Chapter 586: Border Conflict

Two letters came from his old subordinates. Heifu first opened Li Xian's letter. Aside from birthday congratulations, it also contained an explanation of the recent situation in the south.

Li Xian detailed the First Emperor's inspection tour through Yuzhang, the words he left behind, the "Southern Expedition against the Hundred Yue" proposed by the Yuzhang Governor and Commandant, as well as the attitude of Heifu's old subordinates toward the matter...

"They hope I can become the commander-in-chief of the southern expedition, return to Yuzhang, lead them sweeping across a thousand li, and lead them to new deeds of merit?"

After reading the letter, Heifu shook his head helplessly. He had already heard about this matter through other channels, and he could understand his old subordinates' thinking.

But although Li Xian had some minor wisdom, his strategic thinking was, after all, only at the commandery and county level. He had never served at court and saw things far too simply.

Objectively speaking, Li Xian's analysis in the letter was actually quite correct: Heifu was the most suitable person to serve as commander-in-chief of this "Southern Expedition against the Hundred Yue."

First, Heifu's noble rank was very high. In the Qin dynasty, when appointing a commander-in-chief, noble rank was also an important consideration. Although in earlier years there were examples like Bai Qi and Wang He commanding great armies with the rank of Left庶长, standards had risen, and with a slightly higher commander's rank, the three armies were more easily convinced.

Second, Heifu's military record was solid. He had climbed step by step from platoon commander, served as Major of a Separate Detachment, served as Commandant, and had been a deputy general alongside Li Xin in the joint attack on the Xiongnu. In the Battle of Huamachi and the battle for the Henan region, his strategy quite bore the manner of Wang Jian.

And in the recent Qi rebellion, Heifu was nominally Deputy General but in reality the commander-in-chief. Although the troops he commanded were not many, he completed the mission swiftly and well, quelling the Linzi rebellion and crushing the Gaotang rebels, clean and decisive.

Of course, at court there were many whose rank and record surpassed Heifu's. Setting aside the great figure Wang Ben, men like Meng Tian and Li Xin were already Marquis of Guannei, and there was also Feng Wuze, who garrisoned the Yan region, a veteran general as well.

But there was one more point in which no one could compare with Heifu: his familiarity with the south!

All the Qin generals were northerners; Heifu alone was from Nan Commandery and familiar with the southern climate, rivers, and lakes. He had also led troops to seize Yuzhang and had stayed in the Jiangnan region for an entire year, climbing Limen Fortress and gazing out at the tropical rainforests south of the Five Ridges. Back then, when the Emperor wished to understand the situation in the southern frontier, the Censorate's library could find no other documents; only Heifu's *Record of the Southern Expedition* was available to read.

Wang Ben had the highest prestige, Feng Wuze the most senior years, Li Xin excelled in cavalry warfare, and Meng Tian was superior at garrisoning and fortification, but asking them to fight in the southern old-growth forests would still be far too difficult.

As for men like Tu Sui and Ren Xiao, although they all came from the Tower Ship General background and had also spent time in the south, in terms of seniority and noble rank, they conversely fell short of Heifu.

Considering these three points together, the most suitable candidate for commander-in-chief of the southern expedition seemed to be none other than Heifu...

However...

"Li Xian failed to consider one point, the most important one."

Heifu set down the letter and sighed.

"Politics!"

Politics — this was a very subtle thing. Because of its existence, choosing a general did not simply consider the "wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage, and strictness" that Sunzi spoke of. Very often, the man made general was not the best candidate. For example, in the first campaign against Chu, although Wang Jian was clearly the most suitable to command, the First Emperor stubbornly chose Li Xin.

It was not that the Emperor did not know Li Xin was inferior to Wang Jian, but rather out of political considerations: Wang needed to be pressed down a bit, and Li Xin needed to be elevated to counterbalance the Wang clan.

Now Heifu, though nowhere near Wang Jian's prestige within the army, nor possessing the fame of a father and son who had destroyed five kingdoms, nevertheless suffered the disadvantage of youth. A border-governing high official and Grand 庶长 at thirty — it was truly unprecedented. Heifu had risen far too quickly these past few years, participating in every important campaign of the empire: north of the frontier, Jiaodong, and now the Hundred Yue.

"The Emperor needs to balance his ministers. Good things — how could he possibly let me monopolize them all..."

For the First Emperor, war was very often an extension of politics. As a statesman, he would not do something that used war to destroy the political balance — something that, in the Emperor's own eyes, would be putting the cart before the horse.

Thus, the most suitable person was, on the contrary, the least likely to become commander-in-chief.

Probably, in the First Emperor's view, letting Heifu take command of a hundred thousand or several hundred thousand troops at this moment was not trusting him, but harming him...

Heifu understood this very well. Immediately after quelling the rebellion, he had returned his tiger tally, and after returning to Jiaodong, he devoted himself single-mindedly to civil affairs and finances, striving to make Jiaodong's new policies solid. All the troops and soldiers of the commandery were placed under Ren Xiao's control; he no longer interfered in the slightest.

In short, unlike Li Xian's optimism, Heifu felt that if the Emperor decided on a southern expedition, he would not even make the rank of commander-in-chief.

Moreover, although many years had passed, Heifu's attitude toward the southern expedition had not changed!

After reading Li Xian's letter, he shook his head with some disappointment and said: "Setting aside the governors and commandants of Changsha, Yuzhang, and Kuaiji — after all, they are high officials, coveting the frontier merit of Li Xin's breaking of Hexi and Ba-Shu's opening of the Southwestern Yi, and also thirsting for the profit of plundering Yue people as bondservants. Thus, their hearts are inflamed with profit and gain, and they single-mindedly seek war."

Closing the gates and defending alone was of course not acceptable, but under the stimulation of the military merit ranks, the frontier commanderies and counties were fond of stirring up border conflicts — this was also a major problem for the Qin dynasty at present. And who was to blame, when Li Xin and Heifu had set a bad precedent north of the frontier...

"But whether Li Xian or Dongmen Bao, they all followed me on the southern expedition and went to Limen Fortress, yet they only consider whether to fight or not, and do not even mention a single word about what price must be paid to conquer that land and subjugate the Hundred Yue! Even before the war begins, they underestimate the enemy like this, each one thinking the Hundred Yue are clay chickens and pottery dogs that can be easily wiped out. But in reality, is it really that easy to fight?"

Thinking thus, Heifu also opened the second letter. This letter was written by Xiao Tao alone.

Xiao Tao's characters were only learned in recent years, crooked and twisted. The letter was not long, and the words and phrases were very plain, even containing quite a few miswritten characters. But after reading just a few lines, Heifu slapped the table and cheered.

"At last, there's still one person who sees clearly!"

In simple words, Xiao Tao recounted his experiences dealing with the Southern Yue during these years garrisoning Shanggan County. Yuzhang had no shortage of merchants who went to the Southern Yue to purchase rhinoceros horn, elephant tusks, and pearls and jade, all passing through Limen Fortress, so Xiao Tao was the person most familiar with the southern situation.

The land of the Hundred Yue was vast, stretching several thousand li; it was not the uninhabited wilderness people imagined. The Yue had put down roots there for hundreds and thousands of years. Rice ripened twice a year, wild game and wild fruits were abundant, and slash-and-burn farming combined with hunting and gathering could sustain quite a few people. Thus the Eastern Ou, Minyue, Southern Yue, Western Ou, and Luo Yue together numbered over a million people. These tribes were a nation in arms, fierce and unafraid of death, comparable to Amazons, playing guerrilla warfare in the jungle. If the troops sent were too few, it truly would not be easy to fight.

But if a large army were to be sent, it would face two serious problems. The first was transport.

Xiao Tao said that the border between the Hundred Yue and the Central Plains was restricted by high mountains, rarely trod by man, with no cart roads passable — a natural barrier. Sometimes, the straight-line distance on a map was no more than ten-odd li, but in reality one had to cross mountains and ford rivers, stretching the distance to over a hundred li. Those perilous, obstructing jungles were even more familiar only to the locals; the maps drawn by Qin merchants could not record them in full detail. To march south from Yuzhang, one needed to climb mountains and cross ridges, traveling several hundred to over a thousand li, threading through deep forests and bamboo thickets. The attrition would be far too great.

Besides transport, there was also the problem of climate. At this time, the two Guang regions were still a stretch of tropical rainforest. The jungles were full of venomous snakes and fierce beasts. There were no four seasons, only rainy and dry seasons. The rainy season was scorching and long; not to mention northerners, even people from the Jianghuai region would find it hard to adapt and would often fall ill. Vomiting, diarrhea, cholera, and other epidemics spread unceasingly. If a great army marched south, winding a thousand li, contagion would be even worse, and before even engaging the enemy in battle, two or three out of every ten would die...

These problems had all been encountered back when Heifu led his troops to attack Yuzhang, and in the Hundred Yue and the two Guang regions, the above problems would be magnified several times over!

Therefore, Xiao Tao, as a garrison commander on the southern frontier, believed that waging war against the Hundred Yue looked easy but would be extremely difficult to execute. To go and attack would only bring losses outweighing the gains.

Amid a sea of optimism and inflation, it was rare to find someone who could analyze the pros and cons. Heifu could not help but sigh: "Only Xiao Tao's words deeply accord with my thoughts!"

He also felt that this war would not only fail to bring profit to Yuzhang and other places, but would instead abruptly cut short the favorable development momentum the south had enjoyed these past few years!

At this point, Heifu's attitude toward this war was already very clear.

But a trace of a bitter smile immediately surfaced at the corner of his mouth.

"But whether my attitude is support or opposition — does it really matter to the Emperor?"

While Heifu was exchanging letters with his old subordinates, the First Emperor's long inspection tour was also drawing to a close...

After leaving Yuzhang, the First Emperor took the route through Hengshan, floated west along the river, and arrived at Changsha Commandery, where he met with Changsha Governor Tu Sui. Like the Yuzhang Governor and Commandant, Tu Sui also petitioned the Emperor for war, saying, "The Western Ou invade and harass Cangwu every year," and that their chieftain was harboring old Chu nobility; the Great Qin must punish them.

The First Emperor neither approved nor disapproved, stating that he would have the assembled ministers deliberate it after returning to Xianyang.

After leaving Changsha, the Emperor passed the Xiangshan Shrine. This time, the Xiang River stretched for ten thousand li under clear skies. The First Emperor did not encounter a great wind, and thus Xiangshan was fortunate not to provoke the First Emperor's wrath, avoiding the scene of three thousand convict laborers being sent to strip the mountain bare of trees, exposing the red earth as if it had been clothed in convict red...

In the first month (October), the First Emperor arrived at Jiangling in Nan Commandery, inspected the Great River fleet, and finally returned to Guanzhong via Wu Pass.

In the thirty-third year of the First Emperor, in the midwinter month (November), as the first frost and snow fell, the First Emperor finally arrived at Ba Bridge and returned to the capital...

The various princes and the hundred officials all came here to welcome him. The Emperor's inspection tour this time had lasted over a year. During this period, he had promulgated multiple decrees, including the "Book-Confiscation Decree" and the "Scholar-Execution Decree," decided to promote the Jiaodong model throughout the empire, standardized the management of the private Hundred Schools of Thought, focused on promoting agriculture and industry studies, and tightened policies toward local magnates, leading to the assassination in Langya Commandery and the Qi rebellion.

Although the assassination was a false alarm and the rebellion was quickly quelled, the assembled ministers who remained in Xianyang could not help but break into a cold sweat for the Emperor and for the empire.

Fortunately, while all these events were happening, the Qin dynasty's core region, Guanzhong, remained as secure as a boulder. Even if the whole realm had fallen into chaos, Guanzhong would not.

Now that the Emperor had returned, the assembled ministers could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. When welcoming him at Ba Bridge, joy showed on their brows; at last they no longer had to be anxious and afraid.

Only the Eldest Prince Fusu, standing at the very front, was laden with worry. In his eyes, during this year of his Imperial Father's inspection tour, the empire's governance had begun to stray further and further from the "Kingly Way" he idealized, and had begun to return to the old "Way of Hegemony" and "Way of Arms."

Regarding the prohibition of the Odes and Documents, the restriction of the Hundred Schools, the harsh policies toward the former Six Kingdoms' lands, the severe methods used to quell the rebellion, and the recent rumors that the Emperor wished to send troops against the Hundred Yue — Fusu had a bellyful of remonstrances he wanted to voice!

And the assembled officials and hundred bureaucrats, through various channels, also learned that the emperor lately intended to send troops against the Hundred Yue. According to His Majesty's habit, even when he had already made up his mind on a matter, he would still have the hundred bureaucrats debate it, so as to gauge public sentiment.

But no one knew that the First Emperor of Qin, seated upright on the dragon palanquin with his eyes closed in repose, was planning in his mind not one war…

But two!

PS: Chapter 2 in the evening

(End of chapter)