"A few small countries?"
Lin Tian's words immediately drew everyone's attention.
Firstly, Lin Tian provided the resources for these small countries. Secondly, his words offered the soldiers of Qin a chance to achieve merit.
After the unification of the land, the Qin army had lost opportunities for military achievements.
After all, there were no more countries to conquer, making it difficult for them to earn glory on the battlefield.
Otherwise, the soldiers would not have fought so hard and chased after the Tu'an people so relentlessly during the previous extermination.
Now, with Lin Tian's statement, it was equivalent to opening up new battlefields for Qin.
Such new battlefields were eagerly anticipated by countless soldiers.
Therefore, after Lin Tian finished speaking, countless soldiers agreed.
"Your Majesty, this minister believes that His Highness the Crown Prince is correct. The people of those small countries are stubborn and have neither civilization nor tribes of their own. They should be brought into Great Qin to learn advanced knowledge!!"
"Your Majesty, this minister also agrees with this view. As the foremost nation, Great Qin indeed needs to guide those weaker countries!!"
"Your Majesty, let me go. I will bring them all to our Qin. I am willing to sign a military pledge, guaranteeing to complete the mission!"
At this moment, many generals were very excited. They wanted to be leading generals and achieve unparalleled merit.
Military merit was undoubtedly the strongest credential for a general.
Therefore, many generals looked intently at Ying Zheng, hoping he would give them this opportunity.
Ying Zheng, upon hearing this, also found it feasible.
After all, the people of those small countries were not like the current subjects of Qin. It was entirely possible to capture them to build the Great Wall and palaces.
However, who to send for this task made Ying Zheng conflicted.
Afterward, he looked at Lin Tian.
"My son, which general do you think would be suitable for this task??"
"Replying to my father, Great Qin has produced a multitude of martial generals and is rich in talent. In fact, anyone sent can complete this mission!!"
"However, if we are to speak of steadiness, it would be better to send General Wang Ben, the son of General Wang Jian!!"
Wang Ben's military talent was actually not as good as Wang Jian's.
Although the Wang family produced two marquises, after Wang Jian's death, the family's prestige had essentially declined.
However, in terms of loyalty, Wang Ben's loyalty was not inferior to anyone's.
Therefore, it was more than enough to let Wang Ben handle this matter. Moreover, Lin Tian could gain Wang Ben's favor.
This was a matter of achieving multiple goals with one action for him.
When other generals heard it was Wang Ben, they gave up.
If it were anyone else, they might have competed, but they could not compete with Wang Ben.
Firstly, Wang Ben was the son of Wang Jian, and this status was far superior to others.
Secondly, Wang Ben had also followed Lin Tian for some time. Even if he was not Lin Tian's closest confidant, he could certainly be considered one of Lin Tian's trusted aides.
And Lin Tian was now the Crown Prince of Qin, someone they needed to look up to and curry favor with the most.
Under such circumstances, they naturally would not object to Lin Tian's words.
Because of this, Wang Ben inexplicably became the General of the North Expedition.
When Wang Ben learned of this news, he was initially stunned, then ecstatic.
"Hahaha! This is too good. I can finally lead an army by myself!!"
"Please rest assured, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I will definitely complete this mission well and will absolutely not disappoint His Highness the Crown Prince!!"
"This time, I will definitely capture a large number of slaves and bring them to our Qin to build the Great Wall and palaces!!"
"At the same time, I will also procure a lot of bird's nests and Korean ginseng for our Great Qin!!"
"As for those gold and silver treasures, it wouldn't be too much to dig them out completely!!"
At this moment, Wang Ben wished he could exert ten times the effort to complete everything Lin Tian had said.
However, he did not yet have command of the troops, so he could only say so much.
Fortunately, Lin Tian trusted him enough.
As he was about to leave, Lin Tian patted his shoulder and said to Wang Ben:
"Do your best!!"
"And do not let those people in those regions off the hook!"
The Koreans of later generations were extremely disgusting, and Lin Tian had no good feelings towards them at all.
If possible, Lin Tian did not mind their ceasing to exist at this very moment.
When he said this, Wang Ben immediately understood his meaning.
A murderous glint appeared in his eyes, and he then said in a deep voice:
"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Your subordinate knows what to do!!"
"Good that you know. Go!!"
Thus, Wang Ben led the army and set off.
The number was not large, only fifty thousand men.
However, these fifty thousand men were more than enough to sweep across a region.
If it weren't for the small population of that area, Lin Tian would have even been willing to lead the troops himself to pacify it.
Not long after Wang Ben led the army away, another event occurred in Qin.
That was the final imperial examination of the second Keju (Imperial Examination) held in Xianyang City.
The top hundred candidates would be noticed by His Majesty's discerning eye.
Among them, there were several outstanding talents who caught Lin Tian's attention.
One person was Xiao He. He was originally a minor official in Qin. His performance in this Keju was outstanding, placing him in the top ten.
Another person was Ying Bu. He was handsome, could write and fight, and was talented. He also entered the top ten of the Keju.
There was also Chen Sheng, who came from a farming background. Through his own efforts, he entered the top hundred of the Keju.
These three individuals garnered Lin Tian's particular attention.
Because in history, they were three anti-Qin figures.
They had made significant contributions to overthrowing Qin.
However, from another perspective, they were also exceptionally talented.
It was precisely because of their outstanding talent that they could lead troops, govern regions, and mobilize large numbers of people for peasant uprisings.
Currently, they should not have harbored any thoughts of rebellion against Qin.
If used well, they would definitely be valuable talents for Great Qin.
Once they were willing to pledge allegiance to Great Qin, their destinies would be completely changed.
Therefore, after they participated in the Keju, Lin Tian transferred these three to his side for careful grooming.
While grooming them, Lin Tian also observed whether they harbored any rebellious intentions.
They were unaware of Lin Tian's intentions.
However, after being selected by Lin Tian, each of them was extremely excited.
Lin Tian's status was the Crown Prince of Great Qin. To be chosen by the Crown Prince meant that in the future, they might become ministers who helped the emperor ascend to the throne, with boundless prospects.
Therefore, every time they followed Lin Tian, they did their utmost and strove to showcase themselves.
The appearance of Xiao He and the others also reminded Lin Tian of the existence of Fan Kuai, Liu Bang, and Ji Bu.
Lin Tian also ordered people to search for traces of them.
...