I switched allegiance to Zhang Han and rebuilt the Qin Dynasty; Liu Bang was heartbroken.

For Lü Yi, what he valued most was the future that Zhao Long brought to the Qin army.

Now, even Heaven is helping the Qin Dynasty.

His decision to return to the Qin Dynasty was indeed an absolutely correct one!

Liu Bang was no saint, a man of divine mandate and virtue. The attack by the barbarians couldn't possibly be considered a test from heaven for the Han army!

Not to mention the distant places, even outside Liuba City, blood had already stained the earth red, and corpses lay everywhere.

Under the faint moonlight, one could see the Han soldiers, seemingly trapped in a bloody mire, unable to extricate themselves, only able to continue sinking into the bloodshed.

"Both the Han army and the barbarians are finished."

Even though the Yi people seem to have the upper hand now, Lü Yi doesn't think that the Yi people will be the ones to win in the end. Liu Bang's Han army may look dilapidated, but it actually has some strength that the Yi people can't match.

However, in such extremely brutal wars, there are generally no victors.

Even if Liu Bang wiped out all the invading Yi people, he would still suffer heavy losses. What strength would he have left to compete with the Qin army for control of Hanzhong?

Zhang Ping said with some regret, "It's a pity that I couldn't personally kill more Han soldiers, which benefited the barbarians."

The Qin army only needed to sit back and watch the fight unfold. By the time Liu Bang had destroyed the Yi people, the main force of the Qin army should have already returned to Liuba to fight Liu Bang to the death.

To Zhang Ping's and his companion's surprise, the Han army's performance thereafter was extremely poor.

Instead of quickly annihilating the barbarians, they became embroiled in a protracted war with them.

After two or three days of continuous fighting, the Han army had just stabilized its camp, but a large number of Yi people were still attacking the Han army.

The war was far more brutal than they had imagined.

The barbarians seemed endless.

Lu Yi was silent for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Didn't they say that several tribes of the Yi people were plotting to seize Hanzhong, which is why they came to attack?"

"Why is Liu Bang sending out such a large force to fight the Han army to the death? When did Liu Bang offend the barbarians so badly?"

Zhang Ping touched his empty head and slowly said, "The last time was at Xieyu Pass, when Liu Bang killed several thousand Yi people. Could it be that the Yi people were so enraged that they decided to fight Liu Bang to the death?"

That's ridiculous. The Qin army and the Yi people had been fighting for a hundred years, and the Yi people had never launched such a large-scale attack on the Qin army.

It wasn't until the Qin army secretly captured a few Yi people that they realized the Yi people of Hanzhong longed for their homeland. This time, taking advantage of the Qin army's absence, they returned to Hanzhong to restore their country.

Lu Yi smiled thoughtfully: "I understand. Liu Bang was the King of Han and was enfeoffed in Bashu. The Yi people probably thought that the King of Han came to seize Bashu from him."

"These barbarians came not only to destroy Liu Bang, but also to seize Ba and Shu."

"The barbarians underestimated Liu Bang!"

Those Han soldiers who could escape generally kept their distance from Liu Bang, while the majority of the remaining Han soldiers were suppressed under the leadership of their generals.

They have been starving for a long time, and now they are in a state of extreme frenzy. Even if all the Yi people in Hanzhong were to come out and fight, they might not be able to win!

He may look down on the Han army, but the barbarians cannot.

No matter how destitute the Han army is now, they still fought their way to Bashu, which is incomparable to the brute force of the mountain barbarians.

Hearing what Lü Yi said, Zhang Ping's mouth dropped open, and it took him a long time before he couldn't help but laugh: "Liu Bang is indeed the lucky star for the revival of the Qin Dynasty!"

"General, just keep people watching outside the city. Judging by the time, the young master should have received our message by now."

……

Hanzhong was named Hanzhong Commandery because it is located in the middle reaches of the Han River.

Nanzheng is located on the banks of the Han River.

For hundreds of years, the Qin and Shu states first fought each other, and the conflict over Nanzheng lasted for over a century.

After the fall of Shu, Nanzheng became the center of the conflict between Qin and Chu.

Sima Cuo, a general of the Later Qin state, devised a strategy of conquering Shu and then aiming to conquer Chu. Hanzhong served as the gateway to Shu and also as a bridgehead for attacking Chu.

Later, Bai Qi led his troops from Nanzheng and defeated the State of Chu, flooding the Chu capital. From then on, the once volatile State of Chu never rose again.

It can be said that Nanzheng has a deep-rooted Qin Dynasty military culture.

With the Qin army's arrival and the support of the Lü family, Nanzheng quickly erupted into chaos.

People cheered as they returned to the Qin Dynasty.

"People all know that the Qin state exiled many people to Bashu in the past, but they don't know that it was these people who built the complete Qin system and civilization here."

This system is actually a way of exporting culture.

Moreover, in addition to the initial exiles, the Qin army later relocated many people south to Bashu, a process that lasted for a century.

For example, Hanzhong serves as the gateway to Sichuan and Chongqing.

They could conquer Guanzhong to the north and Chu to the south; the blood of Qin warriors had been spilled on every piece of this land.

The people here also had frequent exchanges with the Qin Dynasty.

Qin has only been in chaos for a few years, yet they have not forgotten the roots of the Great Qin!

"The Qin army has returned, and I heard that General Zhang Han of Qin has come in person."

"The Qin Dynasty can still be saved! The Qin Dynasty will not perish! We are still the people of the Qin Dynasty!"

"I heard that as soon as the General arrived, he killed that incompetent Magistrate of Nanzheng, exempted him from many miscellaneous taxes, and only required him to pay 30% of the land tax!"

"Jiujiu, Lao Qin, fight against the national calamity together!"

"When the Qin Dynasty was in peril, the Supreme General was forced to endure humiliation and surrender to Xiang Yu in order to save the Qin Dynasty."

"With the assistance of the strategist, the Great Qin will surely regain its glory. We must also join the Qin army and serve the Great Qin!"

After Zhao Long forcefully suppressed some corrupt officials, Nanzheng had transformed into a scene resembling the Qin Dynasty.

Zhao Long and Zhang Han have visited many places in the past few days.

Tell the people of Hanzhong that the Great Qin Dynasty has returned!

If it were Liu Bang, he would need to stabilize the old Qin system and not make any changes for the time being, gradually taking control of the region.

Zhao Long shouldn't worry about all that; this is Qin territory.

They came representing the Great Qin to suppress those corrupt officials. After the initial excitement, the people will quickly accept this new elite force of the Great Qin!

They are one family, fellow countrymen of Qin!

At the Nanzheng Prefectural Governor's Office, Zhang Han wept bitterly.

"I never imagined that I would one day regain the support of the people..."

After Xiang Yu massacred 200,000 Qin soldiers at Xin'an, he felt like dying.

The people of Hanzhong did not hate Zhang Han as much as the people of Guanzhong, and with Zhang Han's former reputation still intact, he quickly gained the people's approval.

"This old man thanks you, young master, for your help to Great Qin."

Zhang Han was extremely grateful. If Zhao Long hadn't returned to Qin, even if he had to kowtow to the First Emperor forever after his death, it wouldn't have been enough to atone for his sins.

"General, rest assured, everything is getting better now, isn't it?"

Zhao Long picked up the information from various places in Hanzhong and handed it to Zhang Han.

"Han Xin and Yang Xi and their men have respectively recovered Xicheng, Baocheng and other places, and the information from various places has been compiled."

Only a small number of Qin troops were stationed in various places, and together with those in Nanzheng, there were only about three thousand soldiers in total.

Bringing them back into the Qin military system was very important.

More important are the records of the Hanzhong Prefecture.

"What? These greedy and corrupt officials have accumulated more than 100,000 bushels of grain in their various granaries?"

"How can this be?"

When Zhang Han held the documents, his hands were trembling. After looking at them in disbelief for a couple of seconds, he looked at Zhao Long, laughing and crying at the same time.

This is only Hanzhong. If we include the entire Sichuan region, the number will be several times higher!

"The land of abundance in Sichuan and Chongqing has an absolute geographical advantage, which is the best foundation."

This is why he wanted to take a risk, first playing the role of "enduring hardship and biding his time" under Xiang Yu's command, while actually vying with Liu Bang for control of Ba and Shu.

After Liu Bang acquired Ba and Shu, he had access to grain, which allowed him to move north to Guanzhong and thus secure a source of soldiers.

The Qin army can do these things themselves!

"To have the young master is to give the Great Qin a pair of wings."

"To regain control of Ba and Shu would allow the Qin Dynasty to soar to new heights."

Zhang Han also remarked with considerable emotion.

Sufficient food supplies mean they can train a large number of soldiers!

This is the capital that allows the Qin army to once again contend with the world.

Zhao Long said with a smile, "Now that Hanzhong is secured, there's no need to rush things in Bashu, as they are all officials from the Qin Dynasty."

"Liu Bang has now arrived at Liuba. The person we need to deal with first is Liu Bang."

Historically, Liu Bang adopted the strategy of using Qin's methods against Qin, and after a few years he defeated Xiang Yu, he established the Han dynasty to inherit the Qin dynasty and gradually replace the Qin system.

For the Qin army, acquiring Bashu, which was part of the Qin system, was much easier than for Liu Bang.

Now, the only obstacle standing in the way of Qin's complete control of Bashu is Liu Bang.

Just as Zhao Long was speaking, hurried footsteps came from outside.

"Reporting to the General and the Young Master, news from Liuba."