In 263, the Wei general Deng Ai smuggled himself into Yinping and defeated the main force of the Shu state led by Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan at Mianzhu. Under the command of his courtier Zhou Zhou, Liu Chan surrendered to Deng Ai Kaicheng while the country was still powerful. In order to curry favor with Deng Ai, Liu Chan opened the treasury, which still had 2,000 catties of gold and silver, and more than 200,000 silks of various kinds.
Not only that, Liu Chan also ordered Shang Shulang Li Hu to present a special item to Deng Aijin— an account book. In the account books, the national data at the time of the fall of the Shu Han Dynasty are recorded in detail:
"There are 280,000 households, 940,000 men and women, 12,000 soldiers with armor, and 40,000 officials."
Looking at this data, whether it was Deng Ai at that time or in later generations, we may be able to understand a truth: even if Zhuge Liang had the talent of heaven and indulgence, it would be impossible for the Northern Expedition to succeed and save Shu Han. After all, "it is difficult for a smart woman to cook without rice", and the population is completely insufficient!
However, the population of Shudi was not so small at the beginning, but there was a gradual process. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the warlord Liu Yan took the opportunity to divide Yizhou and preserve the peace of the Shu side.
As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shudi was a densely populated and economically developed place. According to the household registration population of the Eastern Han Dynasty yonghe five years (140 years) contained in the "Continuation of the Han Zhi and Junguo Zhi V", there were as many as 1.34 million people in Yizhou at that time alone. Liu Yan, on the other hand, relied on the geographical conditions of Shu to avoid the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the warlord melee at the end of the Han Dynasty. It can be said that Yizhou was one of the few happy places of peace in China at that time. Therefore, a large number of Guanzhong and Kanto people took refuge in Yizhou, and Liu Yan selected tens of thousands of people in it to form an elite Dongzhou soldier, which became the basis for Liu's father and son to start a family.
Therefore, Wolong Zhuge Liang once spoke highly of Yizhou in "Longzhong Pair":
"Yizhou is dangerous, fertile and wild, and the land of Heaven."
And Pang Tong also said:
"Now Yizhou is rich and the people are strong, with a million household registrations, four soldiers and horses, all that must be produced, and the treasure goods are not sought outside, and now we can use it to determine major events."
After Liu Yan's death, the weak Liu Zhang took power. Therefore, Yizhou has become a big piece of fat in the eyes of Liu Bei Group, and "across Jingyi" has long become Liu Bei's established plan to open up the world.
In the sixteenth year of Jian'an (211), Liu Zhang, invited by Liu Zhang, led troops into Shu to help him resist the attack of Zhang Lu in the north. As soon as Liu Bei arrived in Yizhou, Liu Zhang fully demonstrated Yizhou's strong economic strength:
"(Liu Zhang) led more than 30,000 people to ride on foot, the car took the curtain, the light was shining, and the meeting was attended."
Not only that, Liu Zhang also generously gave Liu Bei "200,000 yuan of rice, 1,000 horses, 1,000 horses, 1,000 cars, and 1,000 horses." However, Liu Zhang's generosity greatly stimulated Liu Bei's greed. In the seventeenth year of Jian'an (212), Liu Bei suddenly raised an army and joined Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang, on the other hand, could not resist the attacks of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and the north and west, and finally declared surrender, and Chengdu opened the city without blood, "there are still 30,000 elite soldiers in the city, and the valley is supported for a year."
Although Yizhou experienced a civil war between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang, the local population and wealth were not greatly damaged due to Liu Zhang's benevolence. Therefore, Liu Bei decided to reward him for his meritorious deeds and reward his old brother who had followed him for many years:
"In the midst of Shu, yin was prosperous and happy, and the lord first placed wine and pawns, took the gold and silver in the city of Shu and distributed them to the soldiers, and returned their grains." (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of the Ancestors)
"Yizhou was peaceful, and zhuge liang, Fazheng, Fei, and Guan Yu each gave five hundred catties of gold, a thousand pounds of silver, fifty million dollars of money, and a thousand horses of gold." The rest of the awards vary. (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Zhang Fei)
In order to compete with Cao Cao as soon as possible, Liu Bei established the policy of "first army politics" in Yizhou and threw everything in the country into war. However, because Liu Bei rewarded the generals too much and generously, it led to "insufficient military use". In order to relieve the economic crisis in Shudi, Liu Bei's clique carried out two rounds of raids on the people of Yizhou.
First of all, Liu Bei adopted Liu Ba's strategy and issued the so-called "worth a hundred dollars". At that time, the popular "Shu Five Baht" in Shudi was about 2.5 grams, while the "worth a hundred dollars" weighed only 10 grams, and the face value was 100 times that of Shu Five Baht.
Compared with shu five baht, straight one hundred and five baht depreciated nearly 30 times!
After the issuance of the hundreds of dollars, the wealth of the people in Shuzhong evaporated by 96% in an instant, while Liu Bei's treasury was instantly filled.
Soon after, Cao Cao pacified Hanzhong, the northern gateway to Yizhou. In order to ensure the safety of Yizhou, Liu Bei's clique did its best to compete with Cao Cao for Hanzhong. During the Battle of Hanzhong, Zhuge Liang, who was sitting in the rear, was still hesitant to devote all his forces to support the front. But his aide Yang Hong said:
"Hanzhong is the throat of Yizhou, the chance of survival, if there is no Hanzhong, there is no Shu, and the disaster of this family is also." In the matter of Fang Jin, men should fight, women should be lucky, why should we doubt the dispatch of troops? ”
Therefore, Zhuge Liang mobilized the entire Shu dynasty and eventually helped Liu Bei expel Cao Cao's forces to Hanzhong. However, Cao Cao moved more than 80,000 households from Hanzhong in advance, making Liu Bei affordable but not allowing his people. The economic losses of Shudi in the Battle of Hanzhong could not be compensated in the slightest.
Three years after the end of the Battle of Hanzhong, in 222 AD, Liu Bei once again concentrated the forces of Quanyi Prefecture and launched a campaign against the State of Wu. However, in this battle, Liu Bei was defeated by Lu Xun, and his plan to retake Jingzhou also failed.
Liu Bei first used the wealth of Yizhou, which was concentrated in the tyranny of the conquest, and then exhausted this wealth in the Battle of Hanzhong and the Battle of the Eastern Crusade. It can be said that Liu Bei's gamble on the "first army policy" ended in complete failure. The economy of Yizhou almost completely collapsed, as Zhuge Liang said in the "Table of Teachers":
"This is the autumn of the imminent survival!"
Liu Bei entrusted the Shu Han dynasty to Zhuge Liang on his deathbed, which was actually a helpless move. The so-called Shu Han is just a mess and an empty shelf, and if Zhuge Liang had not been given the greatest power, with the ability of his stupid son Ah Dou, I am afraid that he would have lost jiangshan a long time ago.
And Zhuge Liang also lived up to Liu Bei's trust, using various means to revive the economy of Yizhou, leaving behind a good story of Zhuge Liang's rule of Shu. Subsequently, Zhuge Liang went all out in the Northern Expedition, beating Cao Wei behind closed doors.
However, the gap in strength between Shu Han and Cao Wei was too large, and according to scholars' estimates, Cao Wei had a population of at least 13 million, while Shu Han was only equivalent to a fraction of it. It was already very difficult for Shu Han to maintain an offensive against Cao Wei. After Zhuge Liang's death, his successor did not have the ability to govern the country.
And Jiang Wei disregarded the national strength and cut down the Central Plains, further depleting the national strength of the Shu Han. And the demise of the Shu Han is only a matter of time.