Seeing that the emperor was displeased. Only then did the two remember that the emperor seemed to be a little disgusted by the name of Wenxin Hou Lü Buwei. The two didn't dare to make a mistake, and after bowing down and apologizing, they returned to their respective positions.

The emperor knocked lightly on the desk and said, "Since the plan presented by Chen Sheng is feasible, Li Qing began to prepare and build the gallop road first. I don't know if the effect is really as clever as described. If it is feasible to repair the track to the north straight road, it is very convenient to use this method to transfer troops and transport grain. ”

"Yes." Li Si replied and glanced at Wang Juan coldly. Wang Juan also snorted coldly, ignoring Li Si's expression.

Agreed on one thing, the emperor took out a scroll of music from the pile of bamboo slips on the desk, raised his voice and said: "This is Ren Huan's war report, the recent Lingnan war has been repeatedly frustrated, Ren Huan asked me for soldiers and food, everyone, the Lingnan war, the imperial court's 500,000 troops are deeply trapped in it, and countless money and food are consumed every day, if it can't be solved as soon as possible, the consequences are worrying!" Do you have any good plans to ease the fighting in the south? As soon as the emperor said this, the ministers fell silent again.

In the conquest of the South China Sea, there have always been two voices in the court. Some far-sighted and militant factions in the military naturally like to lead troops in battle and make meritorious contributions in exchange for glory and wealth. However, civil officials have always felt that the South China Sea is a barbarian land, and the conquest of the unknown division is secondary. If it weren't for the countless grains, grasses and goods obtained when the Qi country was destroyed, and with the funding of Ba County, Longxi and other huge riches, this battle would not have been fought at all.

In the early days of the war, the imperial court also underestimated the resistance of the Vietnamese people and barbarians in various parts of the South China Sea, believing that once the army arrived, it would be able to destroy the withering and decay, and it would only take one or two years to completely incorporate all the lands of the South China Sea into the imperial territory.

But in fact, except for the rapid progress of the battle in Ouyue, which achieved the effect in the scheduled time, the rest of the armies without exception were seriously frustrated, the most typical is the former commander Tu Ju, who was ambushed by the local barbarians, killed hundreds of soldiers, retreated hundreds of miles, and almost all the fortress strongholds occupied after two years of bloody fighting were recaptured. After Ren Huan took over the Lingnan army, he could not advance in a short time, and every time the court discussed, there were ministers who advised him to withdraw from the army, which made the emperor lose face.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Wang Juan stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister suggested that since the army of the Southern Expedition is deadlocked, it should temporarily stop the army, withdraw to various places, recuperate, and then slowly try to do it. ”

The emperor's brow furrowed slightly. Ever since he became emperor. Wang Juan, an old minister who has followed him for decades, seems to have changed immediately, and every day he talks about the royal road and the old system of the previous king. I can't wait for the emperor to move out all the Zhou royal family in one day to show that he has inherited orthodoxy. If that's all it takes, this old guy still talks about "no unrighteous soldiers" all day long, and the battle needs to be famous; Let the emperor laugh, the Spring and Autumn Warring States period for hundreds of years, the Great Qin Dynasty for decades, the war fought is the so-called "righteous war". War has always been about interests first, and morality can only be an accessory, or even an excuse or a fig leaf. If this is really taken seriously, the country that will be destroyed may not be the Six Kingdoms, but the Qin State.

When Wang Ben heard Wang Juan's words, he stood up and said, "The prime minister's words are wrong! If you withdraw at this time, there will be endless troubles! "Expedition to the South China Sea, the strategy was drawn up by his father Wang Jian and him personally, which can be regarded as the last strategic operation formulated by his father Wang Qian, no matter what, he can't let it go to waste, especially the consequences of abandoning this war now, which is not something that Qin can afford.

Wang Juan sank his face and said without yin or yang: "Retreating from the army can make my Great Qin have fewer dead and wounded soldiers, and spend less money and food, how can there be endless troubles!" It is clear that for the sake of military exploits, you and others flattered the saints and launched this war that disregarded morality and outweighed the losses, and 500,000 Great Qin soldiers were pushed into dire straits! On the contrary, the old man is not! ”

"Prime Minister!" Wang Ben was very angry by Wang Juan's heart-wrenching words. He said loudly: "Prime Minister! My Wang Ben is an official and a captain, and the lord is a marquis, even if he makes military exploits, the official cannot be bigger, and the knight can no longer be sealed! If it is for glory and wealth, my Wang father and son have been blessed by His Majesty, and at least the fifth generation of descendants will not worry about wealth and glory! Why do you need the blood of the warriors to fight for my feats! Wang Ben bowed heavily towards the emperor, then walked to a large map of the South China Sea behind him, pointed to the map and said: "Prime Minister, open your eyes wide, take a good look, why do I Daqin want to conquer the South China Sea!" ”

Wang Ben swiped across the map. There is a scratch on the borders of Ba County, Qianzhong County, Jiujiang County and Minzhong County. Wang Ben raised his gaze and said: "The regions of the South China Sea, the geographical territory, is comparable to the current territory of my Great Qin. There are several counties connected to my Daqin, and although the population is not as dense as all over my Central Plains, there are still millions of people! Although it has not yet formed a kingdom, don't forget that hundreds of years ago, the state of Chu rose from among the barbarians in the south and became a great power in the Central Plains! If the South China Sea becomes the climate, then in the hinterland of Daqin, there will be a kingdom entrenched in the five passes, which can attack me and retreat! At that time, it will be difficult for my Great Qin to be at peace! This is a distant worry! ”

Wang Ben knocked on Panyu in the South China Sea with his hand and said: "According to the report of Heishui Pavilion, in the Panyu area, there are already several small regimes that are rising rapidly, leading hundreds of thousands of people and nearly 100,000 troops!" The one who defeated the army of Tuju is this force! Wang Ben said here, and circled the location on the map: "Prime Minister, take a closer look, the place where Tuju's 50,000 army was defeated is nearly a thousand miles away from Panyu, and the power of this small regime has touched here, if my Great Qin retreats, he can follow the road to counterattack, the Yue people are barbaric and easy to kill, good guerrilla warfare rather than positional warfare, and when the time comes to approach the counties of the South China Sea, then it will face a dilemma like the northern Hu people going south!" It's a proximity! Moreover, my Great Qin dominates the world and conquers Lingnan in the south, which is the best time to show the courage and military strength of our empire, so as to deter those madmen who intend to rebel and restore. At such a time, how dare you talk about the royal road of volunteers? We must vigorously promote the war, fight steadily, take down the South China Sea, and give the remnants of the Six Nations a deterrent! ”