Chapter 366: Secure the Roots

"Shaofu Deputy Heifu, you are the only person present who has been to Jiangnan and traveled as far as the lands south of the Five Ridges at Limen. What is your view?"

The Emperor questioned him directly in the hall. Heifu snapped to attention, immediately rose, and walked to the center of the hall to bow with clasped hands.

The elders of the Meng, Xi, and Bai clans did not recognize this young upstart. They leaned toward those beside them, whispering to ask who he was. When they learned he was the one who had campaigned south in Yuzhang, opened up a thousand li of territory, and created "Heifu paper," they suddenly understood, and then their faces clouded with worry.

"The Jiangnan garrison began with this man. I fear he will be the staunchest supporter of this proposal!"

The three clan heads of Meng, Xi, and Bai guessed wrong. Heifu did not oppose sending migrants to fill Yuzhang and Changsha, but he opposed going a step further — crossing the Five Ridges to campaign south against the Hundred Yue...

A stride too wide will tear the groin.

Heifu vaguely remembered that historically, the Qin army's southern campaign had reportedly mobilized five hundred thousand troops, fought for several years, and suffered devastating losses before taking the Two Guangs. Even without that memory, after personally traveling through the Five Ridges region, Heifu could reach the same conclusion: a southern campaign against the Hundred Yue was a massive pitfall!

It was not a matter of how powerful the Hundred Yue were. The Southern Yue, Western Ou, and Min Yue had at most reached a city-state stage — small settlements clustered together, scattered among the jungles, their populations not particularly large, their weapons and equipment even more backward than those of the Central Plains.

The greatest obstacle to outsiders was the climate.

Although northerners' imaginings of the south as being full of "miasma" and "venomous insects" were somewhat exaggerated, the Lingnan region in this era was truly difficult to survive in. It was not only schistosomiasis, for which a cure was nearly impossible to find in this age, but also many tropical diseases like malaria that awaited the Qin army. A thousand years later in the Tang dynasty, the Two Guangs were still a place of exile that made Central Plains people turn pale at the mere mention of it. Over two hundred years before the Common Era, with inadequate transport and logistics, going off to conquer the region would certainly cost troops and commanders.

And the first to die would undoubtedly be the Yuzhang garrison troops serving as the vanguard — Heifu's old subordinates, Xiao Tao, Dongmen Bao, Li Xian, and the three thousand soldiers from Southern Commandery...

Heifu did not wish to send his friends, family, and direct subordinates to their deaths. He believed the southern campaign was not yet timely — at least not now.

But he could not speak the complete truth either, because every sign indicated that Qin Shi Huang had already set the Lingnan region as the next military objective. Getting His Majesty to change his mind would truly be as difficult as ascending to heaven...

Moreover, Qin Shi Huang tossing the question to Heifu at this moment made the meaning all too clear: just follow my lead and cheer "666"!

So after weighing his words carefully, Heifu said, "This subject believes that the Jiangnan garrison must not be abolished!"

The three elders Meng, Xi, and Bai bristled and glared, while Qin Shi Huang revealed a faint smile.

Heifu elaborated his reasoning: "By Your Majesty's command, this subject went to the Archives to read the records, and thus learned that in the time of the late ruler King Huiwen, General Sima Cuo debated with Chancellor Zhang (Zhang Yi) over whether to first destroy Ba and Shu or first attack Han. General Sima said: to enrich the state, one must expand its territory. This subject deeply agrees!"

"When this subject petitioned to build Nanchang city, I already said: the lands of Chu and Yue in Jiangnan are rich in produce, yet the land is vast and the people sparse. The lands of the Three Jin and the Huai-Han region are the opposite — the land is small and the people many, with insufficient fields. If we can move commoners and prominent households from the Three Jin and Huai-Han regions to fill the lands of Jiangnan's Yuzhang and Changsha, they can burn forests to clear wasteland, build cities and walls, fill the ramparts and moats, fill the fields and tax registers."

"Let them use ox-drawn plowing and compost to replace slash-and-burn farming. In that hot region, rice can be harvested twice a year. After a few generations, Jiangnan will surely become a granary, as rich as Southern Commandery and Huainan. Not only will the local people be free from cold and hunger, but it can even send grain back to nourish the Central Plains, just as the grain of Ba and Shu is sold in Xianyang! And the south's rhinoceros horn, elephant ivory, and fragrant woods can flow continuously into Guanzhong."

"Thus, Your Majesty's act of sending troops to garrison Jiangnan and fill Changsha and Yuzhang is like King Huiwen opening up Ba and Shu — a deed of merit for a thousand ages!"

Qin Shi Huang was very satisfied with Heifu's answer: "Well said, Minister. This is indeed a policy of merit for a thousand ages."

He then looked toward the three clan heads of Meng, Xi, and Bai, and said with profound meaning, "The military code says: a general forgets his family; crossing the frontier, he forgets his kin. The three clans are four-hundred-year-old hereditary houses — concern for the safety of your private family's sons is not unreasonable. But We are the sovereign of all under heaven, and must forget family and kin to consider the whole and the long term..."

The three clan heads of Meng, Xi, and Bai felt somewhat aggrieved, but all fell silent, not daring to speak.

In court and country alike, no one dared openly oppose a state policy that Qin Shi Huang had decided upon anymore.

Among all in the hall, only Zhao Gao keenly noticed that when Heifu had just spoken of sending troops and migrants to Jiangnan, he had mentioned the Central Plains and Huainan, but had conspicuously omitted Guanxi, the region so closely tied to the Meng, Xi, and Bai.

"Heifu, oh Heifu, what exactly are you trying to say?" Zhao Gao sensed that Heifu definitely had more to say.

As he expected, Heifu bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, this subject has not finished!"

All eyes focused once more on Heifu, and they heard him say:

"Clearing wasteland, plowing, and harvesting are matters of the four seasons; they cannot be accomplished overnight. Moving migrants, building cities and settlements, and widening roads are matters of years and decades; they cannot be accomplished in a year or half a year. Therefore, this subject believes that prospering the great southern frontier can serve as a long-term strategy, to be carried out slowly. But at present, there are some places that, if opened up, could yield rapid profit!"

"Oh? What places?"

Heifu catered to Qin Shi Huang's preferences and framed it in terms of "immediate profit." The Emperor indeed showed no displeasure and let him continue.

Heifu raised his head and said, "Guanxi!"

The so-called Guanxi, as opposed to Guandong, was the region west of Hangu Pass. This was the heartland of Qin and its most densely populated area. What place there was left to open up?

Heifu's words made the assembled ministers in the hall chuckle in disbelief. Neishi Teng, who had likewise accompanied Qin Shi Huang on his inspection tour to Yong, cleared his throat and stepped forward to rebuke his son-in-law:

"Shaofu Deputy, the Neishi territory is likewise short on land and crowded with people. The five imperial parks of Weinan, surrounded by forests, have already been largely opened up to settle one hundred twenty thousand migrant households from east of the mountains, and over ten towns have been established. When you speak of opening up Guanxi, do you mean to have His Majesty open up even the last remaining imperial forest parks?"

"This lowly official did not mean that." Heifu had already coordinated with his father-in-law beforehand, and now they played off each other seamlessly.

"The lands of Guanxi are not limited to the Neishi territory. There are also Longxi, Beidi, and Shang Commandery — equally vast in land and sparse in people. Rather than sending the sons of Guanxi from the Meng, Xi, and Bai clans a thousand li south to Jiangnan, where they cannot acclimate, why not have them garrison the three commanderies close to home?"

After speaking, he looked at the three clans of Meng, Xi, and Bai and smiled: "Just now the three elders also said that as long as their sons remain in Guanxi, it would be acceptable, did they not? May I ask if the sons of the three clans would be willing to go to the three commanderies?"

All three commanderies pressed close to the Rong and Di barbarians, where military preparedness was practiced, martial vigor was esteemed, and archery and hunting were priorities — hence the Qin poems are full of chariots, horses, and hunting scenes. Compared to the distant and terrifying Jiangnan, Longxi, Beidi, and Shang Commandery were practically just outside their front doors. The three elders Meng, Xi, and Bai nodded repeatedly:

"We men of Guanxi would rather go to Longxi and Beidi than travel far to the Jiang and Huai rivers."

Heifu bowed again toward Qin Shi Huang and said, "This subject begs to explain the advantages."

Although the Emperor had not expected Heifu, who was born and raised in the south, to suddenly speak of developing the three commanderies — it was somewhat surprising — he still nodded and said, "Proceed."

"This proposal has two advantages: one of long-term benefit, one of immediate urgency."

"Although the Yiqu and White Di were destroyed long ago, many Rong and Di still live intermingled with registered households in the three commanderies. Their influence has not been extinguished. Now that all under heaven is unified, hidden dangers still remain within the very heart of Guanxi. They must be dealt with!"

Heifu had a basis for saying this. The Yiqu state had been a great enemy of Qin. Two hundred years ago, the Yiqu King launched a massive attack on Qin, driving straight from north of the Jing River to south of the Wei River. Later, Yiqu also participated in the Six States' Vertical Alliance and defeated the Qin army at the Battle of Libo. In the end, it took Queen Dowager Xuan using her feminine wiles to seduce and kill the Yiqu Lord at Mount Ganquan, after which the former Yiqu territory became Beidi Commandery.

After Yiqu was destroyed, the Yiqu Rong people did not disappear. Their nobles either took "Gongsun" as their clan name or "Yiqu" as their clan name, enjoying aristocratic privileges and being called "Rong and Di lords." They were active in Beidi, Shang, and Longxi Commanderies. During the Qinian Palace rebellion back then, Lao Ai colluded with some of these "Rong and Di lords" to cause chaos.

After the incident, Qin Shi Huang broke up some tribes and, through migration and intermarriage, assimilated many Yiqu people. But unregistered Rong people in the three commanderies still made up a third of the population. They practiced a mix of farming and herding, paid taxes in furs and hides, and joined the Qin army as cavalry in battle, contributing to the unification wars as well.

After returning to Xianyang, Heifu had sought out the scholar prodigy Zhang Cang to thoroughly cram on these matters. With these cases as his basis, his proposal seemed perfectly logical and well-founded.

"Now that all under heaven is unified, this subject believes we can send migrants from east of the mountains and sons of clan houses to fill these lands, gradually steeping the Rong and Di in the ways of Hua civilization. This is the long-term advantage."

Qin Shi Huang pondered briefly, then asked, "And what is the advantage of immediate urgency?"

Heifu said, "When I was in Xianyang, I once heard the Rong merchant Wushi Yan mention that west of Longxi and Beidi lies the Hexi territory, where the Yuezhi, Di, and Qiang dwell. North of Shang Commandery lies the Henan and Hetao territory, where the Baiyang and Xiongnu dwell. These three regions are vast in land and sparse in people, with water and pastures suitable for raising livestock. Thus, the livestock of Hexi and Hetao are the richest under heaven. The large numbers of livestock that the Wushi clan purchases each year all come from these various tribes."

This was a business that Qin Shi Huang had let the Wushi Luo brothers run for over a decade. Qin had promoted ox-drawn plowing and possessed ten thousand chariots and tens of thousands of cavalry — the demand for cattle and horses was enormous, and relying solely on domestic breeding in the Central Plains was far from sufficient; they had to be supplemented from beyond the frontier.

"I have also heard that the people of these tribes are fierce and martial. Their children can ride sheep and shoot birds and rodents with bows; when slightly older, they can shoot foxes and hares. Their adult men can all draw strong bows, don armor, and ride warhorses, coming and going like the wind. Their custom is that in ordinary times without war, they roam freely herding, making a profession of shooting birds and beasts. When the situation is urgent, every man practices attack and combat skills in order to raid and plunder. This is their nature — like vicious wolves."

"Thus, every autumn and winter, these Rong and Di tribes cross the borders to harass the frontier commanderies, burning, killing, looting, and seizing people. In the time of the late ruler King Zhao, to prevent the Xiongnu and other tribes from raiding and plundering southward so that Qin could concentrate on uniting all under heaven eastward, long walls were built in the three commanderies to keep out the Hu."

The assembled ministers in the hall nodded repeatedly. Qin's northwestern frontier was relatively secure, but the states of Yan and Zhao had suffered even more from such incursions. However, Yan had defeated the Eastern Hu and expanded a thousand li, and Zhao had used Li Mu to deal a great defeat to the Xiongnu. Both states, like Qin, had built long walls on their border commanderies to focus on contending for supremacy in the Central Plains.

"Now that the four seas are united, in this subject's view, Your Majesty is not only the sovereign of the Central Plains but also the sovereign of all the barbarian lands in the eight directions. Our Great Qin has strong soldiers and sturdy horses — we need no longer stay on the defensive behind the long walls, but can expand outward! We can both avenge a hundred years of repeated raiding and suffering and directly seize the pastures of Hexi, Henan, and Hetao, capturing over a hundred thousand head of livestock. This is the advantage of immediate urgency. If we can firmly occupy these three regions, then beyond the frontier we will raise cattle and horses, and in Jiangnan we will have grain and rice — the two can also complement each other!"

After saying all this, seeing that the Emperor still had not expressed his stance, Heifu pressed on:

"This subject has heard: if you wish a tree to grow tall, you must secure its roots; if you wish a stream to flow far, you must dredge its source. If the roots are not secure yet you seek the tree's height, if the source is not deep yet you hope the stream flows far — even this subject, in his lowly ignorance, knows it is impossible, how much more so for one of brilliant wisdom? Sending migrants to fill the three commanderies of Guanxi is the fundamental method to consolidate Guanzhong. Going beyond the frontier to sweep away the various tribes is the act of opening the source. To enrich the state, one must expand its territory. Opening the lands of Jiangnan and the Five Ridges is expansion; opening the lands of the northwestern Hu and Rong is also expansion. But one is distant, one is near; one is slow, one is urgent; one is the root, one is the branch. This subject humbly believes we should first attend to the northwest and then to Lingnan."

"This is the foolish opinion of a lowly subject, and I beg Your Majesty to examine it!"

(End of chapter)