Ming Dynasty: Charge, Emperor Yongle!

Your Highness, do you think I still have a chance?

"Your Highness."

Do you think I still have a chance?

Seeing that Geng Bingwen had received guidance, Fu Youde, with his stubble-covered face, approached Zhu Di and asked a question.

"Marquis of Yingchuan".

"Do you know that among the sixteen provinces, only Sichuan Province does not have a directly governed prefecture?"

"Sichuan and Dugansi are separated by the Hengduan Mountains, with their many ravines and valleys."

"To reach the bottom of the Gansu River, one must go to Songpan. Songpan is located in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River. It has a strategic location, a large ethnic group, and has always been a vital passage between Sichuan and Tibet. During the Tang Dynasty, Princess Wencheng passed through here on her way to Tibet. A major battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo Kingdom took place here."

"As early as when the Qin state conquered Shu, Songpan had already established the Jiandi County, which has been in existence for more than 2000 years."

"Songpan has been an important military town throughout history, a distribution center for the tea and horse trade between Han areas and Western regions, and is known as the gateway to western Sichuan."

"Longnan Prefecture of Shaanxi Province directly bordered Songpan."

Zhu Di said with a half-smile.

Historically, until the tenth year of Hongwu (1378), when Dong Tieli, the chieftain of Weimao in Sichuan, rebelled, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Ding Yu as the General of Pingqiang to lead troops to suppress the rebellion. After quelling the rebellion of the Weimao officials, Ding Yu led his troops north and stationed them in Songzhou. He wrote to Zhu Yuanzhang suggesting that a military garrison be established in Songzhou, and the construction of Songpan City took five years.

Since then, Songpan has been established as a town and has served as the garrison of military commanders and generals in northwestern Sichuan during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Since the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty's Liangwang forces, the Duan family of Dali, and the Yi chieftains in southern Sichuan have been constantly harassing Sichuan. In addition, with the establishment of Guizhou Province, the territory of Sichuan Province has long been smaller than before, and the internal forces are quite chaotic.

Even now, the imperial court has not reached a unified consensus on what to do in Sichuan.

"Does Your Highness mean that this humble general may..."

Fu Youde looked somewhat eager to try.

"Fei Ju, the Sichuan military commander and Marquis of Pingliang, is a man of great wisdom and resourcefulness, and has always been on good terms with you."

"You might as well work together to take Songpan."

"Who says local areas can't achieve merit?"

"good!!!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Youde became very excited.

Capturing Songpan would be tantamount to seizing the initiative in advancing on Duogansi. Sichuan was not yet pacified, and Marquis Fei Ju of Pingliang still had to exert all his strength.

They racked their brains to deal with the Yi chieftains in southern Sichuan, who were supported by the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty's Liang King and the Duan family of Dali, making them like maggots clinging to bones.

Therefore, the heavy responsibility of advancing into Dorgons could only be undertaken by the Shaanxi Province. How could he not be tempted by this great achievement of expanding territory?

If he can quell the rebellion of Duogansi, he might be able to rise in rank from Marquis of Yingchuan to Duke.

"If Marquis Yingchuan has any ideas, he can talk to Marquis Pingliang Fei Ju first."

"I believe that the Marquis of Pingliang would not be content to be a mediocre person."

"There is great potential in Sichuan and Shaanxi."

Zhu Di then gave Fu Youde some pointers, and since the two adjutants were coming to pay their respects together, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally wouldn't ignore them.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Fu Youde's expression changed, and he quickly went to find Marquis Fei Ju of Pingliang. The two whispered to each other.

"That brat!"

Zhu Yuanzhang, seated on the dragon throne, clearly noticed Zhu Di's movements and beckoned to Zhu Biao: "Elder."

"After a banquet with Fu Youde, Fei Ju, and Liao Yongzhong, the emperor met with them at the Qianqing Palace."

"Oh, right, call the fourth brother too."

"Yes, Father."

Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback, not understanding why.

The New Year's banquet in the palace was in full swing. Outside the palace walls, people put up Spring Festival couplets, hung peach charms, visited relatives and friends, and sent New Year's greetings. In the sixth year of Hongwu's reign, everyone had only one thought in their hearts: that the country would be prosperous and the people would live in peace.

The inner palace was also very lively. Concubines and palace maids exchanged New Year greetings, ate dumplings filled with silver coins, symbolizing good fortune and great luck, and ate auspicious boxes made of persimmons, lychees, chestnuts, and donkey head meat, which is also known as "chewing ghosts," to pray for a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

At Shenshi (3-5 PM), the grand New Year's banquet held in Fengtian Hall had come to an end.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Fu Youde, the military commander of Shaanxi, Fei Ju, the military commander of Sichuan, and Liao Yongzhong, the military commander of Guizhou. Crown Prince Zhu Biao would occasionally look towards the entrance of the main hall, eagerly awaiting his arrival.

"I'm telling you, old man."

"What are you up to now?"

Zhu Di appeared lazily before everyone, yawning from time to time.

"You brat."

"You did this yourself, do you expect your father to explain it to you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious at his lazy and listless appearance.

He personally witnessed Fu Youde approaching Fei Ju after talking with Zhu Di. No one would believe that Zhu Di wasn't the mastermind behind it all.

"Fourth brother."

"Your father called you here to ask about the arrangements for the three southwestern provinces."

"The Marquis of Yingchuan, the Marquis of Pingliang, and the Marquis of Deqing have all been here for some time now."

Zhu Biao quickly stepped forward to smooth things over for Zhu Di.

"oh."

Zhu Di glanced at the three restless generals, Fu Youde, swaggered over to a chair, picked up a teacup, and took a big sip.

This scene led Fu Youde and his two generals to reassess the status of this Prince Yan. If it were Crown Prince Zhu Biao, he probably wouldn't have been so presumptuous in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, yet Zhu Yuanzhang was helpless against Zhu Di.

"What could possibly happen in Shaanxi?"

"You called me here only because of Sichuan and Guizhou."

"Guizhou already has six directly governed prefectures and six military garrisons totaling 33600 people. Isn't that enough to keep the four chieftains in check?"

Zhu Di put down his teacup and looked at Liao Yongzhong, the military commander of Guizhou, with some disdain.

"Your Highness."

Liao Yongzhong said with a wry smile, "The Yang family of Bozhou, the Luo family of Shuixi, the Song family of Shuidong, and the Tian family of Sizhou are all local tyrants who obey orders but not summons."

"There are also hundreds of Tusi (chieftains) of varying sizes scattered throughout southern Guizhou. The Han Chinese population within Guizhou Province is less than 300,000, making it a place surrounded by wolves."

"Although the six directly governed prefectures are located in a strategic location, they are not capable of completely controlling the situation in Guizhou."

"stop."

Zhu Di raised his hand to interrupt Liao Yongzhong and said calmly, "I didn't mishear."

"You want Sichuan Province to share some of the pressure with you."

"Right?"

"Yes."

Liao Yongzhong nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou are all separated by towering mountains, and the three provinces also have large ethnic groups. Their directly governed prefectures and military garrisons are not enough to maintain local peace and are simply not enough to relieve the pressure on Guizhou.

Sichuan is different. Bozhou, which is located in Guizhou, was originally separated from Sichuan. It is very convenient to travel from southeastern Sichuan to Guizhou by land and water.

"Your Highness, Prince Yan."

Sichuan Provincial Military Commander Fei Ju hurriedly spoke up, "Sichuan Province is now so unclear that even the prefectures/states are not clearly defined, let alone the ability to govern and pacify the local areas."

"In southwestern Sichuan, under the influence of the remnants of the Yuan dynasty in Yunnan and the Duan family of Dali, numerous chieftains, including the Yi people, emerged and refused to submit to the imperial rule."

"Relying solely on local government troops and county soldiers is simply not enough to maintain stability, let alone sending troops to Songpan."

"Your Highness."

Fu Youde looked at Zhu Di with anticipation. If Sichuan couldn't spare the resources, it would be very difficult for Shaanxi Province alone to capture Songpan.

"Old man, what do you say?"

Zhu Di did not answer them directly, but instead raised an eyebrow at Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Fourth brother."

"The four chieftains of Guizhou are indeed a troublesome group."

"We'll have to deal with them sooner or later, but not now."

"The most important threat to Southwest China right now comes from Yunnan."

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could speak, Zhu Biao had already given a clear answer: the main approach to dealing with Guizhou should be appeasement, and further action would be taken after Yunnan was recovered.

However, this approach did not win Zhu Di's approval. If he did not take advantage of the Ming Dynasty's vigorous progress in the early years to eliminate the chieftains in the southwest in one fell swoop, they would only become too powerful to control in the future. Should he wait until the Qing Dynasty to implement the policy of replacing chieftains with centrally appointed officials, as happened in history?

"What do you want to do?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Zhu Di, his eyes showing no emotion.

"The key to resolving local instability lies in the population."

"Once the Han population increases, the Ming Dynasty will have no need to worry about either recruiting soldiers or reclaiming wasteland."

"Let alone the four major chieftains, even all the chieftains in the southwest would have to consider whether they are powerful enough."

"The population of the Jianghuai and Henan regions is nearly ten million, with many tenant farmers and unregistered households. We should relocate them to Guizhou."

"Guizhou is located between Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Hubei, and Hunan. If Guizhou is stable, then the southwest will be safe."

Meeting Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze, Zhu Di said coldly.

"Fourth brother!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao's expression changed drastically, and his voice rose involuntarily: "If I am guilty, it is not for the sake of the people; if the people are guilty, the guilt lies with me."

"There are countless officials in the world; go and look through the seventeen histories."

"In which dynasty, in the past three generations, has there ever been a dynasty, an era, that truly achieved the state of 'no one picking up lost items on the road, no one locking their doors at night'?"

Even so, we can only do our best.

"Haven't you caused enough of a stir in the capital? Are you only satisfied when you've made officials throughout the land tremble with fear and lose sleep day and night?"

Zhu Di's words were very clear: by thoroughly investigating the Jianghuai and Henan regions, he would uproot a group of corrupt officials, landlords, and powerful figures, and exile them to Guizhou to cultivate land. This would have far-reaching consequences.

The Jianghuai and Henan regions are among the most prosperous places in the country, second only to Jiangdong and Jiangxi. If there is any turmoil, where will the court collect taxes from?

Fu Youde, Fei Ju, and Liao Yongzhong's pupils dilated instantly; their families had also engaged in large-scale land grabbing in Henan and the Jianghuai region.

"Big brother."

Zhu Di smiled and said self-deprecatingly, "I just want to make the Ming Dynasty better."

"What you're saying, I understand."

"This time when I go to Henan, I assure you that I will only investigate officials in Henan and the Jianghuai region, and will absolutely not implicate any nobles in the imperial court."

"call!!!"

Fu Youde and the other two breathed a sigh of relief. Losing the land was nothing; the most important thing was that they didn't want to lose their current official positions and titles.

Moreover, the heads of Zhu Liangzu and the other six men were still hanging on Fengtian Gate, and they had no intention of breaking the law.

"I can grant your request."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Di and said.

"Father!"

Zhu Biao originally wanted to say something more, but seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had already set the tone, he could only give up.

He knew very well where Zhu Di's temperament came from. In terms of ruthlessness and cruelty, Zhu Yuanzhang was the one that everyone feared. Zhu Di was just a knife, a knife held in the emperor's hand.