Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian knew the court was short of funds, and he had no intention of rebuilding the border wall at this time, so he asked Liu Zunxian:
"Liu Qing also heard that the court is currently short of funds and cannot rebuild the border wall."

"What do you think should be done about the border defenses in Liaodong?"

Liu Zunxian pondered for a moment and said:
"In that case, I believe Liaodong should be divided up."

"It should not be entirely reorganized into Liaoning Province, but should be divided into Liaodong and Liaoxi."

As he spoke, he pointed to the map and explained:

"As can be seen from the map, the original Liaodong Commandery was surrounded by enemies on three sides."

"To the west are the Mongols, to the northeast are the Jurchens, and to the southeast are the Koreans."

"The Mongols and Jurchens were often enemies of the Ming Dynasty. Korea has always been subservient to the Ming Dynasty, but it should also be careful not to be subjugated by foreign enemies."

"In the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, the Jurchens forced the Koreans to surrender."

These words were correct, and the ministers all nodded in agreement.

Huang Lijie, the head of the Court of Colonial Affairs, thought of Mao Wenlong's proposal to secede from Korea and said:
“Dongjiang Bo has always wanted to be directly under the court, rather than as a vassal of Joseon.”

"If this matter can be accomplished, Liaodong will have one less enemy."

The courtiers were immediately pleased to hear this. They believed that this was the function of a bulwark, protecting the Ming Dynasty from enemies.

North Korea is a large country, and if it were to be subjugated by a foreign enemy, it would pose a great threat to Liaodong.

However, with Dongjiang Territory as a barrier, there is a layer of defense.

What should be done about the powerful threat posed by the Dongjiang territories to Liaodong?
It can only be said that the small Dongjiang territory was not taken seriously by the court officials.

Compared to Korea, which boasts a vast territory spanning "three thousand miles," Donggang Territory, measuring only three hundred miles, is far too small.

Many officials are already praising Mao Wenlong for his loyalty and dedication to the country, and believe that he should be accepted as a direct lord of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian was also somewhat tempted and felt that it was worth a try.

But this is not the time to discuss this, he said:
"The Lifan Yuan can discuss matters concerning the direct jurisdiction of territories such as Dongjiang with Joseon."

"Please continue, Liu Qing, how should we deal with the Mongols and Jurchens after the division of Liaodong and Liaoxi?"

Liu Zunxian pointed to the map and said:

"If we take the indentation of the Liaodong border wall as the dividing line extending southward, then the Jurchens need not be considered on the Liaoxi side."

"From now on, the Jurchens can be dealt with in Liaodong, while Liaoxi can focus on defending Shanhaiguan and the Mongols to the west."

Xiong Mingyu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, questioned:
"If that's the case, Liaodong, which has been divided, will be under great pressure."

"Leaving aside the threat from the Koreans, it also has to deal with the Jurchens in the northeast and the Mongols in the Liaohe River Valley in the west."

"We are still surrounded on three sides and have to deal with three enemies."

Liu Zunxian drew another line on the map and said:

"Therefore, a new Protectorate should be established in the Liaohetao area to manage the region and specifically deal with the Mongols to the east and west of Liaodong."

"This place is located in the northern part of the Daning Protectorate. I believe that Daning should be incorporated into Liaoxi Province, and the Daning Protectorate should be moved north and renamed Liaoning Protectorate."

"Tainingwei, or Baicheng established by Prince Shunli, which was originally the Shangjing Linhuangfu of the Liao Dynasty, was the seat of government and was responsible for governing this area."

Then, he pointed to the north side of Liaodong and said:

“The Khorchin region to the north, where the Jurchens have fled, is a suitable place to establish the Jinning Protectorate.”

"With Nenjiang Prefecture, or the former Shangjing Huining Prefecture of the Jin Dynasty, as the administrative center, it was responsible for governing this area."

"With the two protectorates established in this way, together with the Guihua Protectorate in the west, the safety of Liaodong and Liaoxi provinces can be ensured and the pressure on defense can be reduced."

This plan extended the overall defense line of Liaodong outwards by a ring.

The border defense department even had a more ambitious plan: to establish the Yuanning Protectorate in northern Mongolia, with its capital at Karakorum (also known as Karakorum, the birthplace of the Mongol Yuan dynasty), to govern the region.

Liaoning, Jinning, Yuanning, and the already established Ningxia Protectorate—the birthplaces of the four foreign regimes of Liao, Xia, Jin, and Yuan—will all be suppressed by the four protectorates, preventing them from causing harm.

Such a grand plan drew the attention of the court officials, who began to take Liu Zunxian, the previously unassuming Minister of Border Defense, seriously.
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Zhu Youjian was also extremely pleased, because this plan suited his taste and had the potential to completely quell the border troubles in the north.

In fact, this was also Liu Zunxian's idea. As a native of Daming Prefecture, he had long wanted to prevent his hometown from suffering from border troubles.

After the establishment of Liaoxi Province and various protectorates, they were the ones directly facing the Mongols. Beizhili could enjoy peace and tranquility, no longer needing to mobilize troops for defense whenever there was an emergency along the Great Wall.

To achieve this goal, he continued:
“The area around Daning is now occupied by the various tribes of Harashen.”

“These people are utterly disloyal and righteous, and many of them are colluding with the Jurchens.”

"Previously, the court did not pursue the matter too much in order to win them over."

"Now that the Jurchens have been defeated and fled, I believe they should all be relocated, which would free up land for the hereditary officials of the capital's garrisons."

The decision to relocate the excess hereditary officials of the capital's garrisons to Daning to establish new garrisons was made last year.

Liu Zunxian seized the opportunity to use them to drive out the Mongols.

He hoped that the Great Wall at Jizhou would be completely under the control of the Ming Dynasty, so that there would be no need to worry about the threat from the Mongols. This idea was not only shared by Liu Zunxian, but also by almost all the ministers in the court and even officials and commoners in the capital.

The phrase "the emperor guards the nation's gates" sounds nice, but it carries very real pressure.

The ministers did not want to experience the frequent raids by nomadic tribes on the borders.

Even Zhu Youjian, considering the industrial development of Shuntian Prefecture, felt that the security issue should be addressed.

He addressed his ministers:

"Some of the Kharashen tribes were loyal to the Ming Dynasty and were granted titles by the court."

"The court cannot mistreat these people; where should they be relocated?"

This was clearly an agreement with Liu Zunxian's plan, and Liu Zunxian said happily:
"I believe that we should let Man Gui, the Governor of Daming, who will later become the Governor of Liaoning, preside over the division of territories and allocation of pastures for them in the Liaoning Protectorate."

"General Man's Dongping Marquisate also moved north, and he chose a fiefdom in the Liaoning Protectorate."

"Within three thousand li of the capital and three hundred li of the Great Wall, there should be no feudal lords, especially foreign vassals."

This was a principle previously established by the imperial court, and Liu Zunxian brought it up again, gaining everyone's approval.

They wished their vassal states were as far away as possible, so they wouldn't become an eyesore if they grew powerful in the future.

However, this was unrealistic, as some areas within a thousand miles of the capital were actually desert. The Ming Dynasty had no way to establish military garrisons, and if Mongol tribes were not stationed there, new ethnic groups might rise up in the future.

Therefore, the final agreement was that garrisons should be built within 300 li of the Great Wall, and no vassal states should exist within 1,000 li of the capital. At most, some viscounts should be allocated territories.

Even Man Gui's Dongping Marquisate wanted to carve out territory a thousand miles away. Fortunately, he knew about this beforehand and did not rush to build his territory in Daning, but instead first established the Dongping Second Guard.

Now, Man Gui is to be assigned to a territory in the Liaoning Protectorate area, where he can choose his own domain. Zhu Youjian nodded and said:

"The area around the Liaoning Protectorate was originally the territory of the Chahan tribe and the five Inner Khalkha tribes."

"The pastures in this area are not bad; they are worthy of General Man Gui's achievements."

"Now the Chahan tribe has moved to the northern desert, and the remaining Naiman and Aohan tribes have submitted to the Later Jin and have been destroyed by General Man and the allied forces."

"The same is true for the five Inner Khalkha tribes; Count Zasai didn't recruit many people there."

“Let the Harashin tribe migrate north to fill these empty areas.”

"To prevent it from being occupied by some unknown small tribe that may grow stronger later."

They agreed with Liu Zunxian's idea and put him in charge of the matter.

The former Liaodong Protectorate and Daning were divided into Liaodong and Liaoxi provinces. The Daning Protectorate was moved north to become the Liaoning Protectorate, which was officially established.

From now on, the Three Liao regions will serve as the outer defense line for the capital.

Officials of the Liaoning Protectorate were to be transferred from officials of the Daning Protectorate who had been relocated north.

The officials of Liaoxi Province were transferred from the Liaodong officials who now governed the Liaoxi Military and Civilian Prefecture.

In the new Liaodong Province, Zhu Youjian decided to appoint Lu Xiangshan, who was at the front lines, as governor to govern the area.

Sun Chengzong remained the military governor of Liaodong, in charge of the three Liaodong regions.

Zhu Youjian said:
"We need to come up with a sound solution for how to divide up the three Liaodong regions and how to ensure long-term stability."

"I do not wish to repeat the mistake of building the Liaodong border wall in the past, where only the immediate needs were considered and the long-term consequences were disregarded."

"Since Liaodong and Liaoxi have been established as provinces, the three offices of Provincial Administration Commission, Provincial Surveillance Commission, and Protectorate Commission should be established."

"The thirteen circuits of the Censorate of the Imperial Court, as well as the provincial and ministerial offices of the General Affairs Departments of various ministries, should also include the two provinces of Liaodong and Liaoxi."

"Officials who have made meritorious contributions during this period of wartime should be given priority for promotion and appointment."

The officials were naturally delighted by the opportunity to increase their official ranks.

They unanimously praised the emperor's wisdom and supported the division of Liaodong into three regions.

Then some people suggested that since the separation of the two lakes has been ongoing, it would be better to decide on a unified system to avoid future changes to the imperial court's organizational structure.

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval, confirming the establishment of four new provinces: Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Hubei and Hunan, which were originally part of Huguang. The number of Censors in the Censorate would increase from thirteen to sixteen.

The number of provincial offices under the General Affairs Department of each ministry has also increased to sixteen, connecting with the provincial government offices.

If we include the Northern and Southern Zhili regions, the Ming Dynasty would have two capitals and sixteen provinces, totaling eighteen provincial-level units.

If we include the Liaoning and Guihua Protectorates, the number will reach more than twenty.

The court officials all felt that the Ming Dynasty was on the rise and praised the emperor's achievements.

Zhu Youjian was also somewhat proud, because this was truly an achievement he had made.

Since the abolition of the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Commission in the third year of the Xuande reign and the establishment of the two capitals and thirteen provinces, the provincial administrative divisions of the Ming Dynasty have remained unchanged for a long time.

Now that the number has increased to two capitals and sixteen provinces, how could he not be delighted! (End of Chapter)