464: Chapter 464 Zhao Fusu's Plans

The Khyber Pass, a unique existence, acted like a merciless blade, instantly shattering the Mauryan Empire's superior geographical advantages. This marked the beginning of its thousands of years of history of invasion, plunging it into an abyss of endless suffering and vicissitudes.

The Khyber Pass holds a unique and critical geographical position. It is located in the northwestern part of the Mauryan Empire, between the rolling Hindu Kush Mountains of the Iranian Plateau and the majestic Pamir Mountains, situated at the present-day junction of Kabul and Peshawar.

This pass is not an ordinary single passage, but is cleverly formed by the convergence of the valleys of two small rivers originating from the Khyber Mountains, creating a passage of unique strategic significance.

From the perspective of the terrain's layout, the pass runs northwest-southeast, resembling a winding giant serpent stretching for 53 kilometers.

At its narrowest point, the width does not exceed 600 meters, much like a narrow throat deliberately left by nature. Its treacherous nature is truly breathtaking.

The peaks on both sides range from 60 to 90 meters in height. Although they do not reach the clouds, they exude an air of majesty and solemnity on either side of this narrow passage.

Moving slowly along the pass, one reaches its highest point—Landi Kotal Fort. At an altitude of 1,067 meters, it stands like a watchtower overlooking all living things, firmly controlling the situation of the entire pass.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the Khyber Pass possesses unique climatic conditions; the mountains do not close in winter, making it passable year-round. This makes it an important transportation hub connecting different regions; however, because of this, it became a perfect breakthrough point long coveted by invaders.

Xiang Liang knew well that if he wanted to invade the Mauryan Empire, the Khyber Pass was undoubtedly a vital strategic location.

Thus, his first step was to set out to find the exact location of this pass.

Once he successfully found the Khyber Pass, the second step of Xiang Liang's plan was to devote all his strength to seizing control of it.

He knew that controlling this place was like holding the key to entering the Mauryan Empire.

To this end, he intended to build a large-scale, indestructible base here to serve as a stable military stronghold in a foreign land.

This base would become the source and foundation of his power. He planned to recruit talents and gather troops here, attracting those who thirsted for wealth to join his ranks.

As his strength continued to grow, he would use this place as a solid starting point to gradually expand into the heartland of the Mauryan Empire.

This series of ambitious ideas from Xiang Liang reached Zhao Fusu's ears through an undercover agent placed at his side by the National Security Bureau.

For Zhao Fusu, this was undoubtedly exciting news.

It is well known that war has always been the most expensive activity, like a bottomless pit constantly consuming resources and wealth.

If Xiang Liang were to launch a large-scale war against the Mauryan Empire, he would certainly need massive amounts of weapons, equipment, and various other war resources.

And this precisely provided Zhao Fusu with a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.

He could sell the weapons that Great Qin had phased out to Xiang Liang. In this way, he could not only obtain a considerable amount of capital to invest in the research and development of the next generation of weapons—further enhancing Great Qin's military technological strength and making it more competitive—but also help Xiang Liang gain an advantage on the battlefield to more smoothly achieve his grand conquest of the Mauryan Empire.

In Zhao Fusu's view, although Xiang Liang led a group of people to distant lands overseas, they were all descendants of yan and huang, connected by blood.

Xiang Liang's efforts to work hard overseas and dedicate himself to expanding the influence of the descendants of yan and huang were undoubtedly worthy of strong support.

If he could push things along from behind and provide assistance, it was naturally his duty.

After all, this was not only about the honor and future development of the nation but also a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the powerful strength of the descendants of yan and huang on the international stage.

Moreover, most of the people Xiang Liang took away were elements dissatisfied with Great Qin.

If it weren't for the fact that Great Qin's strength was already so great that they felt fear, they would likely have jumped out to openly rebel long ago, posing a serious threat to the stability and peace of Great Qin.

Now, they had been taken away by Xiang Liang, which was like uprooting a large number of hidden unstable factors and successfully transferring them out of Great Qin's borders.

For Great Qin, this truly brought a hundred benefits and not a single harm.

It could not only eliminate internal hidden dangers and ensure long-term peace and stability at home but also expand influence overseas and enhance Great Qin's international status and reputation by supporting Xiang Liang's actions.

With so many benefits from a single move, Zhao Fusu naturally approved with both hands.