Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

"Why did you choose to establish the military academy in Beiping?"

"Is it because Beiping is close to the north, and there's a high probability of future battles there? Would it be a good place to conduct practical training?"

Xu Da voiced his doubts.

In his mind, the higher-ups were preparing to establish such an important place as a military academy.

Therefore, it would be most appropriate to establish it in the capital.

But the higher-ups actually said that it should only be established in Beiping.

This surprised him.

Although he gave this reason, I still feel that it's not the main point.

Besides the reason he himself thought of, there must be some other deeper meaning behind his rise to power.

But it was this deeper meaning that gave him some ideas.

But I'm not entirely sure.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Tiande, you are right."

Military academies, after all, are for military campaigns and battles.

In addition to classroom teaching, battlefield teaching is equally important.

There are indeed some ideas behind setting it up in Beiping, just as you said.

but……"

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Xu Da's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the crux of the matter had arrived.

"However, besides that, we have another consideration."

That means that in the future, we plan to move the capital to Beiping.

Therefore, the military academy was set up there ahead of schedule.

This will save us from having to move the capital there again when we need to relocate it in the future.

Moving around is such a hassle.

Xu Da was taken aback when he heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

That said, although he had a similar idea in his mind, it was only a tiny bit.

Because moving the capital has always been a major event.

Moreover, Yingtian can be considered the place where His Majesty rose to power.

At this moment, the news of moving the capital, especially to a place like Beiping, came as a complete surprise to him.

But while he was stunned, he also fully understood the purpose of the official's arrangement after taking the throne.

"Beiping is close to the north, and the most fatal threat to Han Chinese dynasties has always been from the north."

Even if some trouble arises in the south, it won't have much impact and won't threaten the fundamental situation.

This is because there are many mountains and forests to the south, making it difficult for people to gather.

On the other hand, the warm climate and dense jungles are not conducive to marching.

This is neither conducive to our march nor to theirs.

Moreover, the area is rich in produce, so you can pick fruit to eat when you're hungry.

Rice can be harvested two or even three times a year.

It won't freeze you to death in winter.

Correspondingly, the people over there do not have such strong combat capabilities.

It's hard for them to muster all their courage and fight against us with everything they have.

But the situation is different to the north.

The harsh, cold lands to the north are also home to warhorses.

The environment there is extremely challenging.

On the grasslands, battles and fighting were frequent and continuous.

It is normal for tribes to fight and annex each other.

Most importantly, the climate was harsh, and when disaster struck, many chose to invade southward in order to survive.

We are naturally not afraid of this kind of thing.

But what happened later?
If the capital were to be located in Yingtian later, would some emperors feel that the north, with its constant warfare, was a troublesome place and want to abandon it?

Will any ministers propose abandoning Youyun, abandoning Hebei, and then abandoning the Central Plains?
Just like in the later period of the Han Dynasty, some people kept proposing to abandon Liangzhou.

After much deliberation, we decided it would be best to move the capital directly to Beiping.

To the north of Beiping are the Yanshan Mountains, which are very steep, and the Great Wall, which provides sufficient defense.

The key is that behind it lies the vast Hebei Plain.

Guanzhong, a strategically important and fertile land, is much smaller than the Hebei Plain, only about one-tenth the size.

The Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties all established their capitals here.

They established a great dynasty.

Now, if our Great Ming Dynasty were to establish its capital in Beiping, it would have both the Grand Canal to connect the north and south, and sea routes to facilitate transportation.

With such a large area as the Hebei Plain, it's quite good for producing grain and soldiers; it certainly won't be too bad.

As the saying goes, Hebei is like a pearl to the world, and the world is like four branches to Hebei.

If one has no pearls and jewels, how can one not live? If one loses one's limbs, I know nothing of what kind of person one is.

This place cannot be lost.

Move the capital here and take the lead on the front line.

It can also prevent future generations from having unworthy descendants or shallow-minded officials who only think about prolonging their lives and seeking only peace, from saying that they want to abandon Youyun and Hebei because of the pressure from the northern barbarians.

The capital is right here; let them give it up if they have the guts.

This is not as simple as just giving up Hebei.

Instead, they simply lost the capital!
If they were to actually do that, their glorious deeds would be recorded in history, leaving behind a legacy for posterity to scorn!

Zhu Yuanzhang had nothing to hide from Xu Da.

He explained his considerations in detail to Xu Da.

Upon hearing this, Xu Da pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands to Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Your Majesty, your considerations are indeed profound."

I agree.

Beiping is a more suitable place to establish a capital.

Ancient capitals like Chang'an, Luoyang, and Kaifeng are no longer viable.

Guanzhong is too small, Luoyang is even smaller, and as for Bianliang, it has no natural defenses and has been made particularly dilapidated.

More importantly, the Yellow River is no longer a viable shipping route, making it difficult to rely on it to transport large quantities of money and grain.

After much deliberation, besides Yingtian, the most suitable place to establish a capital is Beiping, as mentioned by the superior.

His foresight in taking a leadership role is admirable.

Xu Da's words were sincere; he truly admired him.

The Shang dynasty established its capital in Beiping, which was completely different from the Mongol Yuan dynasty's capital in Dadu.

The Mongol Yuan dynasty was inhabited by people from the grasslands, and the many places north of Beijing were very familiar to them.

It is the location of their stronghold.

They generally don't experience much pressure when they settle down.

However, if the Ming Dynasty were to establish its capital in Beiping, then the situation would be quite different.

This means that the capital was placed at the forefront, with the capital guarding the country's gates, or rather, with the emperor guarding the country's gates.

As a result, later emperors and ministers had to pay attention to the defense of the northern border.

When faced with a crisis, one has no choice but to fight desperately.

As long as we fight desperately here and ensure that the capital is not lost, then the vast lands behind the Ming Dynasty will not be lost.

That's truly impressive boldness! A grand gesture!
As expected of someone in power!
Now Xu Da felt more confident.

At the same time, he secretly resolved to thoroughly clean up the grassland in the next few years and use some methods to solve the problem of Nahachu as well.

We must do our best to stabilize the grasslands in preparation for the Ming Dynasty's upcoming relocation of its capital.

At the very least, we must ensure that no tribe from the northern grasslands will invade us for the next twenty years! However, despite thinking this way, Xu Da sighed inwardly after the idea surfaced in his mind.

The reason he did this was because he knew that his methods could only bring temporary peace to the grasslands.

It is impossible to maintain long-term stability on the grasslands.

In the future, there will certainly be more wars on the grasslands, and new tribes will rise up, threatening the Ming Dynasty.

It wasn't that he was overly pessimistic about this matter, but rather that the grasslands have always been like this.

The vast majority of people are like leeks, one crop after another grows up, endlessly.

When the Han Chinese dynasties become stronger, the power on the grasslands weakens.

However, once the Han Chinese dynasty weakens, tribes will rise rapidly on the grasslands.

This posed a new threat to the Han Chinese dynasties.

Throughout history, countless methods have been employed, yet none have been able to completely control the grasslands.

The method he adopted could only guarantee peace for a few decades, and he couldn't even guarantee it for twenty years.

However, he couldn't think of any other good method besides this one.

Because this has been the case in every dynasty.

"If you take a higher position, what should you do on this grassland?"
What methods can we use to completely stabilize the grasslands and prevent them from posing any further threat to us?

In his distress, Xu Da couldn't help but look at Zhu Yuanzhang and ask this question.

The destruction of the Northern Plains royal court, and even the subsequent dealings with Nahachu and the Oirat people, were all only temporary.

More importantly, we need to consider how to make the grasslands truly stable and no longer a scourge to the north of the Ming Dynasty.

Only in this way can we solve the problem once and for all.

Otherwise, it will only be temporary.

Without the Northern Yuan royal court and without Nahachu, other tribes will seize this opportunity to develop rapidly and grow stronger, continuing to be enemies of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

In the future, we will inevitably be plunged into endless war.

This is something Xu Da does not want to see.

Unfortunately, there isn't a very good way to solve this problem.

So he asked his superiors, wanting to get an answer to this question if he wanted to rise to power.

He was different from ordinary people when it came to rising to power; he was truly resourceful.

He has unique insights into many things.

Perhaps the same is true on this grassland.

"Tiande, your consideration is very correct. This matter cannot be ignored."

We cannot simply kill off the grasslands.

After killing them, there are no other options; it will only benefit others.

Many tribes on the grasslands will benefit from us and thus develop.

We can't do this; it's too much of a loss for us.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, agreeing with Xu Da's concerns.

He was pleased that Tiande could think of these things.

"However, we do have some ideas about this grassland that might be useful."

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Xu Da immediately became invigorated, sat up straight, and became fully alert.

Sure enough, I made the right choice asking the higher-ups; they really do have ways to get ahead!
Hopefully, the solution proposed by the higher authorities will be effective and completely resolve the problem.

If the problem of the grasslands could be solved once and for all, and the capital could be moved to Beiping so that the emperor could guard the country's borders.

With both factors combined, there is a high probability that the grasslands will be able to remain stable in the future.

Furthermore, it can also reduce the number of disasters that the Ming Dynasty may suffer.

This is excellent.

"When it comes to the grasslands, the first thing to be determined is this."

That is, after we wiped out the powerful enemy on the grassland, we just sat idly by and let it go.

This will only lead to the uncontrolled growth of power on the grasslands.

As a result, new tribes emerged that were enemies of our Great Ming.

Instead, it is necessary to implement effective and efficient governance over them.

Only by ruling them can we make them obey the Great Ming and evolve according to the ideas of the Great Ming.

Next, after cleaning up the grassland, we will register the tribes on the grassland.

Furthermore, grassroots organizations were established at the town level.

Large tribes are broken down into smaller tribes, and each tribe becomes a town.

They were assigned their own pastoral areas.

The pastoral area should not be drawn too large; it should be drawn smaller.

Let them graze their livestock in their respective pastures.

Furthermore, it is strictly forbidden for tribes on the grasslands to annex each other.

The ownership of each pastoral area should also belong to the state, and they should only have the right to use it.

If any tribe disobeys and violates this taboo, then the Ming Dynasty will send troops, in alliance with the bullied tribes, to attack the tribe that violated the taboo.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

Give them the most profound lesson.

Xu Da nodded in agreement after hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

He agrees with this.

This is indeed a good idea.

The fundamental reason for this move by the leader is to restrict the various tribes of the grasslands.

This prevented the various tribes from annexing each other, thus preventing the formation of overly powerful tribes.

The tribes on the grasslands could not come together to establish an effective unified government.

If their strength is not great, they will not be able to pose a significant threat to the Ming Dynasty.
"Several towns form an alliance."

The alliance here is not a first-level administrative body, but a coordinating organization under the supervision of the imperial court.

The leader of the alliance was appointed by the Court of Colonial Affairs and was responsible for convening regular alliance meetings.

For example, it could be once every three years.

Enforcing imperial decrees, adjudicating cases, and inspecting soldiers.

Most importantly, the power to appoint, succeed, and reward/punish leaders at all levels of the alliance and town must be completely in the hands of the Emperor of my Great Ming.

It requires approval from the Colonial Court.

This method ensured the court's absolute control over the Mongol aristocracy!
We can't take a one-size-fits-all approach with those tribes on the grasslands.

For tribes that submitted earlier and have closer ties, we can offer them some incentives and grant them appropriate autonomy.

For those areas that faced fierce resistance or were newly conquered, the court directly dispatched officials to manage them, and the control was even stricter.

We plan to establish a Court of Colonial Affairs as an institution exclusively managed by the imperial court.

Make it the highest central authority for managing the affairs of ethnic minorities in the grasslands, plateaus, and western regions.

It was independent of the six ministries and was responsible for formulating and enforcing laws and regulations for places such as the grasslands.

It manages all affairs related to the royal court visits, the granting of titles, stipends, succession, judicial trials, post stations, and transportation.

"Let it become the central hub for the central government to control these areas..."

The more Xu Da listened, the brighter his eyes became.

The more I listened, the more I realized how right his words made sense.

This is exactly what he wanted—a good way to completely eradicate the problem of grassland pollution!

As expected of someone in power!
Truly extraordinary!

While being deeply moved, I couldn't help but perk up and listen more attentively.

Let's see if the higher-ups have any other good ways to deal with the grasslands... (End of Chapter)