It has to be said that the issue of merging states at this moment is already quite serious.
It is not without reason that Dong Zhuo, a man with such a strong desire for power, did not want to be the governor of Bingzhou and preferred to be the governor of Xuzhou.
Bingzhou has always been a border garrison area of the Han Empire. It is vast and sparsely populated. In one word, it is poor.
In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was internal turmoil among the Xiongnu for the throne, and they were divided into northern and southern parts again. The southern Xiongnu attached themselves to the Eastern Han Dynasty and became vassals, and was placed in the Hetao area by Emperor Guangwu. The royal court of the southern Xiongnu was located in Meiji, Xihe County, and the Xiongnu envoy was appointed. General Zhonglang led his troops to protect his safety.
At the same time, the attached Wuhuan were placed in You and Bingzhou, and were assigned to protect Wuhuan. Regardless of Youzhou, the three counties of Yanmen, Taiyuan, and Shuofang in Bingzhou all belonged to the activity area of the Wuhuan people.
What Liu Xiu hoped was that these nomadic peoples could guard the frontiers for the Han Dynasty, thus reducing the financial burden on the Han Empire. At first, this was indeed effective.
But with the passage of time, and the Eastern Han government's own inappropriate policy, the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan became increasingly dissatisfied with the court's frequent recruitment and oppression.
When this dissatisfaction reached a peak, they began to rebel. Together with the Xianbei and Qiang people who had never surrendered outside the country, they made troubles and fought together, constantly encroaching on Bingzhou's land.
Since the outbreak of the Han-Qiang War, the Eastern Han government spent almost all its money and energy on Liangzhou, leaving little energy to take care of Youzhou and Bingzhou.
Especially the extremely poor northern part of Bingzhou was basically worthless in the eyes of the imperial court, and was just money-losing goods. The imperial court at that time even wanted to give up the entire Liangzhou, let alone Bingzhou where a large number of barbarians were already active.
So when Liu Hong became emperor, the situation in Bingzhou further deteriorated. The five counties of Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Wuyuan, Shuofang, and Shangjun were essentially out of the control of the Eastern Han government, retaining rule in name only. qδ
Before the Hedong Crisis, even part of Xihe County was eroded and was essentially no longer the territory of the Han Empire.
Therefore, Bingzhou Governor and Bingzhou Mu can actually control only Taiyuan County, Shangdang County, Xihe County, and part of Yanmen County. They are full of three counties.
According to the original historical trend, because there were too few controllable parts of Bingzhou, Cao Cao once revoked the Bingzhou system and merged it into Jizhou. Later, Cao Pi restored the Bingzhou system.
However, after the restoration of Bingzhou, the land north of Xingling was basically abandoned.
In this changed world, Bingzhou's situation has not gotten better because of the lack of operations.
With the rise of the Bingzhou bandits headed by Zhang Yan and their alliance with the Southern Xiongnu, the anti-imperial forces in Bingzhou became stronger.
After the Hedong crisis broke out, the Han army was unable to defeat the rebel alliance. Don't even think about Yanmen County. Even the northern part of Taiyuan County was occupied by the Southern Huns. Dong Zhuo's scope of activities as a Bingzhou Mu was really small and pitiful, with only two counties. A little more.
In fact, if we really want to fight, Dong Zhuo can at least capture all of Taiyuan County and Xihe County. Liu Bei still has the most basic recognition of Dong Zhuo's combat effectiveness. However, the previous situation is really not suitable for another dispute in Bingzhou, so the court's policy in Bingzhou has always been They are all about defense and stability.
But just because you are safe does not mean that others want to be safe. The various barbarians living in Bingzhou are trying their best to further erode Bingzhou's territory, and Dong Zhuo can do nothing about it.
So it's no wonder that people don't want to be the Bingzhou Shepherd of this troublesome person.
But things are different now.
As the situation in the court and the world gradually stabilized, the system of four ministers led by Liu Bei also gradually stabilized. The first wave of reforms was already underway. In order to obtain more meritorious service and establish a stronger prestige, Liu Bei Naturally, he set his sights on Bingzhou.
Even from a practical point of view, restoring the entire Bingzhou area is necessary for the protection of the Sanhe area.
Otherwise, given the current situation, the defense north of Luoyang almost entirely relies on Hedong County. As long as the enemy penetrates Hedong County, which lacks a defensive fulcrum, it will be able to approach the Yellow River and threaten Luoyang. This is very detrimental to Luoyang's military security. .
To put it bluntly, the Eastern Han Dynasty during Liu Hong’s period was like
The Northern Song Empire, which had lost the sixteen states of Yanyun, was in a disadvantageous position in terms of military situation and geopolitics. However, the grassland power at this stage was far from being comparable to the Liao and Jin during the Song Empire.
Therefore, restoring the state merger is necessary from any point of view.
Liu Bei proposed this plan. With the large amount of money obtained by the current imperial court from confiscating families, exterminating clans and converting fields, he could naturally launch a straightforward and complete war to regain the state.
However, this war cannot be started at once, but must be carried out step by step.
This time, Liu Bei faced many enemies, including the Bingzhou bandits led by Zhang Yan, the Southern Xiongnu tribe led by Yu Fuluo, the Xianbei tribe in the central region, and a group of Wuhuan people living in Bingzhou.
The enemy's total population is quite large. According to estimates, it is no less than one million, and its combatable troops are no less than one hundred thousand. It is very difficult to eliminate them and restore the imperial court's rule over Bingzhou.
Moreover, there must be a sequence in dealing with these enemies. We cannot regard them all as enemies and start a war together. Then Liu Bei needs to go back to the battle again and bring all the central Han troops in Luoyang to Bingzhou for a big fight.
The impact would be too great.
And nominally speaking, the Bingzhou bandits are now ruled by the imperial court's general Zhang Yan, and they are considered a part of the imperial court. The Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Yu Fuluo was also canonized by the imperial court, and nominally submitted to the imperial court.
Therefore, it is not appropriate for the imperial court to rashly raise troops to attack them without a suitable righteous name.
Even if the emperor sends troops, he still needs a righteous name, right?
So Liu Bei set a sequence.
This time the crusade will first target Shangjun, Shuofangjun, Wuyuanjun, Dingxiangjun and Yunzhongjun, etc., and clean up the Xianbei and Wuhuan people here.
As for the Southern Xiongnu who are mainly active in Xihe County and the northern part of Taiyuan County, and the Bingzhou bandit forces active in Yanmen County and parts of Youzhou, they should be dealt with later.
They have the righteous declaration of the imperial court. As long as they have not committed any rebellion, the imperial court cannot attack them to avoid damaging the imperial court's credibility.
Moreover, they do not necessarily have to conquer, they can also be used in various ways to make them a "helper" in this battle to merge states.
Since you are enjoying the protection brought by the court's declaration of justice, how can you not contribute to the court?
When the imperial court needs to suppress thieves, you should naturally contribute. Otherwise, you will be disrespectful, ungrateful, and treacherous.
Then I have a reason to hit you. Liu Bei's plan is very comprehensive.
He wanted to mobilize the power of the Southern Xiongnu and Bingzhou bandits to attack the Xianbei forces on one side and the Wuhuan forces on the other, driving the tigers and devouring wolves, so that they could conquer each other, and the court could then reap the benefits.
Of course, these guys are not idiots. Both Zhang Yan and Yu Fuluo are smart people. They have experienced the struggle in the Hedong crisis, and their fighting skills should not be bad. It is impossible not to see Liu Bei's tiger drive. The wolf-eating strategy.
But this is an honest conspiracy for them.
If you obey orders, you must take practical actions and pay casualties and costs to respond to the court's call. In this way, the court will not have the possibility of using force against them.
By disobeying orders, you can preserve your own strength, but correspondingly, the court can also use this to think that they are ungrateful, and then have an excuse to raise troops to attack, and they will have no worries about starting a war.
These guys should all be aware of Liu Bei's reputation and combat effectiveness. They will make their own choice whether to follow Liu Bei's orders and serve the court, or to disobey Liu Bei's orders and resist to the end.
And Liu Bei just needs to wait.
After Guan Yu and Qian Zhao's army arrived in Luoyang, they rested for half a month in Luoyang. Liu Bei replaced them with the latest equipment, fed them good food and refreshed their spirits for half a month, and in early December let Guan Yu and Qianzhao went north with Man Chong.
After the army went north, it arrived in Taiyuan County on the eighth day of December.
In Dayuan County, Man Chong made a handover with Dong Zhuo.
Later, Dong Zhuo took five thousand relatives who belonged directly to him
The soldiers left Taiyuan County, followed the route planned by the imperial court, passed through Jizhou, crossed the Yellow River, took part of Yanzhou and Qingzhou, and entered Xuzhou.
Dong Zhuo will launch his own "Luoyang Return War" in Xuzhou.
The remaining Bingzhou army was about 20,000 people. Dong Zhuo handed over these troops to Guan Yu and Qianzhao honestly without making any small moves. He hurriedly left Taiyuan County on the tenth day of December and rushed towards his own future.
Man Chong, on the other hand, reorganized the resources left by Dong Zhuo, cooperated with Guan Yu and Qianzhao, reorganized the army left by Dong Zhuo, and also dealt with some of the affairs of the current Bingzhou.
It is said to be Bingzhou, but Man Chong can actually handle the affairs of Taiyuan County, Shangdang County and part of Xihe County. Dong Zhuo is quite capable and has done some management of these three counties. Generally speaking, there is nothing wrong with it. question.
The main reason is that Bingzhou has a vast territory and is sparsely populated. These three counties are not densely populated areas. Agricultural production and commercial trade are quite scarce, so Bingzhou's treasury does not have much money.
After checking the accounts, Man Chong also confirmed that there were no problems with the accounts. Dong Zhuo was not corrupt. His subordinates had some shady behavior, but overall, it did not affect Bingzhou's finances.
If Bingzhou still has "finance". Bingzhou is truly poor, not greedy.
So for now, if we want to go to war, the military expenditures and resources that the state treasury can provide can only account for 20%, or even less than 20%, and the court needs to provide another 80%.
This data was submitted to Liu Bei by Man Chong in mid-to-late December, allowing Liu Bei to have a basic plan for the upcoming Bingzhou Campaign.
