Chapter 377 Pang Tong’s visit
Today, the four counties on the east side of Jiangdong have a population of 600,000 households and 3 million people.
Judging from Jingzhou's unspoken rules, Pang Shanmin believes that once Jiangdong successfully conquers the land, the registered population will increase by at least 20 to 30%.
The two to three percent are basically refugees who are under the protection of powerful nobles and are not registered as households by the government. They are tenants of these powerful nobles.
This is already the unspoken rule of the entire Han Dynasty. It is the same in every state and county. It is just a difference in degree. Otherwise, with the small population of Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang, how can we cultivate hundreds of thousands of acres of fields? With a single order, thousands of people can be recruited.
The same goes for the Pang family, they just use themselves to save others.
Therefore, Pang Shanmin knew very well that if the land transfer was successful, Jiangdong's taxes and manpower could increase by at least 30% to 40%. After all, these manpower and material resources are all additional increases, and there is almost no cost. In other words, the biggest cost is from the gentry. The powerful hands dug them out.
In the early days of Sun Quan's rule, he owned four counties in Jiangdong, plus several counties in Jiangbei, and the total military strength exceeded 60,000.
During the Battle of Chibi, Sun Quan gave Zhou Yu 30,000 men to fight on the front line, and he personally took 20,000 men as successors or as support after defeat, and the last 10,000 men were divided among the key passes east of the Yangtze River.
Once Liu Feng succeeds in conquering the fields, Yangzhou's taxes and manpower will be at least 50% higher than during Sun Quan's time. Sun Quan can raise 60,000 troops, how can he not be able to raise 100,000 soldiers and horses?
Not all of Yuzhou is owned by Liu Bei, and Xuzhou has experienced wars for a long time, but after all, these two states are also large states in the Central Plains, especially Yuzhou, which ranks among the top three in the world. It is not difficult to feed a hundred thousand soldiers and horses.
At the same time, Liu Bei and his son took control of the southeast, with 200,000 troops. The front of this army was indeed unparalleled.
Pang Shanmin was silent for a moment and then said: "The great Sima of Hebei is especially powerful than the Qiaoqi father and his son."
Pang Tong showed a trace of ridicule and disappeared instantly: "Brother, don't you know that Da Sima is also working in the fields in Hebei?"
As Pang Tong said, Yuan Shao had actually started to organize the household registration slips in Hebei long ago. Although it was not said that it was to transfer farmland, what he actually did was to transfer farmland.
This also made the relationship between Yuan Shao and the Hebei scholars more centrifugal, and he had to rely more on the Henan scholars to suppress the Hebei scholars.
In fact, almost all warlords everywhere are like this.
If you want money and food, you have to collect it on your own territory. If you want to expand the tax base, you will inevitably offend the local nobles and powerful people.
If you want to persuade the local gentry to obediently pay taxes, food, and send troops to serve, you will naturally rely on the power of non-local gentry. Then the gentry from outside is undoubtedly the best choice, especially the township party from your hometown. It is the best of the best.
"This..."
The embarrassment on Pang Shanmin's face became more and more obvious. At this time, he naturally knew that Yuan Shao was the Great Sima after all and the most powerful hero in the world. He was about to take over Hebei. As long as the powerful nobles from all over the country had the ability, they would naturally spare no effort. to inquire about Yuan Shao's news.
Moreover, Liu Biao is also an ally of Yuan Shao, and the two sides have close exchanges. Some of Yuan Shao's political affairs are not military secrets, so it is naturally easy to inquire.
Pang Tong suddenly said: "I want to see Liu Zhengnan, can my cousin come with me?"
Pang Shanmin was stunned for a moment. Originally, they came all the way with the intention of asking to see Liu Feng.
But now seeing Liu Feng's series of actions, Pang Shanmin hesitated.
Pang Degong was able to live in seclusion outside Xiangyang City easily, returning to the city frequently to socialize with the famous families in Xiangyang. He relied on the Pang family's tens of thousands of land, the shops in Xiangyang City, and A workshop outside Xiangyang City.
Without this money, grain and silk, Pang Degong couldn't even make his son and nephew famous, and how could he live in "seclusion" happily and leisurely.
Not to mention "donating" land like Gu Lu, Zhu Zhang and the tycoons of the Kuaiji gentry, just converting the land would at least reduce the Pang family's income by more than 40%.
Not only did the hidden land have to pay more land tax, but the hidden population also had to pay a lot more oral taxes, calculated taxes, and exemption money.
Pang Shanmin could imagine how his family would oppose Liu Feng because of this.
After Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the warlords could be divided into the Yuan Shao faction and the Yuan Shu faction according to their subordinate alliances. But in fact, they can also be divided into cooperative faction and suppressive faction based on their attitude towards the powerful gentry under their rule.
Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, Tao Qian, Kong Rong, and Liu Yan were all suppressors, and their first priority was to suppress the local powerful gentry.
Although Liu Bei's relationship with Chen Deng and Mi Zhu is as good as wearing a pair of trousers, in fact, when Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, he also suppressed the local gentry. Otherwise, the gentry's temper was so bad that only Xiapi County and Donghai How could the Xuzhou Army, which consisted of half a county, be able to support the Xuzhou Army, which had 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and horses, with the taxes and grains paid?
It's just that Liu Bei's oppression in Xuzhou was relatively mild and did not go to the point of ruining his family.
The other faction is dominated by Liu Biao, Huang Zu, and Sun Quan, who are all representatives of the cooperation faction.
Of course, cooperation does not mean indulgence. There is also suppression, but to a lesser extent.
Cao Cao is a special case. He was a suppressor in the early stage, but after the Yanzhou Rebellion, he changed to a cooperative faction. In the end, Cao Cao never really made the determination to expand his farmland throughout his life. The powerful gentry of Cao Wei even dared to put their hands into the civilian and military villages to fish for oil and water.
Therefore, Pang Shanmin, who was accustomed to living a relaxed life under Liu Biao, was really frightened by Liu Feng.
Pang Tong saw Pang Shanmin's tangled look and couldn't help but sigh: "Brother, that's why we asked to see Zhengnan. Now the Hussar and his son are already giants, and they are all between the elbows and armpits. It should be noted that the great Sima can be far away In Hebei.”
Pang Shanmin was shocked when he heard Pang Tong's words. He was not a fool and he immediately woke up.
"What my cousin said is absolutely true!"
Pangshan people immediately admonished Ruliu: "In that case, I will go with you."
Pang Tong felt relieved. At this time, Pang Tong was just one of the core disciples of the Pang family, and was far less important than leading the Pang family in the future.
Pang Shanmin was above Pang Tong in terms of status and reputation.
Pang Tong's success in the original time and space will have to wait until next year, under the full praise of Mr. Shui Jing Sima Hui, he will become famous and be known as the crown of Nanzhou scholars.
Later, his uncle Pang Degong also made a big name for him and tied Zhuge Liang to promote it.
The so-called Wolong and Fengxia were actually first spoken by Pang Degong, not Sima Hui.
In fact, even Sima Hui's name "Shui Jing" was given by Pang Degong.
The reason why Pang Degong admires Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong so much is that, firstly, they are indeed astonishingly talented and capable of supporting a king, and secondly, they do not shy away from relatives in internal promotions. One is his son's brother-in-law, and the other is his biological eldest nephew. This is not recommended. God cannot tolerate it.
Therefore, although Pang Tong is far more capable than Pang Shanmin and is more valued by Pang Ji, he still wants to be dominated by Pang Shanmin.
If Pang Shanmin insists not to go, Pang Tong may not be suitable to visit alone. Otherwise, if Pang Shanmin says something after returning, Pang Tong will not be able to explain clearly.
********
"A scholar from Jingzhou wants to see you?"
On this day, Liu Feng was listening to Jia Kui's report on the progress of Shangyu's field trip. Suddenly he heard that there were scholars from Jingzhou who traveled to Shangyu and came to see Liu Feng.
It is not unusual for Jingzhou scholars to travel to Jiangdong. After all, Jing and Yang are closely related. A scholar who dares to take the initiative to ask for an audience with him is indeed not an ordinary person.
"Do you have a reputation for tattooing?"
"Yes!"
Ling Tong responded, and then handed the two famous assassins to Liu Feng's hands.
One has Pang Hua written on it, and the other has Pang Tong written on it. Liu Feng didn't know much about Pang Shanmin. He only knew that his brother-in-law was Zhuge Liang, but he didn't know that Pang Shanmin's name was Pang Hua (Note 1), but Pang Tong's famous name was enough to make him eye-catching.
As a fan of Ji Han, he is one of the celebrities who cannot be missed no matter what.
"Yes."
Liu Feng handed the famous assassin back and said, "Please meet them in the back hall."
Ling Tong obeyed the order, took the famous assassin, and went to summon Pang Tong and two others.
When Liu Feng walked to the back hall, Pang Tong and Pang Tong were already sitting in the hall.
Seeing Liu Feng appear, the two people immediately stood up and saluted respectfully, with an extremely respectful attitude.
In fact, they were a little shocked that Liu Feng received them immediately. After all, the status difference between the two sides was so great that they thought it was Liu Bei who mentioned their names.
In fact, Liu Bei mentioned the envoy from Jingzhou, but Pang Tong and Pang Shanmin were not really big figures, so they could not be mentioned by Liu Bei.
After Liu Feng sat down, he waved to the two of them to sit down.
With just one glance, Liu Feng recognized Pang Tong.
It's not surprising that Liu Feng judged people by their appearance. Compared with Pang Shanmin, Pang Tong's appearance was really unremarkable. Pang Shanmin was tall and handsome, but compared with him, Pang Tong, who was already unspectacular, seemed even duller and duller.
Pang Tong and Pang Shanmin then introduced themselves. As Liu Feng guessed, the dull young man was Pang Tong.
After Liu Feng sat down, the maid came up to serve tea and then withdrew.
Later, Liu Fengcai said: "The second gentleman was born in the Pang family in Jingzhou. He must be a high-ranking scholar. I wonder if I am asking for a meeting. What good ideas can I confer?"
Pang Tong suddenly had a feeling that Liu Feng seemed to be quite familiar with Pang. He turned to look at Pang Shanmin, but found that his cousin didn't notice.
After hesitating for a while, Pang Tong probed: "Zheng Nan seems to have heard about my Pang family?"
Liu Feng said in surprise: "The Pang family is a high-ranking family in Jingzhou and is famous all over the world. Feng naturally heard about it."
Pang Tong paused for a moment. He didn't expect Liu Feng to praise Pang so much, which made him a little confused.
The Pang family is indeed very prestigious in Jingzhou, and their ancestors also gave a lot of two thousand stones. However, the officialdom has been somewhat unsatisfactory in recent years. Not to mention the three ministers and nine ministers, even two thousand stones have not been in office for a long time.
The reason is that Pang Degong, as the biggest celebrity of the Pang family, has no enthusiasm for officialdom. Although his younger brother Pang Ji is an official, he is not as famous and talented as Pang Degong. Therefore, although the Pang family is one of the four major families, One, but truly at the bottom.
The three families of Kuai, Cai, and Huang are prospering above, while the three families of Ma, Xi, and Feng are chasing after them below.
The Pang family's life has not been easy these years.
Fortunately, the Pang family has a large amount of land in Jingzhou, especially Nanjun, which is the base of the Pang family.
The Pang family relied on their generous income to support many powerful nobles who had fled from the Central Plains. After receiving the favor from the Pang family, these people also repaid the Pang family with wooden peaches.
In addition, Liu Biao was also secretly wooing the Pang family.
Among the four major families, only the Pang family had the least conflict with Liu Biao, because the Pang family had the least influence in the Jingzhou court.
Among the four major families, the Huang family is simply the smaller warlord. It dominates the entire Jiangxia County. It can be said that it is a country within a country and a town within a vassal. For Liu Biao, it is also an existence that listens to orders but not propaganda.
The Kuai family and the Cai family were in charge of the civil and military affairs of Jingzhou, and the two thousand stone prefects of the three northern counties in the state took turns taking charge.
At this time, there were eight counties in Jingzhou, and the four counties in southern Jingzhou had always been remote. The obedience to Liu Biao was based on Liu Biao's official position as Jingzhou Mu. Liu Biao's real influence was very small in southern Jingzhou.
For the remaining four counties in the north of Jingzhou, the title of Jiangxia Prefect was Huang Zu's untouchable title. In this way, there were three counties: Nanjun, Nanyang County and Zhangling County. The official positions of Kuai Yue and Cai Mao have been rotating among the prefects of these three counties.
In contrast, the Pang family failed to obtain two thousand stones at any one time.
Therefore, Liu Biao has been secretly wooing the Pang family and wants to completely integrate the Pang family into his team.
Historically, Zhuge Liang, a young man who came from a second-rate noble family in Xuzhou and lost his father at a young age, was able to marry the legitimate daughter of the Huang family and marry his two sisters to direct descendants of the Kuai and Pang families. There was no powerful figure to mediate the situation. Being a matchmaker is impossible.
Pang Tong's heart became warm. Could it be that Liu Feng paid so much attention to the Pang family because he was interested in Jingzhou?
In fact, Pang Tong's guess was not wrong at all.
Liu Feng is indeed interested in Jingzhou, and his appetite is scary.
He wants to swallow up Jingzhou!
Liu Feng is currently making a large-scale plan, the core of which is to mobilize 100,000 to 120,000 troops, divided into three groups, to devour the entire Jingzhou in one fell swoop. This strategic plan is divided into three parts. The main attack route is the Yangtze River, advancing by land and water, and then supplemented by leaving Yuzhou and entering Nanyang, attacking Xiangyang from both sides.
However, Liu Feng was only formulating a plan at this time. Whether to implement it and when to do it all needed to be considered comprehensively.
In fact, it is not difficult to guess that Liu Feng would make such a decision.
Now that Yangzhou has basically been acquired by Liu Feng, Liu Bei and his son only have three directions for external expansion. One is Jiaozhou. This is the last resort and Liu Feng will not consider it for the time being.
Followed by Yu, Yan and Qing.
These three directions will definitely offend Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
Now the overall situation is in favor of Liu Bei and his son, and time has become Liu Bei's ally.
The longer time passes, the stronger Liu Bei's side will become. This is the foundation that Liu Feng worked hard to build in the past two years.
Therefore, Liu Feng still does not want to completely break up with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao for the time being.
So the last direction is naturally Jingzhou.
Capturing Jingzhou will not only capture another state with a large population and material resources, but also have access to the Yangtze River, directly surrounding the Central Plains.
Once Jingzhou is acquired, the strength of Liu Bei's side will soar again, and it is possible that Liu Bei will surrender to Jiaozhou without a fight.
If everything goes well, Jingzhou and Jiaozhou will be successfully acquired.
The paper strength of Liu Bei's side is even enough to defeat Yuan and Cao together with one against two.
(End of chapter)