Before Ji Han regained Guanzhong, or in other words, before Adou moved the capital to Chang'an, we had to decide which palace had the most luxurious and magnificent palaces among the Han, Wei and Wu kingdoms.
That must be Wei Guo.
Not only did Wei have five capitals, but before a certain country boy changed the course of history, Wei was also the most powerful country.
Coupled with the fact that there is Cao Rui who likes civil engineering, the palaces are naturally built the most in the Three Kingdoms.
As for the two countries Shu and Wu, they are neighbors with the same disease.
When the Shu Han Dynasty was first established, there was no imperial palace, so General Zuo's Mansion was used as the imperial palace.
Liu Bei's battle at Yiling depleted the Shu Han family's wealth. Zhuge Liang worked hard and finally regained some strength.
In the first few years after Adou ascended the throne, the treasury was always tight.
Where did you get the money and food to build the palace?
It wasn't until the palace made the most successful investment to date that life began to get better.
Finally, he moved to Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, where he could know the emperor's happiness.
As for Sun Quan of Wu State, he was even worse than Adou.
After Adou ascended the throne, he only had a hard time in the first few years.
After Sun Quan ascended the throne, until now, he didn't even have channels for investment.
As the founding emperor, Sun Quan has never been too bad at employing people.
Doesn't he know that the whole court is filled with complaints about the school affairs office?
But the school affairs office can handle things, because the school affairs office can help you make money!
For this reason, Sun Quan always pretended to be deaf and dumb when it came to the school affairs office.
People are poor but have short ambitions, and horses are skinny but have long hair, that's all.
It’s just that no matter how well the school affairs office tries to make money, at most it can only subsidize some of the shortfalls in the treasury, treating the symptoms but not the root cause.
If you really want to treat both the symptoms and the root cause like a certain country bumpkin, improve the productivity of the entire country, and improve the efficiency of society in creating wealth, that will definitely not work.
Therefore, even after moving the capital to Jianye for so many years, the palace where Sun Quan lived was just the Taichu Palace.
And this Taichu Palace was actually an expansion of the general's mansion where Sun Quan originally lived. It was even simpler than Liu Bei's general Zuo's mansion.
After all, Jincheng has always been an important town in the southwest.
Although Jianye City has a long history, it is far less prosperous than Jincheng.
After Sun Quan moved the capital to Jianye, Jianye City needed to be re-planned. In the earliest Jianye City, the gates were made of bamboo fences.
Fortunately, there is Stone Mountain to the northwest of Jianye City. On Stone Mountain is the old city of Jinling City, guarding the entrance of the Qinhuai River into the river.
Note: Before the Tang Dynasty, the Yangtze River flowed directly under the Stone City. After the Tang Dynasty, the river shrank to the northwest and gradually changed into its current topography.
This stone mountain is the most important strategic location that protects Jianye City.
It doesn't matter if Jianye City doesn't have a city wall, but Stone Mountain must not be lost.
If Stone Mountain is lost, Jianye City can directly declare that the city is broken.
Therefore, Sun Quan did not even have time to expand his palace, so he built a stone city on the old city of Jinling and used it as the main naval base of the Wu Kingdom.
There are stone warehouses and stone warehouses in the city to store military grain and weapons.
The garrison in Stone City is also the main military force protecting Jianye City.
Sun Quan personally led troops to the north many times, and most of the troops mobilized were also from the garrison of Stone City.
This is the most elite force he can personally control.
Stone Mountain is located in the northwest of Jianye City and belongs to the remaining veins of Zhongshan Mountain.
Zhongshan, however, is located in the northeast of Jianye City.
The water originating from Zhongshan Mountain converges at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain, forming lakes of different sizes.
Among the two most famous lakes, one is to the west of Zhongshan Mountain and is called Hou Lake, which is also known as Xuanwu Lake in later generations.
One is in the south of Zhongshan Mountain and is called Qianhu Lake or Yanque Lake in later generations.
Before the Ming Dynasty, Yanque Lake was very large and should be comparable to Xuanwu Lake. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, in order to build a palace city, Lao Zhu recruited hundreds of thousands of civilians to fill up most of the lake, leaving only one lake.
This time, Sun Quan recruited the people to dig ditches in advance as soon as spring began, nominally to drain the water from Qianhu Lake into Qinhuai.
In this way, food from Wujun and other places can be transported to Jianye faster.
At the same time, it is also to regulate the water volume of Qinhuai River.
It would not be like last year when the fields around Jianye suffered from drought and there was no water for irrigation.
There is obviously water in the lake at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain, but it cannot be used.
It makes sense, it makes perfect sense.
After succeeding Man Chong, Wang Ling, the military commander of Yangzhou, inherited the policies of previous generations of military governors and did not relax his vigilance towards the south.
During this winter, many people in Wudi were so hungry that they had no way out and secretly ran north.
So he did understand what kind of miserable situation Wu Di had been in the past few months.
At this time, after learning about Wu State's actions, he thought that Wu State was seriously weakened by the drought last year, and Sun Quan had to try his best to remedy it.
Not to mention Wang Ling, even Ma Tian, who had stayed in Wu for so long, might not have thought of it if he had not had the information about the Xinghan Society:
Sun Quan's conscription of civilians at this time was not for the so-called construction of water conservancy, but for the northern expedition to Wei.
Because most of the grain that Han Dynasty shipped to Jingzhou last year did not land in Jingzhou at all, but directly changed the ship and continued towards Jianye.
After some grain ships came from Shu, they didn't even stop in Jingzhou, but just went eastward along the river.
But regardless of whether they changed boats or not, they finally entered Stone City along the intersection of Qinhuai River and Dajiang River.
In other words, most of the food used by Shu to relieve Soochow was transported to Stone City by Sun Quan and stored up.
I would rather some of the people under my rule starve to death than open a granary to release grain.
"This time, the bet is big!"
According to the plan, as soon as the spring begins this year, students who have studied in Wu for nearly four years will return to China.
But somehow, the leader of the team, Martin, received a notice from China and postponed his return date for the second time.
The first time was because Wu State needed additional supplies, so part of the debt was used to extend the study period for one year.
But this second extension was without any reason, it just allowed them to do as they were told at any time.
Although Ma Tian was called exaggerated by the late emperor, he was still a figure who could discuss military plans with the prime minister.
It may not be possible to lead troops into battle in person, but there is a way to talk about it on paper.
Seeing Sun Quan's various actions at this time, combined with the intelligence he had, he quickly came to a conclusion:
Sun Quan is planning to build water conservancy projects openly and cross the river secretly!
"Sir, what bet? Who wants to bet?"
Luo Xian and Fu Qian are both in their twenties and are in the prime of their lives.
Four years of living on the water have made the surface of their skin oily and smooth, and you can tell from their regular exposure to water.
The two of them were sitting on the bow of the boat doing nothing, looking up at the rolling river, which was constantly hitting the stone mountain and causing countless waves.
The roar of the waves reached my ears, and I even felt water droplets splashing on my face.
But no matter how huge the waves are in the river, the majestic Stone City stands still, like an elephant watching an ant.
Although I don’t know how many times I have seen it, Luo Xian and others can’t help but marvel every time they see Stone City blocking the river:
Such a dangerous place is really easy to defend but difficult to attack. In addition, Wu is good at maneuvering ships. I wonder how difficult it would be to attack it?
There is indeed a reason why Sun Quan decided to make his capital here.
The two people who were chatting at Didigu couldn't help but feel a little confused when they heard Mr. Ma's words:
"Sir, doesn't the military say you can't gamble?"
When Martin heard the two people's questions, he smiled:
"Wu is afraid that he will send troops north again."
"oh……"
When the two heard this, they were not too surprised.
In the past few years since they came to Wu State, except for last year's drought, the two sides had been in peace.
For the rest of the time, the Wu people would fight against the Wei thieves in Jiangbei every year, with varying scales.
To be honest, even Luo Xian, Fu Qian and the others are used to it.
Compared with the Han Dynasty who would just stay still and start a big battle if they moved, Wu State was more inclined to carry out continuous small-scale harassment.
Even the Wu generals on the front line were keen to cross the border and plunder from time to time.
Because of this approach, even if it fails, the loss will not be big, but if it succeeds, it can not only claim credit but also plunder the spoils.
Especially the men and women among the spoils of war are all their own private property and do not need to be handed over to the state.
It’s really like eating two fish with one fish.
This kind of atmosphere among Wu's army made them brave enough to engage in private plunder and timid in public warfare.
The most typical example is that every time the Wu army goes north to attack the city, as long as the Wei army closes the city gate and holds on, Wu will be unable to attack it.
The generals below will habitually want to lead their own troops to plunder the people around them, and when they have plundered enough, they will want to retreat with the loot.
Sun Quan's repeated hatred at the foot of Hefei City is not unrelated to the Wu army's ethos.
If it is beneficial, they will rush forward in a rush, but if it is not beneficial, they will start to retreat. How can this kind of army have any resilience?
Without resilience, where would the siege ability come from?
The siege of a city actually involves the cost of human lives.
Luo Xian whispered:
"Wu Guo obviously managed to regain his breath with the help of the big man. Now he wants to go north to rob?"
To be honest, although Wu's boat-managing skills are indeed worth learning, he actually looks down on Wu Jun's corrupt morale from the bottom of his heart.
Fu Qian was much more straightforward. He curled his lips and said:
"Wu Gou's nature is like this, isn't it normal?"
Compared with Luo Xian, Fu Qian's disgust and hatred for the Wu people are deeply rooted in his bones.
Defeating the enemy with his own hands using the enemy's best fighting method was one of the important reasons why he came to study in the Kingdom of Wu.
Another important reason was that it was the division commander's order to let him come to Wu State.
"This time, I'm afraid it will be different."
Martin expressed a different opinion. He pointed at the Wu ships that were constantly entering and leaving Stone City:
"Don't you think there is something unusual about the Wu garrison in Stone City these days?"
"But sir, didn't you say that Wu Jun is going north again? It would be strange if there is no abnormality, right?"
Luo Xian and Fu Qian were a little confused.
Martin smiled calmly:
"Sun Quan has hoarded so much food in Stone City, and now he has recruited so many civilians in Jianye, plus the current abnormality..."
As he spoke, he looked at the two of them and continued:
"Also, your return date has been delayed again and again. I heard that the people from Chang'an who were sent by the State of Wu to learn how to ride and fight have not returned."
"In my opinion, I'm afraid the movement won't be too small this time."
There are already 20,000 civilians gathered in Jianye, and I heard there will be at least 100,000 people in the end.
How many troops can be used to support 100,000 civilians?
Luo Xian and Fu Qian are considered top-notch among their peers.
But firstly, they don’t have as many information channels as Martin, and secondly, they don’t have as much knowledge and experience as Martin.
Otherwise, why would the big man let Martin be the team leader?
When I heard what Martin said, I felt that the problem was a bit serious.
But seeing the two of them, their eyes lit up:
"Sir, are you saying that it is possible for us to follow them into battle this time?"
"Putting what you have learned into practice is the rule of the academy, and it applies to you all as well." Martin did not deny it, nor did he confirm it, "It's just that this time you may follow Wu State to the north."
"But I guess the Wu people don't dare to let you go into battle to meet the enemy. Otherwise, there will be casualties and it will be difficult to explain to the big man."
To put it bluntly, it is an observation and study group.
The cavalry training camp of Wu State is probably the same.
When Luo Xian and Fu Qian heard this, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Seeing the expressions on the two men's faces, Ma Tian wouldn't know what they were thinking.
"You two, don't underestimate the actions of following Wu Jun. If the Wu people really make a big move this time, they will definitely have to use their family resources."
He would rather the people starve to death than to hoard food. Now that so many civilians have been requisitioned, Sun Quan may have made a rare big move in recent years.
Martin reminded:
"The Wu people are famous for their boat masters. If you follow them, you will definitely see a lot of things. This is an extremely rare opportunity to understand the Wu army."
When the two of them heard this, they understood, and their eyes suddenly lit up:
"Sir, how confident are you in your guess?"
Ma Tian looked at the stone city and said leisurely:
"Seven or eight points."
Otherwise, how can we explain the various anomalies in front of us?
"If it is really as expected, sir, do you think the Wu people will succeed this time?"
"Everything in the world is unpredictable, how can I know?"
Martin's gaze turned north again.
On the vast river, it is difficult to see clearly what is happening on the other side.
It's obvious that Sun Quan has made a big move this time, but he doesn't know if Wei Guo will be prepared?
In the past, communications between Wu and Han would most likely have been intercepted by Wei at the Jingzhou border.
Therefore, if Han and Wu agreed to send troops in April, Wei would be aware of it in advance.
But since the fall of Guanzhong, Wei began to shrink its troops in northern Jingzhou.
In the past, the Wei State's layout in Jingzhou centered on Xiangyang.
But now, with Wancheng as the center, we are also guarding the south and west.
As a result, part of the Wei army in Jingzhou will be transferred to the Wuguan Pass to the west of Wancheng to prevent Han troops from leaving Wuguan.
If Xiangyang's position was not too important, Jingzhou Governor Guanqiu Jian even wanted to suggest that Cao Shuang abandon Xiangyang, shrink his troops, and deploy defenses along the Han River.
The shrinkage of Wei State in the north of Jingzhou, coupled with the internal divisions of Wei State, also weakened Wei State's strength.
In this case, Wei's attention was focused more on Wuguan.
Naturally, there is no more energy to pay attention to every move in the south of Jingzhou as before.
