Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

As for the next arrangements for the main general Ren Xiong and the deputy general Zhao Tuo, Ying Zheng had already finalized it in the month of Yin.

The empire will establish three counties in the newly conquered Lingnan region: Nanhai County, Guilin County, and Xiang County.
However, although the county system was still implemented, the Lingnan region was special after all and was geographically separated from the Central Plains. It was difficult for the central court to directly govern this area as it did other counties in the empire.

Under the advice of Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo, as well as Ying Zheng's own proposal, the empire decided to implement a military control garrison policy in the three Lingnan counties to ensure that the resistance of the Yue tribes could not revive.

The three counties of Nanhai, Guilin and Xiang did not have a traditional administrative chief, a county magistrate. Instead, they arranged for the censor of the supervisory system to manage the affairs. Instead, they adopted a special policy of "one lieutenant in the southeast and one marquis in the northwest" to strengthen the governance and defense of the Lingnan region.

The so-called "Southeast Captain" refers to the special official position of Nanhai Captain set up in Nanhai County.

The Nanhai Wei, as the name suggests, is the county lieutenant in the normal county-based bureaucratic system, but it is a super-enhanced version.

Although he was called the Wei of Nanhai, he actually was in charge of the military power of the three Lingnan counties. Since the three Lingnan counties implemented a strict military garrison policy, the highest military commander naturally also held administrative power.

Therefore, the Nanhai Wei was the undisputed top leader of Lingnan who was in charge of the military and political power of the three Lingnan counties. In later generations, he might be called the governor-general or the grand commander-in-chief.

As for the "Marquis of the Northwest", he built a castle on the transportation channel in the northwest of Lingnan and stationed heavy troops there to prevent the Western Ou people from fleeing northward.

The "Hou" here has nothing to do with official position or title, but refers to a sentry post for spying on the enemy's situation, meaning stationing troops for surveillance.

This arrangement is intended to strengthen military control in the Lingnan region to ensure regional stability.

In Ying Zheng's view, the most troublesome part of Lingnan was the native people of the local Baiyue tribes. In order to suppress them, it was acceptable to expand the power of local bureaucrats - in order to suppress the local people, the empire would further send immigrants to Lingnan.

Of course, the main force of immigration is still second-class criminals such as son-in-law and merchants.

The first candidate for the post of Nanhai Wei was naturally Ren Xiong, the main general who attacked Baiyue.

There are three counties in Lingnan, but the focus of empire construction is only on Nanhai County. Guilin County and Xiang County are a bit too remote. Maintaining stability is the main priority, and whether it can develop is secondary.

Nanhai County was expected to consist of four counties: Panyu, Longchuan, Boluo and Sihui, with Panyu as the county seat.

Ren Xiong's deputy Zhao Tuo was the magistrate of Longchuan County.

Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo were basically the uncrowned kings of Lingnan for a long time to come.

The only drawback is that the Wuling Road at the junction of Lujiang County in central Fujian and Nanhai County is still under the control of the eldest prince's faction.

Part of this area is located in Lujiang, central Fujian, and part is located in the South China Sea.

Ren Xiong naturally didn't want there to be an area in his Nanhai County that he couldn't control, even if it was just a small piece of land on the border.

What's more, that piece of land is very important.

With that piece of land, he has the final say on who can freely enter and leave the three counties of Lingnan.

Now the eldest son's faction has the final say.

Although Ren Xiong made many efforts to try to persuade Ying Zheng to allow him, the Nanhai Wei, to completely control all the lands in Nanhai County, Ying Zheng ultimately ignored him.

Fortunately, the result was only imperfect, and the core interests that Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo sought were still obtained.

As for the remaining "corners and edges", they can still find a way.

One emperor and one courtier.

Although the eldest prince's faction is still in its heyday, Fusu has basically lost the qualification to compete for the position of crown prince.

A political group without a future will inevitably see its strength decline day by day.

How long can you enjoy the glory relying on the emperor's favor?

………………

While everything in the empire was developing in an orderly manner, the anti-Qin forces in the shadows were also growing.

After the mirage incident, the Mohist school and the Xiang clan parted ways.

The departure of the mirage to the sea can be seen as a sign...or it should be said that the destruction of Xiaoshengxianzhuang and the issuance of the Book Burning Order were the signs, indicating that the vast majority of anti-Qin forces had new targets.

In the past, they have been developing secretly, accumulating strength, while constantly trying to weaken the empire and create the right opportunity.

Now they are still hiding in the dark, not exposed to the sun, but are gradually coming to the fore and flourishing in various regions of the empire - of course, mainly in remote areas.

Anyone who dares to jump into Ying Zheng's face in the Guanzhong area or even in the imperial capital Xianyang is either a ruthless person who is bent on death, or a brainless fool, or both.

The serious anti-Qin forces were developing in Liaodong, Qi and Lu, Jingchu and other places.

From the northeast to the southeast, there are thousands of miles of land for them to develop fully, so there is no need to provoke Guanzhong.

From the perspective of the anti-Qin forces, the time is roughly ripe and they only need to accumulate enough strength to officially debut.

Of course, most people are unwilling to be the first to stand out. Even if they have accumulated enough strength, they may still need a pioneer to lead the "trend".

However, now is still an important time for development, so there is no need to rush for this first bird to appear.

Although the Mohist school and the Xiang clan had a good relationship, it was understandable that they went their separate ways for the sake of the next step of development.

Master Ban led his Mohist disciples north to the Liaodong area.

The Ji-Liao region has always been under the influence of the Mohist school.

Even though they later suffered severe blows from the empire, the Mohist forces in the Liaodong region did not suffer much loss because they were too remote.

Master Ban plans to gather the scattered Mohist disciples in Liaodong area, and at the same time prepare to stockpile some mechanical devices for future use.

The Mohists opposed unjust wars, and if they really had to go to war, they would not show mercy.

Throughout the five hundred years of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Mohist School was one of the best private military contractors - of course, the Mohist School generally did not charge money.

Otherwise, the Mechanical White Tiger would not be one of the four spiritual beasts of the Mohist Mechanical School.

As a "mercenary organization", the Mohist School has no intention and is unlikely to directly raise the flag of rebellion.

Master Ban’s thinking was the same as that of his predecessors. He chose a force that conformed to the Mohist principles of universal love and non-aggression and assisted it in fighting against the empire.

Of course, considering the changing times, Master Ban does not rule out the possibility of cooperating with multiple forces.

But no matter what they do, the greatest advantage of the Mohist school is always the art of mechanical engineering.

If the Mohists want to exert sufficient power, they must rely on a large number of mechanical creations and mechanical beasts.

The Mohist school's original stock had been used up or lost in the previous turmoil, and had been exhausted.

Now we have to start accumulating money again - this is not a small project and requires a lot of manpower, material resources and time.

The Xiang family was not idle either.

Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng took Shao Yu all the way south to join Long Ju. As the old nobles of Chu, they wanted to develop, and the first choice was of course the land of Jingchu.

Long Ju had already established a firm foothold in Kuaiji County, so naturally they would use it as their base to further expand and develop their power.

Not only Xiang Liang and his men, but also Ying Bu and Ji Bu, who were responsible for gathering the old Chu soldiers from all over the country, also rushed to Kuaiji with the old Chu soldiers they had recalled after the beginning of spring this year.

However, even though they were located in Kuaiji County, the most southeastern county of the empire, the Xiang clan was not without threats.

They have already established good relationships with all the local officials, so as long as they don't kill or burn people in public, they will basically not cause trouble for them. However, they have not yet extended their tentacles to Minzhong County, which is adjacent to Kuaiji.

It's not just a matter of temporary powerlessness. Even if they had the ability, they might not dare to reach out to Minzhong County.

The person who governed Minzhong County was Nei Shi Teng from the eldest son's faction, a ruthless man who was both talented in literature and martial arts.

He had been in charge of Minzhong County since its establishment, and all the power that Liusha had originally managed in that land, namely the Dong'ou Minyue area, was transferred to him.

It is far from being wealthy and prosperous as the entire Minzhong County is. It can even be said that it is far from it. After all, its previous foundation was not good. However, Nei Shiteng's control over the local government is absolutely impeccable.

If the anti-Qin forces want to develop under his nose, they will basically be asking for trouble.

The key point is that Minzhong County has a sparse population and is not a good place for the development of anti-Qin forces.

Long Ju has caused quite a bit of trouble in Kuaiji County over the past six months. Theoretically, Minzhong County should have noticed something, but Nei Shi Teng didn't seem to have any intention of meddling in other people's business, so the two sides have been relatively peaceful.

But it is hard to say whether he will continue to sit idly by if the Xiang family's power in Kuaiji continues to grow.

What’s even more terrible is that even if he doesn’t care now, it doesn’t mean he won’t care in the future.

The reason why the anti-Qin forces chose to develop in remote areas far away from the power center of the empire was, firstly, because there was room for development in these places, and secondly, because when they really started a rebellion in the future, they would have more time to develop.

If there was a rebellion in a remote place like Kuaiji County, it would take at least three to five days for the news to reach Xianyang.

This is still an extremely urgent situation. If we don't pay enough attention to it, it may take ten days or half a month to transmit the message.

With all the back and forth going on, plus the time it took for the imperial court to react, it would take at least half a month, and more than that.

And that’s not even counting the time it would take for the empire to mobilize its troops if it decided to suppress the rebellion.

But things are different with Nei Shiteng.

If he sent troops from central Fujian, if everything went well, it would take only five days to put his troops on Xiang Liang's neck.

Moreover, they have sufficient military strength. The Lingnan Legion is stationed in Nanhai County. The Xiang family is not aware of the conflict between the eldest prince's faction and Ren Xiong, the leader of the Lingnan Legion.

There is no buffer time and no room for development. Who can withstand the attack on the empire's elite troops right away?
Therefore, the focus of the Xiang clan's development was on one hand continuing to expand the team, and on the other hand on how to solve the problem of Nei Shi Teng.

As long as Minzhong County could replace its chief executive with a less incompetent one, they wouldn't have to worry too much about this problem.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

Fortunately, the Xiang family still has plenty of time to solve this problem.

………………

Dongjun, Dazeshan Farmers’ Headquarters, inside the entrance of Shennong Hall.

"Brother, have you really decided to agree to Tian Yan's proposal?"

Liu Ji held a few dice in his hand, leaning loosely against the table, and asked Zhu Jia in a complicated tone.

"Brother, do you think I shouldn't take the risk?" Zhu Jia didn't know whether he was sitting or standing. He was at another corner of the table, pinching the beard on his mask and asked with a smile.

“Not really…” Liu Ji scratched his head, looking like he didn’t know what to say, “It’s just…how should I put it…it feels very unreliable!”

"Besides, Tian Yan is a very cunning girl. I always feel like she has something bad in mind."

"Hehehe..." Zhu Jia laughed a lot upon hearing this, and replied in a relaxed tone, "Brother, after experiencing the battle for the leader of heroes, I certainly know that 'Tian Yan' cannot be trusted."

"But if you want to make a profit, you have to take risks."

"It's not that easy for 'Tian Yan' to find Tian Hu to help him get out of trouble for himself in the battle of heroes."

"If we don't fight, do you think the two of us can outlast Tian Yan?"

Liu Ji shook his head without hesitation, but his words were rather vague, "That... I'm afraid it's difficult."

Zhu Jia chuckled.

It's not just difficult, it's impossible.

At first, there were six farming families, three with the surname Tian, ​​and three with other surnames, maintaining a high degree of stability.

Later, the reckless Chen Sheng was framed by Tian Mi, and the chief steward Wu Kuang was "killed". Chen Sheng survived after being drowned in a pond, but the Kuiwei Hall, which was originally the strongest of the six halls, completely fell into the hands of the Tian family.

The balance of power among the three halls was broken, and life immediately became difficult for the Zhu family and Situ Wanli, who had been struggling to survive all these years.

Even so, it was because Tian Zhong and Tian Mi had different intentions, Tian Hu was a fool, and among the Tian family leaders, only Tian Meng was reliable.

In comparison, Zhu Jia and Situ Wanli are both qualified to be the heads of a hall - although the latter's moral integrity is comparable to that of the three families... the three-surnamed slave Tian Zhong, but his ability is impeccable.

Thanks to the fact that the opposing team was full of idiot teammates, Zhu Jiacai and Situ Wanli have barely managed to survive until now.

Now that he has the five halls of 'Tian Yan' in his hands, he is the one who has the final say in the Nongjia family. He holds all the power. It can be said that - I am the Nongjia!
The Zhu family relied on Shennong Hall to block the "Tian Yan" who was a combination of five halls!
"So, brother, although the road of rebellion is not easy to take, our peasant family has already made enemies with the empire, and there is no way we can make peace with it."

"Why not just be direct and rebel!"

Liu Ji pouted and replied, "I have no objection to us joining forces with Chen Sheng to rebel, but I don't want Tian Yan to be in the middle."

"That woman is scary."

"Alas..." Zhu Jia pinched his beard and changed his mask to 'Sigh'. "If I have a choice, I don't want to cooperate with that girl 'Tian Yan'. What a pity!"

"Why don't you have a choice?" Liu Ji replied in confusion, "You can choose another school, such as... the Mohist School?"

"I heard that his ancestors were professional warriors."

"Uh..." Zhu Jia paused, and after thinking about what Mozi and his disciples had done, he nodded, "You can say that."

"But how do we cooperate with the Mohist school?" Zhu Jia asked, spreading his hands.

"Just...just..." Liu Jirang asked without knowing how to speak. He gestured and paused for several times, "Just cooperate directly."

"Didn't we just cooperate with them on a big project before the New Year and launched the Qinglong Project?" (End of this chapter)