Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 394: One place in Shizhen can be hereditary and replaceable

At the end of November of the 17th year of Qianxi's reign, Zhu Gaoxu returned with a great victory and returned to the court with his troops.

Mengdian's chief military officer, the British Duke Zhang Fu, and Meng's chief military officer, Chengguo Gong Zhu Neng, successively submitted memorials, requesting to return to Beijing to report on their duties.

Zhu Gaoxu replied to the British Duke Zhang Fu and the Chengguo Duke Zhu Nengyu respectively: "Although Mengdian (Menglao) is peaceful, the barbarians are still suspicious of it. Once the army returns, they are afraid that it will cause trouble, so I will stay there to hold it. "

At the same time, Zhu Gaoxu also ordered Gong Yongji, the governor of Mengdian, and Wu Yubi, the governor of Menglao, to actively cooperate with Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng to make Chinese culture blossom and bear fruit in the two places as soon as possible.

Because Gao Shiwen, the first governor of Mengdian, unfortunately died of illness in October last year, Gong Yongji, the chief envoy of Mengdian, was promoted to governor of Mengdian.

In addition, Zhu Gaoxu transferred Wang Ji, the first governor of Meng Laos, back to the capital to be promoted to Minister of War. Later, Wu Yubi, the chief envoy of Meng Lao, was promoted to the governor of Meng Lao.

Since then, Gong Yongji, Wu Yubi made outstanding contributions to the stability of Mengdian and Meng Laos.

It is another story that both of them were praised and rewarded by Zhu Gaoxu when they went to Beijing to report their work in the 18th and 21st years of Qianxi.

Let's talk about the end of December of the 17th year of Qianxi, Zhu Gaoxu officially issued two imperial edicts in order to allow Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng to guard Mengdian and Menglao with peace of mind.

The first imperial edict was for Mu Sheng's son Mu Yan to serve as the Duke of Guizhou and serve as the chief military officer of Yunnan. Like his father Mu Sheng, he would continue to guard Yunnan for the Ming Dynasty.

He also granted permission for the Duke of Guizhou to be hereditary and retire with the country.

Starting from the father and son Mu Ying, Mu Chun, and Mu Sheng, it has become a routine for the Mu family to guard Yunnan. Zhu Gaoxu's decree is equivalent to confirming the Mu family's status in Yunnan from a legal perspective.

The general meaning of the second imperial edict was that due to the newly established Mengdian and Menglao provinces, Yi and Han people lived together in the two provinces. In order to avoid future chaos in the two provinces, after careful consideration, he decided to follow the example of Taizu Emperor Gao and let Mu Ying and his son guard them. The story of Yunnan, the British Duke Zhang Fu was ordered to control Mengdian, and the Chengguo Duke Zhu Neng was ordered to control Menglao.

In order to avoid being misunderstood and to show the great kindness of the Holy Emperor, Zhu Gaoxu specifically stated in the imperial edict that the duke titles of Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng would not change, and their titles would not be downgraded through inheritance. They would be the same as the Duke of Guizhou of the Mu family. , hereditary, no replacement, with the country.

Zhang Fu was the chief military officer of Mengdian, and his descendants inherited the British Dukeship. They also held the post of chief military officer of Mengdian during wartime, and guarded Mengdian for the Ming Dynasty for generations.

Zhu Neng was the chief military officer of Meng Lao, and his descendants inherited the dukedom of the country. They also held the post of chief military officer of Meng Lao during the war, and guarded Meng Lao for the Ming Dynasty for generations.

Once these two imperial edicts were promulgated, they immediately shocked the government and the public.

All civil and military officials in the court, except Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng, were all shocked and their jaws dropped.

Even Mu Yan, who received the imperial edict half a month later, was extremely surprised!
The reason why they were shocked was because these two imperial edicts set a new goal for the Ming Dynasty's ministers and generals. That is, the title of Duke is not the end. Military generals and ministers go out to conquer the same place, and the title is hereditary. Resting with the country is the way to go!
In the past, Zhu Di reformed the title system in the early Yongle period, stipulating that the promotion of nobility by reduction and assessment should be carried out in parallel. Now Zhu Gaoxu's decree is equivalent to re-establishing a rule of hereditary and non-substitutable titles - Shizhen can be hereditary and non-substitutable.

Zhu Gaoxu's move was undoubtedly a disguised fulfillment of Zhu Di's promise to his ministers and generals during the Yongle period - to enfeoff heroes with different surnames and establish their country overseas.

In his life, Zhu Di did not entrust any heroes with different surnames to build the country overseas.

It was not that he was unwilling to fulfill his promise, but that he had discussed this matter with Zhu Gaoxu no less than ten times.

Both father and son agreed that although the direct enfeoffment of heroes with different surnames to establish a country overseas could play the role of fierce military commanders and ministers, it would not be conducive to the long-term peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty and the unity of the Chinese nation.

"Different surnames" cannot avoid the word "different" after all.

It was okay when the court was strong, but once the court began to weaken, Jianguo's ministers with different surnames would inevitably have second thoughts.

If things continue like this, I am afraid that in just one to two hundred years, the situation of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods may be repeated under the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

Although there is a difference in name between having heroes with different surnames rule the same place and establishing a feudal country, the honor, power and status they enjoy are no less than those of the Ming Dynasty princes.

What's more, he is a hero with a different surname who established his position and title in the form of an imperial edict!

Zhu Gaoxu promulgated these two imperial edicts, which not only confirmed the power of Zhang Fushi to control Mengdian and Zhu Nengshi to control Menglao, but also further clarified the situation of Mujiashi's control of Yunnan.

The Mu family is not the king of Yunnan, neither in content nor form.

The Mu family has been through two and three generations since Mu Ying and the Marquis of Xiping.

The third generation of Xiping Hou Musheng was granted the title of Duke of Guizhou during the Yongle period.

In the original history, starting from Mu Sheng, the Duke of Guizhou lived for ten generations and thirteen generations, and ended in the Southern Ming Dynasty.

This is the status of the Mu family's titles. No one has been crowned king during his lifetime.

Mu Ying's King Qianning and Mu Sheng's King Dingyuan were both posthumous honorary titles, which were completely different from Wu Sangui's "Pingxi King" with a different surname in history.

The Muying family has been able to guard Yunnan for generations not by virtue of the title, but by the position, that is, the chief military officer of Yunnan.

Chief Military Officer is the name of a military official in the Ming Dynasty. He is the legally highest military officer of a certain province or region and has military power.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, guard posts were established from the capital to the local areas.

Whenever there is an expedition, a general will be appointed as the chief military officer, and the troops at the guard station will be transferred and commanded by him. After the war is over, the general's seal will be handed over to him, and the troops will return to the guard station.

Therefore, the general military officer is a temporary dispatch with no rank and no fixed number of personnel. He is mostly filled by dukes, marquises, uncles and governors.

In the early Qianxi period, Zhu Gaoxu reformed the military system of the Ming Dynasty and established a major governor's office in the imperial court and nine governor's offices in local areas.

Among them, the frontier provinces mainly used guard soldiers, supplemented by recruited soldiers, such as Yunnan and Jiaozhou. As for the inland provinces, they mainly recruited soldiers. Some inland provinces retained some guard soldiers due to the large number of chieftains, such as Guizhou and Sichuan.

Historically, senior officials in the Yunnan Capital Command and Envoy Department, such as Du Commander and Du Commander, were often held concurrently by the Mu family.

After the time traveler Zhu Gaoxu carried out the military reform, except for the inland provinces where there were no chieftains or only a small number of chieftains.

In administrative provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan where there are a large number of chieftains, the command and envoy departments have not been abolished, but the unadapted guard stations under their jurisdiction have been placed under the jurisdiction of the respective governors.

Therefore, the number of officers and soldiers in the four armies (recruitment system) under the Yunnan-Guizhou Dudufu is relatively small. After all, there are many guard posts in Yunnan and Guizhou under its jurisdiction.

This is also the reason why Mu Sheng, Duke of Guizhou, took the post of commander of the Yunnan capital and concurrently served as the military counselor-general of the Yunnan-Guizhou capital after the Qianxi military reform.

Historically, after the Zhengtong period, when the border wars of the Ming Dynasty began, the general military officer gradually became a permanent military official. Those who were titled as generals were called generals in Yunnan, generals in Huguang and plain barbarians, generals in Guangdong and Guangxi, and generals in Datong. General Xiqian, General Pingqiang in Gansu, General Zhengxi in Ningxia, etc.Therefore, from Mu Sheng onwards, generations of the Mu family held the post of general military officer in charge of the Southern General Seal, guarding Yunnan and other places.

Before Mu Sheng, the Ming Dynasty had six generals who conquered the south. In chronological order, they were Tang He, Liao Yongzhong, Zhou Dexing, Deng Yu, Fu Youde, and Gu Cheng.

There is no record in the history books that Mu Ying was awarded the seal of General Zheng Nan, but there are records of Mu Ying serving as the right deputy general of Zheng Nan, and that Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Mu Ying as the chief military officer of Yunnan to guard Yunnan.

To put it bluntly, whether in the original history or now after being changed by the time traveler Zhu Gaoxu, the Mu family inherited the title of Duke of Guizhou, and what remained unchanged was the military position of Yunnan Chief Military Officer.

Yunnan's civil affairs and prisons have their own separate departments responsible for the Provincial Administrative Affairs Department and the Prosecution and Prosecution Department. The Mu family has no power and cannot arbitrarily interfere with the local administration and justice of Yunnan.

Now Zhu Gaoxu emphasized in the imperial edict that his order to have Zhang Fushi guard Mengdian and Zhu Nengshi to guard Menglao was following the story of Emperor Taizu Gao who ordered Mu Ying to guard Yunnan.

Combined with the imperial edict that allowed Mu Yan to assume the title of Duke of Guizhou and concurrently serve as the chief military officer of Yunnan and continue to guard Yunnan, from now on, the status of Mujia Shizhen in Yunnan will be affirmed and reflected in this imperial edict. .

After the military reform of Qianxi, the Du Commandery Department was still the local military authority of the Ming Dynasty. It was specifically responsible for managing the internal guards in the area under its jurisdiction and various military-related affairs. It was subordinate to the Metropolitan Governor's Office of the imperial court and took orders from a certain person. The local governor's office (the highest local military leadership agency).

The Mu family also holds the position of high-ranking official in the Capital Command Department. In addition to having the power to manage local guards, it is also in charge of the appointment, recognition, promotion and other powers of the chieftains. That is to say, as recorded in the history books, "all the chieftains have to consult before they advance or seize." .”

Because during the Hongwu period and the early and middle Yongle years, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other provinces were integrated into the local three-level power system. There were not many counties and counties actually governed by officials appointed by the imperial court, especially Guizhou and Yunnan.

Therefore, before the late Yongle period, controlling the chieftains of Yunnan was equivalent to controlling most of Yunnan.

This was the real power of the Mu family in Yunnan in the early years!
However, starting from the late Yongle period, the imperial court made attempts to reform some areas.

In the early Qianxi period, Zhu Gaoxu officially set the governor as the highest chief executive of a province.

After he appointed Qi Tai as the governor of Guizhou and started piloting the reform of native land to return to local residents in Guizhou and achieved remarkable results, he officially began to gradually promote the policy of converting native land to return to local residents in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and other provinces.

With the construction of the fourth-level official roads, road transportation in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and other provinces has become more convenient, and the influence of the promotion of Sinicization has become greater and greater. Yunnan, Guizhou and other places have been advancing smoothly in the transformation of land and rivers.

So much so that when Si Renfa launched a rebellion in Luchuan, the chieftains in Yunnan, which borders Luchuan, were very honest.

Even so, there are still a large number of Tuzhifu, Tuzhizhou, and Tuzhi counties in Yunnan.

After all, reforming the land and returning it to local people is carried out in stages. It is not a one-and-done solution. What is important is to proceed step by step.

Therefore, the Mu family still has great power in Yunnan.

There are also a large number of native counties in Mengdian and Menglao provinces. Therefore, Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng have the same power and influence in the places they guard as Mu Ying did in Yunnan back then, which is enough to make all the heroes of the Ming Dynasty now. All the generals are envious!
Unless the descendants of these three families commit serious crimes in the future, no one can deprive them of their hereditary title of Duke of the Kingdom and their power to also serve as commander-in-chief in wartime.

The same is true.

The Zhang Fu family and the Zhu Neng family lived in Mengdian and Menglao respectively since then. Like the Mu family in Yunnan, they shared weal and woe with the Ming Dynasty and lived and died together.

Zhang Fu worked hard for the long-term peace and stability of Mengdian. After he died in the British Palace in Burma City in June of the 32nd year of Qianxi, the Mengdian elders "requested to erect a shrine in Burma City to worship him every year."

This is enough to reflect the memory and admiration of the people of Myanmar Prefecture in Mengdian Province for Zhang Fu.

Of course, Zhu Gaoxu did not treat Zhang Fu badly. After his death, he posthumously named him the Prince of Dingxing County with the posthumous title of Zhonglie.

He also ordered Zhang Fu's son Zhang Mao to attack the British Duke and continue to guard Mengdian as the chief military officer of Mengdian.

In fact, Zhang Fu's actions while guarding Mengdian were basically based on what Mu Ying did in Yunnan.

As soon as he entered Mengdian, he took advantage of the military operation and sent people to build roads and erect bridges to connect the important towns in Mengdian.

During the garrison period, Zhang Fu deployed his troops mainly in important places such as Luchuan, Burma, Mengyang, and Mubang. He built a fort every sixty miles, placed sergeants, and carried out farming. It was prohibited to disturb the people, and the soldiers and guards were assigned to each other and roads were maintained. Easy to pass, if nothing happens, the troops will be divided to garrison. If there is police, the troops will be united to suppress the arrests. They will never divide the troops to defend deep into the mountains.

Although there were many rebellions by tribal chiefs while Zhang Fu was guarding Mengdian, because Zhang Fu issued orders first and deployed troops later, they often left the army before fighting. The rebel chiefs were afraid and asked to surrender.

Zhang Fu did not like killing, so he stopped his troops and appeased his people. Over time, his kindness and power convinced the natives.

Moreover, while he was promoting the policy of compulsory sinicization by the governor of Mengdian, the chief envoy and other civil servants, he held military training schools in six prefectures every month, and then took the opportunity to recruit young indigenous people who had accepted sinicization as auxiliary soldiers, giving the indigenous youth a Opportunity to join the army.

After all, since the Qianxi military reform, all young men of military age, whether they are regular soldiers or auxiliary soldiers, as long as they are unmarried, can participate in the military's semi-annual blind dates.

Most of the women who participated in the blind date meetings were unmarried military medical personnel or local unmarried young women of the right age organized by the Chief Envoy Si Yamen.

In response to the marriage of military sergeants in the Ming Dynasty, the court had a special wedding date and supporting policies for military dependents.

In other words, the selected indigenous young people are equivalent to purchasing a hereditary Ming national identity card for their descendants in advance.

Therefore, all young indigenous families who were selected as auxiliary soldiers were grateful to Zhang Fu.

"Records of Emperor Gaozongwu of the Ming Dynasty" also spoke highly of Zhang Fu: "Assistant in promoting great virtues, restraining soldiers, pacifying barbarians, and showing disdain from far and near. ... Fu is a man of few words and smiles, while Shen Yi is wise and virtuous. A scholar is particularly kind when he cares for his soldiers. ... The assistant declares his favor and cares for them and governs them. He attracts the chieftains and wins their favor."

As for Zhu Neng, he also devoted a lot of effort to the long-term peace and stability of Meng Laos.

Whatever Zhang Fu did in Mengdian, Zhu Neng followed suit.

However, Zhu Neng did not live as long as Zhang Fu. He died of illness while inspecting the military camp in October of the 22nd year of Qianxi.

According to the records of the medical records of the military medical officer, Zhu Neng became ill from overwork and eventually exhausted all his efforts.

After Zhu Gaoxu heard the obituary news, he was given a funeral ceremony and posthumously named him Prince of Dongping County, with the posthumous title of "Wu Lie".

He also ordered Zhu Neng's son Zhu Yong to attack the Duke of Chengguo and serve as the chief military officer of Mongolia. He would inherit his father's legacy and continue to work for the peace and stability of Mongolia.

"Records of Emperor Gaozongwu of the Ming Dynasty" also gave a very high evaluation of Zhu Neng: "Zhu Neng established the country and bravely championed the three armies. He understood the master in a few words and became a hero in a hundred battles. ... He was able to be broad-minded and serious, and he was able to compromise and win over the masses. The words are simple and understandable, and everyone is convinced. He loved his people as much as his son, embraced Sui and surrendered to him, and showed great kindness. On the day of his death, all the generals and the school will weep."

PS: There is only this update today, thank you for your persistence!

(End of this chapter)