If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 325 Yunnan Mu Family
"The imperial court received a report from the Duke of Guizhou. After your second uncle arrived in the Yunnan fiefdom, he imposed exorbitant taxes and plundered local wealth to raise soldiers. Now he has forced seven local chieftains to rebel. The local people are boiling with resentment!" The sad-looking Prince Zhu Gaochi of the Ming Dynasty was passing by. A water mirror talks to his son thousands of miles away, telling him about the problems facing the court today.

Although the imperial court had fast ships that could travel between the capital and Zheng Fan, communication was still inconvenient.

So Zhu Zhanquan made a special trip to install a water mirror in the Prince's East Palace and Qianqing Palace, which can be connected to Zheng Fan through water mirror technology to facilitate communication.

"Second uncle is forcing you to rebel? Why do I not believe this?" Zhu Zhanquan didn't really believe what Zhu Gaochi said, but he didn't say much. He just said to Zhu Gaochi through the water mirror: "Back then, the Mu family dared to humiliate King Min's lineage, and the royal guards of King Min's uncle were all tortured. Now, they are labeling their second uncle a rebel. What do they want from the Mu family? Are they really going to kill the Mu family? Should the Marquis of Xiping be replaced by the King of Xiping?"

Zhu Zhanquan's words were somewhat heart-wrenching. After all, the Mu family guarded Yunnan and could indeed be said to be loyal to the Zhu family. Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, Mu Tianbo, the last generation of the Mu family, Duke of Guizhou, was killed in the cursed water disaster. The Mu family has never betrayed the Ming Dynasty, and has always controlled Yunnan without causing any trouble.

It's just that although the Mu family is loyal, from a certain perspective, they are not that loyal.

The line that oppressed King Min was only one of them. Later history books record that during the Hongzhi period, the third generation Duke of Guizhou, Mu Sheng and Sun Cong, died without heirs, and his son Mu Kun succeeded him in the title.

Because Mu Kun was not a descendant of Mu Sheng, the court originally planned to let him succeed the Marquis of Xiping, but the Mu family and the local officials in Yunnan opposed it, saying that "the Dian people know that the Duke of Guizhou does not know the Marquis of Xiping, and the Marquis of Xiping may be taken lightly." Xiaozong therefore Mu Kun was ordered to inherit the dukedom of Guizhou.

From here we can clearly see how deep the Mu family's control over Yunnan is!

Are the Mu family loyal to the court?Loyalty, but loyalty is limited.

They may not have the intention to rebel, but in the separatist areas of Yunnan, they not only have the courage to be the local emperor, but also have great courage.

The Mu family has been guarding Yunnan for many years, and the Yunnan people "administer affairs as if they were in the imperial court." Under the table, the native chieftain came out of Guo to welcome him with majesty, took a shower, and then opened the door, saying: "This is the purpose of the order." "

Relying on his power, the Mu family also managed farmland in Yunnan.

According to later research, the land of the Chief Secretary of Yunnan in the sixth year of Wanli was 93 hectares and 58 acres. In the seventh year of Wanli, the land of Yunnan's farmland was 54 hectares and 130 acres. The two items totaled [-] [-] five hectares and zero.

In the 16th year of Wanli's reign in Mufu Zhuangtian, more than 8000 hectares of people's land had been invaded. Including the imperial grant, the total may reach [-] hectares.

If the total land area of ​​more than 4 hectares of the Chief Secretary's farmland, farmland, and Muzhuang is taken as the total farmland in Yunnan, then the land occupied by Mu's village is actually one-third of the total farmland in the province.

Wang Shizhen, a historian in the Ming Dynasty, recorded, "Sheng and his son set up 360 areas of Pushu farmland in front of and behind them. One of the solar eclipses could be one year old. Treasures and gold shells filled the treasury, which was almost an enemy of the heaven. There were hundreds of people who worshiped Luoqi in the back court, serving as eunuchs. There can also be hundreds of slaves.”

This shows how much power and wealth the Mu family has in Yunnan.

This is why Mu Sheng had the confidence to bully King Min back then. Not only was the ancestor of their Mu family the adopted son of Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Di also called Mu Ying his eldest brother back then!
As for the report from the Mu family that the King of Han had violently expropriated the fiefdom and forced the local chieftains to rebel, it is not bad if this is half believed.

The King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, was indeed not a person who loved his people like his own son. Before he went to the fiefdom, he spread a lot of golden beans in the palace to win people's hearts. The money came from the income from his fiefdom in Yunnan.

Of course, the financial resources of the Han Dynasty still in Nanjing were not limited to the income from the fiefdom.

Zhu Gaoxu had led troops to fight for so many years and had many subordinates in the army. When Jingnan first captured Nanjing, there were people who wanted to support the King of Han in seizing the throne. After all these years, the King of Han's party still had some power.

Some of these people were living on empty wages, and some were making money through local guards, and they had to pay homage to the King of Han for more or less of the benefits they received.

This was also the reason why Zhu Gaoxu was able to win over people in the court.

The king of Han is richer than the prince!
Even though the King of Han was now driven to Yunnan to become a vassal, and his income was much less, the emperor did not treat him harshly, and gave him everything he should have, and even what he shouldn't have.

So if the king of Han is short of money and is amassing wealth, Zhu Zhanyi believes it.

But to say that Zhu Gaoxu used extortionate expropriation and extortion to force the chieftains to rebel in the fiefdom to collect local wealth is just nonsense.He is also a vassal king, and he is the one with the strongest military power among all the vassals. The other vassal kings only have three guards and horses, but his Zheng Fan has ten guards!His expenses for raising soldiers are several times more than those of other vassal kings!
Zhu Zhanchun knew how much food it cost to feed a guard and horse. With Zhu Gaoxu's financial resources, even if he expanded the army to Zhu Zhanchun's current size, the income of the Hanwang clan would be enough to support it.

You must know that although Yunnan is located in a remote area, it is not poor.

In the 14th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and Mu Ying to lead an army to conquer Yunnan.

In the 15th year of Hongwu's reign, the Department of Acceptance and Prosecution, the Department of Punishment and Prosecution, and the Department of Capital Command were established. In the interior of Yunnan, prefectures, prefectures, and counties were established to implement rule based on official migration. In remote areas, the Department of Xuanwei and the Department of Xuanwei were established. Fusi, appeasement, Changguansi, and "Yuyi" prefectures, etc., were all under the jurisdiction of the chieftains. The mining and metallurgical industry developed rapidly, and the output of silver and copper ranked first in the country.

Although the King of Han failed to compete for the crown prince and was demoted to Yunnan to become a vassal, he was still the supreme prince of the imperial court, and his fiefdom was not reduced by half.

Even in order to show brotherly respect, Zhu Gaochi specifically asked local officials in Yunnan to pay more attention to and cooperate with the Han Dynasty, and try their best to meet the Han Dynasty's needs.

It can be said that apart from wanting to rebel, Zhu Gaoxu would even have a more comfortable life in Yunnan than in Nanjing.

"There may indeed be problems with the report of the Duke of Guizhou, but Yunnan cannot be in chaos now." Zhu Gaochi naturally understood the meaning of Zhu Zhanyu's words, but he just shook his head: "Now the remnants of the Chen Dynasty in Jiaozhi are still resisting. During the Ming Dynasty, the British Duke led his army to fight against the remnants of the Chen Dynasty in Jiaozhi. If Yunnan was in chaos at this time, it would be equivalent to cutting off the British Duke's return route, and the army along this route would be in danger!"

"Jiaozhi... it will not be easy to capture this place. The imperial court needs to set up a guard station here, send officials to manage it, and maintain a large army to suppress it. It will take at least decades to bring the local people back." Zhu Zhanqi said to The place of Jiaozhi is still very impressive. After all, there are still many grievances and disputes between this small country and China in later generations: "But the imperial court cannot maintain a large army here for a long time. The imperial court cannot support such huge expenditures. Therefore, Cochin must be pacified as soon as possible!”

"It's easy to say, the British prince is already the most capable commander in the court, and he has conquered Cochin once! He can't win quickly, so why are you talking about pacifying it as soon as possible! You can't let your grandfather go to the army to conquer it himself, right?" How could Zhu Gaochi not know that Jiaozhi needed to be pacified as soon as possible, but neither the British Duke Zhang Fu nor the Duke of Guizhou Mu Sheng were able to pacify it quickly, and the court had no other way.

When attacking the Mongols in the north, it can be said that the emperor personally drove and conquered them. After all, the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty also occupied the Central Plains. Everyone has seen how powerful the Mongols are, and the court has always regarded the Mongols as a serious threat, so there is nothing to say about the emperor's personal expedition.

But the southwest border is different. This is just a remote and desolate place. This Vietnam is also a country that Zhu Yuanzhang personally decided to not conquer.

Vietnam committed suicide to rebel against the Ming Dynasty and actively provoked the Ming Dynasty. The emperor sent people to give him a beating and destroyed this small country. No one had anything to say, but you want to say that the emperor personally led the expedition?Sorry, it's too embarrassing. Vietnam is not worthy of letting the Ming Emperor personally solve this problem.

Moreover, neither the imperial court nor Zhu Di himself paid much attention to the issues in the southwest border.

Even Zhu Gaochi himself, if he wasn't worried about the court's financial problems, he wouldn't care how long the fight lasts!

"Of course it's not necessary for grandpa to lead the expedition in person, but the emperor's grandson can still be sent!" Zhu Zhanjuan had a bad smile on his face, as if he was giving a bad idea: "My eldest brother doesn't have many civil servants or generals under him now, let alone many of his own. Team.

Now that Grandpa and Dad are still here, of course this cannot be called a problem. Anyway, he is young and can take his time and not be in a hurry.

But when grandpa and dad are gone and my eldest brother succeeds to the throne, he has no talents in his pocket and no reliable force in his hands. How can he sit firmly on that chair?Since he is my eldest brother, should I let him? "

Obviously this was not something that could be said casually, but Zhu Gaochi took it in.

Compared with Zhu Zhanjun, Zhu Zhanji lacks the prestige and achievements that can convince the public. This is a problem that Zhu Gaochi has always been worried about.

"Do you really think your eldest brother should go?" Zhu Gaochi was somewhat worried.

"He will be the emperor in the future. Even if I don't care about him, how can the court be stable if he cannot convince everyone?" Zhu Zhanjuan persuaded Zhu Gaochi earnestly: "In this case, let the eldest brother get the title of imperial envoy and lead the government." The new army of the Shang San Guards sailed south from Nanjing and arrived at the Chief Secretary of Cochin by sea. While assisting the British in quelling the rebellion of the remnants of the Chen Dynasty, you can also ask the eldest brother to find out what the second uncle did in Yunnan!

By the way, I can also give the Mu family a beating to stop them from being too arrogant and domineering.When King Min was forced away, grandpa comforted them once, but this time he wanted to play the same trick on his second uncle. This is boring, isn't it? "

"Ask your eldest brother to lead troops south by sea to support the British government, and then investigate the matter in Yunnan..." Zhu Gaochi hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and said: "Your eldest brother really needs some military merit and experience. This matter is up to you. Do what you want! Your elder brother really needs some exercise."

　The Mu family in Yunnan is the Palace of Mu in Mr. Jin Yong’s book. However, Mu Ying’s title back then was only the Marquis of Xiping. After his death, he was posthumously granted the title of Prince of Qianning. Mu Sheng relied on playing Jiaozhi to move the Marquis of Xiping to the Duke of Guizhou. After his death, There was a Dingyuan King who was posthumously named, so in the novel the person in Prince Mu’s Mansion was called the Young Master, because his family was just the Duke of the country, and King Mu was the honorific title given to Mu Ying.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)