Di Ming

Chapter 440 "Swear brotherhood with me? Zhu Yin is not qualified!"

The discovery of the character "夏" (Xia) in oracle bone inscriptions would be a major breakthrough if it were found hundreds of years later!
This groundbreaking discovery is enough to make the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project expert group proud.

This is the written code that proves the Xia Dynasty, indicating that the earliest oracle bone script was not from the Shang Dynasty, but can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty, which can extend the history of Chinese characters by at least 500 years!

The question is, is the oracle bone script rubbing by Gu Qiyuan really the character "Xia"? This is only a preliminary identification, and more discoveries are needed to prove it in order to reach a final conclusion.

However, having pioneered oracle bone studies three hundred years earlier than in history, the amount of material researched is undoubtedly far richer than that of later generations, which is an irreplaceable and enormous advantage.

Overjoyed, Zhu Yin immediately wrote a letter to Gu Qiyuan, urging him to continue his efforts and discover more oracle bone inscriptions, tortoise shells, and bone fragments.

At the same time, Zhu Yin stated in the letter that he would establish the "Huaxia Oracle Bone Inscription Research Institute" in Nanjing, which would be of equal status to the Hanlin Academy, a fifth-rank government office, and directly under the Ministry of Rites.

If Gu Qiyuan agrees, he intends to appoint Gu Qiyuan as the director of the "Chinese Oracle Bone Inscription Research Institute", with the same rank as the fifth grade, in charge of establishing the institute, recommending masters of epigraphy and philology to serve in the institute, and granting them official positions.

In addition to the salaries of officials, the Ministry of Revenue also allocated 100,000 taels of silver annually specifically for the collection, discovery, and organization of oracle bone inscriptions.

If there is a major breakthrough, the imperial court will reward those who have made contributions.

Having finished writing this letter, Zhu Yin was still not satisfied and issued another imperial edict to the Three Judicial Offices:
"The three judicial departments, together with the Hanlin Academy, shall jointly draft the 'Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics of China,' stipulating that all ancient artifacts, including dragon bones, ancient tombs, ancient trees, ancient bridges, ancient vessels, and ancient books, shall not be damaged, not even by their owners..."

"...But those who cause further damage shall be punished in five grades, the most severe being beheading, and the lightest being imprisonment or a fine...The three judicial departments must carefully examine the categories, gather wisdom from all sides, and properly legislate to classify crimes accordingly...A draft should be prepared within one month, and legislation should be enacted within three months..."

"...The Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs are to draft an edict to establish the Bureau of Cultural Relics, with a rank equivalent to the Court of Judicial Review, a third-rank official position. Ye Xianggao, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, will temporarily serve as the Director, in charge of the protection, appraisal, judicial, and supervisory functions of Chinese antiquities..."

"Each province shall establish a Cultural Relics Bureau, with a rank of fifth grade, headed by a bureau chief. Each prefecture shall establish a Cultural Relics Division, with a rank of seventh grade, headed by a division chief. Each state and county shall establish a Cultural Relics Section, with a rank of ninth grade, headed by a section chief..."

"The Department of Cultural Relics has 36 officials below the rank of Director and 100 clerks. The Bureau of Cultural Relics has 16 officials below the rank of Director and 50 clerks. The Division has 6 officials below the rank of Director and 12 clerks. The Section has 2 Section Chiefs and 2 Section Assistants and 4 clerks."

"An imperial edict decrees that officials at the provincial, prefectural, county, and garrison levels, as well as governors, imperial inspectors, and censors, all have the sacred duty to supervise and protect cultural relics. Anyone who obstructs or hinders the official duties of the cultural relics department will be impeached..."

This means that local officials have a responsibility to protect cultural relics, which is included in their performance evaluation, and they must actively cooperate with the cultural relics departments. This has been a common practice and management experience in later generations.

Zhu Yin was very ruthless. He either didn't legislate at all, or once he enacted the first cultural relics protection law in history, he was extremely strict.

In the most severe cases, the death penalty may be imposed!

If legislation had been enacted for the protection of cultural relics a few centuries earlier, countless Chinese cultural relics that would have been saved in later generations.

After writing the Regent's edict, Zhu Yin immediately affixed his seal and issued it, ordering it to be sent to the officials on holiday in the city.

Then, Zhu Yin said to Ning Qingchen, "Immortal Physician Ning, you should tell the world that oracle bone inscriptions, tortoise shells, and animal bones are not dragon bones, not medicinal materials, and have no medicinal effects. Let the world clear up this misconception."

Ning Qingchen, of course, also knew the importance of oracle bone script, and nodded, saying, "I will give a speech at the academy tomorrow and write an article to clarify. My words are now the truth."

After arriving in Nanjing, Qingchen Academy moved to a better location and officially opened its doors. The first batch of hundreds of students have graduated and are all temporarily staying at the academy as teachers. The number of new students has exceeded two thousand.

In recent years, Ning Qingchen and Qingchen Medical College have gained immense fame, attracting even missionaries. If Ning Qingchen were to declare that oracle bones are not medicinal materials, but rather harmful and have no medicinal effect, the world would surely believe him.

Only when people stop using oracle bones as medicine can there be a good and relaxed environment for the protection of oracle bone inscriptions.

...

After spending the Mid-Autumn Festival at Qingqiao, Zhu Yin went to the manor to drink, play the zither, and recite poems under the moon with Qin Mao, Xu Wei, and others. He returned to the city early the next morning.

I only stayed at the old house for one day.

On his way back to the city, Zhu Yin went to the training camp at the South City Training Ground to watch the new recruits train.

The recruit training went smoothly and the recruits worked very hard, which pleased Zhu Yin greatly. Indeed, as long as there's enough money, there's no fear of not being able to train elite soldiers.

Because the Jinghai Army had few soldiers, Zhu Yin could only form a training battalion to train new recruits. This way, the new recruits could be trained effectively, and the veteran soldiers in the training battalion would not be scattered, but could be mobilized as a complete old unit at any time, achieving two goals at once.

They were learning from the training corps system of the Whampoa Military Academy era.

The training battalion selected 5,000 veterans from the Jinghai Navy to train more than 40,000 new recruits.

That's right, after a month of recruitment, more than 40,000 people have been recruited.

Zhu Yin's recruitment benefits were extremely generous, even surpassing those of Qi Jiguang's army in its heyday. During the first year of basic training alone, recruits received twelve taels of silver annually, not including rations and other provisions.

Once you pass basic training and become a regular soldier, you'll receive 20 taels of silver as your pay. In your third year, a corporal will receive 24 taels per quarter; in your fourth year, a sergeant will receive 28 taels; and in your fifth year, a sergeant will receive 32 taels.

This military pay is twice that of the Nine Garrisons, and it is paid quarterly without any delay!

Zhu Yin implemented a truly elite military system. His recruitment criteria were strict, his training was rigorous, and his soldiers were provided with the best pay, rations, uniforms, and weapons.

Including equipment, horses, and other consumables, the average military expenditure for him to maintain one elite soldier is sixty taels of silver per year!
He now finally understood why Ming generals only wanted to support their own families. Because maintaining a large-scale elite army was simply unaffordable!

The Ming Dynasty's annual military expenditure, including all items, amounted to over 20 million taels of silver, with military rations and horse feed being the bulk of the expenditure. Maintaining the army accounted for 70% of the Ming Dynasty's total fiscal revenue, which was barely enough to sustain the nine border defense lines.

Therefore, even if he unified the Ming Dynasty, the number of standing troops nationwide would not exceed 500,000.

But to put it another way, an elite force like the Jinghai Army, let alone 500,000, even if it only had 300,000, would be enough to crush any superpower in the world today.

They are more than capable of expanding their territory.

Zhang Jia, who was in charge of training the new recruits, approached Zhu Yin, bowed, and asked with concern:
"My lord, when will we be able to recruit the remaining 100,000 or so new soldiers? Right now, we only have 42,000 new soldiers. If recruitment is too slow, it will affect our training plan."

Looking at the new recruits practicing formations and drills on the parade ground, Zhu Yin said, "It will be at least December. There are 200,000 new recruits. Our treatment is unparalleled in the world, and we select only the best soldiers, so it will naturally be slower."

Zhang Jia said with some concern, "It will take at least a year for the new recruits to become an army. We can't count on them now. Our Jinghai Army is too small. The next year will be the most dangerous. I've heard that the foreigners are amassing a large fleet in Montreal and may be heading north to retake Jingzhou. The chieftain is also rebelling now..."

Zhu Yin sneered, "The foreigners haven't been idle these past few years. They've indeed reached an agreement to form some kind of East India Coalition, gathering tens of thousands of foreigners from various countries, along with over thirty thousand native soldiers from Java, India, and Malacca. It sounds like a formidable force. This time, they're not just aiming to retake Jingzhou, but also to occupy Qiongzhou and Guangzhou..."

"However, they are still far from ready and not yet prepared. It will take them at least half a year to attack Jingzhou, at the earliest next summer."

“By then, we will have surely pacified the chieftains and will be able to deal with them.”

Although Zhu Yin spoke lightly, he was also very uneasy.

Zhang Jia was right; the following year was indeed the most dangerous and vulnerable period for the Southern Dynasty, because it had too many enemies.

He knew more than Zhang Xia, and he knew the situation was more serious.

Militarily, Zhu Yin was never worried about the pressure from the Northern Dynasties. Although the Ming Dynasty's elite troops were mainly in the north, they needed to guard against the southward advance of the Mongols, and had also lost the financially vital southern regions, leaving the Ming Dynasty barely clinging to life.

Zhu Yin's military pressure actually came from four directions: first, the southwestern chieftains; second, Burma, which took advantage of the situation and invaded Yunnan; third, the Western colonialists who were organizing a large army to conquer the Ming Dynasty; and fourth, the rising Tubo Kingdom on the plateau.

With the North and South divided, chieftains rebelling, and Burma invading, how could the notorious traitors Gu Bingqian and his son possibly let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? They will surely persuade the Tibetan king Tudor Namgyal (Zangba Khan) to seize the opportunity to send troops to attack Sichuan or Shaanxi!
Given that the Northern Dynasty had a large military presence in Shaanxi, Tudo Namgyal would most likely choose to attack Sichuan rather than Shaanxi.

There were no other options at the moment. Zhu Yin suddenly realized that if the Ming Dynasty hadn't been divided into North and South, there wouldn't have been so many crises.

It was the division within the Ming Dynasty that gave foreign tribes the illusion of an opportunity. This led to She Chongming's premature rebellion and Burma's large-scale invasion of the Ming.

The most pressing pressure, of course, came from rebellious foreign chieftains like She Chongming.

If She Chongming is not suppressed decisively, other chieftains who have long harbored rebellious intentions may take advantage of the division between the North and the South to raise troops and establish their own independent regimes. At that time, it will be like pressing down a gourd and another floating up, making it difficult to attend to one thing while facing another, and there will be emergencies everywhere!
Only by winning this battle decisively and destroying She Chongming's "Liang Kingdom" can the Southern Dynasty turn the tide and truly gain a foothold. Only then can his authority as Regent Grand Tutor be truly established.

Therefore, the campaign to quell the rebellion in Sichuan could only end in victory, not defeat.

Zhu Yinhe and the Southern Dynasty at present simply cannot afford to lose!

"You just focus on training the new army well," Zhu Yin said. "The recruitment criteria cannot be relaxed, and the training intensity cannot be reduced. Those who cannot keep up with the training should be eliminated immediately. Six thousand warhorses for the cavalry will be transported from Jeju Island this month!"

Zhang Jia was overjoyed when he heard that six thousand warhorses had been transported to the area. However, his joy lasted only a short while before his smile faded.

"My lord, six thousand warhorses can only form three thousand cavalry. But the new army's cavalry plan is to form thirty thousand cavalry, so this is only one-tenth of the total."

Zhu Yin waved his hand, "I don't have that many horses for you. Jeju Island is an island after all, and it can't support too many warhorses."

"However... within six months at most, I might be able to acquire tens of thousands of warhorses!"

"Oh?" Zhang Jia was very curious. "So many in just half a year? Doesn't the Southern Dynasty have any good breeding grounds for warhorses?"

"It's Songpan!" Zhu Yin smiled and pointed westward. "The Songpan grassland in northwestern Sichuan is a top-quality pasture stretching for hundreds of miles, with tens of thousands of fine horses suitable for war!"

The Songpan Grassland originally belonged to the Han Chinese. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was under the military control of Songpan Guard, which produced more than 30,000 horses annually and was an important source of warhorses for the Ming army. During the Xuande period, strategic contraction led to the abandonment of territories on all sides. The Songpan Grassland, the Hetao Grassland, and the Qinghai Grassland were all abandoned, and Songpan Guard was abandoned. It was gradually occupied by Tibetan chieftains and monasteries.

So much so that Zhang Juzheng once lamented: "The warhorses of the Imperial Stud today are less than one-tenth of those at the beginning of the dynasty."

Today, the Balang chieftain and Huanglong Temple, who occupy the Songpan grassland, are nominally vassals of the Ming Dynasty, but in reality, they no longer pay horse taxes. They only symbolically send some butter tea and yaks.

The Balang chieftain and Huanglong Temple not only disobeyed orders, but also cut off the Tea Horse Road and levied taxes on their own, frequently disrupting the Ming Dynasty's tea-horse trade. They also intercepted warhorses acquired by the Ming Dynasty and refused to return them. In addition, they colluded with the Qinghai Mongols in the north.

In reality, they had already rebelled. They just hadn't raised their flags, so Wanli assumed they hadn't.

The Songpan Grassland was not only a breeding ground for warhorses, but also a vital strategic location, guarding the ancient Tea Horse Road. Controlling the Songpan Grassland would effectively prevent Tibetan cavalry from entering Sichuan. However, if it fell into the hands of Tudo Namgyal, the gateway to Sichuan would be wide open.

During his trip to Sichuan, Zhu Yin took the opportunity of supporting Sichuan and suppressing She Chongming to recover the Songpan Grassland and restore the thirteen counties of Songzhou from the Tang Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, the control of Songpan was already based on the prefecture-county system, which was the period in ancient times when the Tang Dynasty had complete and strongest control over the Songpan grasslands, surpassing the Yuan and Qing Dynasties.

Zhu Yin gave Zhang Jia a few instructions, then left the training ground and returned to the city to personally urge the Ministry of Revenue to prepare the grain supplies.

Everyone in the Ministry of Revenue is so busy they barely have time to breathe. Even Minister Li Tingji is itching to curse.

However, Zhu Yin's military orders were very strict, and the military situation was urgent, so no one wanted to offend him at this critical juncture.

...

On August 17, Zhu Yin officially issued an order appointing Xu Wei, Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and Military Advisor of the Grand Military Governor's Office, to act as regent and manage the cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Grand Military Governor's Office.

On August 18th, after arranging everything, Zhu Yin ordered the expedition to begin without waiting for the auspicious day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

The departure ceremony was kept simple; Emperor Taichang simply led his officials to the Meridian Gate to see them off.

Emperor Taichang was very worried, fearing that something might happen to the gentleman on his journey. Zhu Yin comforted him, saying, "Although She Chongming is powerful, he is perverse and does not know the will of Heaven. I can destroy him with a snap of my fingers. Your Majesty should just stay in the capital and serve the Empress Dowager."

Emperor Taichang wept and said, "Sir, the Star Lord has descended to earth, bringing good fortune and a safe and triumphant return. On the day of your triumphant return, I will personally lead your horse."

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please do not act like a child. I will now take my leave."

Seeing the deep bond between the emperor and his tutor, many officials felt uneasy.

These people hoped that the emperor and Zhu Yin would turn against each other!
But by any measure, they don't seem like they're about to turn against each other.

Then, Zhu Yin led 10,000 Jinghai soldiers and Ning Qingchen's medical battalion out of Nanjing amidst the cheers of the Nanjing people lining the streets, boarded a ship, and sailed westward.

The city of Nanjing was then entrusted to five people: Xu Wei, Zong Qin, Ning Caiwei, Ding Liyang, and Xu Xiaobai.

In addition to 10,000 Jinghai naval personnel and hundreds of military doctors, the entourage included more than 30,000 laborers from Nanyang and Jiangnan, as well as provisions, supplies, and pack animals prepared by the Ministry of Revenue.

More than 700 boats of various sizes, propelled by the combined efforts of boatmen and oarsmen, mules and horses, and the wind, slowly sailed upstream.

The massive fleet could only travel an average of eighty li per day. With favorable winds, it could travel a little over a hundred li, but with unfavorable winds, it could only travel forty or fifty li.

When they reached Anqing, they replaced the boatmen and oarsmen with 20,000. Then, when they reached Jiujiang Prefecture, they replaced them again.

Entering Sichuan has always been difficult.

The fleet had to expend a great deal of manpower and animal power to travel upstream. If they had traveled by land, the route would have been even more rugged and difficult, making the journey even slower.

It wasn't until the tenth day of the ninth lunar month, more than twenty days later, that Zhu Yin arrived in Baidi City.

Qin Liangyu, Yang Yinglong, Xiong Tingbi, Mao Wenlong, Cao Wenzhao and others, who had received their transfer orders long ago, also arrived in Baidi City!

The Han, Tujia, and Miao armies in Baidi City numbered 50,000! Among them, 20,000 were Tusi soldiers.

Including laborers and conscripts, the total number was over 100,000.

When Zhu Yin arrived at Baidi City, he raised the banner of "By Imperial Decree to Punish the Rebels" and announced that he would rest and reorganize in Baidi City for three days, hold a military council, and then march westward to Chengdu!

……

Ten days after Zhu Yin led his army away from Nanjing, She Chongming, who had already besieged Chengdu, finally received a personal letter from Zhu Yin.

Inside the barracks of the Black Yi army, She Chongming, a burly man with a dark complexion and a hooked nose, couldn't help but burst into laughter upon seeing Zhu Yin's letter.

"Hahaha! That brat Zhu Yin actually wants to swear brotherhood with me, grant me the title of Marquis, and try to persuade me to surrender to Emperor Taichang of Nanjing!"

"Does he think rebellion is a child's game? I have already rebelled against the Ming and declared myself king, why would I care about his marquisate? How laughable!"

"It seems that the Ming army in Nanjing is a bunch of weak and incompetent deer and lambs; they are afraid."

She Chongming threw Zhu Yin's handwritten letter on the ground. "This so-called prodigy Zhu Yin is a treasure in the eyes of the Han people, but in the eyes of us Black Yi, he is just a laughable badger! A disgusting porcupine!"

"Doesn't he know that if we surrender, it would be an insult to the gods Gez and the tiger god Jialuo?"

"You want to swear brotherhood with me? Zhu Yin is not qualified!"

"Once I capture him, I will make him a slave to herd cattle for me!"

"Hahaha!" The Black Yi nobles in the tent burst into laughter upon hearing this, each one as rugged and fierce as ape spirits from the mountains and forests.

Surrender to Nanjing? Ridiculous!
They are determined to overthrow the Ming Dynasty and establish their own kingdom as the Black Yi people! They will then march on Nanjing and capture the Ming emperor!

She Chongming waved his hand, "Pass on my military order: let the warriors drink their fill of rice wine, then attack Chengdu!"

"There aren't many Ming troops in Chengdu; they can't hold out for more than a few days!"

"If they do not surrender, we will not sheath our swords for three days after we capture Chengdu!"

"Once we capture Chengdu, it will become the capital of our Great Liang! The Ming Dynasty is currently divided between the North and South, with fathers and sons killing each other. There is nothing to fear! This is a golden opportunity for us, the warriors of the Black Yi, to make our mark!"

"Conquer Chengdu! Burn the King of Shu to death!"

At the command, a terrifying bugle call rang out from within the Black Yi army.

"Waaaaah—waaaaah!"

Everyone in Chengdu, from the governor and the King of Shu to ordinary people, was terrified when they heard the bugle call of the Black Yi army.

She Chongming is finally going to attack the city!
Chengdu is in grave danger!
...

P.S.: That's all for today. Thank you, goodnight. Still hoping for votes and chart rankings, and please leave book reviews!

(End of this chapter)