Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 395: In the 18th year of Qianxi’s reign, the constant cold weather is not far away
In the 18th year of Qianxi's reign, it was the 21st day of the first lunar month.

Fengtian Temple, early dynasty.

After Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, he looked around at the civil and military ministers in the palace and said: "Today is the first regular court meeting in the 18th year of Qianxi's reign. I want to announce three things."

A few days after seeing off the lively Lantern Festival, Qianxi and his ministers couldn't wait to start the first regular court session of the new year.

Zhu Gaoxu was anxious because after the Li clan's Yue Kingdom was destroyed, the Ming Dynasty officially incorporated the Funan Peninsula into its territory, and he had many things to arrange next.

The ministers were anxious because of the distribution of power in the Funan Peninsula.

At this time, when all the ministers heard the words, they all cheered up and pricked up their ears like rabbits.

With the promulgation of two imperial decrees that shocked the world at the end of the 17th year of Qianxi, the old year passed and the people of Ming Dynasty ushered in the new year.

As the saying goes, "new year, new atmosphere", Zhu Gaoxu decided to make some new attempts in this new year.

"The Le Yue Kingdom was founded on the bones of the three princes and nobles of Siam, Chenla, and Champa. After I sent troops to exterminate the Li thieves, I sent envoys to search for the descendants of the three royal families, but found nothing. The people of the three countries also yearned for the Ming Dynasty and elected their elders one after another. Write a letter to the court, begging the court to bring Siam, Chenla, and Champa under its control, and send officials to govern them, just like the story of the Annan Kingdom in the past."

"This is what the people want. I decided to agree to the begging of the elders of the Three Kingdoms, change the occupied city into Xianglin Mansion, and place it under the jurisdiction of the Chief Secretary of Jiaozhou. At the same time, with the Siam River (Meng River) as the boundary, the land in Hebei will be designated as Siam The North Cheng Proclamation Department and other offices have jurisdiction, and the Henan area is under the jurisdiction of the Siam South Cheng Propagation Department and other offices."

Zhu Gaoxu said loudly: "This is the first thing I want to announce. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty is wise, I have no objection."

Wang Zhijian, Minister of Personnel and Cabinet Advisor, walked out of the class and said.

"Now that the three kingdoms of Siam, Chenla, and Champa have ceased to exist, I understand what the people want. Your Majesty obeys the will of heaven and obeys the people. It is in line with the law of heaven. I also agree with this move."

Wang Zuo, the Minister of Household Affairs and Cabinet Advisor, followed closely.

Yang Shan, the Minister of Rites and Cabinet Advisor, hesitated for a while, then stepped out of the class to express his position: "I second the proposal."

Later, Wang Ji, the Minister of the Ministry of War, Wei Yuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Wang Yan, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, who also served as cabinet advisers, came out in turn to express their approval of Zhu Gaoxu's decision.

Then, all the civil servants shouted "Your Majesty is wise" or "I have no objections."

Zhu Gaoxu turned his attention to the line of ministers and generals and asked, "Do the two governors have any objections?"

Chen Maodao, the right governor of the Metropolitan Governor's Office and cabinet advisor, said: "Your Majesty is wise and I have no objection."

"Your Majesty has made a holy judgment, and I naturally agree with it. However, although the Li bandits have been eliminated, there are still a large number of powerful local chiefs in the two Siams (North Siam and South Siam). In order to prevent another rebellion, I request your Majesty to send generals to guard the two Siams. .”

Xue Lu, the left governor of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, bowed and said.

In the past, Zhu Di reformed the title system in the early Yongle period, and stipulated that the promotion of nobility should be carried out in parallel with the assessment of nobility. However, Zhu Gaoxu issued an imperial edict at the end of last year, letting Mu Yan succeed the Duke of Guizhou and continue to guard Yunnan, and also let Zhang Fushi guard Mengdian and Zhu Neng. Shi Zhen Meng Lao.

His two decrees were equivalent to re-establishing the rule of hereditary substitution of titles - Shizhen could be hereditary and interchangeable.

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.

Since then, all the noble ministers and generals at the duke level have been looking forward to it, looking forward to being able to go out and control a place, so that their titles can be hereditary and they can rest with the country.

Especially when the Le Thi Viet Kingdom had just been wiped out, the southern part of the Funan Peninsula still needed to be guarded by at least two generals.

Xue Lu's words were equivalent to expressing the thoughts of all the honorable generals in the court.

Although there are not many generals who are qualified to participate in the early court, only a dozen or so, they represent the voice of the generals.

In the late Hongwu period, when Zhu Gaoxu was still the grandson of the emperor, Xue Lu followed him as a guard.

It can be said that Xue Lu is Zhu Gaoxu's late official and his absolute confidant.

He had a tacit understanding with Zhu Gaoxu, and knew that the current situation required someone to raise this issue on behalf of the generals, but Chen Mao had not mentioned it just now, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

"What Xue Qing said is absolutely true, I have this plan."

Zhu Gaoxu took advantage of the situation and answered: "For the sake of future generations, there is no room for loss in the Funan Peninsula. Liang Meng (Mengdian and Menglao) are guarded by Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng, and Liang Siam also needs two generals!"

"Your Majesty, as far as the Ming Dynasty is concerned, the Funan Peninsula is a frontier and barbaric land. It is enough to have the British Duke and the Duke of Cheng Guo sitting in charge. Why do we need to send more generals?"

Chen Yi, the censor of Youdu, walked out of the class, bowed and saluted.

Xue Lu, Chen Mao and other generals immediately glared at Chen Yi.

Zhu Gaoxu smiled slightly, stroked his beard and said: "Chen Qing, although Funan is located in the south of Yunnan, it is indeed a borderland for the imperial court. But the rice there is harvested three times a year, and the Lancang River and other river basins have vast plains for supply. Reclamation. If Funan can be developed, in a few decades we will be able to 'Funan is ripe and the country is full'!"

"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is located in the vast plains of Lianghuai, Huguang, Liangliao, etc. Whether it is sweet potatoes or potatoes, it can solve the famine among the people in years of famine. However, developing Funan is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it also requires force to suppress it. To prevent barbarians from causing chaos, if we entrust others to do so, wouldn’t it be like trying to draw water from a bamboo basket in vain?”

Chen Yi respectfully advised.

Zhu Gaoxu said loudly: "I am determined to support the counties and counties in Funan. Chen Qing does not need to say anything."

Then, he waved his hand and signaled Chen Yi to retreat.

The ministers could feel Zhu Gaoxu's obsession to annex Funan, just like Zhu Di's obsession to cripple the Oara and Tatars on the grassland during the Yongle period.

The same is true.

In order to annex Funan, Zhu Gaoxu had already made layout and plans.

From April of the 12th year of Qianxi's reign, he transferred Zhang Fu to the Yunnan-Guizhou Governor's Mansion as the Military Staff Governor, which was considered a key plan for the annexation of the Funan Peninsula.

Zhang Fu lived up to his expectations and led the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty to fight hard, forcing Si Renfa to send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty in April of the 13th year of Qianxi to seek compensation for peace.

As a result, the Ming Dynasty's first conquest of Luchuan ended with the Luchuan side suing for peace, and the Ming Dynasty won.

For Zhu Gaoxu, the victory at that time was just the first step for Ming Dynasty to annex the Funan Peninsula.

The reason why he did not kill Si Renfa at that time was because the entire Funan Peninsula had not yet become chaotic.

When Li Li, the former wealthy family in Annan, rebelled in Jiaozhou Prefecture and the Xuanwei Division in Laos also became chaotic, Zhu Gaoxu naturally wanted to take the opportunity to drive Sirenfa southward and let the war sweep across the entire Funan Peninsula. This was in his interest.

At the end of October of the 14th year of Qianxi, Zhu Gaoxu appointed Zhang Fu, the left governor of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, as the general of Pingman. Zhao An, the military commander of the first Yunnan-Guizhou army, Jiang Gui, the military commander of the second Yunnan-Guizhou army, and Ren Li, the military commander of the Yunnan-Guizhou third army, were on the left. , middle and right staff generals, with Wang Ji, Chen Huai and Gao Shiwen as staff officers, leading one hundred thousand troops to attack Si Renfa.

In December of the same year, after Si Renfa was defeated, he had to take his wife across the river via a small path to escape to Siam via Jingmai. No less than ten thousand people died after crossing the river with him.

At this point, the Ming Dynasty's second campaign against Luchuan ended with the fall of Luchuan Sirenfa and the collapse of the Donggu Tuntulu regime.Subsequently, Zhu Gaoxu established two administrative envoys in Mengdian and Menglao.

Then, Qianxi's emperor and ministers spent more than two years to establish the three-division administrative system in the northern part of the Funan Peninsula, and completed the county-level transformation of the original Xuanwei divisions such as Luchuan, Mengyang, Mubang, Burma, and Laos. Officially established a foothold there and achieved effective rule.

At the same time, Zhu Gaoxu used the all-pervasive espionage skills of the Jin Yiwei secret agents to successfully introduce the war started by Si Renfa, Li Li and others into the three countries of Siam, Chenla, and Champa.

It was with the help of Li Li that he accomplished the harm to the three small countries in the southern part of the Funan Peninsula.

In this way, in early December of the 16th year of Qianxi's reign, Le Li, who had annexed the three kingdoms, assumed the title of Emperor of Dai Viet and established the Le Li Yue Dynasty.

From the 12th year of Qianxi to the 16th year of Qianxi, more than half of the indigenous people on the Funan Peninsula died due to the wars started by Si Renfa, Li Li and others.

At that time, Zhu Gaoxu saw that the time was ripe to annex the Funan Peninsula, so he issued an edict to attack Li Li in early February of the 17th year of Qianxi.

After the Ming Dynasty officially raised troops to attack the Li Yue Kingdom, many rebellions broke out within the Li Yue Kingdom.

At the same time, powerful local chiefs such as Taungoo, Mubang, and Jingmai in Mengdian and Mongolia also took the opportunity to launch rebellions.

Through the efforts of the officials of Qianxi, the rebellion in Liangmeng was completely wiped out in September of the 17th year of Qianxi, and the Yue Kingdom of the Li family was eliminated in November.

After the war, Zhu Gaoxu sent Jin Yiwei spies to make rough statistics and found that, except for the area under the jurisdiction of the Chief Envoy of Jiaozhou, including Liangmeng, the number of indigenous people in the Funan Peninsula was only about 260%, or about [-] million.

Moreover, half of the remaining 260 million indigenous people have taken refuge in the deep mountains and forests, and most of the remaining half are those who aspire to the Ming Dynasty.

In other words, at the beginning of the 18th year of Qianxi's reign, there were only 260 million indigenous people distributed in the land of Meng and Siam, which together covered more than ten Huaixi provinces, and most of the indigenous people were interested in the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, it was an excellent opportunity for County Funan, and Zhu Gaoxu would not let it go.

The reason why he is obsessed with annexing Funan is because in more than ten years, the Ming Dynasty will enter a "permanent cold" climate!
"History of the Ming Dynasty: Five Elements Chronicles" clearly records: "From the winter of the fourth year of Jingtai, November Wuchen to Mengchun of the next year, there was heavy snow for several feet in Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang, Zhili, Huai, and Xu, and the sea ice in Huaidong was more than [-] miles. Thousands of people and animals froze to death. In the first month of the fifth year, there was heavy snowfall in all the prefectures south of the Yangtze River for forty days, and Suzhou and Suzhou often froze and starved to death."

This shows how harsh the climate was at that time!

Although Zhu Gaoxu did not remember that the climate environment officially entered the "constant cold" period starting from the fourth year of Jingtai in history, he clearly remembered that one of the reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty was the "Little Ice Age." (Note 1)

Because of this, he was deeply impressed by the records of Henghan in Ming Dynasty historical materials, but he only remembered that the approximate time was a few years after the Tumubao Incident.

Zhu Gaoxu estimates that in twelve or three years, the entire China will enter a permanently cold climate and begin to be dominated by the Little Ice Age.

The characteristics of the Little Ice Age are mainly reflected in its unusually cold winter temperatures. Although summers are not as cold as winter, the temperatures also drop significantly.

The climate in Guangdong and Guangxi is mild, with temperatures around [-] degrees even in winter. However, during the Little Ice Age, even Fujian, Guangzhou and other places received a foot of heavy snow.

As we all know, in most cases, cold weather also brings drought. Due to the overall temperature drop during the "Little Ice Age", the overall weather is dominated by drought, and summer is no exception.

As a result, even the originally hot and rainy summers have become extremely dry, and there may even be no rain for many years.

According to historical records, during the Little Ice Age, various parts of the Ming Dynasty, such as Shandong, Henan, Jiangxi, etc., experienced disasters under different circumstances. The lighter ones were probably two or three years without rain, and the more severe ones were even ten years without rain.

Long-term drought is a devastating blow to agriculture, and the consequences of long-term drought are wailing in the fields, deserters fleeing in all directions, and the entire Ming Dynasty fell into turmoil.

Zhu Gaoxu asked Zheng He to introduce high-yielding crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes from overseas in order to cope with natural disasters that would inevitably occur in the future.

Otherwise, hungry people would have no choice but to chew tree bark, eat soil, eat anything available, and even exchange seeds for food.

A severe drought is bound to be followed by a locust plague. According to historical records of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are many records of droughts across the country, but more records are of locust disasters and the imperial court's relief from locust plagues.

Not only that, when food is scarce, people will compete with rats for food, so they are at risk of contracting plague.

According to records, during the Chongzhen period, several plagues occurred in the Ming Dynasty, which directly led to the death of millions of people. Even the soldiers guarding Kyoto were infected by the plague. The soldiers fell to pieces, and only one person guarded the place where dozens of people were defending. The harm of the plague is not unserious.

In addition to these, there are earthquakes.

Historically, from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, there were 410 recorded earthquakes, with an average of one earthquake every eight months.

The consequence of natural disasters such as snowstorms, droughts, and earthquakes is that in some areas of the Ming Dynasty, food crops have gone from shortage to failure, making it more difficult for people to live in a vicious cycle.

All of these are a series of chain reactions brought about by the drought characteristics of the Little Ice Age.

In short, one after another disasters occurred, resulting in the red land thousands of miles away, ten houses and nine empty houses, and many people became victims of the Little Ice Age.

Most of the peasant uprisings in the Ming Dynasty were because they could no longer survive and were forced to embark on the road of rebellion.

In history, Li Zicheng started to rebel precisely because the imperial court laid off a large number of people in response to the Little Ice Age. As a result, he lost his job and had no way out.

Zhu Gaoxu would not be stupid enough to rely on sweet potatoes and potatoes to help the people of the Ming Dynasty survive the natural disasters caused by the constant cold climate.

When extreme cold and drought come, yields of sweet potatoes and potatoes will also decrease.

He actively promoted these two high-yielding crops in the Ming Dynasty in order to breed more cold- and drought-resistant varieties and improve the chances of winning against the natural disasters of the Little Ice Age.

His annexation of the Funan Peninsula also had this purpose.

Funan has a tropical climate with high temperatures all year round. Although the Little Ice Age will affect Funan, it is not major in general.

As long as Funan is developed into the granary of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu and his descendants will have more than a [-]% chance of winning in leading the Ming Dynasty subjects through the Little Ice Age!

Therefore, let alone sending four generals to guard Funan, Zhu Gaoxu would not hesitate to send six or ten generals.

Of course, waging war abroad will also be a way to deal with natural disasters.

Historically, the Great Famine in Europe from the [-]th century to the [-]th century was actually partly caused by the Little Ice Age.

Once a country suffers from internal famine, it will think about expanding its land outwards to obtain new means of production and resources.

At this time, some more developed areas in Europe had already begun to plunder colonies around the world.

Zhu Gaoxu will naturally not be stupid enough to resist. He will banish all his sons who can be banished during his lifetime. At the same time, he will send generals to control the world in key places overseas, such as the story of Zhang Fu and Zhu Nengshi in the two Meng Dynasties.

When the time comes, the Ming Dynasty will no longer be able to bear it, so it can move its population overseas.

Note 1: The cold weather in the "Little Ice Age" was actually a gradual process, while the cold weather in the "Ming and Qing Little Ice Age" actually began to appear from the Hongwu period. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the climate began to remain "constant." "Cold", and this cold weather gradually improved from the early Qing Dynasty, but it was not until the sixth year of Guangxu that the climate began to gradually warm again.

(End of this chapter)