The chieftain issue is a legacy of history, the result of imperial power compromising and appeasing local areas.
Zhu Yuanzhang chose to recognize and support the chieftain system out of national justice, the need to stabilize the place, and win the support of the chieftains. Although he gave the chieftain chief an official position and a symbolic tax, in essence, the chieftain was more like the country of the Ming Dynasty. .
In Zhu Yunwen's view, all places that cannot be controlled by the civil administration of the court, cannot enter with troops, and cannot be punished with punishments, cannot be regarded as the territory of the Ming Dynasty in the true sense, but are a kind of territory that is allowed to be divided by others under the guise of appeasement and restraint. The matter of breaking up the territory.
It is undeniable that Zhu Yuanzhang had a good attitude towards the chieftains during the Hongwu period, and indeed stabilized the southwestern provinces to a large extent, such as Guizhou, which has not been in chaos for more than 20 years, which is partly due to his respect for the chieftains.
But this kind of credit is based on recognizing the Ming Dynasty, surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, and being willing to contribute to the Ming Dynasty. However, there are really not many chieftain leaders with this kind of ideological consciousness. What is sad is that among these few people, The most important thing is the two women.
"Different stages have different tasks. The same system may not be suitable for the current situation. When the time comes, when it is time to reform, we need to boldly reform instead of being tied up by the old system."
Zhu Yunwen taught Zhu Wenkui seriously.
Zhu Wenkui watched Zhu Yunwen pick up his pen and draw a curve, and said: "Father said that the road ahead is tortuous, but as long as the direction is right, the whole thing is still moving forward. A full-scale reform of the country may indeed hurt some. People who have surrendered to the imperial court for many years, but judging from the general situation, it is still necessary to change their native land and return to their hometown."
Zhu Yunwen put down his writing brush and said happily: "The system created by my father is not an eternal law. Just like the salary system, with the further development of the civil and commercial economy, especially the gold of Timur's country, it is determined to travel far away." The province's silver will become a steady stream of reserves. After ten years, the currency will inevitably depreciate in a controlled manner. Correspondingly, the income of people and businessmen will increase, and the salaries of officials cannot always stay where they were ten years ago."
"The Ming Dynasty is like the train developed by the Craftsman Academy. The train needs to run fast and well. It needs to be constantly repaired, replaced with old parts, and solved one problem after another. Even some key parts, as long as there are more suitable If it works, you should use courage to try it. After you try it out, you can run it, verify it, and improve it.”
The development philosophy of later generations told Zhu Yunwen that the only constant in the world is change.
Lao Zhu wanted a law that would remain unchanged for thousands of years, and wanted to build a solid model empire by his own will, but he overlooked one point. The Ming Dynasty is not a Luban Lock, and it will not collapse if it is built solidly.
The more solid it is, the easier it is to have problems. Lao Zhu did not see through the principle that running water does not rot and door hinges do not suffer from beetles.
Zhu Yunwen has been teaching Zhu Wenkui to understand change and immutability, to understand what can be fine-tuned and what cannot be compromised.
Xie Jin, Yang Shiqi, Mei Yin, Gu Pu, and Hu Hui asked to see them and entered the hall to salute.
Zhu Yunwen sat down with a smile on his face: "Have the details of Wala's surrender been discussed?"
Neither Tie Xuan nor Yang Rong were in the capital. Gu Pu temporarily led the military department, stood up, and raised a document above his head: "It has been discussed, please see the emperor."...
The chamberlain handed the document to Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen opened the document and looked at it carefully.
Out of respect for the nobles such as Mahamu, Batu Polo, and Nilehu, and because they surrendered on their own initiative, Ming Dynasty did not criticize them harshly. In addition to clarifying the identities of the three "kings", they also assigned responsibilities to them. Their official residence pays them a salary of three thousand guan every year. Although this treatment is not as good as that of the Ming vassal kings, it is much better than that of the high officials of the imperial court.
The Ming Dynasty allowed Mahamu and others to retain up to twenty people to serve as palace guards. It allowed Mahamu, Batu Polo, Nieliehu's descendants or selected people to enter the Imperial College to study corresponding courses after passing the Imperial College examination. Their status limits the content of their practice. The Ming Dynasty promised not to massacre the Oara tribe and ensure the safety of the Oara tribe if the Oara tribe obeyed the court.
…
Wala promised to hand over the horses and reduced the number of horses to five for every 100 people.
Wala promised to hand over weapons, including sabers, leather armor, and bows with a killing range of more than 150 steps.
Wala guaranteed the tribe's surrender, accepted Ming's resettlement, obeyed Ming's orders, and moved to a suitable nomadic land.
Oara promised to support the Ming Dynasty in entering the grassland, building cities, and supporting the Oara people to accept the enlightenment of the Ming Dynasty.
Wala promised to obey the management of the Ming court and pay taxes to the court with cattle, sheep, and horses.
There are many terms and details.
Zhu Yunwen was quite satisfied with the result and said to Gu Pu and others: "It really surprises me that Mahamu and the others can accept such harsh conditions."
Mei Yin smiled and said: "The appearance of the train gave Ming a complete upper hand in negotiations. Mahamu and the others had been on the train and experienced the lightning speed. They knew that Wala was no longer a match for Ming, and they did not raise much objection during the negotiations. I didn’t even bargain for my salary.”
Zhu Yunwen put down the document and stood up and said: "I have no objection to these terms. The cabinet will draft the letter of credence on my behalf. I will sign the letter of credence with Mahamu and others the next day. After New Year's Day, I will send a large army to fight with Mahamu. Mu and others went with them to the Wala Pasture."
Xie Jin and Yang Shiqi agreed easily.
Zhu Yunwen walked to the map hanging on the side and pointed to the north grassland: "The surrender of the Wala is only the first step. Although the Wala agreed to the harsh conditions and the threat to the Ming Dynasty is extremely low, I still do not allow the large Wala ethnic group to If there are too many people, trouble will easily arise if they get together."
Yang Shiqi frowned slightly and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, do you mean to break Wala into several parts?"
Hu Xi came out and agreed: "Although the main force of the Wala has been lost in Western Xinjiang, the tribe's population is still large, and its strength cannot be underestimated. It is a good strategy to break it into several parts and place them separately. Just like the Yuan Ting Yi Divided into three, they became Uliangha, Tatar and Oara, which caused their overall strength to decline and they could only fight among themselves."
"The imperial court can take this opportunity to divide the Oara into three or five parts. The original grazing land of Ulyanha is gone, and some Oara people can be relocated. The main Tatar force is also gone. Many excellent people in Eastern Mongolia are gone. The pastures can also be used for grazing.”
Xie Jin seconded the opinion: "Dividing Oara into several parts and keeping them far away from each other can indeed weaken Oara. Over time, under education, with the city on its side, Oara can only obey and cannot threaten the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Yunwen stared at the map and did not agree with the ideas of Yang Shiqi, Hu Hui and others, but said solemnly: "It is right to divide Wala into separate arrangements. But what you said is divided into three and one into five, which is not enough. In my opinion, dividing the tiles into three hundred and five hundred is the right way."
(End of chapter)
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