Abstract: Population, as an important war resource, always seems to play an important role in division. Taking the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty as an example, the princes were in a scuffle, and while the forces of all sides were committed to competing for territory, the competition for "people" was also a major focus. The "people" mentioned in this article mainly refer to ordinary people. And the war and chaos accompanied by diseases, famines, etc. have caused a sharp decline in population, for which Wang Cang once described, "There is nothing to see when you go out, and white bones cover the plains." Therefore, the shortage of population makes the importance of population competition even greater than the competition for cities and land at some times.
Keywords: war population competition At the end of the Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms
First, the importance of population resources
In "Xunzi Wangba", it is said: "Those who use the country will gain the strength of the people, the one who will gain the strength of the people, the strong one who will win the dead of the people, and the glory of the people." "The people play a big role in the rise and fall of the country. Only with a sufficient population can it have the resources to contribute to farming, to obtain food, to promote economic prosperity, and to have sufficient fiscal revenues. In addition, population is also an important source of soldiers, and with their support, fighting desperately can strengthen military strength, consolidate national defense, and make the country stronger. If the ruler can get the praise of the people and win the hearts and minds of the people, it will be conducive to social stability, maintaining rule, and promoting social development. In the era of war, population resources are particularly important, from the great division at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to the division of feudal towns in the late Tang Dynasty, to the Xinjiang issue in the late Qing Dynasty, all of which reflect the importance of population resources.
Second, the embodiment and impact of population competition: Taking the Three Kingdoms Era at the end of the Han Dynasty as an example
1. Embodiment
(1) The scramble for border populations
Through the history of the Three Kingdoms, the author found that the most obvious battle for population is the battle for population at the junction of the territory under the jurisdiction of hostile military forces. When Cao Cao confronted Liu Bei and prepared to evacuate Hanzhong, Cao Cao heeded Zhang Jie's advice and "pulled out tens of thousands of households in Hanzhong to implement Chang'an and Sanfu" [1]. Later, du raided by Cao Cao, "SuiHuai enlightened, and the people enjoyed themselves to migrate to Luo and more than 80,000 mouths" [2]. It can be said that Liu Bei's Hanzhong was almost an empty city, which was consistent with Zhou Qun's previous prediction that "it deserves its land, but not its people"[3]. It can be seen that in the war and chaos years of depopulation, the value of human beings was precious, and although Cao Cao gave up the land of Hanzhong, he insisted on taking away the people there.
In Huainan, Cao Cao also intended to migrate the people through coercive policies. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Wu Shu, and Wu's Biography, "Cao Gong feared that Jiangbin County would be omitted by power", realized local supply, and "moved inward with requisition orders"[4], but finally caused "more than 100,000 people in Jiangsu and Huai, all of whom went to Shock Wu" [5], and "Jiangxi Suifu" [6]. It has to be said that this time the population war gave Cao Cao a blow and also enhanced the strength of Eastern Wu.
Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei of the Shu state had similar population battles during the Northern Expedition. In Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, when the Lost Street Pavilion retreated, it was not for nothing, and "more than a thousand families in Liangbaxi County were still in Hanzhong"[7] reflected this. The so-called "pulling" means forcibly relocating the population of the Wei state into Shu to promote population growth. As a successor to Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, Jiang Wei also "returned to the three counties of Tug-of-War, Didao, and Lintao" during the war with the State of Wei.
(2) The struggle for the will of the people
In addition to the forced migration under the confrontation between the two armies, there is also a "soft" competition for the people's hearts. One of the most well-known should be Liu Bei. In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of the Ancestors, "Compared with Dangyang, there are more than 100,000 people, thousands of taels, and more than ten miles a day... Or the first lord said: 'It is advisable to go to Baojiangling as soon as possible, although there are now many people in the public, and there are few people who have been armoured, if Cao Gongjun arrives, why should he refuse?' The Lord said, "Great things will be put first, and now that people are returning to me, why should I bear to abandon them?" ’”[9]。 It was precisely with his benevolence and love for the people that Liu Bei won the hearts of the broad masses of the people and "won the death force of the people."
In addition, Liu Fu's competition for the hearts and minds of the people of Hefei is also very successful. Hefei was just a dilapidated empty city before. Liu Fu was commissioned to build this empty city, and the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Shu, and Liu Fu's biography recorded: "In the past few years, Enhua has traveled greatly, the people have enjoyed their government, and the displaced people have crossed the rivers and mountains and returned in tens of thousands." [10] Liu Fu's benevolent government made the people's hearts desire, thus gathering a large number of people, and Hefei became a place of contention between Cao Cao and Sun Quan.
(3) Tuntian
Tuntian is also a way of competing for population resources. Faced with the plight of only one-tenth of the population at the height of the Eastern Han Dynasty,[11] Cao Cao took the lead in implementing the Tuntian system, which was divided into military tun and min tun. In particular, Mintun (民屯), which was different from The Border Sergeant Tuntian during the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao recruited displaced people and distributed a large amount of abandoned land to them for farming, and the state levied taxes on them. Although these tuntian people did not have to undertake military service and labor, they were still forced to participate in various kinds of labor. Therefore, the author believes that gathering displaced people through Tuntian is also a way of population competition. This practice was later emulated by Both Wu and Shu.
(4) Migration and assimilation of ethnic minorities
Because of the population shortage, the warlord forces have also paid attention to ethnic minorities. In dealing with ethnic minorities such as Karasuma and Xianbei, Cao Cao first sent troops to fight, but at the same time appeased them through the Huairou policy, moving the ethnic minorities to the interior and incorporating them into the army to receive Education in Sinicization. Similarly, Zhuge Liang's Southern Expedition, "Attacking the Heart and Attacking the City, Fighting the Heart and Fighting soldiers"[14], subdued the ethnic minorities in the Southern Central Region, and the Shu State, where the population shortage problem was the most serious, even selected Zhuang Ding from various ethnic groups to be incorporated into the Shu Army. The territory of the State of Wu was already inhabited by ethnic minorities, called "Shanyue", who gradually assimilated in the process of fighting against the Han people in Pingdi, and the State of Wu also moved these ethnic minorities to tuntian in the plain area, or conscripted soldiers. Among Wu's population, the Shanyue people make up about half of them.
2. The impact of population competition on the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty and later generations
(1) Military and national defense
Through forced immigration, it is possible to replenish one's own military strength and national defense, and to undermine the military attempts of the opponent. For example, Cao Cao's Hanzhong immigrants consolidated their own defenses and also made Liu Bei face the distress of insufficient local troops. This even affected Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, and he was forced to withdraw his troops many times due to the shortage of grain and grass, which was mainly caused by the lack of population in Hanzhong, the lack of grain production, and the shortage of manpower to transport grain.[15] In this regard, Zhuge Liang's forced relocation of more than a thousand households in Longxi and other measures alleviated the problem of population shortage in Hanzhong to a certain extent, but there was still a big weakness of population shortage. Another example is that Hefei's sufficient manpower can be converted into a source of soldiers, which is also one of the important reasons why Sun Quan cannot attack for a long time. The State of Wu was able to rank among the Three Kingdoms, and large-scale population plunder also played a role.
(2) Economics and Finance
In terms of economy and finance, population competition promotes economic prosperity to a certain extent, increases government tax revenues, and expands fiscal revenues. For example, Liu Fu first had a population gathering in Hefei before further developing the economy and realizing that "the government and the people have livestock"[16], and his strong economic strength provided support for the construction of the city and the consolidation of national defense. In addition, the tun tian system, for example, not only increased the labor force for farming, restored agricultural production, but also increased taxes. However, in the process of population competition, it is also inevitable that a large amount of expenditure will increase the financial burden.
(3) Culture and society
Population movements caused by competition for population promote ethnic and cultural exchanges and integration. However, in the case of the ethnic minorities in the north, a large number of inward migrations increased the proportion of ethnic minorities in the population, affecting social stability, which also laid hidden dangers for the later demise of the Western Jin Dynasty and the Wuhu Chaohua [17]. But on the other hand, to a certain extent, it created possibilities for cultural prosperity in the Sui and Tang dynasties, promoting cultural pluralism and the formation of a multi-ethnic state. In addition, on the one hand, the tun tian system has brought together people displaced by the war, survived and stabilized social order; On the other hand, with the end of the war, the rise in taxes, the dissatisfaction of the Tuntian people, and the interests of the landlords and the hao clan, the social contradictions gradually intensified, but this provided a reference for the juntian system that originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty.[18]
III. Conclusion
During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, years of war and chaos, in the process of conquest of military forces on all sides, seemed to be accompanied by various forms of population competition, which could affect combat effectiveness and defensive capabilities, play a role in economic and financial, cultural and social aspects, and have had some positive and negative effects on future generations. In contemporary warfare, although the specific form has changed, it is still reflected in overseas conscription and the establishment of humanitarian corridors, and due to the influence of globalization, the impact of local conflicts has a greater scope, and while cultural exchanges and integration, the problem of population mobility and refugees has always existed.
Wang Chenge (Major in Tourism Management, Guizhou University)
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(The author's views are for his personal opinion only and do not indicate the position of Al Jazeera)