Han officials

Chapter 77: Feeling the Emperor's Pain
When Gongsun Zhao learned that Wei Zhe was really preparing to attack the Three Han States, he was very excited.

However, Wei Zhe's next words made him calm down instantly, and even tremble a little.

"Goguryeo must be guarded against. Someone must stay behind to defend this battle!"

Even if there had not been the Battle of Peishui at the beginning of the year, Wei Zhe would not have turned a blind eye to Goguryeo behind him.

After all, the only and biggest threat to Lelang County was the Goguryeo people on the west bank of the Pei River.

Now that the two sides have just fought a big battle, Wei Zhe will never forget them.

"Someone must be on guard along the Peishui line!"

In the general's tent, Wei Zhe was seen saying this.

However, just when Gongsun Zhao thought that he, the latecomer, was about to be kicked off the carriage, Wei Zhe suddenly looked at Yuan Jun and said, "Ziliang, I leave this matter to you!"

Gongsun Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

But on second thought, as the military commander of Lelang County, Yuan Jun is indeed more suitable than him.

Apart from anything else, he couldn't match the trust that was placed in him from behind the scenes.

Yuan Jun also knew how heavy the responsibility on his shoulders was, so he bowed solemnly and said, "Don't worry, my lord. As long as I am still alive, I will not let the Goguryeo people cross the Pei River!"

Looking at his determined eyes, Wei Zhe didn't say anything else, but just nodded slightly.

Because Yuan Jun knows better than anyone what this battle means.

Of course, Wei Zhe would not really let Yuan Jun risk his life for this. He was reluctant to let Wei Zhe go.

"I will leave you fifteen battalions of garrison troops. If things go wrong, you can recruit more from Daifang."

Actually, the combat power that Lelang County can mobilize now is not that much.

Apart from the four thousand county soldiers, there were only the peasant soldiers in the twenty camps of the military settlement.

Although they only practiced in their free time and farmed when they were busy, they had already built a basic foundation after three years of practice.

In comparison, the fifteen camps that were converted from thirty civilian settlements into military settlements at the beginning of the year were much worse.

They are basically no different from farmers. They can't even understand the basic orders of drums and gongs, let alone fighting in formation.

They only have blood and courage, but no rules, they are just a mob.

Letting them go to the battlefield is both cruel and a waste, and Wei Zhe is reluctant to kill them just like that.

However, Yuan Jun frowned slightly upon hearing this and said worriedly, "My Lord, isn't it a bit too few to bring only 5,000 troops? It would be better to bring more. I don't need so many people!"

"Hahaha~ No need, four thousand county soldiers and five thousand garrison troops are just right!"

After saying that, Wei Zhe turned to look at Guo Yuan and ordered, "Zini, order the military camps to select elite soldiers. Choose one out of four and report the skilled fighters to us as soon as possible!"

"Here!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Yuan immediately bowed and accepted the order.

After getting familiar with the situation for a few days, Guo Yuan found that he had actually underestimated Wei Zhe's new method of military farming.

Take the garrison troops in Lelang County for example. If they were stationed before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, they would be no weaker than the county troops in the Central Plains.

If we select another 5,000 elite soldiers from the 20,000, their combat power will definitely be no worse than that of the county soldiers who have been trained full-time.

After hearing what Wei Zhe said, Gongsun Zhao, Yuan Jun and others thought that this was indeed the truth.
The elite troops go to war, while the inferior troops stay at home to defend the country, which is exactly the way to use the military.

Apart from anything else, with these fifteen battalions stationed there, even if Goguryeo mobilized its entire national army to attack, Yuan Jun was confident that he could hold out for a month, buying time for Wei Zhe to return.

After explaining the affairs in Lelang County and returning to the prefectural office, Wei Zhe wrote a letter to the vassal state of Haidong.

You have to know that Taishi Ci has been waiting impatiently in the Haidong vassal state for a long time, spending his days either hunting or training his troops. ...

"From the twenty-eight cities of the Hubei region, we can select two out of five. Each city can recruit two hundred elite soldiers, for a total of five thousand six hundred men."

The next day, in the prefect's mansion.

Wei Zhe pointed to the map on the table and introduced it to Xi Zhicai who had come with the order: "This will be the northern army, led by Ziyi to attack Chenhan. I will lead 4,000 county soldiers and 5,000 garrison troops as the southern army, heading east to attack Mahan."

"The two armies will march eastward and finally meet at Byeonhan. Then the Three Han states can be conquered!"

Wei Zhe actually started to plan this battle plan as early as last year.

However, Xi Zhicai hesitated after hearing this and said, "Isn't it a bit of a waste for the Haidong vassal state to keep over 8,000 Xianbei cavalry?"

After all, servant cavalry like the Xianbei cavalry, which are inexpensive and of good quality, are extremely useful at the moment.

However, Wei Zhe, upon hearing this, said with some disdain and resignation, "The Wuhuan cavalry are no match for the Wuhuan. Their combat effectiveness is still lacking. Five thousand vassal cavalry will be sufficient for this battle."

"Besides, Ziyi left Fuzuchengbei at the beginning of the year and just caused a big commotion in the rear of Goguryeo. We still need to take necessary precautions!"

Of course, the most fundamental reason is that Wei Zhe despised the poor combat effectiveness of the Xianbei cavalry.

Not only are they weak in combat, but they also eat a lot. The food consumption of one Xianbei cavalryman is equivalent to that of three infantrymen.

Under such circumstances, it was already very courageous of Wei Zhe to select five thousand evil followers.

Hearing Wei Zhe say this, Xi Zhicai thought about it and couldn't help but sigh.

Indeed, it is a bit difficult to attack a large country outside the Great Wall like the Three Kingdoms of Korea with the strength of one county.

Apart from anything else, the logistics and food supply alone is a huge problem.

Take the two armies in the north and south for example, with a total of 14,000 people, they need to consume at least 180,000 dan of grain every month, which means 360,000 dan in two months, and nearly 540,000 dan of grain in three months.

Alas~Wei Zhe finally understood the emperor's pain!

Although there are millions of young and strong people in the country, when it comes to military deployment, they can only mobilize tens of thousands of people.

It’s not that there are no people, it’s just that the military expenditure is too expensive and we can’t afford to support too many.

Therefore, “Quality is more important than quantity” is really true!
If Wei Zhe had not tried every possible way to develop water conservancy projects and open up wasteland for farming in Lelang County, he would not have had the capital to start a war.

After all, Emperor Liu Hong did not give him a penny of military funds, and he had to raise all the military funds on his own.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but sigh with regret: "I wish I had killed a few more powerful families last year."

He did not intend to raise military funds by plundering the homes of the powerful, but instead set his sights on the fertile land under the names of the powerful.

You should know that most of the food Wei Zhe prepared for this war came from the military settlements in the eight counties of Lelang.

The Book of Han, Food and Goods Records, records:
"Nowadays, in a farmer's family of five, at least two of them must serve in the army, and the land they can cultivate is no more than a hundred mu, and the yield from that hundred mu is no more than a hundred dan."

By the way, the hundred dan of grain mentioned here does not refer to anything else, but corn.

Because during the Western Han Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty, millet was the main food crop in China.

The reason is simple. Compared with other grains, corn is the only one that is drought-resistant and poverty-resistant, has high yield, and can feed more people. Naturally, it becomes the first choice of the people and the court.

For example, "Records of the Grand Historian" once recorded: During the time of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, the grain in the Taicang granary was piled up one after another, overflowing and piling up outside.

But the most important thing is that corn can be stored for a relatively long time, basically for about ten years.
It is said that twenty years after the fall of the Sui Dynasty, the millet stored in the Chang'an treasury was still edible.

It is precisely because of this advantage that corn has long been the first choice of military rations.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, it was these Han people who ate corn and vegetable porridge who defeated the Huns who ate mutton and drank horse milk, and eventually conquered the Xiongnu!
(End of this chapter)