Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

At the same time, the Han Kingdom also set up a large number of schools locally, requiring all descendants of officials, nobles, and wealthy businessmen to go to school.

School is a place that can affect a person's life. After more than ten years of school education, many guys with Greek blood in their veins will identify with their identity as Han people from the bottom of their hearts.

Chinese civilization itself is dominated by cultural identity, and there is actually no requirement for blood in this regard.

Anyway, no matter what kind of Greek or Macedonian you are, as long as you have mixed blood for a few generations, a dozen generations, who can tell?

In addition, Zhao Kuo is still vigorously promoting the exchanges between the western part of the Han Dynasty and the Central Plains.

Every year, a large number of foreign officials from the western region will come to serve in the Central Plains, and at the same time, a large number of officials from the Central Plains will be sent to serve in the western region. The average term of office for each official will be more than three years .

In order to ensure that this policy is resolutely implemented, Zhao Kuo even made a rule that in the future, all officials above the deputy ministerial level must have at least five years of working experience in other places.

In this way, it will be able to promote the internal understanding of the Han Dynasty, so that officials in the Central Plains can better understand the West, and it will not be easy to only consider the interests of the Central Plains and ignore the interests of the West when formulating policies.

Many of these things are actually impossible to see results immediately. It will take five or ten years at least, and some may even take several generations. But Zhao Kuo is very clear that when all these measures are realized, it means This means that the influence of Chinese civilization has really left East Asia and expanded to Central Asia and West Asia.

Even if something happens in the future, these Central Asia and West Asia regions may break away from the control of the Central Plains, but they will still regard themselves as the descendants of the Chinese civilization, which is actually enough.

Imagine, if the whole earth is descended from dragons, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

Zhao Kuo couldn't help laughing after thinking about it.

Finally, Zhao Kuo returned to Beiping City again.

After returning to Beiping City, Zhao Kuo's speed increased significantly.

With the train, it only takes one day to reach Handan City, another day to cross the river, and half a day to take the train back to the Imperial City.

This is the efficiency improvement brought about by the progress of science and technology. If there is no train, Zhao Kuo can only go forward slowly in a carriage.

However, Zhao Kuo is actually not too satisfied with this situation. For Zhao Kuo, of course he still prefers to fly. That is the real day to fly to another corner of the earth, which is extremely comfortable.

It's a pity that the power of the steam engine is still too insufficient for the aircraft, and the internal combustion engine must be developed as soon as possible.

As for the gasoline urgently needed by the internal combustion engine, it is not a problem for Zhao Kuo at all.

Don't forget, now the entire Middle East, except for the Arabian Peninsula, has all become the territory of the Han Kingdom.

Well-known oil-producing countries such as Iran and Iraq in later generations are all under the control of the Han Dynasty.

The current Dahan Kingdom is a real oil rich country.

All in all, in one sentence, Dahan Kingdom is now overflowing with resources, but lacks technology!

Technical issues Although Zhao Kuo is a time traveler, he doesn't have much say, but he still has to solve some things.

For example, that; the problem of sheep cannibalism.

On the second day after returning to the Imperial Capital, Zhao Kuo called for the Shaofu Ling.

The Shaofu Order is Zhao Kuo's personal financial steward, helping Zhao Kuo control and manage the royal wealth, and the Dahan Kingdom Textile Group is also under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu Order.

Zhao Kuo said: "It's like this. The tribal leaders on the grassland and I reacted, saying that there are too many sheep breeding on their side. If this continues, their pastures will be eaten up sooner or later."Please solve this matter for me, and remember in the future, don’t just focus on making money, sometimes you still need to pay attention to the impact on the ecological environment.

The Shaofu decree immediately responded. For the Shaofu decree, he was in charge of huge wealth calculated in billions, so naturally he didn't care about the three melons and two dates of those tribes.

Zhao Kuo thought for a while and said with a smile: "Of course, I'm not saying that everyone can't make money. After all, they are helping me to make money, right?"You go and tell the people below that if there really isn't much room left in Mobei, then let me hurry west and go to Central Asia and West Asia to make money, understand?

Those places are all lands that I have conquered. As my company, whether it is the Dahan Kingdom Textile Group or other groups, I must actively develop the western trade territory for me, even if it is developing I will not be harsh if I lose money in the process, understand?

In fact, most of the current business activities in the Han Kingdom are mainly in the Central Plains. After all, this is the core area of ​​Chinese civilization.

However, wouldn't it be a waste if such a large piece of territory to the west was not included in the trade map?

Zhao Kuo, this is a coming wave; the western development, but compared with the western development of modern China in later generations, Zhao Kuo's western region is much bigger and richer.

Therefore, Zhao Kuo is naturally more confident, thinking that his big development is more likely to succeed.

After listening to Zhao Kuo's words, eunuch Ling also suddenly realized, and said: "I will remember what your majesty said, and tell them when I go back, and I must let them develop the west honestly."

Listed companies, of course, want to pursue profits, which is a very normal phenomenon.

If you want to talk about profits, it must be easier to make money by doing business in the Central Plains. Therefore, the major listed companies in the Han Dynasty are not very enthusiastic about the west. At best, they regard the west as a raw material production place. , There is also a dumping ground when there is a surplus of goods.

In this case, it is actually a waste of the vast market in the west, but it is very in line with the principle of maximizing profits.

According to normal logic, the development of these listed companies in the Central Plains will reach its peak in about ten years, and then there will be no room for development in the Central Plains, and they will slowly turn their attention to the Western Regions.

However, Zhao Kuo gave them a boost this time, directly allowing them to span ten years and take the lead in fully blooming in the west and the Central Plains.

Doing so will naturally affect profit performance in the short term, but in the long run, it can bring more financial performance to listed companies, and it will definitely make money.

As the major shareholder and actual controller of these listed companies, Zhao Kuo is not short of money and can maintain a long-term profit while developing the country. Why not do it?

After the Shaofu Ling left, Zhao Kuo called the Minister of Finance, Guo Zong.

"Old Guo, I don't think the commercial development in this western region is very effective."

Regarding Zhao Kuo's words, Guo Zong also nodded again and again, saying: "Yes, Your Majesty, it is true that at present, the connection between the Central Plains and the West is still too difficult, and the cost of logistics is too high."

Looking at the map, you can know that if you want to go from the Central Plains to Egypt, Syria and other places in the west, you have to pass through four large areas: the Iranian Plateau, the Central Asian Desert, the Western Region Desert, and the Hexi Corridor. Among these four areas, only the Hexi Corridor It is relatively easy to travel, and the other three regions are very strenuous just to travel.

This leads to high logistics costs, which naturally push up the price of the product, and once the price of the product rises, the competitiveness will become smaller.

Zhao Kuo asked: "Is there any solution?"

After all, Guo Zong has been in business for half his life and is a true professional. It is more reliable to ask him about anything.

Sure enough, Guo Zong immediately gave the answer: "You can reduce the tax."

Tax reduction is actually a very sensitive issue, because tax is the income of the country. Once the tax is reduced, won't the country's income decrease?

But Zhao Kuo obviously didn't have any concerns in this regard, but waved his hand very readily: "Then follow what you said, tax cuts!"It's just that the only thing we want to reduce is the tax from the west to the Central Plains. Only in this way can the products in the West be more competitive on our side of the Central Plains.

As for the goods from the Central Plains going to the west, no matter it is silk, porcelain, or steam engines, they are very competitive in themselves, so there is no need to reduce taxes.

After listening to Zhao Kuo's decision, Guo Zong also went back quickly, and then drafted an opinion and submitted it as a memorial.

In this memorial, the tax on commodities shipped from the West to the Central Plains will be directly reduced by [-]% of the commercial tax for a period of five years.

This is also a flexibility in the system. The establishment of a system cannot be said to be permanent at once, because if problems are found after a few years of implementation, or if the policy is effective and needs to be withdrawn, then it will be revoked. It is embarrassing, and it will affect the prestige of the government.

But it will be different after five years of formulation. If the time is up, if you think the policy is still effective, you can continue to implement it. If the policy is not effective, then let the entire policy expire. No one can find any faults. It has no impact on the prestige of the government.

Therefore, Zhao Kuo readily approved Guo Zong's memorial, allowing this policy to be immediately implemented within the Han Kingdom.

Zhao Kuo is also looking forward to the effect of this policy, hoping to use it to make the connection between the Central Plains and Western territories closer!

Chapter 1266 Changes in the direction of South Asia

There is a small city on the westernmost side of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which was built by Sima Shang after he came here.

Since this city itself is a kind of pass, Sima Shang was very simple and straightforward when naming the city, and he called it Zhennan Pass.

Why Zhennan Pass?

Of course, it was because Sima Shang felt that the city was going to suppress the whole of South Asia, so it was named so.

It has been two or three years since it was established, but this kind of difficulty has been relatively peaceful all the time. Various immigrants from the Han Kingdom live here, and occasionally they will meet with outsiders from time to time. Communicate and communicate with those South Asians.

Of course, considering language and other factors, this kind of communication and exchange is actually a relatively common situation, that is to say, everyone is polite, treats you as an outsider, and is very wary.

But, no matter how you say it, it is true that there is a communication channel between the Han Kingdom and South Asia.

Under such circumstances, the sudden battle in this city is worth mentioning.

About a few days before the end of summer, the officials stationed here suddenly found an army coming from outside the city.

Obviously, this army did not look like it came for peace, so the official tentatively sent an envoy to ask what the other party was up to.

The next news also made the official 10 points speechless.

The other party was also very straightforward, and put forward a statement that this place originally belonged to the Maurya Dynasty, but the soldiers and horses of the Han Kingdom forcibly occupied this place when the Maurya Dynasty had no time to take care of the border, so they Now all the soldiers and horses of the Han Kingdom are required to withdraw from here immediately, and the entire city is immediately handed over to the Maurya Dynasty.

What happens if it is not handed over?

Although the other party didn't say it clearly, everyone knew that it must be a new war.

Even this official had a headache, so he called the local garrison chief and the local intelligence chief.

In this kind of border area, a three-big approach is usually adopted. Simply put, it is the chief executive, the military chief and the intelligence chief.

When major events happen, the chief executive will be responsible for managing the entire administrative system to support the military. The chief, of course, is responsible for combat operations, while the intelligence chief will provide intelligence support for the other two.

This model of the Big Three seems to be quite reasonable, and it has only been discovered in the past few years, and it has been slowly promoted. Generally speaking, it has also contributed to the consolidation of the border areas of the Han Kingdom.

So the first person to speak when speaking is not the Chief Executive, but the Chief Intelligence Officer.

"The Maurya Dynasty seems to have conquered several small countries in the south recently, which may make them more bloated.

And they should also know that in the past few years, our Great Han Kingdom has been oppressing them in the northern region. I think this should be a throwing stone at us by the Maurya Dynasty to test the strength of our Great Han Kingdom. of. "

With intelligence as a support, it is of course easier for the other two chief executives and military chiefs to make judgments.

The chief executive frowned and said, "If it is really a peacock and the dynasty wants to launch a war against us, then we must send the news back to the imperial capital to His Majesty."

A war between the two countries, even if it is only a small-scale conflict, is definitely something that cannot be ignored, because it may evolve into a large-scale war at any time, not to mention that the few people present know that the Great Han Kingdom He has always had a very obvious covetous heart towards the Peacock Dynasty in the south. After all, His Majesty Zhao Kuo, the emperor of the Great Han Kingdom, has already said that the mission of the Great Han Kingdom is to conquer the world.

Therefore, regarding the words of the chief executive, the other two chief executives present also had no objection.

The military chief was the last to speak, but what he said was the most urgent thing in the current situation.

"It is absolutely impossible for us to let go of this coffin, so what we have to do now is to immediately organize all the forces in the city to prepare to fight the Maurya army outside."

After thinking for a while, the chief executive said: "I still think we should try first, whether to use diplomatic means to persuade them to leave, it would be best if we can leave, after all, we only have 3000 people in this pass right now. The army, frankly speaking, is not too many."

The military chief smiled slightly, and said confidently: "Actually, our number does not seem to be very large, but don't forget that our flash troops are all real musketeers, protected by passes. Even if more than 10 times our troops come, there is no way to conquer us at all.”

That's right, the commander with musketeers is so confident. Compared with musketeers, it is a weapon beyond this era, and due to the special reason of Zhennan Pass, there is a huge amount of ammunition in this pass. It is completely enough for this military chief to squander casually.

After hearing these words, the chief executive obviously hesitated, but finally made up his mind and said: "I also know that you really want to make a contribution, but, in our current situation, if we start a war hastily, Will it arouse His Majesty's wrath?

After all, we don't know if those big shots in the capital are really going to war, do you understand what I mean?

So we absolutely cannot take the initiative to attack, we can only wait here to see what the other side wants to do, and then we will give a corresponding response. "

The chief executive's words really convinced the other two chief executives, and they never raised any objections to the chief executive's opinion.

So soon, a second envoy was sent in the city, trying to persuade the Maurya army outside the city not to attack at will.

Unfortunately, this attempt at persuasion apparently failed.

The second envoy didn't get the respect from the Maurya Dynasty after he set off, but was kicked out directly. According to the envoy, if he didn't run fast, he would even be killed by those Maurya Dynasty people on the spot die.

After hearing the news, the chief executive also sighed helplessly, and then said to the military chief that preparations for war can begin.

War Zhengzhu, as everyone expected, did start immediately after a few days.

After the Peacock Dynasty determined that the Han army here should not surrender, they immediately launched an attack on this pass city here.

It can be seen that the Maurya Dynasty really came prepared this time. They brought a large number of trebuchets, as well as ladders, engineering vehicles and other siege equipment.

You must know that although the town of Nanguan is a relatively remote place, it is actually at the end of the westernmost part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Its terrain is still relatively high. It is enough to prove that all these engineering equipment can be printed. , these guys from the Maurya Dynasty have already made preparations.

Since the intelligence communication between the two sides is not close, the soldiers and civilians of the Han Dynasty within Guan Qiang did not know that the person who presided over this attack was actually a big figure in the Maurya Dynasty.

He is the third son of Ashoka, the emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, that is, the third prince Ajinando of the Maurya Dynasty.

The third prince was ambitious and had helped Ashoka pacify a large number of states in the country. This time, it was under his strong advocacy that the Maurya Dynasty would take the initiative to send troops to attack.

Regarding the sudden onset of the Midnight of the Maurya Dynasty this time, it does not mean that there are no doubts. After all, the Maurya Dynasty and the Seleucid Dynasty, but Lin Guo and the others even took advantage of the Han Dynasty to attack the Seleucid Dynasty. , quietly seized a little bit of the land of the Seleucid Empire, so they also very clearly realized how powerful the Han Kingdom is, and many people actually didn't want to offend the Han Kingdom just like that.

However, the third prince convinced King Ashoka with some words.

"Father, you need to know that these pagans from the north don't believe in Buddha. If they take the initiative to attack, then our Buddha statues and Buddha will be desecrated. Therefore, under the light of Buddha, we will not believe in Buddha. We should attack them in order to make it difficult for them to enter our country so easily, this is the only way to truly ensure the safety of our dynasty."

At this time, Ashoka was actually still in a relatively ambitious time. He hadn't reached the true sense of his later years, when he was a Buddhist emperor, so after hearing the words of the third prince, he was full of openness and expansion. After the words of ambition, King Ashoka also had a feeling that he had seen himself back then, so he waved his hand and gave the third prince 3 soldiers and horses to attack the Zhennan Pass.

3 soldiers and horses do not seem to be many, but they are actually 10 times the number of soldiers and horses in the Nanguan Pass of this town, and King Ashoka made it very clear that at least two or three hundred soldiers and horses would go west from the Nanguan Pass of this town. Within a distance of [-] miles, there are no other cities or strongholds in the Han Kingdom. In other words, as long as this town of Nanguan can be captured, the land of the entire Maurya Dynasty will expand thousands of miles in an instant.

Don’t underestimate these thousands of miles. Although the Maurya Dynasty is indeed a big country, of course no one will ever think too much of this kind of land, and you must know these thousands of miles. But the land on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has always been condescending and overlooking the continent of South Asia. If the Maurya Dynasty can get a place on this land, then they have a very big sense of security in their hearts .

This is like the Three Kingdoms of the later generations. Why do they always like to have trouble with the modern Huaxia Kingdom? It is because the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is condescending, which really makes the Three Kingdoms feel insecure. It seems that the Huaxia Kingdom can rush directly from the plateau at any time. Come down, send the Three Kingdoms to hell with a torrent of steel.

Of course, the third prince didn't know what the modern society of later generations would be like, but when he looked at the small town of Nanguan in front of him, he was sure in his heart. He felt that this place could basically be said to be the territory of the entire Peacock Dynasty. So he also gave the order with a wave of his big hand very happily.

"Let's attack with the whole army. I will enter this pass before sunset and move all our Buddha statues in."

The Maurya Dynasty was based on Buddhism, so no matter where they conquered any city, the first thing they had to do was to set up a Buddhist temple in the city, and then move all their Buddha statues into it.

Buddhism has a lot of Buddhas, including but not limited to Sakyamuni, the ancient lamp-burning Buddha, etc., so in terms of the number of Buddha statues alone, they will never be completely built. If you want to move There are as many as you want.

Under the gaze of the third prince, many soldiers of the Maurya Dynasty rushed forward.

After the soldiers rushed up, the battle broke out immediately.