naturally impossible for Da Qin to remain indifferent to the fact that Liu Bian died and Liu Yu was about to succeed him as emperor. Otherwise, what if the monarchs of Wu, Chu and other countries also followed suit?
Therefore, Da Qin must express its attitude no matter what, which is to focus on attacking all forces that claim to be emperor.
If other forces had proclaimed themselves emperor, Da Qin would have directly sent troops long ago. Even if it meant suspending military expansion and postponing the war of unification, it would still not hesitate to do so, but it could not do this only when facing Shu.
The difficulties of the Shu Road are not just exaggerated. Before the Central Plains and Xiliang are completely captured, they will definitely be interfered by various forces. It is basically impossible for Da Qin to concentrate its forces to destroy them.
Therefore, even if Great Qin directly declares war on Shu, there is a high probability that it will be the same as fighting against Yuan. It can only weaken its strength, but cannot destroy the country. On the contrary, it will also affect the pace of Great Qin's unification. It can be said that the gain outweighs the loss.
Since it is currently impossible to destroy Shu, Da Qin can only suppress Liu Yu's arrogance as much as possible.
Didn’t you, Liu Yu, send out invitations to all forces and prepare to hold a proclaiming emperor ceremony that would gather all the major forces and attract worldwide attention?
Then I won’t let anyone you invite go, and you, Liu Yu, can enjoy yourself in Chengdu.
It was Ying Hao's attention to send more troops to Hulao Pass and conduct military exercises. The purpose was naturally to threaten Cao Cao, but he did not expect that the effect of this move was surprisingly good, and even Zhao Kuangyin was frightened.
After Wei and Song Dynasty refused, the only forces that clearly accepted Shu's invitation were Chu, Sui and Ming.
Chu and Ming are both mortal enemies, and it is unlikely that they will give in just by threatening them, so Ying Hao's efforts will not be in vain.
As for the Sui State, it was only a small country in Xilong after all, and its national power was weak. In addition, in the northwest region, except for Tibet and Tibet, there was no force that could draw support.
So, facing the threat of Da Qin, how confident can Yang Guang be? There is a high probability that decisions will be made that can avoid conflicts, so avoid them as much as possible.
With this thought, Ying Hao showed a smile and ordered: "Send an order to Meng Tian, the governor of Liangzhou, to send an additional 50,000 troops to Wuwei County for training and acting. Where is Kan Ze?"
“The minister is here.”
Kan Ze, who was standing behind Zhang Yi, the Minister of Rites and Foreign Minister, stood up quickly after hearing this.
Ying Hao said: "Just using acting as a threat may not be able to scare Yang Guang, so Kanze, I ordered my dear friend to go to the Sui Dynasty as an envoy to tell the Sui King Yang Guang how powerful he is. Yang Guang is a smart man. He will know how to choose."
“I obey the order.”
After watching Kan Ze leave, Ying Hao said again: "Whether it is Wei, Song or Sui, they will be the food of our great Qin sooner or later.
At present, the army expansion has not been completed, and the new army has not yet completed its training. Let them linger for a while.
When the new army is formed, the four kingdoms of Wei, Song, Ming, and Sui will be destroyed. "
Zhang Liang, the Minister of War, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the main purpose of Liu Yu's proclaiming the emperor is to encourage pro-Han people and anti-Qin forces. The minister believes that in addition to deterring Wei and Sui, he should also treat Shu. Thunder measures must be implemented.”
Ying Hao naturally agrees with Zhang Liang's words, but at the current stage, the possibility of destroying Shu is almost impossible. Even capturing Hanzhong will cost a lot of money, and it will also be in the process of unification, so it is really difficult to send troops. Some of the gains outweigh the losses.
Zhang Liang naturally knew Ying Hao's concerns, but he had a different view.
"Your Majesty, this time Liu Yu ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor. We, the Qin Dynasty, can intimidate Wei and Sui, but if we leave Shu alone, we will definitely be accused of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Whether we can seize Hanzhong after sending troops is one thing, but whether we send troops or not is not. It's something else."
As soon as Zhang Liang's words came out, he immediately aroused the disapproval of many ministers such as Wang Meng, Liu Ji, and Guo Jia.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Shangshu's words are reasonable. Just because Hanzhong is difficult to fight, we cannot simply not send troops. Even if it is just a show, we still have to send troops." Wang Meng added.
"How can it be just a show of force? If we want to send troops, we can take Hanzhong in one go."
Zhang Liang raised objections, and then said directly to Ying Hao: "Your Majesty, I suggest that we unite with the Southern Barbarian King Chi You to send troops together to attack Shu from the north and the south."
As soon as these words came out, Ying Hao's eyes suddenly lit up, but Zhang Liang continued:
"In the three years of maritime trade between the Nanman and Da Qin, they not only bought enough weapons and armor to equip an army of hundreds of thousands, but also bought a lot of war horses and cattle. Not only have they recovered the losses from the previous defeat, but also Military strength and national power have been greatly improved.
I, the Qin Dynasty, have so vigorously supported the development of the Southern Barbarians because I want the Southern Barbarians to contain some of the power of the Shu Kingdom. Now is the time for the Southern Barbarians to repay my kindness to the Great Qin. "
"Zhang Shangshu's words are good. The Shu Kingdom has not yet completed its military expansion. If the Southern Barbarian King is willing to send troops and attack the Shu Kingdom from the north and the south with me, the Qin Dynasty, it is still very possible to capture Hanzhong in this battle." Guo Jia agreed.
Ying Hao nodded and said: "The words of the two beloved ministers are reasonable, but whether to fight or to show off depends on whether Chi You is willing to send troops.
Where is Zhang Yi, the Minister of Rites? "
Hearing His Majesty calling him, Zhang Yi immediately stood up and said: "Wei Chen is here."
"Shilang Zhang, I am sending you as an envoy to the Southern Barbarians to contact the Southern Barbarians King Chiyou and jointly send troops to attack Shu from the north and south."
Hearing what Ying Hao said, Zhang Yi did not immediately agree. Instead, he said: "Your Majesty, in the past three years of sea trade, the Southern Barbarian King Chi You took advantage of everything. From this, we can see that this person is greedy.
Although it would be equally beneficial for the Southern Barbarians to cooperate with Da Qin in sending troops, due to their greed, the Southern Barbarians will definitely put forward certain conditions, and I am afraid it will be difficult to get them to send troops with empty words. "
“What I love you to say makes sense.”
Ying Hao groped his chin, intending to drag Nanman into the water, but he was also speechless in his heart.
In his eyes, Chi You should be the kind of self-centered and domineering image, but in the process of sea trade with Da Qin, he showed that he always had to compare every penny with the baht, and he always found new ways to get wool from Da Qin.
For example, Chi You wanted to buy ten thousand swords and swords from Da Qin, but Da Qin sent an additional one hundred shields. To buy 5,000 oxen, an additional 100 war horses will be given as gifts.
If you buy one hundred thousand shi of grain and grass, you will be given 300 shi of salt as a gift, etc...
Chi You didn’t take much advantage of such a small advantage.
Perhaps the Southern Barbarians were too poor and backward. After Chiyou learned about the prosperity of the Qin civilization, he also wanted to develop the Southern Barbarians to this level. However, the Southern Barbarians were still in a semi-tribal civilization. If they wanted to completely transition to a farming civilization, they would naturally need massive amounts of resources. resources to support.
The Southern Barbarians not only needed to recover from the war damage but also develop and grow, so naturally they couldn't afford that much money, so they had to find ways to take advantage of Da Qin.
Chi You didn’t want to do this, but he had no choice. The Nanman were too poor. So why did he sacrifice his personal reputation in order to develop the entire ethnic group?
Ying Hao saw that Nanman was an ally, and because Nanman was in an important position and could indeed contain a lot of Shu's troops when it became stronger, he naturally didn't care about this small gain, so he turned a blind eye. One eye is closed.
With the support of Great Qin, Nanman has made rapid progress in the past three years, but after all, the foundation is too poor, and all aspects must be taken into consideration, so the growth rate of national strength is naturally not as fast as that of Shu.
"The King of the Southern Barbarians is definitely willing to join forces with the Qin Dynasty to attack Shu from the north and the south, but with his greedy personality, if he wants to send troops, I'm afraid he will have to be lured with benefits."
Zhang Yi said with a helpless face, approaching the Southern Barbarians who would not be able to make early allies if they encountered them. Even Da Qin could only lose money in exchange for peace of mind.
"Well, as long as the Southern Barbarian King agrees to send troops, Da Qin is willing to donate 30,000 stones of grain and grass, 3,000 sword handles, 100 pairs of armor, and 300 war horses for military use." Ying Hao said.
Hearing what Ying Hao said, Zhang Yi was immediately overjoyed and said: "With these conditions, I am absolutely sure that I can persuade the Southern Barbarians to send troops."
Ying Hao nodded with satisfaction. After all, for Great Qin at this time, this resource was only a drop in the bucket. If it could be exchanged for the Southern Barbarians sending troops, the reward would be dozens of times what they paid.
"Immediately draw up an order and order Li Jing, the governor of Yongzhou, to lead one hundred thousand Yongzhou troops to march to Yangping Pass. However, do not attack by force for the time being. We will wait for the news from the Nanbarians to come back and decide whether to go to war with Shu." Ying Hao ordered.
)
“By the way, how is the military expansion going?” Ying Hao asked.
Prime Minister Wang Meng stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, 700,000 new troops have been recruited, of which 350,000 were recruited from the reserves, and the other 350,000 were selected from the common people through layers of selection. ”
Ying Hao nodded with satisfaction.
Da Qin has a total of 300,000 county soldiers, police officers and other reserve forces, and the total number of retired soldiers is about 500,000. Among them, there are probably nearly 100,000 people who are disabled, too old, and do not meet the conditions for enlistment. people.
If this group of people is eliminated, the remaining 700,000 people will be screened. The 300,000 new troops selected will not be comparable to the regular army of Da Qin, but they will not be worse than the regular army of the enemy country.
As for the 350,000 new soldiers recruited from the common people, although their overall quality is not as good as those of the new army who have formed a reserve army, it is important to know that as many as 2.1 million people signed up to join the army this time.
From 2.1 million civilians, 350,000 recruits were selected, with an admission rate of one-sixth. The qualifications of those who can be selected are definitely not too bad.
So, from the current point of view, although the combat effectiveness of these 350,000 recruits is not as good as the reserve force, they have great potential and their combat effectiveness will definitely be stronger in the future.
"Of the 350,000 new troops recruited from the reserve force, 200,000 are from veterans and the other 150,000 are from the reserve force. There are also 150,000 vacancies in the active reserve force. We are currently preparing to recruit these from those who failed to be selected. The shortfall of 150,000 will be filled.”
Hearing Wang Meng's words, Ying Hao's heart moved and asked: "How many recruits were eliminated in the last round?"
Wang Meng didn't expect Ying Hao to ask this, and he couldn't remember it for a while. He quickly looked through the booklet in his hand and replied:
“In the past, there were only three rounds of recruitment selection, but this time due to the large number of applicants, there were five rounds of screening, and those who made it to the last three rounds met the previous requirements for enlistment.
A total of 600,000 people entered the final round of selection this time, of which 350,000 passed and the other 25 were eliminated due to various reasons. "
“In this case, even if the gap of 150,000 is made up, there will still be 100,000 left.”
After some calculation, Ying Hao said decisively: "These unsuccessful people actually meet the requirements. It would be a pity to dismiss them like this.
Let's expand the total number of reserves to 400,000. In this case, all 250,000 people will be included in the ranks of reserves.
Let these serve as county soldiers first, and maintain law and order while conducting training. Once the regular army suffers heavy casualties in the subsequent war, they can be directly supplemented from the reserves. "
The cost of raising reserves is relatively small. The military expenditure of 100,000 reserves is equivalent to 33,000 regular troops. The Qin Dynasty can fully afford it, and the ministers have no reason to refuse.
——————
After the Qin Dynasty conducted military exercises in Hulao Pass, it also conducted military exercises in Wuwei County. Sui Wang Yang Guang immediately became nervous and even personally greeted the arrival of Qin envoys.
At the same time, Li Jing also personally led 100,000 troops to march into Yangping Pass.
Liu Er, the prefect of Hanzhong in the Shu Kingdom, learned of what was happening and quickly sent more troops to Yangping Pass and asked Chengdu for help.
This move of Great Qin made the world look at it even more. They felt that Liu Yu's act of proclaiming emperor completely angered Ying Hao, so Great Qin suddenly launched troops against Shu. Everyone thought that Qin and Shu were going to fight for the second time at Yangpingguan. The fight is about to begin.
However, many people believe that Great Qin's move is still intended to be a deterrent. After all, if Great Qin really wants to go to war with Shu, Great Qin will not just send a hundred thousand troops.
As everyone knows, whether the battle between Qin and Shu will break out actually depends on Chi You's next decision.
(End of this chapter)
