In the majestic and glorious hall, only the emperor's words echoed.

The courtiers are silent.

For a moment, no one responded to the emperor's inquiry.

The atmosphere became even more depressing, and the First Emperor's face was a little unbearable.

Prime Minister Wang Xuan, Li Si, Zhisu Neishi Wang Wu and others stood in the civil official queue, no one said anything, forget it.

The emperor did not expect this group of civil servants to be able to go to the battlefield to fight.

But what about the other side.

The Great Qin Dynasty, a bunch of military generals with great achievements, why didn't anyone stand up for me?

The First Emperor looked at him with a gloomy face.

Standing at the front of the military generals column, Taiwei Wang Ben.

The veteran was looking at his nose and nose at the moment, as if he hadn't heard the emperor speak.

Wang Ben's side was Zhao Tuo, the martial arts marquis, this kid followed Wang Ben's example, lowered his head slightly, looked at the ground with his eyes, and did not respond to the gaze of the first emperor.

The First Emperor thought that before the bad news came, he had teased Zhao Tuo to his face.

His eyes flashed, his gaze skimmed over Zhao Tuo, and looked at the next one.

Li Xin, Qiang Qi, Xin Sheng, Xin Wu, Ren Huan, Wang Li, Meng Tian......

Whether it is a former battlefield veteran or a young new general, he is either expressionless or bows his head slightly.

No one volunteered to ask for help.

The First Emperor's anger came from his heart, his eyes turned around, and finally fell on one of them, and he said coldly: "General Qiang, you were the most active in discussing the southern expedition at the court meeting twice before, shouting for the order to conquer. Why don't you keep silent now? ”

Hearing the emperor's words, the named Qiang suddenly shuddered, and secretly screamed in his heart: "Bitter." ”

He is indeed belligerent and eager to be promoted to the knighthood, so he has been very active before.

But he is not a fool, he knows that persimmons have to pick up soft pinch, and the enemy has to pick up weak ones.

Tu Sui and Feng Wuxue led an army of 200,000 to the south, but both of them were killed and the Qin army was defeated, which shows how difficult it is to conquer Baiyue.

Tu Sui died in ambush, but the news that Feng Wuxuan was haunted by water Gu and finally vomited blood and died suppressed these generals.

Water Gu.

When you hear this kind of thing, you have to be furious for everyone.

For the generals who are not afraid of dying on the battlefield, the horse leather shrouded the body.

I'm afraid that like Feng Wuxue, he was paralyzed on the bed by the so-called water Gu, waiting for death to come.

Qiang said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, the minister...... The minister is naturally willing to share his worries for His Majesty, and he can't wait to lead the army to defeat Baiyue and avenge my Great Qin. But the minister's ability is insufficient, I'm afraid I can't beat it! ”

Qiang is worthy of being a rectum, and he said in front of the emperor and the Manchu Dynasty that he couldn't beat it.

Rubbish!

The First Emperor scolded fiercely in his heart.

However, he was borrowing Qiang to pick a head, and he really let Qiang Qi lead the army to fight Baiyue, and he was not at ease.

The First Emperor snorted fiercely in front of all the ministers, but he let go of Qiang, and turned his gaze back to Wang Ben, who was in the forefront of the generals.

Seeing the emperor's gaze shifted, Qiang Qi breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he had escaped a catastrophe.

"Marquis Wucheng, you are a famous general of my Qin State, and you once conquered the Quartet for me and destroyed the Wei State. Now you can lead the army to the south to avenge my Great Qin? ”

The First Emperor spoke directly, if Wang Ben was allowed to lead the army, he would be relieved.

Wang Ben was not only the imperial lieutenant, but also inherited the title of Wang Jian after the death of Wang Qian, the Marquis of Wucheng. Now he is a liege, and he is still above Zhao Tuo. Judging from the title and official position alone, Wang Ben was the first general of the Qin State.

Wang Ben raised his head and said calmly: "Your Majesty, the minister has not been on the battlefield for ten years, and he is far away from military affairs, and the art of war is unfamiliar, so I am afraid it is not appropriate to lead troops." And the minister is now a lieutenant, in charge of the national military, if he leaves this position, I am afraid that the logistics of the army will be difficult to protect. ”

The First Emperor nodded expressionlessly.

Wang Ben is telling the truth.

Especially his last reason is important. The emperor has to conquer another hundred Yue, and the grain and baggage transportation of the hundreds of thousands of troops need to be planned and deployed by the Taiwei Mansion in a unified manner, and Wang Ben is inseparable at this time.

The Emperor's gaze continued.

Zhao Tuo still lowered his head.

The First Emperor simply didn't ask him and looked at Li Xin next to Zhao Tuo.

Originally, it was Mengwu who stood here, but it was a pity that Mengwu retired two years ago due to illness, and Li Xin came to fill the position.

"Where's General Lee?"

Li Xin has gone through the Liaodong East Wind Frost, and his face is a few years older than his actual age, and even his mentality is much older than before.

If it was in the past, Li Xin would definitely take the initiative to ask for help.

But now.

He carefully pondered the situation of Nanfang Baiyue and whether he had the ability to take it.

Li Xin took a deep breath and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the ministers have been fighting for half their lives, and they are all in the north. If it is His Majesty's Northern Expedition, the ministers should ask for their orders to fight. But the southern conquest, not the minister's strength, the minister did not dare to talk nonsense, and asked His Majesty to choose another good general. ”

The corners of the First Emperor's mouth twitched.

That's right.

Since Li Xin's army, he has followed Wang Jian to attack Zhao and destroy Yan, all of which are fighting in the northern region. The first time he led his troops to fight the Chu State in the south, he suffered a shocking defeat. Later, he went to fight Donghu and Haidong in the north, and won the victory again.

Li Xin is good at the Northern War, not suitable for the Southern Expedition.

Next, the two veterans of the Xin family, Xin Sheng and Xin Wu, directly excused themselves and said that they were too old to be afraid that they were not suitable for the battle of Baiyue in the south, and they also asked the emperor to choose another good general.

The First Emperor was even more depressed in his heart, these veterans were really treacherous, and when they saw that the situation was unfavorable, they all pushed back one by one.

Fortunately, there is still a Ren Huan in the court, and he has a good relationship with Tu Sui, so he naturally has the heart to avenge him.

Under the emperor's inquiry, Ren Huan answered, but just said one more word.

"I am willing to go south to conquer Baiyue, and I am ashamed of Qin Xue. Ranchen only commanded an army of tens of thousands, and had no experience in commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. Military affairs should not be rash, so the minister only wants to be a deputy general, not the commander-in-chief. I also ask Your Majesty to choose another good general to lead the army, and the minister is willing to assist by his side. ”

The hustle and bustle of seeking war made the First Emperor feel a lot more relaxed.

In addition to him, Meng Tian and Wang Li, two young people, also gave face to the emperor.

They are all willing to lead the army south to conquer Baiyue, but they all shirk their lack of ability, and can only be deputy generals, not commanders.

Meng Tian's reason was that although he fought too much with Wugong Hou, he had no experience in leading a large army.

Wang Li had experience leading an army of 100,000, but he deduced that he had no experience in dealing with the Yue people.

"It's all excuses!"

The First Emperor was well aware.

Why did Ren Huan, Meng Tian, and Wang Li say that they were only willing to be deputy generals.

Because in their hearts, there is a person who is more suitable to be the master.

That man once destroyed a Yue country and led hundreds of thousands of troops to go on an expedition.

Whether it is Wang Li or Meng Tian, they have all been the deputy generals of that person.

With him, no one dares to pick up the burden of this commander of the Southern Expedition.

Even in the eyes of the First Emperor, he also felt that only that person was the most suitable candidate to go to the south and lay down the Baiyue for him.

The First Emperor's gaze fell on the young man with a calm face and lowered eyes.

Pretend not to hear?

Or do I want to ask you myself?

The First Emperor was very angry, the reason why he didn't take the initiative to ask Zhao Tuo was not because he had made fun of the other party before.

After he received the good news that Feng Wuxue had captured Minyue, he once joked at Zhao Tuo proudly and said, Aren't you saying that it is difficult to fight? Why did I send 200,000 troops to take it, and if I sent 500,000 troops back then, wouldn't it be faster to fight?

The implication is that he exaggerated the difficulty of Baiyue too much before mocking Zhao Tuo.

What was Zhao Tuo's answer at that time, the emperor was so happy that he had forgotten the specific sentence. But the meaning is almost the same: "Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right." ”

At that time, the emperor still felt that Zhao Tuo was being teased by himself and had nothing to say, and after Zhao Tuo left, he even laughed.

How did he know that the slap in the face came so quickly, and not long after he finished laughing, he received the news of the defeat of the Qin army.

At this time, if the First Emperor took the initiative to ask Zhao Tuo if he was willing to lead the troops, how would he pull his face.

The emperor also wants to save face.

So he has been giving Zhao Tuo the opportunity to take the initiative to ask for his life and ask for battle.

As long as Zhao Tuo takes the initiative to speak and share his worries for him, the monarch, then everything will be perfect.

How do you know that your son-in-law, who is usually very good, pretends not to know what he means today.

Fortunately, in the entire court, there are many henchmen of the emperor who know what he means.

Li Si, the prime minister of Zuo, stood up and said loudly: "There is a recommendation from the minister, if he goes south, he will definitely win, and Baiyue is not to worry." ”

The First Emperor's eyes lit up, and he deliberately asked, "I don't know who the prime minister is talking about?" ”

"The one recommended by the minister is the martial arts marquis of the dynasty. Wugong Hou once led his troops to destroy the country of Yue, known as the experience of conquering the Yue land, and is also a famous general of my Great Qin. With him out of the horse, Baiyue will be flat! ”

As Lees spoke, excitement flashed in his eyes.

He didn't know what was wrong between the emperor and the martial arts marquis, why the martial arts marquis was silent today, and the emperor didn't ask him.

But Lees knew it was a good opportunity.

Zhao Tuo's influence in the court was too great, and even overshadowed him Li Si. In particular, the suggestion of industry and agriculture made Li Si feel threatened.

The southern expedition to Baiyue is an opportunity to send Zhao Tuo away.

Naturally, he had to brag about it.

After Li Si spoke, as if he was expected by everyone, all the ministers said: "If the martial arts marquis leads the army, this battle will be worry-free." ”

Qiang Qi even shouted: "That's right, the martial arts marquis conquered Baiyue, and the group of Yue barbarians who must be beaten will kowtow and surrender." ”

Truly what everyone wants.

Whether it is a Wenchen or a general, at this moment, they all think that Zhao Tuo, the martial arts marquis, is the most suitable candidate to lead the army to the south.

With the ministers opening their mouths, the First Emperor finally stepped down in front of Zhao Tuo.

At this time, it was not he who took the initiative to speak, but the recommendation of the ministers.

"Martial Arts Hou, can I defeat Baiyuehu?"

Under the expectations of the ministers, in the expectant gaze of the First Emperor.

Zhao Tuo sighed softly and finally raised his head.

He looked at the emperor sitting on the emperor's couch and said, "The southern expedition to Baiyue and the revenge of my Great Qin, the minister is willing." But ......"

Zhao Tuo looked at the emperor who was sitting high: "The minister thinks that now is not the right time to attack Baiyue. ”

The ministers were surprised.

What does this mean?

The look of the First Emperor's eager anticipation turned cold in an instant.

Zhao Tuo, is this a polite rejection?