Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 490 Governing the world is difficult, involving millions of people.

Yingchuan, Xuxian.

"This humble subject secretly pays homage to the King of Tang. The map of Chen State shows three prefectures and twenty counties, totaling 311 counties. It has 900,000 households, more than 4.36 million people, 143,600 soldiers, 6,461 officials, 3,200 boats, 3,000 catties of gold and silver, 100,000 bolts of brocade and colored silk, and 1.26 million shi of grain in the granary..."

Inside the main tent, Yuan Mi led Huang Yi and Yuan Yin to kneel down and present the books of the Chen Kingdom one by one.

Of course, some of the data in the books is true and some is false. For example, the figures of three prefectures, twenty counties, and three hundred and eleven counties, as well as the population data, are the numbers at the peak of the Chen Kingdom. They are only used to glorify the Chen Kingdom and to show its own value.

If the data in the images and text is accurate, the State of Chen will not surrender so easily. After all, with a population of over 4.3 million, they could easily muster another army of 100,000.

The data on boats, officials, stored grain, and gold and silver are accurate, as these are to be handed over to the Tang state. The data on soldiers is from before the army's departure, including both captured and current soldiers.

After Yuan Mi reported this, Zhang Yu got off the bed and helped Yuan Mi up, and said with a smile, "It has been more than ten years since we parted in Pei County. I have been thinking of Yongning for a long time! Now that Yongning has submitted a memorial to surrender, I am overjoyed."

"I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness for failing to surrender in time."

Seeing that Zhang Yu was friendly and not arrogant like a conqueror, Yuan Mi felt a little relieved and said, "There are six imperial seals, including the Emperor's seal and the Imperial Seal, making a total of seven seals. Please inspect them, Your Majesty."

Seeing the opportunity, Huang Yi and Yuan Yin presented seven jade seals, the largest of which was the Imperial Seal of the State, which was placed in a gold-inlaid wooden box.

Guo Tu had a keen eye and helped Zhang Yu open the wooden box, revealing a square shape, about four inches on each side, greenish-blue in color, warm and lustrous, with gold inlaid in the left corner and a jade seal with five intertwined dragons on the back.

Zhang Yu held the jade seal in both hands, turned it to look at it, and saw that the front was inscribed with the words "Received the mandate of Heaven, may its longevity be everlasting" in seal script.

"By the mandate of Heaven, may your reign be long and prosperous, and may this seal bear the mark of the Qin Emperor!"

Looking at the green-blue jade seal, Zhang Yu was filled with mixed emotions.

The Imperial Seal of the State was passed down from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, spanning over a thousand years. However, during the Later Tang dynasty, Li Congke committed suicide by burning himself with the seal, and it disappeared from then on. The seal reappeared several times during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, but these were ultimately forgeries.

As a person from later generations, Zhang Yu was always curious about the mysterious imperial seal, but now he could hardly believe that he actually possessed the imperial seal that symbolized the legitimate emperor of China.

Seeing that Zhang Yu was attracted by the imperial seal, Xun You and Jia Xu, in perfect unison, bowed and congratulated him, saying, "Your Majesty rose to power in the early years of the Tang Dynasty and unified the Central Plains. Now you hold the Imperial Seal of the State. The Mandate of Heaven rests on Your Majesty, and the Tang Dynasty will live forever."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Everyone offered their congratulations, and the tent was filled with lively chatter.

Zhang Yu put down the imperial seal and said, “The imperial seal is an object, and it is gratifying to have obtained it. However, the reason I am gratified today is that Yu and Jing surrendered without fighting, so that the soldiers and civilians would not be burdened by war. Since the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, soldiers and civilians have been fighting for years. Now that China is about to be unified, this is the thing that I am happy to celebrate!”

With the imperial seal as a backdrop, and amidst the sorrow of the soldiers and civilians who were lamenting their lost lives, Zhang Yu's image was suddenly elevated, and everyone admired him, including the envoys from Chen who surrendered.

After a pause, Zhang Yu instructed his attendants to accept the imperial seal and books, and said, "The three of you have rendered meritorious service by presenting your memorials of surrender. You shall all be granted the title of Marquis of Ting, and your official positions will be determined later."

"Your Majesty, I thank you!"

The three knelt and bowed again to express their gratitude.

Zhang Yu invited the three men to sit down and asked, "I have heard that Chen fought against Liu Bei and Cao Cao. Now that Chen has surrendered to me, I wonder what the current situation is?"

Yuan Mi pondered for a moment and said, "Yangzhou only has the prefecture of Yuzhang and several counties of Danyang left. Yuan Si will be appointed as the governor of Yangzhou. If Cao Cao hears that my Chen Kingdom has surrendered to Your Majesty, he will lead his troops to the west. Liu Bei will also take some action."

"Therefore, in my humble opinion, Your Majesty should first issue an edict to pacify Huang Zu of Jiangxia and order him to temporarily defend against Cao Cao. As Liu Bei's troops are few, you can first issue an edict to pacify Yuan Huan of Changsha and order him to surrender to Your Majesty. When Your Majesty arrives in Nanyang, you can then deploy troops to garrison the border and ensure its safety."

The most crucial issue with a country's surrender is that it is vulnerable to being exploited by other countries. For example, when Shu Han was destroyed, Eastern Wu attempted to take advantage of the situation to plunder Yong'an. Fortunately, Luo Xian held out for half a year, preventing Eastern Wu from succeeding.

While the surrender of Chen is cause for celebration, we must also consider the situation in the south, thousands of miles away. Even if we cannot fully preserve Chen's former territory, we cannot allow Liu Bei and Cao Cao to gain too much.

The southern lands are wetlands, and most of the Tang army are landlubbers (unable to swim), so Zhang Yu knew very little about them and felt a nameless unease. Perhaps while he was discussing this, Cao Cao had already launched an attack on Yuzhang.

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and said, "I hereby appoint Huang Zu as the Prefect of Jiangxia and promote him to General of the Warships, ordering him to garrison Jiangxia. Yuan Si should do his utmost to defend Yuzhang. If Yuzhang cannot be defended, he should retreat to Jiangxia to hold it. Yuan Huan will be promoted to Prefect of Changsha. If he can hold it for four months, I will grant him the title of Marquis of Duting."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at the three men and asked, "Which of you has a past relationship with Huang Zu and can travel on my behalf to deliver the imperial edict?" Huang Yi was the first to stand up, cupped his hands and said, "I have a past relationship with Huang Zu because we share the same surname. I am willing to travel south on behalf of Your Majesty to deliver the imperial edict."

"good!"

Zhang Yu said with appreciation, "I hereby appoint you as a Chamberlain and grant you the authority to govern Huang Zu, Yuan Huan, and Yuan Si."

After saying that, Zhang Yu smiled and added, "In terms of relationship, you should be my brother-in-law."

Huang Yi smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. If there is ever a celebratory banquet, I will certainly ask for a cup of wine!"

"That's natural. I will have a banquet with you all then."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Pointing to the books presented by the State of Chen, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Since we are all one family, let's not speak like outsiders. The three prefectures and twenty counties should be the territory of the State of Chen at its peak. Now, Yangzhou has been almost occupied by Cao Cao, and Liu Bei has also carved up Jingnan. Therefore, the State of Chen should only have half of Yuzhou and Jingzhou now. I wonder how many people are in the country now?"

Seeing that Zhang Yu had jokingly pointed out the truth, Yuan Mi said truthfully, "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. There are 230,000 households in Yuzhou and 280,000 households in the five counties of Nanyang, Jiangxia, Changsha, Nanjun, and Shangjun in Jingzhou. In total, there are 510,000 registered households and about 2 million people."

The total number of registered households in Guanzhong and Hebei was 940,000, while the number of registered households in Yu and Jing provinces was 510,000, bringing the total to 1.45 million. If we add the pitiful 70,000 to 80,000 households in Yanzhou, the total population would be just over 7.1 million.

If we calculate the population of Han territory, the combined population of the seven provinces of Yi, Yang, Qing, Xu, Jiao, Liangzhou in Hexi, and Pingzhou in Liaodong would be at least three million. Therefore, the total population of the empire should be over ten million, which is normal under chaotic circumstances. However, the exact number will only be known after Zhang Yu unifies the empire.

Historically, the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu were locked in a decades-long standoff, yet their combined population was less than ten million, a highly unusual situation. While Shu and Wu had relatively small populations, their population statistics were actually better than those of the Southern Dynasties. Only Cao Wei had extremely poor population and household registration statistics, ranking at the bottom among all the dynasties of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Fearing that Zhang Yu might find the number too small, Yuan Mi said, "The population registers in Yu and Jing provinces are sparse, and many powerful families are hiding among the common people. When Your Majesty governs the provinces, the population will be able to be identified and registered."

“Jizhou only has more than 300,000 households, while Yu and Jing each have 200,000 to 300,000 households. How can you say it’s small?” Zhang Yu calculated the data and said, “If we look at it this way, Yangzhou should have more than 200,000 registered households and a population of more than one million.”

"Mostly correct!"

Yuan Mi said, "During the Yonghe era, Yangzhou was said to have a million households, and the population was recorded as more than four million. However, many counties contained barbarians, so the number of households was mostly inaccurate. Even so, Yangzhou did not experience any major chaos. After Cao Cao occupied Huainan and then conquered Jiangzuo, he quelled the mountain tribes and replenished the household register, so the population was definitely no less than a million."

As he spoke, Yuan Mi reminded him, "Although Cao Cao is in a precarious position in Jiangzuo, he has strong ships and the danger of the Yangtze River. His naval forces number no less than 50,000. If Your Majesty wishes to destroy Cao Cao, in my opinion, you should first train your navy and build a large number of ships and large vessels. Only then can you conquer Jiangzuo in one battle."

"Ok!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and smiled, "Yongning has insightful views. If you are willing, the two of you can temporarily serve as Attendants-in-Ordinary and advise me on military and political affairs in Chen."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" the two said with delight.

The Attendant-in-Ordinary, with a salary of two thousand piculs of grain, was an inner court official who served as an advisor to the emperor and also had other responsibilities. Therefore, although they did not hold a position of real power, their status and prestige were not low because they could influence the emperor's decisions.

After chatting with the three for a while, Zhang Yu gained a general understanding of the internal situation of the Chen Kingdom.

The state of Chen is nothing more than a combination of Yuan's protégés and former officials, along with local powerful figures, with many members of the Yuan clan holding important positions. Clearly, governing Chen will not be an easy task. With over six thousand officials in Chen alone, Zhang Yu cannot possibly take over all of them. Some will be dismissed, while others will need to be promoted, retained, or even given important positions.

That's the difficulty of governing a country; it's impossible to exclude all the defeated from the bureaucracy. They need to be absorbed and integrated. After all, not all founding emperors are like Liu Xiu, whose officials after unifying the country were mostly from the Western Han Dynasty.

After the three men withdrew, Zhang Yu asked those around him, "What do you gentlemen think of the situation now?"

"Your Majesty," Jia Xu advised, "now that the State of Chen has surrendered, Yuan Shu should not accompany us to Wancheng, lest he cause trouble if left there. Therefore, Yuan Shu should be moved to Chang'an to sever ties with the former members of the Chen dynasty."

“Wenhe’s words make sense. There are many former subordinates of Chen. If Yuan Shu goes to Wancheng, it will be detrimental to our efforts to appease them,” Zhang Yu said. “Send two hundred cavalrymen to escort Yuan Shu and his entourage to Chang’an. Have Zhong Yao select a good residence for Yuan Shu so that he can live there.”

"promise!"

"Your Majesty," Xun You said, "now that the State of Chen has surrendered, the proclamations to the various prefectures of Yuzhou can be issued. Your Majesty should move your army to Wancheng to offer condolences and relief. However, the bandits Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan, Gao Gan, and Tao Shang need to be dealt with urgently. First, we must secure the Central Plains, and then we can conquer the Huai River region. Only by proceeding with our military campaigns gradually can we avoid any mishaps."

Zhang Yu instructed, “Your words are reasonable. Now, transfer 15,000 men under the command of Ke Bi, Linghu Yan, and Zhang Xiu to Li Song to quickly capture Shou Zhang. If Shou Zhang is captured, then send Lü Bu to Wancheng to receive the imperial decree, while Li Song will lead the troops to conquer Xuzhou. Zhang Liao will lead his own troops, along with the troops of Huyan Le, Meng Ningzhi, and Zhang He, totaling 20,000 men, to garrison Huaibei, defend against Cao Cao externally, and secure Yuzhou internally.”

"promise"

(End of this chapter)