In the urging of Queen Mi, Liu Bei asked Huo Du and Xu Sheng to lead soldiers and horses to escort Queen Mi and the Mi brothers back to their hometowns to worship their ancestors.

Liu Bei inspected Guangling for two or three days, and then took Huo Jun south to Jiangzuo, and met with Yangzhou Thorn Shi Buqi and Danyang Taishou Jiang Wan in Moling (Nanjing).

Although the mountains and rivers are handsome, the dragon and the tiger are in the sky, and there is the air of the emperor. However, in the Southern Han Dynasty, it was only the seat of Danyang County, which was the military and political center of a county, and it was far from being able to be compared with the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties in later generations.

Moling, East Circuit Palace.

In the lobby, Liu Bei sat on the couch, and Huo Jun, Buqi, Ma Liang and other high-ranking officials sat on the left and right.

Looking through the household registration in Yangzhou, Liu Bei showed a satisfied look and said: "The number of household registrations in the counties has changed a lot compared with when I left Yang. I talked to Prime Minister about the governance of Yangzhou, and Cheng Xiangjun praised it. Since Duoyanzishan served as the assassin of Yangzhou, the household registration has gradually increased over the years, and the taxes paid are second only to Jingzhou, which is very rare. ”

According to the calculation before the split of Jiangzhou, because of the southward movement of the Xu Huai people, Yangzhou's population and taxes were actually more than Jingzhou's, making it the largest state in the south.

At the end of the Xiangfan Campaign, with the establishment of Jiangzhou, Yangzhou lost four counties, and the registered population decreased by 60,000 or 70,000 households.

"The minister does not dare to be greedy for merit, Yangzhou can have today's achievements, because His Majesty and the prime minister chose to be too proper. In the 12 years since His Majesty went to Jingchuer, the governors have leveled the thieves, raised the Han Yi, organized the households, and the ministers only lived in the administrative places, supervised the postal quartet, commissioned government decrees, and strictly enforced the legal system. Bu Qi said humbly.

"And there are mountains entrenched in Yangzhou, the mountains are heavy, the Tibetan people, self-cast armor soldiers, and occasionally attack. The minister can't be controlled, and he can't be appeased, so he should be ashamed of His Majesty. ”

"Yamagoe?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei hesitated for a moment and asked: "When the prime minister led the troops to conquer Wuximan, I sent the general Huang Quan to lead the troops to recruit the troops. Everyone said that the mountains moved inward, and there was no exhaustion. I wonder what it looks like now? ”

Jiang Wan at the end arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the mountains of Danyang, the terrain is steep, and the four counties of Wu County, Huiji, Xindu, and Poyang are handed over, and they circulate for thousands of miles, which cannot be controlled by one county. The valley is heavy, the mountain is more hidden, the mountain is copper and iron, the self-casting armor soldiers, the soldiers are in the field, the noble strength, it is difficult to capture. ”

"The soldiers of the Chenfa County entered the mountains, and the mountains ran through the mountains and dangers, and pierced through the thorns. Like a fish walking in the abyss, apes climbing wood. When the soldiers retreated, they became thieves. The army resumed the conscription, but the soldiers were defeated by it, and the soldiers scattered and could not be captured. ”

Before Liu Bei sent Huang Quan to conquer Shanyue, the situation was similar to the situation encountered by Jiang Wan, the people of Shanyue outside were basically clean, but there were still a large number of people who fled into the mountains and mountains, and simply sent troops to capture them, which could not completely solve Shanyue.

At that time, Liu Bei asked Huo Jun, and Huo Jun refined and improved its essence according to Zhuge Ke's blockade strategy, and proposed a strategy of heaven and earth net, blocking the passage between Shanyue and the outside world, building barracks, blocking the flow of materials into Shanyue, and blocking and imprisoning the people of Shanyue through three or five years, so as to force the people of Shanyue out of the mountain.

At that time, Liu Bei felt that this method was too time-consuming, the troops consumed were very large, and he did not know what the harvest was, so he put it aside for the time being. Because there are few counties in the hinterland mountains, this shelving is five or six years.

"Xi Zhongmiao has a strategy for offering heaven and earth?"

Liu Bei put down the scarf, recalled the contents, and asked: "Yan acted according to this policy, in three or five years, all the far-reaching mountains could be captured?" ”

"Exactly!"

Huo Jun nodded and said, "Although the Nanban lives in the mountains, they all feed on grain. If they can destroy their farmland, they will cut off their food. Gather troops to close the road, prohibit business and internal communication, and do not fight. After a few years, Shanyue will inevitably run out of food, and there will be no salt to eat. With verbal persuasion and the implementation of good governance, Shanyue should be able to capture all of them! ”

Liu Bei looked at Bu Qi and Jiang Wan and asked, "Do you know how many far-reaching mountains there are?" ”

Jiang Wan pondered for a while, and said thoughtfully: "According to the words of the mountain people and merchants, there are dozens of Shanyue divisions, scattered for thousands of miles, and there are no less than 100,000 people. If you can capture far-reaching people, you may be able to organize households and people to pay taxes for the country; Or it is organized into an army and used for military conquest. ”

Liu Bei was already moved, the Northern Expedition for two or three consecutive years, the people in the country were tired, and they wanted to leave a good foundation for Liu Chan, so in the short term, Liu Bei had no idea of the Northern Expedition. It took three years to subdue more than 100,000 Shanyue, which was a completely cost-effective deal for the Han.

And Danyang Mountain is a soldier, good at martial arts, and is a rare warrior in the world. More than 100,000 Shanyue people, select elites, to say less, 10,000 soldiers. The rest of the people, whether they are organized into households or converted into military camps, are all of great benefit to the country.

"If Zhong Miao's strategy is followed, how many soldiers will be sent to carry out the strategy of heaven and earth?" Liu Bei asked.

"Send the Da Rong army, those who can soothe the mountain people as generals, coordinate the officials of Jing and Jiang Prefectures, send soldiers and horses to the five counties of Danyang, Poyang, Xindu, Wu County, and Huiji, and build fortifications according to the dangers, and they can be leveled for several years." Huo Jun replied.

As soon as the words fell, Zhuge Ke, who was eager to make contributions, came out and said: "Your Majesty, the minister is not talented, and he is willing to lead the troops and horses to conquer Shanyue." ”

"Yuan Xun?"

Seeing that it was Zhuge Ke who asked for battle, Liu Bei hesitated. Not to mention that Zhuge Ke is still young, in Liu Bei's eyes, Zhuge Ke has an impatient temperament, and often relies on his own wisdom, and it is difficult to entrust big things.

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Bei smiled and said: "Yuan Xun is a smart person, I want to use it." However, he has no previous affairs to unify the army, and now he can be the deputy general, assisting the general to unify the soldiers and horses of the five counties. ”

Saying that, Liu Bei looked at Huo Fan behind Huo Jun and said with a smile: "Shi Zai has made special contributions to the south of Jiaoling, I don't know if I dare to lead the order to cut down Shanyue?" ”

Huo Fan had already intended to move, stood tall and stepped forward, and arched his hand and said, "Your Majesty, Fan is willing to lead the troops into battle." For a period of three years, he will dedicate himself to His Majesty. ”

"Color!"

Liu Bei commanded left and right, and said: "Order the general Huo Fan to command 3,000 troops, and the soldiers and horses of the five counties of Danyang, Poyang, Xindu, Huiji, and Wu will be supervised to conquer the far-reaching mountain people. The squire Zhuge Ke is also the captain of the school, and he is the deputy assistant. ”

"No!" Huo Fan and Zhuge Ke were ordered to retreat.

After the two of them retreated, Liu Bei asked: "Zishan, I heard that there are many people in the Jiangzuo clan, I don't know if there is anything to hide the population?" ”

Zhuge Liang wanted to search for a wide range of people, and Liu Bei agreed very much. Just considering that there were many civil and military officials in Jing and Yang, Liu Bei did not dare to promote it in Erzhou immediately, but planned to build an experimental field in Shuzhong, and let the Shuzhong clan be an experiment first to see how the effect was.

As Zhuge Liang and Pan Jun launched a strict investigation of the population in Shuzhong, Liu Bei also set his eyes on Yangzhou, wanting to ask for directions and understand the idea of the next step.

As a state assassin, Bu Qi had an understanding of Zhuge Liang's policy, and replied truthfully: "Your Majesty, since the turmoil of the Chinese and Han dynasties, many Huai people have fled south to Jiangzuo, and many Huai people have no choice but to sell themselves as slaves because they have no food or are poor. There are also many mountain people who have been captured as slaves by the big clans. ”

"Because of the lack of household registration, each of the major clans has a hidden population. In the early days of Wu and Chu, Cao Cao was in Jiangbei, and the county guarded the big clan Yin Cao Cao, and he didn't dare to investigate the population of the big clan. Your Majesty wants to investigate it strictly, and the ministers are afraid that all ethnic groups will violate the yin and yang, and refuse to obey the order, and hope that Your Majesty will act cautiously. ”

Zhuge Liang's policy was to record the hidden population of the Great Clan, so that the Great Clan could pay taxes for the hidden population and make up for the deficit in the treasury caused by the Northern Expedition.

During the Han Dynasty, the poll tax was heavy and the land tax was light, and if they acted according to Zhuge Liang's policy, the big clans would inevitably have to pay high taxes. For example, the Mi clan has more than 10,000 servants and guests, and the taxes paid must be in units of 10,000 people, and those servants must also serve as servants.

The great clans profit by hiding their population, and if the population is to be strictly investigated now, it will greatly harm the interests of those large clans. The interests are affected, and the big clans are very prone to extremes, such as yang and yin disobedience or armed resistance.

Liu Bei showed a solemn look, he rose too fast, and his foundation was very unstable. In the past, in order to resist Cao Cao, he had to rely on the strength of the Wu Chushi clan. Now, with the political situation stabilizing, these Wu Chushi have become an obstacle to his rule of the country.

Of course, Liu Bei can choose not to verify the hidden population, but those Wu Chu clans will form tumors entrenched in the Southern Han one by one. With the passage of time, the national fortunes that will affect the Southern Han Dynasty will be formed.

And Liu Bei knew that if he didn't rectify the government and politics, he would leave a rich and powerful Southern Han for Liu Chan. With Liu Chan's prestige in the future, even if he wants to implement it, he is afraid that he will not be able to do it.

"Zishan's words are really good words."

Liu Bei knew it in his heart, and said indifferently: "The Northern Expedition has been going on for many years, and the people are tired, and many of them have hidden into the big clan. Let Kong Ming and Cheng Ming verify the household registration of the Shuzhong clan, search for the hidden population, and make them pay taxes and serve. As for whether it will be implemented in Wu Chu, Rong Zhen pondered. ”

"Today's words, you must not divulge them to outsiders, and those who violate them will be punished for their crimes!"

"No!"

(End of chapter)