[Lightscreen]
[Around the year 200 BC, in the bustling marketplaces of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in the Middle East, a mysterious new fabric from the Far East began to appear.
It was pure white, resilient yet supple, resistant to water, and surprisingly durable against the acidic erosion of sweat. In the sweltering heat of the Middle Eastern climate, it was hailed as the ultimate luxury material for summer wear, and it became an overnight sensation.
Fast forward to 139 BC. Zhang Qian, the legendary pioneer of the Silk Road, trekked his way to this distant land.
Upon seeing the fabric, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Wait a minute," he thought, "isn't this the zong cloth produced back in our own Han Empire? How the hell did it get all the way out here?"
This realization brought the Ancient Southwestern Silk Road, or the Ancient India Road, straight into the sights of the ambitious Emperor Wu of Han.
To ensure this lucrative trade route was under official government control, Emperor Wu launched a brutal ten-year conflict against the tribes of the Southwestern Barbarians.
But as the saying goes, wealth moves the human heart. Even after the Han legions executed hundreds of thousands in the region, the local tribal chieftains fought to their dying breaths, obsessed with maintaining their monopoly over the toll gates of the trade route.
It was not until 69 AD, when the Ailao people surrendered en masse to the Eastern Han, that this road, beginning in Shu, crossing Myanmar, traversing India, and ending in Bactria, was finally fully operational.
Yet prosperity never lasts forever, with the chaos at the end of the Han dynasty, and the rise of warring warlords, the Southwestern tribes reclaimed the route.
When the Prime Minister marched his army into Nanzhong, he was not merely crushing a rebellion of local powerful clans; he was fighting to reclaim control over one of the most profitable trade arteries in human history.]
"Wealth moves the human heart..."
The officials in the side hall quietly pondered the Light Screen's words.
Everyone knew of Emperor Wu's martial prowess. He was a ruler who had reshaped the world through fire and steel.
Yet even his vast armies, after slaughtering hundreds of thousands, had still failed to completely cow the southern tribes when profit was at stake.
"Can money really make people so unafraid of death?" Zhang Fei asked, scratching his beard in genuine confusion.
To him, honor and brotherhood were things worth dying for.
But dying for silk and coin? That felt strangely absurd.
Guan Yu and Zhao Yun exchanged a glance.
An enemy willing to die for profit was not necessarily the most dangerous kind.
But they were undoubtedly the most troublesome.
Like weeds, pull them out today, and they would return the moment one turned away.
Pang Tong, however, saw the brilliance immediately. He cast Kongming a long, meaningful look and exhaled.
"The establishment of the Jin Guan 'Brocade Officer' was not merely a tax scheme. It was a strategic prerequisite for the Nanzhong campaign."
He paused, "You were playing the long game from the very beginning, weren't you?"
Pang Tong did not believe in coincidence.
For a mind like Kongming's, every move was part of a grand design woven months, perhaps years, in advance.
Mi Zhu slowly nodded as the pieces fell into place.
"If Shu brocade can be exported to foreign lands in exchange for rare treasures, the profit margin is easily a hundredfold."
His eyes gleamed.
"By monopolizing the brocade and then reclaiming the trade route, the Military Advisor has ensured that every chieftain in the south must eventually come to him, either as a beggar or as a partner."
---
[Lightscreen]
[Once the Nanzhong rebellion was quelled, the Prime Minister faced a massive administrative dilemma: how do you govern a jungle full of people who hate you? In this matter, the Prime Minister was notoriously stingy with state resources.
His policy was built on autonomy, summarized by three principles: no transporting grain, no stationing permanent troops, and letting the southern people govern the south.
Let us be honest: he did it to save money. He had even arranged his staffing beforehand.
His deputy during the campaign, He even planned his staff ahead of time.
His deputy during the campaign, Li Hui, was a local born and bred in Nanzhong. After the war, Li Hui had the prestige to serve as the Prefect of Jianning, effectively keeping the peace without costing the central government a single cent in salary or logistics
At the same time, the Prime Minister played a brilliant game of borrowing the hen to lay the egg to deal with the local great clans.
Nanzhong was a chaotic mixture of Han settlers and unruly tribal peoples. The tribesmen were fierce and deeply hostile to authority.
Thus, the Prime Minister persuaded the wealthy Han families of Nanzhong to use their own gold and silver to recruit these tribesmen as private retainers.
The catch? The Prime Minister promised the Han elites that if they recruited enough tribesmen, they could earn hereditary official titles.
But once these fierce warriors had been gathered and organized, he immediately selected the best among them and transferred them to the heartland of Shu. There, he forged them into the elite force later known to history as the Wudang Flying Army.
In essence, the Prime Minister took the strongest warriors from his enemies, used his rivals' wealth to pay them, and emerged with a world-famous elite force without spending a single copper from the state treasury.]
When they had previously watched the Light Screen describe the heroic death of Zhang Wei and the Wudang Flying Army, Liu Bei had been moved to tears of guilt and pride. But now, hearing the "origin story" of where those soldiers came from, his emotions were far more complicated than before.
Every plan.
Every maneuver.
Every coin saved, It had all been done so Shu Han would not collapse beneath its own weight.
"If only I had not been so stubborn at Yiling..." Liu Bei murmured.
His voice was heavy with regret.
Kongming laughed heartily, deliberately trying to ease his lord's heart.
"My Lord, did the screen not say it clearly?"
His fan lightly swayed.
"If not for Mi Fang's betrayal, Yunchang would already have taken Xuchang. Why dwell on the twists of fate when we may laugh at how we overcame them?"
The group erupted into laughter, though Mi Zhu looked a bit embarrassed.
Internally, he had already decided on a new "career path" for his brother, Mi Fang, should he ever get his hands on him: General Zhang Fei's front-line training camp in Linju. If anyone could beat some sense into a traitor, it was Yide.
---
[Lightscreen]
[One might ask: were the local elites of Nanzhong truly so saintly? Why did they allow the Prime Minister to manipulate them so thoroughly?
The local elites probably just smiled and counted their money. Because by following the Prime Minister, they were earning far more than they ever did as rebels. Binding interests is a tool that never fails.
As controller of Shu brocade, the Prime Minister effectively held the most valuable currency in the south. The local clans depended on the Ancient India Road for survival, and the two commodities that sold best were Shu silk and Shu cloth.
By marching south, the Prime Minister did not merely bring an army. He brought an entirely new supply chain.
He established a profit-sharing system for the export of Shu textiles, making the local Han elites wealthy beyond measure.
In doing so, he not only pacified Nanzhong but also fulfilled one of the core strategic objectives of the Longzhong Plan: reaching the Southern Seas.
By extending the trade route through Myanmar and into the Indochinese Peninsula, the textiles of Shu Han became the dominant currency across Southeast Asia.]
Pang Tong stared in disbelief.
"So in half a year, you pacified the south, established a governing structure, reopened an international trade artery, and recruited an elite army?"
Pang Tong was counting on his fingers, his expression one of sheer disbelief. "I mean, we were all together back in the day... we all read the same books... how is this even fair?"
It was merely a victory of 'Temple Calculation,'" Kongming replied modestly, though his eyes twinkled.
"By the time the campaign started, Nanzhong had been in rebellion for three years. The rebels were exhausted and had gained nothing. The 'Prime Minister' on the screen likely spent every one of those three years calculating the exact moment to strike. Under such preparation, a swift victory is only natural."
Pang Tong gave a non-committal grunt. He knew that if he were in that position, he could have won the war, but he wouldn't have been able to make everyone rich and happy while doing it.
[Lightscreen]
[However, if we look closer at the historical records through the lens of the trade route, we find a very peculiar entry in the biography of Huo Yi.
The records state: 'At that time, the tribes of Yongchang relied on the treacherous terrain and refused to submit... a secondary army was sent to punish them... they destroyed the settlements, and the borders of the commandery became peaceful.'
If you read this at face value, you'd think Huo Yi was just a bored general looking for trouble. Why destroy the villages after they already surrendered? And why record it in history as if it were a great achievement?
But look at the map. Yongchang was a key node on the trade route
Those 'tribes' weren't just rebels; they were setting up illegal private toll booths on the Prime Minister's trade route! Huo Yi's job as the Prefect of Yongchang was to keep the money flowing.
He didn't just 'destroy settlements'; he cleared the highway. That is a Grade-A military achievement in the eyes of the treasury.
The Prime Minister was a master of binding interests, but even he couldn't make everyone happy.
Yet during the Northern Expedition, Nanzhong still rebelled. Why? If you look at the names of the rebels, a pattern emerges: they were almost all tribal leaders. Not a single Han-surname rebel is found among them.
The truth is obvious: facing the massive 'cake' of the trade route provided by the Prime Minister, the Han clans of Nanzhong grew fat on trade profits and they had reached a silent agreement to push the tribal 'barbarians' out of the profit-sharing circle.
This was the one major flaw in the 'Southern People Governing the South' policy: eventually, you have to choose between the Han settlers and local tribes. And the Prime Minister, being a Han statesman, chose the Han.]
"There are no perfect things in this world; even a sweet melon has a bitter stem," Liu Bei sighed, shaking his head.
"To govern a land, one cannot demand total perfection in every detail. Peace for the many is enough."
Pang Tong agreed. "By letting the Han elites govern Nanzhong, you ensured it remained Han territory. If you had let the tribes govern it, we would have lost the south within a generation."
"But..." Ma Liang spoke up, his eyes bright with conviction. "The screen also said that sixteen hundred years later, people still revere the Prime Minister as their ancestor and guard the borders of the nation. That suggests the Prime Minister's 'Nanzhong Strategy' didn't end with just choosing one side over the other!"
"The story isn't over yet," Ma Liang insisted, looking toward Kongming with unwavering faith. "There must be a second half to this strategy!"