My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 213: Xiao He is comparable to Shang Yang! Cao Cao panicked: If Liu Bei develops for a few more years, he will attack my high ground in one wave!

Fubing system?
Equal-field system?
The six unheard-of words echoed in everyone's ears like thunder.

Be it Liu Bei or Zhuge Liang, all the Chu monarchs and ministers present had surprise and confusion in their eyes.

"Bo Wen, what is the Fubing system, and what is the equal-field system?"

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment before asking with curiosity in his eyes.

"This Fubing system is a type of military system, from top to bottom it consists of the imperial court, the military office, the Fubing, and the civilians."

"So-called prefectural soldiers are places where soldiers gather in densely populated areas of each prefecture and county. These places are called 'Eagle Palaces'."

"This Yingyang Prefecture is dedicated to recruiting soldiers. The Yingyang Commander is the chief of the Prefecture, and his subordinates are, in order, the Guoyi Commander, the Xiaowei, the Lieutenant, the Brigade Commander, the Captain, the Fire Captain, and the Prefecture Soldiers."

"The principle of recruiting prefectural soldiers is to select the strongest from those with equal wealth, the rich from those with equal strength, and the most men from those with equal wealth and strength. We select from among the local powerful, wealthy farmers, and lower-level officials."

"Those selected as prefectural soldiers work on the farm in their free time, and are summoned by Yingyang Prefecture for drills and training in winter."

"The Yingyang Commandant only has the power to train and recruit soldiers, not command them. Whenever a war breaks out, the imperial court appoints a general to lead the troops. After the war is over, the soldiers are returned to Yingyang Prefecture to become farmers."

"When the government soldiers go to war, they must provide their own armor, weapons, and food."

"Anyone who is recruited as a government soldier will be exempted from taxes and labor service as a reward."

"This system allows the court to obtain a sufficient and stable source of troops while saving the cost of maintaining them."

"According to my calculations, if this military system can be fully implemented, the three states of our country can provide Duke Chu with at least another 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. The total number of troops for our Northern Expedition will be around 160,000."

"Moreover, these 160,000 soldiers and horses not only do not require state support, but are also well-equipped with armor and weapons, and are all strong and capable men."

"The Duke of Chu leads this elite army of 160,000 soldiers to the Northern Expedition. Even if the traitor Cao Cao and the false Wei hold the fertile lands of the Central Plains, what can we do? It won't be difficult for us to destroy them."

Xiao He spoke eloquently and explained the outline of the military system to Liu Bei and everyone else.

As a time traveler, how could he not know the power of the Fubing system?

The Tang Dynasty, which conquered countless countries and subdued the barbarians, was able to be invincible thanks to this military system.

The origin of this military system was created by Yuwen Tai, the actual ruler of the Western Wei Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

At that time, the Eastern and Western Wei dynasties were in confrontation. The Eastern Wei, controlled by Gao Huan, held the rich lands of Guandong and the two rivers, and its national strength crushed the Western Wei controlled by Yuwen Tai, who only controlled a corner of Guanlong.

In order to defeat the strong with the weak, Yuwen Tai created the military system, which fully stimulated the war potential of Guanlong. Eventually, the weak became strong and its strength surpassed that of Eastern Wei, laying the foundation for its successor, Northern Zhou, to wipe out Northern Qi and unify the north.

Yuwen Tai and Gao Huan at that time were very similar to Liu Bei and Cao Cao today.

Liu Bei was like Yuwen Tai, who only controlled three southern states. Although the territory was vast, the population was sparse and the national strength was weak.

Cao Cao was like Gao Huan, dominating the north, controlling the fertile land of the two rivers, and having a strong national strength.

If you want to defeat the strong with the weak, you must make some changes, create new systems to enhance national strength, first become strong from weak, and then you can destroy another strong country.

After careful consideration and comparison, Xiao He came to the conclusion that this military system could make Yuwen Tai stronger, and naturally it would also make Liu Bei stronger.

The hall was immediately in an uproar.

When Xiao He came up with the system of palace soldiers, it caused a huge uproar, as if opening the door to a new world for everyone present.

"Bo Wen, this Fubing system you mentioned is indeed a good system for enriching the country and strengthening the military!"

Liu Bei was so delighted that he clapped his hands in admiration.

Since the turmoil in the world and the collapse of the conscription system, the princes of all parties have replaced it with the recruitment system.

As the name suggests, all their soldiers are recruited.

As for the recruited soldiers, first of all, the source of manpower is unstable and soldiers are prone to desertion. Moreover, the soldiers belong to the generals and can easily become the generals' private soldiers.

The key is that you not only have to take care of the food and drink for the recruited soldiers, but you are also fully responsible for their weapons and armor, which puts a huge financial burden on them.

Xiao He's military system solved all the above-mentioned defects.

The government soldiers were registered by Yingyang Prefecture, eliminating the possibility of them having unknown origins and being easily able to escape.

Military generals only have the power to command troops but not the power to recruit and train them, and the soldiers are responsible for providing their own weapons and food. Therefore, there will be no situation where the soldiers belong to the generals, and the possibility of an organized rebellion is eliminated to the greatest extent.

The most important point is that most of the government soldiers were rich farmers who provided their own food, fodder, and weapons, which greatly reduced the economic burden on the court.

This may not be an obvious benefit to Cao Cao, who has a large family and a powerful country, but for Liu Bei, who only controls three states and has a small territory and a poor country, it is like a timely help.

Seeing the benefits of this, how could Liu Bei not be surprised?

"Bo Wen, your Fubing system sounds like a good system that can help our Chu State become stronger and increase its military strength."

"But if my guess is correct, whether your Fubing system can be implemented should be closely related to your subsequent equal-field system, right?"

Zhuge Liang obviously had a more thorough understanding of the military system.

"Wolong is Wolong. That's right. Without the equal-field system as a foundation, this military system is nothing but castles in the air and cannot be implemented at all."

Xiao He changed the subject and continued to explain:
"The largest source of government soldiers is the rich peasants. Only the rich peasants have the money to provide their own food and fodder, and to purchase weapons, armor, and horses."

"If you want to become a rich farmer, you must first have land, and you need at least 50 mu to start."

"Although the three southern states have been pacified, years of war have left the people displaced and countless abandoned fields without owners."

“This is both a disadvantage and an advantage.”

"The benefit lies here. The Duke of Chu can issue an edict to take all these unowned fields into the hands of the government and prohibit the wealthy families from annexing and occupying them."

"The imperial court controls a large amount of farmland, which it can then distribute among the common people and refugees, and incorporate them into the state's household register."

"In return for the land granted by the state, the people were obliged to enlist as soldiers and fight for the country." "And the state exempted them from taxes and labor service as a reward for joining the soldiers. This created a positive cycle."

“It is said that only those who have constant property can have constant heart.”

"The soldiers of the government are not only fighting for the country and for the Duke of Chu, but also fighting to defend their own land."

"In this way, our army has become a brave and courageous army with conviction."

“Only those who have faith can move forward!”

"How can such an elite army with conviction be compared to Cao Cao's pseudo-Wei soldiers who fight only for money?"

"This is the essence of the equal-field system!"

Xiao He explained the significance of the equal-field system in one breath.

Zhuge Liang's face was clear of doubts, and he could not help but nodded slightly, praising:

“Only those who have constant property can have perseverance, and only those who have faith can move forward!”

"Bo Wen, your Fubing system and the equal-field system are truly unique measures for enriching the country and strengthening the military!"

After saying this, Zhuge Liang bowed to Liu Bei and said with a firm look:

"Lord Chu, this system of military garrisons and the equal-field system are truly as if they were created by Bo Wen specifically for you. Liang believes we should immediately agree on the details and implement them in the three states."

"Liang believes that Bowen's two extraordinary measures will be effective within a year, doubling our national strength. The Northern Expedition to destroy the pseudo-Wei and the restoration of the Han Dynasty are just around the corner!"

Xiao He raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

Just based on Zhuge Liang's words "tailor-made for the Duke of Chu", it can be seen that he has seen through the meaning that he did not express explicitly.

Liu Bei could implement the equal-field system, but Cao Cao could not.

There is no other reason, the power of the nobles and powerful families in the north is too strong.

There are so many scholar families in the north, such as the Hongnong Yang family, the Taiyuan Wang family, the Heqing Cui family, the Yingchuan Xun family...

Ninety percent of the world's top families come from the north.

You, Cao Cao, said that you only recruit people based on their talents, but which of the important officials under your command is not a famous scholar from aristocratic family?
These noble families and wealthy families took advantage of the chaos in the country and the people's escape to annex and occupy land.

You, Cao Cao, want to implement the equal-field system, and want to prevent the wealthy families from annexing land. You want to give the land to the refugees and poor people. Will the nobles under your command agree to this?

Therefore, although Cao Cao seemed to be overbearing and killed a few famous scholars from time to time, pretending to warn the gentry, he did not dare to fundamentally restrict the expansion of the gentry.

The situation in the south is different. Although there are aristocratic families, there are far fewer top-level aristocratic families than in the north.

In the battle to take Jingzhou, the two major powerful families in Jingzhou, the Cai family and the Kuai family, were destroyed. The Jiangdong gentry were also defeated by Sun Ce and have not recovered to this day.

In the entire three southern states, there is actually no top-level family that can compare with the Xun family, and the overall strength of the gentry is far from being able to influence national policies.

In such a situation, does Liu Bei need to consider the opinions of the gentry before he can implement the equal-field system?
Therefore, the equal-field system and the military service system were tailor-made for Liu Bei.

Liu Bei no longer had any worries, he jumped up and said happily:

"I have made up my mind. I will follow Bo Wen's strategy and immediately implement the system of government soldiers and equal distribution of land in the three states of Jing, Yang, and Jiao!"

Liu Bei had made up his mind, and immediately instructed Xiao He to take the lead and work with Zhuge Liang, Lu Su and other advisers to work out the details of the two systems and implement them in the three states.

A few days later, an imperial edict was issued from Yingtian, announcing the implementation of the military service system and the equal-field system to the people of the three states.

At the same time, Gan Ning, Wen Pin, Ding Feng and other naval generals were ordered to lead the navy from Sishui and Woshui to the north to raid the pseudo-Wei Huaibei counties.

So along the Huai River line, the Chu and Wei countries started a war of "plundering" each other.

Today your Wei cavalry went down to Huainan and plundered one thousand of my men. Tomorrow my navy landed in Huaibei and abducted two thousand of your men and women. You rob and I rob, and no one can take advantage.

While wars continued in the border counties, the two systems were vigorously implemented within the three states.

The equal-field system was first implemented, extending from Nanjun to Danyang, from Nanyang to Changsha, from Jiujiang to Kuaiji...

Tens of thousands of acres of abandoned land were taken over by the government and distributed among the people.

Following the equal-field system was the implementation of the fubing system.

With the establishment of dozens of Yingyang Prefectures, thousands of young and strong civilians who had received land granted by the government were registered and became prefecture soldiers.

People in the world promoted these two systems and called them the Xiaohe Reforms!
By the beginning of autumn, the Chu army's strength had increased by nearly 30,000.

In less than half a year, the national strength of Chu State had greatly increased.

At the end of autumn, detailed information about the implementation of the two systems by the State of Chu was finally sent to Yecheng and placed on Cao Cao's desk.

...

Duke Wei's Mansion.

In the main hall, Cao Cao was frowning, carefully examining the information in his hand.

His face became increasingly gloomy, his hand holding the silk book was trembling slightly, his eyes were widening, and cold sweat was rolling down his forehead.

"Hiss~~"

After reading the silk book, Cao Cao took a breath of cold air and exclaimed:
"This peasant Xiao He's Fubing system and the Equal Field System can be compared to Shang Yang's reforms. They are truly a divine strategy that turned the tide, a snake swallowing an elephant. If the big-eared thief continues to implement them for a few more years, he will die alone without a burial place!"

"No further delay! I must immediately mobilize all the troops in the country and march south to destroy the false Chu!"

(End of this chapter)