Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 432 Liu Bei: You don’t know how good I am at farming

The bitter cold weather caused the northern part of the Great Wall to frequently go south to plunder. If the Hu people who had surrendered to the Han Dynasty had any other intentions, and were familiar with the tactics of the Han army and knew how to forge armor and ironware...

Thinking of this, Xun Yu's heart trembled violently.

Some deadly weapons quietly flowed into the barbarian tribes, narrowing the gap between the Han and the Hu. They were so close to Sili that if there was a change in the court, the consequences would be disastrous.

Zhao Yun, who came with them, also showed some worry. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, if we make the Xiongnu people equals citizens and give them Han surnames, and recruit them as soldiers in the future, I'm afraid the Huns will also be able to learn the Han army's tactics. Even if they don't know how to cast iron, their combat capabilities will be improved. What should we do then?"

Some things will spread all over the world over time, and cannot be controlled just because you want to. Not to mention that some merchants will secretly sell things to Hu tribes in order to make money.

Some powerful families in border counties are capable of doing such things, and can even secretly form alliances with the Hu people. When it comes to interests, there is nothing they cannot do, only things they cannot imagine.

Although Zhao Yun was born in Changshan, Jizhou, he had heard a little about the deeds of the nobles in the border counties of Bingzhou and Youzhou.

Unexpectedly, when Liu Bei heard this, he just shook his head and laughed, and quickly explained: "Zilong, Wen Ruo, don't worry, in fact, there are ways to curb the surrounding Hu people."

"As long as the emperor and his ministers do not promote too many Hu people to be military commanders, separate civil and military affairs, and let them be officials to govern a place, they can be used and defended immediately, and at the same time, they can give preferential treatment to craftsmen, doctors, and agricultural officials, so as to strengthen the weapons and armor, reduce diseases and human disasters, and improve agricultural harvests. This should be made an unchangeable law and continued for a hundred years."

"Even if the tactics and iron weapons of the Han army are gradually known to outsiders, our newly cast iron weapons are still sharp and strong, and the people of the world are still prosperous. If we use this as a basis, we can control tens of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains."

Liu Bei was still very confident in the strength of the Han Dynasty at this time. Even though the world had only been unified for a few years, his ability to mobilize the people was far stronger than the previous two emperors. Not to mention that in another ten or twenty years, even if someone unified the Xianbei and brought all the Hu people outside the Great Wall under his jurisdiction, he would dare to give it a try.

During the heyday of the Central Plains, we were never afraid of the arrogance and domineering of the barbarians from the grasslands. No matter how strong they were, we would beat them.

Of course, this does not apply to those who are stupid and incompetent.

Xun Yu thought for a moment and no longer insisted that the emperor leave the prince in Yunyang. He sighed and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, when you go to Jinyang, you should not force the Xiongnu too hastily. Otherwise, if the war breaks out, not only Bingzhou and Sili will be affected, but even Hebei will be unstable."

"It should be noted that the people of Montenegro are still gradually migrating to Bing and Ji for resettlement. The people of Montenegro have very little food in stock. If the Xiongnu ride on horses and burn their fields, the harvest at the end of the year will be greatly reduced."

"The Xianbei Budugen is eyeing the Great Wall area covetously. This bandit attacked Yanzhou before, but after hearing that Yuan Benchu ​​was defeated, he fled all the way from Jizhou to Youzhou, robbing tens of thousands of people wherever he went. He has a long history of grievances with our Han family, and will definitely try his best to win over the Xiongnu nobles."

"Although the Hu people are barbaric and rude, they still know the principle of interdependence. In the face of the powerful Han Dynasty, perhaps the Xiongnu and the Xianbei will become closer. We must be on guard against this."

In addition to the Xiongnu, the Xianbei people also migrated south to the border. The Han Dynasty was in chaos for more than ten years, and during this period the Xianbei tribes did not stop migrating.

Back then, Ding Yuan led the Bingzhou troops to Heluo, and was eventually killed in Sili. His soldiers were also annexed by Dong Zhuo, and he never returned to Bingzhou since then.

The Xianbei, who originally stayed at the borders of Wuyuan, Yunzhong and Yanmen counties, saw that Bingzhou's defenses were weak and immediately took advantage of the situation to move south.

In addition, during the war between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, the Xianbei were wooed by both sides, causing most of the three northern counties to fall into the hands of the Xianbei. When Lu Bu was appointed to recapture Bingzhou, he did not dare to lead his army deep into Wuyuan and Yunzhong counties, because there were too many Hu people near the two places, making the Han people a minority there.

The Han army penetrated deep into the Hu people's territory. If anything unexpected happened, their food supply would be cut off in an instant, and they would become an isolated army.

Therefore, they could only stop in Yinguan County of Yanmen County to intimidate the Hu people in Bingzhou.

The generals under Lu Bu also became restrained when they returned to Bingzhou. The nobles and common people in Bingzhou did not warmly welcome Lu Fengxian. Instead, someone asked sarcastically at the banquet: "Why doesn't Wenhou go back to Jiuyuan County? Most of Wuyuan County has been lost, but the people of Jiuyuan are still there. They must be looking forward to Wenhou's return day and night to wipe out the Hu disaster for them."

Lu Bu was so embarrassed that he wanted to get angry but couldn't. After all, the other person was telling the truth and he was stationed in Bingzhou on the order of the emperor. He couldn't just draw his sword and kill the person out of shame and anger.

He was the Han Dynasty's General of the Northern Expedition, and not a Hu barbarian, so he had to suppress his anger, put on a smile and continue chatting and laughing with others.

The news of what happened in Bingzhou County soon reached the court, shocking many officials. They could not help but marvel at it and thought to themselves, "There are indeed many strange things in the world. Fengxian can even endure ridicule in person. This is truly remarkable."

Xun Yu, the Shangshu Ling, had naturally heard of this kind of interesting story, but he did not focus on Lu Bu like others. Instead, he was worried about the Xianbei who had crossed the Great Wall and headed south.

The Hu people ignored the threat of Han troops and migrated southward continuously for hundreds of years. It can only be said that the water and grass situation in Mobei became increasingly worse.

However, the more people who migrated from the Xianbei and Xiongnu, the larger the livestock groups would be, and the more water and grass would be needed.

As a result, the Han people's arable land was greatly reduced, and the local people were either forced to start herding like them, or to voluntarily abandon their hometown and flee to other places to survive, or the two sides became hostile to each other.

It is no easier for the Han Dynasty to properly deal with the Xiongnu and Xianbei in Bingzhou than to deal with the Qiang and Di in Liangzhou!
Xun Yu said in his heart.

"Wenruo, rest assured. Everything depends on human efforts. As long as Bingzhou and Youzhou are stable, I will order Gongjin to build terraced fields in Yunmengze. The Han Dynasty will open up farmland in the south, starting from Yunmengze in Jiangxia and Nanjun."

"After we have reclaimed the land near Yunmeng Lake, we will cut down trees and reclaim farmland in Changsha, Wuling, Guiyang and other places, and then gradually advance southwards."

"The same is true for the four counties in Jiangdong. First, we will concentrate our manpower to open up Wu County and Danyang County, then move southwest to open up Yuzhang County, and then extend to Kuaiji and Jiaozhou Nanhai County."

"At the same time, the reclamation of land in Huainan, Zhongyuan, Hebei, Guanzhong, and Shuzhong cannot stop. When encountering hilly areas, trees can be cut down to build terraces. Large fields can be cultivated on gently sloping land, and small fields can be cultivated on steeply sloping land. As long as the land can grow viable rice, it can be cultivated."

"Without war for ten years, officials and people can concentrate on farming and completely restore people's livelihood."

Liu Bei pointed at the map of the world and said to Xun Yu and Zhao Yun with a smile.

(End of this chapter)