Why is there a militia, but it is still not considered the imperial power sent to the countryside?
The militia is a semi-military group. Its responsibilities are to train in leisure time and assist the county in maintaining local security. It has no other rights. Military and civil affairs must be separated, otherwise warlords will be everywhere, which will be unbearable.
In ancient times, the greatest power of civil administration was the power of taxation and trial.
This authority lies with the county.
Although many disputes among the people were not reported to the official, and were settled by the clan elders, this was illegal, but the court acquiesced and no one pursued it. This was one of the foundations for the rise of large clans and local powerful people.
It was this power that Liu Xiang focused on, and he wanted to fill this power vacuum with rural officials, not giving space for clan autonomy, and not wanting the powerful to resurgence.
Although there is a hidden danger of local petty officials colluding with big families, it is a problem of corrupt official administration and is a different matter. It can be curbed by supervision, transfer, strict laws and other means.
It is better than doing nothing and letting the rich become the local emperors.
The watershed between a clan society and a society governed by the rule of law is whether government officials and law enforcement agencies at the township level are truly integrated into the national management system.
Of course, he would not expect to directly lead the Han people into a society ruled by law. That would be unrealistic, but things have to be done. Even if they are not satisfactory in the end, why not just start?
Some things have to be done.
Waiting is not a good habit.
"Wen Ruo, let's think about it carefully. I'll think about it too. Let's discuss it later and make a rule. This must be done." Liu Xiang got on the carriage and returned to Chang'an.
He is going to attack Jingzhou.
Yang Gao gave him a big surprise. This guy forcibly conquered the grain and grass of Fuyu State, Luyi State and Sui Tapir people, totaling 800,000 shi. The Liaodong Fleet and Qingzhou Fleet returned seven times and transported all to Qingzhou.
This batch of food came in time.
Liu Xiang planned to confer noble titles to these three kings as a reward.
Of course, if those barbarians dared to stab them, he wouldn't mind giving them a beating to show off the majesty of the man.
This is not a difficult task. When they only occupied Youzhou, they were so scared that they called them daddy. Now that their country has not been destroyed, it is thanks to the Little Ice Age. It is not cost-effective to develop to the north.
This is the diplomacy of the Han Dynasty. The barbarians from all directions are all ministers and concubines, and the Celestial Empire takes whatever they ask for.
The three small countries in the north don't need to pay any more attention to this batch of food.
As long as 300,000 stones can be sent to Xiangyang, he will be confident to take over Nanjun and occupy the territory in Jiangbei.
In four months, new grain will be harvested, and the Anping Army will be able to keep up with the southern expedition.
Food is the fuel of the army.
The initial actions were not just to transport food. Cai Mao had been promoted to Minister of War and went south with the task of persuading surrender.
It depends on his choice whether he will lead the Cai family of Nanjun to contact other families and secure the fourth-rank official position of Minister of War, or Liu Xiang will go south and massacre his whole family.
This man had made meritorious deeds during the expedition to the Western Regions, and he was an old acquaintance of Cao Cao's. He had already joined Cao Cao's camp. If he had been smarter, he would have continued to make meritorious deeds. If he had been stupid, he could have been used as an excuse to implicate some officials.
Broken Cao Cao's wings.
No matter what, Liu Xiang will not lose.
He gave the options, how to choose is someone else's problem.
"Alas! Now I have to incorporate political goals into my military operations." He shook his head and sighed, not knowing whether he had grown up or had become dark-hearted.
After calming down, I turned my thoughts back to the Jianghuai defense line.
If you want to attack Nanjun, you will naturally have to face the Jianghuai defense line of the southern warlords, which will affect your whole body. To be honest, in terms of military strength alone, the Anping Army on the southern front cannot compare with the opponent.
On the Huai River line in the southeast, Zhang Liao and Guan Yu's two armies of 40,000 men faced each other with the five armies of Guangling Lu Bu, Jiujiang Liu Miao, Danyang Zhou Xin, Lujiang Liu Xun, and Ji Ling. South of Lu Bu there was Lu Kang of Wu Commandery. These six armies were no less than
One hundred twenty thousand.
On the Jingzhou side, Anping's army numbered 30,000, while Zhang Xian and Huang Zu had 70,000.
Everywhere there is a gap of more than twice the number of troops. This is what the Jiangnan warlords rely on to dare to resist the imperial court.
Of course, equipment and combat power are another matter. The other side never dared to take the initiative in the Northern Expedition. Obviously, they themselves knew that combat power was not directly proportional to the number of people.
However, even if the combat power is huge, the 190,000-strong army is not just a display. If you want to capture Jing and Yang, you must be prepared for a battle that will overwhelm the country.
Liu Xiang didn't know the exact population of these two states because they didn't know it themselves, so the spies sent by Jinyiwei couldn't find out at all.
According to records during the reign of Emperor Ling, there were 4.3 million people in Yangzhou and 6.2 million people in Jingzhou. Excluding the more than 2 million people in Nanyang County and Xiangyang, and excluding the population reduced by wars and famines,
For the large families moving south, the population of these two states should be between 5 million and 8 million.
There is also the Jiaozhi Governor's Department in the far south. The local touban Wang Shixie has not experienced war. The population of two million recorded in the imperial yellow book is probably only a lot more.
Dong Zhuo had done too much damage when he moved the capital, and the Nanyang chart could not be found. The navy had not yet figured out the channel south to Jiaozhi, and the land routes were all enemy-occupied areas. Liu Xiang couldn't contact Shi Xie even if he tried to contact him, and he didn't know who he was.
Have several warlords in Jiangnan united?
In line with the principle of showing leniency to the enemy, Jiaozhi's strength must also be taken into account.
Return to Weiyang Palace and summon all ministers for military discussion.
The first thing to do was to count the rice and grain. The three armies had not moved, and grain and grass went first. Fan Xian, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, cried out: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue currently has 4.08 million dan of grain. Last year, there was a drought, and nearly two
Millions of people need relief, and at least 2.5 million dan are needed to last until the autumn harvest.
There are more than 300,000 people working for the river workers, and 500,000 dan have been allocated for rations. The Jinchuan Guards have worked 110,000 dans, and 200,000 dan have been allocated. The various armies need to allocate at least 1.2 million dan for rations. The Ministry of Household Affairs is out of food.
We are still short of 300,000 stones."
Really conscientious!
Liu Xiang rolled his eyes. Is it the job of the Minister of Household Affairs to cry for poverty?
You are so quick to get into the role. Just now you were chatting and laughing with me when I went to inspect the sorghum.
Unfortunately, the internal treasury only had money and not much grain. He had no way to solve the problem of food shortage in the treasury. He continued to ask: "Where is the rice shipped from Liaodong?"
"When the 800,000 shi of grain from Liaodong arrived in Qingzhou, only 670,000 shi were left. 400,000 shi were stored locally to serve as military supplies in Qing, Xu, Runan and other places, and 270,000 shi were shipped to Nanyang. It is estimated that
If there are 150,000 shi that can be delivered, the Ministry of Revenue will allocate 400,000 shi from Taicang to be shipped to Xiangyang, and then 350,000 shi can be delivered."
Fan Xian made it clear about the transportation of grain. Five hundred thousand stones of grain and grass will be put into the Jingzhou battlefield. This is good news.
As for the 300,000 stone consumed by transshipment, there is nothing we can do about it. This was how food was transported in ancient times. This was the result of most of the journey being transported by sea and water, and half of it was transferred to the treasury and transported nearby.
If it were transported by land all the way from Liaodong to Jingzhou, it would be good if only 80,000 shi of the 800,000 shi of grain could reach the destination. The biggest possibility is that the grain would be eaten before it even reached the destination.
This was the difficulty of ancient expeditions, such as the expedition to the Western Regions and the expedition to Mobei, because sea and water transportation could not get through.
"Five hundred thousand stones of rice and grain." Liu Xiang muttered this number softly, stared at the map and asked: "After taking Nanjun, should we go south to Wuling or east to Jiangxia? What's the best way to serve as a filial piety?"
With food in hand, he was no longer satisfied with just occupying Nanjun.