Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

Seeing Jiang Wei cup his hands in a respectful gesture to present his report, Liu Shan nodded, signaling Jiang Wei to speak.

Jiang Wei rose from his seat, first bowing to Liu Shan, then cupping his hands in greeting to Jiang Wan, and slowly said:

"Your Majesty, I believe that we should send troops next year. I have three points to make."

"Firstly, Prime Minister Zhuge has been stationed in Hanzhong for a long time, and his reputation is widespread among the Qiang and Hu peoples. Now that the country has just lost its commander-in-chief, both inside and outside the country are fearful, let alone among the Qiang and Hu peoples. They will surely think that the power of the Han army will not be restored, or they will be afraid of the Wei invaders and migrate to the interior. Now we should send the royal army to conquer the lands of the Qiang and Hu peoples. Those who submit will be rewarded, and those who rebel will be punished. We should gather all the tribes together to serve as a shield for the future conquest of Liangzhou."

"Secondly, when the Prime Minister was in power, the royal army was mostly engaged in battles with the Wei rebels in Tianshui and various parts of Guanzhong. Longxi and Qiangzhong were too remote to be conquered. The court will not advance into Tianshui and Guanzhong for several years. Now is the time to take over the land of Qiangzhong to enrich ourselves."

"Thirdly, Your Majesty will move to Hanzhong next year, personally taking command of the army for the first time. You should seek a victory to reassure the people. If we fight against the Wei rebels, the royal army may not be able to achieve a complete victory. However, if we conquer the rebellious Qiang and Hu tribes, there is no reason for us to fail. If we can also lure a detachment of Wei troops into the Qiang territory, with the elite of the royal army, we can annihilate and defeat them!"

At this point, Jiang Wei bowed again to Liu Shan: "Your Majesty, Emperor Gaozu rose from Hanzhong and established his empire in a few years. Your Majesty's move to Hanzhong will not pose a significant problem in supplying provisions for tens of thousands of troops. I believe we should fight next year!"

Jiang Wan had already assumed the positions of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and Governor of Yizhou, becoming the de facto new steward of the Shu Han court. Just now, when Jiang Wei rose to deliver his speech, Jiang Wan's brow furrowed. However, as Jiang Wei continued his presentation, Jiang Wan gradually regained his calm and composed demeanor.

I thought they were going to attack the State of Wei, but it turns out they're going to conquer the Qiang and Hu tribes?

Compared to the Wei army, what are the fighting strengths of the Qiang and Hu people? There's no need to be nervous at all.

When Prime Minister Zhuge was in power, his ambitions were far greater, and he couldn't afford to concern himself with these peripheral matters, focusing instead on appeasement and winning over the enemy. Now that the Prime Minister is gone, and the state of Wei is a tough nut to crack for the time being, it might be wise to first bring the Qiang and Hu tribes under control!

As time has passed, fifty years have gone by since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. War is the best teacher. Through years of warfare, the military strength of the Han, Wei, and Wu dynasties has continuously improved, and their military systems and tactics have become increasingly sophisticated.

In his early years, when Han Sui rebelled, he could rally the Qiang and Hu peoples with a single call, thus establishing a separatist regime in Yong and Liang and dominating a region.

When Cao Cao led his battle-hardened elite troops to Tong Pass, the fighting strength of Ma Chao and Han Sui's forces was far inferior to Cao Cao's. They were decisively defeated by Cao Cao on the main battlefield and ceased to be a threat. Subsequently, the Qiang and Hu rebels were gradually defeated by Xiahou Yuan, Zhang He, Cao Zhen, and others, and had no victories for a long time.

In other words, the Qiang and Hu troops are currently no match for the Han and Wei armies, so there is no risk in sending Han troops to attack the Qiang and Hu territories.

However, since the Qiang and Hu people existed, they still had considerable value.

If the court were to win them over, even if they couldn't defeat Wei's elite troops, could they at least fight against Wei's ordinary county soldiers? Even fighting Wei's county soldiers would be difficult; could they harass their supply lines, launch ambushes, or provide cover for the Han army's flanks? While the Wei army was retreating or exhausted, there was always something they could do…

In previous years, both the Han and Wei dynasties were on guard against major wars and lacked the resources and supplies to conquer and subdue the Qiang and Hu tribes one by one. Now is the time to do these things.

Jiang Wan agreed, saying, "Your Majesty, I think what Jiang Boyue said is quite appropriate. However, the Qiang region is remote and our army has not yet been able to conquer it. We should reconsider our troop strength."

Seeing that Liu Shan was still pondering, Jiang Wei added, "I believe 20,000 troops are sufficient!"

Liu Shan glanced at Jiang Wei, then shifted his gaze to Chen Zhi.

Seeing this, Chen Zhi no longer hesitated: "I think General Jiang's words are very appropriate."

The cause and effect have all been explained yesterday. With Chen Zhi's further confirmation, Liu Shan was finally relieved.

"From where does Minister Jiang intend to attack?"

Jiang Wei cupped his hands in greeting: "From Baishui Pass, head northwest to take Wujie and Tazhong, then head north to probe Qushan and Lintao. If the military situation is favorable, then head north along the Tao River to take Didao and Jincheng. If the military situation is unfavorable, then we will not force it. If we send troops in this way, 20,000 troops will be sufficient."

"I think it's acceptable!" Liu Shan nodded, then looked at Jiang Wan: "Your Excellency, Taizhong has provided some assistance in the past month. After I go north to Hanzhong, I will issue an edict to use this strategy to wage war."

"Your Majesty, I obey." Jiang Wan bowed. "In that case, we should stockpile grain for next year's military campaign. I suggest that the soldiers of each prefecture be sent back to their respective prefectures. Next year, each prefecture should also select 5,000 military households to populate Hanzhong, so as to prevent soldiers from being separated from their families and causing resentment among the troops."

"Good." Liu Shan expressed his approval: "Now that the strategy for launching a military campaign next year has been decided, there is another matter that has been on my mind recently. When the Prime Minister was alive, there was a plan to ally with Wu against Wei. Now that the Prime Minister has passed away, I fear that the people of Wu may have ulterior motives. I should send an envoy to Jianye to meet with Sun Quan to explain the situation and reaffirm our alliance."

"Whom does Your Majesty deem suitable to serve as your envoy?"

If Liu Shan hadn't brought this up, Jiang Wan would have gone to talk to him about it in the next couple of days.

It just so happened that Jiang Wan roughly guessed that Liu Shan was still somewhat hesitant to speak with him alone, and that having more people around would be more suitable for discussing matters.

Jiang Wan cupped his hands in a respectful greeting and asked, "Does Your Majesty have anyone in mind?"

Liu Shan turned the question back on him: "Do you have someone in mind to recommend you, sir?"

Jiang Wan stroked his beard and said, "I believe that Zong Yu, the Right General of the Household, is loyal and upright, and is capable of undertaking this task."

Zong Yu...

Personnel matters are politics, and the selection of the Wu envoy was also a crucial task.

Diplomatic relations with the State of Wu were given extremely high priority in the administration of the Shu Han dynasty.

Before the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhuge Liang himself had been sent as an envoy to Sun Quan to establish a military alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan, which led to the defeat of Cao Cao's army at Red Cliffs and laid the foundation for the Three Kingdoms period.

After Liu Bei entered Shu, Ma Liang and Yi Ji were sent as envoys to Eastern Wu to mediate conflicts and facilitate trade. Ma Liang was highly regarded by Zhuge Liang.

After the Battle of Yiling, Liu Bei died. Under Zhuge Liang's guidance, Deng Zhi was sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Wu to re-establish an alliance. Deng Zhi was then highly valued by Zhuge Liang and appointed General Yangwu. He fought alongside Zhao Yun in the First Expedition. General Yangwu was an old title of Fa Zheng, demonstrating Zhuge Liang's high expectations for Deng Zhi.

After Sun Quan declared himself emperor, Chen Zhen, the Commandant of the Guards, was sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Wu to establish a covenant with Sun Quan, dividing the empire among themselves. Chen Zhen was thus granted the title of Marquis and later promoted to Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. However, Chen Zhen's health had been poor this year, so Liu Shan took the opportunity to dismiss him from his post and betrothed the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat to Jiang Wan.

Besides these people, Fei Yi had been sent as an envoy to the Wu Kingdom multiple times since the time of Liu Bei. Fei Yi's first official position of two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure) was Zhaoxin Xiaowei, which was given to him by Zhuge Liang before his mission to the Wu Kingdom.

In conclusion, the Shu Han dynasty had its own unique circumstances.

Diplomatic relations with the Wu Kingdom were a major achievement of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and a significant part of his political legacy. Fei Yi, Deng Zhi, Chen Zhen, and others were all promoted because of their diplomatic contributions, which is similar to some of the situations that Chen Zhi was familiar with...

Choosing the envoy to Wu was tantamount to openly giving the envoy an opportunity to make a contribution and be promoted.