Chapter 446 Qin’s Decline

In March of the first year of Huaxia, the snow in Gaoliu County melted and entered the busiest spring of the year. The merchant caravans of various noble families have organized this year's merchant groups. The herders drove the cattle and sheep to further places to start grazing. This year, the price of sheep in Gaoliu County has risen, and the price of mutton has risen accordingly. A large number of sheep flocks that appeared in the mule and horse market were bought as soon as they entered the market. The business of various mutton shops was bleak, and everyone began to eat more beef and horse meat.

A large number of high-quality horses were sent down the mountain under Huacheng. The prices of horses in Xiacheng, Beishan, and Gaoliucheng all dropped. Horse merchants from the Central Plains bought a large number of horses from Gaoliu County and sent them to various countries in the Central Plains. Gaoliu County horses are now becoming more and more famous in various countries in the Central Plains.

Hanzhong County of Qin had entered spring a month ago. After more than a year of war, most of the cities in Hanzhong County had fallen into the hands of Chu. Qin's three consecutive years of war had exhausted the people, and now they only had the strength to defend. In Hexi County, the offensives of Wei and Zhao became stronger and stronger. The entire Hexi County was about to be completely captured by Wei. A message was passed to Xianyang City, making the civil and military officials of Qin start to get uneasy.

"How could Lian Po appear in Hexi County? Zhao's elite troops defeated Dasan Pass. Even if Lian Po didn't die, he would not be able to recover from his injuries within ten years. Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?" Qin Jiao looked at the Qin general in front of him, Zhao Xin, the leader of the younger generation of Qin, and said.

"No mistake, Lian Po has killed three commanders (foundation building level) and more than thirty blood dragon guards of Qin many times. Wei and Zhao have handed over the military power to Lian Po. If there is no reinforcement, the Wei-Zhao coalition will be able to enter the heartland of Qin within half a month." Zhao Xin replied.

All the ministers in the hall were silent when they heard this. If it was two years ago, Qin would not be afraid even if it fought against Chu, Wei, and Zhao at the same time. However, the three-year war had consumed Qin's treasury. Bashu had declared independence with the help of Chu. Qin could no longer dispatch troops and food from Bashu. All they could do now was to continue to draw troops from the central part of the Central Plains.

"Sir, the Wei-Zhao coalition has used soldiers to attack our militias, used elite troops to deal with our soldiers, and used superior forces to attack our elite troops. This is Lian Po's style of leading troops. Except for Wu'an Jun and General Wang, I'm afraid no one can be Lian Po's opponent. I request that Wu'an Jun be dispatched back to the country to draw 200,000 troops from the central part of the Central Plains to destroy Lian Po's army in one fell swoop." Li Si kowtowed and said.

"How can this be done? If Wu'an Jun leaves Zheng, the situation in Zheng, Wei and other countries will inevitably change drastically. At that time, the good situation of Qin will be gone, and Qin will inevitably fall into danger of being attacked from three sides." A Qin minister heard Li Si's suggestion and said hurriedly.

"The monarchs of the major families in Zheng, Wei and Zhou are either in Xianyang City or on the run. Qin is not withdrawing its troops. As long as the main force remains there, the families who surrender to us will definitely continue to help us fight against attacks from other countries.

The most important thing for us is not the deterrence of Qin in the central part of the Central Plains. As long as Qin's advantage remains, those families who surrender to us will not easily turn against us. But if the Wei and Zhao coalition forces kill their way to the heartland of Qin, these families are likely to think of resisting. The king is in seclusion and has not come out, which is the most fatal to us." Li Si said calmly.

The ministers were silent. If Qin withdrew its troops from the central part of the Central Plains, there would be too many unpredictable things, but thinking of Lian Po, everyone still thought that transferring Bai Qi back to the country was the best decision.

"We are sending envoys to Song, Chen, Cai, Cao, and Lu to express our friendly attitude to these countries. I think they are unwilling to go to war with Qin." Li Si said so, and Qin Jiao nodded.

Many people have been convinced that Qin's withdrawal is inevitable. The countries in the Central Plains have surrendered, and they must continue to follow Qin, because their masters are still in Xianyang City! Moreover, it is unlikely that Song, Cai, Cao and other countries dare to attack Qin. Even if Bai Qi withdraws from the Central Plains, as long as a part of Qin's elite troops are left, there should be no chaos.

However, Qin's move is also showing weakness to the world. If Qin withdraws again, it will be difficult to start the pace of unifying the world.

"Li Xiang is right. Qin has occupied the most fertile multi-national land in the Central Plains. As long as it manages well for a few years, the strength of Qin will definitely exceed that of the past.

The strength of Qin lies in the king. As long as the king recovers from his injuries, we only need to take down Wei or Chu. The countries in the Central Plains will soon surrender to Qin. Qin seems to be showing weakness to the world. As long as we can withstand the attacks of Lian Po and Chu, the general trend will always be on our side." A minister of the Foundation Building Realm said, and everyone nodded.

Qin brought back more than 30 foundation builders from the Central Plains. In addition, Qin has the largest number of foundation builders in the Central Plains. Even if Lian Po is strong, it will be difficult to take down Xianyang City. Now there are not so many Yiqu Foundation Building Realms for him to dispatch.

The Central Plains countries have been in great glory these days. Envoys from Chu, Zhao, Qi, Wei and other countries have visited one after another, hoping that they can send troops to deal with the Central Plains controlled by Qin. The monarchs of various countries are very tempted because they know that there are not many Qin soldiers staying there.

However, the strength of Qin made them hesitate. Facing the strongest country in the world, they had to take the lead in launching an attack, which required courage.

In the past few days, the envoys of Qin also arrived. Qin hoped to establish friendships with all countries and get along well with each other. This offset the intention of these countries to attack Qin. Bai Qi led 200,000 veterans to support Xianyang City. The war seemed to be only within the territory of Qin, and the whole world fell into peace.

The scale of the merchant group from Lu to Xiacheng this year was quite large. It can be seen that Lu's current strength has exceeded that of the past. The population and number of aristocratic families in the entire Lu should not be less than that of Gaoliu County.

Hua Kai personally summoned the head of the merchant group of Lu. The other party needed 30,000 fine horses. Hua Kai traded with the other party for 500,000 gold. Lu absorbed the population and financial resources of the countries in the central part of the Central Plains in just two years. Now it can form its own cavalry regiment, which is not easy.

You should know that in the Central Plains, except for Zhao and Yan, other countries have only a few cavalry regiments. Cavalry, as the king of land warfare, can often influence the war situation. With these 30,000 cavalrymen in Lu, even Qi may not be their opponent.

This war with Qi fattened Lu. Hua Kai's choice to support Lu from the beginning was right. Even if Song failed in the future, Lu's strength would be enough to cause trouble to Qin.

When the Wei-Zhao coalition led by Lian Po broke into the Guanzhong area of ​​Qin, Bai Qi led the 200,000 Qin army to finally rush back. The two famous generals at that time launched a wonderful battle, which made many people realize what the art of war is.

Both sides had wins and losses. Qin was on the defensive side and suffered more losses than the Wei-Zhao coalition, but the Wei-Zhao coalition led by Lian Po had the upper hand, and the two sides began to appear anxious. Today you take my city, tomorrow I take your city. Lian Po, who came and went, could not take down the Qin soldiers, so he did not dare to lead his troops to break into the city of Xianyang.

Let's not talk about the battles between the major countries. Since the saint Zeng Shen retired, the Qi State has been governed by the various families on its own, and there has been a trend of civil strife. The Yan State sent envoys to visit many major families in Qi State. Many families wanted to merge Qi State with Yan State. In mid-March, the families of Xiapi County in Qi State defected to Lu State, and then Pengcheng State also defected to Lu State. Qi State was about to collapse.

Many major families in Qi State shouted that they wanted to send troops to Lu State, but looking at the current strength of Lu State, everyone dared not speak out again. To send troops, the major families had to raise troops. Who would be willing to damage their own strength at this time?

Although Yan State wanted to annex Qi State, the two countries had been in conflict for many years. Even if Qi State had the consent of the families, this road would be quite difficult. At this time, someone recommended the Qi family to continue to command the Qi family, so that all the strength was still in the hands of the major families. The Qi family, as a banner, could unite the former Qi family. Moreover, if Qi State was defeated, they could push the Qi family out and save themselves.

Everything seemed to have returned to the way it was before. More than 40,000 people in Gaoliu County were building a new city in the Yecheng area.

Yecheng was located in the central area of ​​Gaoliu County and was surrounded by major cities. Therefore, the city walls did not have to be built as firmly as those in Xiacheng.

Yecheng was no longer built in the traditional way. Huakai divided the city into more than 20 areas according to the different nature of the workshops in the city. Each area was separated by a river, and there was no need to build a courtyard wall. Each area started to build a workshop directly.

In the workshop area, a workshop building with a worker's house was a workshop area. When the city wall was just built, the city had already started to build a bridge to the river, and buildings began to be built in the workshop area.

Several to hundreds of workshop courtyards formed a workshop area. There was a commercial street in the area to provide living security for the workers here. The three courtyards in the central area were built around the Yecheng Square. There were also planning and construction areas for the departments of the three courtyards. At the same time, the best entertainment and living area was also built here.

The most important thing for Gaoliu County this year is the founding of the country. As the capital of Huaxia, Huacheng also needs to be fully transformed this year. Because there are more and more [almond grass] at the foot of the mountain, the more than 20,000 acres of grassland on the west side of [Tianmachang] have less use. Several important workshops in Huacheng will be moved to Yecheng this year, so a large area of ​​land will be freed up. Huakai plans to increase the greening of Huacheng, improve the land utilization rate of Huacheng, increase the number of palaces, pavilions, and squares in Huacheng, and increase the population of Huacheng. Some families with close ties to the Hua family can move their homes to Huacheng.

The Xue family, Ma family, Huang family and other families where the core members of the Hua family are located have long tied their family destiny to the Hua family. Huacheng is positioned in Huakai's mind as a political city, a core city of animal husbandry, a core city of animal husbandry, and a core city of combat power. As the most important city of the Hua family, it must now make up for its shortcomings in order to meet the needs of the capital of Huaxia.