Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The implementation of education in the garrisons clearly increased the power of the garrison guards.

The Privy Council was naturally pleased with this, and even the civil servants who had just competed with the civilian military officers for their positions were happy about it.

Confucius became a sage through teaching, and his promotion of teaching undoubtedly touched their hearts, making them support him.

Moreover, Ai Nanying's meritorious service as a military officer while holding the rank of Hanlin scholar inspired many civil officials, who felt that they could learn from him.

Seeing their high spirits, Zhu Youjian wanted to guide them to think more deeply about this question, so he asked his ministers:
"Both the Han and Tang dynasties were celestial empires, conquering vast territories."

"Have you ever thought about the differences between the two dynasties? What lessons did they leave for future generations?"

Knowing that the emperor was about to learn from history again, the courtiers began to discuss the matter.

However, the topic of the emperor was too broad, and despite their attempts to decipher his intentions, they remained baffled.

Both dynasties were too vast, and the lessons they left behind are too numerous to be clearly explained.

Until Zhu Youjian said:
Where did the Han people live when the Han dynasty fell?

Where were the Han people distributed when the Tang Dynasty fell?

Can you all explain this clearly?

"Such a specific question is easy to answer," said Grand Secretary Han Kuang.
"When the Han Dynasty fell, although the Three Kingdoms were in chaos, Wei was still able to recover the Western Regions, Shu Han recovered the Southern Regions, and Eastern Wu took over Jiaozhi."

"When the Tang Dynasty fell, apart from the Guiyi Army, most of the Western Regions and the Hexi Corridor were occupied by foreign tribes. The Hetao and Jiaozhi were lost, and Nanzhao became Dali."

"Furthermore, because Shi Jingtang ceded Yan and Yun, the Liao and Western Xia became major enemies of the Song Dynasty."

These words fully illustrate the differences after the fall of the Han and Tang dynasties. Zhu Youjian said:
"This is the difference between the two dynasties."

"The Han Dynasty established a nation-state, so the people of Huaxia were later called Han people."

"Although the Tang Dynasty had the title of Tang people, it failed to educate the foreign ethnic groups that had submitted to it."

"These foreign tribes were submissive when the Tang Dynasty was strong, but they became vicious enemies once it declined."

"As with An Lushan, so too with the Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Khitans, causing the Han people to suffer greatly after the Tang Dynasty."

"The reason why the Song Dynasty was poor and weak was not only because it focused on civil administration rather than military affairs, but also because of the great external pressure it faced, as it was constantly cleaning up the mess left by the Tang Dynasty."

"Our dynasty must learn from this lesson and educate foreign peoples, using the efforts of several generations to transform them into Chinese, Han people."

"We must never allow foreign tribes to harm the Han people when we are in decline."

Upon hearing this, the courtiers praised it, agreeing that it was indeed the truth.

The eight characters "Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts" are engraved in the hearts of many people.

Especially in the years when the Ming Dynasty declined, the Jurchens and She'an massacred many Han people, which made people remember this lesson even more.

In their view, foreign races need to be educated to prevent them from causing harm again.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian's educational plan undoubtedly gained the support of his ministers.

Then he asked his ministers:

"You all tell me, how should we educate and civilize this foreign race?"

What lessons did the Han and Tang dynasties leave behind?

This question is easy to answer. Some say to use poetry and books, while others say to use rites and music.

Some Privy Council officials also suggested using weapons.

After all, the emperor had mentioned the Han Dynasty's victory over the Xiongnu quite often during this period.

Upon hearing this from the officials of the Privy Council, Zhu Youjian appeared quite pleased and addressed his ministers:

"Barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue; the first thing we must do with them is to use power."

"Only under the threat of weapons will they be willing to accept education and then be grateful for your kindness."

“If we don’t use force and simply bestow virtue, then it’s nothing more than the Song Dynasty sending annual tributes and strengthening the barbarians.” “Therefore, although our dynasty gives rewards to the various tribes of the grasslands, we first subdue them by force and compel them to accept investiture.”

"We must never send money and goods to strengthen the barbarians in order to maintain temporary peace."

These words embarrassed some of the officials, because some of them thought the same way. They believed that as long as the border was stable, it didn't matter if they sent some money to the barbarians.

On the contrary, sending troops to resist would consume more military funds. Therefore, many civil officials disliked fighting and preferred to spend money to bribe barbarians.

This practice has now been explicitly rejected by the emperor, who considers it an act of bribing the enemy.
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Having determined the strategy for dealing with the barbarians, Zhu Youjian said:
"To deter barbarians, the Ming Dynasty needs to be strong enough."

"In addition to weapons, sufficient troops and manpower are also needed."

"As for the various barbarian tribes, we should weaken them as much as possible so that they cannot unite as one."

"For example, the Jurchens, they united various Jurchen tribes, which is why they posed such a great threat to the Ming Dynasty."

"Such forces must never be allowed to emerge again; we must separate them from the source."

Liu Zunxian asked in confusion:

How do we separate them at the source?

What method should we use?

Zhu Youjian smiled and said:
"One solution is to subdivide the barbarians."

"For example, the Jurchens included the Jianzhou Jurchens, the Donghai Jurchens, and the Beishan Jurchens. Why were they divided into these groups?"

After the assembled officials pondered these words, Liu Zunxian said:
"The Jianzhou Jurchens originated from the Jianzhou Guard, which was officially recognized by the Ming Dynasty."

"The Donghai Jurchen and Beishan Jurchen originated from their residence in the East Sea and the North Mountain."

Zhu Youjian nodded and said:

"exactly!"

“They can be separated geographically, or they can be separated politically.”

"For example, the Jurchens who live in the Heilongjiang area can be further subdivided and called the Heishui Jurchens."

"The Heilongjiang area can be further divided into Heishui, Heihe, and Mohe, and then into Heihe Jurchen and Mohe Jurchen."

“They didn’t even use the name Jurchen, but referred to them by their tribal names such as the Fish Skin Tribe and the Solon Tribe, calling them the Fish Skin People and the Solon People.”

"It can also divide the Solon people into Evenki, Oroqen, Daur and other groups."

"If we break it down like this, how many people do they have left, and how strong are they?"

"Would it be easier for the Ming Dynasty to educate them?"

These words were like a wake-up call for the court officials, who all understood the emperor's intention.

This involved dismantling the Jurchen people as a whole and dispersing and integrating them into the Ming Dynasty.

With only a few thousand or tens of thousands of people in each department, it's not worth mentioning at all.

If they are further dispersed among several garrisons for education, they will soon be assimilated into the vast ocean of Han people.

If this continues for generations, Liaodong will surely enjoy long-term peace and stability, becoming a stable place of residence for the Han people.

Unlike before, they would no longer face the constant threat from the Jurchens and would have to maintain a large army.

The extremely excited courtiers quickly drafted the "Division of Ethnic Groups Act" based on the emperor's words.

The decision was made to further subdivide all ethnic groups, no longer referring to them collectively as Jurchens, Mongols, or Westerners.

Instead, we need to categorize them finely enough to distinguish their differences.

If a large tribe is not significantly different, then separate it into guard posts and use political means to separate them.

With perseverance, all other ethnic groups can be infinitely subdivided, and none will have the strength to contend with the Han people. (End of Chapter)