At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 372: Hu Hai's Fantasy and Han Xin's Strategy
July 8, the eighth year of the Han Dynasty.

Hu Hai stayed in Chang'an City for a short day to meet his brother Fusu, and boasted about his achievements over the past six months. Not only did his assets double, but he also had 5 more merchant ships and opened up a trade route to the Spice Islands.

"I am now one of the richest businessmen in the world. Even if I am not in the top 3, I am still in the top 10. Brother, if you are short of money in the future, please tell me. I will protect you from now on."

But Fusu still said: "Your status is different from others after all. If you stand out too much, it will bring you disaster."

Hu Hai said nonchalantly: "Brother, do you know how many people I have been following for food? There are already hundreds of them. I have to take care of their food, drink, defecation and urination. I have to earn tens of thousands of dollars every day to support them."

"They will push their younger brothers forward. They want to help them get rich and prosperous. If they cannot satisfy them, they will replace them with someone else. Reality is so cruel. If you have the money, you have to take the responsibility."

"After building this business, I finally understand my father's mentality. I'm afraid that my father was also pushed forward by the situation in Daqin, and it is impossible for him to change his mind."

Fusu looked at the high-spirited Hu Hai and was filled with emotion for a moment.

Perhaps the choice his father made was not wrong, but it was a pity that the situation at that time did not give Hu Hai time to display his talents.

"You'd better be more careful and try not to stand out."

Hu Hai said: "The Han Emperor is not as petty as you think. He sees the world as belonging to everyone in the world. I only have a public grudge against him, not a private one. He will not care about what I do."

"The Han Emperor really thinks of me as an ordinary person. Otherwise, I would have been discovered by him long ago based on what I have done over the years."

Fusu nodded and said, "The Han Emperor's mind is truly unmatched."

Over the years, the Han Dynasty did not cause any trouble to these remnants of the previous dynasty, and the lives of both the descendants of the First Emperor and the Qin clan began to improve.

Although they can only be ordinary people now, compared with the relatives of the six countries, their living conditions are much better.

"But the Han emperor has great ambitions."

After saying this, Hu Hai took out a map and said, "This is a map of the known world. Liaodong, the Great Desert, Nanzhong, Qianzhong, plus the Wa Island and the South China Sea, there are unowned lands everywhere in the world. The Han Emperor wants to turn these vast areas into the territory of the Han Dynasty."

"But it is obvious that such a vast territory cannot be managed by Han officials alone, let alone developed, so the Han emperor tried his best to enfeoff princes. In recent years, the number of princes in the Han Dynasty has exceeded 100, but it is still increasing rapidly."

Then Hu Hai whispered: "This gives us an opportunity, brother, do you want to establish a Great Qin overseas?"

Fusu was shocked and said: "The Han Dynasty is now as stable as a rock, you must not act recklessly."

Hu Hai said: "I have no intention of rebelling against the Han Dynasty. I just want to establish the Qin Dynasty overseas."

The reason why Hu Hai had such an idea was that he felt that doing business in the Han Dynasty was too oppressive and there were too many rules and regulations restricting him.

The profitable businesses were monopolized by the nobles of the Han Dynasty or were managed by the imperial court. The money earned had to be distributed among the Han officials and used to govern the upper and lower levels. The taxes in the Han Dynasty were terrifyingly high, so no matter what business it was, 30% of the profits were taken away.

This was like three huge mountains, making Hu Hai feel extremely depressed and aggrieved.

Ordinary businessmen would not have such ideas, because their ancestors have lived like this for thousands of years. They are the black gloves of the nobles, just making money for those pleasure-seeking nobles.

But Hu Hai's background determined that he would not have such thoughts. Every year, he would fiddle with the abacus and find that most of the money he earned was taken away by these people. He would feel dissatisfied in his heart, but this dissatisfaction was suppressed.

But he soon had an amazing idea, which was to establish a merchant country overseas, where he could earn his own money and spend it on himself, no longer having to give it to the government or to make arrangements, thus completely getting rid of the three mountains that were weighing on his heart.

After this idea emerged in his mind, it became an indelible shadow, and he perfected this idea in his mind from time to time. Now he revealed it to his most trusted elder brother.

Fusu immediately said seriously: "The Han emperor let you do whatever you want because you are not a threat to the Han Dynasty. But if you dare to establish the Qin Dynasty overseas, the Han emperor's fleet will immediately attack you. By then, you will not only lose your life, but also your business."

"You are also clear about the strength of the Han army. There is no country or force in the world that can withstand a blow from the Han army. If you don't want to be hanged by the Han emperor, you'd better give up this idea."

Hu Hai knew that what his brother said was correct. Even though he could do business in the Han Dynasty as an ordinary person, he was ultimately a remnant of the previous dynasty. Ordinary people in the Han Dynasty could be enfeoffed and establish their own countries, but he could not. After all, there was an invisible ceiling that restricted him.

Hu Hai sighed and said, "Brother, just think of it as my own imagination."

July 10th, the eighth year of the Han Dynasty.

Hu Hai led his men along the Qinzhi Road, riding all the way to Jiuyuan County.

Hu Hai looked at the endless stream of baggage convoys around him and sighed, "My brother and I followed these convoys into Shangjun back then. At that time, the court was also fighting the Xiongnu. Now the roads are paved with wooden tracks, and the convoys have become rail carriages. It's really a bit strange."

Zhu Pei said: "The imperial court is really generous. For this northern expedition to the desert, they spent hundreds of thousands of gold to build such a track. This kind of boldness is really unmatched."

Zhuzi also said: "That's right, the current emperor is the best emperor in the world. My father worked for the current emperor and was able to get money. Other emperors were all stingy and didn't give a penny."

Hu Hai was extremely embarrassed as two boomerangs hit him directly.

Fortunately, at this time, Zhuzi asked: "Brother Hu Hai, why don't we go back to Kuaiji County?"

Hu Hai said: "The desert is not only grassland, but also Gobi Desert. If we want to make money, we must prepare in advance and occupy the most fertile grassland before others react."

"We have to go to the south of the desert first. Although the Han Dynasty has sent three armies to the north to fight against the Xiongnu, I think Han Xin, the governor of the south of the desert, is the one who is most likely to make the first contribution. As long as Han Xin defeats the main force of the Xiongnu, we can immediately pass through the south of the desert and enter the north of the desert to occupy the rich grasslands.

Zhu Pei said: "Ji Xin is a veteran general of the Han Dynasty. He has followed the Han emperor in many expeditions. He should have the most combat experience. The main force of the Huns should not have been defeated by the Zhenbei General's Mansion first."

Hu Hai laughed and said, "Brother Zhu only thinks that Ji Xin is a veteran and has rich combat experience, but he doesn't know that Ji Xin has been handling intelligence for the Han Emperor and has little experience in leading troops in combat. The only time he led troops in combat was when he attacked Zang Tu."

Han Xin was different. Although he looked young, he had extremely rich combat experience. He had fought in defensive battles, annihilation battles where the outnumbered side won, he had destroyed the Eastern Chu State, and he was the commander-in-chief of the army in the battle to destroy Qi. He was a true veteran who had fought in many battles.

His ability can be seen in the battle to destroy the Aries tribe in March. The King of Aries only showed a flaw, which was quickly seized by Han Xin and annihilated in one battle. This is the true status of a famous general.

I have to wait in the southern part of the desert so that I can get first-hand information about the war as quickly as possible and enter the northern part of the desert as quickly as possible.

It was a hot summer day with clear skies. Hu Hai's men were resting under the shade of a tree beside the road. At this time, a baggage convoy also arrived in the area.

The leading officer let the team rest under the shade of the trees, and the laborers untied the saddles and let the horses drink water and rest under the shade of the trees.

Hu Hai asked curiously: "Father, why don't you use wooden tracks to transport supplies?"

The old man smiled and said, "We are on a convoy to Yanmen County. We don't have any wooden tracks."

The old man glanced at Hu Hai and the others and asked, "Are you going to Yanmen County to join the army?"

After the news of the Battle of Mobei spread, heroes from all walks of life wanted to join the army to change their own destiny.

Hu Hai smiled and said, "I have this idea, but I don't know if I can be selected."

Then he asked, "I seem to smell the smell of soybean oil, old man, is that oil you are transporting here?"

The old man smiled and said, "It's bean cake, feed for war horses. The world has really changed. Back then, I couldn't even eat such good things." In order to increase production, the Han Dynasty promoted soybean planting on a large scale. Now, there is almost no fallow in the north, but soybeans are planted to fertilize the land.

Because of Xu Fan, cooking in iron pans became popular in the Han Dynasty thousands of years in advance. The price of soybean oil skyrocketed. Planting soybeans could not only fertilize the fields but also make money. Bean cakes could also be used as feed. Soybeans became one of the main crops grown in northern farmlands.

During this Northern Expedition, the Han court purchased 500 million shi of bean cakes directly from the people, and the old man's baggage train was used to transport fodder for war horses to Yanmen County.

Hu Hai asked: "Old man, you are so old, why do you still want to be a commoner?"

The old man smiled and said, "I snatched this from someone. Three of my family members died in this war. The eldest son joined the army, and the second son and I became civilian laborers."

Hu Hai was surprised and said, "My father-in-law is really a loyal and honest family."

The old man said, "The Xiongnu are weak in battle. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to make military achievements, we will never have such an opportunity again. I also want to build a brick house for my second son and find him a new wife. I can only work a little harder. After all, the emperor is famous for his generosity."

Hu Hai nodded in understanding and said, "Indeed, the emperor is very generous."

With such popular support, the Han Empire remained at its peak.

Yes, this battle in Mobei was seen by many Han people as the last chance to change the fate of their family.

In March, the Mo Nan Protectorate annexed the Bai Yang Tribe, and the Han Dynasty won another victory. The people at that time simply cheered a few times. Such victories were too common in the Han Dynasty and were no longer worth celebrating.

The people at that time were more concerned about the spice trade, and talked about the brave man who sailed to the Spice Island in a ship, returned to the Han Dynasty with a ship full of spices, and then became rich.

But starting from April, people in the north clearly realized that something was wrong.

First, a large number of merchants bought their grain. The price of wheat, which had fallen to 30 cents per stone, rose to 40 cents, and the bean cakes left over from oil refining also rose to 20 cents.

Then, on the wide road, a long dragon-like convoy began to appear, with carts of wheat flour and corn being transported to the northern border.

This discovery caused an undercurrent of unrest in the entire Hebei region.

The news of the war spread everywhere, which made the people in Hebei very excited.

The focus of their gossip instantly shifted from overseas to the desert.

"No escape, this time the emperor will definitely take action against the Huns in the desert. Right now, the only people around the Han Dynasty who are worthy of such a big fight are the Huns."

"Didn't the Huns beg for peace after being beaten by the emperor? Why would the imperial court go to such great lengths to start a war?"

"The Xiongnu have asked for peace, but they have not submitted to the Han Dynasty. If they do not submit to the Han Dynasty, they are harboring evil intentions and want to rebel. The whole world belongs to the king. This time, the emperor is going to completely subdue the Xiongnu."

"We need to prepare early. Although the Xiongnu are not strong, their territory is large. It is said that their territory is twice the size of the Han Dynasty. The number of troops needed to attack the Xiongnu will definitely not be small, and there should be more than hundreds of thousands of troops."

The people in the tavern became excited. For ordinary people, joining the army was the best opportunity to change their destiny. Even if they did not become a standing army, the welfare benefits of retired soldiers were extremely high, much higher than what they could earn by farming or working.

There were too few vacancies in the past, with only a dozen people in a county, but now hundreds of thousands of soldiers have to be recruited, so their chance has come.

Sure enough, not long after, the head of the pavilion issued an order to recruit soldiers, and at the same time, the retired veterans also received orders to return to the army.

The county and prefecture arsenals were opened, and the stored weapons and armor were distributed to the soldiers. Under the leadership of the county lieutenant and veteran soldiers, these newly recruited soldiers quickly assembled into combat units and began training.

The nobles and powerful people in the north of the Han Dynasty would never miss the opportunity to join the army.

In the Han Dynasty, military merit was king. Whether the court was employing people or promoting Han officials, it all looked at whether you had military merit. If you had military merit, you would be superior to others and be promoted quickly. Almost all the high-ranking officials with a salary of 30 stones over the age of 2000 in the Han Dynasty were from the military.

Even when it comes to making money, the nobles were the first to do so. Look at the Spice Islands discovered by the imperial court. It was not the meritorious officials who benefited first at the beginning. Only after the meritorious officials had enjoyed the first bite of the pie did others get their turn.

The most important thing is to become a vassal, to start a clan, and to make your family a vassal, you can only rely on military merit. In the Han Dynasty, everything depends on military merit.

The nobles of the Han Dynasty were the first beneficiaries of this. Now that the court was going to launch a northern expedition against the Huns, they immediately armed their own sons and daughters, and then wrote a letter in blood to the court, saying something like "Every man has his share of responsibility for the rise and fall of the country, let alone us, the ministers of merit. Now that Your Majesty wants to launch a northern expedition against the Huns, we are willing to do our best to serve you."

Such letters of request for war poured into Chang'an City from all directions, and Xu Fan and Prime Minister Zhou Zhang were overwhelmed with reading them all.

Xu Fan could only agree to their request to fight and let the generals at the front train them.

In the eighth year of the Han Dynasty, on July 12, Yanmen County, Pingcheng.

The atmosphere of the Northern Expedition became increasingly intense, and Yanmen County quickly became a huge military camp. Almost every day, one or several battalions of Han soldiers arrived here. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of soldiers made Pingcheng an extremely large military camp.

On the Pingcheng city wall, Han Xin, the governor of Monan, and Li Shang, the prefect of Yanmen County, watched the soldiers who were training below the city.

Han Xin sighed when he saw the tall and strong soldiers: "In the past two years, there have been more and more heroes in our Han Dynasty. In the past two years, the soldiers of our Mo Nan Protectorate are all less than seven feet tall, and there are also many warriors who are eight feet tall."

Li Shang said: "In the past few years, the people of the world have been able to eat enough, so they will naturally grow taller and fatter."

Since the Han Dynasty conquered Guanzhong, the people of the world have had tax cuts for five years. Now the people of the Han Dynasty cannot be said to be wealthy, but they can have enough food and clothing. The Han people in the pre-Qin period were already tall, and after their nutrition caught up, the weight and height of the new Han youth have increased significantly.

Han Xin said: "In this battle in Mobei, the cavalry is the sharp blade that penetrates the Xiongnu, and the infantry is the city that protects our army's food supply route. Li Taishou must train them to be fearless in the face of danger and to be as tough as a rock when facing the Xiongnu cavalry."

Li Shang thought for a moment and said, "Please ask the governor to send a cavalry to assist me in training the soldiers."

Even in the desert, infantry is extremely important, especially since the Han army wants to march 3000 miles to attack the Huns' lair. The -mile food route needs to be guarded by infantry.

Of course, there are also tactics that do not require food supplies, which is to eat the remaining enemies, learning from Huo Qubing who led tens of thousands of cavalry to the desert to burn, kill and rob.

But the Han Dynasty wanted to rule the desert, not increase its enemies, so this tactic of increasing hatred could not only not be used, but even after defeating Maodun's main force, the Han Dynasty had to find a way to feed the elderly, weak and women of the Huns.

Han Xin said: "Li Taishou makes good use of the Wugang chariots. I have discussed with the emperor the best tactic to deal with the Xiongnu guerrilla warfare. It is to equip the baggage train with Wugang chariots. When the Xiongnu cavalry arrives, we only need to form a chariot formation to block the Xiongnu outside, and use mortars and crossbows to fight back. The Xiongnu will definitely not be able to do anything to our army's baggage train."

Li Shang asked: "What if the Xiongnu keep following the baggage cart?"

Han Xin said: "We, the Han Dynasty, will build a stable fort in the desert, so that the baggage trains can stop and have a safe place to rest. My idea is to start from the south of the desert and build a temporary fort every 100 miles. From the south to the north of the desert is only 3000 miles, and at most 30 forts can guard our army's food route."

Li Shang was surprised and said, "The governor is kidding. How long will it take to build 30 docks?"

Because of the availability of cement and steel tools, the Han Dynasty's construction level was extremely high, but no matter how high its level was, it would be impossible to build 30 docks in a short period of time.

Han Xin said: "The fort is not as difficult to build as you think. The emperor has prepared 300 million sacks for us this time. You can use the sacks to pile up the soil and build a -foot-high sack wall. The excavated soil can be used as a moat around the city. This is enough to deal with the small group of Xiongnu cavalry."

Yes, Han Xin planned to use the huge financial resources of the Han Dynasty to build a strong camp, protect his own logistics and food routes, and completely disintegrate the Huns' guerrilla tactics.

(End of this chapter)