Actually, Zhang Xi and Wei Yan are not fools. Of course they know how outrageous their proposed border defense plan is.
But the actual situation left them with no good solution.
Logically speaking, the Guanzhong military garrison should mobilize county soldiers to establish the garrison in Guanzhong. What does it have to do with the county soldiers in Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Liangzhou? !
It is okay to guard the border, but not in this way.
But the actual situation in Guanzhong, everyone knows that Man Chong is not a good person.
Originally, there were more than 200,000 households and more than 900,000 households in Guanzhong, but Manchong moved more than 400,000 people at once, which is equivalent to freeing up an entire Zuo Fengyi.
What's even more terrible is that not all of the nearly 500,000 people who were not moved away by Man Chong have returned to Guanzhong Sanfu. Some people have fled into the mountains and forests to survive, and some well-connected families have moved to Liangzhou. , Yizhou and other places to avoid disaster, and they will not be able to come back for a while. The total population currently registered in the four counties of Yongzhou Governor's Department will be more than 400,000.
If we don't use the method of guarding the border, even if we recruit county soldiers at the extreme ratio of ten soldiers to one soldier, we can only recruit 40,000 soldiers at most. How can we build a military garrison in such a large area as Zuofengyi? !
There was really no other way, so this was the last resort.
And according to Zhang Xi and Jiang Wan's joint estimate, if Zuo Fengyi uses rotating farming, the number of people needed for the military camp will probably be enough to remain at around 70,000 to 80,000.
The number of people required may be slightly higher in the early stage, but that is mainly to resume production. When production resumes, there will not be that many conventional military troops required.
At that time, all the soldiers from the three counties will not need to come to Zuo Fengyi to guard the border. They will come once every two or three years on average, which can basically ensure the sustainable development of Zuo Fengyi's military garrison.
As for the Northern Army's seriousness, I'm afraid the Northern Army really has to stay in Chang'an before the population of Yongzhou recovers.
On the one hand, the elite Northern Army was a force that intimidated Cao Wei. It was difficult for the county soldiers alone to face the attack of the elite Central Forbidden Army of Cao Wei.
On the other hand, can the emperor really feel at ease when the elite troops of the Northern Army do not watch over the cultivation of farmland in such a large area as Guanzhong? !
Some things depend on how you interpret them. With Zhang Xi's shrewdness and Wei Yan's loyalty, they never thought about interfering with the Northern Army's military power from the beginning to the end.
Of course, even if Liu Bei figured this out later, he still hesitated.
The 30,000 Northern troops are a knife in his hand. This knife is also needed just in case. The situation in Chengdu is still unclear. If necessary, these 30,000 Northern troops are what he will go south to put down the rebellion. A sharp blade cannot be placed lightly on Zuo Fengyi.
Although judging from the current situation, Zhuge Liang is in charge in Chengdu and things are going very smoothly, and there will be no large-scale rebellion. But Liu Bei has to leave behind his own back-up.
But the situation in Chang'an is also the same.
If Yongzhou is managed according to the conventional method, it will be impossible to quickly restore production in a short period of time because the shortage of Dingkou is too great.
The reason why Liu Bei still refused to lead the army back to Chengdu and did not immediately disband the Northern Expeditionary Army was that Liu Bei knew that in such a large Guanzhong, it would be difficult to guarantee the safety of Guanzhong without a force of about 100,000 to defend it.
To a certain extent, Cao Pi's strategy of immigrating people into Guanzhong did directly hit the weakness of Liu Bei Group. Even if Liu Bei Group could occupy Guanzhong, it might not be able to hold it in a short time.
Liu Bei had no choice but to wait until Pang Tong and Huang Quan arrived and ask them for their opinions.
As for Pang Tong's opinion on this, well, he gave Zhang Xi a blank stare.
"Yuan Chang is also one of the most resourceful people in the world. How could he come up with such a bad plan?!" Pang Tongtong said without giving Zhang Xi any face, "With troops from three states to guard the border military garrison, Yuan Chang is not afraid of the earthquake in the three states, and the soldiers are all pregnant. Resentment?!"
Zhang Xi was unhappy when he heard this and asked, "Brother Shi Yuan, why did you say this?! Soldiers guarding the border is a rule established by the Han Dynasty. Guarding the border for the country, how can there be any resentment?!"
When Pang Tong heard this, he sneered and said, "I guard the border for the country, so I naturally have no resentment. But so often, Yuan Chang is not afraid of repeating the old story of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang?!"
This is a bit harsh to say, but it also illustrates the attitude towards border defense in this era.
How many of the county soldiers in these days are willing to guard the border? ! How many of them can return to their hometown safely after the border guard mission is over? !
Not to mention that this is a period of war, even in a period of peace, this march of nearly a thousand miles is a road to hell, okay?
Of course, if Zhang Xi insists on being messy, accusing Pang Tong of inappropriate examples, and comparing Dang Tong to Qin II, it is not impossible, but that is not a solution to the problem.
And Liu Bei is not the kind of brainless person. It is impossible not to understand the point of what Pang Tong said.
The point is - no county soldiers are willing to take on such a border guarding task.
Pang Tong continued, "There is nothing to worry about when a family is in chaos. The family wants nothing more than Li Er, and if they are lured with benefits, the chaos will be peaceful. If the army is in chaos, it will do great harm. It can range from invading prefectures and counties to destroying the foundation of the country. , this cannot be done carelessly.”
Once the county soldiers choose to rebel because they are unwilling to guard the border, it will not be as simple as a rebellion instigated by ordinary families.
The aristocratic family pursues interests. As long as you are willing to compromise your interests, they can start a rebellion and naturally quell the rebellion quickly.
But the rebellion of the county soldiers was a rebellion of the lower-level soldiers and the common people. If it got serious, it would not be easy to quell.
By that time, it will be fine if the provinces and counties are caught in the flames of war. Don’t forget the foundation of our lord’s world.
People-oriented! ! !
If the people rebel, then the lord's foundation will become a joke, and we cannot afford the consequences.
This general explanation made Liu Bei think deeply and Zhang Xi was speechless.
Pang Tong smiled and continued, "Furthermore, Yuan Chang's plan is indeed a wonderful move, but I don't know why, he was so hasty?!"
As Pang Tong spoke, he walked to Liu Bei's desk, found a map of Guanzhong, asked Huangmen Shilang to hang it up, and said to the map, "When you acquire new land in Guanzhong, you must first put the safety of Guanzhong first. Zuo Fengyi Close to the Tongguan-Yellow River line, select dangerous places to deploy defenses along. Setting up military garrison to provide military supplies is the first priority. Other places can be postponed. According to general estimates, 30,000 to 50,000 county troops are enough to deploy defenses, so there is no need to leave the entire territory of Fengyi. They all use military garrison, with a hundred thousand troops?!"
What Pang Tong means is to focus on defense. There is no need to spread the stalls so big in other areas at once. You can take your time later and don't have to rush.
Of course, there was one sentence that Pang Tong did not say.
That is - since it has been decided to build a military zone in Zuo Fengyi, don't use the mentality of local governance to consider areas that cannot be taken into account immediately. Even if the cultivated land is abandoned, there is nothing that can be done.
Even if the cultivated land has been abandoned for ten years, it can be reclaimed in the future. Why must all the cultivated land be used as military camps from the beginning? !
This is probably the core of Pang Tong's opinion - military cantonments can be made, but there is no need to launch military cantonments throughout Zuofengyi at once. It is enough to have 30,000 to 50,000 county soldiers to set up military cantons.
But Zhang Xi disagreed again.
What you said before is somewhat reasonable. Although Zhang Xi does not completely agree, it is difficult to refute it after all.
But when you said this, Zhang Xi immediately found room to refute.
"Brother Shiyuan, you have such a loud tone!" Zhang Xi glanced at Pang Yi angrily, a look that was no different from looking at a prodigal son.
Then, Zhang Xi paused for a moment and continued, "If one acre of cultivated land is not cultivated for three years, it will be barren, and if it is not cultivated for five years, hundreds of thousands of hectares of cultivated land in Guanzhong will be wasted. If Brother Shiyuan abandons it with just one word, wouldn't it be a prodigal act?" ?!”
"Yuan Chang, you've exaggerated!!!" Pang Tong's face didn't look good either.
Who is the prodigal? !
Zhang Xi ignored it and continued, "In troubled times, it is still difficult for the people to obtain one acre of cultivated land, and it is not easy for the country to obtain hundreds of hectares of cultivated land. However, Brother Shi Yuan wants to abandon hundreds of thousands of hectares of cultivated land. Such things are not ours in Yongzhou. The governor’s department doesn’t dare to do anything!”
What he said made Pang Tong a little angry.
Yes, Pang Tong was from a noble family, but he was not such an idiot. He wasted hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile farmland. Pang Tong couldn't accept such a big label.
Therefore, Pang Tong hurriedly defended, "Don't say such lies, Yuan Zhang. How can Tong not know that fertile land is valuable, but things have priorities. Although fertile land is valuable, it can be remedied if it is temporarily abandoned. Guanzhong is unstable, and if it is gained and lost again, how can it be remedied?" !”
After saying this to Zhang Xi, Pang Tong immediately raised his hand and said to Liu Bei without waiting for Zhang Xi's response, "Your Majesty, I also know that my strategy is not a complete one, but there are always trade-offs. Although the land in Guanzhong is obtained now, However, Tongguan in the northeast, Yellow River, and Wuguan in the southeast are not in our hands, and there is a danger of military disaster in the pass at any time. Zuofeng Yi's military garrison is indeed a good strategy, but if we follow Yuan Chang's plan, it is just to use the land of the three states to protect the pass. , there are many disasters. According to Tong's plan, although the land has been abandoned for several years, a small number of soldiers can defend Guanzhong without leaving any residual poison to the place. Your Majesty, the land can be reclaimed, but it is not easy to recover Guanzhong. Please think twice. "
After hearing what Pang Tong said, Liu Bei was a little shaken and looked at Zhang Xi on the side. It seemed that Zhang Xi didn't know what to say.
It is true that as Pang Tong said, his strategy is not a perfect strategy, but Zhang Xi's strategy is also not a good strategy.
Doing this like Zhang Xi can indeed make up for the problems in the Guanzhong area in a short period of time, but Zhang Xi's approach is equivalent to transferring the crises and conflicts that originally belonged to Guanzhong to other states and counties.
Apart from anything else, we can't let the elite troops of the Northern Army and soldiers from the three states defend Guanzhong until Guanzhong's population recovers, right? !
Will Jingzhou still use troops? ! Does Yizhou still need to govern the place? ! What should Liangzhou do if the Qiang or Xianbei invade? !
You can't have a Yongzhou governor's department in every state in the country, right? !
The biggest problem in Guanzhong is the lack of men, not soldiers. The primary and secondary contradictions must be clarified. Otherwise, even if Zhang Xi's method is followed, it will just tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, which cannot be regarded as a fundamental solution to the problem.
Liu Bei is also in a dilemma now. Let's use Zhang Xi's strategy. Liu Bei is also worried about the instability of the people and soldiers in Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Liangzhou. He can use Pang Tong's strategy. Liu Bei also feels sorry for the waste of those lands. That's not a few years ago. Ten acres of land is hundreds of thousands of hectares! ! !
Liu Bei was wondering what to choose. Huang Quan, who was standing aside, suddenly coughed.
Huang Quan's cough immediately attracted the attention of the other three people present.
Also, this guy hasn't said a word since he came in. Could it be that he has some good ideas? !
Huang Quan looked at the three of them, especially the Han Emperor Liu Bei, who was looking at him hopefully. He was a little embarrassed, and hesitantly smiled, and then said slowly, "I do have a plan, but this plan is a bit..."
Huang Quan's hesitant look made Zhang Xi and Pang Tong feel a little nervous. This old guy probably couldn't come up with any good ideas.
But now, neither Zhang Xi nor Pang Tong can convince anyone. If Huang Quan really has a solution, it doesn't hurt to listen.
"Does Gong Heng have a good strategy to deal with the current predicament in Guanzhong?!" Liu Bei smiled and asked proactively.
When Huang Quan heard this, Liu Bei spoke. Although he still felt guilty, he finally spoke.
"Back to your majesty, in my opinion, the root cause of the difficulties in Guanzhong is the lack of Dingkou. In the middle of Shu, there are many Dingkou from well-known families but little land." When Huang Quan said this, he raised his head slightly to look at Liu Bei, and felt a little more in his heart. After making a calculation, he gritted his teeth and said, "If the emperor can issue an edict, he will allow the Shuzhong aristocratic family to go north to Guanzhong, and actually report Dingkou to enrich Guanzhong in order to obtain the land in Guanzhong."
Yes, you know that Huang Quan can't come up with any serious ideas! ! !
(End of chapter)
