412: Send more troops to Lingnan!

The First Emperor sat at the head, watching his ministers, lost in thought.

Lin Yue knew that The First Emperor was slightly displeased with Feng Quji's advice, because historically, the Lingnan Army Corps continued to campaign until his death and was never withdrawn.

Moreover, in The First Emperor's eyes, nothing was unconquerable!

Lin Yue felt that an anime perfectly encapsulated The First Emperor's inner monologue:

"When I sent an Army to attack Chu, I lost 100,000 Soldiers and suffered a crushing defeat. The next year, I dispatched five times the forces, and even a resilient state like Chu was ultimately conquered under the iron hooves of Great Qin."

In his heart, if 100,000 Soldiers were not enough, then he would send a million, ten million!

Until the opponent was reduced to dust!

Furthermore, the Lingnan region held significant weight in The First Emperor's heart.

Throughout history, emperors like The First Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han, including the Great Tang, all harbored a mysterious obsession with the Lingnan region!

Although Lingnan was a barren land at the time, if developed properly, it could greatly alleviate the population pressure in the Central Plains. Historically, Great Qin's population had already reached 20 million at this point, and Great Qin's land was nearing its carrying capacity.

Moreover, historically, the twenty-rank military merit system of Great Qin had land as its most crucial component. Although this system made Great Qin invincible, after unifying the Six States, countless Great Qin Soldiers acquired an astonishing amount of land.

This contradiction was not apparent at the time, but as time progressed and the population grew, the contradiction would eventually erupt!

Therefore, successive enlightened rulers had to develop Lingnan to relieve the population pressure in the Central Plains!

At this moment, Marquis Tongwu Wang Ben stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although the Lingnan Army Corps is at a disadvantage in this battle, it has been stationed in Lingnan for three years and has adapted to the climate there. If we withdraw the Army now, all previous efforts will be in vain!"

"Therefore, I believe that more troops should be sent, and they must not be withdrawn!"

Although Wang Ben had withdrawn from the imperial court in recent years, as the previous God of War of Great Qin, his prestige was still unmatched by many.

Moreover, Tu Sui had served under Wang Jian, and this Lingnan Army Corps was also based on the troops Wang Jian used to conquer Chu. Both publicly and privately, he did not agree to a withdrawal!

As soon as Wang Ben spoke, several military generals were moved.

"Lin Yue, what is your opinion on this matter?" The First Emperor's gaze, from beneath his jade Mian, swept over the crowd and landed on Lin Yue at the entrance of the main hall.

Lin Yue was momentarily stunned, not expecting that among so many ministers, The First Emperor would ask him.

He then stepped forward and loudly proclaimed:

"Your Majesty, your foolish subject believes that the campaign against Baiyue must not stop."

"I have heard that Southern Yue also has extraordinary individuals, and these individuals form their own faction. Once the various tribes of Baiyue develop a sense of identity with the Nanyue Kingdom, Great Qin will find it impossible to advance an inch in Lingnan!"

History has already proven that those monkeys are a group of ungrateful people, typical ingrates!

In the past, they claimed to be filial sons and virtuous grandsons of Daxia, but once they grew strong, they turned their backs on everyone.

They are like the Koreans, sensitive and insecure, while constantly coveting Daxia's territory and culture.

If the extraordinary individuals of Southern Yue were to succeed this time, coupled with the assistance of the "extraordinary individual organization" in Lingnan, once these two sides determine supremacy, Great Qin's southern region will have no peace!

At this moment, Prime Minister Li Si stepped forward and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I also believe that the campaign against Baiyue must not stop!"

Feng Quji was slightly surprised by these words. The two usually agreed on Politics. It was understandable for martial men like Wang Ben and Xin Sheng to want to campaign, but why did Li Si also think this way? Did he not know how much effort Great Qin would save if the Lingnan Army withdrew, allowing Great Qin to undertake more matters then!

Li Si ignored the strange looks from others and continued:

"Your Majesty, these three forces are acting abnormally, which is sufficient proof that there are people with malicious intentions behind them who wish to rebel. Moreover, this group of barbarians in Southern Yue has no writing, no culture, and no concept of nation or family. If they establish a state now, they might become alienated from our Great Qin. If, at that time, there are people with malicious intentions within our Great Qin who echo their sentiments from afar, it may become a situation where the tail wags the dog in the future."

Lin Yue couldn't help but marvel at Li Si's forward-thinking political vision. At present, the people of the Nanyue Kingdom were a group of barbarians, but with the addition of the Southern Yue extraordinary individuals, they were gradually being integrated. If they were allowed to develop at this time, in a few decades, the Southern Yue people would completely disavow Great Qin. Then, the effort required to reclaim this land in later generations would be incomparable to what it is now!

Historically, it was precisely because of the vigorous development of Lingnan by The First Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han that the people of that region developed a sense of identity with the Central Plains dynasty! Therefore, until the Tang Dynasty, they remained an inseparable part of Daxia!

Even Eastern Wu, often called "rats," never gave up on that place during this period.

Unfortunately, Le Hoan of Southern Yue, emulating Zhao Kuangyin, staged a Southern Yue version of the "Chen Qiao Mutiny," and Southern Yue changed its banner.

Subsequently, Zhao Guangyi sent people to campaign south against Southern Yue. Despite an initial great victory, he suffered successive defeats and was forced to recognize the Le Dynasty.

Thus, Lingnan, which had already separated from the Central Plains dynasty since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, formally became independent.

From then on, Southern Yue remained independent for several hundred years. By the time the Ming and Qing Dynasties wished to reclaim it, Southern Yue no longer culturally identified with Daxia. Even if the Ming and Qing Dynasties occupied the area, there were countless rebellions. After several generations of rulers were exhausted, they officially abandoned the region, and it has since been separated from Daxia's territory!

Therefore, attacking Southern Yue, the sooner the better!

At this point, Li Si paused and said in a deep voice:

"Moreover, I believe that under Heaven, there is no land that is not the King's land!"

"Our Great Qin is the co-lord of the world, and it is our duty to help the barbarians of Baiyue understand reason and righteousness, to guide them away from barbarism and ignorance, and to let them bask in the civilization of our Great Qin and the benevolence of Your Majesty!"

Lin Yue's expression was a bit strange after hearing this. These scholars certainly knew how to play the game; being cultured was indeed different!

However, what he said was not wrong. Historically, Southern Yue did not announce the abolition of Chinese characters until the mid-20th century, which then initiated the "de-Sinicization" process.

Now, letting the Baiyue people accept the orthodox Central Plains "culture" is much better than having them accept that "neither fish nor fowl" culture of later generations!

Presumably, most people in Southern Yue would not enjoy writing Spring Festival couplets with Latin letters.

The First Emperor nodded upon hearing this, scanned his ministers, and then said in a deep voice,

"Zhao Gao, draft the imperial edict!"

"Yes!" Zhao Gao, standing opposite Lin Yue, scurried forward and bowed, preparing to write.

"Order the four commanderies of Dongting, Cangwu, Lujiang, and Minzhong to each dispatch another 500,000 Soldiers!

Tell Tu Sui to atone for his crimes by achieving meritorious service. I await his good news in Xianyang!"