Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 867 Xiang Zhuang Dances the Sword
The summer at the foot of Qilian Snow Mountain is still cool.

Zhu Yihai stayed in Biandukou to escape the heat, and his daily schedule was very regular. After getting up at dawn, he would go horseback riding and archery to practice firecrackers.

At this time, the eunuch in the palace will bring the newspaper of the day to the emperor. He will read the newspaper while having breakfast. The minister, the eunuch will briefly explain what the minister wants to see, and the emperor finally decides whether to see him or not.

After breakfast, I took a walk for a while, and then started to have a meeting with the main ministers who accompanied the imperial court. Because the west tour was away, most of the cabinet and prime minister's ministers had been sent back to the capital by the emperor. Right now, there is a university scholar, Yan Wogong, by his side.

The emperor organized some other imperial guards generals, Hanlin scholars and other imperial officials to form the Military Aircraft Department.This military aircraft department is similar to the temporarily simplified version of the Prime Minister's Office, its functions are similar to the Prime Minister's Office, and the cabinet is similar to the attendant's room.

For the matters in front of the imperial court, important matters were directly delivered to the Military Aircraft Department, and the officials with the walking ranks of the Military Aircraft Department handed them over to the emperor. They were dealt with according to the emperor's will, or they were sent directly, or they were passed on to the prince who stayed behind in Beijing.

General affairs, like the cabinet, are first submitted to the attendants, who are responsible for going through them first, and even make preliminary draft proposals, and then submit them to the emperor.

Although it was summer, the emperor still wore a robe in the morning.

After the tea was brewed, Mr. Yan came in with several civil and military officials from the Military Aircraft Department, all of whom were purple-robed officials above rank three.

"Mr. Yan Ge, let's make a briefing first."

Mr. Yan got up and started to make briefings. This is a routine matter of the Military Aircraft Department. Following the regulations of the Prime Minister's Office, he first notified the order received by the Military Aircraft Department the day before and the results of the order. What matters were dealt with? , which ones have not been dealt with, and which problems have been encountered, etc.

Then I will summarize and report some of the military and state affairs that were just submitted to the Military Aircraft Department yesterday, and ask the emperor how to deal with them.

Although he was on a tour to the west, the emperor still firmly held the military and political power. Even Yan Wogong, the only elder in the imperial court, could only follow orders, and could not approve and dispose of these things on behalf of the emperor.

Whether it is the Prime Minister's Office of the imperial court or this temporary military aircraft office, they cannot read the disposition report before the emperor, they can only record it and then report it to the emperor.The emperor can deal with it directly. When encountering some important and complicated matters, he will discuss with them, but in the end, the emperor will give the result of the disposal. The military aircraft department will draft an edict according to the emperor's will, or directly issue it to various ministries, provincial governments, and military towns , or hand it over to the cabinet.

"Qinghai Dalai Khan has returned to Qinghai Lake Khan Court, and ordered the disbandment of the conscripted Heshuo special soldiers and horses, and let them go back to herd."

"In addition, he sent people to send a batch of oxen, horses and alpacas to Haiyan, Qilian, and Baiyun, saying that they are tax tributes for this year."

Zhu Yihai did not directly levy taxes on foreign domains such as Mobei, Monan, Moxi, and Mongolia in Qingkang and Tibet. Those places belonged to the autonomy of foreign domains.

However, after several alliances, Zhu Yihai, as the leader of the alliance, reached some specific alliance agreements with these Mongolian Khans and Taijis.

For example, in terms of taxes and taxes, it is agreed that the feudal vassals collect taxes by themselves, and do not need to turn them over to the court, and the princes, princes, and auspicious people are free to receive and expend.

Of course, Menghui Jurchen, who already belonged to Daming Prefecture County and naturalized registered households, had to pay taxes to the imperial court.

In the name of being sympathetic to the herdsmen and maintaining order, Zhu Yihai discussed with the various ministries a unified tax collection standard for the Mongol khans and Taijis on the grasslands.

If there are five oxen and twenty sheep, one sheep will be collected.If there are forty sheep, two sheep will be requisitioned. Although there are surplus animals, no more can be taken.

Those who have two sheep are allowed to take six pots of rice.Those who have a sheep are allowed to take a pot of rice.

This is equivalent to the regular tax of Mongolian herdsmen, who pay at most two sheep a year.

Of course, in addition to the regular tax, there will definitely be some apportionment and levies. Therefore, according to the requests of the princes and princes, they also agreed on tribute, alliances, nomads, marriages, etc., depending on whether they belong to more than a hundred households. Take a cart with one ox and one horse.Those who have more than three cows are allowed to take a belly of cream.Those who have more than five cows are allowed to get a bottle of milk wine.Those who have more than a hundred sheep will be allowed to take a blanket.

Excessive taxation is a crime.

This covenant was ordered by Zhu Yihai as Son of Heaven and the Great Khan of Mongolia to conclude the agreement and let all the ministries unify the taxation. This has many advantages. First, it can get the gratitude and support of the herdsmen. Second, it will also let the Mongolian tribes Stability, and at the same time do not allow the nobles to impose excessive taxes to increase their strength.

Of course, the covenant only draws a line. In fact, the princes and auspicious people are self-governing, and tax collection is their right. Even if the standard is set, there are ways to collect more.

Generally speaking, the standard set by Zhu Yihai is relatively light, less than traditional taxes.But the actual burden is heavy, especially if there are many wars, there will be no number.

Foreign vassals do not need to pay taxes to the court, but pay tribute.

The so-called tribute is actually a kind of tax, but the name is different. It is still a tax in essence. The previous tribute was more casual because the constraints were not strong.

But now the Shaotian Dynasty has relatively clear regulations on the tribute of the feudal vassals. It is not just a matter of paying tribute to cattle and horses, but according to the division of the governor's mansion, the governor's mansion, and the state, as well as the number of households, population, cattle and horses of the tribe. After waiting for the specific strength, several grades have been drawn, and they should be paid as soil tribute.

The local tribute is mainly local products, and the herdsmen mainly receive cattle, sheep, horses, camels, fur, butter, felt blankets and other grassland products, and even mushrooms.

The Jurchens mainly fed mink fur and ginseng and other animal skins, medicinal materials, and pearls, while the southwestern chieftains fed grain, gold and silver, medicinal materials, cattle and horses, etc.

Basically, tribute is paid in units of tribes. The larger the tribe, the higher the title and the more tribute.

This kind of tribute is different from the tribute of the previous Ming Dynasty. It is not a tribute in exchange for a reward.

As for rewards, that's another matter. There will be rewards during the imperial court's festivals, but they are not linked to tributes.

In addition to paying tribute, the imperial court also fully liberalized the mutual market trade with these foreign tribal chieftains.

The Imperial Household Department and the Royal Shaofu Supervisor enjoy the priority of trading, also known as land material and buying.

The price is high and the price is low, it is all determined by the market.

This system is basically based on the current strong military strength of the imperial court and its active frontier policy.

It is the duty of Qinghai Khan to pay the tribute to the imperial court.

It's just that he paid in advance this time, and it seems that he paid more than agreed. This is a personal behavior, and Daming neither encourages nor opposes it.

If you pay more tribute, you will definitely get extra appreciation from the emperor.

The emperor did not ask for much earth tribute. Although there was a mandatory amount, the collection was relatively light, and the princes and auspicious officials had the right to pass this amount of earth tribute on to the herdsmen.

This kind of mandatory but not too much tribute was intentionally done by the emperor, not because of the cattle, horses and wool, but to show the suzerain-vassal relationship between the two parties. Just hand over a piece of sheepskin, that's a proper concubine.

Ming Dynasty traded with Mongolia, earning more than that bit of local tribute. The Royal Shaofu went to the various ministries of the grassland, and directly obtained the tax-paying rights of many princes and auspicious people, and directly levied taxes on their behalf, and even paid in advance. For tax, the tax in kind is directly converted into a dragon ticket issued on the grassland, which can be withdrawn and exchanged at any time, which is very convenient.

All kinds of materials, ranging from the luxury goods loved by nobles to the daily necessities of herdsmen, from tea bricks to salt cloth, from needlework to iron pots, are now freely available on the grasslands, and herdsmen also like to take cattle Sheep, livestock or fur, cheese and ghee are exchanged for these goods, each takes what he needs and is satisfied.

Even now, a large amount of grain is transported into various parts of the grassland every year and sold to the herdsmen. The herdsmen are willing to exchange livestock for grain, and they all feel that exchanging livestock for grain is cost-effective.

The market integration of the grasslands, the interior, and even the Northeast has already taken shape in less than ten years, and even overseas, Japan's silver and copper, India's jute, cotton, Luzon, Batavia's Cane sugar and cotton from China, silver from the Port of Manila, food from the Indochina Peninsula such as Annan Champa, etc., were continuously transported to the coastal ports of the Central Plains by sea ships, which were both cheap and plentiful.

The Mongolian herdsmen on the grasslands can get iron pots, salt tea cloth, and many exquisite items without taking risks to plunder and fight. All they need is to sell some of their grazing livestock, or sell the worthless Selling wool, cattle felt, etc., selling some ghee, etc., can exchange for all kinds of needs, and the transaction allows them to live a rich and convenient life.

It is no longer necessary to plunder the border of Ming Dynasty for an iron pot, or even fight to death under the border wall.

"Dalai Batur is by no means such an honest person, we need to be more careful, let Jin Yiwei and others deploy more people to keep an eye on him."

Zhu Yihai sipped his tea, "Of course, we should be on our guard. On the surface, the tribute to him, especially the extra tribute, should be rewarded. Give him a few chime bells, and give him some sets of porcelain from the imperial kiln." , give him some ginseng and mink fur, and then reward him with sending his two sons to the imperial court to accompany him, and give him a first-class fortune."

Dalai Khan and Zhu Yihai have always been distrustful.

On to the next topic.

"Dayan Khan played up, claiming that Ladakh was disobedient, and as a vassal of Wei Zang, he took advantage of the civil strife in Guge to attack the Guge Kingdom, forced to kill the Guge King, and directly annexed the Guge Kingdom afterwards. Dayan Khan Request to send troops to crusade against Ladakh and restore the Guge Kingdom."

Zhu Yihai tapped the table lightly, "What is Dayan Khan's specific plan?"

"He wants His Majesty to issue a decree for the Heshuote chiefs in Kashgar in the Western Regions to send troops to attack Ladakh in coordination with him under unified command." Yan I was fair.

Zhu Yihai couldn't help smiling when he heard this.

"Dayan Khan is not interested in drinking. It seems that Houzang is too small to accommodate his great Buddha. He wants to send troops to annex Ali, and even use the name of the imperial court as a soldier of the Western Regions. This is a plan that kills two birds with one stone. He wants to bring Ali under his control, and also wants to use the name of the imperial court to bring Kashgar and other nephews under his command."

"Isn't Dayan Khan a brave and foolhardy man? It's a beautiful idea."

Yan Wogong said bluntly: "If Dayan Khan was really courageous and resourceful, he would not have participated in this memorial. His Majesty's eyes are as bright as a torch, so how could he fail to see his intentions, and how could he agree? But if he is smarter, he knows to find him first. A child of the Guge royal family came out, used his name to do things, and then reported it."

Zhu Yihai smiled, "Although Dayan Khan's ambition cannot be tolerated, I think Ladakh's behavior is also a serious violation of the boundary, and he still needs to be punished. The Guge Kingdom must be restored first."

The ruling center of the Guge Kingdom is in the Zhada Elephant Spring River Basin on the Ngari Plateau. It reaches Japan in the north, the Snow Ou Mountain in Dakashmir in the north, and the Ladakh Kingdom in Kashmir in the west. Its sphere of influence in the east once reached Gangdise foothills.

Its predecessor can be traced back to the Zhang Zhung Kingdom. Guge was established after the disintegration of Tubo, and it was conquered by Ladakh a few years ago. Sixteen kings successively inherited it. It was built by the descendants of the Tubo royal family, and its rule lasted for more than 700 years. , across the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties in the Central Plains.

Ladakh is located in the southeast of Kashmir, with the Karakoram Mountains in the north, the Himalayas in the south, and the Kashmir Valley in the southwest. In the canyon area, the uppermost reaches of the Indus River pass through the entire canyon.

Ladakh is called Xiaoxizhang. The name of the country comes from Tibetan, which means the land of lamas. It is said that the country of Ladakh was originally built by the descendants of the Guge royal family.

Today's Ladakh Kingdom is also known as the Kingdom of Namgar, claiming to be the Victory Dynasty, not the original Ladakh Dynasty. They took advantage of the internal turmoil in Guge and sent troops to besiege the capital of Guge. The king committed suicide by jumping off a cliff on the castle of the capital. Guge was annexed by it, and it is also their most prosperous period now.

Before the annexation of Guge, Ladakh, which had greatly increased its strength, swelled, but the swollen Namgar Kingdom was quickly taught a lesson. The princes of Kashmir invaded Ladakh twice, and even the governor of the Yarkand Khanate was short-lived. Captured Ladakh.

The current king, Seng Nanjie, can be regarded as a relatively capable king. He unified the three kingdoms of Ladakh, Pulan and Guge, which were called Ali's three circles, and made Ali belong to one.

Looking back on the previous experience of the king being beaten up by all parties, this Sengge Nanjie was more pragmatic, thinking that U-Tsang, whom they had trusted and raised together, did not help them, so he turned around and showed his favor to the more powerful Mughal Empire in the south, and agreed The Mughals have long asked for vassal and tribute requirements.

At the beginning, it was the leader of Skado from the Baltistan region of the Mughal Empire in the south who led troops into Ladakh, occupied the capital, and imprisoned the then king.

During this period, the prince married a daughter to the king and gave birth to a child with him.Afterwards, the leader released the king. The king became discouraged and lost interest in being a king. He turned around and became a monk, leaving the throne to the son born to the leader's daughter.

With this relationship, it makes sense for Seng Nanjie to switch to the Mughal Empire.

But for the Ming Dynasty, this is of course a violation of the interests of the Ming Dynasty. After all, Guge and Ladakh used to be U-Tsang vassals, and U-Tsang is now a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. In particular, Ladakh is still an important Kunlun Corridor. Xinzang, such an important place, how could he switch to India?
"This is a good time. Didn't Dayan say before that he would hand over the cities of Yarkand and Khotan to Daming? Now, in the name of crusade against Ladakh, I sent my Daming troops there. On the grounds of military supplies, we can Khotan Yarkand and other places established military fort post stations, and when Ladakh was conquered, they could directly station troops there, and even the castles in Yarkand, Khotan and other places could continue to be retained and continue to garrison troops. "

This is equivalent to a plan to destroy the country by false means.

(End of this chapter)