Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 307 Dongchuan
Yunnan Province, two months have passed since Sha Dingzhou was captured and killed. In November, the weather in Kunming has begun to get cold, but the streets in the city are still crowded with people.

Just a few months ago, the two armies had fought a fierce battle outside the city, but now there was no trace of war in the city.
Not only in Kunming, but also in Yunnan Province, after the military settlement system was implemented, all the refugees were settled in the military settlements, and the whole Yunnan Province quickly returned to peace.

Yunnan Province actually has a very good foundation. In the past, the Western Army relied on Yunnan Province alone to fight back and forth with the Qing Dynasty, which controlled the entire Central Plains. They even counterattacked and gained the upper hand at one point, which shows the potential of Yunnan Province.

The reason why the Western Army was able to raise hundreds of thousands of troops in Yunnan Province in the past was mainly due to two reasons.

One reason is that after the Western Army entered Yunnan, it promoted camping and reclaimed a large amount of land, which led to a rapid increase in grain production in Yunnan Province.

Yunnan Province has always been regarded as a place of smoke and miasma. Unless people from the Central Plains were exiled, almost no one would take the initiative to move to Yunnan Province. Before the Western Army entered Yunnan, Yunnan Province had always been in a state of vast land and sparse population, with a large amount of farmland that had not been developed.

After the Western Army entered Yunnan, a large number of fleeing Han people poured in. After the Western Army's camp system was implemented, a large amount of farmland was reclaimed.

Before the Western Army entered Yunnan, the cultivated land in Yunnan Province was only more than 2 million mu. However, after the Qing Dynasty took over Yunnan Province, the cultivated land in Yunnan Province increased to 4 to 5 million mu, which doubled.

The millions of acres of land that were created were the result of the Western Army's operation in Yunnan.

The second advantage of Yunnan Province is salt. Yunnan Province is an important salt-producing area in the southwest. The salt mines in Jiujing in Yunnan Province have been developed for a long time. After the Western Army took over the salt wells such as Heijing and Langjing in Yunnan Province in the previous life, the salt production in Yunnan Province also began to soar.

In the past, Yunnan Province produced nearly 10 million kilograms of salt per year, and it was even exported to Huguang. The Western Army could collect hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from the salt tax alone.
After the Ming court put down the rebellion, Yang Weizhi quickly sent people to take over the salt wells in Chuxiong and other places, and immediately organized people to resume production.
The imperial court promoted military settlements, which not only required land, but also a large amount of rice. Loans were issued to the refugees who were settled in the military settlements.

After Yang Weizhi restored the production of salt wells, he immediately changed the taxation method, changing the silver tax on salt wells to grain tax, requiring that grain must be exchanged for salt. This exchanged a large amount of rice from the salt merchants and chieftains, and successfully implemented the military settlement system.

Outside Kunming City, Zhang Huangyan rode into the city under the escort of more than a hundred cavalrymen. Zhang Huangyan looked at the bustling streets and shops in the city and nodded slightly.
Since Zhang Huangyan led his men into Lin'an in September, he has never taken the initiative to pay attention to the situation outside Lin'an Prefecture.
Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province. The overall situation of Yunnan Province can be roughly seen from the situation in Kunming. Yang Weizhi was able to restore peace to Yunnan Province in such a short time. He is indeed a capable official.
Zhang Huangyan only glanced at it briefly, and then he did not stop and headed straight to the Yunnan Provincial Governor's Office.
In the Yunnan Provincial Governor's Office, there were two people sitting in the lobby. One was the Governor-General Yang Weizhi, and the other was the newly appointed Yunnan Provincial Governor Liu Wenxiu who had just returned to Yunnan Province.
The first person on the left is Zhang Huangyan, the governor of Yunnan Province, followed by Lei Yuelong, the governor of Xixi, Gong Yi, and Yan Shizu, the governor of Xidong.
The first person on the right is Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qian, and below him are Wang Shangli, the general of Yunnan Province, and Xu Gao, the general of Kunming, who was from the Guangxi Army.

At this time, all the civil and military officials in Yunnan Province who were able to take charge had gathered in the hall.
Seeing all the civil and military officials present, Liu Wenxiu nodded slightly to Yang Weizhi on his left, and then spoke

"I called you all here this time because I have something to discuss with you."

"The chieftain of the Lu family in Dongchuan has colluded with the rebels in Sha and is stubborn and unyielding. The imperial court has decided to send troops to destroy the chieftain of the Lu family."

In the hall, Yang Weizhi, Zhang Huangyan and other ministers who already knew the inside story looked calm, while Lei Yuelong, Yan Sizu and others had a sudden change of expression on their faces.

Since the beginning of this year, the imperial court first conquered the bandits in the sand, and then in order to implement the system of military settlement and Lin'an, it raised the sword of law in Yunnan Province. Now that Yunnan Province has finally stabilized a little, the imperial court is going to start a war again.
Lei Yuelong and other civil officials looked worried, but Wang Shangli and others were quite calm.

Wang Shangli and the others were calm not because they knew the news in advance, but because they didn't care about it at all.

After Liu Wenxiu's return, all the generals in Yunnan Province were promoted collectively. Now Wang Shangli and others are either generals or lieutenant generals, all of them are second or third rank military officials.

Previously, Wang Shangli and his men were left in Yunnan Province, and the generals of the Western Camp were quite dissatisfied. But now that they were wearing the scarlet robes, Wang Shangli and his men suddenly felt that it was not a bad idea to stay in Yunnan Province for the time being.

As for the fact that the imperial court was going to attack the chieftains again, Wang Shangli and his companions did not care at all. After suppressing the Sha Dingzhou rebels, Wang Shangli and his companions also found out the true strengths and weaknesses of these chieftains.

These chieftains of Yunnan Province seemed to be able to mobilize tens of thousands of troops at the command of a single order, but except for a few elite soldiers carefully trained by the chieftains, the rest of the so-called army was completely made up of local chickens and dogs.
In the eyes of Wang Shangli and other veterans of the West Camp, this so-called Tusi army was really not up to par. With the powerful firepower provided by the Ming court, it was even easier to defeat these loose Tusi armies.
Even though Ma Bao was slightly biased, the generals of the Western Camp received hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver when they went to Yunnan to suppress the rebellion. When they heard that the imperial court was going to fight against the Tusi again, the generals in the army became excited.

The generals on the right were eager to try, but Mu Tianbo above them looked stunned and said

"A month ago, the Lu family of Dongchuan had submitted a petition to the Duke of Qian to apologize. I also reported this to the Governor's Office. The Lu family had already surrendered. Why are they suddenly going to attack the Lu family now?"

Yang Weizhi heard this, but his face was calm, and he said

"When the Sha bandits rebelled, they stood by and watched, refusing to obey orders. Now that they see the imperial court has won, they want to apologize and pretend nothing happened. How can such a good thing happen in this world?"

Mu Tianbo was also stunned when he heard this. He knew that Yang Weizhi was talking about the last time when the court summoned the chieftains of Yunnan Province, the Dongchuan Lu family refused to send troops.

But the last time the army was called up, it was not just the chieftain of Dongchuan who did not come. If the imperial court were to continue investigating this issue, there would probably be chieftains everywhere in Yunnan Province that needed to be eliminated.

Mu Tianbo thought of this and spoke again

"The Lu family has inherited Dongchuan for generations and is very powerful. It is not easy to destroy them. The rebellion in Yunnan Province has just been quelled and the people are calm. If the court sends troops again at this time, I am afraid that Yunnan Province will be in turmoil again."

"Why not give Lu a severe punishment and make him redeem himself with money and grain? This way, we can enrich the treasury with money and grain, and also make him realize his mistake and repent."

Zhang Huangyan heard this and suddenly said

"If the Lu family is ordered to change from aboriginal to civilian, will they agree?"

"This... is such a severe punishment, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Lu family to accept it."

Mu Tianbo looked at Zhang Huangyan opposite him, and his expression froze. For all the chieftains, the native states inherited by each family were their foundation. How could the Lu family agree to change the native states into commoners?

How did Bozhou change its native chieftains into commoners? The imperial court deployed tens of thousands of people to completely destroy the chieftains such as Yang Yinglong, and only then did it recover Bozhou.

If the imperial court wants to take Dongchuan away, the Lu family will definitely fight to the death. Such a condition is no different from going to war for the Lu family.
"Then we can only wipe out these traitors."

Mu Tianbo frowned slightly, and realized something was wrong.

Whether it was Liu Wenxiu, the newly appointed governor of Yunnan Province, or Yang Weizhi and Zhang Huangyan, the two governors-general and governors-general, the civil and military officials in charge of Yunnan Province at this time were extremely united in their opinions, with almost no room for discussion, and they were determined to wipe out the Dongchuan Lu family.
Mu Tianbo looked at Yang Weizhi who was calm above him and said in a deep voice:

"May I ask the Governor, why does the imperial court want to destroy the Lu family at this time?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Weizhi glanced at Lei Yuelong and the others who were silent below, and no longer concealed anything, and spoke directly

“Because Dongchuan has copper mines”

Lei Yuelong and the others were startled at first, but then they quickly reacted. A flash of realization flashed in Lei Yuelong's eyes, and he said directly
"The imperial court is planning to open a mine in Yunnan Province to mint coins?"

"Yes, the Tartars have occupied the Central Plains. The imperial court and the Tartars are confronting each other from north to south. There will inevitably be constant wars in the future."

"The first thing to do in war is to get money and food. The south has always been a grain-producing area. The imperial court owns half of the south. As long as we encourage people to farm, we will always find a way to raise food."

"But this money can only be spent on the Dongchuan Copper Mine, so Dongchuan must be controlled by the court."

Yang Weizhi had a resolute look on his face. In addition to grain and salt, Yunnan Province actually also had copper.

Yunnan Province has the most copper mines among all the provinces in the Central Plains. Even if all the copper mines in other provinces are added together, they are not as much as Yunnan Province alone.
There are copper mines in various places in Yunnan Province, and among these copper mines, Dongchuan is the largest.
After the Qing Dynasty was established, it initially relied on importing copper from Japan to cast coins. After Japan began to control the export of copper materials, the Qing Dynasty had no choice but to develop Yunnan copper in order to solve the money shortage.

It was already known that Yunnan Province had a lot of copper in the early Ming Dynasty, but everyone only knew that Yunnan Province had a lot of copper, but they could not imagine how much copper there was in Yunnan Province.

During the Jiajing period, Yunnan Province produced 150,000 catties of copper annually. The Ming court already believed that Yunnan Province had a lot of copper. However, after the Qing court developed Yunnan Province in the previous life, relying on copper mines in Dongchuan Tangdanchang and other places, the annual output of copper reached more than 16 million catties at its peak.

Moreover, these copper mines have maintained a production of nearly 10 million kilograms for decades. It can be said that the copper coins of the entire Qing Dynasty for hundreds of years were all obtained from Yunnan Province.

Today, these copper mines are buried underground in Dongchuan. Zhu Lang had already set his sights on these copper mines before he set out on his expedition to the southwest.

This time, the Dongchuan Lu family relied on their own power to watch the battle between the Ming court and Sha Dingzhou, which gave the Ming court an excuse to send troops.
This actually has nothing to do with whether the Lu family is loyal to the Ming court. Even if the Dongchuan Lu family really led troops to help last time, Zhu Lang would have someone find another excuse to send troops to Dongchuan.

As long as the copper mines are still buried in the Dongchuan Mountains, Dongchuan must be under the control of the Ming court.

In the name of the secret guard, Zhu Lang ordered Li Chengzhi to submit to the court the information that a huge copper mine was discovered in Tangdan, Dongchuan. After learning the estimated output of the Dongchuan copper mine, everyone in the court, whether it was the court center or Yang Weizhi, Zhang Huangyan and others in Yunnan Province, all had a unified opinion in an instant, that Dongchuan Prefecture must be taken over by the court.
If the imperial court loses Jiangnan, the tax revenue will inevitably drop sharply in the future. In the eyes of Qu Shisi and other court officials, the discovery in Dongchuan is not a copper mine, but a gold mountain bestowed upon the Ming Dynasty by the ancestors. The imperial court is just waiting to enter Dongchuan to pick up the money.
Why did Zhu Lang suddenly promote Liu Wenxiu to the position of governor of Yunnan Province? It was because Yunnan Province still had a war to fight.
Only Liu Wenxiu could truly bring out the fighting power of Wang Shangli's group of veterans of the Western Army, and completely subdue the Lu clan chieftains in Dongchuan and seize Dongchuan.
Conquering Dongchuan was the court's top priority in the southwest at this time. After Liu Wenxiu returned from Sichuan with 2,000 soldiers from the Western Camp, he immediately summoned the civil and military officials of Sichuan to prepare for the expedition to Dongchuan.

Mu Tianbo looked at Yang Weizhi and others who looked determined above him, and he knew that it would be difficult to change this matter. However, after hesitating for a moment, Mu Tianbo still spoke.

"The imperial court wants to take Dongchuan to open a mine and mint coins. I dare not speak rashly, but why should we send troops to destroy them just for the sake of opening a mine?"

"The imperial court can open a mine in any area by confiscating the area and placing it under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. During the Jiajing period, the imperial court also opened a mine in Yunnan Province to obtain copper, and Lu and others did not dare to interfere."

"The rebellion of Sha Dingzhou has just been quelled. If the imperial court sends troops to attack the Lu family in the name of treason, I am worried that it will make all the chieftains in central Yunnan feel insecure."

Why did the Qianguo Mansion have such a high status in Yunnan Province? Because the Qianguo Mansion not only represented the Ming court and controlled the chieftains in central Yunnan, but also served as the spokesperson for the chieftains in the court.

Mu Tianbo not only had to take into account the interests of the Ming court, but also had to safeguard the interests of a group of chieftains. Only in this way could the Qianguo Mansion maintain its prestige among the chieftains. That was why Mu Tianbo had been trying to stop the Ming court from sending troops to attack the Lu family.

Yang Weizhi looked at Mu Tianbo who was looking serious below him, but shook his head slightly in his heart. The specific reserves of Dongchuan Copper Mine were top secret, and the court had strictly ordered that it should not be disclosed.
If Dongchuan produced hundreds of thousands of kilograms a year, it would be fine, but now the court has discovered a giant copper mine with an annual output of hundreds of thousands or even tens of millions.

Can the Lu family of Dongchuan endure it for one year? Can they endure it for three to five years? The only way is to completely control Dongchuan in the hands of the court before the copper mine is mined.
Yang Weizhi's eyes turned, and he said

"The court's expedition to Dongchuan this time was to use the Dongchuan Lu family to intimidate the chieftains in central Yunnan. After Sha Dingzhou's rebellion, many chieftains in Yunnan Province joined the rebellion. Although these people immediately rebelled after the court's army entered Yunnan, they still needed to be intimidated by military force at this time."

"The second reason for the expedition to Dongchuan is for manpower. The court needs a large number of manpower to open a mine. Yunnan Province has just implemented military settlements, and the people have been settled in the military settlements. At this time, if we want to obtain enough manpower for mining, we can only take it from Dongchuan Prefecture."

"As for the fear of the chieftains in central Yunnan, the imperial court has made it clear that this time only the Dongchuan Lu family is involved, and the other chieftains will not be investigated. This matter can be made public throughout Yunnan Province."

"The court has other plans to appease the chieftains of Diansheng, so the Duke of Qian does not need to worry."

Yang Weizhi saw that Mu Tianbo was still trying to dissuade him, so he just waved his hand and said

"The expedition to Dongchuan was decided by His Highness himself, so there is no need to discuss this matter further."

"This expedition to Dongchuan still requires the efforts of the chieftains of the various tribes in central Yunnan. Duke of Qian, you will summon the chieftains of various tribes to come."

Mu Tianbo saw Yang Weizhi's expression and knew that this matter could not be changed.

Everyone then made preparations for the expedition to Dongchuan, and then they dispersed. Mu Tianbo, in the name of the Duke of Qian, once again summoned the chieftains of various tribes in Yunnan Province to come into the city for a discussion.
In the hall of the government office in Ningzhou, Yunnan Province, Yang Weizhi and Mu Tianbo stood at the top in red official robes. On both sides below were the chieftains of Shiping, Long Zaitian, Yuanjiang, Na Song, Lijiang, Mu Yi and other tribes.

Mu Tianbo summoned Na Song and other chieftains from various tribes to come in the name of discussing meritorious service and raising rewards. Na Song and others had just entered the city and had not seen the rewards before they were taken to Ningzhou City to watch the ceremony.

At this time, all the chieftains were wearing blue and red official robes and standing on both sides of the hall, and in the middle of the hall stood a child about ten years old.
The child wore a black gauze hat and a red official robe. The wide robe almost covered the child completely.

The child looked at the expressionless men in the hall, who were dressed in official robes of various colors. His face was tense, but he still managed to hold on and barely maintained his calm face.

Yang Weizhi nodded to Lei Yuelong beside him, and the three officials beside him beat him with whips, and the hall quickly quieted down.

Yang Weizhi walked into the hall, bowed to the imperial edict on the table in the hall, then took the imperial edict and began to read it.

"Today, there is the governor of Ningzhou, Lu Yongming, who is loyal and kind to the people. His loyalty and diligence are commendable. The barbarians in central Yunnan are rebelling, and all parties are frightened. When the defeated army is in danger, only Yongming is righteous and loyal, fighting against the barbarians and revitalizing the righteousness in central Yunnan."

"You died for your loyalty to your country, and your righteousness and bravery are worthy of recognition. I hereby grant you the title of Left Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Army Commandery and the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. Your son Lu Huang will inherit the title of Governor of Ningzhou and inherit the title and salary."

"Your Highness Lu Huang respectfully accepts the Holy Grace"

After hearing Yang Weizhi's reading, the children below also looked nervous. They immediately bowed according to the etiquette they had rehearsed before, then knelt on the ground and took the imperial edict with both hands.

Since Sha Dingzhou's rebellion, he has killed people all over Yunnan. There are chieftains in Yunnan who have joined the rebellion, and there are also many chieftains who would rather die than surrender.
The rebellion in Yunnan Province was quelled, and the various Tuzhous began to report to the Duke of Qian, reporting the candidates for the new Tusi and requesting the court to confer the title.
The former chieftain of Ningzhou, Lu Yongming, swore to die rather than surrender, and was eventually killed by Sha Dingzhou. After the rebellion, the Ningzhou Lu family also selected two candidates through public recommendation and sent them to the Qianguo Mansion to wait for selection.
However, after the Yunnan Provincial Governor's Office looked at the candidates submitted by Ningzhou Lu's family, they were all dissatisfied.

The Governor's Office of Yunnan Province personally sent people to the Ningzhou Lu family. After an investigation, they found that Lu Yongming actually had a young son. The three officials of Yunnan Province immediately decided to let this young son inherit the position of Ningzhou governor.

At this time, the Ming army had just wiped out Sha Dingzhou, and even killed many people in Lin'an Prefecture. It was the time when the fierce power was at its peak.
Although Ningzhou Lu and others were dissatisfied, they dared not oppose the decision of the three courts, and finally they could only accept the matter.
Yang Weizhi handed the imperial edict to the child kneeling on the ground, then looked at the people in the field and said

"The imperial court has always rewarded those who have made contributions and punished those who have made mistakes. As long as you are loyal to the imperial court, you will surely have descendants and a prosperous family."

Everyone looked at the child kneeling on the ground in a red official robe, with complicated expressions on their faces. In fact, everyone knew that a ten-year-old child was absolutely incapable of managing an area.
The two candidates put forward by the Lu family this time were also the heads of the Lu family who had served in the local prefectural government of Ningzhou for many years, but the Ming court still decisively chose Lu Huang, a ten-year-old child, to take the position.

In fact, Na Song and others also understood the intention of the court. The court was buying horse bones with a huge sum of money at this time. But even so, everyone looked at the child in the scarlet robe on the ground with a trace of envy in their eyes.

Although their position as chieftains can be inherited, strictly speaking, the official positions they hold today, such as local governors and prefects, do not belong to them, but to the clan members.
The fact that their generation can be chieftains does not mean that their descendants can inherit smoothly. There are many variables involved.

In each native state, it was very common for different tribes to fight for the position of native official. It was even common for people of the same tribe to fight each other.
Once the tribe could not reach an agreement, the chieftain would submit a list of candidates to the Qian State Mansion, which would decide who could take over the position.

The most typical example is the former Ningzhou prefect, Lu Yongming, who was posthumously awarded the title of Left Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Military Governor's Office. After the former Ningzhou prefect passed away, Lu Yongming and his two uncles competed for the position of Ningzhou prefect. The three parties were in a dispute and almost went to war.

The final list was submitted to the Duke of Qian's Mansion, and Mu Tianbo personally appointed Lu Yongming to inherit the position of Ningzhou governor. This calmed down the disputes in Ningzhou. It was also because of this that Lu Yongming was so devoted to Mu Tianbo.

When the imperial court and the Duke of Qian were in power, they could even directly interfere with the succession of the chieftains of various tribes.
If chieftains like Mu Yi and Na Song could get full support from the imperial court like Lu Huang, their position as chieftains could be inherited from generation to generation.
In the hall, Lu Huang took the imperial edict with both hands and bowed, then stepped aside holding the imperial edict. Just when everyone thought the canonization was over, Yang Weizhi suddenly spoke again.

"In addition to the reward for meritorious service, the Governor's Office has another matter to discuss with you."

"Last time, the imperial court gathered soldiers to encircle and suppress the bandits in Sand. You all came here to fight for justice. However, the chieftain of the Dongchuan Lu family, seeing the royal army entering Yunnan, still secretly colluded with the bandits in Sand, refused the imperial court's order to mobilize troops, and plotted to join the rebellion."

When Yang Weizhi said this, he also signaled to Lei Yuelong beside him, and Lei Yuelong also distributed the letters of refusal of Lu Wanzhao, Lu Wanyi and others to the chieftains in the field.

"The Lu family of Dongchuan ignored the imperial order last time. Now that the Sha bandits have been killed, these two Lu family members are still so bold that they dare to harbor the relatives of the Sha bandits. This is truly a heinous crime."

"The court has decided to send troops to attack the Lu family in Dongchuan. Are you willing to cooperate with the court to encircle and suppress the Lu family rebellion?"

Song Muyi and other chieftains all frowned and kept silent when they saw the evidence in the letter in their hands. Yang Weizhi saw that everyone was silent, but he didn't care and spoke again.

"This time, the suppression of the Lu family rebellion will be similar to the suppression of the Lin'an Prefecture. The main force of the Dongchuan rebels and a number of large cities and strongholds will be under the charge of the imperial court."

"You only need to take charge of the rebel camps in Dongchuan. The imperial court will provide you with half of the food and wages. All the spoils obtained in Dongchuan Prefecture will belong to you, and the imperial court will not take a single cent."

"Not only that, the court is promoting military settlements and is in urgent need of manpower. All the young and strong prisoners you captured this time can be escorted to the army, and each prisoner can be exchanged for 50 kilograms of salt tickets from the court."

"How about it? Are you willing to lead the troops to help the court suppress the rebellion?"

The chieftains below were excited when they heard this. Almost all the salt wells in Yunnan Province were controlled by the court. Salt was a hard currency among the various tribes.
One prisoner could be exchanged for 50 kilograms of salt, which means that as long as they captured a small camp of two or three hundred people, they could exchange tens of thousands of kilograms of salt from the court. This kind of income was enough to attract the attention of the chieftains.
However, despite this, the chieftains still refused to give in easily, and Yang Weizhi did not force them again. After the Ningzhou ceremony ended, Yang Weizhi led the chieftains back to Kunming.

Yang Weizhi rewarded the chieftains such as Na Song for their merits, while at the same time he took a group of chieftains to observe the artillery training of the Yunnan army.

Under such coercion and inducement, the chieftains finally gave in and agreed to gather their troops again and follow the court to fight against the rebellion.

After Na Song and his men returned, they soon gathered in Kunming again with soldiers from various tribes. When all the chieftains arrived, Liu Wenxiu and Mu Tianbo led the coalition forces to set out again.
When the 20,000-strong coalition army entered Dongchuan, war immediately broke out in Dongchuan Prefecture. Although the fighting in Dongchuan Prefecture was fierce, the battle in this corner of the country could no longer affect the situation in the southwest.

The war broke out again in Dongchuan Prefecture, but Zhu Lang had already led the imperial army out of Gui Province and headed towards Huguang.
(End of this chapter)