Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 436 Under the overthrow of the nest
Chang'an, the Xingtai Mansion.

"Your Majesty, according to the documents submitted by the various prefectures in Guanzhong, the drought in various places has been alleviated, but the number of people without food at home is increasing."

Su Chuo stood beside Li Shuang, her brows furrowed with worry.

Last year, the Guanzhong Plain suffered a complete crop failure, and the risk of unrest was reduced by relocating people to Sichuan. However, the impact of the drought will not last only one year.

"Then proceed with the original plan and relocate another 30,000 households to Sichuan."

The three major granaries in Chang'an contain millions of bushels of grain, but this grain cannot be distributed all at once for disaster relief.

Firstly, the large-scale military operations in Guanzhong required food supplies; secondly, Chang'an also needed sufficient grain to maintain the operation of the prefecture; and thirdly, directly distributing grain was the least efficient means of disaster relief.

Su Chuo wasn't actually in a hurry. The current situation was bad, but the core issue hadn't been touched yet.

The so-called core group consisted of the seven thousand troops that Li Shuang brought into Guanzhong and the Han soldiers he incorporated after entering Guanzhong, which were the military merit faction.

These people, when added together, number less than 60,000 households. They all have surplus grain and can make a living; some even hold official positions and receive salaries.

However, not every family does this.

When the drought struck, the first to suffer were the people who had recently flocked to Guanzhong. They had thought that with Li Shuang's pacification of the Erzhu clan and entry into Luoyang, Guanzhong was no longer a threat, so they moved there to cultivate the land.

If it weren't for this drought, they would have been able to establish themselves in Guanzhong within two or three years. But now, without this year's harvest, they will become refugees.

Li Shuang's response was to provide each household with six shi of grain and weapons, and to send them to Shu for food.

Bashu was the strategic rear area of ​​Guanzhong.

News from various prefectures and counties in Sichuan and Hanzhong indicates that these 20,000 households have gained a foothold after fierce fighting.

In that case, we can continue to venture deeper into the land of Bashu.

Su Chuo paused for a moment, then said:
"I'm afraid that's still not enough!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shuang stroked his beard.

The grain reserves in the imperial treasury were sufficient for Li Shuang to maintain the operation of Chang'an and the various prefectures. However, this was not a long-term solution; Guanzhong needed a minimum population to function.

"In this way, we can use work relief instead of traditional methods."

"Work relief in lieu of work?"

Li Shuang nodded and said:

“People who were short of food at home were conscripted and made to dredge the canals near Chang’an. Their daily food was provided by the government.”

Su Chuo listened and slowly nodded.

Without people and land, even the most powerful army is nothing but a tree without roots. Relocating 50,000 households to Sichuan at once is tantamount to draining the pond to catch all the fish.

However, Guanzhong is not an isolated entity. In critical times, grain can be transported from Jinyang and Luoyang into Guanzhong.

In this way, we can sustainably deplete resources.

"Your Majesty, how is the war in Henan progressing?"

Su Chuo was not concerned about the war with Hou Jing, but rather about the amount of grain that could be transferred from Luoyang to Chang'an.

Luoyang is located in the center of the country, and its granaries are needed to supply supplies to all directions.

The most intense fighting now takes place along the Huai River.

Li Shuang said slowly:
"Barely satisfactory!"

……

After Hebasheng left, Hou Jing took over the command of the 30,000-strong Northern Army and directed the battles on the front lines.

In the past year or so, he led his army through all the counties north of the Huai River in Nanliang, using the same tactics as the Six Garrisons Army back then.

The key point is that it's not the fighting style of the Six Garrisons under Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai; it's the style of Ge Rong and Du Luozhou.

Not only that, Hou Jing not only seized grain, but also sent people into the territory of Southern Liang to burn grain, which made the Southern Liang generals, who had no experience in dealing with the Six Garrisons Army, very uncomfortable.

The key point is that Chen Qingzhi's moral standards are far superior to Hou Jing's; there are some methods that Hou Jing could use, but he couldn't.

Compared to the generals' eagerness, Chen Qingzhi remained calm. He knew that as long as the Huai River defense line held, no matter how high Hou Jing jumped, it would be useless.

However, the people in Jiankang were already getting anxious. "General, we cannot continue like this. We must win a battle, otherwise, we will not be able to appease the discontent of the officials in Jiankang."

Chen Qingzhi frowned slightly after reading the document sent from Jiankang.

This time, it was Emperor Xiao Yan who personally issued the edict, intending to reinforce Chen Qingzhi's troops and order him to fight a decisive battle against Hou Jing.

“Since last year, all the prefectures have suffered from disasters, with refugees rising everywhere and corpses of the starving littering the land. It is already difficult for us to lead our troops to guard this place. If we rashly start a war, and lose it, I fear that the land north of the Huai River will no longer belong to the country.”

Despite Hou Jing's aggressive tactics, Chen Qingzhi remained remarkably calm. In the past, no matter the pressure coming from Jiankang, Chen Qingzhi had ignored it.

But he couldn't ignore Xiao Yan's opinion.

"But His Majesty's edict has arrived. If we delay any longer, I fear His Majesty will punish us!"

Chen Qingzhi's attitude was quite firm, and he said:

“My mind is made up, and the generals will not say another word. If Your Majesty punishes me, I will bear the consequences alone.”

Seeing Chen Qingzhi's reaction, the generals could only remain silent.

After everyone else left, Chen Qingzhi left one person behind.

Chen Baxian!
This general, who had distinguished himself in the previous battle against Hebasheng, had gained Xiao Yan's attention over the past year, was promoted to the Imperial Guard, and sent to the front lines. He was now under the command of Chen Qingzhi.

Chen Qingzhi didn't say much, but wrote a letter and handed it to Chen Baxian.

"Xingguo, take this letter with you to Jiankang."

Chen Baxian looked at the increasingly thin Chen Qingzhi and cupped his hands in greeting:

"General, there is something I am not sure if I should say."

Seeing this, Chen Qingzhi became somewhat curious and said:

"Speak freely!"

"Nowadays, the officials of Jiankang have their hearts in Bashu."

Chen Qingzhi listened without objection or any other comment.

Because what Chen Baxian said was true.

Chen Qingzhi waited for Chen Baxian to continue, but saw him hesitate for a moment before finally saying:

"In this war, what you gentlemen desire is a swift victory. This is not the way to win, but it is the only way."

As a general, Chen Qingzhi only wanted to win.

However, compared to the war here, the nobles in Jiankang wanted Bashu more and wanted to start the war against Shu as soon as possible, rather than spending too much resources and manpower on the war here.

Even Chen Qingzhi had to admit it, saying:

"The Guanzhong Plain is suffering from a severe drought, and Sichuan and Chongqing are in turmoil. This is an opportune moment to attack Sichuan."

After a severe drought in Guanzhong, tens of thousands of people from Guanzhong migrated to Sichuan, causing considerable conflict.

This is the best time to attack Ba and Shu.

Once this opportunity is missed, and Guanzhong recovers from the drought, tens of thousands of households will have established themselves in Bashu. It will be much more difficult for Southern Liang to retake Bashu over time.

When that time comes, the balance of power will be lost, and it will no longer be a case of Southern Liang attacking Shu. The roles of offense and defense will be reversed, and Southern Liang will face the danger of being destroyed.

The anxiety of the officials in Jiankang in this regard is understandable.

In comparison, the prefectures north of the Huai River were not the most important; they were merely buffer zones.

Faced with Chen Baxian's reminder, Chen Qingzhi remained calm and said:

“I understand this reasoning. I would also appreciate it if Xingguo could deliver this letter.”

Chen Baxian looked at Chen Qingzhi, a famous general who couldn't draw his bow, but who possessed an aura that Chen Baxian couldn't fathom.

"promise!"

……

(End of this chapter)