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  According to the "Yu Gong" which was written in the Warring States period, it first proposed the geographical concept of Hua Xia covering nine states. Ji Zhou, Yan Zhou, Qing Zhou, Xu Zhou, Yang Zhou, Jing Zhou, Yu Zhou, Liang Zhou and Yong Zhou, these regions are the earliest civilized areas of China.

  Although the Great Qin Empire later adopted the concept of Huaxia Jiuzhou in geographical definition, it did not establish the nine states as formal administrative divisions. From the beginning of Emperor Zhao Zheng's unification of the world, the Great Qin Empire continued to follow the prefecture and county system, during which new states were added at the same level as prefectures but without counties under them, which was considered a preventive measure against local decentralization.

  A high-rise building rises from the ground, and competing for the world is also the same as the principle of building a house. If the foundation is laid firmly at the beginning, and enough labor and effort are invested in the early stage, the built house will naturally be durable and long-lasting, otherwise it will be a tofu dregs project.

  For example, the world that was won through hard work and true bravery is vastly different from one that was obtained through underhanded means.

  All the world that was won by real swords and guns, the rulers have a strong foundation from the root, their words and deeds are full of strong self-confidence, and the monarchs can trust each other. The Han and Tang dynasties belong to this category. Those who rely on dark and sinister plots to seize power, they are always worried that others will follow their own actions in the past, so their general approach is weak externally and brutal internally. This kind of thing can only be considered as a tyrant, and the negative example is the Eastern Jin, Western Jin, Southern Song, and Northern Song dynasties.

  The land of Huaxia is divided into nine states, representing the core area of the entire civilization, with a different significance from the surrounding barbaric lands.

  Chen Liang successfully occupied Jingzhou, which accounted for one-ninth of the world. This development foundation was not bad, but as his behind-the-scenes pusher, Lin Xu was worried that Chen Liang's vision was not enough and would be played by those old bureaucrats without knowing it. Secondly, he was worried that Chen Liang was eager to succeed and would make an irretrievable mess. Just when Lin Xu was considering whether to take the initiative to remind Chen Liang, this hunter-turned commander of the righteous army, who had given himself the title "Great General of Reviving Han", issued a "Rest with the People" order to the various counties under his jurisdiction in Jingzhou.

  Chen Liang's decree was simple in content, exempting various places from taxes and labor services, encouraging reclamation and childbirth, and declaring externally that he would defend his territory and keep the people at peace, meaning that if others did not attack him, he would not take the initiative to send troops to war.

  Lin Xiu dispatched an avatar to transform into an old farmer carrying a hoe, who blended in with the crowd and carefully read Chen Liang's political decree. He knew that he had taken to heart the nine-character mantra of "accumulating grain, building high walls, and slowly becoming king". Lin Xiu couldn't help but secretly congratulate himself on choosing the right proxy, as Chen Liang, although uneducated, had some skills, and despite having a smooth journey, hadn't become arrogant, and was indeed material for great things.

  The ancients said, after three days of separation, one should look at each other with new eyes.

  Only a few days later, the Xinghan military regime occupying Jiangling once again publicly issued a "Decree of Seeking Talents" in the name of General Chen Liang.

  "...In today's world, war and fire are raging, the flames of violence are burning fiercely, it is an urgent time to seek out the wise. Is there anyone in the world who has a precious 'jade' hidden under their humble clothes, yet remains undiscovered by the riverside? Is there anyone who has not been corrupted by wealth, yet remains unknown to the ignorant? I wish that only talent be considered for appointment, and vow to obtain and heavily employ them. I hope that talented individuals from all directions will not despise this land of Han's humble origins, but come to me, and I will welcome you with open arms."

  It's probably been polished by the acid-rotten literary men, so this recruitment order is a bit hard to read for ordinary people. To put it simply, the central idea is still very clear. Chen Liang not only requires local officials and gentry in Jingzhou to actively recommend talents to the Xing Han army but also asks hidden virtuous and talented people in the countryside to come to the government office to recommend themselves. He specifically declares that he will not use personal moral integrity or reputation as a standard for evaluation. Chen Liang openly claims that even those with poor moral character, such as thieves who have stolen money, can still recommend themselves to the army, and if they are truly talented after examination, they will definitely be reused. This is simply an open subversion of the traditional moral boundaries.

  "The ancients were indeed not deceiving me; a wise man's thousand thoughts must have one mistake!"

  Standing at the gate of Jiangling City, Lin Xu looked at this posted notice and savored the taste for a moment before he couldn't help but laugh and cry.

  This not very famous allusion comes from the history of the earth, Chen Ping, a heavy minister of the Han Dynasty and Zhang Liang, because he defected to Liu Bang after his rise was too fast, as a result, he was envied by others.

  These little people first framed Chen Ping for having an affair with his sister-in-law, and then said that whoever gave Chen Ping money would be promoted by him, which is a typical case of buying and selling official positions, corruption!

  Although these things were later verified to be mostly fabricated and framed, the matter of receiving gold cannot be thoroughly verified, but Chen Ping fundamentally did not have an older brother, so he even more could not have had a sister-in-law. From this it can be seen that the saying "fear people's words" is how correct. It's just that spreading rumors is very easy, but calming down the rumors is extremely difficult. No matter how noble and upright you are, you still cannot withstand the endless erosion of public opinion. As a result, Chen Ping had to bear the great injustice of stealing his sister-in-law and receiving gold for a long time.

  Of course, in this world, the allusion does not exist. The Qin Empire's national fortune continued for a thousand years, and the Han Dynasty was completely non-existent. Even if Chen Ping was really born in this land, at most he would become a part of the vast bureaucratic system of the Qin Empire, and it is impossible to enjoy the honor of being a famous Han Dynasty prime minister.

  It goes without saying that under Lin Xu's harmonious big scissors, some books in Anzhou were lucky enough to escape and were stolen by Chen Liang who was good at discovering new things.

  Everything starts with difficulty. Under Chen Liang's leadership, the Xing Han army suddenly rose and occupied nearly half of Jingzhou. The local people did not quickly accept this reality.

  Although many people are extremely disappointed with the Great Qin Empire, the accumulated prestige of a thousand years still exists. The court in their mouths is still referring to the Luoyang court, and the actual ruler of Jingzhou is seen as a rebel. This point cannot be reversed in a short period of time. Even if Chen Liang widely bestows favors and gains the trust of the people, he will not be able to change the public's perception within one or two years. It requires a very long time to accumulate before it can happen.

  Jingzhou is the old land of Chu State, where witchcraft prevails. From ordinary people to high-ranking officials and nobles, everyone firmly believes in the sayings of ghosts and gods. In daily life, no matter whether it's a big or small matter, weddings and funerals all require divination before making a decision.

  On this land, in order to quickly conquer people's hearts, a little bit of public opinion manipulation is indispensable. At this time, it's the turn for the behind-the-scenes manipulators to take the stage.

  After communicating with Lin Xu, Wu Shan Jun Xiao Bo Lang, the local snake head, was responsible for instructing the divine sticks in the temple to start promoting Chen Liang among the people, boasting that someone was born with a heavenly appearance and an unutterable noble fate. Under the propaganda campaign that spared no expense, the effect quickly emerged, and those who had previously criticized Chen Liang's humble origin all shut their mouths and dared not speak out. Although many people did not deeply believe in Chen Liang's claim to be the Son of Heaven, most were also half-believing and half-doubting.

  He was completely unaware of this and Chen Liang was busy pacifying the local area and reorganizing the surrendered Qin troops. Based on Lin Xiu's hint about the nine-character mantra, his overall strategy tailored for himself was to take a steady and cautious approach, accumulate wealth and food, rest with the people, and avoid military adventures.

  It's fair to say that Chen Liang's plan was not bad, but unfortunately, people in the world are not free. Even if he wanted to steadily digest Jingzhou and accumulate strength before unifying the world, others were not obligated to cooperate with his plan. Just as the people of Jingzhou began to gradually accept the existence of this new ruler Chen Liang, another unexpected event occurred within a few months.

  In the third month of spring, after the Chinese New Year, the willow trees by the riverbank revealed a touch of tender green. A military report from Jingnan arrived at the headquarters of General Xing Han in Jiangling.

  Chen Liang picked up the letter opener and broke open the wax seal of the military report, scanned its contents and his face changed instantly. He stood up and said:

  "What? The Qin army's southern expeditionary force is marching north along the Lingqu Canal, with a large army advancing by land and water, its military strength directly targeting Yongzhou?"

  With all his might, he racked his brains, breathing heavily as he thought. After a while, Chen Liang turned to ask the messenger:

  "Did Yongzhou fall when you set out?"

  The single-kneed messenger was covered from head to toe in dust and mud, looking like he had been exhausted all the way. At this moment, he lowered his head and said:

  "I report back to the General, when I left, the Qin army was building machinery in preparation for attacking the city."

  Upon hearing this, Chen Liang nodded slightly and didn't say anything else. He ordered the attendants to arrange for the messengers to have a meal and rest. Later, Chen Liang issued an order to summon the generals of the Xing Han army to come to the government office to discuss matters.

  It is said that those who come are not good, and the good ones do not come. The southern army of Qin had a full-strength force of about 100,000 men, which was considered to be one of the strongest armies. This army has been stationed in the remote Lingnan region near South Wilderness for many years, where they have to fight against the native tribes of South Wilderness and the demons that emerge from time to time in the mountains of South Wilderness. Moreover, the local aborigines of Lingnan are not easy to provoke either. The combat effectiveness of this Qin army is no less than that of the Great Qin Border Army stationed on the Great Wall in the north, and it is fundamentally not comparable to those ordinary Qin armies in the inner land counties.

  Although they cannot abandon their base in Lingnan and rush out with all their might, transporting grain and supplies along the way also requires a lot of manpower. Even if the Southern Army only uses half its strength on the main battlefield, it is still an army of 50,000 tigers and wolves, enough to make the unstable Xinghan Army drink a pot.

  The history of the Southern Legion can be traced back to the time when Emperor Qin was in power. The Great Qin Empire annexed the six states of Guandong and immediately set up the Longcheng Legion in the northern Hetao area, which was responsible for sweeping away the nomadic tribes on the grasslands. At the same time, the empire also established the Southern Legion in the newly conquered Lingnan region, which was responsible for opening up territory for the empire in the southern wilderness infested with malaria and poisonous insects, and defending against the attacks of demons and local people on the inland areas.

  The garrison troops stationed on the northern Great Wall, due to the cowardice of the Xiongnu tribes in this region, were often defeated and eliminated. The Great Wall troops were almost disbanded during the reign of Qin Shi Huang. In contrast, the southern troops facing the southern wilderness had a completely different fate.

  The Nan'gu area has a sparse population, with scorching heat and heavy rainfall throughout the four seasons. Epidemics are rampant, which is not unexpected at all. It's an absolutely uninhabitable region for humans.

  Although this region is rich in luxury goods such as spices, jade, precious stones, pearls, ivory and rhinoceros horns that are favored by the nobility, considering the importance of acquiring these valuable resources, even if successive emperors felt it was difficult to conquer this barbaric land by force, northerners who migrated south could not adapt to the local harsh climate conditions. However, no one wanted to give up on this treasure trove that had fallen into their hands. As a result, this southern army corps was retained and made directly responsible to the emperor himself, its organization belonging to the Imperial Guard sequence, with its mission changed from attempting to conquer the southern wilderness to oppressing local indigenous tribes and regularly presenting various precious treasures to the empire as tribute.

  Recently, the Southern Army received an imperial edict from Luoyang via a sea route to Panyu. Although they were reluctant, they had no choice but to embark on the perilous journey northward.

  The main task of the Qin army was not to deal with the upstart Xing Hanjun, but rather the 85th generation of the Qin family was worried that the righteous armies that had risen one after another in Jiangnan and other places would become too powerful, cutting off the canal that connected the Huai River and the Yellow River, or destroying the Jiangnan Canal, blocking the key passage for grain transportation from south to north.

  The incompetent 85th generation of the Qin family lost all the accumulated wealth of their ancestors to the Tiele people. Luoyang, although known as the auxiliary capital, only meant that there were existing palaces and government offices available for use; the treasuries that had been depleted over the years were places where even mice could starve to death.

  It is well known that the essence of the Great Qin Empire lies in Guanzhong, Hebei and Shu. Now, Guanzhong has fallen into the hands of the Tiele people, Hebei has been ravaged by the Donghu people to the point where it seems like a desolate land, and although Shu is nominally obedient to the imperial court's edicts, in reality, all water and land transportation between Shu and Luoyang have been severed, making it as good as non-existent. At present, the only things that the Luoyang imperial court can rely on are the taxes submitted by the various commanderies of Shandong and Henan, as well as the grain and silk provided by the various commanderies of Jiangnan. If any one of these were to be cut off, this small imperial court, which is already tottering in the wind and rain, would likely declare complete bankruptcy. Only then would the Luoyang imperial court have the idea of mobilizing troops from the south to march northwards.