Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 396 Local Recovery
During the reform period, Zhu Cilang remained calm and decisive in the face of stubborn resistance from local gentry. He knew that many things required clear boundaries and measures, and that he could not be too radical, but he also could not be too soft.

"We must do it. But we can't catch them all at once. We can't let any of those who want to take advantage of the situation go unpunished. As for those who already have the land deeds, we'll just give them a warning and they'll give up. If there are still some who refuse to change, then we can't blame them."

Zhu Cilang's words, though calm, were filled with immense resolve and confidence. As the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty, from the moment he took over governance, he recognized a reality: whether rebuilding amidst the ruins of war or forging ahead against corrupt forces, he must firmly rely on his own strength to implement concrete reforms and cleansing measures.

All of this actually began before Zhu Cilang had fully established his own civil service system. To avoid excessively suppressing the existing social structure, Zhu Cilang made trade-offs and compromises in many areas. Especially in the early days, he did not completely abandon the old bureaucratic system, but instead adopted a strategy of allowing some old officials to retain power.

All of this was done to avoid social unrest caused by premature confrontation. Zhang Tianze, in particular, was one of those specifically instructed by Zhu Cilang to proceed with caution and avoid rushing for quick results. This also made Zhang Tianze somewhat hesitant, and his subordinates' work often seemed sluggish. As a middle-aged man with a long career in officialdom, Zhang Tianze lacked the experience and decisiveness of Li Banghua.

Like Li Banghua, he was one of the few "scholars" within the Ming dynasty, possessing a deep sense of patriotism and a deep understanding of the suffering of the people. However, Zhang Tianze lacked Li Banghua's depth of experience and sophistication. He constantly considered and reflected on the power and tactics he wielded, fearing that a single misstep would lead to irreversible consequences for the entire situation.

At the same time, the pace of post-war reconstruction has accelerated over time.

After October, under Zhang Tianze's leadership, military garrisons were gradually built in Liaoyang, Shenyang, and other areas. Land previously abandoned by the war began to breathe new life. Through a series of meticulously planned and implemented policies, these once barren lands were gradually transformed into self-sufficient farmland, where the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the wounds of war began to heal.

Furthermore, the first batch of military settlements were established in parts of Henan and Shandong, providing strong support for the reconstruction of the Ming Dynasty. With the redistribution of land across the country, the large number of refugees caused by the war, as well as the people who migrated from southern Zhili and Jiangxi, began to be effectively resettled.

Zhang Tianze and Li Banghua played a crucial role in this. They not only promoted the implementation of the policy, but also ensured the smooth implementation of this policy by suppressing local gentry.

However, things don't always go smoothly.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Zhang Tianze and Li Banghua, the local gentry, who had no roots in the upper echelons of the New Ming dynasty and lacked the support of the highest authorities, were quickly defeated after their initial arrogance. However, at the last moment, these gentry realized that Zhu Cilang's initial indulgence was not as well-intentioned as they had imagined—in fact, it was all just a ploy by Zhu Cilang to "lure the snake out of its hole."

The strength of the gentry class stemmed from the vast network of relationships formed through the imperial examinations. Through these connections, the gentry could move freely between the upper and lower classes. Leveraging ties such as teacher-student, blood ties, fellow townsmen, and classmates, they colluded with each other at various levels, influencing the appointment of local officials and even the decisions of the central government.

This power network not only allowed them to control the local economy but also maintain a strong influence among the people. However, all of this was completely dismantled under Zhu Cilang's rule.

Under the new Ming regime, the traditional relationships that the gentry relied on no longer existed, and giving money was no longer a panacea for problems. On the contrary, the more money they gave, the more their hypocrisy and greed were exposed.

This also put these local gentry into endless difficulties. They finally realized that the power structure that they once thought was unshakable could be destroyed so easily in the hands of Zhu Cilang. However, although Zhu Cilang did not adopt a strategy of complete elimination at the beginning, he knew that this was only the first step.

During the restoration of the new Ming regime, he absorbed some old officials and used their experience and resources to lay the foundation for national reconstruction. However, Zhu Cilang knew that this did not mean that he could always rely on these officials, especially when the old corruption and injustice still existed.

To prevent the old officials from developing power ambitions, Zhu Cilang began cultivating his own civil service system to ensure that political power remained firmly in his hands. Throughout this process, Zhang Tianze became aware that this power struggle was far more complex than simply allocating land. It involved the reshaping of the entire social structure and held the key to the future of the Ming Dynasty.

To make the state's machinery run more efficiently, Zhu Cilang must cultivate a team of bureaucrats loyal to him. This will enable him to cope with more complex situations in the future and ensure the country's long-term stability. Because of this, Zhang Tianze increasingly realized that as the backbone of the new Ming regime, he must abandon all illusions and hesitations and act decisively.

Zhang Tianze and Li Banghua acted like a brilliant double act, one playing the villain and the other the good guy. The situation between local officials and gentry had already become complicated due to their intertwined interests, and Li Banghua's clever planning further contributed to the rapid disintegration of this already fragile alliance.

The gentry, who had originally worked together to exploit the turmoil to seize more land, were suddenly divided into two factions. One group consisted of those who hoped to take advantage of the situation and reap more benefits. The other group consisted of those who already held the land deeds and, seeing the situation was getting worse, would rather bow their heads and compromise than continue to oppose the new policy.

As a result, almost all those who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to occupy land were swiftly eliminated, leaving no one unharmed. Of those who still held legal land deeds, with the exception of a few typical troublemakers, most received lenient sentences, and many were even forgiven.

As Zhu Cilang envisioned, the new Ming dynasty's governing strategy required both strong measures and detailed rules and principles. While the role of force in this process could not be underestimated, relying solely on force to address problems was only a temporary solution, not a fundamental one.

Zhu Cilang understood that only by prioritizing both order and law could the stability and long-term peace of the entire New Ming regime be ensured. For those gentry who wished to survive under the New Deal, the ultimate choice was simple. The New Ming did not deny them a chance to survive; rather, it offered them sufficient incentive to change their behavior through certain benefits and orderly reforms.

It was through this method that Zhu Cilang gradually brought those capable and knowledgeable gentry into his own system, which not only completed the reconstruction of political credit, but also stabilized the people's hearts to a certain extent.

However, the reform of the gentry was only part of the overall land reform. Compared with the almost complete reforms in Yingtian, Hejian, and Yongping prefectures, the reform process in Henan and Shandong provinces was relatively slow.

Land reform in these two provinces primarily focused on confiscated land from Qing officials and wasteland left by war. This land, amounting to approximately 200,000 hectares, was scattered across Henan and Shandong provinces, making it relatively fragmented. Despite this vast amount of land, fully bringing this land under the control of the new Ming regime still required strong grassroots support. The most crucial resources on these lands were refugees, ordinary people, and self-cultivating farmers who had either voluntarily or been forced to join the garrisons.

Since the outbreak of the war, the number of refugees in Shandong and Henan provinces has increased sharply, and the people of Nanzhili have also migrated here under the pressure of war, looking for a glimmer of hope.

To date, the total population of the two has reached nearly two million, and among them, about one million people have been connected with the Tunpu in various ways and joined the new social structure.

These people were organized into small tunbaos of varying sizes. Large tunbaos were around 2,000 households, while small tunbaos had around 500 households. Each tunbao had 40 to 50 mu of farmland, resulting in nearly a thousand tunbaos scattered throughout Henan and Shandong provinces.

With the establishment of the garrisons, these refugees, who had previously been living in various places, were no longer content with simple survival needs but began to participate in more complex social production activities. Labor services such as road construction, water conservancy projects, city wall construction, and trench digging were gradually implemented.

Based on agricultural production, Zhang Tianze and his government began to cultivate a new system of peasant soldiers. Countless captured weapons, even some discarded old military equipment, were gradually distributed to the young men in the newly built garrisons, quickly cultivating an army composed of peasants.

These troops will become an important deterrent force for the new Ming Dynasty at the local level and one of the core pillars for subsequent reforms, construction and policy implementation.

The establishment of the peasant-soldiers system was, in fact, a delicate balance struck between the new Ming rulers and the gentry and common people. A strong military would provide a solid foundation for land reform, while a large peasant army could quickly respond to the central government's call and provide enforcement power for the new policies.

As these peasant soldiers took shape, Zhang Tianze's control over the situation became increasingly stronger. His joint operations with Li Banghua at the local and central levels made the implementation of the new Ming Dynasty's policies increasingly powerful. At the same time, it also made local gentry clearly realize that only by keeping up with the pace of the central government can they survive in this change.

However, despite this, many local gentry, especially those long-established landlord families, were still unwilling to give up their privileges easily. They either tried to bribe local officials with monetary benefits or threatened the advancement of reforms through violence.

However, Zhu Cilang had a clear strategy for dealing with this. Zhang Tianze and Li Banghua's combined crackdown on those attempting to exploit the situation left them with nowhere to hide. Even some gentry with ill intentions were ultimately forced to accept the living space granted them by the new Ming dynasty.

Those lands without title deeds were eventually nationalized and used as the basis for agriculture and military farming; while those gentry with title deeds continued to operate within the Xinming system by exchanging business opportunities.

Behind all this lies Zhu Cilang's grand plan for future political stability. Land reform is not just for the sake of land itself, but for the reconstruction of a broader political and social structure.

By cracking down on the gentry while giving them certain economic benefits, this form of reform and redistribution will effectively curb the local tyrants' attempts to restore their power and lay a more solid foundation for the new Ming regime.

In this massive transformation, Zhu Cilang not only strategized, but also skillfully balanced the interests of all parties, enabling the reform to proceed smoothly and ultimately achieving his ideal control over the country's politics, society, and economy.

Under Zhu Cilang's meticulous planning, construction of the first batch of garrisons has begun. These garrisons are not only extensions of the military defense line, but also pioneers of social change. They will become new models, play a demonstrative role, and drive change and innovation in surrounding areas.

In Zhu Cilang's eyes, Tunbu was not just a simple military gathering place, but a social experimental field full of potential. It was an important tool for completely changing the local social structure by transforming people's lives and production methods.

Compared to traditional clan forts, the greatest advantage of tunbao lies in the rational distribution of production tools and resources. The distribution of production tools, such as oxen and farm tools, will be more equitable, and all resources will be centralized under a specific plan, avoiding the injustices caused by the concentration of power within some clans in the past.

The unified construction of water conservancy facilities made irrigation of cultivated land more efficient, greatly increasing farmland output. Although the reduction in land rent and corvée burdens was not significant at first, it was undoubtedly a huge benefit to the people, allowing them to truly feel the difference compared to the past.

As time goes by, the changes brought about by the Tunbu will quickly gain strong appeal among the lower-class people and become their goal to emulate.

The Tunbao system brought about more than just agricultural reforms. The promotion of this new collective model would also rapidly expand socioeconomic activities. For example, future trading companies, workshop recruitment, and literacy campaigns targeting young adults and children over thirteen would all accelerate overall social progress. Zhu Cilang's literacy program, in particular, would have far-reaching implications for youth education.

By promoting basic education, people can acquire more knowledge, which not only helps improve their productivity, but also changes their ideas to a certain extent, so that they no longer stick to traditional clan interests and family relationships, but identify more with national unity and collective strength.

Even the recruitment of soldiers was carried out under this system. The people in the garrison were better trained and equipped, so they often had an advantage over people outside when recruiting soldiers.

(End of this chapter)