prosperous age

"The Yang family has ruled Bozhou for many years, and their power is deeply entrenched and should not be underestimated."

Bozhou is located between Sichuan, Guizhou, and Hubei, far from the capital's influence. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and its terrain is treacherous. If anything were to happen, it would be troublesome.

"Brother Uncle, the imperial court has long intended to select a local chieftain to implement the policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials. Why not choose Yang Yinglong's Bozhou?"

Wei Guangde said to Zhang Juzheng meaningfully.

Wei Guangde's words made it very clear: he wanted to abolish the Tusi system in Bozhou and replace it with direct imperial administration, and use this as a pilot project. Zhang Juzheng had no choice but to think deeply about it.

Throughout history, the central dynasties maintained a loose control over the southwestern minority regions, even having to acknowledge their independent statehood, such as Dali during the Song Dynasty.

The Dali Kingdom was still quite famous in later generations, thanks to Jin Yong's novel "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils".

Historically, the Dali Kingdom was once a powerful kingdom, encompassing all of present-day Yunnan, most of Guizhou, southwestern Sichuan in China, as well as northern Myanmar, Luang Prabang in Laos, and parts of Vietnam.

Buddhism is highly revered throughout Dali, and many of its rulers abdicated in their later years to become monks.

The Dali Kingdom was precisely a multi-ethnic regime in southwestern China's history.

The Dali Kingdom, which succeeded the Nanzhao Kingdom, was an ancient minority regime that rose to prominence in the Yunnan region in the 8th century. It was established in the 26th year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty by Piluoge, the leader of the Mengshe Zhao Kingdom.

During the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, there were six relatively powerful small kingdoms in the Erhai region, each ruled by a different king. These kingdoms were known as the Six Zhao: Mengxi Zhao, Yuexi Zhao, Langqiong Zhao, Tanzhao, Shilang Zhao, and Mengshe Zhao.

Because Mengshe Zhao was located to the south of all the Zhao, it was called "Nanzhao".

History books say that with the support of the Tang Dynasty, Mengshe Zhao Piluoge annexed the other five Zhao and unified the Erhai region, thus beginning the Nanzhao regime.

When the Nanzhao Kingdom moved its capital to Taihe City, the Tang Dynasty bestowed upon Piluoge Meng Guiyi the title of Grand Master of the Palace and Duke of Yue, and later the title of "King of Yunnan".

In reality, during the Tianbao War of the Tang Dynasty, Duan Jianwei, the general of the Nanzhao Kingdom, defeated the Tang army and consolidated the rule of the Nanzhao Kingdom.

The so-called Tianbao War was actually the Nanzhao Kingdom's alliance with the Tibetan Empire to defeat the Tang army. After the war, the Nanzhao Kingdom chose to submit to the Tibetan Empire and pay tribute to them.

The Tang Dynasty was helpless in this regard. In fact, although the Tang Dynasty had a strong military, it was always weak and powerless when facing the Tibetans.

The Han army did indeed feel a deep sense of powerlessness regarding the plateau, but a significant reason for abandoning Dali was recognizing the complexity of the area.

After that, the Dali Kingdom continued until it was destroyed by the Mongols, and was never ruled by the Central Plains dynasties.

What's actually hindering us is the treacherous terrain and the presence of local chieftains.

In reality, the Ming Dynasty only nominally ruled this region by bestowing official titles, but it was difficult to truly intervene in the internal affairs of the Tusi tribes.

Even more tragically, some local chieftains, driven by greed, conspired with foreign powers to rebel, and the Ming-Burmese War actually took place against this backdrop.

"If we want long-term stability, we must abolish the native chieftain system and replace it with a centrally appointed one."

Wei Guangde spoke up.

"But the imperial court cannot send troops to attack the Yang family of Bozhou just because of this matter."

Zhang Juzheng came to his senses and spoke to Wei Guangde.

"No rush, we can have the Embroidered Uniform Guard continue to gather evidence of Yang's misconduct."

At the appropriate time, a little provocation can be made, but the Ministry of War must make preparations in the vicinity of Bozhou in advance to avoid the situation from spreading too far and involving the surrounding chieftains.

Although the imperial court could use this to expand the scope of the "reform of native chieftains into appointed officials" policy, the expansion of the war would inevitably lead to widespread suffering and death. It would be best to use Bozhou as a model, and after its completion, encourage the local people to follow suit.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

This was intended to trap the Yang family of Bozhou, deliberately creating a pre-existing situation that would lead them to rebel, so that the imperial court could then eliminate them with swift and decisive action.

The policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials would naturally provide better treatment to the local people, allowing the surrounding chieftain tribes to see this and thus creating internal discord.

In this way, if one family caused trouble, the imperial court could use this as an excuse to deal with that family, thus dividing up the numerous chieftains and eliminating them one by one.

Wei Guangde believed that the Embroidered Uniform Guard should have a way to handle this kind of thing.

It was nothing more than bribing and coercing influential people in some chieftain tribes to work for them, instigating internal rebellions, and attracting the intervention of the imperial government.

However, he would only say this to Liu Shouyou in private, and he would never say it out loud, let alone say it here.

Finally, Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, glanced at Liu Shouyou below, and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard should send people to closely monitor the every move of the Yang family of Bozhou."

Since we know they harbor rebellious intentions, we must make preparations in advance, and if necessary, directly contact the local garrison for defense.

"Yes, Grand Secretary Zhang, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will do everything in its power to prevent the Yang family's conspiracy from succeeding."

Liu Shouyou hurriedly stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Please wait outside for a moment, we still have something to discuss here."

Zhang Juzheng immediately ordered Liu Shouyou to leave and wait outside.

After bowing again, Liu Shouyou left the duty room.

At this moment, Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing, who were making their moves, looked curiously at the two people above them.

They had just heard the two men repeatedly saying "reform the native chieftain system and replace it with centrally appointed officials," but they didn't know what it meant.

Actually, they weren't completely ignorant; considering the matter being discussed, the two of them could guess a thing or two.

However, they were completely unaware that the two above seemed to have been plotting this for a long time.

Shen Shixing was relatively good; he knew that both the Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary came from Yu Zhi, and that their private relationship must be quite close.

But Zhang Siwei was different. He always thought he was Zhang Juzheng's chosen successor and had the opportunity to inherit all the political resources left by Zhang Juzheng.

But what he saw today seemed to be somewhat beyond his expectations.

Yes, the two secretly plotted political affairs. Although the outside world generally believed that Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde were from two different factions and had nothing to do with each other, Zhang Siwei knew a little about the inside story. Although the two were nominally independent, they would sometimes get together.

Their public persona and their actual relationship are two completely different things; it's all just a performance for outsiders.

This made Zhang Siwei deeply wary, and he had to raise Wei Guangde's threat level again.

Yes, when Zhang Siwei was young, he had no interest in an official career, but now that he has reached this point, he has the safety and prosperity of several powerful families on his shoulders, and he can no longer act as he pleases.

The position of Grand Secretary was something they coveted.

Zhang Siwei glanced at Wei Guangde secretly, then his gaze was drawn to Zhang Juzheng, and he followed him to the bookshelf.

Zhang Juzheng rummaged through the bookshelf, took out a box, retrieved a letter from it, and then returned.

After Wei Guangde nodded slightly, he handed the letter to Zhang Siwei, saying, "Ziwei, Rumo, you two take a look."

This was a plan to abolish the native chieftain system and return it to the central government after I discussed it with Shandai in my early years. The original intention was to use it in Liaodong to completely abolish the tribalization of the Jurchen people.

However, the Liaodong Regional Military Commission is currently focusing all its efforts on restoring the imperial court's control over the Nurgan region. If this policy were implemented, it might provoke fierce resistance from the Jurchens, especially the Nurgan Wild Jurchen tribes. Therefore, it has been temporarily suspended. It is hoped that the imperial court will regain control of Nurgan and ascertain the strength of the various tribes before considering its implementation.

However, it seems that we can first try to accomplish this in the southwest.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, the letter was handed to Zhang Siwei.

Zhang Siwei opened the letter and quickly browsed through it. Just as he had guessed, the hereditary system of chieftainship was abolished, and the system was changed to prefectures and counties, with the imperial court sending officials to manage them.

The letter is clearly in the handwriting of Wei Guangde, as can be seen from the handwriting itself.

However, after reading the letter, Zhang Siwei's brows relaxed.

Well, the contents of the letters record that the reform of native chieftains into imperial officials was not actually created by them, but rather inherited from the old system of the Yongle period.

During the Yongle reign, the two Pacification Commissioners of Sizhou and Sinan in Tongren and other places rebelled. After the Yongle Emperor sent troops to quell the rebellion, the Guizhou Provincial Administration Commission was established, and the court dispatched officials who could be replaced at any time to serve as officials.

This move can be seen as an implementation of the old practice of "replacing native chieftains with centrally appointed officials," which was actually very important for the governance of the Ming Dynasty in later generations, as it was an existing system.

True innovation often faces enormous resistance.

If you don't have the mindset of "I would risk my life for the country, and not avoid it because of personal gain or loss," then don't even think about implementing reform policies in ancient times.

In any case, the consequences of implementing reforms in ancient times were very unpredictable. Wei Guangde did not want to leave any hidden dangers for future generations, so he had to find "old precedents" for everything he spearheaded.

With precedents in place, when faced with opposition, one can raise the banner of restoring "ancestral systems" to launch a counterattack, which is very effective in countering attacks from censors.

Unless he dares to risk being accused of disrespecting the late emperor and fight Wei Guangde to the death.

To refute Wei Guangde, one must first bring down the late emperor and argue that his actions at the time were inappropriate.

Who dares?

In short, why are you arguing with a dead person?

Of course, this reform only targeted the two Pacification Commissions that rebelled in Guizhou, and only touched a small part of Guizhou. The entire southwest of the Ming Dynasty, and even in most parts of Guizhou, still implemented the Tusi system and was governed by Tusi.

Afterwards, the chieftains rebelled in various ways, but they were not "reformed and replaced by centrally appointed officials." Perhaps influenced by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the imperial court also used the "Seven Captures of Meng Huo" trick in the name of righteousness, hoping to make those chieftains truly serve the court.

Of course, there were practical effects; some chieftains genuinely served the imperial court, such as Qin Liangyu, a famous general at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Her husband, Ma Qiancheng, was the hereditary Pacification Commissioner of Shizhu. After Ma Qiancheng was murdered, Qin Liangyu took over her husband's duties because her son, Ma Xianglin, was still young.

Qin Liangyu, along with her brothers Qin Bangping and Qin Minping, participated in battles against the Qing army, the rebellion of She Chongming, and the rebellion of Zhang Xianzhong, achieving remarkable military exploits and being granted the title of Second-Rank Imperial Lady.

Throughout history, female figures have been recorded in biographies of exemplary women when compiling histories. Qin Liangyu is the only female hero in history to be recorded as a famous general of a dynasty in the official histories of generals and ministers.

However, Qin Liangyu was also a woman who was no less capable than men. During her lifetime, she made unparalleled contributions to the Ming Dynasty's campaigns in the south and north, and deserved the title of Marquis of Loyalty.

After Zhang Siwei finished reading the letter, he immediately handed it to Shen Shixing, who was eagerly waiting.

At this point, Zhang Siwei had already accepted the policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials, regardless of right or wrong; it was simply the obsession of a scholar.

Scholars are the ones who govern the people on behalf of Heaven. The people of the world should actually be governed by them, not by chieftains who are born into good families.

With their guidance, the people of the world can live better lives and avoid being exploited by the chieftains, becoming tools for bargaining between the chieftains and the imperial court.

After Shen Shixing finished reading the letter, the four people in the room remained silent for a long time, all pondering the gains and losses of the matter.

Although they had considered it repeatedly, both Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng went through their ideas again in their minds, checking for any omissions or deficiencies.

Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing, facing this situation for the first time, were also quickly calculating the gains and losses in their minds.

Given Wei Guangde's habits, this matter will certainly not be resolved smoothly; there will definitely be some underhanded tactics behind the scenes to accelerate the implementation of the plan.

However, they did not consider what means to use to achieve their goal. Their only concern was that the chieftains in the southwest would rise up and attack them, uniting to resist the imperial court. This was what made them most hesitant.

The plan was beautiful, but if one or two of the chieftains were even slightly shrewd, they would often see through the court's intentions and then contact and incite other chieftains.

When Zhang Siwei voiced his concerns, Wei Guangde smiled and said, "That depends on the capabilities of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If they can't even figure out the Tusi (chieftains) and the abilities of their people, then they truly deserve to die."

It's very simple; the Embroidered Uniform Guard will conduct detailed and secret investigations into influential chieftains.

Those who could influence most chieftains were inevitably only the major chieftains.

As long as they can't tell, that's fine.

As for those minor chieftains, even if one or two geniuses emerge from among them, they have little say and have virtually no influence.

When that time comes, the imperial court will also deploy a large army in advance. There are still 100,000 government troops in Burma, and there will also be actions in Shanxi and Shaanxi.

At worst, we can adopt the policy of the Qing Dynasty, using a large army to force the chieftain to submit.

In Guangxi province alone, after the Qing army amassed a large force, local chieftains wisely chose to surrender their seals and weapons to preserve themselves in the face of the current situation.

As a result, the local officials of Guangxi, from the Cen family of Sicheng downwards, successively surrendered their imperial seals and more than 20,000 military weapons, and the reform of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials in western Guangxi quickly achieved results.

Wei Guangde would also deal with those chieftains who obeyed the imperial court's orders separately.

Those with significant influence were stripped of their local titles and sent to other places for resettlement, while minor chieftains could be demoted to assistant chieftains and allowed to remain in the local area to help the court stabilize the local situation.

The best approach is, of course, to use both carrot and stick tactics. First, eliminate influential chieftains like the Yang family of Bozhou to deter them, and then try to force smaller chieftains to relinquish their rights.

Upon hearing Wei Guangde's words, Zhang Siwei fully understood what he meant.

The imperial court's policy of replacing native chieftains with appointed officials may have been implemented smoothly and voluntarily, but in practice, Wei Guangde might have used underhanded tactics to forcefully enforce this decree.

As long as the government troops can deter the local chieftains, we are not afraid of them causing trouble.

After Wei Guangde walked out of the Grand Secretary's office with a smile, he immediately called Liu Shouyou to his side.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard must ascertain the strength of the chieftains in the southwest region and the relationships between them as soon as possible, and archive their capabilities and the situation of their subordinates."

Wei Guangde emphasized the need to thoroughly investigate powerful chieftains and ascertain their full strength, as this was the most important step in promoting the implementation of the policy of replacing chieftains with centrally appointed officials.

"Those influential people under the chieftains should also be secretly monitored. It would be even better if we could bribe them or obtain some incriminating evidence against them."

The number of chieftains in the southwest is large, which is obviously not an easy task. Liu Shouyou frowned when he heard this.

Wei Guangde's demands were too high.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was said to have 100,000 men, but only about a thousand were truly useful.

They had already sent hundreds of people to infiltrate neighboring states to gather information, and now they were sending spies to the southwest. Where would they find so many more people?

"This matter must be arranged within two years, and must be handled with utmost care." (End of Chapter)