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

Lü Matong was very excited. This meant that he had truly accepted the Qin Dynasty and decided to serve it well.

They will become even more excited as the strength of the Qin Dynasty grows!

Even Zhao Long would be pleasantly surprised by the things he brought back.

Zhang Han said in surprise, "Xiang Yu is being so generous this time?"

Cavalry is different from infantry. Training elite cavalry takes more than three to five years and costs more than ten times that of infantry soldiers.

After the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu acquired most of the warhorses of Wang Li's 100,000-strong Great Wall army, but Xiang Yu's cavalry force is unlikely to remain large at present.

Lu Matong said with great excitement, "Haha, thanks to your brilliant plan, young master."

"Your initiative in revealing your identity has earned me Xiang Yu's trust."

"Xiang Yu was bogged down by the turmoil in the northern state of Qi and was unwilling to attack Guanzhong again. So he ordered me to lead three thousand cavalry to oversee Guanzhong."

Zhang Han and the others all looked at Zhao Long with admiration.

With a little trickery, everyone in the world became a pawn on a chessboard, controlled by Zhao Long.

Sending Lü Matong to lead three thousand cavalry to guard the Qin state—what's the difference between that and giving the Qin state away for free?

"General Lü, you've worked hard this time. But what's this big fish you mentioned?"

"Haha, on the day I arrived in Pengcheng, Liu Bang's envoy also arrived in Pengcheng."

"This person is someone the young master mentioned, his name is Lu Jia..."

After Lü Matong recounted the events of that day in Pengcheng, Zhang Han laughed.

Wouldn't you call this the guilty party accusing the innocent first?

With Lü Matong, a trusted subordinate of Xiang Yu, around, even if Lu Jia went there and spoke eloquently, as long as Lü Matong didn't reveal any flaws, Xiang Yu wouldn't be too close to Lu Jia!

Moreover, Liu Bang's plan to extract more benefits from Xiang Yu also failed completely.

I never expected Liu Bang to be so lucky and escape.

“Lu Jia probably noticed something was wrong with the Chu army. That night he went to visit Xiang Bo and prepared to flee Pengcheng the next day. I had someone keep an eye on him beforehand, and they captured him and brought him back.”

Lu Matong was like a child eager for praise, and Zhao Long naturally didn't hold back his compliments.

"General Lü has worked hard this time. Great Qin is delighted to have gained three thousand cavalrymen and even more pleased to have captured Lu Jia."

These words fully affirmed Lü Matong's contributions, which pleased Lü Matong greatly, and his future as a Marquis was promising!

It's done!

Zhang Han was also watching from the side, a smile on his face.

He's starting to act like a ruler.

Even Zhao Long himself didn't realize that his demeanor and composure were nothing like those of an ordinary strategist.

What he has done has long exceeded the limits of what a strategist can achieve.

"My lord, although Xiang Yu has support in this battle, he is also on guard!"

Lu Matong recounted the affairs of Wei Bao, Zheng Chang, and Chen Ping, as well as the arrangements made by the State of Chu for Liu Bang's side.

"Don't worry, the Qin state is no longer so fragile."

Zhao Long narrowed his eyes.

Occupying Bashu, or even clearing out the Yi people in Hanzhong, would mean that Qin would have a stable rear area. If all else fails, they could just garrison troops in Bashu.

The title "Land of Abundance" is no exaggeration. With a large population, it would only take one generation to unleash the immense vitality of Sichuan and Chongqing.

Zhang Cang asked with some concern, "Now that the Yong Kingdom is powerful, will the Qu family and other families join forces with Wei Bao?"

They greedily wanted to extract more wealth from the Qin people.

Naturally, they wouldn't want a powerful and influential regime to emerge on this land again, as that would hinder their ability to seize wealth.

Zhao Long laughed: "Wouldn't it be even better if they dared to make a move?"

Everyone was stunned, looking at Zhao Long with confusion.

"The Guanzhong Plain is now almost a wasteland. What is most needed for its reconstruction?"

Without hesitation, Zhang Cang replied, "Money and provisions!"

After saying that, he realized something, and a look of worry flashed in his eyes: "Young Master, are you planning to take action against these powerful clans?"

"However, most of these powerful families have powerful backers!"

This is what Zhang Cang finds most troublesome.

The powerful clans that shared in this grand feast in Guanzhong did not possess much military strength themselves; what was truly terrifying were the representatives behind them.

Just like the three families of Qu, Jing, and Zhao, the saying "Though Chu has only three households, it will surely destroy Qin" refers to these three families.

During the great chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, these three families did not directly participate in the attack on the Qin state.

However, the Chu region alone produced so many elite soldiers and generals, as well as top-tier kings like Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.

Liu Bang was incredibly lucky, blessed by Heaven, and had the support of a large number of civil and military officials and commoners.

However, these families always had their shadows behind Xiang Yu.

Moreover, they possess wealth and resources accumulated over hundreds of years, and still wield considerable influence.

At this moment, Zhang Han shook his head and chuckled.

"Lord Zhang Cang may not have been in Qin for long and may not be familiar with Qin's way of doing things!"

Zhang Cang was very puzzled. What method did the Qin Dynasty use?

A glint of light flashed in Yang Duanhe's eyes: when the enemy is weak, stockpile troops; when enough troops have been stockpiled, then send them out!

This is Daqin!

Zhang Han straightened up, pointed to the vast land outside, and said in a deep voice: "The whole world belongs to the Great Qin!"

"The Great Qin is where the Way of the King lies; those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish!"

"Liu Bang's army of 100,000 was strong enough, but now they are only fleeing in a sorry state, wanting to kneel down and beg for mercy from Xiang Yu!"

At this moment, Zhang Han exuded boundless majesty, startling Zhang Cang into a daze.

This does indeed seem to be a common tactic of the Qin Dynasty, but it depends on the context.

"If we were to destroy the three families of Chu now, the first person to oppose it would be Xiang Yu. He might get angry and launch another attack on Guanzhong."

Zhang Han laughed loudly: "By the time Xiang Yu arrives, it will be too late."

"They are just three traitors, why bother with them? If the Qin army can wipe out the forces of all the tribes in Guanzhong, they will be able to obtain immense wealth and restore the power of the Qin Dynasty before it swept across the world."

"On the contrary, without these parasites, the land of Guanzhong will only develop better!"

Seeing Zhang Cang's puzzled expression, Zhang Han couldn't help but laugh and looked at Yang Duanhe.

"General, didn't you tell Lord Zhang about the current strength of the Qin army?"

"After conquering Hanzhong, the Qin army accepted the surrender of 30,000 Han soldiers, leaving 5,000 in Hanzhong. Li Xin then integrated the troops from all sides and led 10,000 troops to pacify Bashu."

"In the Qin army's new recruit camp, there are 20,000 soldiers who have been training day and night for more than three months. The Qin army that returned after conquering Hanzhong also has 5,000 soldiers. Adding the soldiers under the command of the inner envoy and the 3,000 cavalrymen brought back by General Lü, the Qin army has more than 40,000 elite soldiers who can fight!"

At this moment, Zhang Cangdu's expression froze slightly.

Unbeknownst to them, the Qin army had already amassed 40,000 elite troops.

He had even seen those new Qin soldiers; they were trained entirely according to the standards of Qin's elite troops.

With the ample grain left by Xiang Yu, even if he used some to appease the people, they were still well-off and could train day and night, becoming the professional warriors Zhao Long spoke of!

They were a bunch of elites who had never seen blood. One big battle would be enough to transform them!

This is not comparable to the Qin Dynasty's peak combat strength, but by the standards of the current elite Qin soldiers, in terms of battle record alone, the Battle of Hanzhong saw 10,000 Qin soldiers annihilate 100,000 Han soldiers!

Even if there was an element of trickery involved, it still demonstrates just how powerful this reborn Qin army is today!

"Furthermore, the selection process within the Han army has concluded, and another 10,000 men have been chosen to be temporarily placed in the new recruit camp and trained under the guidance of General Yang!"

"Now, there are a total of 50,000 soldiers!"

Fifty thousand elite Qin soldiers—this is Zhang Han's current source of confidence.

While not invincible, he is certainly not afraid to challenge any of the world's lords individually.

Zhang Han laughed and said, "By the time Xiang Yu realizes something is wrong, we will have already destroyed three families, stockpiled troops at Hangu Pass, 50,000 elite Qin soldiers, and the granary of Bashu. Do you think we can destroy three families?"