"Master, is what His Majesty just told you true? Is the rebel army really numbering close to two hundred thousand?"
As Han Xin walked along the road, he felt somewhat worried.
There are concerns that they will be outnumbered and outmatched in this match.
Zhang Han also spurred his horse forward and rode to Li Lin's side, looking equally worried.
"Your Excellency, I only have three thousand men under my command. If it were thirty thousand, I might have some confidence, but with three thousand against two hundred thousand, I probably have no chance of winning!"
"Don't worry, didn't His Majesty give us some advice? If all else fails, we can just retreat to Xiang County and join forces with Zhao Tuo, right?"
Li Lin never worried about this matter at all.
His current concern is how to appease the people of Chu.
Indeed, the Qin Dynasty conquered the world on horseback.
But the way to govern the world is still by horseback.
If we rely solely on force and Qin laws without seeking appeasement, the hearts of the people will not be won over.
Suppressing the rebellion is not the key; the key lies in winning the hearts and minds of the people.
Otherwise, even if the rebellion is quelled, the hidden dangers left behind will be endless.
"This... Master, aren't you afraid of losing too much face?"
"You're overthinking things. What's the point of saving face? Why do you always only look at the surface of things?"
Li Lin didn't care at all about Han Xin's feelings at this moment.
Ignoring Zhang Han's attitude, he pointed out the crux of the problem: "Our main objective this time is to win back the hearts of the people and win the hearts of the Chu people. If we achieve this, we will have won a great victory. If the Chu people do not win our hearts, even if we win on the battlefield, we will suffer a crushing defeat. Do you understand?"
"ah?"
Han Xin glanced at Zhang Han, who shook his head, looking utterly puzzled.
Xiang Liang, standing behind Li Lin, seemed to understand and nodded in deep agreement, saying, "The Prime Minister is right. The biggest problem in Chu is that the people's hearts are not with us. Even if the people's hearts are with us, even if Ji'er and I stir up trouble in the future, not many people will respond, right?"
"Indeed, the will of the people is key. His Majesty's previous move was a blatant attempt to undermine our foundation; his intention was probably to slaughter all these rebellious Chu people, not to save me alone!"
Li Lin suddenly recalled the true purpose of the imperial edict issued by the First Emperor to save him.
On the surface, it was to save him.
In reality, it was a deliberate attempt to incite the rebellious desires of ambitious individuals in Chu, thereby turning the people, whose minds were not on Qin, into rioters, so that the First Emperor could then sweep them away with overwhelming force.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have mobilized Zhao Tuo's troops in Lingnan.
What seemed like alarmist talk to save Li Lin was actually a desperate attempt to cut off the root of the rebels in Chu.
Catch them all in one fell swoop!
"Indeed, I have also seen through Ying Zheng's true intentions. Otherwise, how could I have persuaded Ji'er to go to Chu with you to quell the rebellion? The purpose was to prevent the people of Chu from suffering!"
Xiang Liang looked somewhat dejected.
At that moment, he wished he could chop up that fool Xiong Xin.
If you rebel after Ying Zheng's death, it's fine. Even if you fail, the new ruler won't choose to go on a killing spree for the sake of stability.
But they rebelled while Ying Zheng was still alive.
He was the monarch who created the vast territory of Qin, and his prestige had long since spread throughout the world. Not to mention killing hundreds of thousands of people in Chu, even if he wiped out everyone in Chu, it would not affect the country and state under his rule.
"Haha, Uncle Xiang Liang, you jest. After this rebellion is quelled, I plan to establish the position of Chu Inspector in Chu. If you are interested, I intend to appoint you to this position, to inspect the officials under your jurisdiction in all the counties of Chu, and to make a contribution to the livelihood of the people of Chu. How about governing other Chu people with Chu people?"
"this......"
Xiang Liang's eyes widened. "Prime Minister, have you forgotten the time we captured you?"
"As the saying goes, a prime minister's belly can hold a boat. I won't hold a grudge over such a small matter. Besides, you and Xiang Yu are both brave enough to fight ten thousand men. Although your hearts are not with Qin, you are still in Chu, aren't you?"
"Thank you, Prime Minister. I will do my utmost to help you win back the hearts of the people of Chu in this campaign to quell the rebellion!"
He was extremely grateful and quickly dismounted, bowing repeatedly to Li Lin on horseback.
Han Xin and Zhang Han looked at each other in bewilderment.
At this time, Zhang Han was still loyal to Qin. However, how could Li Xiang, whom he regarded as so great, say something that sounded so treasonous today?
Actually, he didn't understand.
The complexity of the Chu region.
In the past, the Chu region revered the tribal aristocratic system.
Therefore, the Xiang family held a pivotal position in the Chu region.
The quickest way to win back the hearts and minds of the people is to rely on the power of these powerful families.
The Xiang clan was an unavoidable obstacle, and since they were willing to help, the subsequent suppression of the rebellion would be swift and decisive.
This is why Li Lin promised at this time that he could govern the people of Chu.
Of course, this is just a promise. In reality, it will certainly not be a case of local powerful families monopolizing local power. Otherwise, what difference would there be between this and the Qin Dynasty before the reforms?
Xianyang City, the Imperial Palace.
The First Emperor was reviewing memorials in his study. At that time, the memorials from his ministers were all written on high-quality paper.
Of course, there were also some bamboo slips mixed in.
This stemmed from the lack of high-quality paper. They felt that writing memorials was less solemn than using bamboo slips, and they considered using low-grade paper, which cost two coins per sheet, too shameful.
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