The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 63: Old Liu's childhood friend is here! (Please read on!)

Soon, Liu Bei and Li Yi began to formulate the specific procedures of the military merit system in detail.

Of course, there are definitely not as many tricks as Shang Yang.

After all, Xuzhou does not need to become a complete war machine, and this path will not last long.

On the basis of the Qin State, Li Yi abolished a large number of harsh systems.

At the same time, the treatment of grassroots soldiers was improved, giving them more opportunities for promotion.

And it is stipulated that any soldier who has participated in the war on the battlefield.

Each person was rewarded with half a piece of linen, half a stone of corn, and fifty coins.

In addition, those who have made outstanding military achievements will be rewarded with ten pounds of meat and a jar of wine every three months.

This treatment is quite good.

A piece of linen was worth three hundred coins, and a stone of corn was worth two hundred coins according to the prices in Xuzhou, and that was because Xuzhou had a good harvest last year.

If you go to neighboring Yanzhou to buy it, you won’t be able to get it without at least five or six hundred coins.

This is how the fried grains in san11 came about.

At the same time, according to the military pay of the prefecture and county soldiers in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the lower-level soldiers could only receive 120 coins of rice per month.

So it can be said that Lao Liu spent a lot of money to get this treatment. If it were not for the financial support from the Mi family and the Lu family, he would never dare to do this.

Of course, the refined salt provided by Li Yi also brought a lot of wealth to Xuzhou.

Improving the treatment of soldiers to increase the enthusiasm of civilians to join the army was also very common in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao next door would reward his soldiers with silk and food.

But only Cao's personal guards and elite troops enjoyed this treatment.

Like Lao Liu, expanding the reach to every soldier at the grassroots level requires a lot of material and financial resources.

In the meantime, Lao Liu was also worried that Xuzhou could not afford such military expenses.

After all, as a governor of a state, the annual expenditure is not just military expenditure.

Agricultural expenses, diplomatic expenses, and everything else require money.

Investing so much money in the military and reducing civilian spending will slow down Xuzhou's economic recovery.

Li Yi explained that Xuzhou was already in ruins, and if it relied solely on slow development through farming, it would take at least ten to eight years to see any improvement.

By that time, the Battle of Guandu will have been over. What will you, Old Liu, use to fight against Yuan and Cao?

Don't forget, Cao Cao has a huge advantage.

It was he who accepted millions of men and women from the Qingxu Yellow Turbans, although these people brought a huge burden to Yanzhou.

But once it is digested, Cao Cao's strength will increase dramatically.

Because population was the most important resource in ancient times, whoever had more people was the most powerful.

Almost all ancient politicians included stimulating population growth as a strategy in their reforms.

So in terms of development, Lao Liu actually has no advantage against Cao Cao.

After Cao Cao absorbed all these people, he had the strength to challenge Yuan Shao in just a few years. It was obvious that Liu Bei could not continue on the path of farming.

Only by stimulating Xuzhou's war potential and taking the initiative to fight can we limit the development of Yuan and Cao.

This is the best policy.

Li Yi and Liu Bei chatted for a whole morning and finally finalized the basic outline of the military merit system.

It will take time to find out the specific details and fill in the gaps.

At this time, the cook had already served the meal.

Four dishes and one soup, one meat and two vegetables, and some fruits.

Li Yi has a habit of eating with fruit.

Yong pear, persimmon, and preserved jujube are all his favorites.

Especially the pears produced in Yongzhou, which have a crisp texture and are not harsh on the teeth. Your mouth will be full of juice when you take a bite.

As for Liu Bei, after getting along with Li Yi for a long time, he also started to like eating fruits with his meals.

Vitamin supplements, very good.

"Come, my lord."

Li Yi picked up a piece of pear and put it in Liu Bei's bowl.

"Zi Yu, please have some." Liu Bei also picked up a preserved date and put it in Li Yi's bowl.

The two were dining under the small pavilion when suddenly a servant came hurriedly to report.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The servant came running over, "Sir, there's a man outside who claims to be your old friend, and he's here to see you!"

"Oh, it must be Zijing coming!"

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately put down his chopsticks and ran out of the house.

He met the person coming towards him and hugged him tightly, looking extremely happy.

"Zijing, you are finally here. I really miss you, my brother!"

Li Yi followed behind. He hadn't seen Liu Bei so excited for a long time.

Perhaps only reuniting with his childhood friend after a long separation would make him so happy?

Qian Zhao was also all smiles:

"Since I received your letter, I rushed to Xuzhou overnight."

Although Qian Zhao had a smile on his face, there were tears in his eyes.

"It has been a few years since I last saw you. I didn't expect you to be as charming and energetic as ever."

"I remember the time when we were young and I taught you a lot. I am grateful and will never forget it."

"Now I heard that my brother has gone to Beiping Langya, and his heroic spirit has spread to Xuzhou. When my old friends heard about it, they were filled with admiration!"

"I am so lucky to have seen you, it really comforts my heart!"

Liu Bei felt embarrassed when he heard his old friend's joke, so he quickly pulled Li Yi behind him and introduced him to Qian Zhao:
"I am where I am today thanks to Ziyu's advice. Without his teachings, I would have been able to achieve what I have today."

"Who knows how many detours one will have to take."

Li Yi immediately bowed and saluted:

"I often hear you talk about Brother Qian. After meeting him today, I can see that he is indeed quite impressive."

Qian Zhao hurriedly bowed in return:
"I am ashamed that you have achieved such a feat at such a young age. I am so ashamed to teach you!"

Liu Bei said:

"Zijing, you have been studying at home since the sixth year of Zhongping, and have rarely served as an official, so naturally you have fallen behind others."

This is a blame for Qian Zhao not taking up official office earlier, and is meant to be sarcastic.

Qian Zhao smiled and said:

"Brother, what you are teaching me is that in fact, many county magistrates have come to recruit me over the years, but I have blocked them all."

"The other day, Yuan Shao, the governor of Jizhou, came to recruit me and asked me to be his military commander and help him lead the Wuhuan cavalry."

"I wanted to apply for the job, but I received a letter from you, brother."

"After much consideration and weighing, I finally came to Xuzhou."

hiss……

Hearing this, Liu Bei and Li Yi both took a deep breath.

Qian Zhao was a very honest man and spoke his true feelings in front of Liu Bei.

Perhaps it was because the relationship between the two was indeed good, and Li Yi was not an outsider, that he said it so confidently.

However, Liu Bei and Li Yi were secretly glad.

They had long ago drawn up a plan to recruit Qian Zhao to Xuzhou.

I don’t know if he was delayed by something at home and that’s why he took so long to come.

The history books only record that Yuan Shao recruited Qian Zhao as the military commander, but did not record the specific time.

We can only roughly infer that it was the period after Yuan Shao became the governor of Jizhou and before he destroyed Gongsun Zan.

So whether or not you can conquer the Qianzhao depends entirely on luck.

Once it is said that Yuan Shao had got there first, given Qian Zhao's personality, he basically had no chance of succeeding Liu Bei.

The conditions offered by Yuan Shao were very high. He himself was a member of a family of three officials for four generations and had a great reputation in Hebei, which was enough to impress Qian Zhao.

If Liu Bei had not already been the governor of Xuzhou, and if he had not had a good relationship with Qian Zhao, he might not have been able to win the competition against Yuan Shao.

Now Liu Bei finally understood why Qian Zhao was late. He was willing to give up Yuan Shao's support and run to Xuzhou to start a business with him. It must have taken a lot of determination, right?
……

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(End of this chapter)