eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 731 Security Situation Conference
After the Great Court Meeting is changed to once every two years, many important ministers can return to Beijing.

Because it is already a common practice, there is no need for Zhu Houzhao to issue decrees one by one. They will clearly state this in the memorial. The general meaning is that the emperor and ministers see that the day is coming, so I will set off to see you.

Some people will also add something else, such as: Your Majesty, we have produced something good here recently, but it cannot grow over there in Beijing. I will bring you one to take a look at.

Zhu Houzhao's instructions every time were: people can come, but no things are allowed.

Now that Yan Song is from Guizhou, he can come to Beijing with basically no shortage of people.

However, the emperor has been obviously concerned about the security situation recently. Important court officials from Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangdong, Liaodong and other border areas have come to the palace to see the emperor one after another.

The chieftain system mentioned by Yan Song actually does not only exist in Guizhou, but actually exists in Guangxi, Sichuan, Liaodong, Gansu and even western Hunan.

Chieftain, this job title similar to the concept of chief, is not just one or two, but there are as many as a thousand.

This number was actually intentional by the court, and its effect was somewhat similar to the Tuen Order implemented in the early Han Dynasty - the smaller the chieftains were divided into smaller ones, it was better than having one big chieftain in each province.

Of course, some of the more than 1000 toasts were big, some were small, some were favored by the imperial court, and some wanted to take a piece of meat from the imperial court.So the actual situation is quite complicated.

In the early Ming Dynasty, due to its strong national power, it implemented expansion policies in many directions including the northwest, northeast, southwest and south.

But after these 100 years, it has become very difficult to take out these things and take a closer look - in fact, many emperors may not be willing to take them out and look at them.

"...it took less than 100 years to go from full-scale expansion to full-scale contraction. I don't want to mention the old things again. Since the old things are in the past, there is no need to mention them again. Today I am talking about the future."

As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao was bound by basic moral constraints. You can claim to take back areas such as Jiaozhi, Hetao, Hami, etc., but don't elaborate on who lost them. Otherwise, wouldn't it make the ancestors lose face?
"...This time Jinglu Hou won a great victory in the northwest, I made up my mind to expand the city in Hami and Xizhou (Tulupan) to attract the Han people. The Ming Dynasty will implement real rule. Otherwise, I will write a few words and say With a few words of "Long Live Long Live", we were sent away. We thought that the foreigners were convinced, but we didn't know that others still laughed at the fact that Ming Dynasty was just a bit better.

I have also been thinking about why the Han Dynasty was always able to attack remote areas but could not defend them, or could not defend them for a long time.The key is that those areas are not suitable for farming.But in today's Zhengde Dynasty, this problem should not exist. The Han people are hardworking and smart. In addition to farming, aren't they also doing good business?Haimao has confirmed this.And since maritime trade can enrich the national treasury, why can't the land trade routes also? "

The emperor's few words have already set the tone for the future.

The words are full of military tendencies.

This point is actually very unpopular among literati.

But Emperor Zhengde is not an ordinary person. He has settled accounts with the Ministry of Finance long ago. According to the situation of the treasury this year, even if two battles have been fought in a row, two more local wars this year will still not be a problem.

And this does not impose any additional taxes.

If we really want to use civilian power to a large extent, then an army of 50 will be organized.

Under this situation, it was difficult for them to stop the emperor from using troops.

But civil servants have never been afraid of trouble. Hearing what the emperor said, He Jian, the Minister of Household Affairs, was already panicked, "Your Majesty, the remote areas on the border have always been controlled by barbarian chiefs, and the war between Han and Hungary has already existed. The ancient saying goes: The land is not enough to be broad, and the people are not enough to be strong. It has been unavailable since ancient times. Such land ministers do not know what is the use of cutting off land? If they insist on doing so, it will lead to resistance from the border people, resulting in continuous wars and a waste of national power. ah!"

Zhu Houzhao still looked relaxed, "He Shangshu, don't be in such a hurry. I said that it will not be completed in one year, let alone send a large army to kill them all. Otherwise, our monarchs and ministers will not need to discuss it today. Decree Just mobilize the troops. The reason why the cabinet and the six ministries, as well as the nobles and local dignitaries of the court and local officials are called together today, is to divide them into different categories and adopt different strategies for different places. The strategy here not only includes methods, but also time. .You can rest assured.”

Yang Tinghe added: "I am thinking that your Majesty's intention today is to clarify the specific relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the countries in the four directions."

"Yes, it can be understood that way." "It's not all about conquest, right?" He Jian asked in a trembling voice.

Yan Song added: "Some chieftains themselves are familiar with Chinese characters and know Han rituals. They are devoted to the court and want to belong to the Central Plains. So of course not all of them will be conquered."

Zhou Shangwen also said: "Also, the imperial court still has control over some areas, and perhaps there is no need for a large army. For example, Liaodong."

Generally speaking, many people think that the Ming Dynasty lost control of Liaodong after canceling Nuergandusi, but this is not the case.

The Nurgan Dusi is essentially a recruitment agency, not a military organization. Its abolition does not mean that it no longer controls the garrison there. In fact, until the Wanli Year, the Liaodong Dusi had always had control over it.

Otherwise, why would Nurhachi be a minister of the Ming Dynasty?It’s not that the situation is stronger than the person, so I have to bow my head.

However, the guards in the original Nuergandusi area were indeed more like the chieftain system, that is, the court used chiefs to reflect its local rule.

The problem arises when it is really time to levy taxes and deploy troops.If you pay, you might be able to do it. If you don't pay, some health centers will ignore you.

The reason why Zhu Houzhao had to find trouble with these people was because it was indeed the officials of the Ming Dynasty in the southwest and northeast who were causing trouble.

There was the Yang Yinglong Rebellion in Bozhou in the southwest, and he was a big chieftain himself.

There is no need to mention the Northeast. It basically killed Ming Dynasty.

Now that Zhu Houzhao had this opportunity, of course he couldn't do nothing.

However, the chieftain system is a basic system that has lasted for more than 1000 years. It is impossible to change it suddenly. As Yan Song said, the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous, and the army cannot enter. How can we conquer it?Even if they win, it will be difficult to rule effectively because of the inconvenience of transportation.

This is what he meant by classification. Those who should be appeased should be appeased temporarily, and those who should be dealt with should be dealt with quickly.

It's not that they are simply and crudely intent on launching a war. In this sense, they are indeed not fooling He Jian and other veterans.

"He Shangshu, do you understand?"

He Jianze said: "Having said that, the court's policy has become tougher, and border wars are inevitable."

Zhu Houzhao didn't care about this.

"Yan Song."

"The minister is here."

"You have been in remote areas for several years. The pros and cons of the chieftain system and how the court should deal with it must be in your mind. Today the core of our Ming Dynasty is here. Listen. I will say one more thing. At the gate of the country, the king died in the country. I am a member of the Zhu family. Naturally, I want to open up territory for the Ming Dynasty and eliminate these threats for future generations. Otherwise, how can I be a weak ruler who is contented to live in a corner? "

The emperor's words were somewhat harsh, and the palace suddenly became quite quiet.

(End of this chapter)