Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei and Cao Cao fought fiercely in Hanzhong, resulting in the death of more than 300,000 soldiers. Whoever can capture Hanzhong will have the upper hand in the war. Whether attacking north or south, Hanzhong is a key position that cannot be avoided. In the long river of history, countless battles have taken place around Hanzhong, and its importance is self-evident.

Although Gao Yao was not good at marching and fighting, he had a good understanding of the geographical situation. He knew that Hanzhong's strategic position was crucial. However, he had only occupied the two counties of Bashu and did not attack Hanzhong. This was not because he lacked ambition or strength, but because the time was not yet ripe.

Once Gao Yao decided to capture Hanzhong, he would face a huge challenge. After leaving Hanzhong, the troops could reach Xianyang directly, threatening the heartland of the Qin Empire. If Gao Yao launched an attack at this time, it would surely cause a strong counterattack from the Qin army. Gao Yao did not want to be the target of public criticism and bear the pressure of the Qin main force. On the contrary, he hoped that the rebels in other regions could avoid the Qin main force and gain more benefits. In this way, Gao Yao would bear huge risks, while other rebels could reap the benefits. This approach is obviously not worth the loss. Therefore, Gao Yao chose to wait for a more appropriate time to act.

Moreover, once the war breaks out, he will definitely be branded as a traitor to the Qin Dynasty, which is not what Gao Yao wants. As Xiao He said, if he carries this reputation at this time and is despised by others, it will also affect the recruitment of talents in the future.

However, taking over the two counties of Bashu is an inevitable task. If these two places are not taken, the southern border will always be in a passive situation of being beaten, so this matter must be done.

Although Gao Yao would not attack Xianyang and Hanzhong, it did not mean that he would not guard against Xianyang and Hanzhong. After all, the two counties of Bashu were close to the southern border, and there was almost no defense except for the mountains and forests. Although these mountains and forests could indeed be called natural barriers, Gao Yao did not dare to pin all his hopes on them. History has proven that the more seemingly indestructible natural barriers are, the more likely they are to have accidents. If the opponent adopts the infiltration tactics of a small force, it would be impossible to defend against.

In addition, the current situation in the southern border is that the land is vast and the population is sparse, so it is not easy for the enemy to launch a large-scale attack. At the same time, it is also difficult for the garrison in the southern border to launch an effective offensive. This is also a case of there being a benefit and a disadvantage. Gao Yao naturally does not want to be tied up when he needs to attack. Therefore, if he wants to give full play to the advantages of the southern border army, fighting in the mountains and forests is obviously not the best choice. Only field battles are most suitable for the southern border army.

"Han Xin, listen to my orders!"

"The general is here!"

"You will lead 50,000 troops to take charge of Minzhong and Kuaiji. In addition, Kong Gang will temporarily serve as your deputy commander and assist you in attacking Minzhong and Kuaiji."

"Well, I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

"Doma, you are responsible for leading all the Shanyue troops to sneak directly into the border between Dongting County and Cangwu County and the southern border. Remember, I need to make everyone in these two counties blind and unable to figure out the true situation of my southern border. Any army or spies that approach will be killed without mercy. You don't need to take the initiative to attack, but you must ensure the peace of my southern border. Do you understand?"

"Here!"

"I'll emphasize this one last time. For now, you just need to make preparations. You can't launch an attack until I give you the order. No one is allowed to act on their own. Do you remember that?"

"Here!"

"Another point, if you are harassed or attacked by the rebels, you can fight back directly without asking for permission."

"Here"

"My lord, is this..." After hearing Gao Yao's order, Xiao He hesitated a little. He was a little too sensitive to counterattack immediately after being attacked.

"Xiao He, reputation is indeed very important, but we still have to fight when it's time to fight, otherwise others will think that the Southern Territory is weak and can be bullied. How many people in the world do you think still regard the Southern Territory as a barbarian land?"

Gao Yao looked at Xiao He and asked seriously. Xiao He was slightly stunned when he heard this. He had never thought about this question before, but now that Gao Yao brought it up, Xiao He began to think about it.

"This……"

Xiao He didn't know how to answer, because he himself was not sure how many people still had such an impression of the Southern Territory. However, when he thought about it carefully, it seemed that many people did think so.

"Xiao He, reputation is important, but strength is also very important. Everyone knows that the Northern Border Army is brave, but who knows that the Southern Border is now the richest place in the world?"

Gao Yao continued speaking, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and dissatisfaction, as if he was complaining about the current situation of the Southern Territory being ignored by the outside world.

After listening to Gao Yao's words, Xiao He fell silent. What Gao Yao said was indeed a fact. Although the Southern Territory has undergone great development and changes in recent years, less than 20% of the people in the world know about the changes in the Southern Territory, or even less. Apart from the people in the Southern Territory itself, more people who know about the changes in the Southern Territory are businessmen. Only through word of mouth from businessmen can they understand the changes in the Southern Territory to a certain extent, while most ordinary people have no idea that the Southern Territory has undergone earth-shaking changes.

"So we need to let more people know about the changes in the South Territory and change their views on the South Territory, so that we can recruit more talents for us."

"But what should we do?" Xiao He asked. Although he agreed with Gao Yao's point of view, he was still confused about how to achieve this goal.

"Do you still remember the paper? From now on, I will make the paper available to every corner of Daqin at a very low price!"

"What? My Lord, this is probably an astronomical amount of money. This is inappropriate!" Xiao He's face changed instantly when he heard this. He knew the importance of paper, but such a large-scale promotion would require huge resources and funds. He was worried that doing so would bring a heavy burden to Gao Yao.

Xiao He frowned and said, "My Lord, you know, although we have some savings, this expense is too big and I'm afraid we can't afford it!"

"It doesn't matter. These expenses are still necessary. Besides, paper is not as precious as imagined. The reason why it cannot be circulated on a large scale in the southern region is not because it is impossible, but because it is unnecessary."

What Gao Yao said was true. After all, there were relatively few people who could read, and the people of Nanyue were naturally even less likely to be able to speak. It was already good enough, but it would take a long time to be able to recognize and write.

Xiao He sighed and said, "My Lord, I understand your intention, but such a large-scale operation is too risky. If it fails, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Gao Yao smiled and said, "Mr. Xiao, don't worry. This has been prepared for a long time. I may not understand how to gain fame as well as you do, but how to control the public opinion field, this paper is the top priority."