Introduction
"Soldiers and horses do not move grain and grass priority", ancient army fighting, grain is the root of victory, it is different from modern warfare, once the engagement is a tough battle, can not guarantee a rapid victory, force the other side to withdraw troops, so it is very time-consuming.
In this process, when there is no food, the soldiers will have to go hungry, then the withdrawal is an inevitable result, so the timely supply of materials in the rear is also very important, and it must be delivered within the required time, otherwise the consequences are very serious. Liu Bang and Liu Bei both relied on the Shu kingdom to win the world, Liu Bang never lacked grain, why Kong Ming was always short of grain.
During the Warring States period, why did the warring princes rarely have a shortage of grain?
During the Warring States period, there were reserves, and the powerful countries at that time often said that "the place is five thousand miles, the car is thousands, the riding is ten thousand, the armor is million, and the millet is ten years." Although there is a possibility of exaggeration in the decade of millet, it also shows that there was indeed grain storage at that time that could be adjusted.
The Chu and Han dynasties were not many years away from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and it was indeed convenient and quick for Hanzhong to reach Chen Cang at that time, but the landform of the Three Kingdoms period was completely different.
Around a large circle, logistics materials are not only supplied by the troops, but also by the people and horses who transport grain and grass, and as soon as the front line is long, the pressure on the work will inevitably increase.
What's more, from the Warring States to qin to unify the world, from the three families in 376 AD to the unification of the world by Qin Shi Huang in 221 AD, this period of more than 150 years, not every day fighting.
The Qin Dynasty sometimes used diplomatic relations to let the six countries of Shandong attack each other, so they would not be defeated because of lack of food. Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition totaled from 228 years to 234 years in the common year, only six years, and the reason for the evacuation of the Northern Expedition in five of them was also due to lack of grain, why was Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition generally short of grain, and the Seven Heroes of the Warring States had not been short of grain for hundreds of years?
There is a previous account in the ShangJun Book, "The output rate of land resources within a radius of ten miles can supply 10,000 soldiers to fight."
So if he is limited by grain and grass, will it be the cause of road transportation troubles, after all, the transportation standards in ancient times were particularly poor, and the place where Shu Han lived was the Bashu region, from ancient times to the present, there will be a "difficulty in Shu Dao, it is difficult to go to Qingtian" called.
In fact, it is not, far away from the stage of the peasant revolt at the end of Qin, Liu Bei's ancestor Liu Bang, who started in the Bashu region after that. At that time, Liu Bang sent troops from Sichuan to the Central Plains to create an imperial industry, during which he never felt worried about grain and grass, why did he go to Zhuge Liang, and the grain and grass problem became a hurdle that he could not pass
Liu Bei and Liu Bang are both based in Yi sichuan, so why liu bang does not lack grain in the world
The Qin Dynasty attacked Shuzhong for grain, but it did not care whether the rights and interests of the Shuzhong family were infringed, the Qin army was able to forcibly requisition grain, and the Shuzhong family did not have the courage to resist the Qin Dynasty.
However, as a member of the exploiting class of the Shu Han Dynasty, the Shuzhong family was completely able to cause inconvenience to Zhuge Liang, in the Han Dynasty, strategic resources such as grain were concentrated in the hands of the family, because most of the land resources were in their hands, Zhuge Liang wanted to collect grain, only to consult with them, not to forcibly levy.
If the Shuzhong family applied the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang would not have the inconvenience of lack of grain, the Shu Han army was small, and Shuzhong could fully afford to supply, but most importantly, the Shuzhong family resolutely resisted the Northern Expedition.
For example, in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang's master's table stipulates that the Northern Expedition, the first Qiao Zhou to stand up to resist is shuzhong famous Confucian, his point of view is to represent the Shuzhong family. After Zhuge Liang's death, in order to resist Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition, Qiao Zhou also read a "Theory of National Hatred" that implied capitulationism, and doubled down on the development strategy of Cao Wei in the Northern Expedition.
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was always related to the lack of food and the military system
Why did the Eastern Han Dynasty fight for hundreds of years without a shortage of grain, but Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition has always failed due to lack of grain, in fact, two words can be used to respond to this problem, that is, the military system.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes used the full military service system, and when the war broke out, all boys of the right age fought on the front line until the end of the war and went home to farm. However, during the Three Kingdoms period, the professional military system was implemented, and there was no interest relationship between the troops and the peasant households, resulting in demand and supply have always been two ends of the contradiction.
Cao Cao saw this very early, so he first implemented the Tun Tian system, so the State of Wei was particularly rich and strong from the beginning, but Shu Han only saw this in the middle and late period, and when it was time to implement it, the Wei forces had already attacked.
And because the location of the Shu Han is particularly unique, the terrain and landform are particularly difficult to walk, and posterity says that the Shu Road is difficult, so the road of transporting grain and grass is particularly difficult. Compared with the State of Wei, others were fighting at their own gates, and the rear supplies were very convenient and fast. Therefore, the final demise of the Shu Han is expected.
Reference: Romance of the Three Kingdoms
(Statement: The content text is original, unauthorized may not be reproduced, some of the pictures come from the network, if there is infringement, please contact to inform the deletion, thank you!) ）