Chapter 188

“One year, huh…”

It wasn’t me who muttered that. The owner of the voice was Pang Tong, who had returned to Chang’an City and came looking for me.

Right after his return, Pang Tong, who had just finished reporting to Liu Bei, kept repeating the phrase “one year,” as if he had heard the same timeframe.

Liu Bei had shown his determination through action. Just like during the previous Wei-Wu alliance offensive, he entrusted Chengdu to Crown Prince Yu Xian and Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, while he himself settled in Chang’an.

In fact, Liu Bei was staying at Miyang Palace. Located in the west, it was also called the Western Palace and had been restored after being destroyed during the Sanbao Rebellion.

Originally, Chang’an had other palaces like Zhangle Palace used by Liu Bang, Mingguang Palace of Emperor Wu of Han, and the smaller North Palace and Ji Palace. However, the only fully restored palaces were the Western Palace, Miyang Palace, and the Eastern Palace, Zhangle Palace.

The damage to these palaces was a testament to how much Guanzhong had suffered due to the Sanbao Rebellion. Compared to its peak before the rebellion, Chang’an and Guanzhong’s current productivity was less than half.

Guanzhong, with its population and harvests halved, Yongyang Province, which had little to offer except horses, and Jing Province, which had just been reclaimed and was struggling to generate proper revenue.

In reality, the only thing supporting the Han Dynasty’s great undertaking was Yi Province, which boasted the greatest abundance in the land.

The military rations needed to raise an army, the salaries for officials, and the expenses to maintain the imperial family—it was no accident that Liu Bei still considered Chengdu the capital.

The fact that Zhuge Liang had managed to extract enough productivity from a single province to sustain an entire nation was nothing short of astonishing.

However, no matter how fertile Yi Province was and how massive its production capacity, it couldn’t simultaneously support the nation and feed the money-devouring monster that was war.

This was precisely the reason for opposing war. The soldiers’ fatigue? That didn’t require waiting a year. Public sentiment could be suppressed by Zhuge Liang’s governance and Liu Bei’s virtue.

But supplies, especially military rations, were a different matter. The biggest issue in waging war, then and now, was food.

Having exhausted the stockpiled rations in this war, the empty granaries needed to be refilled before the next war could even be considered.

If only we had time to stockpile food like Zhuge Liang in the original history, preparing for the Northern Expedition. But with wars breaking out as soon as some supplies were gathered, the national treasury was often left bare.

Returning to Pang Tong, his repetition of “one year” was to gauge how much supplies could be secured in that time.

“Will one year be enough?”

One year would mean one harvest. In some mild regions of Nanjing, double cropping was possible, so that would be the year’s total yield.

And with that, we had to secure enough rations to feed hundreds of thousands of troops? It wasn’t impossible. But it would mean taking almost everything from the people.

And that would go against the principle of “focusing on agriculture to enrich the people,” which Zhuge Liang had established as a cornerstone.

“Focus on farming to grow grain, and through that, increase the people’s wealth.”

Zhuge Liang understood that only when the people were prosperous could the economy cycle positively and grow the nation’s overall wealth.

To my concern, Pang Tong surprisingly gave a positive response.

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

“Really?”

“This year’s harvest in Guanzhong could rival the pre-Sanbao Rebellion era. If we allocate the surplus to military rations, it might be tight, but it’s possible.”

Of course, after the Sanbao Rebellion, Cao Cao had implemented continuous restoration policies in Guanzhong. People had returned to Guanzhong, which had once been deserted, and nearly half of the original population had been restored.

“But with the infrastructure destroyed, Guanzhong’s productivity couldn’t have risen that much, right?”

As if embodying the traits of a strategist, Pang Tong responded to my doubt with a riddle.

“Do you know what Zhuge Liang did first after taking charge of Yi Province’s administration?”

“A census, right?”

Even though I’m a layman in administration, I knew that much. The census was conducted in cooperation with the military, so it was impossible not to know.

“Correct. And what came next?”

“Next… I was following my father to Paju at the time, so…”

“He repaired the Dujiangyan.”

Dujiangyan, a massive irrigation system built during the Qin Dynasty, was the lifeblood of Yi Province.

Thanks to it, Yi Province became the largest granary of the Han Dynasty, boasting immense harvests.

Li Bing, who built Dujiangyan, was revered as the god of water. After its completion, the western region was called the “Land of Abundance,” its value beyond imagination.

Zhuge Liang also put great effort into repairing Dujiangyan and even built the Zhuge Weir in Nanjing, modeled after it.

The productivity of Yi Province, comprising Bashu and Nanjing, was largely due to such irrigation systems.

“I did the same. Right after taking office in Guanzhong, the first thing I did was repair the Zhengguo Canal.”

If Dujiangyan was the lifeblood of Yi Province, the Zhengguo Canal was the lifeblood of Guanzhong.

Just as Dujiangyan eliminated famine in Yi Province, the Zhengguo Canal did the same for Guanzhong.

Now I understood why Liu Bei kept Ma Liang, O Yi, and my father in place despite having Pang Tong.

While my father and O Yi handled military affairs, one of Ma Liang or Pang Tong would oversee Guanzhong’s administration, while the other would be in charge of repairing the Zhengguo Canal.

“It’s not perfect yet, but it’s functional enough. This year’s harvest could be at least half again, or even double last year’s.”

“Amazing. Then we really could raise an army in a year.”

“Haha, Ma Liang worked hard. Actually, Zhuge Liang is more knowledgeable about this, but Ma Liang received special instruction from him to repair the Zhengguo Canal. You know how meticulous Zhuge Liang is.”

“Hahaha… I know.”

I remembered learning the Eight Array Formation. I had it easy compared to Ma Liang, who had to endure one-on-one tutoring from Zhuge Liang on irrigation systems.

“From what I can tell, His Majesty must have calculated very carefully. After receiving reports from Ma Liang on the Zhengguo Canal’s repairs, he must have judged that one year would be enough.”

Though Liu Bei might seem impulsive, he was a seasoned veteran of war.

Even in the original history, where Guan Yu met a more tragic end, Liu Bei prepared for a year and a half before marching.

With Guanzhong recovering and support from Jing Province, the current situation was much better, so he likely thought one year, though tight, was possible.

‘At first, he seemed ready to march immediately. If he changed his mind after my father’s persuasion, he must have calculated that one year would be enough in that short time. Liu Bei’s mind works fast.’

If it weren’t for that, he would have fallen like the other warlords long ago.

The fact that he survived such hardships and ascended to the throne is proof enough of Liu Bei’s capabilities.

“Though he said one year, the actual preparation time is shorter.”

“True. At the earliest, right after spring planting, or at the latest, early summer, he’ll raise the army.”

Liu Bei declared he would offer the heads of his enemies on Guan Yu’s memorial table next year. To keep that promise, he’d have to start the war before then.

“Still, thanks to the Grand Commandant securing Hongnong County, advancing to Luoyang has become much easier.”

“I wanted to secure up to Xinyan County via the Goyang Valley, but Sima Yi moved faster than expected.”

If we had secured Xinyan County, only Hangu Pass would remain as a barrier from Guanzhong to Luoyang. Though Hangu Pass is formidable, relying on just that would be too risky, so Sima Yi must have been in a hurry.

The pursuit seemed lax, but with Pang Tong hitting us from the side, they didn’t have the chance to focus on us.

“By the way, how did you defeat Zhao Jin? I heard you used the ‘provoke the general’ strategy.”

“Hahaha, that was just bait.”

The “provoke the general” strategy was bait. Even though Zhao Jin’s weakness was his obesity, he wasn’t a pushover.

Despite being a relative, Zhao Jin had risen to Cao Pi’s trusted advisor. It was unlikely he’d fall for such a simple trick and leave Hongnong.

“Then…?”

“Let’s stop strolling and head inside. I’ll explain in detail there.”