The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 534 The Liu Family's Obsession with Land

Guan Xing talked for a long time and then circled back to Sima Yi, which made Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang so angry that they wished they could rush to Luoyang right now, tear Sima Yi to pieces and wipe the Sima family out of the ground.

Not only did the Sima family cause the Central Plains to suffer three hundred years of chaos, but they also constantly undermined the Han people by relocating them and handing over the beautiful land to foreign tribes. They were simply despicable.

Damn Sima Yi, do you have a grudge against the Han people? Why are you so recklessly causing trouble for your own people?

Liu Bei frowned and said, "But that's not right. Liaodong is a harsh and cold land. Even if Goguryeo occupied all of Liaodong, how powerful could it become?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "Your Majesty does not understand Liaodong at all. Although Liaodong is a cold and harsh land, it has great development potential. If it is developed, Liaodong alone can rival the Central Plains, because Liaodong has black soil."

"Black soil, as the name suggests, is black. This kind of black soil is most suitable for cultivation. Take wheat for example, wheat grown in black soil yields at least 20% more than wheat grown in yellow soil."

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang all widened their eyes in disbelief and exclaimed, "Is this really true?"

People regard food as the most important thing for themselves, and they are very clear about what grain production means. If it is 20% higher, the benefits will be enormous.

Guan Xing nodded and said, "Black soil is the most suitable land for cultivation. There are only three such areas in the whole world, and one of them is in Liaodong."

"In our time, Liaodong had been fully developed. The grain produced by the fully developed black soil of Liaodong accounted for one-fifth of the national grain output. In other words, Liaodong alone could feed one-fifth of the national population. I don't mean feeding them by drinking thin porridge to keep them alive, but by eating until they were stuffed, four or five meals a day, whenever they wanted, and even throwing away portions of food as they ate."

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang couldn't hold back any longer and quickly asked, "How many people were there in your era? And how many people are one-fifth of them?"

Guan Xing held up one finger and laughed, "1.4 billion people, one-fifth of that is 280 million, which is about 300 million people. '100 million' is a unit of measurement above 10 million. You can think of it as 100 million. 300 million people. The population of the Han Dynasty at its peak was just over 60 million. 300 million people is five times the population of the Han Dynasty at its peak."

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang couldn't sit still any longer; they started trembling all over, as if they had Parkinson's disease.

The amount of food needed to feed 300 million people must be terrifying; they've never even heard of such a number, let alone dared to imagine it.

The four men stood there stunned for a good quarter of an hour before Liu Bei, swallowing hard and asking incredulously with a greedy look on his face, asked, "Is the black soil really that terrifying?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "It's not entirely due to the black soil; there are also other reasons such as improved grain varieties and technological development, but the black soil of Liaodong has this potential."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was not disappointed at all; instead, the greed in his eyes intensified. He silently murmured, "Black soil... black soil..."

After chewing it several times, he asked, "You just said there are three black soils in the world, where are the other two?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "It's not within the territory of the Han Dynasty, so Your Majesty shouldn't worry about it."

Liu Bei, however, screamed as if he had been stepped on, “No, we must keep this in mind. This land must be firmly controlled by the people of the Han Dynasty. Otherwise, if it is occupied by others, it will become a weapon to attack the Han Dynasty. Tell me where the black soil is. At worst, I will have a few more sons and send them there. It is better to let our own people do the harm than to let outsiders do the harm.”

The Han people have a deep attachment to arable land, and the Liu family emperors had an even deeper attachment to land. If they didn't know, that would be one thing, but since they knew such land existed, Liu Bei would never let a foreign tribe take it away, even if they were originally a foreign tribe themselves, he would make them part of the Han.

As for how to do it, Emperor Wu of Han had already taught him; he just needed to copy Emperor Wu's instructions.

Guan Xing said, "Let's talk about the world map later. We've gone a bit too far off topic. Let's get back to the main point."

"As Sima Yi moved the Han people from Liaodong back to Guanzhong, Goguryeo was able to develop fully. By the time the Sui Dynasty unified the country, it had become a behemoth that could pose a threat to the Central Plains. Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, once launched a campaign against it, but unfortunately, he failed."

"After Yang Guang ascended the throne, he continued the campaigns, but Yang Guang's ambition was too great. He wanted to destroy Goguryeo, and he also wanted to use Goguryeo to weaken the Guanlong nobles and powerful families, especially the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families. As a result, he insisted on conscripting a million soldiers from all over the country to solve a problem that could have been solved with 200,000 troops. Moreover, he launched three consecutive campaigns, which are known in history as the Three Campaigns against Goguryeo."

"The three campaigns against Goguryeo not only dealt a heavy blow to Goguryeo, but also brought great turmoil to the country itself. The people within its borders could not endure the endless wars and rose up in rebellion. Powerful families also joined the rebellion. Eighteen rebel kings and thirty-six armies were engulfed in chaos, plunging the world into the darkest period of turmoil once again."

Liu Bei sighed, "Although this Yang Guang is not as reckless as the emperors of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, he is too fond of grandiose projects. He built the Grand Canal and launched three campaigns against Goguryeo, which was too wasteful of resources and manpower. More importantly, he has ruined the newly unified country. How many years of turmoil will this cause? Will it be another chaotic period that lasts for hundreds of years?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "No, this turmoil ended in less than ten years because a peerless genius emerged, whose military leadership was comparable to Bai Qi and Han Xin, and whose governance was comparable to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han. He was known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, who was considered one of the four great emperors of all time, along with Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han."

Upon hearing this, all four became interested and instinctively leaned forward slightly.

The four emperors who were unparalleled throughout history, comparable to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, must have been incredibly powerful.

Guan Xing said, "Li Shimin was the second son of Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang of the Sui Dynasty. The Li family ancestors were also one of the Eight Pillars of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Their background was no less impressive than that of Yuan Shao."

"At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Li Shimin seized the opportunity to persuade his father, Li Yuan, who was stationed in Jinyang, to raise an army. Li Yuan was a seasoned official with extensive connections. After raising an army, just like Yuan Shao's conquest of Hebei, he easily took over Guanzhong and Bashu without bloodshed, becoming one of the most promising contenders for the world."

"Remember, it's one of them, not the only one, because those warlords at the end of the Sui Dynasty were too powerful and capable. In Longxi, there was Xue Ju, known as the Hegemon-King of Western Qin; in Hedong, there was Li Mi, the leader of Wagangzhai, the head of the eighteen rebel kings; in Luoyang, there was Wang Shichong, who was brutal and murderous but had a strong hand; and in Hebei, there was Dou Jiande, the King of Xia, who was known for his benevolence. Apart from Xue Ju, all of them were powerful warlords who had the potential to conquer the world. And this doesn't even include those in Jianghuai and Jiangnan."

"Not long after Li Yuan entered Guanzhong, Xue Ju attacked from Longxi. Li Yuan was not good at fighting, so he sent his second son Li Shimin to meet the enemy. The first battle failed because he was sick and his subordinates disobeyed orders. The second time, Li Shimin rallied his troops and defeated Xue Ju and his son at Qianshuiyuan in Guanzhong, capturing them alive and pacifying Longxi in one battle."

"Not long after returning, in the second year of Li Yuan's reign as emperor, his hometown of Jinyang was robbed. A man named Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, with the support of the Turks on the grasslands, easily captured Jinyang and almost occupied the entire Bingzhou region in just a few months. This time, Li Yuan was afraid that Li Shimin would make new achievements and he would not be able to control him, so he sent his favorite minister Pei Ji to lead troops to recover Jinyang. As a result, Song Jingang was too good at fighting and Pei Ji was too incompetent. He did not win a single battle against Song Jingang and was beaten so badly that he returned in a sorry state. Well, it was still Li Shimin who had to take the lead."

"Startled, Li Yuan had no choice but to send his second son, Li Shimin, to lead the army again. Li Shimin first confronted Song Jingang to wear down the enemy's morale and wait for an opportunity. After seizing the opportunity to defeat Song Jingang, he pursued him with all his might. His subordinates were worried about an ambush and advised him not to pursue too aggressively, but he said that as long as we pursue fast enough, the enemy will not have time to set up an ambush."

"Li Shimin chased Song Jingang for three days and three nights without dismounting. His thighs were rubbed raw and bloody, but he ignored the pain and relentlessly attacked Song Jingang, defeating Song Jingang's eight counterattacks. In one battle, he recovered the entire territory of Bingzhou and completely knocked Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang off the stage of vying for supremacy."

"Li Shimin was only twenty years old when he defeated Song Jingang."