Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 311 I want you to be the governor of Guizhou

"After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the barbaric chaos in the southwest almost never stopped. This was true during the Hongwu period and also during the Yongle period."

Qi Tai said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, I know that I have little talent and knowledge, and I really don't know what to do to prevent the southwestern barbarians from rebelling in the future."

His words were equivalent to telling Zhu Gaoxu euphemistically that the problems that the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties failed to solve could not be solved by the Qianxi dynasty either.

"Sit down and talk."

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Qitai, raised his hand and gestured.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Qitai bowed and then sat down.

Zhu Gaoxu said in a deep voice: "Qi Qing, what I just said is not based on my feelings. The southwest barbarians have repeatedly caused chaos. Although it is a legacy of the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties, is it true that no one has considered the civil and military affairs of the Ming and Manchu dynasties? Can you solve this problem? I don’t believe it!”

He cast his eyes on Qi Tai and said in a serious tone: "Qi Qing, Taizu changed your name for you. Taizu will never mistake someone."

"Your Majesty is so flattering. It is the duty of a minister to do his best for the king."

Qitai quickly bowed and saluted.

"I know you want to do something."

Zhu Gaoxu ignored Qi Tai's polite words and continued: "Therefore, I decided to give you a chance to leave your name in history."

When Qi Tai heard this, he was greatly moved and at the same time became alert.

"I want you to be the governor of Guizhou and govern Guizhou for me."

Zhu Gaoxu said slowly.

Qitai was stunned for a moment, dumbfounded.

"Why, Qi Qing doesn't want to?"

Zhu Gaoxu pretended to be unhappy.

Qi Tai quickly stood up, bowed and saluted and said: "It is my duty to serve the country with all my heart. If your Majesty has orders, I will never hesitate to die in order to repay the emperor's favor."

If he refuses to agree, wouldn't it go against the "duty of a minister" that he just kept saying?

Zhu Gaoxu knew Qitai well, so he naturally kept him under control.

Guizhou is the gateway to Yunnan. As long as the imperial court firmly controls Guizhou, it can simultaneously stabilize the surrounding provinces.

At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to manage the southwestern Yi lands, starting from the Yelang Kingdom, and then gradually controlled the Dian Kingdom, Ailao and other places in Yunnan.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted the strategy of "securing Guizhou first and then taking Yunnan" in order to eliminate the influence of the former Yuan Liang king in Yunnan.

However, after Yunnan was pacified, the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang did not directly establish the Guizhou Chief Envoy Department was mainly because there were a large number of chieftains in Guizhou at that time. Among them, the most powerful ones were the Sizhou Tian family, Bozhou Yang family, Shuixian family and Shuidong Song family. .

In addition to the four major chieftains, there were also a large number of small chieftains. The existence of these chieftains made it difficult for the power of the Ming Dynasty to penetrate deeply.

Although the time for Guizhou to be established as a province was not yet mature at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Guizhou Dusi and implemented large-scale military camps to intimidate the chieftains in the Yunnan-Guizhou region. At the same time, he continued to dispatch floating officials to suitable areas to strengthen local management.

During the Yongle period, as the number of Han people who migrated to Guizhou continued to increase, the imperial court's control over Guizhou also strengthened, so that in the Anshun area, there was a situation where guards were scattered across prefectures and counties, and thousands of villages were spread out across the wilderness.

In the 15th year of Yongle reign, the two chieftains of Sizhou and Sinan, Xuanweishi, had internal strife over land and fought each other, leading to rebellion.Zhu Di sent troops to capture two chieftains alive and brought them to Beijing for questioning and execution. After quelling the war, he took the opportunity to abolish the Sizhou and Sinan Xuanwei Departments and established the Guizhou Chief Secretary, with one department, three states and eight prefectures under his jurisdiction, and implemented the "return to native rule" "flow" strategy.

The first division is Guizhou Xuanwei Division, which has jurisdiction over two major chieftains, Shuidong and Shuixi.

The following year, Zhu Di issued an edict to divide the Xuanwei Division of Bozhou into two "military and civilian offices", Zunyi and Pingyue, which were subordinate to Sichuan and Guizhou provinces respectively.

It can be said that the Ming Dynasty established Guizhou Province based on geographical and political considerations.

After Guizhou was established as a province, its economy and culture have developed rapidly.

Since then, the jurisdiction of the Chief Secretary of Guizhou has continued to expand with the promotion of the policy of "returning native land to locals", with Duyun Prefecture, Puding Prefecture, Anshun Prefecture, Chengfan Prefecture (later changed to Guiyang Prefecture), etc. Jurisdiction of Guizhou Province.

In the 20th year of Yongle's reign, Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhu Di to further adjust the territory of Guizhou according to the geographical situation of mountains and rivers. He assigned the Zunyi Military and Civilian Mansion under the jurisdiction of Sichuan to Guizhou, and assigned the area north of Nanpanjiang River in Guangxi to Guizhou. .

At this point, the territory of Guizhou has been infinitely close to what Zhu Gaoxu remembered in his previous life.

"Guizhou occupies a central position on the traffic roads in the southwest of Ming Dynasty. From Bashu to Guangdong and Guangxi, and from Yunnan to Huguang and Jiangxi, you must pass through Guizhou."

Zhu Gaoxu first said something about the importance of Guizhou's geographical location, and then ordered: "Qi Tai listens to the decree. I will appoint you as the governor of Guizhou. You will take office in ten days. You will inspect the prefectures and counties of Guizhou for me to appease the army and the people."

Before Guizhou was established as a province, the north belonged to Sichuan, the west of Anshun belonged to Yunnan, the south belonged to Guangxi, and the east belonged to Huguang.

Its location can be said to be the center surrounded by four provinces. It is extremely important to stabilize Guizhou, the southwest of the Ming Dynasty, and even Jiaozhi.

He deliberately emphasized Guizhou's position in order to let Qitai understand how much he valued Guizhou.

In other words, when Zhu Gaoxu appointed Qitai as governor of Guizhou, he did not demote him to leave the capital, but specifically gave him an opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

"Your Majesty, Qitai, accepts the decree and thanks my emperor for his grace."

Qitai quickly bowed and saluted to receive the order.

Zhu Gaoxu looked with satisfaction at Qitai who sat back after receiving the decree, and said with caress: "You are now the governor of Guizhou, and appeasing the local people is one of your duties. I want to hear why Guizhou and other southwestern barbarians continue to rebel. Your insights.”

Qi Tai felt bitter in his heart, and after going around and around, he finally came to the topic he had been avoiding just now.

Now that he had become the governor of Guizhou, he had to choose his words carefully and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that there are two main reasons why the southwest barbarians continue to rebel."

"First, before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, commanders from all over the southwest came and went, fighting for supremacy. They all had hatred for each other, were disobedient to discipline, and were naturally rebellious."

"Secondly, after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the policy of 'strike and appeasement' was implemented against the barbarians in the southwest. As a result, the barbarian chieftains had a certain amount of military power in their hands. If they were slightly dissatisfied with the rule of the imperial officials, they would raise troops to cause chaos and become arrogant by relying on their troops."

Qi Tai saw that Zhu Gaoxu was listening seriously, so he explained: "Your Majesty, the first point I mentioned belongs to the folk customs and traditions of the barbarians in the southwest."

Zhu Gaoxu understood that this was a custom left over from history and was engraved in the bones of the barbarians in the southwest. Only through education could this folk custom be gradually changed.

Therefore, he nodded to Qitai to continue.

"In response to this, Emperor Taizu adopted the strategy of 'using Xia to transform barbarians'. There were two specific methods."

Qitai continued: "First, establish Confucianism. In the second year of Hongwu, Taizu ordered that all prefectures and counties in the interior should set up schools. Confucianism was opened in some places where barbarians lived in the interior, and gradually in the border areas where barbarians were mixed. Many chieftains also hired Confucian masters."

"In the 15th year of Hongwu, after the imperial army pacified Yunnan, Taizu ordered that schools in all prefectures and counties in Yunnan should be promoted. There should be officials in this department to select and protect civilian Confucian scholars who are worthy of being teachers. They should appoint academic officials to educate their children and make them knowledgeable. Etiquette, beauty of customs.'"

"Second, a large number of chieftains' children were recruited into the Imperial College. Under the initiative of Taizu, chieftains from all over the country sent their sons to study in the Imperial College. There were thousands of tribute students in prefectures, counties, and Siyi chiefs all over the world. This is a sight that cannot be tolerated in the school building."

(End of this chapter)