The Qin Dynasty, the development of the Western Regions and the lifting of the system that suppressed business made Xianyang many times more prosperous than a few years ago.
It is true that businessmen pursue profits. Back then, the status of merchants in the Qin State was so low that it was impossible to eliminate the existence of merchants, let alone that the status of merchants has returned to normal now.
An endless stream of merchants gathered from all directions, gathered in Xianyang, formed a caravan, and set off towards the Western Regions with full loads of goods.
Officials and merchants returned from the Western Regions twice. Although private merchants did not know exactly how much money they made, the huge benefits contained in it could be seen from the change in Qin Wangji's attitude towards the merchants.
You must know that before the Qin State, the status of merchants was only slightly higher than that of slaves. Whenever the country needed to immigrate to expand borders and open up wasteland, they would send merchants and son-in-laws there, which was miserable.
No matter how high the status of businessmen is nowadays, at least they don’t have to worry about being arrested and immigrated anytime. Lu Buwei, who proposed to open up business routes at that time, also attracted more and more attention from Qin Wangji, and became the rookie of Qin State second only to Fan Ju.
However, Qin Wangji was not someone who would fall out when he lifted his pants. He did not neglect Fan Ju because of this, but instead rewarded Fan Ju with a lot of land and property.
Qin Wangji's only regret was that there was still no news about the Queen Mother of the West, whom he had been longing for. Even the countries in the Western Region had never heard of the Queen Mother of the West, which made Qin Wangji suspect that he was looking in the wrong direction.
However, Qin Wangji knew in his heart that the Queen Mother of the West was originally a mythical legend. It was normal that she could not be found. Even if she was found, it would not be as important as the great cause of Qin, so he was not too disappointed.
On the contrary, Qin State relied on this trade route to the Western Regions to attract merchants from all over the world to flow into Qin State, which greatly promoted the development of Qin State and was more important than the ten Queen Mothers of the West.
Before that, all merchants in the world who wanted to do business went to Zhao State, followed by Qi, Wei and Han. However, Qin State had always been a commercial desert and a forbidden area for merchants.
But now Qin has become a commercial power alongside Wei and Qi. With the advantages of the Hexi Corridor, it is not impossible to be alongside Zhao or even surpass Zhao in the future.
In addition, problems such as the Bashu rebellion and the Qiang people's harassment of the border that have been troubling the Qin state have been almost solved. Although there are still some old and young people from Bashu mixed with the southern barbarians and hiding in the mountains, that small population has already become a threat to the Qin Dynasty. The country poses no threat.
The Qiang people were also severely weakened, but the Qin State was unable to occupy the Qiang people's territory and could only allow the Qiang people to retreat deep into the mountains to recuperate.
The Qin State's territory also extended hundreds of miles to the southwest. If the newly developed Zhangye County is included, the territory actually controlled by the Qin State has increased compared with before the Changping War.
Of course, the actual value of these lands is definitely not as good as that of Hedong, Sanchuan and other places. After people have eaten and drank enough, they always want to move their bodies.
Countries are no exception. No, the Qin State, which had solved its worries, once again set its sights on the east.
"Your Majesty, the envoys to Yan and Qi are back." In the hall, Fan Ju said with cupped hands. The Qin State knew that it could not be the opponent of the Three Jins on its own, let alone the threat posed by the Chu State. Therefore, the Qin State had always wanted to promote the alliance between Qin, Yan, and Qi to compete with the Three Jins.
In the past few years, the State of Qin has continuously sent envoys to the two countries and bribed the king's ministers, concubines and others. The money spent every year is greater than the expenditure in the palace, but there is still no progress.
To be precise, not to mention progress, I didn't even meet the monarchs of the two countries many times. These two weirdos, one is a cultivator, the other leaves the government affairs to his mother, both are masters who ignore the government affairs.
"What was the result?" Although he had already guessed in his mind, Qin Wangji still asked.
"I didn't see the King of Yan. The Prime Minister of Yan sent him the same message as before, saying that the Yan State was weak and did not dare to offend the Zhao State, so it could only secretly form an alliance with the Qin State. The envoys who went to the Qi State did not see the King of Qi either. The Queen Mother Qi, the Queen Mother Qi expressed no intention of forming an alliance." Fan Ju shook his head.
Everyone was silent. Almost all the envoys who were sent before came back said this. In other words, in the past few years, Qin has spent a lot of money on diplomacy without any results.
At this time, Qin Wangji understood the importance of credibility to a country. Perhaps when the country was strong, it could use force to suppress other countries, but when the country was no longer strong, the importance of credibility became apparent.
"I want to attack South Korea's Sanchuan, what can you tell me?" Qin Wangji sighed, and his eyes slowly swept over the people in front of him.
Fan Ju, Lu Buwei, Wei Ran, Bai Qi, Wang Lu, Tai Zi Zhu, Wang Sun Chu. Even though Yan and Qi were unwilling to join forces with Qin to fight against the three Jins, Qin Wangji still decided to attack South Korea and complete the strategic goal set by Qin Prime Minister Zhang Yi sixty years ago.
At the same time, in order to complete Lu Buwei's "golden belt" strategy on the basis of Fan Ju's close and distant relations, the three Jins were divided into two, separated from each other and unable to truly unite.
This strategy is risky. If this 'golden belt' is used well, it can destroy the alliance of the three Jins. If it is not used well, Qin will continue to be bled by the three Jins.
If Qin is strong enough to crush the six countries, this risk can be ignored. It's just that Qin's current strength is obviously not crushing.
But Qin Wangji couldn't wait that long. The development of Zhao State was so fast that it was beyond his imagination. Even if he only relied on the intelligence transmitted to get a glimpse of the leopard, Qin Wangji felt a little scared.
What's even more frightening is that Zhao Kuo is only in his twenties, while he is already over seventy years old. After his death, his son or grandson succeeded to the throne. Which one would be Zhao Kuo's opponent?
Qin Wangji couldn't guarantee that he would win if he started now, but he knew that the longer the time, the lower the chance of winning.
"Your Majesty, maybe you can try to form an alliance with Chu." After a moment, Fan Ju said. Although the Three Jins are powerful, the strength of Qin and Chu is much greater than that of the Three Jins.
"Chu State?" Qin Wangji fell into deep thought. Although Qin and Chu have been married for generations, his mother is from Chu, his daughter-in-law is from Chu, and his daughter-in-law is still from Chu. However, the relationship between Qin and Chu is not good now. Qin still occupies the old capital and large areas of Chu. The territory.
The Chu State also thought about revenge and regaining its old capital all the time.
"Our Qin and Chu countries have been married for generations, and their bones are broken but their tendons are still connected. Although the two countries have some conflicts now, it is not impossible to cede some interests and restore the previous relationship." Fan Ju leaned over and said.
There are no eternal enemies between countries, only eternal interests. Even if Qin and Chu have great hatred, as long as the interests are sufficient, Chu can be pulled onto Qin's chariot.
Qin Wangji did not agree immediately. If it was a few cities, or even a dozen cities, he gritted his teeth and agreed.
However, Chu State has been deceived by Qin State so many times. It is obviously impossible for Qin State to trust Qin State without bleeding heavily.
