Chapter 303 The Fifteen Years of Jian'an, the General Trend of the World
The end of the 14th year of Jian'an was just the beginning for both Liu Bei and Cao Cao.
Liu Bei had just pacified Yizhou and settled in Chengdu. He still needed time to carry out governance, such as wooing the escaped former Liu Zhang officials, appeasing the people of Yizhou's aristocratic families, appointing officials of all sizes, etc.
This process is very long, because after he pacifies Yizhou, a large number of talents will come to join him. This requires the screening of talents and the appointment of people according to their aptitude. In the northern part of Yizhou, including the vassal state of Shu County and the vassal state of Guanghan, there are fifty-four
It takes time to appoint hundreds of officials in counties and cities.
As for the southern part of Yizhou, which is also the later Yunnan area, Liu Bei has not sent anyone to manage it for the time being. At present, he mainly sends envoys to various places to appease the major families and minority leaders in southern Yizhou, grant them official positions, and let them maintain his rule.
Can.
Liu Bei appointed Fazheng as the prefect of Shu County, General Yangwu, Pang Tong as Yizhou, General of Military Advisor, Xu Shu as General Zuo, General Anhan, and the three of them were in charge of General Zuo's office.
Together with General Zhaowen Yiji, General Zuo Xicao and Liu Ba, General Xingye Li Yan, and Guanghan Prefect Zhang Song, they all presided over the reform of Yizhou, such as formulating laws, selecting talents, calming the people and dealing with troubles, dealing with chaotic parties, etc.
Among them, talents from Bashu came to join one after another. Historically, after Liu Bei defeated Liu Zhang, many people were unwilling to serve Liu Bei. For example, among the generals were Yang Huai, Gao Pei, Deng Xian, Leng Bao, Zhang Ren, Liu Wei, Fu Jin,
Xiang Cun and so on, among the civil servants there are also Wang Lei, Yin Pu, Zheng Du and so on.
But now Liu Bei did not gain Yizhou by defeating Liu Zhang, but Liu Zhang surrendered himself. So their surrender now is not considered betraying their master, but they are defecting to Liu Bei under Liu Zhang's order. In this way, there is no obstacle to morality.
They came to surrender one after another.
In addition, Wu Yi, Fei Guan, Zhang Yi, Wu Lan and others who surrendered to Liu Bei in the Battle of Zigui, as well as Yan Yan, Zhang Song, Fazheng, Meng Da, Pang Xi, Wu Ban, and Li who chose to surrender in history
Hui, Xu Jing et al.
For a time, it can be said that Liu Bei had all the officials in Yizhou doing their best, such as ordering Zhang Song to rectify Shu, using Xu Jing's reputation to recruit talents, etc.
At least in terms of talent team, Liu Bei already has talented people from Jingzhou and Yizhou. In terms of the team of civil servants and generals, he is now on par with Cao Cao.
While Liu Bei was in full swing fighting the internal affairs of Yizhou, Cao Cao had already pacified the north, and now only western Liaoning and eastern Liaoning were left.
At the end of the 14th year of Jian'an, it snowed in the north and the roads were difficult to travel, so Cao Cao stationed his troops in the Changliao area and waited for the snow to melt before attacking Wuhuan leader Tadun the next year.
In February of the fifteenth year of Jian'an, after the snow melted in the spring, Cao Cao's army marched north and took Liucheng directly.
Tadun was being treated seriously at this time, far from being attacked by Cao Cao for thousands of miles like in history, so that he temporarily organized soldiers and horses to resist, but was defeated by Zhang Liao's formation and the army collapsed.
But he did not hold out for long. Whether he was attacked by a surprise attack or engaged in a fierce battle, he was no match for Cao Cao. The armies of both sides faced off in the vast grassland outside Liucheng. In just one morning, the Wuhuan cavalry were killed and dispersed.
In the era without stirrups and saddles, the cavalry only had high mobility. Facing the infantry regiments forming an array, as well as the infantry's hard bow volleys with a longest range of more than 200 meters, the cavalry bows that could only shoot a few tens of meters were basically useless.
Unable to compete with it, it suffers a congenital loss in long-range means.
This battle demonstrated Cao Cao's extremely powerful military capabilities. Eighty thousand troops marched forward in formation. After the Wuhuan cavalry approached, thousands of arrows were fired, scattering the front troops of the Wuhuan cavalry. Then the tiger and leopard cavalry outflanked and launched a surprise attack.
Tadun's middle army directly overwhelmed his first and middle armies.
In the chaos of the army, Tadun was beheaded by the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry led by Zhang Liao and Cao Chun. The entire Wuhuan cavalry suddenly fell into chaos. After a morning of fighting, the other Wuhuan leaders surrendered one after another. The two Yuans fled eastward again. From then on, Liaoxi
After pacification, only Liaodong remained in Youzhou.
Soon after, Gongsun Kang of Liaodong killed two Yuans and presented their heads to Cao Cao. The Yuan family and the hidden danger in the north were completely put down. After Cao Cao returned to Yecheng in the 15th year of Jian'an, he stepped up his pace, sent troops again, and personally led the army directly.
Take the land of Bingzhou.
During the Northern Expedition to the Second Yuan Dynasty, Gao Gan surrendered. As a result, the Second Yuan Dynasty was defeated and fled to western Liaoning. Gao Gan felt that Ye City was empty and rebelled again. He was defeated by Xun Yan. Cao Cao sent Yu Jin to attack Huguan, but could not conquer it for the time being. Now the main force has returned and a mighty army of five
With 60,000 yuan, he crossed Yangchang Ban and conquered Bingzhou in person.
When they learned that Cao Cao had arrived in person, Gao Gan knew he was outmatched and fled in panic. He first went to the Southern Xiongnu to ask for help, but was rejected by Hu Chuquan, the leader of the Southern Xiongnu. Finally, he ran to Hedong and joined forces with Zhang Baiqi, Wei Gu, Fan Xian and Zhang
Sheng and other anti-Cao forces in Hedong continued to separate their regimes.
In April of the 15th year of Jian'an, after Cao Cao pacified Bingzhou, he continued to pursue and attack Hedong. Gao Gan wanted to unite with Ma Chao and Han Sui in Guanzhong to resist Cao Cao, but Zhang Ji sent Ma Chao as an envoy to lobby, so Ma Chao and Han Sui did not send troops to help.
Therefore, under the joint attack of Chang'an Zhong Yao and Cao Cao, Gao Gan and others were defeated again and lost control of their advance and retreat. They had no choice but to flee into Zuo Fengyi, trying to escape from Chencang or Wuguan to Hanzhong Nanyang to defect to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei learned the news and sent troops out of Chencang to meet him. As a result, his actions caused Ma Chao, Han Sui and others to become extremely nervous. Ma Chao and Han Sui both suspected that Liu Bei was planning to attack Guo under false pretenses. In name, he was going to meet high-ranking officials, but in reality he was going to attack.
They annexed Liangzhou, so they united and the two sides faced off in Yi County.
Although Liu Bei had sent envoys to lobby, but they ignored him, Liu Bei had no choice but to give up. According to Pang Tong's plan, he could not make enemies of Ma Chao, Han Sui and other Guanzhong troops yet, so he chose to retreat.
Before retreating, Liu Bei sent people to inform the senior officials. Ma Chao, Han Sui and others did not allow him to pass through Chencang Road, and suggested that he go south to Jingzhou from Wuguan.
However, to go south from Wuguan, you have to pass through Chang'an. Under the siege of Zhong Yao, Gao Gan was forced to abandon his troops and flee with several cavalry. When Wuguan passed through Shangluo County, he was captured and killed by Wang Yan, the captain of Shangluo County.
, Since then, all the land east of the Bongzhou River has been in the hands of Cao Cao.
Under this circumstance, Cao Cao's prestige and power in the Guandong region and the Chendu court reached its peak, so he took advantage of the situation and became prime minister, taking over the power of the court and the north.
In this situation, the world is barely divided into four points.
If the Nanyang Basin is used as the center, then Cao Cao and Liu Bei will get the Northeast and Southwest respectively with the Nanyang Basin as the center. One occupies Guandong and the north, and the other occupies Jingzhou and Yizhou.
Han Sui and Ma Chao occupied the northwest corner, and Sun Quan occupied the southeast corner.
In terms of territory analysis, Liu Bei occupied the largest area, including Sichuan Province, Chongqing City, Yunnan Province, Hubei Province, Guizhou Province, Hunan Province and part of Henan Province, about 1.5 million square kilometers.
However, Yunnan Province and Guizhou Province are not actually occupied, and most of them are hilly and mountainous areas. The populations under their jurisdiction are mainly in the Chengdu Plain, Jianghan Plain, Nanyang Basin, Hanzhong Basin and other areas. The total population under their jurisdiction is more than 10 million, making them the largest in the territory.
, ranking second in population.
Cao Cao's territory was second, including Henan Province, parts of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces, Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, part of Liaoning Province and part of Shaanxi Province, about 800,000 square kilometers.
Except for Shanxi Province, most of these places are vast plain areas, and they have been effectively occupied. Although the territory is smaller than Liu Bei's, the population under his rule is also the largest, reaching more than 20 million, and the overall strength is still the strongest at this time.
.
Then there is Sun Quan’s power.
Since the cession of Lujiang County, Sun Quan's forces have fully retreated to the southeast of the Yangtze River. The territory is probably a small part of the southern part of Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province in later generations, plus Zhejiang Province, Jiangxi Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province.
From this point of view, if Sun Quan's power was placed in later generations, it would be much stronger.
Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai free shipping areas, plus Shenzhen and Guangzhou, among the top ten cities in the country in later generations, Sun Quan occupied Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. In terms of economic strength, it can be said that he crushed Cao Liu
Already.
It's a pity that this is the end of the Han Dynasty, and the Yangtze River Delta belonged to the southern barbarians at that time, let alone Guangzhou and Fujian.
Moreover, Sun Quan does not actually occupy the Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian areas. His current population territory is mainly concentrated in the Taihu Lake Basin. To the south, the southeastern hills of Jiangxi and Fujian, and the Guangdong and Guangxi areas are only nominally owned. He has such a large territory, and the population under his rule is only four or five.
million.
Han Sui and Ma Chao had the smallest power. Their territory was part of Shaanxi Province in later generations, plus half of Gansu and Ningxia. The population under their rule was also small. If the Qiang people were not included, there might only be tens of thousands of households and hundreds of thousands of people.
certainly.
Whether it is Cao Cao's population of more than 20 million, Liu Bei's population of more than 10 million, or Sun Quan's population of four to five million, they are basically the total population.
There are certainly not that many people registered as taxpayers, and many of them are hidden away by wealthy families. The actual population controlled by the three people may not be more than one-third of the total population. The army they can mobilize is the strongest. Cao Cao is the strongest, followed by Liu Bei.
Sun Quan is the weakest.
On the other hand, Han Sui, Ma Chao and others, because of the support of the Qiang people, could raise an army of more than 100,000 and nearly 200,000 at any time. On paper, their strength was actually stronger than that of Sun Quan, second only to Cao Cao and Liu Bei.
Therefore, in terms of overall strength, Cao and Liu are still competing for hegemony, and Han Sui, Ma, and Sun Quan are at the bottom.
In September of the fifteenth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei went to Jiangling.
He only brought Fazheng and Zhang Song with him on this trip, and he did not bring any troops. Except for his personal guard Chen Dao who led thousands of white soldiers, there were only some accompanying Yizhou civil servants.
This time I came here, in addition to analyzing the general trend of the world with Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen, I also wanted to exchange and divide Yijing officials.
As mentioned before, although the population under Liu Bei's rule was more than 10 million, the actual controlled population was only 3 to 4 million, of which at least 7 to 8 million were either controlled by numerous aristocratic families, ethnic minorities, and many others.
They are officials and servants of wealthy families, not part of the productive population.
In order to solve these problems, large-scale reforms must be carried out.
Officials in Yizhou and Jingzhou had too many local constraints, and it was difficult to exert their influence due to the relationship network such as relationships and relatives. Therefore, Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang were the first to propose dividing the territories. Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong went to Xichuan to govern Shu, and Fazheng Zhang Song and others
Entered Jingzhou to govern Chu.
After the fleet arrived in Jiangling, Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang were already waiting.
From last year to this year, the work of the two of them, as well as Fazheng, Zhang Song, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others in Jingzhou and Yizhou was basically sewing and repairing, working as paper framers, and maintaining the surface stability.
But everyone knows that even if Liu Bei has pacified Jingzhou and Yizhou now, there are still many hidden dangers in the two places. The aristocratic families are encroaching on the land and the population. Just like all the sources of destruction in the past dynasties, land annexation will still become a big problem.
If it cannot be resolved, even if the world is determined, it will not last long.
So corrections must be made.
Return the land to the displaced people and strengthen the management of people's livelihood.
This time, after Liu Bei stabilized Bashu, sent Xu Shu and Zhang Fei to guard Hanzhong, and placed Pang Tong and Guan Yu in charge of Chengdu, he personally rushed to Jiangling to discuss the details with Zhuge Liang in the morning.
It was late autumn in September, and the howling north wind was blowing on the vast Yangtze River. The waves on the river were rippling, and the ships were swaying in the wind as they gradually sailed into Jiangling Pier.
Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang were already waiting here. Their clothes were rustling in the wind, and they were waiting eagerly.
The ship sailed into the dock. Liu Bei took Fazheng, Zhang Song and others off the ship. Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang greeted him, raised their hands and said, "My lord."
"Xiaoqing, Kongming!"
When Liu Bei saw the familiar faces of the two people again, he was filled with emotion and said with a smile: "It seems like I have been separated from you for a long time."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "Although my lord has only been to Bashu for more than a year, the journey is so long that it really feels like a lifetime ago."
"yes."
Liu Bei unconsciously touched the white hair on his temples and said: "I have reached the age where I know my destiny, but Xiaoqing is still in her prime. Time flies so fast."
"Lord, it's windy at the pier, so we'd better go to the city first."
Zhuge Liang advised.
Liu Bei nodded and everyone headed to Jiangling City.
When they arrived at the government office in Jiangling City, everyone sat in rows, with Liu Bei taking the host position.
After everyone was seated, Liu Bei smiled and said to Fazheng Zhang Song: "Let me introduce you to Kong Ming Xiaoqing."
Zhuge Liang stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Langya Zhuge Liang, courtesy name Kongming."
Shen Chen also stood up and said: "Donghai Shen Chen, whose courtesy name is Xiaoqing."
Fazheng and Zhang Song stood up and bowed to them: "Fuzheng, Fa Zheng, filial piety and uprightness, Zhang Song, Zhang Ziqiao from Shu County."
Liu Bei said: "This division of land and rule was proposed by Kong Ming and Xiaoqing."
Fazheng looked at Shen Chen and said with a smile: "The God of War in Jingzhou who once defeated Cao Cao in panic and almost wiped out Sun Quan's entire army, Donghai Shen Xiaoqing is truly well-deserved."
Shen Chen slightly nodded his chin and said, "I heard that Mr. Xiaozhi was the mastermind behind my lord's decision to settle Shu. He even went to Hanzhong in person to persuade Yang Song. This shows that he is very resourceful. If my lord has a husband, he will be even more powerful than a tiger."
Zhang Song also said: "On the way here, my lord told me that Mr. Kong Ming planned to conquer Jingzhou and made Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others frightened by making false plans. This shows that Mr. Kong Ming has a clever plan."
Zhuge Liang said: "Mr. Ziqiao is eloquent and has a reputation for quick wit. This time my lord was able to quickly pacify Bashu because Mr. Ziqiao persuaded Liu Zhang to volunteer. Mr. Ziqiao's talent is unmatched by Liang."
After the four of them finished speaking, they looked at each other and laughed.
Although they have never met before, they all know that in the future the four people, including Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others, are likely to become the top decision-makers under Liu Bei's account.
Therefore, after meeting each other and complimenting each other, and getting to know each other better, we will be able to work together in harmony and work together for Liu Bei in the future.