As the first ethnic minority regime in Chinese history to conquer the entire country, the Yuan Dynasty was brutal and inhumane in its handling of ethnic relations. Specific performances include:
(1) The bloody massacre during the conquest. During the Mongolian cavalry's conquest of the Central Plains, whenever they encountered urban resistance, they often adopted the method of massacre, killing all the strong men, old and weak except the craftsmen, and plundering the remaining girls and boys as slaves (slaves, descendants, and grandchildren). enslaved for generations). Coupled with rape, robbery, and all kinds of evil, these cruel and bloody evil behaviors planted the seeds of hatred between the Han and Mongolian ethnic groups that will be difficult to eliminate for hundreds of years.
(2) The extremely unfair four-class system. When the Yuan Dynasty governed the country, it artificially divided the people into four classes of people: Mongolians, Semu people (the earliest ethnic minority group in the Western Regions conquered by Mongolia), Han people (the northerners under the original Jin Dynasty), and southerners ( Formerly a southerner under the Southern Song Dynasty). Then, let the Han and Southerners, who account for the largest population, work hard all their lives to support the Mongols and Semu people of the ruling class. Moreover, what is particularly egregious is that the lives and property of the Han and Southerners do not have any safety guarantee. They may be robbed, confiscated, humiliated, or killed at any time. There is no way to redress their grievances. They live a precarious and dark life of poverty.
(3) Blockage of the ascending channel. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there was always the imperial examination system as a way for nobles to rise. However, the standard for employment in the Yuan Dynasty was not ability and knowledge, but racial status. Han Chinese and Southerners were unable to hold important positions, while the vast majority of ordinary people were either treated as pigs and dogs for slaughter and trading because they were plundered, or they were reduced to landless poor peasants and farmers because their land was robbed and confiscated. Among the tenants, only a few became obedient citizens under the Yuan Dynasty because they betrayed their ancestors and dignity.
(4) Shameless financial plunder. At that time, the largest financial market in the country was in the hands of the Hui people (the predecessors of the Hui people). They managed property for the Mongolian nobles and squeezed the hard-earned money of the Han and Southerners through loan sharking and loan sharking. The so-called "lamb profit" refers to the agreement between the two parties that the principal and interest will be recovered when the sheep gives birth, and the interest rate is 100%. If the interest rate is not enough, the interest will be transferred to the principal the following year, and the principal will be interest again, and the interest will be the capital again. Basically, if ordinary people borrow this kind of loan, they are not far away from losing their families and dispersing their clans. "History of the Yuan Dynasty: Biography of Yelu Chucai": "The governors and officials of the prefectures and counties borrowed a lot of money from Jia people to repay the officials, and the interest accumulated several times. They said that the lamb's son was very profitable. Even if he enslaved his wife, it was still not enough to pay."
If the Yuan Dynasty was cruel and unkind in terms of ethnic relations, then it was corrupt and incompetent in its governance methods. The superstructure of the Yuan Dynasty completely lagged behind the economic foundation of the time. It adopted a feudal system mixed with slavery to govern the country, and allowed the Mongolian nobles to oppress the people.
The reason for this inversion between the economic base and the superstructure is that the Mongolian cavalry used their own bravery and killing to make up for the civilization gap between the nomadic people and the farming people, and used scimitars and massacre to conquer all forces that dared to resist.
The decay rate of the Yuan Dynasty's regime was much higher than that of the Tang and Song Dynasties because it did not establish a stable political structure from the beginning. Just like a house, the termites were not removed when it was first built. Instead, the termites were allowed to survive and reproduce. Then the termites gradually gnawed away the foundation, pillars, and rafters of the house. Finally, a gust of wind destroyed the inflexible house. The house was blown down, and the termites that were eating the house were also killed. It was a life and death situation.
Termites have existed since the founding of the Yuan Dynasty. The largest of the termites was Kublai Khan himself, who founded the Yuan Dynasty but also gnawed away at the foundations of the empire.
Kublai Khan was a warlike emperor. During his 35 years in power, he launched the war to destroy the Song Dynasty (win), conquer Goryeo (win), conquer Japan twice (defeat), pacify the rebellion in Haidu (win), and conquer Vietnam in the south (defeat). ), expedition to Burma (win), expedition to Champa (win), expedition to Java (defeat), northern expedition to Sakhalin (win), etc. 10 battles. These wars were won and lost. Although foreign wars promoted China's unification and territorial expansion, they also consumed countless manpower, material and financial resources.
Although a country is large, if it is warlike, it will perish. In order to cope with the huge military expenditure, Kublai Khan appointed a group of powerful ministers who were good at plundering the people's wealth and financial management, specializing in plundering wealth and exploiting the people. This created a corrupt, mean and incompetent political atmosphere, which led to the failure of foreign wars and the depletion of wealth for the people at home. situation.
In addition to military expenses, there were regular huge rewards from kings, religious expenses from monks and extravagance from the court. In this way, one year's income is not enough to cover a few months' expenses. There was no choice but to print more money in order for the court to have money to spend. The banknotes of the Yuan Dynasty originally had a sound reserve system, were issued in fixed amounts, could be cashed at any time, had a certain fixed ratio to the price, were circulated throughout the country, and had a good reputation. However, in the face of financial constraints, the court did not want to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, but resorted to the simplest and most violent method - printing money. After the reserves were used up, the banknotes became unredeemable banknotes. Coupled with the unlimited issuance, the more they were issued, the more the currency value fell, and the prices also skyrocketed. In the end, the banknotes became useless paper, and the finance and economy collapsed.
The political situation is almost as bad. Since Yuan Wuzong, opera singers, pig butchers, wine sellers, monks, and Taoist priests can become high officials as long as they have a way to please the emperor. In the local area, the kings and nobles killed people at will and recommended people to be officials at will. Landlords who broke the law and deserved to be killed could be pardoned as long as they were willing to spend money to smoothen their relationships. In the later stage, they simply sold their official positions and titles, clearly marked the price, and regarded national governance as child's play. In the pond of the Yuan Dynasty, high officials ate small officials, and small officials ate common people. Officials were no different from bandits, and the law of the forest was full of bullying.
As for the military, there is gold and jade on the outside, but failure on the inside. After the destruction of the Song Dynasty, the Mongolian cavalry that once swept across the Eurasian continent quickly deteriorated. With the passage of time, the horses were released in the Nanshan Mountains and could no longer wield the sharp scimitars. Most of the officers in the Yuan Dynasty were hereditary princes. Like the Eight Banners later, they knew how to eat, drink, and play, but they didn't understand military affairs. They wore bright clothes and angry horses, flew eagles and lackeys, withheld military rations, enslaved soldiers, oppressed the people, and used the power and violence in their hands to maintain the unstable Yuan Dynasty. In fact, they are more timid than ordinary people. When a common man is angry, he will even take five steps with blood splattered, but they will probably only bow forward and then bow, which makes people laugh.
Such a decadent Yuan Dynasty relied on corrupt bureaucrats and incompetent force to maintain oppression and enslavement of hundreds of millions of people. How could it be possible for long-term peace and stability, for the country and the people, and for national harmony? Just like a long-dilapidated house, it has gradually become rotten from the foundation to the pillars, riddled with holes, moldy and rotten everywhere, and cannot withstand the thunderous blow of the Red Turban Army.
