In early summer in Guanzhong, the temperature began to rise and the earth felt warm.
In the majestic Qin Palace.
The supreme ruler of the empire was very angry.
"How dare a small barbarian country offend Tianwei! Who gave them the courage? Who is it?"
The First Emperor slapped the desk in front of him with such force that the documents on the wooden desk almost flew up.
All the officials in the palace were shaken by this slap and their hearts trembled violently.
The emperor's anger was so intense that it burned his yellow face into red.
Among the officials, Wang Wu, the governor of Su Nei Shi, saw that several years had passed and he finally had a chance to perform, and he suddenly became excited.
He stood up and said: "I heard that the Wusun barbarians, like the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu, all love profit but have no righteousness. The Wusun people saw that my envoy merchants were rich in gold, so they were so greedy for profit that they did evil things and committed this great rebellion.
Ju. I believe that this matter cannot be left unpunished, and we should send out troops to punish him in order to enhance the majesty of our great Qin!"
As soon as Wang Wu spoke, some courtiers immediately agreed, saying that Wusun who offended Qin should be killed. Qin could never tolerate this tone.
When Prince Fusu saw his father's brows tightening, he knew that Wang Wu's words had touched the emperor's heart.
He sighed secretly: "Barbarians really have no foresight. Can you touch the merchants and envoys of big countries? For the sake of some small profits, you will bring about the disaster of the country."
The origin of the matter lies in the development of the northwest trade route.
This matter was first proposed by Zhao Tuo, the martial prince, and the Qin State sent envoys and merchants to enter the distant Western Regions through the Hexi Corridor to conduct trade with local city-states.
First, they could exchange Qin's products for useful things from foreign lands.
Secondly, envoys and merchants can be used as intermediaries to gather information about the countries in the Western Regions, draw travel maps, and obtain important information on the deserts, Gobi deserts, oasis rivers, city-state settlements and other important information in the west.
When the Qin State conquers Baiyue in the future and points its troops to the west, it will be able to respond calmly and make the most advantageous tactics according to the situation in the Western Regions.
Third, it can also promote the greatness and wealth of Qin and attract some city-states to surrender and pay tribute.
The westward expansion strategy has been very successful in recent years.
The envoys and merchants sent out brought back a large amount of products from the Western Regions through trade, such as alfalfa, cotton, grapes, watermelons and other good things.
At the same time, the situation of the countries in the Western Regions was clarified, and an exotic world in the Western Regions was presented to the monarchs and ministers of the Qin State.
Although there was an incident in which the people of Dawan refused Qin's horse-buying transaction, considering that Dawan was thousands of miles away from Qin, they just tolerated it.
But what happened now made the First Emperor unable to bear it no matter what, and anger filled his chest.
Wusun.
A nomadic grassland nation between Hexi and the Western Regions, after the Qin State defeated the Yueshi, they showed awe of the powerful Central Plains Empire.
They moved hundreds of miles westward, away from Qin's occupied areas. At the same time, Wusun Kunmi was very polite to Qin merchants and envoys who passed through their territory and traveled to and from the Western Regions.
But as Qin envoys and merchants brought large amounts of wealth to and from the road, this nation, which had always been poor, finally couldn't bear it any longer.
I don’t know whether they got the consent of Wusun Kunmi, but some Wusun tribes took advantage of the darkness to raid Qin’s caravan.
The Wusun people robbed the wealth and killed the Qin people. They were afraid at first and did it very secretly. In addition, the distance was far away, and the information from the Qin State was not very well-informed, so the secret was not exposed in a short time.
Later, when they saw that robbing Qin merchants was profitable, many Wusun tribesmen also became red-eyed and joined in, plundering several Qin caravans in succession.
Even the envoys from the Jingjue Kingdom in the Western Regions who followed the caravan to Xianyang for pilgrimage, as well as the exquisite beauties they presented to the Emperor of Qin, were robbed by the Wusun people.
Now that the matter was exposed and brought to the Qin court, the First Emperor was naturally furious.
Wang Wu proposed starting a war, and the courtiers agreed one after another.
In the end, Prime Minister Wang Wan on the right, Prime Minister Li Si on the left, as well as Taiwei Wang Ben and other important military officials all nodded.
War is inevitable.
With the financial resources that the Qin State has accumulated in the past two years, it can still support the conquest of Baiyue and the defeat of a single Wusun.
The First Emperor glanced at the generals in the palace.
Suddenly, disappointment flashed in his eyes.
For many years, whenever the First Emperor wanted to start a new war, he would habitually look at where that person was standing and listen to that person's opinions and voices.
Zhao Tuo is not here.
Another war is being fought for him.
The First Emperor reached out and picked up the 卮 on the table, took a sip of the sugar water inside, and felt much better.
Xia Wuji said that drinking honey water regularly may be bad for your health.
The First Emperor adopted Xia Wuji's advice and replaced it with brown sugar water.
In addition to the same sweetness, it is also because Zhao Tuo made the brown sugar.
After drinking sugar water and feeling relieved, the First Emperor asked the generals in the palace: "Is there any general who is willing to conquer Wusun for me?"
As soon as the words fell, three people stood up in the palace.
"I, Wang Li, ask for orders to wipe out Wusun and promote the prestige of our great Qin nation!"
"Your Majesty, Li Xin, is willing to destroy Wusun for your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, Qiang Yu, invites you to fight, and you will definitely defeat Wusun!"
The three of them spoke almost at the same time, their voices loud and clear, which satisfied the First Emperor.
In addition to Zhao Tuo who was on the expedition, he still had generals available in the court.
The First Emperor's eyes fell on Li Xin and Wang Li.
As for Qiangxu, just ignore it.
The First Emperor asked: "If you want to defeat Wusun, how many troops should you use?"
Wang Li was about to speak when he noticed that his old father was winking at the side. He felt unhappy, but he still closed his mouth and gave up the opportunity to speak first.
"Fifty thousand! Your Majesty gives me fifty thousand Qiang Yu, and I will bring Wusun Kunmi's head back to Your Majesty!"
Qiang Yu shouted loudly, slapping his chest loudly, and his face turned red.
It has been many years since he, Qiang Yu, has been the commander-in-chief of an army. This is a good opportunity.
The First Emperor nodded, gave Qiang Yu an appreciative look, and then looked at Li Xin beside him.
Probably because the cold wind outside the Northeast Great Wall blew too much, Li Xin's face looked a little old. At first glance, he looked like he was the same age as Qiang Xuan.
He glanced at Wang Li who was eager to try next to him, and sighed inwardly.
Li Xin said: "Wusun is a big country outside the Great Wall and should not be underestimated. I need 150,000 troops."
One hundred and fifty thousand.
The First Emperor nodded and turned to look at Wang Li.
"Your Majesty, I need one hundred thousand soldiers and horses! In addition, I would like to ask your Majesty's permission to recruit the Xiongnu and Yuezhi cavalry..."
Wang Li spoke loudly and began to talk about the situation in the west and his plans.
He had accompanied Zhao Tuo in the Northern Expedition to the Huns, and he personally served as the general to capture Hexi. He knew the situation in the west much more clearly than Qiang Yu and Li Xin. When he opened his mouth, he spoke clearly and confidently.
The First Emperor kept nodding.
Looking at the impassioned Wang Li in the palace, what appeared in his mind was the shadow of another person.
Wang Li has a bit of the charm of Zhao Tuo.
By the time Wang Li finished speaking his thoughts with spitfire, everyone in the palace knew that he was the general who would lead the Qin army to conquer Wusun in the west this time.
As expected, the First Emperor quickly decided on this important matter.
"Wusun killed the envoys and robbed the caravans. They are our enemies of Qin. Now I have appointed Wang Li as a general. He will lead an army of 100,000 to attack Wusun in the west. He will definitely wipe out this barbarian country and shock the world!"
"Wang Qing, I will leave this battle of Wusun to you."
The First Emperor looked at Wang Li and said seriously.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. Wang Li has sworn to live up to his command and will return to the army with the head of Wusun Kunmi!"
Wang Li's whole body was numb. At this moment, everyone in the palace was looking at him.
He felt that he was the most eye-catching new star in the Qin Palace.
"Your Majesty has such great trust in me. I'm afraid this is how he was treated by the former general Zhao Tuo."
Wang Li was young and energetic, and his blood rushed to his forehead with excitement.
He, Wang Li, might be the next Zhao Tuo.
Just when the head coach of the Western Expedition was appointed, Shangshu Ling Zhao Gao appeared outside the palace.
According to the rules of the Qin Dynasty's court meetings, if there are urgent matters, such as urgent reports from the frontier, you can go to the palace to submit documents.
The appearance of Zhao Gao now means that there is a very urgent matter that needs to be reported to the emperor.
"The General has an urgent report for His Majesty."
Hearing this, everyone turned their eyes away from Wang Li and looked at the document in Zhao Gao's hand.
An urgent message from the General.
Is this joy?
Or sad?
Everyone's heart was lifted.
No one knows what's inside until the document is opened.
The First Emperor felt his heart pounding.
"Send it up."
"only."
Soon, the First Emperor got the urgent military report from the southern front.
"open."
"His Majesty."
Zhao Gao removed the seal and handed over the documents.
The First Emperor took a deep breath and held the paper with his slightly excited palms.
He lowered his head, got close to the paper, and read every word on it clearly.
It's Zhao Tuo's handwriting.
It is also the news that the emperor is most concerned about.
In the main hall, everyone looked at the First Emperor with bated breath.
How is the situation in the south?
The sudden burst of laughter answered the questions of the officials.
"Okay! Okay! Okay!"
Three good words in a row.
The First Emperor patted the document on the case and laughed and said: "As expected of my general! Hahaha, the chief of Xi'ou is dead, and the general has pacified Xi'ou and occupied the whole territory! He captured Xi'ou for me.
Wash away my shame!"
"My general, never lets me down!"
The First Emperor laughed until he was out of breath, and in his blurred eyes he seemed to see the figure who never disappointed him.
The ministers reacted and were overjoyed, and began to praise him one after another.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty, the General has opened up territory for our Great Qin!"
"Destroying the barbarians in Xi'ou, how brave is the general!"
"Hahaha, what a great general, he is really a blessing to our great Qin!"
Amidst the compliments of the ministers.
Wang Li, who was the center of attention just now, suddenly turned back into the junior Qin general that no one paid attention to.
The pride in my heart was replaced by frustration.
Wang Li stared blankly at the laughing king on the imperial couch.
"General, I will never be able to compare with you."