eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 733 One direction, two strategies, N rules

Zhu Houzhao could feel that several people had their eyes on Wang Kui, the leader of the cabinet. However, Wang Kui had his arms hanging down, nothing unusual, and he seemed to have no intention of expressing any opinions.

It seems to be beneficial to have such a person as your leader.

Having said that, if the imperial court wanted to change the system of chieftains that had never been changed, it would actually be difficult to gain public approval at once, and Zhu Houzhao's words did not form a trend of crowds.

Maybe they still have doubts in their minds.

Yang Tinghe has always been calm and sober. Without talking about the rest, he opened his mouth and said: "The system of chieftains has existed since ancient times. The harm caused by chieftains is indeed a fact. There is no room for others to sleep soundly beside the couch. Your Majesty wants to get rid of the chieftains who have led tens of thousands of troops. I think it's a disaster. However, the chieftains are spread across seven provinces, each in the southeast and northwest. There are no less than a thousand chieftains, big and small, and the folk customs and languages ​​of dozens of ethnic groups are all incomprehensible. If it is said that it needs to be changed, where should it be changed? If we want to change, where should we change?”

"Well," Zhu Houzhao immediately confirmed him, "Mr. Yang Ge always either doesn't speak, but once he speaks, it makes people's heads clear up a lot. This question is well raised, and it touches my heart. I just told He Shangshu, Today's political discussion is not for the purpose of fighting a big war. As long as the goal is achieved, it is best not to fight. So this method is very important, and the direction is also very important.

The toast problem is complicated, but no matter how complicated the problem is, there are only a few solutions.First of all, the direction of the court cannot be changed, there is only one direction: to change the native officials to the official officials, which is to change the native officials and return them to the current officials.This is my wish. Even if the historians don’t write good things about me, I won’t blame them. Yan Song just said that the native chiefs are not good people. They are nominally part of the Ming Dynasty. They are my territory and the people who live there are My people.

In the Central Plains, if the officials I appointed and trained carelessly about human life, I would still be blamed.Why do these chieftains just let it go when they harm the people?That doesn't make sense.Even if any of you say any truth, I will not recognize it, and I will not recognize it even to death! "

Zhu Houzhao said the last sentence seriously.

"If the country is governed by principles, it is called making decisions for the people and enforcing justice for heaven. If the country is governed by skills, it is called winning over the hearts and minds of the people. When the hearts of the people are at peace, the world will be at peace. Therefore, reforming the land and returning it to its current state is unchangeable. I will never be able to finish it in this lifetime. You must leave a legacy and ask future generations to carry it out from generation to generation."

The emperor's words seemed to embolden military attachés like Duke Cheng and Marquis Jinglu. As long as the court continued to use troops, they would have a steady stream of contributions.

Duke Cheng Guo simply made his attitude clear. He said: "The noble family lives and dies with the Ming Dynasty. I am willing to go forward for your majesty and wipe out the disloyal ministers!"

"Whether it's a matter of pacification or not depends on what I'm going to say next. The goal of reforming the country has been set, and there are only two methods to be used, either to conquer or to appease."

Yang Tinghe quickly realized that something was wrong, "The chieftains from all over the Ming Dynasty all called themselves ministers of the Ming Dynasty. Since they have already become ministers, how can they talk about recruiting them?"

This is universal self-comfort.

The reason is also very simple: I have obviously surrendered to you!
Zhu Houzhao disagreed, "During the Hongwu period, the court stipulated that when an old chieftain dies, his successor must come to the capital to take orders. Have they entered the capital? No, how come I heard that some chieftains, when their husbands die, their wives will take their place? What does this mean? ? In order to avoid disaster in the future, what does it mean to ask for canonization from the imperial court? Behead first and report later? Or should you be a substitute?
In addition, the imperial court stipulated the amount of tribute that chieftains should pay, and also fixed the number of people who should pay tribute since Hongzhi. However, it often happened that the tribute was expired and the tribute was not enough.It can be said that the imperial court's control over these places is far less than that of the Central Plains.These people even have some tempers themselves and want to raise troops to attack the Ming Dynasty. This is true in orthodoxy, but does it not exist in righteousness?There won’t be any after Zhengde? "

"Your Majesty means..."

Zhu Houzhao had already thought about it, "My meaning is simple. Either don't make rules, or if you make them, they must be implemented."

Yang Tinghe frowned. If we get serious, we will definitely fight, and the battle will not be small. The key methods are too fierce, which can easily cause these people to join forces to resist.

When he was about to say something, Yan Song spoke, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"Say."

"Yes. The two strategies His Majesty mentioned are one for conquest and the other for appeasement. I think you can change your explanation." Yan Song curled his lips, "Instead of using martial arts to determine the world, and using culture and education to transform people from afar. The so-called martial arts does not require More words. The so-called culture and education, or appeasement, does not necessarily only include being a minister, but also education. For example, when a chieftain comes to Beijing to serve as a minister, the court can impose conditions on the successor, such as learning Chinese, being proficient in Confucianism, and being loyal and filial. Only such people can inherit the etiquette and understand the righteousness of the emperor and his ministers."

"I remember that there was such a rule in the past, encouraging chieftains to study in the Imperial College." "In the past, it was for win-win, but now it is for assimilation. The reason is also very simple. Chieftains are officials of the Ming Dynasty. If you don’t understand what you say, how can you do it? And if you don’t obey, you will be replaced by an official to govern you. If you still don’t obey, you will be punished. And so on. "

Zhu Houzhao narrowed his eyes and smiled a little.

This was a method that Yan Song had secretly discussed with him before.

There is no need to talk about conquest. At this point, it is a military issue.The key lies in appeasement, and the appeasement policy is accompanied by multiple specific methods.

For example, if a certain rule is made to the chieftain, if the chieftain refuses to obey, he will be replaced by an official who will be replaced to govern. If he still resists, he will be beaten.If everyone listens, it will basically be a peaceful withdrawal.

Because there are many detailed methods.

Wang Hua asked: "How to understand this and so on?"

Yan Song saluted the senior, "Just as His Majesty said just now, the native people are also the people of the Ming Dynasty. How the Ming Dynasty manages the officials in the Central Plains is how it manages the officials of the chieftains. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the present, one generation has allowed the other to do so. Are the officials under the rule tyrannical, licentious, and domineering? Is there a time when officials were allowed to conscript, seize, and be arbitrary and harsh? Is there a time when officials were allowed to build private armies and specialize in robbery and killing?!"

After asking three questions in a row, he turned to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I believe that since the Ming Dynasty is China and your Majesty is the emperor, we should abide by the mandate of heaven, obey the will of the people, and strictly define the boundaries of the chieftains' actions. They should not be allowed to act arbitrarily without anyone to rule them. Otherwise, they will not be able to rule. Just one local emperor within a few hundred miles? But our Ming Dynasty can only have one emperor and cannot accommodate so many local emperors!"

Zhu Houzhao nodded with satisfaction, and even looked at the veterans with a bit of complacency. He seemed to be saying, so what, I am not just using a mediocre person to joke about national affairs, right?
I really don't dare to refute the words "Tu Emperor". This is a major issue of principle.

"Dear dear friends, I don't know if you heard what Yan Song said, but I did. To put it more simply, the imperial court wants to manage those places well, and the chieftain who is willing to work with the imperial court, I Not only will they not conquer, they will also double the rewards. If they are unwilling, the court must have an attitude.

I don’t like the concept of claiming the land from the world. This word makes my head swell. He claimed the land of the Ming Dynasty in name, so what do I take?We still need to make it clear that it is not the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Don’t worry about the half-hearted thoughts of our monarchs and ministers. Since it belongs to the Ming Dynasty, we must govern it well, give the people land, establish Confucian sacred learning, and promote the style of the Han Dynasty. The local people There may be some eccentric talents and brave generals among them. The court should give them opportunities so that they can be used by me, don’t you think?

The Cabinet has to deal with this matter.Set rules for the chieftains, and they must open schools and recruit troops in the local area.Those who have passed the examination can be sent back to serve as officials. The local officials are also officials of the imperial court, and I should also appoint them.The chieftains from various places had to provide strong soldiers to the court according to the size of their households. If they performed meritorious service on the battlefield, they would also be granted titles.In a word, since he is a minister of the Ming Dynasty, he must obey the orders of the court.When will this specific rule be finalized?Wang Hao, Yang Tinghe, Zhang Cong, you are the elders of the pavilion. Please tell me a time. "

Wang Hao, who had been silent until now, finally raised his eyebrows and said, "Your Majesty, I have a question. Please give me your Majesty's orders."

"Say."

"The issue of reforming the land to return to local rule is extremely susceptible to fierce resistance from chieftains in various places, and may even lead to continuous wars. Even so, do we still have to change?"

Zhu Houzhao: "It must be changed, whether it is courtesy first and then soldiers, or soldiers first and then courtesy, it must be changed."

"Then it is better to be polite first and then to fight. I have just thought about it carefully. It would be better for the court to proceed step by step based on the principle of first easy before difficult, first small before big, first near and then far."

It doesn't matter, the method is not important, achieving the goal is the most important.

"Who is the most difficult?" the emperor asked with murderous intent.

I don’t know which ones are easy and which ones are difficult, but as an emperor, he must care about the most difficult ones, and just do the easy ones normally.

(End of this chapter)