Di Ming

Chapter 452 "A general's army of less than ten thousand is not worth fighting if it exceeds ten thousand!"

After the Qingyangtai Decree was promulgated, Zhu Yin ordered that 200,000 taels of silver be allocated from the seized goods to the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission as special administrative expenses for the population census.

A census and the establishment of a citizenship system are major undertakings. Zhu Yin certainly wouldn't rely solely on the Prince of Shu and the government military inspection teams; he also had a covert surveillance system: Tiger Fang!
Huya will conduct special monitoring.

In addition, Zhu Yin also ordered the abolition of the poll tax in Sichuan. Sichuan would no longer levy corvée labor without compensation, or the corvée labor tax would be exempted.

This is an economic approach that addresses the root cause of the problem.

In reality, the bulk of the Ming Dynasty's national tax revenue always came from land tax. Poll tax and corvée labor tax were relatively small, and the state received even less from them. However, these taxes became a convenient pretext for local officials to amass wealth.

Zhang Juzheng's Single Whip Law unified the calculation of taxes such as the poll tax, corvée labor tax, and land tax, with land tax accounting for the majority of the various taxes.

Even if the poll tax and corvée labor tax are exempted, the national tax revenue will only decrease by 15%. However, the benefits of exempting them will definitely outweigh the drawbacks.

First, those people who evaded the poll tax and corvée labor would no longer hide their household registration; they would be registered and become citizens with household registration, thus becoming part of the country's population resources.

Secondly, local officials will have one less important source of income, which will slightly alleviate corruption among officials.

Third, the powerful families also lost a tool for concealing their household registrations.

The money the government collects less of can be earned back elsewhere. In short, by collecting more money from the rich and less taxing the poor, the government will avoid going astray.

With this three-pronged approach, and Sichuan being an easy target for the pilot program, it would be unforgivable if the identity system still couldn't be successfully implemented.

The population management system is only the first step.

...

On the third day after the Qingyangtai Decree was promulgated, Zhu Yin received a generous gift: Zhaojue Temple!
Huya finally found evidence of Zhaojue Temple's crimes, and the evidence presented surprised even Zhu Yin.

As a Tantric Buddhist temple, Zhaojue Temple, a major landowner in Sichuan, actually colluded with the Later Tubo Kingdom!

In the monks' quarters of Abbot Baoguang, a letter from the Tibetans was found. The letter stated that at the end of the year, a large army would arrive in Sichuan and attack Chengdu, and instructed the lamas of Zhaojue Temple to open the city gates of Chengdu from the inside.

They also found an imperial edict from the king, bestowing upon Bao Guang the title of Eastern Treasure Dharma King.

Upon hearing the report, Zhu Yin, who was stationed at Qingyang Palace, addressed the crowd with a frosty expression:

"Sichuan is Han territory, and our Great Ming has always been tolerant, allowing Esoteric Buddhism to spread in the interior, under the guise of saving all sentient beings and propagating Buddhism. The Zhengde Emperor, the Longqing Emperor, the Retired Emperor, and the Empress Dowager all revered Esoteric Buddhism. But what was the result?"

“In major cities of Han China, there are Tantric Buddhist temples. Beijing has many, and Chengdu is no exception! Zhaojue Temple, as a Tantric Buddhist temple, claims that its monks are pure of heart and mind, but it seizes farmland, enslaves the people, and harms women. Now it is even betraying its own people, colluding with the Tibetan Kingdom, and plotting to seize Sichuan and Chongqing!”

Zhu Yin was filled with murderous intent towards Zhaojue Temple.

Zhaojue Temple occupied over 60,000 mu of land in the fertile lands of the Han people. It enslaved 8,000 Han people. It also dabbled in the tea-horse trade, smuggled ironware and firearms, and forced over a hundred young girls to serve as concubines, practicing a disgusting form of pleasurable Buddhism…

They're putting on that 'temple aristocracy' thing in Han Chinese areas!
However, these people, who were living such a comfortable life in Han areas and were truly powerful and wealthy, showed no gratitude whatsoever. Instead, they colluded with the Tibetan Kingdom in the snowy region to plot against the entire Sichuan region.

An ungrateful wretch!
"Issue the order!" Zhu Yin gritted his teeth, "Zhaojue Temple has committed treason and rebellion against the Ming Dynasty. All monks are to be arrested. The ringleader, Baoguang, shall be executed by slow slicing. All other monks shall be beheaded and executed in accordance with the law!"

"All the land, property, and wealth seized by Zhaojue Temple shall be registered and confiscated. All the households and people enslaved and hidden by it shall be registered in the Yellow Register, and then land shall be allocated to each household..."

With a single order from Zhu Yin, Zhaojue Temple, the largest esoteric Buddhist temple in eastern Sichuan, faced utter destruction!

Hundreds of monks from the entire monastery were immediately arrested, paraded through the streets at the city gate, and then executed!
Tens of thousands of Chengdu residents witnessed their crimes firsthand. They were especially enraged when they saw the "Mingfei" who had been placed under house arrest and the various gruesome "magical artifacts" they had collected.

These usually sacred and solemn masters turned ashen-faced before the execution, looking no different from ordinary people.

Master Baoguang, who was being subjected to slow slicing, screamed in agony, his excrement and urine flowing freely.

What kind of high monk is he? He's just a wicked fraudster who says one thing and does another!
Many people who had previously been misled by esoteric Buddhism were suddenly awakened, as if struck by a thunderbolt. They would find it very difficult to believe again.

Zhaojue Temple, which had been located in Chengdu for nearly a century, was reduced to ashes!
Zhu Yin not only eliminated the scourge of Zhaojue Temple, but also acquired a great deal of wealth: 380,000 taels of silver, 45,000 taels of gold, thousands of gemstones, over 100 catties of ivory, over 500 catties of spices, 300 catties of rhinoceros horn, and over 5,000 catties of golden nanmu...

These floating assets alone are worth at least 1.5 million taels of silver.

This shows just how wealthy the landowners of temples like Zhaojue Temple were.

Zhu Yin led his army into Sichuan to fight this time. Because of the quick victory, all the military expenses, including the compensation for the casualties after the war, amounted to only one million taels of silver.

The spoils seized from the rebels and confiscated from Zhaojue Temple alone amounted to no less than three million taels of silver. In other words, this battle earned them two million taels.

However, this money was also the hard-earned wealth of the people, looted by the rebels and plundered by Zhaojue Temple. In the end, it was still the blood and sweat of the common people.

On the same day that Zhaojue Temple was suppressed, Tiger Tooth agents discovered that Zhaojue Temple was colluding with the secret religious forces in western Sichuan.

It turns out that in the past ten years, Zhaojue Temple has sent more than 400 Han girls to various temples in western Sichuan. Some of them were abducted, and some were bought.

The fate of those Han girls is self-evident.

"The temples of western Sichuan..." Zhu Yin's expression turned ashen as he saw the new evidence presented by Huya.

He suddenly realized that these Tantric monks were far more vicious than She Chongming and An Bangyan.

She and An were merely rebelling, driven by their ambition to seize power and dominate the country. From the other side's perspective, their actions were actually understandable.

However, those esoteric Buddhist monks who follow the teachings of joy can be called evil.

Thinking of those large Tantric temples in western Sichuan (Kham region), where countless people and vast amounts of gold and silver were hidden, Zhu Yin felt a surge of murderous intent.

Zhaojue Temple, a major temple in Kham region, especially Dege Gengqing Temple, which oversees eighteen temples in western Sichuan, has a deep historical connection.

This Dege Gengqing Monastery is a large monastery with 1,600 lamas, and it is very famous in the plateau.

There are also Tantric monasteries such as Kathok Monastery, Palpung Monastery, and Litang Monastery. Which of them wasn't a large serf owner in Kham (western Sichuan)?

These major monasteries in Kham already had connections with the nobles of the later Tubo Kingdom. How could they not act as guides when Tubo troops invaded Sichuan? How could they not provide support to the Tubo army?

It's impossible!

Moreover, these large serf owners of temples in western Sichuan no longer respected the Ming Dynasty. Although western Sichuan was nominally part of the Ming Dynasty's territory, it was in reality an independent kingdom.

The appointment and removal of abbots of monasteries in western Sichuan originally required reporting to the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission. Monks traveling to various places originally needed travel permits issued by the Ming government. The printing of Buddhist scriptures also required approval from Chengdu, and printing permits were issued by the Chengdu Prefecture.

But what about now? The Sichuan government can no longer control them.

They have seized control of the Songpan grasslands, blocked the tea-horse trade route, and occupied key military locations such as Dajianlu, posing a significant threat!

"It wasn't just Zhaojue Temple that committed treason!" Zhu Yin declared definitively, showing the evidence to Wang Jiguang, Li Shihua, and others. "And these major temples in western Sichuan!" Zhu Yin's expression hardened, actually using the situation as an excuse to escalate the matter, "How dare they! Do they have any respect for the court, for the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yin stood up, looking at the newly hung "Map of Sichuan" in the main hall, his gaze icy. "In recent years, the tea-horse trade route has been disrupted, Songpan Grassland has not offered a single horse as tribute, and the three major Pacification Commissions of Western Sichuan cannot mobilize a single soldier! They have even stopped offering a pound of ghee as tribute!"

He turned to look at Wang Jiguang, "Minister Wang, you've been governor for several years, why haven't you reported these matters to the court? Is western Sichuan still under the jurisdiction of the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission? Have those large temples in western Sichuan become lawless zones? Hmm?"

Wang Jiguang stood up and said with a bitter expression, "In response to the Grand Tutor, the three major Pacification Commissions and eighteen temples in western Sichuan have become increasingly unruly in recent years. In fact, they have already rebelled. However, a few years ago there was the Ningxia rebellion, the Korean resistance against the Japanese pirates, and the puppet Ming regime in the Western Regions. The imperial court was short of funds for military expenses and could only pretend not to know."

"But I have submitted memorials before. These past few years have been even more outrageous; they've seized control of the tea-horse trade routes, openly plundering and killing Ming merchants, and sending troops to abduct people and livestock. Yet the Emperor Emeritus remains unmoved, and Grand Secretary Wang has instructed us to endure it for a few more years..."

"Endure?" Zhu Yin sneered, "The retired emperor is afraid of spending money on war! The retired emperor doesn't care about Sichuan!"

“At the beginning of the dynasty, the entire Tibetan Empire belonged to the Ming Dynasty. Which of those Dharma Kings and Tibetan Kings didn’t rush to Nanjing to kowtow to the Taizu Emperor, the Jianwen Emperor, and the Chengzu Emperor? If the court didn’t bestow titles upon them, they couldn’t control Tibet!”

"But now, let alone Tibet, even western Sichuan is about to rebel! The Emperor Emeritus and Grand Secretary Wang are saying we must be patient! How long must we be patient? Until we lose the Three Xuan and Six Wei, lose Tibet, lose western Sichuan? Until the Tibetan army marches on Chengdu?"

"The retired emperor can tolerate it, but the emperor cannot, and I certainly cannot tolerate it!"

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, realizing that the Regent's grand pronouncements meant he was definitely planning to wage war against western Sichuan.

Wang Jiguang and the others were right; Zhu Yin had indeed decided to launch a military campaign against western Sichuan!

Of course, this wasn't an impulsive act. His goal was to seize key locations in western Sichuan before the Tibetan army could invade the east, thus blocking their path into the Sichuan Plain.

If western Sichuan were to fall into the hands of the Tibetan army, the Ming army would be in a very passive position.

Besides strategic purposes, Zhu Yin also wanted the gold and silver of those temple serf owners!
They not only kill him, but also destroy his spirit, and then they take his money!
Esoteric Buddhism is a natural obstacle to Sinicization. With Esoteric Buddhism present, Sinicization will be difficult even after several hundred years. As for the claim that Esoteric Buddhism reduces the population, that's nonsense. Esoteric Buddhist monks simply cannot marry, but that doesn't mean they don't have illegitimate children.

So what if they don't marry? It doesn't affect their ability to produce successors to the Tantric tradition. There are countless eminent monks and masters with illegitimate children. How can this reduce the population? The smaller populations of the Mongols and Tibetans in later generations were not due to Tantric Buddhism, but rather to backward productivity, coupled with grassland degradation, desertification, and salinization.

Esoteric Buddhism did not diminish their military strength; on the contrary, it strengthened it. Because monasteries are organizational structures, becoming a lama actually enhances their organization, cohesion, and fighting power. Otherwise, where would the "monk soldiers" and "dharma protectors" come from?

The reason why Tibet has declined over the past few centuries is not because it was weakened by Tantric Buddhism, but because its various factions were divided and fighting amongst themselves, preventing them from forming a united force. Any tribe that is internally divided cannot become powerful, and Tibet is no exception.

Therefore, Zhu Yin would never follow the example of the Manchus and control Tibet by supporting esoteric Buddhism. That would be digging a pit for the Ming Dynasty. He would deliberately abandon the Sinicization of Tibet and allow the large monastic serf owners to oppress the serfs.

Zhu Yin suddenly called out, "Xiong Tingbi!"

Xiong Tingbi immediately stood up, "Your subordinate is here!"

Zhu Yin said, "I hereby appoint you as the General of Western Sichuan and concurrently as the Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Sichuan. You will lead 10,000 elite troops into Western Sichuan, first occupy Songpan, then Dajianlu, attack the three Pacification Commissions, and destroy the eighteen temples. Western Sichuan does not need any eminent monks or great masters."

He held a tiger tooth fossil in his hand, pointing to a spot in western Sichuan, and said, "Then you'll take command of the Duogansi Pacification Commission, and send troops to the Dongbuhanhu Pacification Commission to control the Jiarong..."

He trusted Xiong Tingbi greatly. The historical Xiong Tingbi was a man of both literary and military talent.

Zhu Yin was very reassured to have Xiong Tingbi, a man of great strategic vision, in charge of western Sichuan.

Xiong Tingbi was overjoyed; this was the opportunity he had been longing for to make a name for himself!
"My lord," Xiong Tingbi said, looking at the map, "may I lead the army across the Jinsha River and into Tibet?"

"No need!" Zhu Yin shook his head. "And it's not advisable!"

"The Jinsha River is the border river between Sichuan and Tibet. Crossing the Jinsha River to the west, the terrain is higher and steeper. Our army not only faces difficulties in marching and resupply, but the soldiers also suffer from physical discomfort and are very prone to falling ill. I call this discomfort altitude sickness."

"Feibai, you must not be greedy for merit or take risks. You can only stop at the Jinsha River and must not leave the Sichuan area."

"Besides that, you can act as you see fit in western Sichuan, and you can make any decisions you want. Even if you turn the Three Xuan and Eighteen Temples into ashes, the court will not punish you. For rebels, we must eradicate them completely."

"Rest assured, my lord," Xiong Tingbi said with a smile. "To kill someone, you must also destroy their spirit. In addition to controlling western Sichuan and eliminating disloyal people, we must also win over the hearts of the various ethnic groups in western Sichuan, so that the people of these ethnic groups are loyal to the court. Then we can recruit soldiers locally and strengthen the passes."

"Excellent!" Zhu Yin was very pleased to hear this. "Fei Baiguo is a great talent!"

Wang Jiguang said, "Since the Grand Tutor intends to wage war against western Sichuan, the supply of provisions is essential. However, Chengdu's treasury is currently empty, and it will take at least a month to procure provisions. If we send troops out a month later, winter will have arrived in western Sichuan, where heavy snow will block the mountains and the weather will be extremely harsh, which may be detrimental to the war effort..."

Zhu Yin waved his hand, "This time we won't prepare so much grain. We'll set out in three days, carrying only half a month's worth of rations. Once we reach western Sichuan, we'll requisition supplies locally! We'll take the enemy's grain! Aren't the granaries of those large temples enough to support my ten thousand troops?"

"As long as the horses are fast, the swords are sharp, and the firearms are powerful, we will not have to worry about the army running out of food!"

“Every time our Great Ming Dynasty goes to war, we have to spend a lot of effort preparing provisions and conscripting a lot of laborers to transport them. Fighting the Mongols is one thing, but the Mongols are really poor. But those chieftains and high monks in western Sichuan are all rolling in money.”

"Our Great Ming Dynasty should be fighting wars that make us rich. We don't need to get richer by fighting, we can't get poorer by fighting!"

When Wang Jiguang and others heard the phrase "making money through fighting," they found it somewhat unbelievable.

But none of them dared to oppose Zhu Yin's dispatch of troops to western Sichuan. They were simply pondering: "Such a major matter as sending troops to western Sichuan was considered difficult by the Emperor Emeritus and the Beijing Cabinet, so why did the Grand Tutor do it so readily?"

But Zhu Yin continued:

"Furthermore, starting tomorrow, we will recruit soldiers from the clan in Sichuan. Any clan member aged fifteen to thirty who is willing to join the army, fight, and earn a salary can apply. Those who pass the selection will be paid immediately!"

"Uncle Shu, all the relatives in Sichuan are of the Shu lineage. You must know best how many men there are, right?"

The King of Shu thought for a moment, then said seriously:

"Among those registered in the Imperial Genealogy, there is currently one prince, ten dukes, and over two thousand seven hundred generals and lieutenants. But in reality... it is estimated that there are at least nine thousand imperial sons. Most of them are impoverished and have no means of livelihood."

“I do wish to provide them with relief, but I dare not. Although I am the Prince of Shu and they are all of the same lineage, if I provide them with relief, the court will become suspicious. The Emperor Emeritus is not a magnanimous man and may suspect that I am trying to win people’s hearts and have ulterior motives.”

The Prince of Shu is right. If a prince were to bestow large amounts of favors upon his own family and distant relatives, the emperor would become suspicious.

Many things aren't a matter of whether you want to do them or not, but rather that you can't touch them!
Zhu Yin then asked, "So, how many soldiers can the Shu branch recruit?"

The King of Shu replied, "Of the nine thousand princes, only about two thousand are able-bodied men aged fifteen to thirty. But of those two thousand, only about five hundred are willing to serve in the army and receive pay, and who can pass the selection process?"

“Five hundred men are enough!” Zhu Yin nodded and said, “The Shu vassal state alone can recruit four or five hundred clan soldiers, so the clan leaders throughout the entire country can easily recruit ten thousand!”

"A general's army is not to be fought if it has less than ten thousand soldiers, or if it has more than ten thousand!"

"The recruitment must be completed within this month, and they will return to Nanjing with me!"

……

PS: The Ming Dynasty's elite troops will become a sharp blade for the Ming Dynasty, the elite of the elite! That's all for today. The little tiger will return to Nanjing tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)