The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 710 Demanding Support
“The Parthians dare to do this because they rely on only three things,” Li Ru calmly analyzed.

"Firstly, the existence of the Lut Desert."

Even if Parthia wanted to cede the Khorasan province to the King of Han on the surface, it would still be wary of the Khorasan province and the Lut Desert, and observe the King of Han's troop deployment and population relocation.

“If the number of soldiers and people mobilized by the King of Han is too large, they will naturally become more vigilant and try to deal with the matter, or even directly send troops to cut off this route.”

Huang Quan nodded slightly: "That's right. Because our Han Dynasty doesn't officially have any land bordering the sea. Unless we cross the territories of the King of Yue and the King of Wu, there's no way we can transport people by sea."

"This is probably one of the reasons why Parthia chose our Han Dynasty, because it is easier to control."

Pang Tong replied without hesitation, "Once the King of Han has taken control of the Khorasan province, we can open the roads and send the navy to assist the King of Han in the large-scale migration of people to the Khorasan province."

Zhou Yu frowned slightly and said, "But the premise is to eliminate the Parthian spies in the Khorasan province, or at least the spies in the areas where Han people are relocated."

"Otherwise, if a large number of Han troops were to land, Parthia would definitely become wary and would never give us the opportunity to operate in peace."

Sima Yi pointed to a coastal area in the southern part of the Khorasan province on the sand table.

"This is a relatively large and flat valley, surrounded by connected mountains. The area is relatively remote, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter and leave, but sea transport is possible. However, the local land is extremely barren, mostly saline-alkali land."

“But with His Majesty here, these are not problems at all. Parthia would never have imagined that this place could support a large population, block off the surrounding mountains, relocate the local people, and allow the relocated population to develop here.”

"If managed properly, this place is enough to support three million people. In the future, when the army marches west or north from the Khorasan province, this place can support hundreds of thousands of troops."

Upon hearing this, the seven princes all nodded in agreement.

It's fun to cheat for a while, and it's always fun to cheat all the time.

Since having Tianze as their backer, they have truly experienced the thrill of mindless development.

This is completely illogical; even if Anxi racked his brains, he could never have guessed it.

Even if a poor, remote area that can only support a few hundred thousand people is out of control, what is there to worry about in Anxi?
This is undoubtedly the most effective method.

At this point, Li Yan suddenly stood up and said quietly, "But there is still a flaw in this matter. That is, three million people is too many."

"Moreover, in order to prepare for future western expeditions and northern expeditions, it would be best if most of these three million people were young and strong Han Chinese, so that they could serve as logistics and transportation personnel."

“Our Han Dynasty does not have such a large population, nor can it mobilize a large number of young and strong Han people, otherwise we may be discovered by Parthia.”

After speaking, Liu Fan immediately looked at the other six kings with earnest eyes.

There were only two words in his eyes.

Make money!

All six kings had a slight twitch at the corner of their mouths.

really!

This guy is a shameless and ruthless scoundrel.

How did such an innocent child evolve into this state so quickly?

The four kings of the north all looked at Liu Bei and Sun Ce with strange expressions, as if to say, "You two have corrupted the children."

Liu Bei and Sun Ce also looked quite grim.

This is definitely not something they taught them.

It's because of your infighting that this guy had to resort to such ruthless tactics. Why are you blaming them now?

"If this matter isn't resolved, it will indeed be a problem," Liu Fan added.

Yuan Shao replied without hesitation, "That's right. In that case, please provide support, Your Majesty. The resources of our seven kingdoms are simply insufficient to support this."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao and the others all nodded in agreement, while subtly glancing at Sima Yi.

Sima Yi's lips twitched slightly.

None of it is good.

Liu Fan appeared to be acting as if it wasn't his fault, that it had nothing to do with him, and that he didn't want it to happen. But could Sima Yi not know what this fellow was thinking?

A complete scoundrel.

Sima Yi said indifferently, "Your Majesty is kind-hearted, but our Great Qi is currently in dire straits, and the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet will not agree to this."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao earnestly replied, "This matter also concerns our Great Qi! The sooner we resolve the issue of Anxi, the less damage will be done to our Great Qi's military strength."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "What Mengde said is very true. What we are doing is all for the Han people. Even if the Grand Secretaries do not directly resolve this matter, they should at least provide some support."

Sun Ce quickly added, "Yes, yes, the imperial court only needs to help with two million, and the King of Han should be able to scrape together the rest."

Seeing the seven kings working together in unison, Sima Yi, who was under siege, remained completely calm.

With strength comes confidence.

After weighing the matter in his mind, Sima Yi said in a deep voice, "My Great Qi can only support a maximum of 500,000 able-bodied men, no more. There's no need for you to test us any further; this is our bottom line."

Sima Yi was also aware of the current situation within the Great Qi Kingdom.

Five hundred thousand able-bodied men was almost the upper limit of Sima Yi's ability to make independent decisions.

Any more and Chen Gong and Zhang Zhao would have torn him to pieces.

While it's possible for Daqi to remain inactive in this matter, it would be inappropriate from the overall perspective, and the situation would be difficult to resolve.

There is now a tacit understanding between the seven kingdoms and the Great Qi.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, everyone knew the truth in their hearts.

Sima Yi did not want to break this tacit understanding, thereby widening the rift between them.

The Seventh Prince, having gained some advantage from the Qi Kingdom, decided to stop while he was ahead.

They were the disadvantaged party after all, and they were lucky if they could get any benefits at all, so they didn't dare to hope for too much.

Moreover, they were aware of the current difficulties faced by the Great Qi.

The three kings of the south had almost emptied the Qi Dynasty's mobile population. Now, it would be difficult to produce even 100,000 people, and 500,000 would be a lot.

The biggest culprit and beneficiary of this whole affair is undoubtedly Liu Fan, who is right in front of us.

The six kings immediately shifted their focus and concentrated their attention on Liu Fan.

However, Liu Fan was no simple man either.

Having experienced these past few years, he has come to terms with things and has matured.

Why worry about appearances? Substance is what matters most.

With his hands shrugged and a bitter expression on his face, Liu Fan said to the six kings with a sigh, "As you all know, our Han Dynasty is the weakest among the seven kingdoms. Although our population is not small, there are not many young and strong Han people."

"Moreover, we are being closely watched by Parthia, and we cannot move many people, otherwise we will inevitably be targeted."

"How about this: our Han Dynasty will contribute 500,000 people and take the lion's share, how about that?"

Seeing Liu Fan's expression as if they had gotten a great deal, the Sixth Prince's face turned cold.

That sounds nice, but who will ultimately own all these people? Is there even a question?

Once Liu Fan was lured into the Khorasan province by Parthia, he definitely had no intention of leaving. If Parthia were to be conquered in the future, the lion's share would probably go to him.

These three million people will also fall into his pocket.

Even if he takes it all, this guy won't lose out; he'll profit from it all.

How could you say such a thing?

(End of this chapter)