However, one of the suppression methods adopted by the Ming Dynasty in Guangxi, "armed seizure of land", sowed the seeds of the next rebellion, causing peasant uprisings in Guangxi to continue unabated.
The so-called armed seizure of land means that the land of the rebellious peasants is called thieves' land, and after the rebellion is suppressed, it is distributed to the government army or recruited local soldiers for cultivation.
In other words, armed land seizure means that the imperial court openly allocated the farmers' land to the stationed officers and soldiers, as well as the local officials and chiefs who helped the imperial court suppress the rebellion.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that one peasant uprising had been suppressed, and a new uprising against the government's armed seizure of land was brewing.
In fact, there is another reason for the constant rebellion in Guangxi, and that is salt.
Since Guangxi itself does not produce salt (don’t think there is salt just because it is next to the sea), most of Guangxi’s salt is transported from Guangdong.
Due to inconvenient transportation in ancient times and the imperial monopoly on salt, Guangxi suffered from a severe salt shortage. "Smuggling was rampant, and the price of salt was very high," and "the official salt transport was often stopped and started, leaving soldiers with a shortage of food and supplies, and the local people in dire straits."
There was no salt production in Guangxi, and local officials interfered with salt transportation, encouraging illegal salt trafficking. This made salt a serious social problem in Guangxi, and the people were very dissatisfied with it.
There is a saying in "Poetry of Western Guangdong": "The mountains are deep and the roads are long, so salt is not available. We burn banana leaves to ashes and pickle vegetables." This is a true portrayal of the salt-scarce life of people of all ethnic groups in Guangxi at that time.
The salt problem is easy to solve. Just kill a group of local officials and implement the "Salt Ticket Law" to break the monopoly of salt. There is hope of solving the shortage and high price of salt through the invisible hand of the market.
Zhu Youxiao was certain that the main source of the endless rebellion was land, so it was no surprise that he listed Guangxi as a province to mobilize immigrants.
Moreover, whether in Anhui, Fujian or Guangxi, local people can adapt to the climate of Mekong Province quickly.
That’s right, the Chaigun occupied by the Ming army was not very big, but the emperor had already regarded it as a province of the Ming Dynasty and named it Mekong Province.
As for the person in charge of Mekong Province, Zhu Youxiao did not hesitate to give him the title of governor, making him a local governor with the same rank as those in the mainland.
In fact, the emperor's decree also reveals his attitude towards Mekong Province and his ambition for its development. The territory will become larger and larger, and its area will become closer and closer to that of inland provinces.
Dong Yingju, the Shaoqing of Taichang, was appointed as the governor of Mekong Province by Zhu Youxiao because of his effective management of military farming affairs from Tianjin to Shanhaiguan.
The Mekong Province not only had a governor, but also a garrison commander. The governor and the commander were on the same level, and the military and political affairs were separated, which was also a precedent set by Zhu Youxiao.
We have previously mentioned Mr. Wang Yangming, the master of the School of Mind. He led the army as a scholar and successively quelled the Ning Wang Rebellion and the Datongxia Uprising. He can be called a model of a Confucian general.
But in Zhu Youxiao's view, the main reason for the decline of the Ming Dynasty was that civil officials led the troops and military generals obeyed their orders.
Civil officials are the direct planners and commanders of most military operations. Although there are many people who practice martial arts and are familiar with military books, very few of them come directly from the military system.
Because of the rulers' principle of emphasizing civil officials over military officials and suppressing military officials with civil officials, civil officials directly override military generals, turning military generals into grassroots executors.
The low status of military generals is only one of the reasons. It is not surprising that the battles are commanded by civil officials who are good at talking about war on paper, so there are more defeats than victories.
Wang Yangming's victory was not universal and could not represent the true capabilities of the civil service. The same was true of Yuan Keli; his excellence could not mask the incompetence of other civil servants and the low military capabilities.
However, it is not easy to achieve the balance between civil and military affairs and the separation of military and political power. The establishment of Mekong Province gave Zhu Youxiao an opportunity to experiment.
……………….
From quantitative change to qualitative change, there is always a process. Sometimes it is quick, giving people a sense of drastic change; sometimes it is slower and can be described as subtle and gradual.
For individuals, some feel the changes more obviously because they are in the situation; for others, the impact is smaller and they don’t realize that there are too many changes.
This also has a lot to do with the individual's position and environment.
The civil officials felt the change in the court's direction and felt the emperor's iron fist and determination to punish corruption; the military generals had more and greater power, and could stand up straighter in front of the civil officials, and the war became more and more likely to win.
As for the common people, they are busy making sure their families have enough food and clothing. Perhaps they have also felt the spring breeze of reform and the relief of pressure, but the feeling is not so strong or obvious.
Zhu Youxiao, who was in the palace, could not fully understand other people's feelings. He could only unswervingly follow the path he had designed.
Of course, he was also aware of the changes taking place in the Ming Dynasty. From the amount of fiscal revenue, from the victories and defeats in wars, from the secret reports of officials, and from the reports of the imperial guards, he could sense that the ailing body of this great empire was on the mend.
And his arrangements, whether in the short term or in the long term, no matter how many people can understand them, are like chess pieces on a chessboard, which will come into play sooner or later.
The battle in Liaodong produced the fastest results. The delivery of large quantities of weapons and ammunition, and the continuous replenishment of food, fodder, and war horses not only improved the combat effectiveness of the Ming troops in Liaodong, but also put increasing pressure on the Jiannu.
When Liaozhen's troops advanced along the Sancha River and successively captured Niuzhuang Post and Dongchang Fort; when Zhang Pan and Zhang Bang's two mixed brigades captured Yaozhou Post, Haizhou Guard was under attack from both sides by the Ming army.
When the Ming army's navy gradually explored the waterway, moved north along the Liao River, and appeared in the Hun River, with the possibility of reaching Shenyang directly, the Jiannu felt the embarrassment of being caught off guard.
Shipping on the Hunhe River began in the Yuan Dynasty and became increasingly prosperous.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
