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

Chapter 88 Liu Bei was shocked. Could it be that I am really destined to be here? (Please subscribe!)
"According to statistics from last year, there were 470,000 households and a population of over 2.8 million in the five counties of Xuzhou."

"Since Cao Cao had already massacred Pengcheng, Guangling, Xiapi and Donghai were also affected."

"Although you recruited refugees to cultivate the land last year, this plan cannot be accomplished in a day."

"With the population of this state, it is impossible for us to compete with the two Yuans, or even Cao Cao."

Li Yi introduced the current situation of Xuzhou to Liu Bei in a very eloquent manner.

A census was conducted last year, but due to the low administrative efficiency in ancient times, the specific population figures could not be counted.

But what is certain is that even if the gathered refugees are included, there are only more than two million people in Xuzhou.

As mentioned before, the most important resource in ancient times was population.

What is the status of Xuzhou’s current population in the Han Dynasty?

The answer is: only better than Jiaozhou and Youzhou.

One is a barbaric land that has not yet been fully civilized, and the other is a bitter and cold land in the northeast that is not suitable for human habitation.

Xuzhou is a prosperous place in Henan, but it has a population of only over two million.

Even Liang Province, where Grand Tutor Dong was located, had a population of more than four million when Dou Rong governed Hexi.

All I can say is that Cao Cao really doesn't care about human affairs.

"Nowadays, Xuzhou has a small population, while Qingzhou has a larger population than Xuzhou."

"Yuan Tan has just taken over Qingzhou, and people are uneasy. Why not move the people in Qingzhou to Xuzhou?"

Li Yi proposed a strategy of relocating the population, and Liu Bei readily agreed.

Anyway, the army has already reached the territory of Qingxu, so there is no harm in moving forward.

He immediately ordered the soldiers to quickly clean up the battlefield and then head to Qingzhou.

"The military advisor wants to move the population of Qingzhou to Xuzhou, which is a good thing."

"But I do not want to force the people to abandon their homes and return to Xuzhou with me."

On the way, Liu Bei told Li Yi his inner thoughts while riding on horseback.

"...Hahaha, the Lord's reputation for benevolence and righteousness is known to the world. When he was the Prime Minister of Pingyuan, the people of Qingzhou all heard of the Lord's virtuous name."

"Now that my army has arrived in Qingzhou, won't the people prepare food and drink to welcome you, my Lord?"

Liu Bei just smiled and said nothing.

In fact, when he said that he did not want to force the people to follow him, it also indirectly showed that Lao Liu felt that the people of Qingzhou might not follow him.

why?
That is, the Yuan family is very popular in the local area.

To be precise, Yuan Shao was very popular.

Historical books once said that Yuan Shao was generous on the outside but cautious on the inside, which was originally intended to criticize Yuan Shao's character.

But the first half of the sentence also shows that Yuan Shao is a very generous person.

Even Xun You said, "Shao won the hearts of the people because of his generosity."

After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao died within two years, and the Yuan family fell apart.

Even so, it still took Cao Cao another seven years to unify Hebei.

This shows how popular the Yuan family is in Hebei.

When Yuan Shao died, people all over Hebei were crying.

Even when Yuan Shang died, the people cried.

Cao Cao had no choice but to issue an order: "Anyone in the army who dares to cry will be executed."

It was precisely because Liu Bei took into account the status of the Yuan family in the eyes of the people that he was not confident that the people would follow him back to Xuzhou.

Li Yi seemed very confident:
"My Lord, please be at ease. I just told you so."

"When my army arrives, the people will certainly welcome you with food and drink."

Liu Bei was skeptical and continued to urge his horse forward.

After a while, they arrived at Lanting County.

This is a small county in Qingzhou.

Liu Bei immediately gave the order:
"Order the three armies: After entering the city, no disturbing the people is allowed!"

"Anyone who oppresses the people, robs the rich, or violates women will be executed to serve as a warning to others!"

After receiving the order, the army entered the city cautiously.

He did not harm the people in the slightest.

Seeing that this army was different from ordinary ones, the local people took the initiative to inquire and found out that it was Liu Shijun's army.

"Shijun Liu is here!"

"Shijun Liu is here!"

"..."

One pass ten, ten pass a hundred.

The people of the whole county knew that Liu Bei's army had arrived.

Just as Li Yi said, every household steamed Hu cakes and came out to entertain the troops.

For a time, the streets were empty.

Liu Bei was shocked by this:
"Do the people of Lanting County also know me, Liu Bei?"

Some people said:
"Your Excellency's name is well-known."

"We wait day and night for the envoy to come."

Liu Bei asked again where your county magistrate was.

Upon some inquiries, I learned that the county magistrate had fled several years ago due to the war.

Lanting County has been in Qingzhou for several years and has almost become a village.

Liu Bei could see that these people were living a hard life and seemed to be looking forward to his arrival.

But he didn't come here to take over Qingzhou.

No matter how big the territory is, it is meaningless if there are no people.

"I came here to pursue Yuan Tan, not to take over Qingzhou."

"When the war is over, I will return to Xuzhou."

When the people heard this, they all fell to their knees and cried loudly.

They all begged Liu Bei not to leave.

Li Yi took advantage of the situation and stepped forward and said:

"Your Excellency loves the people like your own children and will never abandon you."

"But a strong guest should not overpower the host. Qingzhou is not ours to begin with, so we can't stay here for long."

"If you are willing, you can go back to Xuzhou with me."

Liu Bei himself had no confidence in asking the people to abandon their homes and follow him to Xuzhou.

Unexpectedly, everyone knelt on the ground without hesitation and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Yes, yes!"

"We all want to follow Envoy Liu!"

All the people were willing to follow Liu Bei back to Xuzhou.

This scene shocked Liu Bei.

Although he settled the people, provided them with money and food, and lent them land for farming.

Ordinary poor people really cannot resist this temptation, but Liu Bei has not mentioned it yet.

These people were actually willing to follow him.

Is Liu Bei’s charm really that strong?

Liu Bei looked at Li Yi in surprise and doubt. Li Yi smiled and said:

"Qingzhou is in no less trouble than Xuzhou, and the people are in dire straits."

"Since you can lead everyone out of the sea of suffering, you will naturally win the hearts of the people."

To sum it up in one sentence,

Yuan Shao’s generosity has nothing to do with Yuan Tan.
In fact, Yuan Shao was popular because his laws were lenient and taxes were relatively lighter.

The common people all remember the good things about their family.

So when Yuan Tan deployed his troops in Qingzhou, the people almost lined the streets to welcome him, providing great help to Yuan Tan's war in Qingzhou.

But soon, they regretted it.

The eldest son of the Yuan family seems to be different from the God Yuan in their minds.

Yuan Tan promoted small fry, indulged in debauchery and extravagance, and liked to listen to those around him.

At the same time, he also has the shortcoming of "why not eat meat porridge".

I cannot understand the difficulty of farming, weaving and harvesting.

However, because Yuan Tan favored treacherous and corrupt officials, this group of people could not be restrained.

They embezzled money, sold public property, and even robbed the common people.

These all infringe upon the core interests of the people.

What's even more outrageous is that Yuan Tan sent people to various counties to recruit soldiers.

Only those who handed over their property would be exempted from taxation, and those who failed to do so would be sent directly into exile.

Yuan Tan has ruined his father's reputation in Qingzhou.

As a result, in a county with a population of 10,000 in Qingzhou, only a few hundred households were registered, and tax revenue was less than one-third of the actual amount. Everyone was busy running for their lives.

You said,

When the people saw Liu Bei coming, could they not line the streets to welcome him?
In everything, I am afraid of being contrasted with my peers.

Even if there are ordinary people who don't know Liu Bei, but comparing the two, is there anyone worse than Yuan Tan?

After learning the reason, Liu Bei was filled with emotion.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Tan indirectly gave him a great gift.

Then Liu Bei accepted it with a smile!

Liu Bei immediately issued an order to distribute wine and food to the local county residents.

And tell them that they can go and tell the nearby counties and towns anyone who is willing to follow Liu Bei back to Xuzhou.

All of them were given money and food, and were lent land for cultivation.

And promised that they would temporarily stay in Lanting during this period.

The door is open to welcome anyone who is willing to come.

When the people learned about it, they ran around to tell each other.

For a time, the small Lanting County was filled with a large number of refugees.

While Liu Bei was waiting for the people, good news came from the front line.

Generals Taishi Ci and Xu Sheng successfully intercepted Yuan Tan's defeated army.

They were captured alive, along with Guo Tu, Zhang He and others.

"Good, great good!"

"Ziyi and Wenxiang are indeed the people recommended by the military advisor. They really lived up to everyone's expectations."

Liu Bei was immediately overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling.

Zang Ba and other Taishan generals were also extremely excited:
"Great, I didn't expect there would be an unexpected gain."

"This Yuan Tan is Yuan Shao's eldest son. I'm afraid we can use him to extort a lot of ransom."

The Taishan Gang has the mentality of a gangster group and they only think about how valuable Yuan Tan's head is.

They had no idea how much political value a figure as important as Yuan Tan possessed.

Sun Guan shouted:

"We don't know how many Taishan brothers died defending Langya this time."

"Even if we don't ask Yuan Shao to compensate us for our food and money, we should kill Yuan Tan and use his head as a sacrifice."

"First, to comfort the fallen soldiers, and second, to boost the prestige of Xuzhou so that others dare not look at Xuzhou sideways!"

Li Yi raised a helpless smile and said
"The pleasure of taking revenge is the behavior of chivalrous men in the martial arts world, not the behavior of scholars in political groups."

Liu Ye also sneered:
"He killed Yuan Tan, made enemies with Yuan Shao, and helped Cao Cao."

"This kind of behavior of sacrificing oneself to benefit others is truly a laughing stock in the world."

Being mercilessly mocked by the two counselors, all the Taishan generals were ashamed.

As the leader of Mount Tai, Zang Ba was relatively calm and took the initiative to ask:
"Yuan Tan is already a prisoner of our army. His life or death is just a matter of your lord's decision."

"But I don't know how the military advisor will deal with him?"

Li Yi was not in a hurry to answer, but asked Liu Bei first:

"My Lord, what do you think should be done?"

Liu Bei pondered and said:
"Yuan Tan deployed his troops in Xuzhou, which was his own doing, and Lord Yuan is still unaware of it."

"Now his reason is not right. If I kill him, it will be disadvantageous to me."

"It would be better to release him and make peace with Yuan Shao."

what! ?

When these words were spoken, all the generals in Taishan were shocked.

"We caught him with great difficulty, how can we just let him go like this!"

The Taishan generals were originally a gang of hooligans, and they would not use prisoners of this level for ransom.

You can't just let him go!

"Yes, we really can't let Yuan Tan go just like that."

Li Yi spoke at this time.

Liu Bei was startled, and Liu Ye was also a little stunned.

I thought to myself that you, Li Ziyu, are also a smart man. You wouldn't be thinking about Yuan Shao's trivial matters at this time, right?
"Yi means that we should treat Master Yuan with good wine and good food."

"The Qingzhou soldiers that were captured earlier were also sent back."

"Of course, Yi also suggested that the Lord recommend Master Yuan as a talented person."

I go!

Now, everyone was upset.

Not only should Yuan Tan be entertained with good wine and delicious food, but the captives should also be sent back to him.

Have we captured a prisoner or a father?
the most important is,

Li Yi even suggested that Liu Bei give the Maocai spot, which only comes once a year, to Yuan Tan.

What kind of medicine is sold in this gourd?

The so-called Maocai, which means scholar, was changed to Maocai to avoid the taboo of Liu Xiu.

The Han Dynasty implemented the system of recommendation, and only those who were recommended as filial and honest or outstanding talents were qualified to serve as officials.

Therefore, the places for filial and honest officials and outstanding talents are very precious.

Especially Maocai.

According to the regulations of the Han Dynasty,
Only high-ranking officials at the level of the Three Dukes, the Censors, and the Governors were qualified to recommend outstanding talents.

And only one can be elected each year.

Therefore, the number of Maocai students in the country does not exceed twenty each year.

in history,
Liu Bei once recommended two people as talented people, both of whom were named Yuan.

One is Yuan Huan and the other is Yuan Tan.

When Yuan Huan was recommended by Liu Bei, he was still the governor of Yuzhou and stationed in Xiaopei.

This move was simply to win people's hearts, because Yuan Huan was a famous scholar in Yuzhou.

Liu Bei recommended Yuan Huan as a talented person in order to show that he was eager to recruit talented people and hoped that people of insight would come to him.

The recommendation of Yuan Tan happened after Liu Bei became the governor of Xuzhou.

Because Liu Bei pursued a pro-Yuan policy, he selected Yuan Tan as a talented person just to show his goodwill to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Tan also remembered this favor, and when Liu Bei fled to Qingzhou after his defeat, Yuan Tan personally led the infantry and cavalry to greet him to express his respect for Liu Bei.

"Yuan Shao dominated Hebei, but was deeply involved in internal struggles."

"Especially the dispute between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan over who would be the heir."

"The scholars from Hebei and Henan vied with each other to take sides, each seeking their own interests."

"As long as Yuan Tan is alive, there will be endless fighting within the Yuan family."

“If Yuan Tan died, even though the Yuan family would not be completely united, it would not be as divided as it is now.”

"The Yuan family is already powerful and unmatched. If the Yuan family is forced to fight among themselves, it will not be good for Xuzhou."

Li Yi explained from the simplest to the most complex reasons why Yuan Tan could not die.

The Yuan family of Hebei is already very powerful. If their struggle for succession is ended, it will be even more difficult to contain them.

If Lao Liu wants to develop, he will definitely have to face Yuan Shao in the future.

A Yuan family that is constantly in internal strife is a good Yuan family.

This move was definitely not intended to benefit Cao Cao.

After all, the timeline has changed now, and it is still unknown who will fight in the Battle of Guandu in the future.

"……good."

Liu Ye highly praised Li Yi's views.

"As far as Ye knows, the scholars in Hebei are mainly headed by Shen Pei, Tian Feng, and Pang Ji."

"Yuan Shao's second wife, Liu, was from Hebei, so all these Hebei scholars supported the youngest son, Yuan Shang."

"As for Henan scholars, most of them belonged to the Ruying faction, headed by Xu You, Guo Tu, and Xin Pi."

"Yuan Tan's biological mother was from Runan, and he was the eldest son, so all the Ruying factions joined Yuan Tan's school."

"Today, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang are competing for the Yuan family's successor, each of them is trying to win over their own faction."

"The open and covert fighting is constantly depleting the Yuan family's strength."

"If we kill Yuan Tan now, we will eliminate a rival for Yuan Shang."

"Yuan Shao has always favored his youngest son. If Yuan Tan dies now, Yuan Shang will undoubtedly become the heir to the Yuan family."

"The Ruying scholars in the past will also be purged."

"The Yuan family has stopped their internal conflicts, which is not a good thing for Xuzhou."

……

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(End of this chapter)