Qiang Qin

(Thanks to Seemeng for the reward and monthly pass!)

The imperial edict of the Western Expedition was like a bolt of lightning, piercing through the comfortable night sky of the new Qin Dynasty.

Yan Wang Han Xin responded first.Although the land of Youyan is located in the northeast, it borders the Xiongnu and Donghu tribes. The tall and healthy horses bred on natural pastures provided great convenience for Han Xin to train his cavalry.

Soldiers are always bloody.

Especially those recruits who have just joined the army. Over the past five years, they have listened to the great achievements of their ancestors in the unification war, and longed for themselves to join under the banner of Emperor Shenwu. Now, Li Yuan finally issued an edict, how could they Not eloquent.

Under the demonstration of Han Xin's example, the young and strong generals of the various Qin armies wrote letters one after another. Participating in the Western Expedition Army, even if you are a small soldier, you will have no regrets.

Among the generals of the Qin army, there is no need to say more about the elderly and the old-hearted. However, in general, those who are still eager to make great contributions still account for the majority. Faith, honor, and never-satisfied lofty ambitions, these illusory spiritual things may not change anything in a short period of time, but subtly, in the deepest part of the human heart, their influence is insignificant.

Li Zhongxiang, Luo Jia, Cao Xin, Ji Xin, Huan Chu, and even Feng Xuan, who was far away in the south of the Five Ridges, all expressed their willingness to continue to fight under the command of Emperor Shenwu and the undefeated king Li Yuan——.

Qin Xinli seven years, March.

When Li Yuan worshiped the fallen generals in Chang'an Stone Forest, in front of all civil and military officials and envoys from all over the world, he officially sent a signal to expand westward.

"Jiu Jiu Lao Qin, restore my country, blood will not be shed, and death will never cease fighting--! There is a great Qin in the east, rising like the sun. Qin has sharp fighters, who will fight against it?"

Amid the majestic and mournful battle songs of the imperial guards, Li Yuan was dressed in a black standard armor with two simple wooden boards tied high on his hair. Standing in the crowd, Li Yuan looked like the soldiers around him. There is no difference. Of course, if you look carefully, you can still find the majestic aura of the emperor from the personal bearing.

"My gentlemen—quiet!" the guard generals in charge of maintaining the scene yelled.

"Daqin has been in peace for a long time. Do you still remember what the sword in your hand is used for? Do you still have the blood in your chest? If you remember, then follow me and go west—!" Li Yuan said Deep and deep, his sharp eyes swept across the dark crowd all around. At this moment, I am the only one in the sky and on the earth.Those words of explanation have already been stated clearly in the edict, today.In front of the many undead of the underground army, Li Yuanyan expressed his feelings in a simple and frightening manner.

"West, west!"

"Daqin. Daqin is invincible!" The shouts of the soldiers of the Qin army continued for a long time.Young people are always impulsive, not to mention Li Yuan's achievements and status.The simple attire like a soldier narrowed the distance between him and ordinary soldiers.

Daqin's war machine started rumbling.

While boosting the morale of the generals, Li Yuan also tightened his control over the internal affairs of the court.A series of edicts were issued to adjust the appointment and dismissal of officials. Some mid-level and low-level officials stepped up to the top from the local counties and counties in just over ten days, and some officials fell from their high positions and were directly dismissed and went home to retire. .

Among them, the most noticeable change was Chang Shi Li Zheng.

March [-]th.

The birthday of my late father Li Si.

Li Yuan set up a family banquet in Yong'an Palace for Li Zheng's family.Li Si's lineage, after experiencing the Hu Hai massacre, only Li Zheng and Li Yuan survived.

Perhaps it was because of insufficient communication, or because of different experiences when he was young, or maybe because Li Yuan's thoughts surpassed this era. When Li Zheng talked with Li Yuan, the cheap third brother, he often felt inferior. Eager to prove himself, but hastily stepped into the wrong path.This was true six years ago, and this time is no exception.

Qin State ruled the country by law.

Other theories, under Li Yuan's strong suppression, basically have no chance to become dominant.During the rise of Li Yuan's forces, the Confucianism forces headed by Shangshan Sihao once gathered thousands of Confucian scholars to block the way and file a complaint, trying to change the situation that Confucianism was not reused, but they were ruthlessly suppressed by Li Yuan.

In the face of the bloody facts, Confucianism learned from the pain, and finally changed the idea of ​​confronting toughness head-on, and infiltrated into the center of Qin State in a roundabout way.

This time, the Confucian forces still targeted Li Zheng, the long history, and the breakthrough was Li Zhengxin's Mrs. Ru.

During the family banquet, Li Zheng's new wife was very low-key. In detail, this bride who is only [-] years old is actually Li Zheng's third wife.Li Zheng's original partner was originally the clan of the Qin State, but after the disaster in court, he died early due to physical loss. Later, Li Zhengna's bride was also the daughter of the clan Chen Di. Amidst the changing situation, Chen Di's family was uprooted, and Li Zheng, out of self-preservation, naturally couldn't leave a hidden danger by his side.

With these two lessons learned, Li Zheng's third marriage was very cautious.Of course, as the long history of the Qin State, Li Zheng's identity is there, and he is only about forty years old, which is the golden age of a man's most mature, and his standard for choosing a mate will not be lowered much, especially when it comes to women's age and appearance. on two blocks.

In the end, the family surnamed Li from the same clan in their hometown of Shangcai had the last laugh in this battle for marriage. The state of Qin is not as strict as later generations on marriages of the same clan. Tight bonding is more reassuring.

However, Li Zheng had done all his calculations, but he ignored one point.This Mrs. Li is not an illiterate fool. On the contrary, she once studied under Confucius, the eighth grandson of the Confucian master Confucius. Under her subtle influence, Li Zheng's political views also changed unconsciously.

Behind every interest group, there is its spokesman.Li Zheng is not only the number two figure in the Qin court, but also the agent of Legalism, the honorary dean of Chang'an Academy in the Great Qin Dynasty. Life will be much easier.

Chang'an Academy.

It is a public school run by the Qin court.Founded in the third year of the new calendar, it has been four years so far, not only in Chang'an, but also in other counties of the 36 counties.It also has branches all over the world.Its existence has also provided a reserve of young talents for various positions in the yamen at all levels of the Qin State.

In the academy, there are not only legalist works and theories such as Guan Zhong, Zichan, Shang Yang, Shen Dao, Shen Buhai, etc., not only "Han Feizi", "Quotations from the First Emperor to Prime Minister Li" and other works that are the foundation of the Qin system, but also Confucianism. , Mo, Zongheng, Tao and other schools that were popular in the Spring and Autumn Period.Over the years, with the increase in contact with Confucian scholars, doctors, and political strategists, Li Zheng's personal political views have also changed accordingly.

The essence of Confucianism lies in influence and belief in the inherent goodness of human nature, which is contradictory to Li Yuan's current advocated preemptive action.However, Li Zheng, under the recommendation of the Confucian students in the college, made a statement in Chen Shu, asking Li Yuan to give up the idea of ​​leading the army to conquer the west with the peace of mind in mind.

Above the court, Li Zheng insisted on his own opinion, and gathered a group of doctors and censors as backup.In addition to the influence of Confucian scholars, Li Zheng also believed that Li Qin's country was not stable.Li Ye is still underage and cannot afford the responsibility of being the crown prince. Therefore, Qin still cannot do without Li Yuan, a strong leader.Once Li Yuan made a mistake during the Western Expedition.Then the Qin State will redirect the collapse after the death of the first emperor.

Different eyes, different political positions.

As a result, this family banquet started happily and ended in discord.Between brothers, only each other's backs are left in the end.

Compared with Li Zheng's fierce opposition, Prime Minister Chen Ping's reaction was much calmer.He had no further objections to Li Yuan's edict.

Chen Ping's positioning of himself is very accurate. With Li Yuan, he is a part-time worker. The boss's decision-making is established, and his task is how to execute it better.In this regard, Chen Ping is more like a professional manager. It is impossible for him to be loyal, but it will not be a big deal if he is asked to stick to his duty and do his job well as a prime minister. question.

"The army's westward expedition has been ordered by my subordinates, and all ministries and divisions have been properly arranged. This is the roster of volunteers to join the army. Please look over it, Your Majesty."

This is Chen Ping's answer in the courtroom. Compared with Li Zheng's boastful talk, he is undoubtedly much more sensible and pragmatic. He doesn't show his sharpness, and this time, he is no exception.

Although from the bottom of his heart, Chen Ping didn't want to put Qin's healthy finances in crisis because of huge military expenditures, but the ancient saying that a king is like a tiger made him choose to forget his opposition.

Compared with Chen Ping's obedience, Li Yuan quickly responded to Li Zheng's practice of being used as a gunman unintentionally out of good intentions.

Kill chickens and scare monkeys.

Two days after the family banquet, Li Zheng was dismissed from his position as Changshi, and even the honorary dean of Chang'an Academy was also dismissed. If he hadn't been Li Yuan's elder brother, it is estimated that this political storm would directly kill him life.

Affected by this thunderstorm, those Confucian scholars in Chang'an Academy who commented on current affairs without authorization were silent. They never imagined that the great emperor Li Yuan, who usually seemed to have no regard for state affairs, would be so "mad and desperate" , Even my own brother can be ruthless.

Yan Le's Zhijing Division and Meng Hu's Military Intelligence Division acted quickly, and all those with dissenting ideas were eliminated. Under the high-pressure situation, officials at all levels in the Qin State showed unprecedented unity, and the high-speed operation of the state machine was in rapid operation. Get up, teams of soldiers from various counties, and a vehicle loaded with baggage and weapons to conclude a contract with Chang'an from Jinyang, Jiangdong, Handan and other places.

At the same time, Zhang Liang also convened Taoists in Zhongnanshan to clarify the grand goal of Tianshidao. In addition to going to Chang'an to explain morality in late March, the focus of Tianshidao's preaching will shift westward, and the focus will be on the Silk Road. Hu Shangzhong developed Taoists, and began to establish branch altars in the Western Regions and other places.

Imperial power and religion became one.

This system of integrating politics and religion has plunged Qin into tension and busyness.

——.

New changes appeared in Chang'an City.

This made the various ethnic tribes in the frontier who were concerned about the movement of Qiang Qin very nervous, especially the Helian tribe and the Huyan tribe who survived in the Altai Mountains. The Beihai area continued to flee to the northwest.In the past few years, their lives have been extremely hard, but even so, He Lianbi and Hu Yanxie will still feel lucky.

Compared with the rest of the Maodun tribe in the Hannan River area, they can at least maintain the independence of the tribe and have their own army. However, more than half of the remaining Maodun tribes were forcibly relocated to the Central Plains by the Qin State. Only a small part was left, imprisoned on the grassland to teach the farming peoples from the south the knowledge of grazing.

Immigration.

This is Li Yuan's strategy when dealing with the threat of northern nomads.

This method of forcible dispersal can be described as extremely bloody in a short period of time, which also led to the persistent war in the area of ​​the Hannan River, and the non-stop resistance of the Huns. It's just that the army has added a little credit. The Qin army took advantage of the resistance of the Huns to train continuously.

Among the Huns, the name Su Jiao is almost equivalent to that of a butcher. (to be continued..)