Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 37
Shen Chen's request for military training was naturally not a whim.

It is now the second year of Xingping, 195 AD, and Zhang Ji will come to attack Nanyang next year.

Moreover, Nanyang itself is not a happy land. There are a large number of remnants of the Yellow Turbans hidden in the surrounding Funiu Mountains and Dabie Mountains, which often harass the villagers.

For example, He Yi, Liu Pi, Huang Shao, He Man and others all had tens of thousands of people and were stationed in the mountainous areas of Runan and Nanyang.

There are countless small-scale Yellow Turban cottages and villages scattered in forests, and there are even other bandits and refugees.

What Nanyang lacks is actually not land, but population.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, the population of Nanyang has been reduced by half, and deserted land is everywhere.

If you can train soldiers, you will have a certain ability to protect yourself, and you can take in refugees and Runan Yellow Turbans to strengthen yourself.

This method was not pioneered by Shen Chen, but most of the manor landlords in the late Han Dynasty were like this.

According to historical records, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion began in Jizhou, the landowners of manors everywhere were in danger, so they recruited refugees, trained soldiers, and built a large number of forts and manors to defend themselves.

The most typical example is Zhou Yu and Lu Su, one is a bureaucratic family, the other is a local tyrant, both use this method to train soldiers and horses to stand in troubled times.

Later, when Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, he only borrowed 1000 people from Yuan Shu. Since he had a small relationship with Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yu's uncle was the prefect of Danyang, Sun Ce immediately got their response when he came to Jiangdong. Pull up a team of tens of thousands of people.

Shen Chen's family is just an ordinary local small family, unlike Zhou Yu and Lu Su, who came from a powerful family. Even if they rely on the Deng family, they cannot get power support because the Deng family has no official position.

So he can only find another way and choose a relatively stupid way to grow.

Taking advantage of the fertilization technology can greatly increase grain production, if soldiers can be trained, they can slowly annex the scattered Yellow Turban villages around them and absorb refugees.

At the same time, a large amount of farmland is used to store food and grass. After there is food, more people can be attracted to join and grow gradually.

However, military training is not a simple matter. In addition to training methods, there are also weapons and equipment. These are not only available for farming, but also require economic development.

Therefore, Shen Chen's plan is to focus on farmland, supplemented by porcelain and iron trade to improve himself.

The development of porcelain in the Han Dynasty was actually very good, but they were all ordinary yellow clay ceramics, and the best was Jiangdong white porcelain, so Jiangdong porcelain was also very famous, and more exquisite colored porcelain could not appear until the Tang Dynasty.

And Shen Chen just knew these techniques, which was enough to amaze the nobles of the Han Dynasty.

After finalizing the details with the clan elders, Shen Chen planned the details of the military training. He required that the fifty soldiers selected must be those who dare to die and go all out, and they must also be paved with steel-like discipline and good food.

The logistics are provided by the clan. Since the great harvest, Shen Chen has stipulated that all families must hand over one-tenth of the grain and accumulate it as public property.

This is equivalent to using more than 1000 acres of land and about seven or eight thousand shi rations per year to support professional soldiers, which is more than enough.

Based on the monthly food consumption of a professional soldier at that time, which was close to three shi, 50 men only needed less than two thousand shi a year.

Most of the rest of the food will be sold and replaced with salt, livestock, ironware, armor, bows and arrows, and horses to support the troops.

In ancient society, unless it was a peasant uprising army like the Yellow Turban Army, it would cost a lot of money to raise a group of elite soldiers.

For example, the armor cost of a Shenwu Youjun in the Song Dynasty was 58 guan, plus horses and weapons, the price of a suit of equipment was more than 100 guan and close to 200 guan.

From the Eastern Han Dynasty until the period of Emperor Han Ling, the regular army had only less than 5 Northern Army, and the court almost went bankrupt in order to support these people.

But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and it was with these tens of thousands of people that Emperor Han Ling was able to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

It was also because Dong Zhuo took the opportunity to control the Northern Army and the Eighth Army of the West Garden when he entered Luoyang that he was able to cause such a big storm.

So although there are not many 50 people, if they are armed according to the regular army, the combat effectiveness is still very impressive.

The average 50 Yellow Turban soldiers would have to be defeated by these [-] soldiers if they met head-on.

This is also in line with the current small number of clans and the need for some elite soldiers to protect the safety of the clan.

The command of the team was handed over to senior soldiers such as Deng Zhao and Shen Zhen, and the training methods were also handed over to them. Shen Chen was just for reference.

Because the training method of the iron and steel troops in later generations in our country is actually of no reference value in the Han Dynasty. That army is the people's soldiers, with faith and discipline, and has a tenacious style of fighting.

When you mentioned your beliefs to the feudal army in the Han Dynasty, it would be more realistic to tell them how much money to reward after destroying the enemy.

After making this series of plans, Shen Chen will finally leave the clan and go to Xiangyang.

At the beginning of May, amidst the farewell sounds of family members and clan elders, Shen Chen and the sixth uncle got into a cart pulled by two donkeys and headed south slowly.

Only Deng Hong was with him and a servant driving a chariot.

Xinye is actually very close to Xiangyang, less than [-] miles away. If you go all the way south by boat, it only takes seven or eight hours to get there.

In addition, Liu Biao has deployed a large number of troops around, so it is still very safe to go from the south of Wancheng to Xiangyang.

Deng's new residence is located on the north bank of the Shahe River, close to Bishui, which is later known as the Tangzi River.

After crossing the river is Huyang County.

Sitting in a donkey cart has been walking for about two hours, almost from nine o'clock in the morning to two o'clock in the afternoon.

After gathering from the new village of Huangmenting at the beginning, the south was completely barren. After approaching Huyang County, I saw a large area of ​​villages, fields, mulberry forests and ponds.

Deng Hong was wearing an ordinary scholar's gown, kneeling and sitting on the donkey cart, Shen Chen didn't have so many worries, and just lay down on the cart, almost falling apart due to the bumps of the post road.

In this era, it is really unbearable for people to travel. If the distance is short, it is better, but if it is far away, whether you ride a horse, take a car or walk, you will suffer.

Riding a horse and riding a car wastes the butt, walks and runs wastes the legs and feet, and the only good mode of transportation is by boat.

But if you are seasick, congratulations, you will be tortured when you go out.

Especially in summer, it is more uncomfortable than going to jail.

The grandfather and grandson appeared in the village pavilion in the northwest of Huyang County, and they still attracted the attention of the villagers, and they all came to see them.

It is summer in May, and the summer has become hotter and hotter in the past two years. The farmland is close to Bishui, but because of the hotter weather, the water level of Bishui has dropped sharply, and many villagers are digging ditches.

Although millet seedlings and wheat seedlings are relatively drought-tolerant crops, no matter how drought-tolerant they are, they need water.

Shen Chen saw this scene, thought for a moment, and said to Deng Hong: "Uncle, do you want to give you a chance to become famous?"

"what?"

Deng Hong looked at Shen Chen vigilantly. His grandson had a lot of ideas. Last time he asked him if he wanted to find a daughter from a rich family in Xiangyang to be his wife, but now he didn't know what bad idea he was thinking.

Shen Chen pointed to the distance and said: "I taught my uncle the keel waterwheel, and my uncle taught the villagers how to use it. It will definitely become famous in the countryside."

"What's the use of being famous in the countryside?"

Deng Hong shrugged his shoulders: "Only becoming famous among scholars can be truly famous."

Shen Chen smiled and said: "It is very useful to be famous in the countryside. If our Huangmen Pavilion wants to grow, we must absorb the people. After you teach them the keel waterwheel, the people in the countryside in Huyang will be grateful and praise your fame. At that time, the nearby villages and pavilions will know your reputation."

"and then?"

"Then you tell them that someone will attack Nanyang in the future, and if there is a war at that time, let them go north and join our village, won't there be more people in our village?"

"Will someone attack Nanyang in the future?"

Deng Hong immediately felt the meaning of Shen Chen's words keenly.

He did not have much knowledge because of his lack of knowledge, but after being with his grandson for a long time, he was able to grasp the key points.

Shen Chen smiled and said, "Uncle wouldn't think that Jingzhou is a safe place, right? To be honest with Uncle, I feel that within a year or two at most, Nanyang will be in chaos, and our clan must be prepared for it."

Zhang Ji attacked Nanyang, and Liu Biao gave up Wancheng to Zhang Xiu.

Afterwards, Cao Cao conquered Zhang Xiu several times, and each time Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao's allied forces suffered heavy losses, and many people in the north of Nanyang were relocated by Cao Cao, including the Deng Ai family.

Not to mention that on the eve of the Battle of Chibi, Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, Liu Bei fled south, and more than [-] people in Xinye followed, and the whole Nanyang was in chaos.

Therefore, from 196 AD to 208 AD, the Nanyang area was not peaceful.

Large-scale wars occasionally encountered wars between Zhang Xiu and Cao Cao, and small-scale wars also included the looting of the Yellow Turban Army and Cao Cao's battle against the Yellow Turbans in Runan.

Therefore, it is necessary to make many arrangements before Nanyang is in chaos, so as to prepare for future growth.

"Well, I see."

Hearing Shen Chen's words, Deng Hong nodded thoughtfully.

The two continued southward.

There is no way to make a keel waterwheel now, so Shen Chen plans to teach Deng Hong how to make it when he arrives in Xiangyang.

After it was made, he was asked to teach it in various places in Nanyang, and built a large number of it in Huyang, Xiangxiang, Pingshi, Yuyang and other places around Shahe where Huangmenting lived, so that it became famous in the countryside.

When Zhang Ji's army goes south, it is believed that the forts and manors built by Huangmenting have formed a certain defensive capability and can absorb more villagers.

The speed of the donkey cart was not slow. After walking for more than five hours, at an average speed of ten kilometers per hour, it arrived outside Xiangyang City at seven o'clock in the evening.

But today it is impossible to enter the city, so they can only live in Fancheng.

After approaching Xiangyang, Shen Chen saw a large number of refugees migrating to the south along the way. These were not bad. It was said that there were nearly [-] people gathered in the Shunyang area of ​​Liguo near Wuguan.

Last summer, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong, and the price of grain was soaring. A dendrobium cost 50 yuan, and people in Kuan'an ate each other.

Liu Xie wanted to open a warehouse to release grain, but the grain was embezzled. Li Jue, Guo Si and others even sent troops to rob the grain sent by Liu Xie, causing a great famine.

At that time, there were still a million people in Guanzhong, and countless deaths were caused by starvation. A large number of refugees who could migrate migrated to Guanzhong, Yizhou and Nanyang, which can be regarded as indirectly replenishing their population.

(End of this chapter)