Chapter 305 Economic Warfare
Zhao Yuanxi didn't expect Wang Ben to notice this thing. "I did give it to him, but—"
She picked one up at random.
Perhaps because of what happened just now, Ying Zheng and Wang Ben were both extremely cautious at this moment.
"You didn't store it properly and it got damp."
If black powder is not stored properly, it will become a huge safety hazard and may explode.
Wang Ben was trembling with fear, and asked, "May I ask, Queen Mother, what on earth is this?"
Everyone in Wei said that this was a thunder ball, even Li Shiqi said so. Seeing his intimidating look, Wang Ben knew that he was teasing him, and he probably couldn't explain it, so he had no choice but to ask the queen mother for advice.
"This substance is called black powder, and its effect is what you see."
"I wonder what the Queen Mother originally intended this thing for?"
Zhao Yuanxi touched her nose. At first, she simply thought that Xianyang was too dangerous, and she had nothing to do, so she made this thing. As for later, it was for the purpose of opening mountains and building roads.
"It's used for opening mountains and building roads." She confirmed.
Ying Zheng asked, "Is it the Qin Straight Road that leads to Yunzhong County?"
Zhao Yuanxi nodded. "But this thing isn't used much, mainly because there are too few people who can operate it. It's used to blast those rocks."
Not everyone can do blasting. It requires a lot of experience and courage. The only people who can be used now are Han Chong and Shi Sheng, as well as a few disciples of the Mohist School. These people have now been sent out by Zhao Yuanxi to organize the construction of the Qin Straight Road.
Wang Ben seemed to be lost in thought, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Zhao Yuanxi glanced at him and knew what he was thinking. "This thing can indeed blow up the city wall. Given the same mass, its power will be slightly stronger than ordinary stone. However, it is not that easy to break through the city defenses."
For small cities, the rammed earth layer is not thick enough, and a few shots may be able to blow up the city wall, but to deal with a main city like Daliang City, the power of the current black gunpowder is obviously not enough.
Of course, if you stack the numbers, it is possible.
Wang Ben's eyes lit up, and even Ying Zheng became interested.
Seeing how curious they were, Zhao Yuanxi could only explain to them the power of black gunpowder and the possible dangers it might bring.
"Although it's more useful than stone, this thing needs to be made, transported, and stored with extreme caution. Otherwise, it won't be the enemy who gets hurt, but your own people. You don't want to come back from a battle and find your barracks bombed out!"
Fire can be put out in time, but gunpowder can be extinguished in an instant.
After several discussions, Ying Zheng decided to make a batch in case of emergency.
Zhao Yuanxi didn't intend to stop him, but asked curiously, "When do you plan to attack Chu?"
The State of Yan was no longer a force to be reckoned with, and it would be easy for it to seize the land of Liaodong. As for the State of Qi, it was hiding in Qi territory, and there was no need to worry at all. Once the army arrived, the King of Qi would naturally surrender. This was indeed the case with the State of Qi in history. Only the State of Chu had a large army and was not something that the State of Qin could defeat in a short time.
The Qin State had just annexed Han, Zhao and Wei, and was in need of a rest and recuperation. If it launched repeated military campaigns, it would be a considerable challenge to the Qin State.
"next year."
Are you in such a hurry? Zhao Yuanxi was a little surprised. "Are you ready?"
It's already October, which means there are only a few months left.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember those cotton plants? Next year, when they sow the cotton seeds and they sprout, my army will flatten the city walls of Chu."
Zhao Yuanxi was not so happy when he heard this. Sure enough, it had come to this. The direct confrontation between the two armies was a clash of military strength between the two countries, but the economic war depended on a country's national strength.
Although the State of Chu was large, it was not rich, especially the marshes, which were a wild land in the pre-Qin period.
In the past two years, the State of Chu had made a lot of profits from the State of Qin by planting cotton. All the territories close to the State of Qin had replaced rice with cotton, and the cotton they grew was exchanged for food from the State of Qin. The low-priced cloth produced by the State of Qin was then sold to the State of Chu, creating the illusion that the people of Chu were becoming increasingly wealthy.
But once Qin stops selling grain, the price of grain in Chu will inevitably rise.
It’s not that no one in Chu realized that this was Qin’s strategy, but when it comes to interests, everyone wants to get a piece of the pie. If you don’t plant, others will, and then the money will be earned by others.
This planting trend not only affected the border between Chu and Qin, but also other parts of Chu began to widely plant cotton. In the places Zhao Yuanxi knew of, more than half of the land had been converted to this crop.
In such an economic war, the first to be hit will inevitably be the farmers who already have nothing.
"If not, it will be the soldiers of my Qin State who will die." Seeing that the Queen Mother did not speak, Ying Zheng had to add one more sentence.
Zhao Yuanxi looked up at him. Was Ying Zheng explaining to him?
She smiled helplessly, "I'm not stupid, of course I know which one is more important."
War is inherently bloody, and now the bloody war has just changed its form.
"I can allow the Chu people to enter Qin. As long as they are willing, they can become my Qin people."
Wang Ben couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, if those refugees enter Qin, there might be chaos."
If those refugees were allowed in during the war, and if there were soldiers from the State of Chu among them, they would then have to face the war that had broken out in Qin. This was especially true for the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei that had just been conquered. There were still many old forces hiding in these places. Once these people united with the old nobles of the destroyed country, there would inevitably be a rebellion.
Zhao Yuanxi was well aware of the dangers of accepting immigrants, especially since the empire was still unstable. Rashly introducing the Chu people would pose a serious threat to Qin's internal stability. "I understand your point, but if they come to Qin, they won't be our citizens. It would be better to cut off Chu's food supply while recruiting soldiers from within Chu. Those starving Chu people will naturally come to us for refuge."
All people want is a bowl of rice. People will naturally go where there is food.
Those people in this era are like rootless duckweed. In the tide of the times, they can only go with the flow to find a glimmer of hope.
Although Wang Ben was moved by this suggestion, he was also worried. He wondered, "Will those Chu people come and surrender?"
"Not all of them, but there will always be some who will choose this path. From ancient times to the present, haven't refugees always fled from the East to the West? Now, if they're just trying to make a living, they'll naturally be willing to do so."
"Of course, you can't expect this group of people to have a strong fighting spirit."
What's more, the political struggle in Chu State is fierce now. The three major royal families are fighting against each other and the internal situation is in chaos. Once there is a shortage of food, Chu State will surely be in chaos. By then, the number of these people will only increase, not decrease.
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