The revival of Shu Han

Chapter 46 The Black Hand of the Bu Family ([-])
In fact, at the end of the Three Kingdoms period, except for Soochow, no general in Wei and Shu could easily mobilize more than 1000 private soldiers.

This is determined by the economic foundation of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu.

Cao Wei, the most powerful of the Three Kingdoms, has implemented a large-scale farming policy since the Cao Cao era.Because Cao Wei's basic territory, the Central Plains, was the most severely damaged area in the wars at the end of the Han Dynasty.Therefore, in that era, what farmers in the Central Plains most desired was a stable, organized and guaranteed production environment, and the farming system came into being.However, after decades of peaceful development, the village system has gradually become unsuitable for the current environment.

To make an inappropriate analogy, Cao Wei's farming system is actually similar to modern state-owned farms.When the society is in turmoil, everyone hopes to maintain a stable position in the state-owned farms——Cao Wei’s farming system, the state will take nearly [-]% of the income, this ratio is acceptable to everyone when the social turmoil is worse than a dog’s life , and after the social economy is gradually restored, especially after the society has been stabilized for a long time, the workers in the state-owned farms hope to divide the land and work on their own.Not only that, the aristocratic families who were suppressed miserably in the Cao Cao era also hoped to divide the state-owned farms-they could take this opportunity to embezzle state-owned assets.

In order to seek to usurp the throne and win the support of the vast number of northern families, the Sima family followed the trend and began to disintegrate and disband the large-scale farmland in the heartland of the Central Plains such as Yuzhou and Yanzhou (because the border area was not stable, the desire of farmers there to divide the land and work alone did not Not strong, and the aristocratic family doesn't look down on the land there).During this process, some of the small farmers who were allocated land sang praises to the Sima family.The aristocratic family that successfully embezzled a large amount of state assets also expressed acquiescence or support for the Sima family’s usurpation preparations—as for some state-owned farm workers who were not allocated land during the process and were instead reduced to serfs attached to the aristocratic family?They are not human anymore and don't need to consider their feelings at all.

The Shu Han is different from the Cao Wei. The basic territory of the Shu Han, Yizhou, was generally relatively peaceful at the end of the Han Dynasty, and the rule of Liu Yan and Liu Zhang's father and son was also relatively moderate.Therefore, the economic basis of the Shu Han is the small-scale peasant economy. The size and power of the big families of the Shu Han are far behind those of the Eastern Wu and Cao Wei.Regardless of whether it is Liu Bei Zhuge Liang or the current Liu Chan, the national policy of the Shu Han is to try its best to protect the owner farmers from being easily annexed by the aristocratic family.Therefore, the aristocratic families within the Shu Han, especially the indigenous families in Yizhou, are the most unhappy with the Shu Han regime.

If the family of the Shu Han was suppressed and the family of Cao Wei began to stretch their muscles, then the family of the Eastern Wu is the general trend.

Before Sun Ce conquered Jiangdong, the manor economy of the aristocratic families in Soochow already had a large scale.Although the brothers Sun Ce and Sun Quan had been fighting with the Jiangdong family for decades in order to strengthen the centralization of power, the Sun family gave up in the end—the Jiangdong family was too powerful, and if the fight continued like this, the country would perish.

Therefore, unlike the army that is basically in the hands of the state, important ministers can have private soldiers, but it is different from Shu Han and Cao Wei, which are extremely limited in scale.Soochow's military system is unique.

The state has an army—essentially the personal army of the Sun family.And all the important officials under the emperor have different numbers of troops.These armies are the trilogy of each important minister, usually supported by the output of each important minister's fiefdom, and follow each important minister to go out in battle-this is a bit similar to the vassal system of the monarchs and vassals in the Middle Ages in Western Europe.The biggest problem caused by this system is that it is very hard to fight defensively.As for the attack, it is necessary to calculate the cost - if it is a battle like Yamagoshi that can plunder a large number of people, then everyone's enthusiasm will be very high.If you want to fight Shu Han or Cao Wei, then, His Majesty, your army will go first, okay?

Xiling is the key node for Soochow to defend the natural danger of the Yangtze River. The Soochow court put up to 30 national troops here.The Bu family has been operating here for [-] years, and there are already tens of thousands of private soldiers under its command.

Therefore, although Bu Chan is only the second head of the Bu family, he can easily mobilize an army of 1000 people and a large amount of food for his own private affairs—it is really a private matter, and he has to give it to the court in advance to fight Guan Yi. Making a report is different. Bu Chan doesn't need to report to anyone to do this.

Although it is procrastinating for the aristocratic families of Soochow to do affairs for the country, once their own private affairs are involved, the efficiency will be reflected.On August [-], Bu Chan issued an order, and by the beginning of September, all preparations were ready.

"Patriarch, this slave has already contacted many villages in Mengzihei, Linka, and Bizika in Wuximanli. There are 37 villages in total, and each village has 200 to [-] soldiers. It's more than [-] people."

"Well, very good. There are indeed only 150 soldiers in Fuling County, right?"

"This is confirmed. But Fuling County also has a guard team formed by Guan Yi and others, with a total of 500 people."

"It doesn't matter. A team of hundreds of people can still beat me with thousands of people. But you must pay attention to concealment when you march. Don't be discovered by the opponent too early. If the opponent's Yong'an Corps arrives, That would be troublesome."

"Patriarch, don't worry, the marching route has been planned for slaves and maidservants. Our infantry army first concentrated in Gongtan, [-] miles south of Hanfu County, Fuling County. Then we instigated Wuxi barbarians to attack Hanfu County, causing Wuxi barbarians to collectively attack Hanfu County. The false appearance of the riot attracted the enemy troops in Fuling County to move southward to Hanfu County. Afterwards, our army raided Fuling County along the back hills of the Wujiang River Valley and robbed the craftsmen in various workshops. They will rush back for help, and the best way to get back is to advance along the valleys on both sides of the Wujiang River, and then the slaves will wait for work on the high mountains in the valley..."

"Well, very good. But you have to remember: first, you must have the methods of making soap, wax, and fruit wine. The craftsmen in these workshops must be alive. Second, they must be clean from beginning to end. From the beginning to the end, it was just another riot by the Wuxi barbarians, and it has nothing to do with my Bu family. After you catch the craftsmen, retreat immediately, and don't think about ambushing Guan Yi again."

"Homeowner!"

"I know you want to avenge Bu Yao, but you have to be clear. Guan Yi, Zhang Zun and others are the so-called descendants of Yuan Cong by the Shu thieves. After seeing them, you were found out to be members of my Bu family. My Bu family will be very troublesome then."

"...The subordinate understands."

"Well, it's a good thing to do. If this matter is done well, I will reward you for that dancer you have come back to."

"Here!!! Thank you Patriarch! The servant will definitely do the job well!"

……

At the same time, on the other side, Panlongzhai was three hundred miles away from Fuling County.

This is a relatively peripheral stockade in the Bizika ethnic group.Many of its neighbors are the villages of Mengzihei and Linka.Over the years, the sinister natural environment and poor neighbor relations have made the village's livelihood very difficult.Even more than a year after Guan Yi took office, the lives of the surrounding Wuxi barbarians have improved to a certain extent.The population of this village is only in the early 200s.

On September [-]th of the first year of Jingyao, Pan Dazhuang, who went to work in Fuling County, brought his brothers back to Panlongzhai.

"Da Zhuang, you are back."

"Yes, Village Master. We are back. Eleven brothers, all of them are back."

"Well, have you been going well for the past few months?"

"Everything is good. Prefect Guan, County Magistrate Li and the new County Magistrate Chen all treated us very well. We brought back 130 shi of grain, two bolts of cloth, and five shi of salt."

"So much? This, how is this possible?"

"Yes, Zhaizhu. There are a lot of merchant ships in Fuling County, and there are also a lot of goods that need to be moved. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can earn these things."

"Okay, okay, with these things, people in the stockade will not starve to death this winter... Hey, I knew you would be able to bring back enough things for the winter. I shouldn't have accepted the invitation of those Menzi blacks .”

"Huh? Meng Zihei? Village Master, what's going on?"

(End of this chapter)