Zhao Kuo looked at the obviously puzzled eyes of the important officials in front of him and laughed again: "Actually, I am not too surprised by Sima Shang's situation."

You should know that in history, Qin Shihuang used troops to "Baiyue" in the south, including Ouyue, Minyue and Yangyue, which was not smooth sailing.

During the first battle in the south, Tu Wei, a general under Qin Shihuang, led an army of more than 500,000 to conquer Fujian and Zhejiang. He then suffered a great defeat in Guilin County, and the first southern expedition was declared defeat.

Of course, Qin Shihuang could not swallow this breath. So five years later, Qin Shihuang sent two generals, Zhao Tuo and Ren Xiao, to lead the army south to launch the Second Southern Expedition. This time, Qin successfully conquered the Lingnan region and established three counties: Guilin County, Nanhai County and Xiang County.

After consolidating these three counties, Qin Shihuang once again ordered Zhao Tuo to continue attacking the remaining tribes of Ouluo. This was the third southern war, but Qin Shihuang died as he fought. Then the civil war broke out at the end of the Qin Dynasty, and this war ended in vain.

From Zhao Kuo's own perspective, he felt that the Han Kingdom was of course stronger than the Qin Kingdom back then, but if explosives and muskets were excluded, they were not much stronger.

But this time in the southern expedition, explosives could not play a big role, because the Baiyue tribes were just camp walls made of wooden fences and could be broken without gunpowder at all.

For muskets, due to limited production, they are mainly used to supply the Western Expedition Army led by Zhao Kuo himself. Sima Shang also had a musket soldier of 2,000 people, but their combat effectiveness was relatively low and more experimental.

The most important thing is, how many people did Qin Shihuang send Tu Wei back then?

That's just an army of 500,000.

Now, how many soldiers Zhao Kuo has given Sima Shang?

There were only 150,000 people, less than one-third of Tu Wei's troops given to Qin Shihuang.

With these 150,000 people, Sima Shang was able to conquer Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, which is indeed a very good performance.

These were already under Zhao Kuo's consideration in advance, so Zhao Kuo certainly would not blame Sima Shang.

After hearing Zhao Kuo's words, several important officials present were also stunned.

After a while, Xu Li said: "Since Your Majesty has already predicted Sima Shang's situation today, why not add more troops to Sima Shang?"

Xu Li's question is obviously a question that other important officials want to ask.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but smile and said, "This question is actually even simpler. Because our Han Kingdom has dispatched too many soldiers and horses, we can't give Sima Shang more troops."

This time, Zhao Kuo took away 150,000 yuan in the Western Expedition, Sima Shang had another 150,000 yuan. In addition to the southwest, nearly 500,000 troops were fighting in the Han Dynasty in one year.

If Sima Shang had more troops, it would be to dispatch 550,000, 600,000 or even more in a year, which would undoubtedly put a heavier burden on the Han Dynasty.

Zhao Kuo smiled calmly and said, "So, this matter is not urgent for the time being.

After a while, the Prime Minister's Office will draw an order for me and tell Sima Shang that as long as he can pacify the entire Lingnan and Guilin area within five years, I will be considered his great contribution.

Tell him not to worry, take it slowly step by step!"

Zhao Kuo's words have already reached this point, so naturally others cannot have any opinions, so they nodded.

For Zhao Kuo, the rotational army in the southwest and the Sima Shang army in the southeast should be the main directions of the Han Dynasty's war in the next few years.

These two directions are like clamps on both sides of a crab, and the Baiyue tribes in the south may be able to resist for a while, but how can they last for a long time in the face of the strong national strength of the Han Dynasty and the will of the emperor Zhao Kuo?

The matter about Lingnan can be temporarily concluded here.

A few days later, a new news spread to the Imperial Capital.

This news comes from the distant city of Yili, the one who wrote the memorial was Pang Nuan’s grandson Pang Zheng.

"The Seleucid envoy has arrived in Yili. According to His Majesty's previous order, I have sent him to the Central Plains. Please ask His Majesty to know."

Zhao Kuo looked at the memorial and began to smile at the corner of his mouth: "These Seleucids still react very quickly."

You should know that the arrival of Ili from the capital of Antioch City, the Seleucid, is similar to that of Ili.

Considering that Zhao Kuo was still staying on the way after returning to the Central Plains, it was probably about half a month to twenty days that Zhao Kuo had been in charge of the army, and the envoy sent by the Seleucid Emperor had already set out from Antioch City.

This was indeed a very fast speed, and it also reflected the Seleucids' urgent friendship with the peace talks between the two sides.

Zhao Kuo thought about it and asked someone to call Mao Sui.

"Mao Sui, please take a look at this memorial."

After reading the memorial, Mao Sui said, "I don't know what Your Majesty intends to do to this messenger?"

Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "Of course we don't need to do something uncivilized or insidious. After all, this is the first diplomatic exchange between our Han Dynasty and other foreign countries. I don't want others to say that our Han Dynasty is a country that does not abides by the rules.

What you have to do is actually very simple, just let these envoys understand the silk and porcelain of our Han Dynasty!”

When saying this, Zhao Kuo's eyes flashed with a light. If Minister of Finance Guo Zong was aware of this light, he would feel that this light was quite familiar. It was the expression that merchants liked to show when they discovered a fat sheep that could be slaughtered! Why did Zhao Kuo choose the Western Regions during the first personal expedition to unify the Han Dynasty?

In addition to the fact that the geographical strategic location of the Western Regions itself is very important and must be occupied first, another very important reason is the Silk Road in the Western Regions - the Silk Road.

How important is the Silk Road?

Simply put, the existence of the Silk Road not only brought civilization exchanges to the East and West in the Eurasian continent, but also brought a steady stream of foreign exchange to the Central Plains dynasty of China in history.

At its peak, more than 40% of the silver in the entire earth's civilization was concentrated in the hands of a country in China. Note that it is the silver of the entire world! A large part of this trade is attributed to the Silk Road.

As soon as the Silk Road is opened, the rolling wealth will come soon.

By that time, the Han Dynasty could not only obtain a steady stream of wealth, but also control the Western Regions and develop them.

Now, the arrival of the Seleucid envoy is undoubtedly Zhao Kuo's wonderful help to open the Silk Road.

Zhao Kuo said this to Mao Sui. Mao Sui was a veteran, so he naturally understood this. He patted his chest and promised Zhao Kuo: "Please rest assured, your majesty, I will definitely be able to complete the task!"

At this time, the Seleucid envoy in the distance didn't know what he was facing! He was elected by Seleucid Emperor Antioch II as the envoy for the first time to send a great Han Dynasty. This envoy not only had a noble enough identity, but also had to be steady and trusted by the emperor.

Doros, the court minister of the Seleucid Empire, is undoubtedly such a candidate. He is just forty years old this year, and he is a steady person. He is also a far-reaching cousin of the emperor. He is a very suitable candidate in all aspects.

But at this moment, Doros was extremely rare to lose his composure.

He was sitting in his tent, staring at a young man dressed in a servant in front of him.

Since he was the envoy of the Seleucid Empire, of course, it was impossible for Duo Lus to come to the Han Kingdom alone. In fact, he brought a total of fifty knights, two hundred soldiers and eighty servants.

It is precisely because of so many people that until today, in a very accidental situation, he noticed that this servant who should have fed carriages and horses for himself seemed very, very similar to a person.

Then Doros called the servant alone to his tent, and after a few words, he confirmed the other party's identity.

Doros said helplessly: "Second Prince, why can't you stay in Antioch City?

If His Majesty the Emperor knew that you were following me quietly, I would be in big trouble."

Yes, this guy who looks like a servant is actually the second prince of the Seleucid Empire, that is, the governor of the eastern Seleucid Empire who was defeated by Zhao Kuo a few months ago! The second prince smiled and said calmly: "Uncle Doros, you should understand my character very well.

Being defeated is not an unacceptable thing for me, but being defeated by an unknown enemy will make me doubt the prospects of our Seleucid Empire.

So, I need a chance, an opportunity to understand our enemy.”

Doros said: "Your Highness, the Second Prince, I can understand your thoughts, but - maybe you should tell Your Majesty when you set out."

The second prince's smile became brighter and brighter: "Uncle Doros, do you think I could still come to this place if I really told my father in advance?"

Doros was speechless.

Indeed, according to the temper of Antioch II, if he knew that the second prince wanted to travel thousands of miles to the Han Kingdom, his first idea would be to beat the second prince up and then lock him up for several months or even a year.

Doros is now suffering from a complete headache. If he is still in the Seleucid Empire, it is naturally easy to say. He can arrange the second prince back no matter what, but now he has been in the territory of the Han Kingdom for almost half a month. How can he do this?

The second prince obviously saw Doros' depression and said with a smile: "Uncle Doros, don't worry, before leaving our borders, I had someone leave a letter to my father.

In the letter, I have told my father everything, and my father will know that this matter has nothing to do with you, and I will not blame you in the future."

After hearing the second prince's words, Doros realized in his heart that this guy must have come prepared, otherwise how could he even prepare the letter?

The second prince continued to talk: "Uncle Doros, are you really not curious about what this great Han country suddenly appeared from the East?"

Doros said: "Of course I'm curious, even His Majesty the Emperor is curious, otherwise he wouldn't have sent me as an envoy to the capital of the Han Kingdom."

The second prince smiled and said, "Yes, we all understand this principle.

But please think about it. After all, you are a noble messenger. Will the Han people let you see and understand a real big man?

No.

They will definitely try their best to present a false Han country in front of you, and they want you to see.

If we really want to know this country, then all we can do is to let a person in the dark quietly observe and understand this country. As a 'servant', obviously I can help you complete this task better, right?"

When Doros heard this, he immediately fell into deep thoughts again.

After thinking about it carefully, Doros suddenly felt that what the Second Prince said seemed to be unreasonable.

Anyway, sending the second prince back should be an impossible task, so I can only continue to take it with me.

Doros breathed a sigh of relief and said slowly: "Second Prince, if you really want to do this, then I probably can't disclose your identity."

The second prince smiled and said, "This is not a very troublesome thing for me. The life of servants these days is actually a very rare experience for a prince."

When Doros heard this, the second prince had said this, so what else could he continue to say?

So Doros could only give helpless advice: "No matter what, I hope you should be careful when doing any action, after all, this time I came to negotiate with the emperor of the Han Dynasty under the order of His Majesty the Emperor. If the peace talks this time were destroyed, His Majesty the Emperor's anger would not let us go."

After hearing Doros' words, the second prince knew that he had convinced Doros, so he smiled victoriously: "Uncle Doros, don't worry, although I want to avenge the emperor of the Han Kingdom, I will not be stupid enough to destroy this diplomatic action. Otherwise, how can I better understand the Han Kingdom?"

For the second prince, these words are indeed from the heart.

Along the way, the second prince had already crossed the Western Regions and was about to arrive in the Hexi Corridor.

For him, there seemed to be nothing too magical about the various policies implemented by the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions.

If the Seleucid Empire controlled the Western Regions, it would basically implement a policy similar to that of the Han Dynasty.

So, how did such a great Han country give birth to the magical weapon that defeated the second prince?

At this moment, the second prince was also full of doubts.
Chapter completed!