Chapter 9 The newborn Ming Dynasty
Zhu Yuanzhang carefully read Song Lian's proposal on the imperial case.
I have to admit that Song Lian is knowledgeable. Not a nerd. In Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, many things were approved well. However, some things did not satisfy Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang casually pulled out dozens of volumes from the memorials, and casually tore off the strips Song Lian had pasted on them. Said: "How does Mr. Song know about military affairs? This matter is unheard of. My son, He Xi. How do you think this matter should be handled?"
He Xi walked up. Just a quick glance. You know what the memorial is.
For thousands of years, everyone has heard about the time when Ban Chao killed the Xiongnu. However, there are some negative examples that are hard to say. For example, this memorial letter is in front of me. That's it.
Today is the fourteenth year of Hongwu. In many people's impressions, the world has long been unified during the Hongwu period, but this is not the case.
Today, in northwest Gansu, Qinghai, and some areas in western Sichuan. They are all still under the influence of Yuan Ting, not to mention Liaodong and Korea. By the way, today, it is not called North Korea, but Korea. Goryeo was still wavering between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty. As for Tibetan areas, they also have a relatively close relationship with the Northern Yuan Dynasty. And Yunnan was under the rule of King Liang of Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty was famous throughout the world for his five campaigns to the north, but Zhu Yuanzhang also conducted thirteen northern expeditions. The first Northern Expedition was the time when Xu Da directly captured the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. The second Northern Expedition was the peak showdown between Xu Da and Wang Baobao in the fifth year of Hongwu. In the Battle of Lingbei, Wang Baobao personally set up an ambush to lure the Ming army's cavalry into pursuit, causing the Ming army's infantry and cavalry to lose touch. The ambush troops came out and attacked Xu Da's infantry formation fiercely. I thought I could defeat Xu Da in one battle. He was defeated once, and again, and again, and again. In this battle, Wang Baobao used his peak cavalry command skills to prove what it means to be a clutch soldier. And Xu Da proved what it means to be immovable with his tenacious infantry command skills. This is a lose-lose battle.
This battle proved the combat effectiveness of the nascent Ming Dynasty, and also proved that the old Yuan Empire still had three nails left in the shipwreck. Zhu Yuanzhang also felt that Bei Yuan could not be defeated in one battle. So from the fifth year of Hongwu to the present. Zhu Yuanzhang did not launch a large-scale war against Bei Yuan. Last year, he ordered Mu Ying to go out from Ningxia and win a victory. But the scale is not that big.
However, large-scale war is already being prepared.
He Xi knew this from the memorial sent by Xu Da in Peiping. Peiping began to hoard food and grass a few years ago. Xu Da even built many granaries along the Great Wall. Just wait and use it when you get out of the jam.
I dare not say that this Northern Expedition will destroy this imperial edict, but the scale will not be much smaller than the Northern Expedition in Hongwu's fifth year.
At this time, the king of Liang in Yunnan was very problematic.
If at a critical moment in the north, the king of Liang in Yunnan sends a large number of troops, shocking Sichuan and Hunan. The entire Ming Dynasty's rear was unstable. It greatly affects the war.
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang sent envoys to persuade King Liang of Yunnan to surrender. Everything was going well. After all, the situation today is clear at a glance. Beiyuan is located on the grassland, thousands of miles away from Yunnan. When the Ming Dynasty attacked him, it was impossible to get any reinforcements. The King of Liang in Yunnan never thought about dying for Dayuan. Even if his surname is Boer, he is only Jin.
However, it is also a lie to say that the King of Liang in Yunnan was willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. What King Liang of Yunnan wanted to do most was to have Daming and Beiyuan forget about him. He can just live his life here peacefully.
However, the King of Liang in Yunnan had at least hundreds of thousands of troops in Yunnan. This was something that no one could ignore.
So, when the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to recruit King Liang to surrender. The Northern Yuan Dynasty also sent envoys to Yunnan via the Tibetan areas.
As soon as they arrived in Yunnan, they heard about the envoys of the Ming Dynasty. So on the one hand, they sent people to persuade King Liang, and on the other hand, they killed the envoys of the Ming Dynasty. King Liang had to remain loyal to Bei Yuan.
Now they are faced with such a memorial.
Zhu Biao has already seen it. Song Lian hoped to send envoys again. He was lenient to the King of Liang and showed his intention to forget the past. All it takes is the King of Liang to declare himself a minister and pay tribute, and change his flag. Don't ask about guilt. Then there were a lot of words written below, about the defeat of Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao. Thoughts on the jade ax of Song Taizu. That is to say, in the Tang Dynasty, the expedition against Nanzhao was defeated many times, and the troops and generals were lost. Shock the world. Song Taizu wisely moved Nanzhao to outside the territory. Thus there is peace between the two countries. Furthermore, it is said that the land obtained is not enough for use, and there are too many barbarians to control it.
In a word, Liang Wang's matter was settled diplomatically. It is better not to use weapons.
Zhu Biao said: "My father is right. I also think that the teacher is wrong about this matter. The envoys represent the Ming Dynasty. If the king of Liang kills the envoys at will without punishing them, who will value the envoys of the Ming Dynasty and the loyal ministers and righteous men in the future?" Are you still willing to sacrifice your life for the Ming Dynasty? Therefore, by doing this, King Liang offended the power of heaven and brought about his own destruction. I think we should send a general to punish the people and hold King Liang at the palace."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "What should we do next?"
Zhu Biao was stunned.
Seeing that he didn't think about it, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "This is the opinion of ordinary ministers. But as my son is the prince, he cannot think like this. Soldiers are a deadly weapon and must be used as a last resort. Therefore, when using troops, you must think of withdrawing them. .Every time you use troops, you must have a purpose and know when to end it. The purpose of using troops is to end the war, not to expand it. Your fourth brother does not understand this truth."
This is when Zhu Yuanzhang thought of his son's five sweeps to the north. That’s it for the early stage. In the later stage, it was basically fighting for the sake of fighting. Zhu Yuanzhang secretly commented on him: "One general has more than enough wisdom, but ten thousand times of talent are not enough."
It's just these thoughts that He Xi knows. But Zhu Biao didn't know. Zhu Biao didn't understand why his old father said this, but he subconsciously said something good for King Yan and said: "Father, my fourth brother is still young and far away from the vassal. Without your guidance, I naturally don't understand these things." Yes, you will understand when you grow up a little."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao with a somewhat complicated expression.
Ever since he knew that Zhu Biao would not live long, a knot formed in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. If Zhu Biao can live to be behind him, it will be difficult for him to survive. Totally impossible. It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding emperor after all. On the one hand, he felt that he would find a good doctor for Zhu Biao. On the other hand, it is to think about the backup plan if Zhu Biao cannot be saved.
This has nothing to do with the relationship between father and son, it is the instinct of an emperor. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang liked Zhu Biao, there was nothing he could do.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked He Xi and said, "He Xi, please tell me."
He Xi said: "The land in the southwest is the ancient Southwest Yi. The mountains are high and the roads are far away, Guizhou, haha." He Xi suddenly remembered that the place in Guizhou today was not called Guizhou. Guizhou was a name only given in the Ming Dynasty. He immediately changed his mind and said: "In many places, the land is not even three feet flat. Transportation is inconvenient. The chieftains are everywhere, making it difficult to rule. Even if we conquer it in the future, I am afraid we will have to send generals to guard it. But the land of Yunnan can be divided into Yunnan, and Outer Yunnan. Inner Yunnan is Kunming, one generation from Dali, and Outer Yunnan is one generation from Yunnan to the southwest. For the people of the Central Plains, the roads are difficult and the mountains and rivers are barren. But they are connected to Tianzhu. The Central Plains does not occupy Yunnan, but once it is owned by the Southwest, Then the southwest belongs to him, and Sichuan, Guangxi, and Huguang are all harmed by it. Today, the King of Liang is weak and has many soldiers but cannot use them. In the future, those who have Yunnan will not be like Liang King. What should the court do? "
"I think that for the long-term plan, we must go to Yunnan."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly after hearing this. I remembered what He Xi said about the Mu family. The only founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty were the Mu family, and the Ming Dynasty's last stand on land was only Yunnan. In fact, according to Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention, he did not necessarily intend to capture Yunnan. Later, the troops were mobilized, which was somewhat formal. Now Hexi's explanation of the history of the Ming Dynasty caused his thoughts to shift.
Although what He Xi said was that foreigners establishing a country in Yunnan would affect the Ming Dynasty. That's also the reason. But that's not the most important reason.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "This matter has been sent to the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army. We will discuss it carefully when your uncle Xu comes back from Peiping."
The prince said: "My son understands."
Zhu Yuanzhang then selected several of the memorials drafted by Song Lian that he was not satisfied with. When the prince met He Xi, he changed everything. While revising, I also educated the prince and He Xi on why they did this.
At the same time, it also made He Xi understand the current Ming Dynasty better.
The Ming Dynasty in the 14th year of Hongwu was completely different from the Ming Dynasty in many impressions. The status of a military commander is too high. Generally speaking, noble military ministers who have errands in their own provinces are superior to the entire three divisions. In order to train the garrison troops, prepare troops to guard against prisoners, to build cities, and to destroy rogue bandits. To resist Japanese pirates. etc.
All require noble military ministers from various places to be in charge.
In order to prevent this, Zhu Yuanzhang kept these military officials in place for a long time. They are so intertwined that they are divided and dominate. Frequently changed military ministers. He also frequently issued edicts, requiring ministers from various places not to interfere in civil affairs.
And frequent issuing of edicts does not mean one thing, that is, there are distinguished military ministers. Don't care about this at all. When the emperor was far away, he frequently interfered in political affairs.
This is also reflected in another aspect, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang himself is not interested in other wars except for the war in Beiyuan. He even had to mobilize troops against the King of Liang in Yunnan. Only then did he make up his mind to launch troops.
why is that?
This represents a change in Zhu Yuanzhang's mentality.
He felt that the biggest enemy was already inside, not outside. If we continue to fight foreign wars, if we lose, it will be a loss for the imperial court. If we win, it will be a loss for the imperial court. But the authority of the leading general increased. The threat to Zhu Yuanzhang increased.
In the lower reaches of history, many people feel that the inheritance of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years is set in stone. People at the time may not have thought so, and it had only been more than 20 years since Zhu Yuanzhang was crowned King of Wu. The Ming Dynasty's regime was far less entrenched than people imagined.
Many of the ad hoc wartime measures have remained in place, affecting the country. The most important point is that military commanders exercise power.
