Daming Yuanfu

Cao Yan was the first to express his stance, which created a situation: Everyone, now is the time to stand in line and express your stance... Do you understand what I mean?

Of course "everyone" understands, but they just regret that they reacted too slowly and failed to take the lead. But it doesn't matter, as long as you follow up as soon as possible, you will probably get some recognition from Yuan Fu, which is more important than anything else.

Seeing that all the generals were subconsciously puffing up their chests, Gao Qingshi reached out to stop him and shouted softly: "Wait a minute!"

Many generals had already opened their mouths, but now with Gao Pingshi's drink, they could only swallow their words quickly and listen to what Yuan Fu said first.

Gao Jingshi took a deep breath, looked around at everyone, frowned slightly, and said: "King Shunyi has been loyal to the late emperor and me for so many years, sent troops to accompany him on several expeditions, and made many achievements, which is obvious to everyone in the world.

Our heavenly dynasty honors filial piety and respects loyalty, and has always governed all nations with royal principles. We will not punish those who are not stubborn and inflexible, and we will not conquer those who are not stubborn and unreformed. Since the three generations of holy kings, virtue has flourished here! Since our dynasty thrives on this, why should we betray it today?

From the perspective of this pavilion, King Shunyi believes in loyalty and is respectful and self-reflective. How could he make a mistake because of a pasture? Not to mention that if the result is like this, it is actually abandoning the basic and chasing the weak, losing the big because of the small, which is not what a wise person does. "

Gao Pragmatic's words completely rejected Li Chengliang's idea of ​​"destroying the Tumute and settling the northern border". Of course, he also rejected the proposal to win the so-called "Duke on behalf of the country" title for himself through this move.

His words were taken from a very high position. He made this idea the opposite of "loyalty, filial piety" and "royalty", and questioned it with "virtue", which shows that he is really firmly opposed to it.

If Gao pragmatism is just a rotten scholar, his words will definitely be regarded as rotten by the generals. However, the problem is that this is not the first day that the generals have met Gao Yuanfu or dealt with him. Who among them doesn't know that Gao Yuanfu always acts from an extremely realistic standpoint and makes the most realistic decisions?

Kingly way? How much is Wangdao worth?

Don't you see that the King of North Korea, Li Huan, served the dynasty as if he were his biological father, but Gao Yuanfu turned around and asked North Korea to "sincerely submit", "please return again", and "please submit three times"?

Now look at North Korea. There are three major members: the governor, the governor, and the commander-in-chief. Tens of thousands of heavenly soldiers are stationed in Seoul and Pyongyang. Tens of thousands of Jurchens are stationed in various places... There will even be another A-type army "Seoul First Army" in the future. Suppress North Korea!
Haha, kingly way? This thing of Wang Dao is worth a lot of money in Gao Yuanfu's heart, which shows!
But having said that, the most critical thing in Gao Yuanfu's words just now is obviously not the first ones, but the last sentence: "Not to mention the consequences, if it is like this, it is really a matter of neglecting the basic and chasing the last, losing the big because of the small, which is not the behavior of a wise man. "

What does this mean? Could it be that such a large river loop is actually "mo" or "small"? If the Hetao is the end and the small, then what is the beginning and the big?
All the generals were confused and made their own guesses. Some people thought: Could it be that Yuan Fu wanted to promote King Shunyi to another level, from a two-character king to a one-character king? But not only was King Shunyi not a member of the Zhu Ming clan, he was even a Mongolian. Is there any precedent for this?

What is a one-word king? Taking the Ming Dynasty as an example, the word "wang" means "prince". Princes of the Ming Dynasty are generally kings named after ancient countries, such as: King Qi, King Qin, King Zhao, King Yan, King Wei, King Han, King Chu, etc. Most of these kings and titles were named after the vassal states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because the country name only had one character, they were commonly known as one-character kings.

In the Ming Dynasty, the full name of Yiziwang was "the king of a certain country", such as the king of Qi, the king of Korea, the king of Qin, etc. It's just that although he is called the king of a certain country, he actually does not have an actual fiefdom now, it is just in name.

The one-character kings of the Ming Dynasty were all princes. Generally speaking, except for the emperor's eldest son who inherited the throne, all other princes were crowned princes. For example, the title of Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, is King of Yan, or King of Yan for short.

As for the two-character kings, they are all county princes. Except for the eldest son who inherits the title of prince, the prince's sons are all named county princes and are named after the county.

For example, Zhu Zhen, the sixth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, was granted the title of King of Chu. After his death, his eldest son Zhu Mengran inherited the title of King of Chu, and the other concubines and youngest sons were granted the title of county princes. These princes were all based on the local counties of Chu State. Named, such as Shouchang County Prince, Jiangxia County Prince, etc.

So take the king of Jiangxia County as an example. He is usually referred to as the King of Jiangxia. Since the title is two characters, it is commonly known as the two-character king.

Therefore, all the one-character kings in the Ming Dynasty were princes, and their titles only had one character. The two-character kings are both county kings, and their titles are both two-character. But having said that, in China before the Tang Dynasty, the relationship between the one-character king and the two-character king was still relatively confusing.

Before the Western Jin Dynasty, there was no distinction between princes and princes in China. In the early years of the Han Dynasty, many clans were granted the title of kings, and some were named after their country names, such as the King of Qi, the King of Chu, and the King of Wei. Some are named after counties, such as Jinan King, Linzi King, and Changsha King. But no matter how they are named, everyone's level is the same, they are all kings.

During the Western Jin Dynasty, the title of county prince appeared for the first time, but at that time there were no clear regulations on the naming of princes and princes. The princes of the Western Jin Dynasty can also be named after two characters, such as Sima Yue, the king of East China Sea, Sima Yi, the king of Changsha, Sima Ying, the king of Chengdu, Sima Yong, the king of Hejian, and Sima Liang, the king of Runan. Although these kings are all named after counties. , but also a prince.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang court officially distinguished between princes and county princes, clarifying that the title of the prince was the name of the ancient country, using one character; the title of the prince was the name of the county, using two characters.

By the Ming Dynasty, the title system of the royal family was basically complete. The prince was the "king of a certain country" and the prince was the "king of a certain county."

In the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, except for very special circumstances, princes were basically only granted to the royal family, while princes could grant titles to meritorious officials. For example, the historical national hero Zheng Chenggong in the late Ming Dynasty was named King of Yanping County by the Nanming government, or King Yanping for short. He was a two-character king.

At the beginning, the Nanming government wanted to make Zheng Chenggong a prince, and they had already thought of a name, King of Chao Kingdom. However, Zheng Chenggong refused to resign, because there was no precedent in the Ming Dynasty for conferring the title of prince on a hero with a different surname (but there were some who were granted the title of prince after death), so Emperor Yongli changed his title to the prince of Yanping.

However, the titles of kings with different surnames are usually not inherited, and their descendants are demoted to Dukes and passed down as Dukes. For example, Xu Da's title is King of Zhongshan, and the title of his descendants is Duke of Wei.

Of course, in times of trouble, some rules are no longer strict, and there are cases where kings with different surnames take over the title. Speaking of the Zheng family, after Zheng Chenggong died, his son Zheng Jing inherited the title of Prince of Yanping County.

However, these are all about canonizing Han people as kings, or even if they are not Han people, they are domestic minority ethnic groups with a high degree of Sinicization. So, is there any statement or precedent for canonizing Mongolians?

There is also.

According to the "Records of the Ming Dynasty", in the sixth year of Yongle, Mahamu, the leader of the Oara tribe in Mongolia, and others responded to the Ming Dynasty's call and sent envoys to "come to pay tribute to the horse, and sincerely, please seal the envelope."

In the seventh year of Yongle, the Ming Dynasty conferred the titles of Mahamu, Taiping, and Baltupolo as the Three Kings of Shunning, Xianyi, and Anle; in the eleventh year of Yongle, the leader of the Mongolian Tatar Tribe, Alutai, "can follow the way of heaven and come back with flying colors. I would like to accept the seal and be a subordinate of the emperor." So the Ming Dynasty also conferred the title of King Hening on Alutai. At this point, the Ming Dynasty and Eastern and Western Mongolia formally established tribute relationships respectively.

However, it must be explained here that the above canonizations are not the same as the current situation of King Shunyi Han Naji, and should not be used as an analogy. why? Because the mentality of the recipients is completely different.

The canonizations just mentioned are more reflected and emphasized in the official records of the Ming Dynasty that the great Mongolian feudal lords such as Mahamu and Arutai took the initiative to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, accept the Ming Dynasty's titles, and pay homage to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty paid tribute. However, this view of the Ming Dynasty is actually somewhat different from Mongolia's true view and attitude towards paying tribute, or even contradicts it.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty's canonization of Mongolian kings such as King Shunning and King Hening during the Yongle period was the product of the fierce melee and hegemony between East and West Mongolia when Mongolia was internally divided and the power of the Great Khan was declining, in which the Ming Dynasty actively intervened.

In the situation of confrontation between Ming Dynasty and Mongolia at that time, for Oara and Eastern Mongolia, whoever could obtain the support of the Ming Dynasty would gain an advantage in the struggle for hegemony. Therefore, accepting imperial edicts, sending envoys to pay tribute, and establishing tribute relations with the Ming Dynasty became strategies and means adopted by both sides competing for hegemony.

Therefore, whether it is Mahamu and others, or Arutai, the real motivation and purpose of accepting the Ming Dynasty's seal and envelope is to exchange for political and economic support and help from the Ming Dynasty, so as to isolate and attack opponents in the internal struggle for hegemony and defeat them. other side.

For them, establishing a tribute relationship with the Ming Dynasty was just a means and tool for the two sides to compete for hegemony. Its significance was to achieve political union with the Ming Dynasty and obtain the huge economic benefits brought by the title in order to strengthen themselves. strength, and at the same time use the power of the Ming Dynasty to attack opponents, especially for the disadvantaged party. This was also the reason why Wala accepted the title of nobility from the Ming Dynasty earlier.

It can be seen from this that for them, paying tribute was more of an expedient measure for the sake of hegemony than surrender to the Ming Dynasty, and it did not completely represent their true "willingness to be subordinates" , became a respectful vassal of the Ming Dynasty. Once you gain an advantage in the competition for hegemony, this attitude and view will become more obvious and direct.

For example, Wala Mahamu and others took advantage of the new defeat of Eastern Mongolia to the Ming Dynasty, defeated Arutai repeatedly, attacked and killed Benya Shili Khan, and appointed Dariba as the puppet khan. Their power greatly increased, and they temporarily occupied the grassland and competed for hegemony. The advantage. Therefore, in the 11th year of Yongle's reign, he sent an envoy to the Ming Dynasty to request that "Gansu and Ningxia surrendered to the Tatars, and many of their relatives were asked to be subordinates." Moreover, "there were many requests for Tatars, and the expressions were inconsistent." Buyan Buhua from Eastern Mongolia also reported to the Ming Dynasty that Wala "has been proud and rude since his death, and wants to compete with China. He sends people to the court with no real intention and only gains money and silk."

Although the Ming court at that time considered the specific content of the expression "benevolent slowness" to be unconventional, there is now no documentary evidence and future generations have no way of understanding it, but it is obviously a reflection of Wala's equal attitude in dialogue with the Ming court. Although what Bu Yanbuhua said was intended to sow discord between the Ming Dynasty and Oara, it also revealed Oara's disobedient attitude of "wanting to compete with China" and the true purpose of sending envoys to pay tribute.

The same goes for Arutai. In the 12th year of Yongle, Zhu Di went to the north and defeated Mahamu and others in Hulanhu due to hypothermia. On the way to the army, he sent a special envoy to inform Arutai. At that time, Arutai was stationed only three days away from the Ming army, but Arutai was only three days away from the Ming army. The leader of the department was sent to the court, but he refused to see Zhu Di on the grounds of illness.

In history, the leaders of the Southern Xiongnu and Turks all paid homage to the emperors of the Han and Tang Dynasties, but Arutai avoided seeing Ming Chengzu who was just around the corner. His unwillingness to bow down to the Ming emperor was self-evident. .

Of course, the canonization of Shunning and Hening kings during the Yongle period was, after all, a result of Mongolia's political fragmentation and the decline of Khan power. It goes without saying that under unified and powerful centralization, it is generally impossible for the Mongolian feudal lord occupying one side to betray the Khan and accept the title of Ming Dynasty.

Regardless of whether it is Mahamu and others, or Arutai, after all, they are all sayids with different surnames (sayid, referring to feudal lords who are not from the Genghis Khan family) who are powerful ministers under the Mongolian Khan. This status made it easier for him to accept the title of nobility from the Ming Dynasty emperor under the circumstances of Mongolia's political fragmentation and the decline of khan power.

For them, the Ming Emperor conferring royal titles on them would not only cause no harm to their original status, but would also bring huge economic benefits, so they were naturally happy to accept it. Moreover, in terms of comparison of the situation between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia in the early Ming Dynasty, the newly born Ming Dynasty was stronger than Mongolia and was a more proactive and aggressive party. On the other hand, the Mongolian power was severely weakened and fell into internal division and melee.

In this situation, superficial articles need to be done regardless of their true thoughts. Therefore, the great feudal lords of East and West Mongolia were still able to show a certain degree of respect to the Ming Dynasty, especially when the internal and external situations were unfavorable. This can be seen from the large amount of content in the "Ming Dynasty Records" about the three kings of Wala and King Hening who sent envoys to pay tribute, as well as the records that they each sent tribute horses to apologize after being defeated by the Ming Dynasty.

The attitude of Mongolian officials with different surnames in the divided situation towards paying tribute was superficial. As for the Mongolian Khan under the unified situation, the Ming Dynasty's restraint on the form of paying tribute was even more difficult to understand. It can even be said that tribute has completely become a legal way for Mongolia to obtain or even blackmail large amounts of reward materials from the Central Plains.

After the Mongol power was restored and reunified, and the khan power was revived, the Mongolian rulers demanded complete political equality in the tributary relationship between the Ming and Mongolia, and no longer accepted the Ming dynasty's titles. They often used force to pursue maximum economic interests. Mongolia's attitude towards tribute is most obvious in Yexian and Dayan Khan.

In the fourth year of Zhengtong, Tuo Huan died, and his son also took the throne first. He also inherited his father's legacy, controlled the Oara tribes and some tribes in Eastern Mongolia, and became the actual ruler of Mongolia. All the titles he holds are "General Soldier of Waladu, Tarahan, Taishi, King of Huaihe, Big Boss, and Right Prime Minister of Zhongshu".

He no longer asked the Ming Dynasty to seize the title of Prince Shuning like Tuohuan did, but began to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty as the "Prince of Huai". But there is an interesting point: Although Yexian did not have an heir to the title of King Shuning, he still had the seal of King Shuning. In the 11th year of Zhengtong, the old seal was lost and he asked the Ming Dynasty for a new seal.

He didn't ask for a seal, but for a seal, because to him, it didn't matter whether he had the title of King Shuning. The important thing was to hold the seal, so that he could send envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty and obtain a large amount of rewards and materials.

In Yexian, the royal seal no longer had political significance, but was just an indispensable token for paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty. By now, the political and economic significance of the Ming and Mongolian tributes to each other had been completely disconnected.

In the summer of the fourth year of Jingtai, he also sacrificed a white horse and a black ox to heaven, and established himself as the Great Khan. Later, he sent an envoy to the Ming Dynasty to deliver his credentials, claiming to be "Da Yuantian Sheng Khan". Now that he has obtained his throne, he has his land, his people, and the precious treasures passed down to him. It is advisable to follow the way of heaven and send envoys to make peace, so that the two families can enjoy peace."

Here, the requirement of "sending envoys to make peace" is clearly stated, which obviously refers to equal tribute exchanges between Mongolia and the Ming Dynasty. After intense debate and discussion, the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty finally decided to call Ye Xian "Wala Khan" in their reply - this was just a formality, but in essence, Ye Xian's status was acknowledged.

After Dayan Khan reunified Mongolia, he also sent envoys several times to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. As the Mongol Khan who claimed to be the inheritor of the Yuan Dynasty's orthodoxy, reunified Mongolia, and truly held real power, he used his strong military strength as a backing from the beginning of the tribute, and demanded a completely equal political position with the Ming emperor.

This can be clearly seen from the records of the Ming Dynasty. For example, in the first year of Hongzhi, Dayan Khan stationed near Datong and sent a letter to the Ming Dynasty asking for tribute. "The camp spans more than [-] miles and is about to be invaded by the invaders." When he sent a letter to ask for tribute, the letter was slow and he called himself the Great Yuan Dynasty. The Great Khan...the Ministry of War replied, saying that although the Northern Captives intended to pay tribute, they regarded themselves as the enemy."

The Ming Dynasty's so-called "arrogance in writing" and the so-called "pretending to be an enemy country" in Dayan Khan's "Book of Tributes" are obviously reflections of his demand for complete equality in tribute relations.

The court of the Ming Dynasty considered that "the Yi Di people did not add anything to their teachings, and their arrogant names came from their old ways and were unforeseen in China. Although their words may seem arrogant, they have not refused to fight against the army since ancient times." It finally agreed with Dayan Khan Tong Gong requirements. It has since become a regular practice.

In the ninth year of Hongzhi, Dayan Khan once again asked for tribute, "I heard that there was a book from the northern barbarians and asked 3000 people to pay tribute. The name of paying tribute is commendable, but the words for asking for tribute are very contrary... Calling the book but not expressing it is contrary to me." To resist; to call me the Southern Dynasty means to wait for me to the north... The book already says, 'Without one of my people, even 3000 people will not come'."

It can be seen that at this time, Dayan Khan not only showed his political equality with the Ming Dynasty, but also showed his arrogance and coercion in paying tribute.

In the 11th year of Hongzhi's reign, Dayan Khan sent 6000 envoys to request tribute. The Ming Dynasty allowed 2000 people to enter the customs and 500 people to come to Beijing. Since the Ming Dynasty paid tribute this time with "little rewards", Dayan Khan invaded the Ming Dynasty in successive years and killed, kidnapped and looted wantonly. However, the Ming Dynasty was politically corrupt and the border defenses were weakened, and there was no way to stop it.

This tribute in the 11th year of Hongzhi became Dayan Khan's last tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and the tribute relationship between Ming and Mongolia since Yongle was completely interrupted after Dayan Khan.

Even after Anda paid tribute in history, Tumen Khan repeatedly threatened with military force and tried to establish a direct tribute-market relationship with the Ming Dynasty, but he failed in the end. After the rise of Lin Dan Khan, the Ming Dynasty, in order to win over him to resist the emerging Hou Jin Dynasty, started to give Lin Dan Khan a reward of 45 silver every year since the [-]th year of Wanli. This was completely in exchange for peace. And the remuneration and price paid.

So, what about the "Anda tribute" in history and the "Anda tribute" after Gao's pragmatic intervention today? Are there any differences?

In fact, the historical "Ida tribute" also has the above-mentioned nature, and the domestic records of this matter in the "Ming Dynasty and the Jin Kingdom" also emphasize that the two parties are in an equal relationship.

However, due to the fact that its successors were trapped in the "Renwen Township" that relied on tribute from the Ming Dynasty to obtain supplies, and its relationship with the Chahar tribe of the Mongolian Khan Court was relatively tense, the two sides did maintain peace for decades. Until the rise of Lin Dan Khan, who in turn conquered Tumut.

However, the "Anda tribute" after Gao Pragmatic's intervention completely changed this situation. Especially after the Battle of Monan, the Ming Dynasty, which had undergone a certain degree of reform, demonstrated strong military strength, supplemented by highly pragmatic economic control strategies, which made Tumote unable to threaten the Ming court with military means, and Unable to break away from dependence on an economic level, one eventually surrenders completely.

This is not an exaggeration, because from then on, whenever the Ming court asked Tumut to send troops to participate in military operations launched by the Ming Dynasty, Tumut never refused again - it was not that he did not want to refuse, but that he could not refuse, or did not dare to refuse.

After the Battle of Monan, the Ming army commanded by Gao Pragmatically had already shown its majesty. Moreover, Tuttor Qataiji, the number one warrior in Mongolia who was familiar with military affairs, and even Qieji Huangtaiji and others had already seen that although the high pragmatism showed excellent commanding ability in that battle, in the final analysis, the source of the strength of the Ming army lies in The combat effectiveness of this army itself has been greatly improved.

After further understanding, Tumote senior officials came to a unified conclusion: the improvement of the Ming army's combat effectiveness lies in the improvement of the Ming Dynasty's financial dilemma, and the improvement of the financial dilemma lies in the practical changes of the pragmatic school represented by Gao Gong and Gao pragmatism. The financial system of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, even though Gao Gong has passed away at this time, as long as Gao Jingshi still has strong influence on the Ming court, the strength of the Ming army will not change.

From this, Tumote began to truly surrender for nearly 20 years. He never once violated the border. He did business with Ming Dynasty seriously and fairly, and both parties benefited greatly from this. As long as Gao Jingshi made a request, the "hardcore fan" Shunyi King Bianhan Naji would never refuse, and he would send troops when he was asked, showing that he could no longer be "loyal to the vassal".

But at the same time, we must also see that while showing loyalty to Han Naji, Gao Pragmatic has indeed never treated him badly. Not only did he accept his eldest son as his disciple, but he also gave him ample rewards after every Tumote expedition.

Especially when Chahar was defeated, not only a small part of the land that originally belonged to Chahar was given to Hannaji, but the entire Outer Khalkha tribe was also given. If we exclude Daning and other places that the Ming Dynasty took back in its own hands, then Hannaji is now almost considered the "Great Khan of Mongolia" in terms of the land it controls.

Having said this, it can be seen that although there are precedents for the Mongolians to be crowned kings, they can only be crowned kings with two words. Could it be that now Yuan Fu is really planning to do another "ancestral inadequacy" and make Han Naji a one-word king?

Also, even if Yuan Fu planned to say this and could convince the emperor, would King Shunyi really think it was a good deal just in name?

However, no matter how many thoughts the generals have, Gao Pragmatic has no intention of letting them guess. He took the initiative to tell the answer: "This is easy: after our Western Expeditionary Army defeats the Chahar and Oara tribes, Qihe and everything east of Qihe will be under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court, while Qihe and the area north of Yarkand All the territories of the Wala tribes will be given to King Shunyi to rule."
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PS: This chapter is difficult to separate, so I posted it together yesterday and today.