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

In Gaoping County today, the atmosphere is extremely solemn, and every household has closed its doors, as if the entire county is shrouded in a tense haze. The streets are empty, with only soldiers in armor and holding weapons shuttling back and forth from time to time. Their hurried steps, the sound of horse hooves and footsteps intertwined, echoing in the empty streets like bursts of thunder.

In the somewhat silent Gaoping County, a group of people dressed in gorgeous clothes, under the strict protection of many soldiers, hurriedly rushed towards the direction of the county governor's office. These people looked serious and walked hurriedly, as if they had something extremely important to deal with.

At the same time, Tang Sheng in the county governor's mansion was frowning, thinking hard about how to resolve the difficult situation he was facing. He paced back and forth in the study, sometimes stopping to stare at the map hanging on the wall, and sometimes sitting down to write furiously, but he still couldn't find a satisfactory solution.

At this moment, a messenger rushed in like a gust of wind, knelt on one knee, and reported loudly: "Sir, the governor, an envoy from the southern border is here to visit you!"

When Tang Sheng heard this, he was slightly stunned, and the brush in his hand stopped in mid-air unconsciously. When he heard that it was an envoy from Gaoyao, his face suddenly became gloomy, his eyes widened, and anger gushed out from his eyes.

"Humph!" Tang Sheng snorted coldly, his voice full of anger and disdain. "You attacked Minzhong for no reason, causing great suffering to the people. Now you have the nerve to send an envoy? This is too much! Come on, don't waste time talking. Just behead the envoy and show it to the public to boost our morale and enhance our military prestige!"

At this moment, Tang Sheng was extremely disgusted with the Southern Border and had no favorable impression at all! Thinking back to when they stationed troops at the border between Minzhong and Nanhai County, the feeling of uneasiness and foreboding had already lingered in Tang Sheng's heart. Since then, he realized that something was wrong, and decisively sent people to the Southern Border to try to explain the interests involved to Gao Yao. However, to his disappointment, Gao Yao just dealt with the matter hastily and did not take it to heart at all.

Not only that, Tang Sheng also wrote a letter to the court specifically about this matter, detailing the relevant situation and pleading for a quick solution. But day after day, no substantial results or responses were received. Just when everyone was gradually relaxing their vigilance, who could have expected that the southern border would suddenly launch a military operation, and in a very short period of time, even the four counties in Fujian were conquered, with unstoppable force!

Faced with such a situation, how could Tang Sheng suppress his anger? Now, seeing that the situation was becoming more and more serious, the southern border only thought of sending envoys to communicate and negotiate, and Tang Sheng was naturally furious. After all, as a county governor, he had a heavy responsibility, and he was also a native Qin person. Compared with Gao Yao, who was born a commoner and not a Qin person, he inevitably had an innate sense of superiority. This sense of superiority made him unable to accept being despised and neglected, and even more difficult to tolerate the other party's behavior of provoking trouble first and then seeking peace.

In fact, it is no accident that many people hold such a view of Gao Yao. Regardless of his past, his achievement as the General of Zhennan and his successful integration of the last part of the southern border into the territory of the Qin Dynasty is indeed remarkable. Even so, few people really know Gao Yao and his deeds, and more people know him only because he was awarded the title of General of Zhennan.

As for reputation and many other aspects, there were very few people who could look up to Gao Yao. This was precisely one of the drawbacks of Gao Yao's resolute decision to join the army. After all, it was difficult for an ordinary person to become famous in the army, especially when the world was not in chaos. Therefore, Gao Yao's reputation was indeed limited.

Of course, everything has its pros and cons. On the one hand, such limited reputation makes it easy for enemies to look down on Gao Yao. Even many insurgents who have risen up today have never taken Gao Yao seriously. On the other hand, its disadvantages are equally obvious. Gao Yao cannot rely on its reputation to attract a large number of talented people to join it. This situation has undoubtedly created a great obstacle to Gao Yao's development and is also a major problem that it has to face.

"My Lord, please think twice before you act! The power of the Southern Territory is growing stronger day by day. If we really behead the envoys they sent, it would mean a complete break with the Southern Territory and a situation of no return! Moreover, since ancient times, there has been a rule that "when two armies are at war, envoys should not be beheaded." This is not only a war etiquette, but also a wise move to avoid further deterioration of the situation and triggering a greater conflict. My Lord, please do not make such a rash decision because of a momentary impulse!"

At this time, a man in the crowd stepped forward, walked straight to the county governor Tang Sheng, and persuaded him earnestly. This man was called Wu She, a retainer under Tang Sheng, and could also be called a strategist.

In the Qin Dynasty, the so-called strategists were actually just another name for counselors. However, at that stage, the status of these strategists was somewhat special. They were a bit like retainers, able to offer strategies and suggestions to their masters, but they did not have a formal official position, so naturally they could not enjoy the corresponding salary treatment.

They completely depended on the master they served for survival. The more noble and prominent the master was, the higher the status of his counselors would be. As time went by, the situation changed when it came to the later counselor stage. At that time, most counselors had a certain degree of actual power, and were usually granted positions such as military advisors or march chief clerks, and enjoyed corresponding ranks and status. In short, from early counselors to later counselors, their status was gradually evolving.

"Wu She, what you said will only encourage the arrogance of the Southern Border Army, right?" Tang Sheng shouted angrily, his eyes wide open, his face full of anger, as if he could spit out fire. Although he was still furious, he was not so impulsive as to immediately order the envoy sent by the Southern Border to be beheaded in public.

Speaking of Wu She, he is definitely not an ordinary person. In the late Qin Dynasty, when the situation was changing and heroes emerged in large numbers, top strategists such as Zhang Liang, Han Xin, Chen Ping, Li Si, Xiao He, Fan Zeng, etc. were all famous people. However, even among this gathering of heroes, Wu She could definitely occupy a place.

Originally in history, Wu She and Kuai Tong did a great thing to persuade Han Xin to betray Liu Bang. If Han Xin had been a little shaken at that time, even if he had only a slight thought, the originally fierce Chu-Han dispute would have most likely evolved into a three-way confrontation. Unfortunately, the wheel of history rolled forward, and it did not develop as they had imagined. But this is enough to prove that Wu She was not only extremely intelligent, but also had first-class insight and control over the situation.

Wu She was a man of superior wisdom, but his verbal expression ability was slightly inferior to that of Kuai Tong. Because of this, his reputation was not as far-reaching as that of Kuai Tong. Wu She's advice to Han Xin at that time mainly contained three layers of meaning.

The key point of this first level is: Han Xin, you are in a very good situation now! In the smoke of the war between Chu and Han, you have occupied a crucial and important position and weight. You must know that the key power of victory or defeat between the two kings now lies in your hands. If you go left to the King of Han, then the King of Han will win; on the contrary, if you go right to the King of Chu, then the King of Chu will be the final winner.

In fact, this contains the simple truth of "lips and teeth are cold". In other words, you, Han Xin, should neither assist Liu Bang nor help Xiang Yu. Why can't you help Liu Bang? The reason is very clear. If you help Liu Bang with all your strength and wipe out Xiang Yu in one fell swoop, then the next person to be eliminated will be you. Similarly, if you turn to support Xiang Yu, after Liu Bang is destroyed, it will also be your turn to suffer the disaster of destruction.

So, what is the most ideal choice? The answer is - divide the world into three parts, and each of them will be the king! The word "king" here means to be the king. Simply divide the world into three parts, forming a tripod, checking and balancing each other, and no one can swallow up the other. In this way, all forces can ensure their own safety, and the whole world can usher in true peace and tranquility.

In a sense, the decision made by Han Xin at that time might be correct for the whole world, but it was full of guilt and regret for him. Liu Bang successfully ascended to the throne of the common ruler of the world, but Han Xin still could not escape the fate of being eradicated. Although the person who took action was Lu Zhi in the original history, it would be a fantasy to deal with Han Xin without Liu Bang's consent and acquiescence. From this comparison alone, it can be clearly seen that Qin Shihuang was indeed a very unique person.

If it were any other emperor, after he became emperor, many meritorious officials would often not have a good end. But when Qin Shihuang was in power, almost no meritorious officials died at his hands, unless they sought death and brought it upon themselves. Such people as Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Wu and Meng Tian were all like this. It was not that the Great Qin State lacked outstanding generals who were emerging, but that Qin Shihuang did not have the habit of killing meritorious officials at all, and he would not wield the bloody butcher knife willfully because of groundless suspicion.

However, Wu She is now temporarily living under Tang Sheng as a retainer, so naturally he should offer advice to Tang Sheng. In the original historical process, after Xiang Liang raised his banner and launched the uprising, Wu She went straight to Xiang Liang without hesitation and followed Xiang Yu from then on.

But the current situation has changed dramatically. Xiang Liang died unfortunately, so Wu She was unable to rush to Xiang Yu in the first place. You know, there was a big gap between the prestige of Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu in the late Qin Dynasty. If Xiang Liang was still alive, his influence would definitely be greater.