Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2690 Sea Transport of Grain, Pre-War Preparations

In the Kushan War, Li Xiang had already relinquished power to the Southern Court.

The Southern Court was in charge of the development of the South and the control of Qiongzhou. Therefore, the Southern Court had the power to manage the affairs of Yangzhou, Jiaozhou, Nanzhou, and Qiongzhou.

However, the manpower and resources of Yangzhou, Jiaozhou, Nanning and Qiongzhou alone are not enough to support this battle.

Of these four states, only Yangzhou is somewhat acceptable. Can the remaining three states support this level of consumption?

Therefore, Li Xiang issued an edict to the officials in charge of Jing and Yi prefectures, ordering them to temporarily allocate manpower, material resources, and military strength from these two regions to the Nanjing court.

As for the forces of the Central Plains and the North, Li Xiang did not intend to involve them in this battle.

Firstly, these two locations are too far from the battlefield, and the cost of transporting supplies would be terrifying.

Moreover, he planned to save up the manpower and resources in the Central Plains and the North to fight in the North.

Moreover, the canal project is currently only beginning on the section in the Central Plains, which connects Beijing and Hangzhou.

The strength of the people in the Central Plains is already heavily mobilized. If the war against Kushan also involves the strength of the Central Plains, I'm afraid that a few years later, the people in the Central Plains will really suffer and rebellion will break out!

Therefore, in this battle, all manpower and resources will be mobilized only in the south, and will not involve the Central Plains and the north.

The Nanjing Imperial Court.

This imperial court has been in existence for almost two years since the decision to establish it was made.

Guan Zhong has been here for almost two years, serving as the Minister of Personnel, the head of the Six Ministries.

In the Nanjing court, it could be said that the six ministers were truly in complete control.

After all, the emperor was not in the Nanjing court, but in the Luoyang court.

Most matters could be discussed and decided by themselves, and then they could submit a memorial to the emperor to supplement the procedures.

Given the vast distance involved, the emperor wouldn't require all matters, big and small, to be reported to Luoyang before the court could make a decision. Otherwise, what would be the point of establishing this Nanjing court?
Unless it is a matter of national importance that threatens the very foundation of the country, it is necessary to travel thousands of miles to meet with the emperor first and then discuss it together.

This delegation of power was a special favor granted by the emperor based on the situation in the south.

However, it was precisely because the Southern court completely relinquished power that the power of officials expanded to its extreme.

Therefore, the position of Minister of the Six Ministries in the South was not secure. They served a five-year term and were to be swapped with the Minister of the Six Ministries in the North. Even if they were to be re-elected, they could not serve in the same ministry for consecutive terms.

Moreover, no more than half of the six ministers in each term can be re-elected.

It can be said that, due to the situation in the south, the emperor delegated power to the southern court.

However, it also kept a rope in place, preventing the power of southern court officials from expanding to an uncontrollable level.

In the Nanjing court, there are only two major issues at present.

Firstly, there is the issue of development and governance in the south. Here, development in the south refers to the entire area south of the Yangtze River, not just Yangzhou, but also Jiaozhou, Nanzhou, and even Qiongzhou.

The first thing Guan Zhong did after taking office was to carry out a major road repair project.

The three prefectures of Jiaotong, Qiong, and Nan, which are relatively underdeveloped and remote, are connected to Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Yizhou in terms of transportation.

Only after improving transportation can we strengthen our rule and pursue further development. Jiaozhou is in a better position, as the Xiang and Zhu families have already laid a certain foundation. Even in Nanzhou, Yao Chong, then Vice Minister of Works, personally spent three years building three major roads there for the later Southern War.

However, these three paths are insufficient compared to overall development.

After all, these three roads are just the main thoroughfares.

For a region to be truly developed and achieve real progress, three main roads are not enough; a dense transportation network is needed to truly cover the region.

Road construction is a key project that needs to be completed in the next few years.

After the Ministry of Works completed the on-site survey, the six ministries discussed and divided the overall task into smaller parts and assigned them to various counties. Then, they could link them together as a whole.

Secondly, there was the matter of the southern expedition against the Kushan Empire.

There was no consensus within the court regarding this southern expedition, with much criticism from both the higher and lower levels. After all, it was a costly and distant expedition, and even if the conquests were achieved, controlling the territory afterwards would be another major problem.

No one doubted whether they could win!

Three great empires simultaneously attack a declining empire; unless a miracle occurs, the declining empire will not survive.

It's worth mentioning that the Kushan Empire managed to provoke all three surrounding empires, which is something that not just anyone could do.

Many people even speculated that the emperor was ambitious and fond of grand achievements.

However, no matter how much discussion there was, it could not change the fact that the imperial army had decided to launch a southern expedition. The fighting at the front and the support from the rear were all proceeding in an orderly manner.

Public opinion is of little importance to Emperor Li Xiang, and he basically ignores it.

After all, there are fewer and fewer officials who dare to speak frankly and directly nowadays. There are those who express their views through poetry and prose, but their interpretations can only be left to future generations.

In contrast, the one most affected and felt the most pressure was Guan Zhong.

He was the head of the six ministries of the Nanjing court, and he had to be in charge of the logistics for this military expedition, with the other six ministries assisting him.

This large-scale existence is not just a matter for the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Revenue; none of the Six Ministries can escape it!

After all, it was an operation against an imperial-level power, and it involved a long and arduous expedition, with reinforcements from various southern regions, totaling at least 300,000 troops.

The logistical pressure was enormous, even greater than the pressure faced by the Southern Expedition against Shu, or even between the Central Plains and the South.

Although the number of troops involved in the battle is not as large as it was back then, can the distance of the expedition be considered the same?
Fortunately, to Guan Zhong's relief, Yang Su at least sheathed his sword and did not go on a killing spree like Chang Yuchun.

Even though Qiongzhou is generally less civilized, it is blessed with good food and its grain production is sufficient.

Even if it can't solve all the food and supplies needs of 300,000 troops, it can solve at least half of them.

Guan Zhong thought it over and over and concluded that it was impossible to transport grain by land. Qiongzhou was close by and could benefit the grain from Jing and Yang. If they were to take the grain by land, they would probably have eaten most of it by the time they got there!

If ten cartloads of grain arrive at the front lines, will there be at least one cartload left?
The only way is by water!
Furthermore, even in Qiongzhou, the sea route was still the preferred option if possible. After all, the transportation conditions in that area were truly hopeless at this stage.

Even if they later prepared to rely on the enemy for supplies, that was only in the later stages, not in the early stages.

Furthermore, we can't put all our hopes on one line. What if something unexpected happens? Wouldn't that be disastrous?

You may never need it, but you can't be unprepared!