During the Three Kingdoms period, why didn't Shu mobilize the Southern Army to explore the Central Plains?

Regardless of the romance of the Three Kingdoms or the five northern expeditions, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu and Han Dynasties, did not send south troops to participate in the war, which led to the defeat of Cao Wei's superior forces, and all future generations regretted that Zhuge Liang missed the opportunity.

Can the Na 'nan elite really change the historical trend? The author shows you that Zhuge Liang did not send barbarians to the Northern Expedition from two aspects: the strategy of Shu Han and the salary of Shu Han.

No exercise, no breathing.

Shu Han formulated the strategy of South Manchuria to defend Wu Dong in the south. If you want to know the military strength of Shu Han in the south, you must know the total population of the south, but historians have not yet reached a conclusion. The author simply analyzed that there are about 90,000 counties in the south, excluding Jianning County directly under the jurisdiction of Shu and Han, and there are less than 100,000 elites in the southern ministries.

According to the history book "The History of the Later Han Dynasty", in the sixteenth year of Jian 'an (AD 2 1 1), Zhang Lu Gongcao Yan Pu mentioned that there were 100,000 households in seven counties of Hanchuan, among which tens of thousands took refuge in Guanzhong, and the population increased. Therefore, it is inferred that there are more than 10,000 households in Hanzhong counties on average.

At this time, there are only four counties in the south, namely Zhangke County, Yizhou County, Yongchang County and Zhangyue County, with an area several times that of Hanzhong. However, the arable land in China is limited and there is no influx of immigrants. It is not easy to be on an equal footing with Hanzhong, let alone imagine that Yongchang County and Yizhou County exceed one million.

In the third year of Shu and Han Dynasties (AD 225), after Zhuge Liang put down the rebellion, Yizhou County was changed to Jianning County and moved to Yongchang County, which governed about 30,000 households in 24 counties. Qingqiang's obedient tribe was moved to Hanzhong, and its elite was selected to form a "flying army", which means brave and invincible. It is very good at climbing mountains and using the mountain roads of Shu Han to exert miraculous effects.

Zhuge Liang registered the Nanzhong tribe and re-divided the administrative areas. Yongchang County has jurisdiction over eight counties, Zhang Ke County has jurisdiction over eight counties, Yuebi County has jurisdiction over eight counties, Zhu Di County has jurisdiction over eight counties, Yungui County has jurisdiction over seven counties, Xinggu County has jurisdiction over eight counties, and the total number of six counties in South China is about 63. The Book of Jin records that there are 25,000 households in neighboring counties.

The situation in 223 ad

During the reign of Jingzhou at the end of Han Dynasty, Liu Biao ruled seven counties * * * 1 17, occupying thousands of miles of territory, with more than 100,000 armored soldiers and nearly 200,000 household registrations. However, after Battle of Red Cliffs in Jingzhou, Cao Cao occupied Nanyang County and half of Nanjun County, and Liu Bei captured four counties in Jingnan. Sun Quan occupied Jiangxia County and half of Nanjun, and exchanged the rich Nanjun for Changsha County. Yes, he lost his wife and soldiers.

However, Sun Quan was also determined to win. When Liu Bei entered Shu and his troops were weak, he successfully claimed Guiyang County. Guan Yu's northern expedition to Xiangfan failed, and Monroe recovered Wuling County, Lingling County and half of Guiyang County. In the battle of Yiling, Lu Xun defeated Liu Bei and almost drove Shu Han out of Jingzhou. As a result, Soochow occupied five counties and several counties in Jingzhou, with both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Soochow Jingzhou belongs to Jiangxia County 14 County, Changsha County 12 County, Wuling County 12 County, Lingling County 13 County, Guiyang County 1 1 County and Nanjun County, with a total of 69 counties of about 8. Jingzhou can mobilize nearly 100,000 troops, not to mention tens of thousands of elite troops of Soochow, and it is a fatal threat to Shu Han to form a strategic suppression with the stone evil in Jiaozhou.

The army in southern China is already stretched. If Shu Han transfers Nan Man's troops to the Northern Expedition, and Dongwu takes the opportunity to attack South China, all tribes will inevitably fall to Dongwu, and the strongmen in Shu may not be able to hold on, then the situation in Shu Han will be difficult to control and it is likely to surrender in advance.

Zhuge Liang knew that the comprehensive national strength of Shu and Han was the weakest, and chose the Northern Expedition to "attack instead of defend" and destroy the rule of Cao and Wei military groups over Guanzhong. His thoughts are all based on the stability and strategic peace in the south, and he trained the elites of the southern barbarians to hold the strongholds of Shu and Han.

"The Three Kingdoms Zhuge Liang" led the crowd south, and its autumn was flat. Military capital, enriching the country and strengthening the people, is a big move to run the army and talk about martial arts.

Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition Route

The Nanman military could not follow up, and the logistical supply restricted Shu Han from winning Zhuge Liang's five northern expeditions: the first time, in the spring of 228 AD, Wei Yan proposed a surprise attack on the Meridian Valley, and Ma Su underestimated his enemy and lost the street pavilion; The second time, in the winter of 228 AD, they besieged Chencang and killed Xinmeile Joint-stock Company. The third time, in the spring of 229 AD, Longxi took a surprise attack and occupied two counties. The fourth time, in the spring of 23 1 year, the two retired and killed Zhang He. The fifth time, in the spring of 234 AD, Zhuge Liang died of illness.

It is intuitive to see that Zhuge Liang chose spring for his four northern expeditions, and only the second time was to cooperate with Wu to wage war in winter. For Shu Han, going to war in spring has three advantages:

First, to avoid poor grain and grass, Sichuan is hot and rainy in summer, and the long mountain road increases the difficulty of grain transportation;

The second is to complete farming ahead of schedule and complete sowing before the Han army goes out to ensure domestic farming production and grain reserves;

Third, contain Cao Wei cavalry, because it is difficult to raise horses in early spring, which makes it impossible for Cao Wei cavalry to attack and intercept long distances;

Sending troops in early spring can give full play to the advantages of Shu and Han, but it is a nightmare for the south elite. After all, the elite of South China live in the tropics, thousands of miles away from the front line, and need to assemble and set off in advance. The farther north it gets, the colder it will inevitably lead to low morale, loss of fighting spirit, and even more risk of mutiny, which will ruin the business of Shu Han for many years.

What's more, the loyalty of Na 'an soldiers to the Shu-Han regime stems from the tribe's awe of the strong. However, in the face of Cao Wei, who was stronger than Shu Han, the shock and cooperation of plateau cavalry was enough to break the confidence of Na 'an soldiers and question the original intention of staying away from their homeland. This kind of panic can easily spread to the army, and even make the south and central areas diffuse negative effects, which is unfavorable to the stability of Shu and Han in the south.

Nanman Jing Rui

"The History of the Three Kingdoms" reported what Xie Xue of Soochow saw in Shu Han: "When you enter its court, you don't know the truth; Through its wilderness, people have dishes. As the saying goes, "the swallows in the hall don't know that the building will burn." In Liu Chan's time, theoretically, people could recuperate, but in fact, the people of Shu Han were not well fed and clothed, and Shu Han was still on the verge of extinction.

When Kyushu was set up in summer, Sichuan was located in Liangzhou, with high-quality black loose soil, which flourished in Dujiang weir by Li Bingxiu of Qin State. Unfortunately, the key seeds of farming still remain in the period of poor quality and low yield. Shu has the largest arable land per capita, but its output is the least among the three countries, so it is difficult to support the people and the army, and it will consume several years' savings in a few months during the war.

Zhuge Liang's five northern expeditions were in an advantage at first, but he was forced to divide his troops and settle the fields, which seemed to relieve the transportation pressure in the rear. However, Longyou was barren, the supply of military supplies was difficult, and the confrontation between inferior troops killed their spirit. Cao Wei seized the fighter plane and lost. However, all ethnic groups in southern China make a living by picking, fishing and hunting. They have no farming habits and material reserves and can only consume meager reserves.

The elite traveled thousands of miles back and forth, and thousands of troops could not change the situation. Thousands of elites spent a lot of money along the way. After the war, they must get pensions and rewards, which will crush the finances of Shu Han. Shu Han never lacked soldiers, but only practiced lean troops and simple administration to reduce the financial burden. If tens of thousands of troops are recruited, the people will not support the Han family, but in order to eat more.

Zhuge Liang understood Liu Chan's suspicion, and the elites in Nan 'an obeyed Zhuge Liang's orders. The Northern Expedition gave all the strength of Shu Han to Zhuge Liang. The old men of Shu Han still remember Liu Bei's kindness, but the elite soldiers in Na 'an don't know how to be loyal to the monarch. If Zhuge Liang was unfaithful, the elite of Ann was the best help, and Liu Chan gave up seeking help from the South. This suspicion has been accumulated for a long time.