Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 409 Yongning Temple

In the eleventh year of the Yongle reign (1413), when the Ming Dynasty imperial envoy and eunuch Yishiha made his third inspection of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, he built Yongning Temple on the site of the original Guanyin Hall at the location of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission's government office, and erected a stone tablet with the inscription "Record of Yongning Temple" on it.

In the seventh year of the Xuande reign (1432), when Yishiha made his ninth inspection tour of Nurgan Commandery, he saw that Yongning Temple had been destroyed. The following year, he rebuilt Yongning Temple and erected a stele with the inscription "Record of the Reconstruction of Yongning Temple".

These two steles, collectively known as the Yongning Temple Steles, are located on the riverbank cliffs near Yongning Temple, bearing witness to the effective governance of the Heilongjiang River basin by the Ming Dynasty in the past.

However, times have changed, and more than two hundred years have passed. Yongning Temple has once again been buried in the dust of history, leaving only ruins scattered all over the ground, as if lamenting the desolation of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the two Yongning Temple steles have withstood wind and rain, still standing stubbornly on the riverbank, gazing at the surging river, waiting for the return of the Han people.

On August 7, at 2 p.m., two galleys slowly sailed into the bay and moored in front of the wooden pier in Nurgan.

Nurgan City was much larger than Fushan Fort, with towering walls and arrow towers at the four corners. Patrol soldiers could be vaguely seen on the city walls.

Outside the city walls, what is even more eye-catching are the two Yongning Temple steles on the riverbank cliffs, as well as a large group of busy craftsmen and native laborers who have come to serve.

The once-abandoned Yongning Temple is being slowly rebuilt, with the constant clanging of chisels and the continuous transport of massive timbers to the construction site.

A few dozen steps away, beside a stone tablet, a Fiyaka shaman was leading several tribal elders in burning incense and making offerings.

Amidst the wisps of smoke, the ancient stone tablet inscribed with "Record of the Reconstruction of Yongning Temple" stands silently. The moss on the back of the tablet has been carefully scraped away, revealing the name of the imperial eunuch Yishiha from the Yongle era.

"This must require a lot of manpower, right?" Zhang Yaoshen turned his gaze back and looked at Liu Xing, the captain of the Nurgan City guards.

“Yes, it will require a lot of manpower.” Liu Xing nodded. “Since last year, every July and August, we have been conscripting more than two hundred natives from the surrounding tribes to build this project. However, the higher-ups have not set a completion deadline for us, so let’s build it slowly. At this pace, it might take seven or eight years.”

"If Yongning Temple is restored, I wonder if the local people who come to worship will be doing so out of gratitude for the former Ming emperor, or out of awe for the power of our new China?"

"Hmph, you don't understand!" Liu Xing glanced at him. "Our Beiying Expansion Zone Commissioner said that whether it is the restoration of Nurgan City or the reconstruction of Yongning Temple, it represents the Han people's forces once again entering this vibrant land."

"From now on, this place will be bathed in the civilization of China, learn the traditions of the Han people, and become part of the territory of the Han people. In time, the favors of the former Ming emperor will naturally be transferred to our Xinhua."

"..." Zhang Yaoshen's face immediately turned somewhat unpleasant after being interrupted like that.

In his view, rebuilding Yongning Temple on the banks of the Blackwater River, where there is a sparse population and a lack of resources, is clearly a wasteful and wasteful undertaking.

It should be noted that in the past, the Nurgan Regional Military Commission of the Ming Dynasty built this temple twice, and it was only through the strength of the country that the project was completed by mobilizing nearly a thousand indigenous people from the surrounding tribes.

Of course, the scale of Yongning Temple is not too grand. It is similar to the temples built by the various guards in Liaodong. It includes a mountain gate, main hall, side halls, monks' quarters, storehouses, stele pavilions, etc., covering an area of ​​about two to three thousand square meters. It can be fully restored by mobilizing hundreds of people and working for three to five years.

But the question is, in the early stages of the development of the Heishui colonization area, at a critical moment when various human and material resources were urgently needed, was it really necessary to mobilize so many resources?

Instead of wasting time and energy, it would be better to build more fortresses and outposts along the banks of the Black River to further strengthen control over the Black River basin, thereby deterring and gathering more local tribal natives.

Didn't you see? In preparation for a potential Qing attack, Bolibao, located upstream on the Black River, is frantically urging its superiors to allocate more manpower and resources. If all the resources used to repair Yongning Temple were transferred there, wouldn't Bolibao be transformed into an impregnable military fortress, leaving the Tartars utterly defeated?

“Rebuilding Yongning Temple and erecting another monument to represent our Xinhua are political tasks assigned by higher authorities.” Seeing his dismissive expression, Liu Xing took the initiative to defend Shangguan, saying, “Lord Qi said that this is by no means just the restoration of a temple. When those craftsmen were carving beams and pillars and building stone foundations, they were not just erecting new buildings on the original ruins, but were announcing to all the indigenous tribes that the flag of our Han people has been planted on this land once again.”

More than two hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty's imperial envoy, the eunuch Yishiha, erected a stele and built a temple here to educate the various tribes with Buddhist teachings and to declare sovereignty with the stone stele.

Today, the Xinhua colonization officials have brought this temple back to life, and it is certainly not as simple as just to worship Bodhisattvas and pray to gods and Buddhas.

The two stone tablets at Yongning Temple are inscribed with the history of the Ming Dynasty's rule over the Heishui River basin.

Now, Xinhua's colonization officials are having indigenous laborers scrape off the moss and repaint the inscriptions on the monuments, all to tell everyone that this land was once Han territory and will surely return to Han rule.

When the shamans of the Feyaka people led their tribesmen to kneel before the stone tablet, they may have only been praying for a bountiful harvest of fish and game. But the officials of Nurgan City knew that what they were kneeling before was not only the stone tablet, but also the orthodoxy it represented.

Xinhua colonization officials had the inscription translated into Hezhe, Oroqen, and Fiyaka languages. On the first day of each month, when they were explaining Xinhua's policies at the foot of the stele, they would read it aloud. This was not to make them reminisce about the glorious military achievements of the Ming Dynasty, but to make them remember that the order on this land was established by the Han people.

The lotus-patterned pillars, bracket sets, and flying eaves of the rebuilt temple are not merely architectural decorations, but a silent declaration—the rules, etiquette, and civilization of the Han people will henceforth take root in this land.

Those indigenous laborers who were conscripted to serve may not have understood what they were doing while they were moving stones and carving wood.

But after the temple was completed, every time they passed by, they would remember that this magnificent building was constructed under the direction of the Han people.

Two hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty established a military command here, built temples and erected steles to proclaim its rule.

Today, the colonization officials of Xinhua have brought Yongning Temple back to life, to tell everyone that this land has never been forgotten by the Han people.

The indigenous tribes may not have understood the significance of Yongning Temple at this time, but deep down they must have had a strong sense that the restoration of this temple might mean that the Han people would not leave easily again.

When the Oroqen people brought their furs to exchange for ironware and curiously watched the construction of the temple, the Xinhua colonization officials knew that they had accepted the arrival of the Han people.

When the Fiyaka people were conscripted for military service, they implicitly accepted the order and authority established by the new Chinese.

The reconstruction of Yongning Temple and the erection of a new stele representing Xinhua's rule are not the end, but a new beginning.

When the temple is finally completed and filled with the smoke of incense, Xinhua's colonization officials will read out government decrees in front of the temple, and the leaders of the surrounding tribes will kneel and obey.

At that time, everyone would accept one fact.

The Han people have returned.

The Han people will rule over everything here.

In the future, stone tablets representing the new Chinese rule may be erected in the former Nurgan Regional Military Commission's former garrisons such as Kaolangwuwei, Tuomuhewei, Wudihewei, Buludanhewei, and Ononhewei.
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(End of this chapter)