Yan Keng immediately waved his hand after hearing this.
"Your Majesty, the Tatar and Oara tribes can't be annihilated by relying on the speed of their horses. Once our army goes deep into the desert, it may be unsustainable." He shook his head like a rattle:
"The risk is too great."
Zhu Di also knew this, and he pondered:
"I want to follow the example of the Han Dynasty and drive out the northern barbarians. In this way, the Ming Dynasty's border will be safe and there will be no need to spend so much military expenditure on it. Mo Lin, look, if I order General Lan to command our elite cavalry of the Ming Dynasty, I will follow suit. How about the old Wei Huo sweeping across the grassland and completely annihilating the residual Yuan?"
But he had been dealing with his brothers in the north for decades, and was troubled by the constant border troubles. He was also tired of the endless news about the invasion. Yongle was a far-sighted emperor. He could already see that dozens or hundreds of years later, the north would become the confidant of the Ming Dynasty.
He wanted to get over it once and for all.
There was a cruel light shining in those eyes.
Yan Keng immediately replied:
"If Your Majesty gathers the elites of our Ming Dynasty, with generals like General Lan who are accustomed to conquering battles, and cavalry such as Shunyi and Duoyan who are good at desert conquests, and with the help of the whole country of our Ming Dynasty, the conquest of the grassland will have a natural chance of success. It’s not low.”
"But even if you wipe out all the remaining elements, it will still be difficult to truly rule the North."
"We, the Han people, mainly focus on farming, and no one is willing to go north to herd horses. The north is vast. Even if we open up wasteland for farming and build cities, we can never hope to turn the entire grassland into a land for farming without hundreds of years of management."
"What's more, there are many windy and sandy places in the desert, which are not suitable for farming."
"In the past, Dou Xian Yan was able to crush the stone, and the Huns fled westward, but what happened next?"
"In such a huge grassland, if there is no master, new people will immediately replace them."
"The Huns and Xianbei in the Han Dynasty, the Turks in the Tang Dynasty, and then the Mongols in the Song Dynasty... You see, the grassland has never lacked a master. Even if you completely annihilate or drive away the remaining Yuan forces, I dare to say that it only takes ten years. Over the years, a new tribe will become stronger relying on the grassland."
“This is treating the symptoms rather than the root cause.”
"It is better to focus on both suppression and appeasement. This is the long-term solution."
Zhu Di touched his chin, his eyes sparkling, he nodded while listening, and then he said:
"In this case, how about following the example of Ji Su Prefecture in the Tang Dynasty?"
"Jisun Prefecture is also a way." Yan Keng nodded. In the Tang Dynasty, Jisu Prefecture effectively ruled the grassland for a period of time, but it also had drawbacks.
In essence, Jisi Prefecture is not much different from the Ming Dynasty's king-conferring system.
The rulers of the Tang Dynasty were still influenced by Confucianism and did not completely deprive these prefectures and states of all their powers. Their taxes did not need to be paid, the position of governor was hereditary, and the governors of the prefectures even controlled the military power of these places. .
This was naturally no problem when the Tang Dynasty was prosperous.
However, only in the past forty-nine years, the Tang Dynasty was slightly weakened, and a rebellion immediately broke out in the Shan Yu's Protectorate. The twenty-four prefectures and prefectures responded. In less than five months, the number reached hundreds of thousands, and the Turkic Khanate was established. Once again became the great enemy of the northern Tang Dynasty.
It was as if the Tang Dynasty gave them the time and space to develop in their insignificant ways.
Therefore, this time, all the returning grassland tribes must make changes!
"I have some suggestions." Yan Keng said without changing his expression:
"You have also seen the Jisi Prefecture in the Tang Dynasty. The effect is not very good. Once the Central Plains declines, it will be a big problem. It can be used, but it cannot be imitated by the ancients."
"The tribes within Jisi Prefecture must pay taxes to the Ming Dynasty. The highest officer can be the tribal leader, but there must be a certain number of Han officials under the ministers."
"Military power must not be given to them, it must be in the hands of Han officials."
"They need to establish household registration like Han people and submit it to the government."
"They also come to pay their respects regularly."
"Don't give them a lot of rewards like the Han and Tang Dynasties. The so-called face of the Celestial Kingdom is just that... On the contrary, you should make good use of these naturalized troops." Yan Keng lowered his voice again and smiled. Very insidious.
"You mean, if there is a war, they will be ordered to dispatch soldiers to assist in the battle?" Zhu Di squinted his eyes, and the half-opened eyelids also shone with a strange light.
"Of course!" Yan Keng clapped his palms: "Continuously mobilize troops, consume their elites, and make the tribes unable to rebel... But we must also pay attention to propriety and not mobilize too many troops, otherwise the people of the tribes will complain. The grassland is unstable.”
"When fighting together, we can also constantly understand and learn their tactics, and even use them for our own purposes or create countermeasures. We can also use the high-ranking officials rewarded with military exploits to infiltrate their troops and alienate their relationships. In this way , even if they have different intentions in the end, what do they have to fear?"
"Okay!" After hearing this, Zhu Di slapped the armrest of the chair heavily and stood up:
"This is a good idea. In this way, the Ming Dynasty's border will be at least peaceful for decades!"
"Just as you said, start implementing it from these tribes that have surrendered!"
He didn't say there would always be peace. Zhu Di was still more rational than Zhu Yuanzhang on this point. He knew that there was no way to travel unimpeded for a hundred years.
Chaos is inevitable, but as long as this period can be extended, that is enough.
In fact, Yan Keng has a better way. Yan Ling once mentioned to them how to cure the border troubles in the north while chatting.
As long as the integration and identification of the nation are not completed and they are not truly regarded as subjects of the Ming Dynasty, the border troubles in the north will not be eliminated. The so-called combination of kindness and power is nothing more than an expedient measure.
However, the Ming Dynasty is now very powerful. If the border troubles in the north are completely eliminated, it will be impossible for generations. However, there is great hope after crossing the three hundred years hurdle. What good will this do to them?
Anyway, this method can keep the grassland tribes quiet for at least a few decades, and prevent the chaos in the north from starting again in the early years of Xuande as soon as Yongle's Five Expeditions in Mobei ended.
Moreover, in the original time and space, although the Five Expeditions to Mobei were vast and the results were not small, the foundation of Mongolia was not damaged. This method was proposed at this time. It is strange that they were rational, so the Ming Dynasty was forced to use feudalism. King, method of differentiation.
Now that Sapphire is here, sweeping across the grassland is no longer a dream.
So Zhu Di issued an edict to the north, informing the tribes who submitted to him about the court's decision.
At the same time, he also wrote a letter to Lan Yu, who was still in the grassland, explaining the central government's strategic concepts.
The basis for all this is that the Ming Dynasty can beat the tribes in the north and tell them who is the king of the world, so that they have the ability to execute. Otherwise, even the dozen or so small tribes that have joined now may not be willing to do this. Do.
Therefore, at the end of this letter, Zhu Di left this sentence:
"Don't let Yan Ran go up, but leave Han generals to do their best!"
Thanks to "Eggplant Tomato Potato" for the tip, thank you!
(End of chapter)
