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

"My lord, have you forgotten something of vital importance? The blank area between Longxi and Shujun is inhabited by foreigners who have not yet been civilized. If we can launch a surprise attack from here and take Hanzhong directly, then the probability of success of our combat plan this time will probably increase to as much as 50%!" At this time, Xiao He no longer pretended to be mysterious, but frankly expressed his thoughts.

Gao Yao couldn't help but frown when he heard this. He was well aware of the area Xiao He mentioned. Those ethnic groups called foreigners were actually the predecessors of the Qiang people in the future. It's just that at this time, they can only be called Qiang people.

Most of these Qiang people are in a scattered state, without any organization or discipline, and have not even formed a decent tribe! According to the current development trend, if we want to see the rise of a large-scale Qiang tribe, we have to wait at least a hundred years!

If it is true as Xiao He said, launching an attack from this direction is indeed a good idea. However, the problem in front of us cannot be avoided - the manpower of our side is already very tight. If we choose to take a detour to raid Hanzhong, it will take at least two months! In this way, the long marching route and limited manpower resources will undoubtedly bring huge risks and uncertainties to the entire combat operation.

Not to mention that what Xiao He said was all theoretical, if we want to put it into practice, it will be extremely difficult. There are no ready-made roads in Qiang land, and even with the special map provided by Gao Yao, it is still difficult to achieve this goal. Moreover, this is a large-scale march, and if we are not careful and are discovered by the enemy, all previous efforts will be wasted.

"My lord, have you forgotten the Nanyue people that Duo Si specially trained? These people are good at fighting in the mountains and forests, so you can send them there. In the meantime, my lord can also borrow the help of one person."

Li Yi heard this and asked hurriedly, "Who is it?"

Xiao He smiled slightly and replied, "Madam."

Gao Yao was stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself: The Lu family's strength is already quite limited, and it may be difficult for them to play much of a role at this critical moment, let alone participate in such a fierce battle.

Xiao He shook his head and explained, "No, my lord. The mistress I'm talking about is not Lu, but the mistress from a foreign land."

Li Yi was still suspicious after hearing this, and said: "Yu Shu? What can she do? Besides, she is far away in the northern border. Even if we can successfully persuade her to send troops to help, it will be like a drop of water from afar to quench thirst. It will be of no help!"

"My lord, what I am talking about is the lady from the Maurya Dynasty!" Xiao He said solemnly.

Hearing this, Gao Yao was slightly startled at first, then nodded thoughtfully: "Oh... you mean, Natasha?"

After Xiao He mentioned this, Gao Yao finally remembered the existence of this lady. In fact, Gao Yao could not be completely blamed for forgetting her. After all, Natasha was sent here as a political marriage, and her purpose was nothing more than to reach a deal and trade with Gao Yao. When she first came, Gao Yao was also intoxicated by her exotic beauty for several days.

Due to the communication barriers caused by language barriers and cultural differences, Natasha and Gao Yao rarely communicated with each other. Gradually, Gao Yao often put this matter behind his mind. Moreover, the world is now in a state of frequent wars and turmoil. Gao Yao is busy dealing with challenges from all sides all day long and has no time to care about this wife who married from afar. So many times, he never even thought about the existence of such a wife by his side.

"Yes, it is Madam Natasha. My lord, if you intend to implement a roundabout strategy, why not start from the Maurya Kingdom? With their help, the possibility of success of this plan will greatly increase!" Xiao He looked at Gao Yao with burning eyes and gave earnest advice.

"The Maurya Empire is now in deep trouble both internally and externally. How capable is that so-called Border Duke? How can he possibly provide us with any substantial help?"

Gao Yao frowned and thought to himself. Although the memory of this incident came to his mind, he still felt that the Maurya Dynasty at this moment was unable to take on the responsibility.

There are many reasons for this. First, the endless disputes and chaos within the Maurya Empire greatly constrained its power. Moreover, compared with the most powerful Qin at the same time, other countries, including the Maurya Empire, are fundamentally different. Take the Macedonian phalanx that once dominated Eurasia, for example. If it were placed in front of the Qin, it would probably not be able to withstand even two rounds of Qin crossbow attacks!

What's more, due to the huge gap in numbers, whether it is the nearby Maurya Empire or the far-flung Persian Empire, Macedonian Empire, etc., when they really compete with the Qin Dynasty in hard power, the gap between them is obvious at a glance, it is simply a world of difference!

"My lord, you may have underestimated this Agampo! Since she has been trading with our southern border for a long time, after all these years of operation, she now has 30,000 soldiers under her command. Moreover, with the continuous expansion of her power, Agampo has become a very powerful competitive force in the Maurya Empire. The area of ​​the territory she occupies has surprisingly tripled compared to when we first came into contact with her!"

Hearing this, the lord couldn't help but take a deep breath: "Hiss... Is the gap so big? Judging from this, this Aganpo is indeed quite powerful. However, even if she puts all her strength into it, I'm afraid she won't be able to play any substantial role in this battle."

Although he had heard of the rapid development of Agampo, in Gao Yao's eyes, the overall strength of the Maurya Dynasty was like an egg hitting a rock if it were to face the elite army of the imperial court head-on. Even the troops led by General Wang Li were enough to easily suppress Agampo and make it unable to move.

"My lord, although from the perspective of a head-on confrontation, the Maurya Empire is indeed no match for the Imperial Army. But we actually don't need to let the people of the Maurya Kingdom engage in a real fierce battle with the Imperial Army." Xiao He said slowly.

"Oh? What do you mean?" The lord frowned and asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"First, my lord, you might as well order someone to go directly to the distant Maurya Kingdom. Then, go all the way along the wide and flat road. At first glance, it seems that this route is quite long, but it is not. Because the road is unobstructed and convenient to travel, the actual marching time can be greatly shortened. Moreover, we can also requisition the carriages used by those caravans to assist us in the march. You know, with the current transportation capacity of our Nanjun, even a team of tens of thousands of people can reach the Maurya Kingdom smoothly in about ten days at the latest. In this way, not only can we avoid the detection and surveillance of the court army to the greatest extent, but on the other hand, we can significantly increase our marching speed, which is simply killing two birds with one stone."

"Secondly, my lord, you can use the huge amount of money to lure Aganpo to send troops and let them rush straight to Shujun. There is no need to attack with real weapons, as long as they can show their strong presence. Once this is done, the court's army will definitely attract their attention and naturally neglect the Qiang area."

"When that time comes, my lord, you will carefully select a resourceful man to cooperate with General Duosi to launch a surprise attack, aiming directly at Hanzhong. As long as Hanzhong is successfully captured, the crisis plaguing our southern border will be resolved."

After listening to what Xiao He said, Gao Yao finally had to admit that Xiao He's method was indeed very feasible. He even considered the possibility of conscripting a merchant caravan, which showed that Xiao He had indeed put a lot of thought into it.

"Then tell me, where exactly is the difficulty?" Gao Yao asked with a frown.

"First of all, after these two years of contact, we can see that Aganpo is quite ambitious. So we cannot rule out the possibility that he is colluding with the imperial court or even betraying us. This possibility does exist! Therefore, it is safer for us to find an excuse to go to the Western Regions. In this way, if he really changes sides, it will not easily expose our goal. Moreover, who can guarantee that he will not suddenly turn around and directly attack the southern border? This is also one of the situations that we must guard against."

"Besides, even if we decide to take a detour, we still have to pass through the Kunlun Mountains. Although the lord gave us a map, the terrain along the way is rugged and difficult to pass, and it is not easy to pass smoothly. What's worse is that we might encounter attacks by the Qiang people. These variables are full of uncertainty. At present, this plan is very dangerous. Even if it goes smoothly in the end and we end up defending Hanzhong, it is very likely that the result will be death, so..."

"I'll go!" Hearing Xiao He's detailed analysis of the various concerns, Gao Yao immediately expressed his opinion. He felt that these problems were not insurmountable for him, and it would be most appropriate for him to handle them. However, this time Xiao He shook his head without hesitation to express his opposition.

"My lord, you absolutely cannot do that. This time is different from Kuaiji. The imperial army will arrive at the southern border in five days at most. How can you go out lightly at this time? This time is completely different from dealing with Kuaiji. In the battle of Kuaiji, whether it is a victory or a defeat, the main thing is whether you personally participate in it, and it is nothing more than the speed of victory. But this time is different. My lord is the pillar of support in the hearts of all the soldiers. You must not go out lightly, so I would like to ask my lord to allow me to go."

"What! You want to go? No, this is absolutely not possible!"