I think that back then, when Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou, he knew the importance of grain and grass. He made food storage a top priority and was always ready to deal with any unexpected needs. At that time, Jingzhou was a place of four wars, and the food source was particularly unstable. But Liu Bei had a vision, he took the initiative and took various measures to accumulate food.
Liu Bei sent his henchmen and generals to buy grain everywhere, some went to the Jiangdong clan to borrow money to buy grain, and some went deep into Kuxian to forcibly collect grain. He doesn't care about the means, as long as he can get food, it is a victory. Although Zhuge Liang and other strategists had some complaints, they were helpless. It's like we have to be cheeky to borrow and ask for food rations for our families now, right?
Liu Bei also directly recruited nearby peasants into the army, and asked them to dig new warehouses day and night to store grain. These warehouses are cleverly designed, with three floors inside and outside, which can store 10,000 stones of grain. He also personally supervised and ensured food security, what a careful leader! It's like a rice jar in our house, we have to keep an eye on it, and we can't let the rats steal it, right?
Not only that, Liu Bei also implemented the Tuntian policy, reclaiming a large amount of wasteland in the Xiakou and Jiangling areas to increase grain production. He also diverted river water for irrigation to promote the growth of grain, and at the same time strictly forbade soldiers to swallow the fields and ensure that all grain produced was handed over to the Quartermaster Department. These measures made Liu Bei's granary more and more full, and the morale of the army was also greatly boosted. This is just like us now, grow some vegetables, raise some chickens, be self-sufficient, and how down-to-earth our hearts are!
In 214 AD, Sun and Liu formed an alliance against Cao Cao. Because Liu Bei had sufficient reserves and an endless supply of resources, he supported large-scale operations. The Eastern Wu army also relied on a lot. The two armies joined forces and fought fiercely with Cao's army in the Battle of Yiling for more than 100 days, and finally Cao Cao had to retreat. Liu Bei won a big victory, this is really because he is prepared! It's like we usually say, with food in your hands, you don't panic in your heart, right?
Liu Bei was not satisfied with the existing achievements, he knew that Jingzhou's reserves alone were far from enough, and he had to open up new grain and grass bases. So, he set his sights on the fertile Yizhou. It's like we have to think of other ways to make money now, right?
In 214 AD, Liu Bei waved his army to the west to take Yizhou, which lasted three years and finally captured Chengdu. Yizhou has more than 80 counties under its jurisdiction, with fertile land and abundant products, which provided a steady stream of supplies for Liu Bei's army. Since then, Liu Bei's army has a more abundant source of food and grass, and the morale of the army has also been greatly increased, and the soldiers finally do not have to go hungry. It's like we have a supermarket at home, we have everything, we can eat what we take, how convenient it is!
Liu Bei also stored a large amount of grain in Yizhou to accumulate strength for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. He adopted the advice of the strategists and built high warehouses and deep warehouses in various counties to store rice for more than ten years. This laid an abundant material foundation for future operations. It's like now, in order to meet the unexpected needs, we have to save some money and buy some gold, right?
In 219 AD, Guan Yu was captured, and Liu Bei vowed to avenge Guan Yu. He gathered a large army and captured Hanzhong in one fell swoop. Although Hanzhong does not produce grain, the road is long, and the transportation of grain and grass is difficult, with the rich savings of Yizhou, Liu Bei's army can still support this two-year battle, and there has never been a crisis of cutting off grain and grass. It's like us now, although it's stormy outside, but there is food at home, so we don't panic, right?
It can be seen that the acquisition of Yizhou played a pivotal role in Liu Bei's follow-up strategy. He won many battles and never had any worries, and it depended on this to defeat Eastern Wu and pacify Hanzhong. Liu Bei knew very well that "the land of military contention, grain first", he made full preparations on the issue of grain and grass, and laid a solid foundation for the future use of troops.
In contrast, Zhuge Liang repeatedly had to withdraw due to lack of food during the Northern Expedition. What's going on here? It turned out that in 223 AD, Liu Bei died of illness, and Zhuge Liang assisted him. Due to the frequent use of troops in the past, the treasury has long been in deficit, and although Yizhou is rich, it is difficult to recover in a short time. The people are exhausted, the farmland is barren, and the economy is withering.
In order to solve the problem of grain and grass, Zhuge Liang also adopted the policy of tuntian, trying to restore agriculture and accumulate strength. But at this time, Shu had just experienced war, and the people withered, and the young strong men were either killed on the battlefield or were conscripted into the army to prepare for war. Only the elderly, weak, women and children are the only ones who can participate in agricultural production. In the face of the vast wasteland, their production capacity is seriously insufficient, the results of the tuntian fields are extremely limited, and the national grain reserves cannot be sustained. It's like now, we want to grow some vegetables, but there is not enough labor at home, so we can only stare dryly, right?
At the same time, after Liu Bei's death, the situation in the court was turbulent, and the people revolted one after another. Ten rooms and nine empty rooms in Shuzhong, all industries are waiting to be developed, the people's hearts are scattered, thieves are everywhere, and the situation is chaotic. Zhuge Liang needed to frequently fight in the south and north, quell civil strife, occupy strongholds, establish checkpoints, and restore administrative control. These have consumed a lot of manpower and material resources, and at the same time, he is also preparing for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. This has led to further straining of manpower in Tuntian.
In 227 AD, the internal affairs of Shu were decided, and Zhuge Liang personally led the army to the north, officially starting the first Northern Expedition. However, due to the rugged roads and the disruption of grain and grass transportation along the way, in the early days of the Northern Expedition, the Shu army was attacked by tens of thousands of bandits, and the grain and grass transportation team was plundered, and the morale was also seriously hit. It's like now, when we go out to travel, but our wallet is stolen halfway, how depressed we are!
After arriving at the front line, the army soon fell into the predicament of running out of food, and Zhuge Liang had to reluctantly retreat. After several northern expeditions, the Shu army retreated from the Great Wall without grain and grass. It can be seen that under the rule of Shu at that time, neither production nor transportation could effectively solve the demand for grain and grass for the Northern Expedition. This became an important reason for Zhuge Liang to give up the Northern Expedition.
Our middle-aged and elderly friends, don't you think it's particularly interesting to look at this history? If we want to gain a firm foothold during the war years, we must attach great importance to the logistical support of the army, such as food and grass! This is of vital importance to any armed forces, both ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign. Although our life today is peaceful and stable, we must also remember to cherish food, after all, "the people take food as the sky"!
To sum up, the performance of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang on the issue of grain and grass is simply worlds apart. Liu Bei is a master of grain, and he never lacks food in war; As for Zhuge Liang, during the Northern Expedition, he always had a headache because of the lack of grain and grass. The reason behind this is that they are in different situations. Liu Bei had accumulated abundant military supplies in his early years, and he also took the granary of Yizhou; As for Zhuge Liang, the treasury was already empty during the Northern Expedition, and the grain and grass naturally couldn't keep up. Therefore, we can also see that logistics support is very important for the army!
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