Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"The imperial court intends to recruit An Wei to surrender. Is the She An Rebellion quelled?"

"Brother Yuan is the commander-in-chief of the Yunnan army. When the time comes to reward you for your merits, how can the court not confer a title on you?"

"I think the southwest is also a place of great importance. Maybe Brother Yuan can become a meritorious official of the Purple Pavilion like Marquis Jingyuan."

While discussing the situation in the southwest with Yuan Chonghuan, Xu Bengao comforted him.

After the defeat of the decisive battle with all the troops, and the steady and continuous suppression by the imperial court, the Shuixi An clan had been defeated repeatedly and could no longer hold on. They even kept asking the imperial court for peace and requesting an end to the war.

The reason why the war has not ended yet is that the imperial court wants to use the seized land to set up garrisons and reward meritorious soldiers.

Otherwise, the She'an Rebellion would have been put down long ago instead of continuing to this day.

Yuan Chonghuan thought about the current situation and said:

"The places in Shuixi that are easy to capture have basically been captured."

"If we march further in, we will enter the core area of ​​the An family, and the resistance we will encounter will be far more intense than before."

"Most of the soldiers in the southwest have already received rewards and are about to become hereditary officials with generations of wealth. Many of them no longer want to fight, but instead plan to reclaim the land and bring their families over to enjoy generations of wealth."

"The imperial court intends to deploy troops in Liaodong next year and also wants to end the war in the southwest, so we agree to surrender and Anwei."

"If the An family can agree to the court's demands, the war will be over."

All parties do not want the war to continue, and the conditions for peace talks are sufficient.

The next step is to see whether Shuixi An can recognize the situation and accept the court's recruitment.

If they were willing to reduce the position of chieftains and the area of ​​their jurisdiction, and be divided into several Xuanfusi and Anfusi according to the court's order, peace could be reached.

Xu Bengao was confident about this, because if the An family disagreed, it would be the end of their destruction.

For such chieftain families, survival is the most important thing. Face and territory have to give way to survival.

Not to mention that the court only demoted the Shuixi An family and extended their favor, even if it was changed into a garrison, they would have to accept it.

Even Xu Bengao thought that it would be more stable if all of them were converted into garrisons to prevent the Shuixi An family from causing chaos in the future.

Some garrison officers and soldiers also had the same idea and planned to completely pacify Shuixi and establish long-term peace and stability for future generations.

However, this is only the idea of ​​a few people. More soldiers no longer want to fight because they have been fighting for many years.

Yuan Chonghuan also did not want to get entangled with Shuixi An, so he said to Xu Bengao:
"If we change it to a garrison, we have to send military officers. We can't let the Shuixi An family take full control."

"Under the current circumstances, who would be willing to serve as an official at Shuixi Guard? How can we suppress the people of Shuixi?"

"It would be better to set up a few more Xuanfusi and Anfusi and let Shuixi'an family manage them themselves."

"If the natives from other places refuse to obey the rules, we can also send them to Shuixi."

"There's too much sand mixed in, so we'll change it into a guard post later."

This was the method formulated by Fu Zonglong, and Yuan Chonghuan also agreed. The conditions for changing Shuixi into a garrison were indeed not mature, the court could not fully control it, and it was impossible for all the locals to adapt to the garrison system.

It would be better to occupy all the conquered areas first, and register the natives who are willing to be incorporated into the garrison as citizens, and drive those who are unwilling to be incorporated into the garrison to Shuixi.

By that time, when the newly established garrison has stabilized, whether it is to advance again or to use force to force the enemy, it will be able to suppress the Shuixi An family and force Shuixi to undergo internal changes.

I believe that by that time, there will be people in Shuixi who will surrender to the imperial court. After the natives and Tusi of Shuixi become familiar with the garrison system, they will also be willing to join. The imperial court can take advantage of the situation to recruit them, eliminate the forces with dissident intentions, and complete the reform from Tusi to garrison.

This series of strategies will take a long time. The imperial court has formulated a plan for ten or even twenty years and intends to implement it for a long time. No matter who the next governor of Guizhou is, this strategy must be implemented.

The policy of reforming the native chieftains into officials has been determined as a national policy. No native chieftains who disobey the court, especially those who have rebelled in the past, are allowed to exist within the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

Talking about this matter, Xu Bengao said to Yuan Chonghuan with some concern:

"It's good to change the chieftain system, but we also have to be careful about the chieftains' unrest!"

"I heard that the chieftains in Yunnan are a little unstable."

"If they cause trouble, it will be bad for Brother Yuan."

Today, Yuan Chonghuan is not only the governor of Yunnan, but also acts as the general of Yunnan, a post inherited from the Mu family.

If a rebellion broke out in Yunnan, he, as the chief officer, would be the first to bear the brunt and be questioned by the court.

Yuan Chonghuan thought of some of the chieftains' actions and sneered:
"If these chieftains behave themselves, that's fine. But if they don't, I have ways to punish them."

"I will summon them here another day to see who dares to disobey my orders."

He planned to hold a Hongmen Banquet to deal with all the restless chieftains.

Xu Bengao understood what he meant and quickly advised:

"Brother Yuan, don't be anxious. You still need to act cautiously."

"The affairs of the chieftains in Yunnan are complicated, and many of them have made contributions in suppressing the She'an Rebellion. We cannot punish them lightly, or they will feel that the court is unfair."

"In my humble opinion, it would be better to give them the lands of Burma and Laos and let them try to fight in the south."

"If we can take them down, it means that their strength is just so-so. Brother Yuan can then lead the army to recover the Three Xuans and Six Weis."

"Even if we can't defeat them, with Brother Yuan leading the army, there won't be any major problems."

This idea made Yuan Chonghuan's eyes light up, and he felt that he had found an opportunity to make a contribution.

The three Xuan and six Wei are the chieftains that the imperial court once established in the south of Yunnan. The three Xuan refers to the Xuanfusi of Nandian, Ganya Xuanfusi, and Longchuan Xuanfusi, and the six Wei refers to the Xuanweisi of Cheli, Myanmar Xuanweisi, Mubang Xuanweisi, Babai Dadian Xuanweisi, Mengyang Xuanweisi, and Laos Xuanweisi.

In fact, there were more than just these chieftains established by the imperial court. There were also the Dagula Xuanwei Si, the Dimasa Xuanwei Si, the Diwula Xuanwei Si, the Manmo Anfu Si, etc. The Three Xuans and Six Wei were just common names.

If the three Xuans and six Weis that the imperial court had set up could be taken back, he could at least obtain the title of earl like Zhang Xianzhong.

However, there is no war between the imperial court and Myanmar and other places now. If someone provokes a border conflict, what will the imperial court do?
Looking at Xu Bengao's eyes, Yuan Chonghuan said thoughtfully:
"Is what Xu Zhenfu said your own idea or someone else's?"

"Recovering the Three Xuans and Six Weis doesn't seem like something Brother Xu could say?"

Xu Bengao laughed and said,
"I knew I couldn't hide it from Brother Yuan."

"Tell the truth to Yuan Futai, these words are what the emperor meant."

"The She'an Rebellion is about to be quelled. Some soldiers want to live in peace, while others want to make achievements. Not to mention that some chieftains are already ready to make a move."

"The emperor's intention is to guide these restless people out of the country."

"As long as they don't cause trouble within the Ming territory, they can do whatever they want."

"Father Yuan just needs to protect Yunnan and prevent any major chaos."

"If Yuan Futai wants to make a contribution, he can also send troops to attack independently while ensuring the stability of Yunnan."

The official title of these words clearly indicated that they were the emperor's instructions. However, there was no decree, and it was up to Yuan Chonghuan himself whether to obey.

In the past, he would not necessarily accept the emperor's edict, let alone an oral order that was not even on a piece of paper.

But now he was once again involved in the collusion case, and was basically abandoned by his teacher Han Yu. If he didn't seize this opportunity, he would have no one to rely on in the officialdom.

The emperor was clearly taking advantage of the man's misfortune and recruiting him when he had nowhere else to go.

If he doesn't accept it, even if the case of treason can be passed this time, there will be no further development in the future.

Yuan Chonghuan was not opposed to joining the imperial party. He even joined the eunuch party during the Tianqi period, so how could he be unwilling to join the emperor?

What he wanted to confirm now was how much the emperor valued him and whether he was willing to give him a chance to return to Liaodong.

In his heart, he still couldn't let go of Liaodong, believing that it was where a real man could show his talents.

So, he tried to say to Xu Bengao:
"If Yuan can recover the Three Xuans and Six Weis, Liaodong in the future..."

Just as he mentioned "Liaodong", Xu Bengao intervened and said:
"Stop!" "Brother Yuan, don't mention Liaodong again."

"The court has already made comprehensive considerations for Liaodong, so Brother Yuan doesn't need to worry about it."

"You are already under suspicion, why do you want to attract suspicion?"

He shook his head repeatedly as he spoke, and was very puzzled as to why Yuan Chonghuan wanted to return to Liaodong so much.

As far as he knew, many hereditary officials in the capital would rather lower their hereditary positions than go to Liaodong to make achievements.

Why do you want to go back so much now that you are here with Yuan Chonghuan?

"Could it be that he is really colluding with the Jianlu? Is he afraid that the truth will be exposed?"

When this thought came to his mind, Xu Bengao forced himself to abandon it and decided not to investigate further.

No matter what, Yuan Chonghuan is now in the southwest. Even if he really colludes with the enemy, he cannot affect this side.

What he has to do now is to dispel Yuan Chonghuan’s idea of ​​Liaodong and let him stay here with peace of mind.

Thinking of this, Xu Bengao took out a map and said:

"The Three Xuans and Six Weis, as well as Annan, Champa and other places, were named Indochina by the emperor. He intended to conquer as many as he could and make them fiefs for the royal family and nobles."

"Some people like the King of Jingjiang have already gone there, and people from Suzhou are planning to develop New Jiangnan. Many people from my hometown Songjiang have also gone there."

"This place is not small, it is eight million square miles."

"If Brother Yuan can completely conquer this place, it will be 800,000 square miles if we calculate it based on one tenth of the fiefdom."

"By then, let alone becoming a duke or marquis, it's even possible that the Xu family will have two dukes in one family."

"The emperor actually values ​​this place more than Liaodong, and believes it can accommodate more immigrants."

"If the Jianlu hadn't been causing trouble in Liaodong, the emperor wouldn't have been willing to spend millions of taels of silver every year to fight them."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chonghuan said:
"If that's the case, why don't you negotiate peace with the Jianlu?"

"As long as we negotiate peace with the Jianlu temporarily, the imperial court will be able to free up more manpower to recover the Three Xuans and Six Weis..."

He told Xu Bengao his own ideas and the same idea of ​​peace negotiation.

Xu Bengao didn't want to talk about the Liaodong issue, but when he saw Yuan Chonghuan constantly mentioning it, he had to warn him:

"The Emperor has already issued an order not to negotiate peace with the Jianlu."

"All those who advocate peace talks must be transferred out of Liaodong."

"Brother Yuan, don't mention Liaodong. Just stay in the southwest."

Yuan Chonghuan was seriously warned not to mention such things again, otherwise he would not be able to stay in the southwest.

Seeing Xu Bengao so solemn, Yuan Chonghuan had to realize the seriousness of the matter and sighed:
"That's it!"

"Yuan will not talk about Liaodong anymore."

"Please continue, Xu Zhenfu!"

Xu Bengao pointed at the map and continued:
"The Emperor has already sent people to explore Annam, Champa, Malacca and other places."

“Now the sea merchants heading to Malacca have already reached Penang, which was established by the eunuch Wang in Penang, and they want to continue westward.”

"Brother Yuan can try to reach the sea to the south and open up a route connecting the ocean to Ming Dynasty."

"It is said that this area is rich in teak, and the emperor intends to use the wood here to build ships."

Teak is a wood that is widely distributed in Myanmar and is even revered as the national tree.

When Zhu Youjian wanted to choose good wood to build warships, the first thing he thought of was teak from Myanmar and other places.

He also hoped to use the profits from teak to attract more nobles to come to Central and South and establish fiefdoms there.

Yuan Chonghuan had been in Yunnan for a long time, so he naturally had some understanding of neighboring Burma. He thought that there were indeed huge trees in the forests over there, and as long as they could be transported to Ming Dynasty, they would not have to worry about selling them.

So he stared at the Nujiang River, which was now called the Lujiang River, and said:
"This river leads directly to the sea. Can Governor Xu confirm this?"

"If navigation is really possible, the huge trees in Myanmar can be transported out by water."

"Even the giant trees from Yunnan can be transported out through this."

It’s not that there are no giant trees in Yunnan; the biggest difficulty is how to transport them out.

In order to build the palace, the imperial court collected large timber from here, which cost countless manpower and resources.

Now Yuan Chonghuan looked at the map and found that it was obviously more convenient to take the Lujiang River. Even if there would be some losses by taking the sea route, it was acceptable.

Xu Bengao listened to Yuan Chonghuan's doubts and said with a laugh:

"Could it be possible that the map drawn by the emperor himself was fake?"

"He drew this in his dream as Taizu and Chengzu looked down from the sky. There is no way there could be any mistakes."

"It has been confirmed long ago that the Nanyang area exists. The islands, mountains, and rivers shown in the map all exist."

"The current emperor is truly blessed by the spirits of our ancestors!"

This matter was widely spread among the Jinyiwei because they had the task of drawing maps and often used maps when carrying out their tasks.

The maps drawn by the emperor undoubtedly amazed them. They couldn't figure out how the emperor in the deep palace could draw these maps, so they could only believe what the emperor said about the dreams of Taizu and Chengzu.

Yuan Chonghuan had also vaguely heard of this statement, but he had previously thought that the emperor was playing tricks and that the map was drawn by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Now it is obvious from what Xu Bengao said that this is not the case. Moreover, Xu Bengao also understood the scope of activities of the Jinyiwei after he came to the southwest, so it is impossible for him to draw such a detailed map.

So he could only believe that the emperor was blessed by the spirits of his ancestors and drew this map.

This gave him more confidence in the emperor's promise of title.

Even if he could not completely recover the Three Xuans and Six Weis, as long as he could recover a few, it would not be difficult to be granted the title of Earl or even Marquis. After careful consideration, he bowed in the direction of the capital and said:

"Thanks to the emperor's kindness, how dare Yuan not do his best?"

"Please ask Governor Xu to report to the emperor that Yuan will do his best to recover the Three Xuans and Six Weis and restore the borders of the Ming Dynasty."

I officially took on this task and planned to take root in the southwest.

He knew that the moment he accepted the mission, he would never be able to leave here.

Unless he recovered the Three Xuans and Six Weis, he could enter the court and take charge of the Privy Council with the great achievement of recovering the lost territories.

However, the most important task of the Privy Council now is to pacify the Jianlu. It will be difficult for him, who is suspected of colluding with the Jianlu, to go back.

At this time, Yuan Chonghuan even had a premonition that he would have to stay in the southwest for the rest of his life and would never have the chance to return to the court.

This made him turn his attention to expanding territory abroad and obtaining a fiefdom.

Just as he was about to ask about his fief, Xu Bengao said:
"After the recovery of Sanxuan Liuwei, it will definitely not be the same as before."

"The emperor intends to enfeoff princes and meritorious officials and govern the local chieftains."

"Just like the Mu family of Qianguogong ruled Yunnan for generations, but with even greater power."

"Of course the places will be smaller, the largest one is Fang Qianli's kingdom."

"Brother Yuan, as the host, can give priority to selecting an area of ​​500 square miles and reserve it as a fiefdom."

"If Brother Yuan can conquer the whole of Myanmar, he will surely be able to obtain the title of duke." (End of this chapter)