On May 21st, after "consuming" a whole month, Great Qin's war to "recover" the Western Regions came to an end. The countries in the Western Regions were flying Great Qin's Qin character flag and the Qin army's black dragon flag.
For the people of the Western Regions, they experienced two wars in two months. They were aware of Wusun's flag, but this solemn black flag was something they had never seen before.
After reading Wang Li's report, Li Si and others congratulated excitedly: "Your Majesty, this time our Great Qin pacified Wusun with only over a thousand casualties, captured dozens of Wusun royal family members, and conquered forty and fifty-three kingdoms in the Western Regions. The city has a circumference of thousands of miles! It is enough to cover most of the Qin Dynasty! I congratulate Your Majesty!"
I was also very excited. I didn't expect that the countries in the Western Regions could be conquered so easily. The 70,000 Qin army had almost no casualties, but it only cost a lot of money and food.
"Well, that's right, tomorrow's court meeting..." I wanted to announce this news to the world, but suddenly realized there was a problem: "No, don't make it public for now!"
Feng Jie asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, why is this? Why do you want to hide the news about such an earth-shattering victory?"
I smiled and reminded: "Although the Qin army is the king's army, in the eyes of the people in the Western Regions, this is not enough to be the reason for the Qin army to occupy the Western Regions. Now that Wusun has been destroyed, Da Qin and the Western Regions have no common enemy. If the Qin Dynasty directly annexes the Western Regions without any explanation, the people of the Western Regions will also rise up to resist. Therefore, before the Qin Dynasty can make the people of the Western Regions willingly surrender to the Qin Dynasty, it is not appropriate to tell the world that the Western Regions are the territory of the Qin Dynasty."
Everyone was stunned, and Li Si frowned slightly: "Then do we, Da Qin, want to withdraw our troops?"
I laughed and said, "Of course that is absolutely impossible. If we just retreat, wouldn't we really be fighting for the people of the Western Regions in vain? If I don't agree, neither can the soldiers who go to the Western Regions."
I didn't call Yu He last time, and there was almost a misunderstanding at the court meeting, so I asked him to come with me this time.
Yu He said: "Then what is your Majesty's plan?"
I smiled mysteriously: "You will know when the time comes."
Zhang Han immediately raised his hands and congratulated: "Not only did you conquer the Western Region this time, your Majesty also needed a handsome man to kill dozens of countries with a mere two thousand men!"
I knew he was talking about Han Xin, so I nodded in approval and said, "Han Xin did live up to my expectations. However, this is the credit of all the soldiers of our Great Qin, and cannot be attributed to him alone."
I understand Han Xin's character in history and cannot praise him too highly. However, his achievements this time were so great that even Wu Jian could not match them, so he could not suppress them too deliberately, as that would be counterproductive. Historically, he felt that he should be made king based on his merits, so he asked Liu Bang to make him king on the eve of the two battles of Xingyang and Gaixia. However, in Liu Bang's eyes, this was taking advantage of the situation, so he ended up being executed.
After thinking about it, I told Zhang Han: "Now that the Western Region has been decided, I will appoint Jing Zhu as the right general and Han Xin as the left general to command the Qin army in the Western Region. You and Wang Li will discuss how many Qin troops should be left to garrison in the Western Region and decide. After that, Wang Li was asked to step down as general and return to Hexi. The rest of the army was rewarded based on their merits."
He was promoted from the leader of the 20th to the 500th to the general of the left, and he was promoted to four levels in a row, which should satisfy him.
Zhang Han raised his hands and said yes.
When I mentioned Wang Li, my face gradually turned gloomy.
Wang Li did not dare to deceive me, and truthfully stated the entire process of the Western Region War in his report. Judging from Wang Li's performance in the report, he had too many problems. He talked on paper, stuck to rules, was hesitant, and despised intelligence...
Fortunately, Han Xin was given the power to "act with the camera" in the end, which at least showed that he was not a jealous person who could harm the wise, and his character was acceptable.
Several people saw the displeasure on my face after I mentioned Wang Li, and they knew that I was somewhat dissatisfied with Wang Li. After all, they had read the report. Without Han Xin, the Battle of the Western Regions would probably not have been won so quickly at such a small cost. Wang Li, a general, was not as good as a two- to five-hundred-year-old master. It really insulted the great reputation of the Wang family.
But I didn’t say anything, so it was impossible for anyone to take the initiative to mention it. Wang Li has no actual charges. Talking about his colleagues is not only immoral, but may also violate Qin's law of speaking inappropriately.
I knocked on the table lightly and decided not to mention it yet. The Great Qin Military Mansion has been built. Let's call him back to study after the school system is decided. There is something remarkable about this person, and he is the one who, after closing the door, will go back to the drawing board and rebuild it to see the effect.
"Okay, let's leave things like this for the time being. We will wait until the envoys from the Western Regions arrive in Xianyang before making any plans. They must be on their way here already."
How smart these people were, they understood it in an instant. Li Si raised his hands and teased: "Your Majesty is wise! If the Qin army does not retreat, they will naturally come to Xianyang, but I don't know how they plan to thank Da Qin!"
"Hahahaha..." Everyone laughed, and for a while the Sihai Palace was filled with happy air.
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On May 23rd, the auspicious day was decided, and Taoyao was carried in from the gate of Xianyang Palace.
Entering through the gate of Xianyang Palace was already against etiquette. Although the officials in the court knew that this matter should not be discussed, they still made a lot of comments. Naturally, they could no longer make a big fuss about it.
It was night, and after taking a bath, I went to Mrs. Ba’s Palace.
After entering the palace gate, there was only one eunuch standing outside the palace gate with his head bowed, holding a pen and paper in his hand. However, the Qin Dynasty was not as perverted as other dynasties. They just wrote down the time of the emperor's entry and exit.
"Get out." I said calmly.
The eunuch quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am leaving."
I slowly walked into the hall, and Tao Yao was sitting on the couch, wearing a deep green dress with a slender skirt, and a bun with hanging clouds. She didn't put any makeup on her face, but she was already very charming.
There was a maid next to me. When she saw me coming in, she quickly bowed and said, "I have met Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
With a smile on my face, I stepped forward and took Taoyao's hand, helping her into the side hall.
The two of us sat by the bed, and I apologized: "It was my fault that I made you wear green clothes and enter the palace quietly."
Tao Yao was too shy to raise her head and shook her head gently: "Your Majesty, please don't say that. I am already very satisfied."
I took her hand and whispered, "I will make it up to you."
Taoyao nodded and said no more words.
As a result, the two of them were embarrassed like this. Even though I have been born in two lifetimes, I have never experienced such a scene.
After a long time, he mustered up the courage and said, "I'm going to turn out the lights."
Taoyao's face turned red with embarrassment and she nodded.
The hall immediately became dark, with only a few starlight shining into the hall through the windows.
After a burst of rustling sounds, there was only silence left in the hall, where Chun Shan was so shy that he could not speak a word, and his deep feelings were difficult to express in front of others.
Suddenly there was a sound, the hibiscus tent was warm, and the palms felt like silk willows, holding snowflakes in a ball. The moonlight sprinkled down like water, and my eyes gradually adapted to the darkness. I could only see half of the white clouds, and there was a hint of fragrance.
"Your Majesty, it's hot..."
"The weather in May is a bit hot..."
