amaotonovel Chapter 704 Well, when it comes to being a person, one must be flexible with standards.
Chapter 704 Well, when it comes to being a person, one must be flexible with standards.
Yang Shaofeng stared blankly at Emperor Zhu and asked, "How much?"
Holy crap, more than two thousand chieftains?
How big is your Great Meng territory? How come you have more than two thousand chieftains of all sizes?
Good heavens, more than two thousand states within states that don't pay taxes, is your Ming Dynasty's treasury so poor that it's practically bankrupt?
Moreover, do you, old Deng, even realize how many landmines your Tusi policy has planted for your Ming Dynasty? And how much infamy it has brought upon your Ming Dynasty?
As we all know, history books are like a little girl who can be dressed up however one pleases.
From the Hongwu reign to the Yongle reign, the number of Tusi (chieftains) surged through a combination of military conquest and political appeasement. This can be described as "the Tusi system reached its zenith, with the Ming Dynasty nominally controlling the largest area in history, but its actual military presence was weak, and it only maintained tributary relations with the Tusi in Southeast Asia."
In conclusion: You're such a weakling.
During the Zhengtong to Chenghua periods, events such as the overseas students' "three expeditions to Luchuan" and Chenghua's "multiple constructions with limited strength" strategy to divide the power of the major chieftains, and the frequent changes in the administration and restoration of chieftainships in Guangxi, can be described as "policy mistakes leading to disputes, and the division of chieftains to balance power."
In conclusion: You're such a weakling.
During the Hongzhi to Jiajing periods and the Longqing to Chongzhen periods, the Ming Dynasty relinquished control over the chieftains in northern Burma, retaining only the "Three Xuan" (referring to the three Xuan chieftains). Some minor chieftains in Guangxi were replaced by centrally appointed officials. These events can be described as "the impact of external forces (such as the Toungoo Dynasty) and the large-scale defection of chieftains from the outlying areas of Yunnan."
In conclusion: You're such a weakling.
Moreover, the chieftains of the Daqing were considered to have actual control over the territory, but can the chieftains of your Meng be the same as the chieftains of the Daqing?
As for the White-Spear Soldiers, who belonged to the Ming Dynasty's Lin Gai region before they could mobilize local chieftain troops for combat?
That must be because your Great Meng is militaristic and oppressive towards the chieftains.
Well, when it comes to being a person, you have to be flexible with your standards.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was secretly complaining, Emperor Zhu snorted and said, "The chieftains are also people, and they are also people who have been exploited by the Hu Yuan. If they are willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty, can we send troops to forcibly push them over? If we forcibly push them over all the way, where else will be willing to submit to our Ming Dynasty?"
After a few forced words to salvage his image, Emperor Zhu spat angrily and cursed, "You dog-like Hu Yuan!"
Speaking of this, Emperor Zhu was also very angry.
Hu Yuan just spouts nonsense all day long. As long as it gets them money, there seems to be nothing they wouldn't dare to do. In Hunan alone, they've created dozens of caves and villages of all sizes.
That's Hunan, damn it!
My goodness! When those officials and soldiers came, they changed their clothes and acted like barbarians. The officials and soldiers continued to speak Chinese and write Chinese characters. They might even have family genealogies. They were actually the damn cave barbarians and village barbarians.
What's even more infuriating is that these so-called cave barbarians and village barbarians are not easy to deal with.
Let's just leave it alone. Although those chieftains, including the Dongman and Zhaiman, are obedient, they don't pay taxes like those in areas ruled by officials. Moreover, the chieftain positions are hereditary.
But if we send troops to directly overrun them, they have already surrendered and accepted the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
Moreover, the existence of these chieftains served another purpose.
Thousands of dollars to buy horse bones.
Just as Chang Yuchun used Yang Shaofeng as a "horse bone" (a metaphor for a historical figure), the existence of these chieftains such as the Dongman and Zhaiman was also a kind of "horse bone" in another sense.
At the very least, it can make many forces that are hesitant about whether to surrender to the Ming Dynasty believe that the Ming Dynasty will treat them properly and will not directly kill them.
Anyway, all sorts of messy factors combined have led to the current situation.
Seeing Emperor Zhu's frustrated and helpless expression, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.
What does a goose call again?
Yeah, that's right.
Who told you not to eliminate the Tusi (chieftains) from the beginning?
Emperor Zhu sighed softly, but then he noticed Yang Shaofeng looking like he wanted to laugh but dared not.
So, this bastard must be laughing at his father-in-law, right?
Damn it, he's going to drive us crazy sooner or later!
Emperor Zhu snorted coldly and said with a forced smile, "Anyway, that's the situation with the Tusi. Our Biao'er wrote a letter saying that he wants to implement the policy of replacing Tusi with centrally appointed officials for some of the Tusi. This matter will fall on your shoulders."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback, then flew into a rage.
You black sesame glutinous rice ball!
Before I, as your brother-in-law, have even had a chance to cause you any trouble, you've already come to annoy me.
Alright, alright, let's see how it goes!
Yang Shaofeng pondered how to respond to Zhu Biao, but said with a smile, "They are just some cave barbarians and village barbarians. With a little trickery, I can make them obediently submit."
What?
Emperor Zhu stared blankly at Yang Shaofeng.
What did that bastard just say?
A mere few?
A little trick?
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "Those Dongman, Zhaiman, or other Tusi (chieftains) probably don't have registered households under their rule, and they're not even listed in the county's official register?"
Tusi (chieftains) registered the population through local "Tuji" (local registers) or "Yiji" (barbarian registers). However, this registration was only used by the court to collect taxes from the Tusi or to conscript soldiers. Moreover, the taxes collected were mainly in kind and not very large. Therefore, the court did not care whether the Tusi's Tuji were accurate.
Yang Shaofeng continued, "The reason why the chieftains are so unruly is mainly because they control the people under their rule. If they no longer have the people under their rule, then those chieftains are not a threat. What do you think, Father-in-law?"
Emperor Zhu thought to himself, "Isn't this obvious?"
The reason why Tusi (chieftains) are Tusi lies in their characteristics of "hereditary official position, hereditary land, and hereditary people".
If it weren't for the local people under their rule, who the hell would care about the lives of the chieftains?
Emperor Zhu glanced at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "What, do you want to lure those natives to Liaodong on their own?"
"Leaving aside whether those chieftains are willing or not, even if those chieftains don't stop them, do you think those natives will trust the imperial court?"
"Even if those natives were willing to trust the imperial court, they don't even have household registration books, so how could they migrate to Liaodong?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "My solution is to first establish a set of household registration management rules, such as changing the registration from native to civilian."
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback. Yang Shaofeng continued, "When the local people see that the Han people have installed water pumps and no longer have to worry about drinking water and irrigation, they will definitely want to install water pumps as well. However, since they belong to the local people, whether they can install water pumps and when to install them is up to their chieftain."
"Of course, if some local people come to the yamen with their family genealogy and claim that their family has been Han Chinese for generations, and request to change their Han nationality back and register as citizens with the government, then I can only help them change it back, can't I?"
"As for whether their chieftain will stop them, or whether anyone will worry about offending the chieftain because of this..."
"Anyway, I don't think their leader can control Liaodong."