Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2381: The Wind Within (End) The Northern Territory is Completely Conquered
Khorchin and some of the remaining Mongolian tribes, as well as the Jurchen tribes, are the two major forces in the vast Northeast region outside Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty. However, the strength of the two factions is at a level that is neither strong nor weak, which makes Gao Youshi feel very difficult.

According to the ideas of the Central Plains dynasties in the past to control the ethnic minorities in the border areas, it is time to divide and disintegrate them into multiple forces, and it would be best to create some conflicts between them intentionally or unintentionally so that they can never form a joint force. This will make it easier for the Central Plains dynasty to act as the supreme arbitrator and exercise effective control.

Gao Youshi knew this game plan very well. For example, the Sui and Tang dynasties were masters of this game plan (they collapsed later because the empire collapsed due to other situations). However, after careful consideration, Gao Youshi believed that he could no longer follow this game plan because...times had changed.

“Politics is about making your own people more numerous and your enemies fewer.” What a profound truth, and such simple language!
Could it be that the teacher who said this couldn't find a more elegant way to express it? No, he was just afraid that some of his own people wouldn't understand!

Of course Gao Youshi understood, and he was able to understand it a little more deeply: after thirty years of infiltration into the Mongolian tribes, with the Jurchens moving to Korea and the Han refugees filling the northeastern border areas, both Mongolia and the Jurchens were now the most influenced by Han culture in all dynasties.

At this time, if the imperial court isolates itself from these border residents who have already surrendered, how can it expect them to regard itself as a member of the great Ming Empire?

If you don’t treat the other person as your own, how can you expect the other person to treat you as their own? Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you! If you don’t understand this principle, you should at least understand “putting yourself in others’ shoes”, right?

Moreover, the imperial court was not blindly benevolent. Its strategy was to treat the minority peoples in the border areas equally while maintaining the Han majority being strong enough.

If the subject is not strong enough, there is a risk of being "taken over", such as the Qing Dynasty's entry into the Central Plains; if the ethnic minorities in the border areas are not regarded as a whole, the border areas will always be alienated and seek independence once something happens. Neither of these two things is what Gao Gongshi wants.

The only long-term solution is to maintain the stability and prosperity of the Han core areas, and make partial fiscal transfer payments based on this, to ensure that border areas do not become unable to survive and have no choice but to rob.

When hot weapons completely replace cold weapons in the future, it will be about time for railways to appear. By then, we can use railways to connect inland border areas, completely revitalize the economy, form an economic cycle and benign complementarity within the empire, and the rule of this empire will become even more unbreakable.

If the empire can still rely on the relatively economically developed border areas at this time to influence the neighboring countries outside the border areas, then in comparison, because the empire's borders are far more developed than these countries, it can form a powerful external influence and ensure that the empire forms a "buffer zone with neighboring countries" outside the border areas.

At this point, the empire was completely invincible geopolitically.

In a nutshell, the empire is a circular structure with the Han core area as the center and radiating power outward. The closer you are to the "center of the circle", the more centripetal force you should have, and all the policies of the court should be designed and implemented in accordance with this idea.

So, what is the "Han core area"? What is the relationship between this and the famous concept of "400 mm isohyet"?

The core area of ​​the Han nationality literally means the area where the Han population is most concentrated and where the cultural influence is the most profound. In Chinese history, this area roughly includes the North China Plain, East China, Central China, and parts of the Southwest. These places have long been the centers of agricultural civilization and the political, economic, and cultural centers of many dynasties in Chinese history.

The precipitation line refers to the dividing line of annual precipitation distribution in a region, which is usually related to factors such as climate type and topography. In China, one of the most important precipitation lines is the 400 mm isohyet, which extends roughly from northeast to southwest China, dividing China into the eastern humid and semi-humid areas and the western arid and semi-arid areas. This line also roughly corresponds to the dividing line between farming areas and nomadic areas, and has had an important impact on the distribution of the Han nationality and northern nomadic peoples in history.

Why does Gao Youshi feel that the situation he is facing is a bit tricky now? Because the Northeast is within the 400 mm precipitation line, but at this time there are not enough Han people in the Northeast to immediately become part of the so-called "Han core area."

From a long-term perspective, this region must be completely Sinicized. Otherwise, the insufficient core area will not be able to effectively support the border areas in the future, which will have an adverse impact on the overall situation in the future.

If Gao Youshi does not allow the Khorchin and Jurchen tribes to enter Heilongjiang, Jilin and eastern Inner Mongolia in the future, and insists on forcibly designating these areas as the so-called "Han area", he will undoubtedly regard them as outsiders, which is politically unacceptable.

But if Gao Youshi allowed them to stay in the local area, or even enter these areas where there were not enough Han people, the progress of sinicization might slow down in the future, or even increase the difficulty.

Therefore, what Gao Youshi can do now is actually to actively carry out ethnic integration and transform the border residents of various ethnic groups entering this area into Han people in terms of ideology. After all, the Han people were not a nation divided by bloodline, but a nation that used "etiquette" to distinguish "me from non-me". It is a cultural concept, not a blood-related ethnic group.

Gao Youshi actually has a lot of experience in this matter. For example, the most core law in southern Xinjiang now is actually the "Naturalized Household Registration System" implemented by Gao Youshi back then. This system has been in effect to this day, and has added more than 7 million "Han people" to southern Xinjiang out of thin air.

But never say they are "fake Han Chinese". If you dare to say that in front of them, they may turn against you and fight you on the spot - converts are fanatical, you know?
What does more than seven million mean? Let's put it this way. Gao Youshi has worked hard for so many years to relocate refugees and disaster victims from the Ming Dynasty to southern Xinjiang. So far, the total number is only more than four million. Even if you add the Jinghua family's retainers, craftsmen, hired workers, etc., there are only about five million people at most.

However, with more than 7 million naturalized Han people, Beijing's basic population has suddenly reached more than 12 million, which is barely enough to form effective rule - of course, the two things of immigration and naturalization must be constantly pursued, and both hands must be used and both hands must be strong.

According to Gao Youshi's idea, at least the Han people (including naturalized Han people) must account for 70% of the population in southern Xinjiang and Southeast Asia, which can be considered as reshaping the local ethnic composition and basically eliminating the need to worry about this issue.

The problem is that the situation in Liaodong may be more complicated than that in southern Xinjiang. The population base comparison between the Han people and the Mongols and Jurchens is only one aspect. On the other hand, Gao Youshi can make the final decision on the issue of southern Xinjiang, but in the Ming Dynasty... unless he wants to learn from Zhang Juzheng in history who directly ignored the emperor and his ministers and forced his own personal wishes to govern, he will have to be influenced and even restricted by various aspects.

Undoubtedly, not everyone can accept Gao Youshi’s national thought, which is too radical and too “philanthropic” for them. After all, the concepts of nationality such as Huaxia and Zhonghua come from the “Hua-Yi Debate”, and the so-called “debate” is essentially “difference” - the difference of distinction.

However, Gao Youshi is also confident that he can gradually guide and change their ideas, just because of the unquestionable sentence "barbarians entering China become Chinese". This sentence itself is the key to the long-lasting and growing strength of "China".

At the current stage, on the one hand, we need to stabilize the situation in the Northeast, so that the Northeast can smoothly carry out ethnic integration. After two or three generations of changes, the advanced civilization of Han culture at this time will be used to assimilate various ethnic groups, and finally form a Han cultural system with local characteristics. By then, the "Han cultural core area" will be truly formed and will never be shaken. In this case, Gao Youshi's military organization in the Northeast region will naturally be promoted according to this idea.

As I said earlier, the so-called "armed soldiers" that could be regarded as "standing troops" in the Left and Right Khorchin tribes were no more than 20,000. The Jurchen tribes had almost no so-called "standing troops". If there was a need for battle, they would almost always temporarily train men to go into battle directly.

Therefore, if the military force is to be organized according to the standing army of the Ming Dynasty, one must consider a question: Will the sudden withdrawal of at least tens of thousands of people to join the standing army lead to a shortage of men in their tribes, thus affecting the order of production and life? If so, how can the court avoid this?

The simplest method is actually obvious: just pay the salary.

Here is a situation that is easier for people in later generations to understand: the purchasing power of the same tael of silver in the Ming Dynasty is different from that in Mongolia and the Jurchens. It is like a haircut in China costs 20 RMB, but it may cost 20 dollars in the United States. However, as we all know, the purchasing power of 20 dollars in world trade is several times that of 20 RMB.

Is it that the level of haircuts in the United States is several times higher than that in China, so it is worth it? Of course not, it is just the overflow of value from other high-paying industries in the country. [Note: This could be expanded to write a long paper, so I will skip it. After all, everyone should understand the reason.]
The same is true in the current Northeast region. Because Liaodong has been a Han territory that has been operated for more than two hundred years, some basic commodity prices are lower than those in the neighboring Mongolian and Jurchen territories, while some labor employment costs are, on the contrary, higher than those in the Mongolian and Jurchen territories.

You may ask why. It's very simple. You Mongolians sell cattle and sheep to Liaodong. Liaodong can buy them or not. At most, I can eat less beef and mutton and continue to eat pork and chicken. If the conditions are really difficult, I still have rice and wheat, so I won't starve to death.

But the iron pots and cloth produced in Liaodong are basic living materials. How can you not buy them? When the Ming Dynasty banned border horse markets, it was not uncommon for two Mongolian tribes to fight over a few iron pots!

In the original history, there were actually a large number of Mongolians in the Ming army, including the Liaodong Iron Cavalry, and they were often more daring in fighting than Han soldiers. The reason is this - the military salary I pay is enough for you to support your family and have some left over, isn't it better than you working for your lord in Mongolia with a half-starved stomach?

After understanding this truth, Gao Youshi suddenly felt relieved. He even thought about why the Song Dynasty had so many redundant soldiers - if you were to be kept among the people, you would be a "local instability factor", but if you were to be recruited into the army, at least you wouldn't cause me any trouble. Isn't it just a small expense? It's fine to spend a little, it's not money that the Song Dynasty lacks!
By the same token, if you want to stabilize the Northeast, just recruit more soldiers! Recruit the strongest men from the Left and Right Khorchin and the Shengnuzhen tribes to serve as soldiers. What else can the rest of them do to cause trouble?
As for your question, what if these soldiers don’t obey orders?
What a joke! Your salary, food, equipment, ammunition, everything is in my hands. I have more than 1.3 million elite troops waiting for you. Do you dare to disobey me? Come on, come on, if you disobey me, I will let you know why the Horse King has three eyes!
Moreover, historically, border troops were disobedient for a reason. The first reason was that the benefits were not fully paid. Regardless of whether this “not fully paid” was in arrears of salary or deductions, it was still not fully paid, which was contrary to the prior agreement between the two parties.

The second reason is that the military system is not designed properly. For example, there are no changes. The same group of border generals still lead their old border people. The court has no restrictions, no supervision, and no means of restraint. In this case, if an ambitious person appears, how can there be no trouble?
Therefore, Gao Youshi now has a clear idea: on the one hand, the allocation of finances and materials must be controlled by the court from top to bottom, and supervision and checks and balances must be set up at every link to avoid unfair treatment of these border troops in terms of wages; on the other hand, the new border troops in the Northeast cannot learn from the Tumed who had been obedient for thirty years, and supervisors and checks and balances must be set up for them while ensuring the status of local leaders.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

With a clear idea, things were easier to handle. The next morning, Gao Youshi convened a meeting of the cabinet and the nine ministers again, and directly announced the organization of the two armies at the meeting. Both armies were composed of the Khorchin, the Shengnuzhen tribes, and the Han men who had settled outside Liaodong.

The commander-in-chief of the First Army of Longjiang was Weng Guodai, the former leader of the right wing of Khorchin, the deputy commander-in-chief was Baldazi, one of the leaders of the Donghai Jurchens, and the chief of staff was selected from the Ma family of "Dong Li Xi Ma". Gao Youshi chose Ma Chengzong to take the position.

The commander-in-chief of the Second Longjiang Army was Hong Gor, the former leader of the left wing of Khorchin, and the deputy commander-in-chief was Bomu Bogor, one of the leaders of the Donghai Jurchens. The chief of staff was selected from the Li family of "Dong Li Xi Ma", and Gao Youshi chose Li Ruzhang for the position.

Ma Chengzong has appeared many times in the past, so I won't introduce him here. I will mainly introduce Li Ruzhang. In the original history, Li Ruzhang was a relatively good character among Li Chengliang's sons, ranking after the eldest brother Li Rusong and the fifth brother Li Rumei. He once followed his eldest brother Li Rusong to suppress the rebellion of Haibai. He led his subordinate He Shien to take Haibai's head in the fire and captured Haibai's second son. Although he did not obtain it personally, since it was obtained under his command, it can be seen that he should have some means.

However, since he was neither the eldest son (by natural status) nor the youngest son (usually the most favored), even after Li Rusong's accidental death in battle, his family still had two older brothers, Li Rubai and Li Ruzhen, who ranked ahead of him, so he did not get any opportunities to show his talents later.

However, because Li Rumei became Gao's son-in-law, Gao Fusi knew a lot more about the brothers. According to Li Rumei's usual words and deeds, Li Ruzhang's level should be at least in the upper middle level - this is not surprising, unfavored sons often either lie down and give up, or work harder and make progress. It seems that Li Ruzhang should be considered the second type, but perhaps due to limited talent or lack of opportunities, he has only been average so far.

Of course, judging from his official position, he was not bad, having been promoted to the rank of deputy governor. However, these were all honorary titles. Since the second generation of the Li family already had Li Rusong, the general of Liaodong and the commander of the First Army of Liaodong, and Li Rumei, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, who were both great examples, and had great military power, the other three sons were given honorary titles instead of real ones.

Li Ruzhang is now nominally the deputy governor of the Left Army Governor's Office, but he has no real military command. Now he is given the position of chief of staff of the Second Longjiang Army. On the one hand, he is from Tielingwei and can adapt to the climate in the Northeast; on the other hand, the Second Longjiang Army is a Type B army, and the position of chief of staff will not cause an uproar in the court.

In fact, there is another reason, that is, he, the chief of staff of the Second Longjiang Army, had no outstanding military achievements in the past, and might have been looked down upon by Hong Guoer and Bomuboguer, the chief and deputy commanders. However, since his brother Li Rusong, a famous general of the Ming Dynasty, was in charge of the nearby Liaodong, Hong Guoer and Bomuboguer would not dare to look down on him.

In addition to the three main general positions in each army, Gao Youshi also arranged the main positions in each town in this way, basically a mixture of Khorchin, Jurchen and Han generals.

However, if we analyze it carefully, we will find that Gao Youshi often gave the military posts and deputy military posts to the Mongols and Jurchens, and gave posts such as chief of staff and chief of logistics to Han generals.

In particular, there is an official position that was originally only set up in the Imperial Guard, but has recently begun to spread through the new military reform. It is held entirely by Han generals. That is "Xuan Zheng" - a position set up to imitate the political commissar and instructor, used to gradually replace the eunuch military supervisors of the past (but not the civilian military supervisors, because the civilian military supervisors will directly take up this position).

As for the people Gao Yousi used, except for the Han generals, everyone had more or less some impression of them, but the ministers and the nine officials in the cabinet had never even heard of people like Weng Guodai, Hong Guoer, and Bomu Boguoer, so naturally they could not object or make any suggestions. In the end, after a brief inquiry by Gao Yousi, the plan was tacitly approved.

At this point, almost all nomadic, fishing and hunting tribes in the northern border of the Ming Dynasty submitted to the Ming Dynasty. The rule of the Ming Dynasty thus entered a new era.
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A few days ago, I rolled my eyes just looking for information about these leaders of Khorchin and Shengnuzhen. If it was a little later, it would be OK, because at that time it was linked to the history of the Later Jin Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, and it was easier to check. Now it is really difficult to check, and when you check a person, you only have a name, and you don’t know the year of birth and death. You have to look for historical facts one by one to see if this guy appeared, and if he did, what year it was... and then make sure that at least he was not dead in this year. In short, it is very trivial and a headache.

By the way, I almost laughed out of anger when I watched TGA today. It was such a waste of my whole morning.

Finally, I would like to thank the book friend “书友20170524231949536” for his support of 7 monthly tickets, thank you!

Thanks to book friends "doni", "book friend 130311122745499", "Yun Fu Yue Yu", "Hi Hi 2010", and "o Shang Shu Ling" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!