Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

Political struggles certainly involve power struggles and factionalism, but they can also stem from simple disagreements over political views.

At this moment, Jiang Wan's issue is simply a disagreement with him on political views.

In short, the Northern Expedition required provisions, and the main grain-producing areas within the Shu Han territory were only the Chengdu Plain and the Hanzhong Plain. Hanzhong was the departure point for the Northern Expedition, and grain from Chengdu had to be transported to Hanzhong to supply the army, but long-distance transportation would result in considerable losses...

At this point, the answer is quite clear.

Given a fixed amount of grain required, the most economical and least wasteful solution is to produce as much grain as possible locally in Hanzhong and reduce the amount of grain transported from Chengdu.

The world is never short of clever people. Zhuge Liang followed this line of thinking from the very first day of preparing for the Northern Expedition. Even earlier, Liu Bei and his ministers had this idea.

In the 22nd year of Jian'an, Fa Zheng strongly urged Liu Bei to attack Hanzhong. After occupying Hanzhong, he should cultivate the land and store grains, using it as a base to attack Cao Wei.

In the fifth year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang established his prime minister's office in Mianyang County, Hanzhong Commandery, and began to garrison troops and cultivate land in Hanzhong. He devoted himself to this work until his death and never returned to Chengdu.

Even after Zhuge Liang's efforts for eight years, the local grain supplies in Hanzhong were still insufficient to support the Northern Expeditionary Army, and grain had to be continuously transported from Chengdu. Even when the Prime Minister was alive, Jiang Wan's two main tasks in Chengdu were recruiting soldiers and procuring provisions.

The reason why Hanzhong was short of food supplies was quite simple...

The problem isn't a lack of arable land, it's a lack of manpower.

During the chaotic end of the Han Dynasty, Han Sui, Dong Zhuo, Ma Teng, Li Jue, Guo Si, Ma Chao and other military figures from Liangzhou wreaked havoc on Yong, Liang and Sili. Local people fled to Hanzhong and Bashu, and many of them stayed in Hanzhong.

Zhang Lu, the "Celestial Master," was stationed in Hanzhong. Due to its distance from the Central Plains, the population of Hanzhong under Zhang Lu's control increased dramatically, with more than 100,000 households and a population of over 500,000, making it a peculiar sight in the chaotic world.

Then, Cao Cao arrived.

This point in time was around the 20th year of Jian'an (219 AD). In that same year, Cao Cao launched a campaign against Zhang Lu, Liu Bei had already acquired Yizhou, and Hanzhong became the front line of the confrontation between Cao Cao and Liu Bei.

Perhaps the massive population loss at the end of the Han Dynasty made Cao Cao extremely insecure. Or perhaps Cao Cao, for some reason related to his "reputation," worried that the people would flee on their own initiative, and therefore wanted to relocate the people away from the border.

In conclusion, Cao Cao was very adept at relocating people living on the border.

In Jingzhou, the area around the once prosperous Xiangyang and Fancheng was turned into a no-man's land by Cao Cao. When Deng Ai was young, he was moved from Xinye to Runan by Cao Cao's army (his main life was farming and herding cattle).

In Yangzhou, from Hefei in the north to the Yangtze River in the south, covering hundreds of miles from north to south and 1,500 miles from east to west, the vast areas of Lujiang, Huainan, Xiapi and Guangling counties were almost no-man's land, as most of the people fled south to the Wu Kingdom.

Such scenes are being repeated in the vicinity of Hanzhong.

In the twentieth year of Jian'an, on Zhang Ji's advice, Cao Cao relocated tens of thousands of households from Hanzhong on his way back from his campaign against Zhang Lu.

In the twenty-first year of Jian'an, on Du Xi's advice, Cao Cao relocated more than 80,000 people from Hanzhong to Luoyang and Yecheng.

In the twenty-third year of Jian'an, Cao Cao ordered Zhang Ji to relocate 50,000 households of Di people from Wudu Commandery to Fufeng and Tianshui, and also ordered Yang Fu to relocate more than 10,000 households from Hanzhong.

In the 24th year of Jian'an (219 AD), Cao Cao confronted Liu Bei in Hanzhong. When he withdrew his troops, he almost completely evacuated the inhabitants of the territory. At that time, Liu Bei still stationed his troops at Dingjun Mountain, only managing to seize the empty Hanzhong.

Migration was the most painful thing for ordinary people. They lost all their farmland and possessions and had no choice but to go to the State of Wei to cultivate land for the Wei people. On the way, they also suffered from famine, disease, and exhaustion. People are cheap when they leave their homes. Of the approximately 500,000 people in Hanzhong, countless died on the way.

After several back-and-forths, Hanzhong and Wudu were deserted, and the area on the front lines of the confrontation between Cao Cao and Liu Bei became as sparsely populated as the area on the front lines of the confrontation between Yangzhou.

This is also why the Prime Minister worked hard to cultivate land in Hanzhong, restore the population, encourage agriculture and military training, and accumulate grain before launching the Northern Expedition.

This is one of the reasons why the Northern Expedition was so difficult.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhi sighed silently.

Just as Jiang Wan finished speaking and Liu Shan was still thinking and had not yet replied, the hall was quiet, making Chen Zhi's sigh seem particularly abrupt.

Jiang Wan also frowned.

Previously, when news of the Prime Minister's death and Wei Yan's death reached Chengdu, Jiang Wan had considered seizing power. However, with Chen Zhi's interference, the Emperor's personal rule and control of the military were now established, and Jiang Wan's ambitions to seize power were extinguished.

People as stubborn as Yang Yi are extremely rare; on the contrary, people as insightful as Jiang Wan are the norm. I never intended to rebel or overstep my bounds. If I can be a powerful minister, I will; if I can't, I won't!

Jiang Wan habitually assumed Chen Zhi was up to no good. "Your Majesty wants to rule personally, I have no objection. Your Majesty wants to command the army, I have no objection. Your Majesty wants to go to Hanzhong, I have no objection. You want to station troops and cultivate land in Hanzhong, I still have no objection, I only suggest delaying it. Why are you picking on me again?"

Do you really look down on me, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and Governor of Yizhou?!

Jiang Wan's gaze was intense as she spoke in a deep, authoritative voice, tinged with a hint of accusation:

"Fengzong, this is a discussion of national affairs. What are you dissatisfied with? Why are you sighing?"

Chen Zhi stood up straight, bowed his head and cupped his hands in a sincere gesture towards Jiang Wan:

"Lord Jiang, please forgive my rudeness. My sigh was not because of what you just said, but because it reminded me of the reason why Hanzhong has such a small population... How could Cao Cao be so wicked!"

Jiang Wan glanced at Chen Zhi a few times, and seeing that Chen Zhi's expression and attitude were indeed sincere, and since they were in front of the emperor, she decided to let the matter drop.

But then another sound of someone slamming their hand on the table came from behind, but it wasn't Chen Zhi.

"The traitor Cao Cao has brought calamity upon the people, therefore a northern expedition is necessary!"

Liu Shan thought Chen Zhi was reminding him, so he slammed his hand on the table and shouted loudly.

Jiang Wei, not understanding the situation, nodded in agreement as if pondering when he saw Liu Shan's statement.

After repeated attempts, Jiang Wan finally fell silent and even became somewhat annoyed.

Wasn't my political stance just now clear enough?

Why do I have to say it in plain language?

Jiang Wan took a deep breath, cupped his hands towards Liu Shan, and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I have read both memorials from the Prime Minister's office. Today, on this opportune day, I also wish to speak frankly to Your Majesty. As a minister of the state, I am entrusted by Your Majesty with the duties of a prefect and governor. I support Your Majesty's personal rule, Your Majesty's command of the army, and Your Majesty's support for the Northern Expedition!"

"It is good to set up more military farms in Hanzhong, and I support it. However, the proposal in this memorial is somewhat radical. If five armies are stationed in Fuxian and more than ten armies are stationed in Hanzhong, how many soldiers from other counties can return to their hometowns? This arrangement is indeed a bit too radical."

"Your Majesty, I am responsible for affairs in Taichung and the surrounding prefectures. If this decree is issued, chaos will surely break out in the various counties!"