Chapter 968 1057 Thoughts on Burma Governance

Li Chengliang mentioned Jiaozhi at this time, in fact, he was reminding Wei Guangde not to make the same mistake as in the Yongle Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty conquered Annan and established Jiaozhi Chengxuan Zhengshisi, not because Emperor Yongle intended to occupy this place, but purely for the authority of the Celestial Empire.

In 1400 AD, the second year of Jianwen, the Chen Dynasty in Annan declined, and the powerful minister Hu Jima usurped the throne and established the Hu Dynasty. Because he was extremely afraid of the possible intervention of the Ming Dynasty, Hu concealed this matter from the Ming Dynasty for a long time.

In 1403, after Zhu Di seized the throne, the Hu family seemed to smell an opportunity. Hu Jima's son Hu Hancang presented a petition to Zhu Di, who had just succeeded to the throne, with the title of "powerful Annan state affairs", falsely claiming that the descendants of the Chen Dynasty were extinct, and that he was the nephew of the Chen Dynasty emperor and was supported, and requested the Ming Dynasty to confer him the title of King of Annan.

Zhu Di, who was suspicious of this matter, sent people to Annan to investigate, but the Hu family had already grasped the overall situation, and it was naturally impossible for the Ming envoy to find anything. Zhu Di, who could not find any evidence, conferred Hu Hancang as king.

After that, the Ming Dynasty began to find that things were getting more and more wrong. First, the survivors of the Chen family kept going to China to accuse the Hu family of tyranny. Secondly, Annan frequently harassed the Sino-Vietnamese border and the neighboring country Champa, making the border turbulent.

In the fourth year of Yongle, the royal family of the Chen Dynasty came to China to accuse the Hu family of various evil deeds to the court. Zhu Di sent troops to escort them back to Vietnam, but they were ambushed by the Hu army on the way. The Chen royal family was executed by slow slicing, which finally angered Zhu Di completely.

East Asia is centered on the "Hua Yi concept" and the "Zongfan system". The vassal states need to pay tribute to China to show their obedience.

But the position of the boss cannot be in vain. As the "suzerain state", it is China's obligation to ensure the safety of the "subject" regime, and it is also related to the majesty of the "Heavenly Kingdom".

For the Ming Dynasty, which overthrew the rule of foreign races, maintaining the "Zongfan system" can mark itself as the orthodox Chinese, especially the sensitive Zhu Di.

The Hu Dynasty did not seem to take the Ming Dynasty seriously. On the one hand, they threatened the security of southern Xinjiang, invaded Champa, and hindered the Ming Dynasty from exercising its suzerainty. On the other hand, they ambushed the Ming army and tortured the former royal family, which triggered Zhu Di's sensitive nerves and offended the majesty of the "suzerain state".

If he did not take action again, he would not be able to be the boss, so the southern expedition was imperative.

After that, it was simple. The Ming army attacked Annan from two directions, and soon captured the Hu father and son, and destroyed the Hu Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty originally hoped to find a suitable candidate to be the king in Annan, to find a ruler who could be accepted by all classes of Annan and in line with the interests of the Ming Dynasty. The most ideal candidate was naturally the descendant of the former king Chen.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty also made such attempts, but these efforts did not succeed.

Finally, the Ming Dynasty decided to take the stage personally and prepare to rule directly.

Since then, there have been constant rebellions in Jiaozhi. Although the unrest was completely quelled under the sweep of the powerful Ming army, the Ming Dynasty was increasingly unable to do its best in Annan, and the situation became more and more turbulent.

In the first year of Xuande, Le Loi defeated Wang Tong, the general of the Ming Dynasty, in the Battle of Longdong. The following year, he defeated the Ming Dynasty reinforcements in the Battle of Zhiling and killed General Liu Sheng.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty's rule in Annan had collapsed, and Annan became a bottomless pit that wasted the finances. Wang Tong saw that the situation was over, so he reported to the court while negotiating peace with Le Loi.

Finally, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty decided to withdraw his troops. Le Loi issued the "Great Edict of Pingwu", officially proclaimed himself emperor, and established the Later Le Dynasty.

In the fourth year of Yongle, hundreds of thousands of Ming troops marched south, swept across southern Xinjiang in just one year, and restored the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties. It was really powerful.

In the second year of Xuande, after losing troops and generals in succession, the Ming Dynasty was forced to withdraw its troops from the small country in southern Xinjiang. 20 years of operation was destroyed in an instant, which was really embarrassing.

At this time, Li Chengliang mentioned Jiaozhi, which was actually to remind Wei Guangde whether his abacus could be played well and not to repeat the same mistakes.

Understanding Li Chengliang's reminder, Wei Guangde's face was uncertain.

Indeed, Wei Guangde overlooked the possible consequences of the direct rule of the Ming Dynasty over Burma. If the local people were also as unyielding as Annan, who knew how many years the Ming Dynasty could survive?

"Do you have any way to stabilize Burma?"

Wei Guangde asked calmly.

"I only know how to fight, not how to govern the place."

Li Chengliang lowered his head and replied.

"The Mu family has been in Yunnan for generations."

Seeing this, Wei Guangde said something incoherent.

However, after Li Chengliang heard Wei Guangde's words, he suddenly raised his head and looked at him.

Wei Guangde's eyes also looked at him without hesitation. Although Li Chengliang was considered a fierce general of the Ming Dynasty and had killed countless people, Wei Guangde was also a person who had been on the battlefield after all, so he was not afraid at all.

After the two looked at each other for a while, Li Chengliang was the first to lose. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he chose to bow his head in front of Wei Guangde.

"I only know how to kill people."

"Huh"

Wei Guangde heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Li Chengliang's words. His answer did not satisfy Wei Guangde.

"Since the country was founded at the beginning, there were three Xuans and six Weis there, and there were also a large number of Qianhu and Wei commanders. I think there are many tribes. Just refer to the various tribes of the Jurchens in Liaodong and divide and rule them."

However, Li Chengliang's next words gave Wei Guangde some ideas.

It seems that there are also tribes in Myanmar, and the ethnic groups are very complex. Even in the future, there will be no peace there.

"You go back first."

Wei Guangde did not express his opinion, but still said: "Prepare the troops first. As for what will happen next, if you have any ideas, you can write a charter and submit it."

Wei Guangde only thought of using Li Chengliang to suppress the Toungoo Dynasty. He thought that putting him in Myanmar to guard the situation would stabilize the situation there, but he ignored that if he was not properly ruled, there might be decades of turmoil.

The current national strength is not as good as that of the early Ming Dynasty, and it may not last long.

Thinking of this, even if he knew that he had simplified the problem at the beginning, the arrow was already on the string and had to be shot.

Watching Li Chengliang leave, Wei Guangde sat there quietly for a while.

"There must be a way when the car reaches the mountain, and the boat will naturally go straight when it reaches the bridge. There is always a way."

Wei Guangde encouraged himself in his heart and got up and returned to the desk.

Looking at the pile of memorials on the desk, Wei Guangde had no mood to read the memorials at this moment, so he simply didn't read them.

Anyway, the important memorials are placed on the top, and the unimportant ones are placed on the bottom. It doesn't matter if you delay reading them for a day or two.

Taking out a piece of rice paper and spreading it, Wei Guangde picked up the pen and began to silently think about how to deal with the Burmese affairs.

This time, the focus is on Burma, and we must find a way to achieve long-term peace and stability.

The pen was in his hand for a long time, but it didn't fall on the rice paper.

If there is resistance, it is necessary to suppress it. The generals of the Ming army cannot fail to understand this.

What Wei Guangde needs to think about is how to eliminate the resistance of ordinary people from the root.

Once, Wei Guangde thought that the Ming army was weak from the situation of the inland garrisons.

But in fact, after years of observation, especially through exchanges with Ma Fang, Yu Dayou, Qi Jiguang and others, Wei Guangde has realized that in East Asia, there is no army that seems to have overall strength greater than the Ming army.

If the barbarians from Europe encounter each other at sea, the strength of both sides is equal, and the probability of the Ming navy being defeated is very high, and there is almost no chance of winning.

But if on land, it seems that the Europeans are just like that.

Because there are too few people who can come.

According to the information collected by Yu Dayou, a barbarian team of three or four hundred people is already a large-scale army.

With such a small force, it must be easy to crush the ordinary Qianhu Suo, but if it is against a trained one, it is really hard to say.

Not to mention that the basic combat units of the Ming side are actually Qianhu Suo and Wei.

The navy still needs to be developed before it can go to the high seas.

But on land, the Ming Dynasty borders Myanmar, and he also knows that Myanmar seems to have connections with the Yi people, but so what?

Can the Burmese recruit three or four hundred Europeans to help them fight?

Yes, the intelligence of the Jinyiwei has mentioned that Mang Yinglong actually has an unknown number of Yi mercenaries under his command, manipulating the current European firearms to help the Toungoo Dynasty fight.

A few hundred people, that is, they may be able to dominate in Europe, but in Asia, they have no chance at all.

Even in Japan, according to the intelligence of the Jinyiwei, the scale of village wars is thousands of people, and Japan is also equipped with a large number of iron cannons.

The large number here does not mean how many people in Japan use it, but that almost all the daimyo, or in Wei Guangde's view, the village chief, have people under their command who use this type of firearms.

Iron cannons scared Wei Guangde at first.

However, after knowing that the Japanese iron cannons are actually the bird guns in the hands of the Ming army, he was relieved.

The Ming army is now equipped with a large number of artillery. If Japan also has such equipment, it will be difficult to fight in the future.

For a long time in the future, cannons will be the god of war, unless the air force appears, because they can transport explosives to a farther place and drop them from the sky to replace part of the cannons.

Yi people

Li Chengliang's previous words suddenly appeared in Wei Guangde's mind.

Burma seems to have been colonized by Britain, as well as neighboring India. It seems that only the area around Vietnam is French territory, which was snatched from the Qing Dynasty.

Wei Guangde lacks historical knowledge, but he also knows that the Black Flag Army or something has participated in the Vietnam-France War. Anyway, it is roughly said that the Qing Dynasty defeated the French, but lost the territory in the end.

At the same time, the Battle of Mawei seemed to have broken out in Fujian. Although the Qing Dynasty suffered heavy losses, it still won the war on the surface and repelled the French attack, but the efforts of the soldiers seemed to have been lost in diplomacy.

The British can colonize South Asia for a long time, so why can't the Ming Dynasty stand firm?

The Jurchen tribes of Liaodong

At this moment, Li Chengliang's words echoed in his mind, and he seemed to have said the key to the problem.

Although the Toungoo Dynasty invaded countless countries and tribes around it, under the momentum of national prosperity, all hidden dangers were covered up.

But once it fails, even if it is just a big defeat, these hidden dangers may erupt, and then trigger a chain reaction.

Aren't the forces annexed by the Toungoo Dynasty just Jurchen tribes?

How can such a group of forces be united? Just divide them, and then manage each other by race, and attract the contradictions to the race.

The more Wei Guangde thought about it, the more excited he was. He seemed to have opened the key to colonizing overseas.

If it was according to the thinking mode of those literati and Confucian scholars at that time in the Ming Dynasty, they would definitely choose to promote Confucian ideas such as benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trustworthiness in these places, hoping to influence the foreign races and let them accept Confucianism, so that it would be easier to rule.

Then, they would take military action against those who were stubborn and unyielding. After all, they were officials of the Ming Dynasty and they had to serve the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Wei Guangde seemed to have thought of a better way.

That was to make full use of the characteristics of the local ethnic groups, recruit officials and mercenaries from each group, and exchange them to the territories of other tribes to manage them.

At that time, their will to resist may not be directed at the Ming Dynasty, but at other ethnic groups who oppress and manage them.

Let the various ethnic groups in Myanmar take advantage of each other and exploit each other, and the Ming Dynasty will enjoy the surplus behind the scenes.

In addition, according to the customs of the Ming Dynasty, certain privileges are also given to the chieftains of various ethnic groups in the local area. As long as the leaders are won over, the people below will not rebel even if they are reluctant.

After all, how can great things be accomplished without a leader?

Perhaps some people still think that the people's rebellion can overthrow a dynasty, but history has proved that it is unreliable.

The people's rebellion can shake the foundation of an empire, but it is difficult to overthrow them and they will eventually be suppressed.

Most of the people who really succeeded in the rebellion were people within the ruling class.

The world was in chaos during the Sui Dynasty, and the Guanlong nobles benefited. The Song Dynasty directly rebelled by the generals, that is, the Ming Dynasty was a little special. Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was born as a cowherd, and he really conquered the world with common people, and he succeeded.

Therefore, when Wei Guangde was thinking, he paid more attention to the local chieftains. He had to win them over and make them follow the Ming Dynasty wholeheartedly, so that the foundation of rule could be solid.

Except for key positions, try to use as few Han officials as possible, and only station Ming troops in important cities, and let mercenaries of various ethnic groups do the rest

Wei Guangde kept thinking in his mind, and his hand did not stop writing at all. The important information was written on the paper between the strokes of the pen.

After making a record, Wei Guangde took a sip of tea happily and found that the tea was a little cold.

But it doesn't matter, he is in a good mood and is too lazy to ask Lu Bu to come in to change the tea.

Then, Wei Guangde looked at the record on the desk, read it again from beginning to end, polished some of the details, and then read it again.

After repeating this several times, Wei Guangde suddenly became enlightened.

He thought of the future, after countless colonial countries gained independence and established their own countries through their own efforts, why many countries that suffered from colonization together later turned against each other.

Especially in South Asia, the war has basically never stopped.

Even in Myanmar, there are complicated factional struggles in the country, and each force has its own armed forces. The Myanmar government has only achieved superficial unity.

At the beginning, I was a little confused. I only knew that it was because of the mess left by the British colonists. Now I think about it carefully, maybe the root cause is here.

The British probably controlled these ethnically complex areas by racial division. The ethnic conflicts accumulated over the years. With the intervention of external forces, they can unite to resist the suzerain country.

Once they succeed, the external force disappears, and they will return to the original state.

Ethnic conflicts cannot be easily reconciled. After all, there are blood and tears in them, and a contract cannot solve any problems at all.

As for the external forces that independence relies on, they are naturally the two leading sheep in the Eastern and Western camps. They cannot let Britain recover through colonies and have the opportunity to grow up again and compete with them for the position of boss.

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