According to historical records, Mu Qiyuan acted recklessly, and his mother, Song, was afraid that it would bring trouble to the family, so she poisoned Mu Qiyuan to death.
The emperor didn't want to know the reason, let alone send anyone to investigate. Mu Qiyuan's death, no matter what the reason, was a great thing for him.
Despite the prestige the Mu family had maintained in Yunnan for centuries, their power had been greatly weakened. Mu Tianbo was only one year old and couldn't possibly shoulder the weight of the Duke of Qian.
It can be said that this now gives the emperor a better opportunity to control Yunnan more quickly. As for the Mu family's permanent control of Yunnan Province, in his opinion, it is simply a joke.
Nothing lasts forever, not even the Ming Empire. If we don't promote the good and eliminate the bad, if we don't innovate, the empire will collapse, and Yunnan will be in chaos.
Just like Liaodong, Li Chengliang was able to maintain stability, but when he was old and senile, the Jiannu took the opportunity to rise.
The same goes for the Mu family. The bravery of the previous generations, the mediocrity of the later generations, and the current decline are already obvious.
If the imperial court had not seized the opportunity to seize control of Yunnan Province, the historical Shap Rebellion might not have been avoided, and Myanmar's Toungoo Dynasty would still be a threat to the border.
The emperor had thought it through clearly and immediately picked up his pen to write a secret decree to Fu Zonglong and Wang Sanshan.
There was no doubt that the She'an Rebellion would be put down, and 5,000 elite troops could be dispatched to escort Wang Sanshan into Yunnan.
Now, the emperor issued another decree to transfer another 10,000 troops from Guizhou, Guangxi and Sichuan, and Wang Sanshan recruited 10,000 soldiers in Yunnan Province. The 25,000 Ming troops will completely control Yunnan Province in the hands of the court.
The title of Duke of Qian remained, and Mu Tianbo could inherit it, but it was only an empty title without power or troops. The seal of the General of the Southern Expedition would also be reclaimed. Expecting a one-year-old to go to war was ridiculous.
After writing the two secret decrees, the emperor thought for a while and ordered the palace servants to summon Sun Chengzong into the palace.
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A country's major policies often change according to the national character and the mainstream thinking at the time.
Confucianism was the only doctrine respected during the Han Dynasty, but there was also a heroic and domineering attitude of "Whoever offends the Han Dynasty will be punished, even though they are far away."
The Song Dynasty was also Confucian, but it became a humiliating and weak Han dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty also promoted Confucianism. It experienced conquests and expansions under Emperor Taizu and Emperor Yongle, but also experienced decline in the later years under Emperor Wanli, Emperor Tianqi, and Emperor Chongzhen, and even the kingdom.
If the emperor wanted to strengthen his army again to fight wars, expand and plunder, it was not only necessary to improve weapons and equipment and morale and military spirit, but more importantly, to forge the national spirit.
We should keep making progress, take risks and explore, instead of clinging to the status quo and being arrogant and conceited in the illusion of being the Celestial Empire.
The best way to inspire or maintain this spirit is external pressure. Jiannu is one of them, which made the Ming Dynasty spend all its financial, material and human resources to build an elite army of tens of thousands of troops.
The Mongolian tribes in the north are one of them, which makes the soldiers in the nine important border towns the best in the country in terms of combat effectiveness.
If there were no external enemies, would the country's power decline and its accumulated problems become more serious as the long period of peace wore on?
The emperor did not think so. No external enemies could be created. The remaining Jiannu could be considered, as could the nomadic tribes in the north, Burma and Annan in the southwest, and the Western Barbarians on the sea.
As for the Mongolian tribes in the north, he no longer considered a significant threat, though they could be used as imaginary enemies to help the northern military garrisons maintain their proper combat capabilities.
Naturalization, or joining the Ming nationality, was, in the emperor's view, the best of both worlds: it would weaken the power of Ligdan Khan while absorbing the Mongol tribes and transforming them into Ming's fighting power.
The emperor's strategy was to recruit scattered Mongolian herders and naturalize them, and to pardon and retain the Khorchin nobles. The defeat of the Jiannu and their subsequent flight northward marked the beginning of this strategy.
Sirhunakduleng and his entourage walked out of the governor's office in Liaoyang. He couldn't help but look back, his expression becoming more bitter.
The Khorchin tribe had already been defeated, destroyed by the joint attack of the Ming army and the Chahar tribe. It was for this reason that he led the Uqiyet and Urut tribes, totaling more than 3,000 households, to migrate to Khorchin.
But he never expected that the Ming court would quickly launch a move. Just when the Jiannu could no longer pose a threat by fleeing north, they released the nobles of the Khorchin tribe. With the support of the Ming court, the Khorchin tribe was restored.
With the support of the Ming court and the threat of the naturalized cavalry, even Ligdan Khan would not dare to act rashly, let alone the more than 3,000 households he led.
Everything depends on strength. With the Ming Dynasty as a strong backer, even if the restored Khorchin tribe did not have many followers, the Khorchin grassland had already become their territory.
"The Ming emperor was no longer satisfied with mere submission, but rather wanted to completely subjugate and annex the country."
Sirhunakduleng shook his head. He did not realize the changes in the times, but only saw the changes in the Ming emperor's policies towards the Mongolian tribes.
"The more Mongolian tribes that naturalize, the weaker the Huduntu will be. The Ming Dynasty's plans are clearly far-reaching, not limited to immediate interests."
Sirhunakduleng knew that the naturalized Mongolian tribes would bring a great burden to the Ming Dynasty. After all, they were naturalized citizens and subjects of the Ming Dynasty, not people that the Ming Dynasty could control through horse markets.
But for Mongolian high-ranking officials like Hunake Duleng, naturalization was something they were unwilling to do. Ordinary herders, on the contrary, believed that becoming citizens of the Ming Dynasty would provide them with a stable supply of food and materials.
In fact, this is similar to the emperor's method of weakening the chieftains.
The treatment of ordinary herders from various Mongol tribes was similar to that of serfs under the chieftains' rule. Therefore, after naturalization, they would gain a lot of freedom and a better life.
Hunaqduleng did not leave immediately. He waited not far from the governor's office. Nuk was still inside. The Zarut tribe had a good relationship with the Ming army, and he wanted to know whether the Zarut tribe would receive special treatment from the court.
Time passed slowly, and Hunakeduleng's heart became anxious. It was not until several familiar figures appeared that he breathed a sigh of relief.
Nuke's expression was unhappy, and his steps were heavy. After he had left the governor's office for some distance, he took the horse brought by his attendant and mounted it.
Before he had gone far, Nuk was stopped by Hunak Duleng.
Looking up at Hunakeduleng, Nuk rolled his eyes and said, "Don't ask. My Zarut tribe has decided to naturalize in the Ming Dynasty."
Hunakeduleng blinked and forced a smile, "The Inner Khalkha Five Tribes Alliance is disbanded just like that?"
Nuke snorted and said, "Whether to disband or not depends on their wishes. They want Ming to send troops to help them to prevent Hu Dun Tu from attacking and annexing them, but they don't want to naturalize them. Do you think that's a good thing?"
Hunakeduleng smiled bitterly. He felt that the Zalantu tribe should have received more favorable conditions before agreeing to naturalize in the Ming Dynasty.
Furthermore, Nuk's words made sense. Huduntu's plan to unify the Mongol tribes would not change. The Inner Khalkha Alliance lacked the strength to resist, and the Ming army would not do anything that was not beneficial to them.
Nuk pulled his horse back and continued forward. As he passed Hunakeduleng, he added, "There are five jasaks in the Khorchin grassland. If you're late, there will be none left."
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