Chapter 36: Old Zhu’s Astonishment! The Strategy of Replacing Native Officials with Appointed Magistrates!

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“Replacing the native chieftain system with direct imperial rule?!”

Old Zhu leaned forward slightly. His lips parted, and his low voice, squeezed from deep within his throat, carried a trace of barely perceptible confusion as he murmured, “What?”

He was no foolish or incompetent ruler. As the founding emperor, he had risen through rivers of blood and storms of violence to establish the Great Ming Empire. His vision and knowledge far surpassed those of ordinary men, and commonplace matters could never catch his eye.

The moment he heard those four words, a flash of insight streaked through Zhu Yuanzhang’s mind like lightning. He had vaguely guessed at something, but the truth seemed tightly wrapped in a dense fog, impossible to see clearly. The uncertainty left him faintly irritable.

Standing to one side, Zhu Gaochi’s plump little body trembled. He swallowed involuntarily.

He stole a glance at Old Zhu’s eager, inquisitive expression and instantly regretted everything. He wished he could slap himself hard across the face.

Why did you have to run your mouth? Look what you’ve done now—you let it slip.

Old Zhu was merely testing Zhu Xiongying’s knowledge. As long as Zhu Xiongying performed well, that would be enough. Why did you have to show off?

But the words had already been spoken, and Old Zhu’s torch-like gaze was fixed tightly upon him. Zhu Gaochi was now caught between a rock and a hard place. He had no choice but to continue.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke through gritted teeth.

“Ahem. I do have a few immature ideas.”

“Speak freely!” The moment Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he sat up straight. His originally deep-set eyes instantly burned with fervor as he stared at Zhu Gaochi, his gaze seeming capable of piercing straight through the boy’s body and probing the thoughts hidden in the depths of his heart.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaochi suddenly extended his chubby little hand. A crafty look appeared on his face.

“Five thousand taels. Not a penny less!”

The anticipation on Old Zhu’s face instantly twisted. The corner of his mouth spasmed violently, and the hand he had raised seemed like a powder keg already lit, ready to come crashing down at any moment.

“You worthless little bastard! Have you fallen headfirst into a pile of money?”

“Hey, hey... We can talk without hitting people!” Zhu Gaochi shrank his neck in fright and immediately issued a reminder. He did not forget to put on a pitiful expression either, making his eyes turn faintly red and forcing a pained look onto his face. “Grandfather, you know perfectly well that I’m sick. Whether it’s training in martial arts to strengthen my body or buying medicine and seeing physicians, everything is going to cost a fortune. If I don’t make and save a little money while I can, how am I supposed to live in the future?”

As he spoke, Zhu Gaochi blinked desperately, trying to squeeze out a few tears to make his plea more convincing. Unfortunately, he was a terrible actor. After working at it for quite some time, his eyes had begun to ache, yet not a single tear appeared.

Seeing how hopelessly pathetic he looked, Old Zhu was so furious that he began to laugh. The wrinkles on his face twisted together beneath the clash of conflicting emotions.

“Enough, enough. I’ll give you five thousand taels. But if your method doesn’t work, I’ll deduct those five thousand taels from you, and you won’t get a single coin!”

Heh heh. Another five thousand taels in the bag!

A broad grin immediately spread across Zhu Gaochi’s face, and he promptly laid out the entire plan.

“Grandfather, the southwestern territories have been perpetually troubled throughout every dynasty, haven’t they?”

Old Zhu shot him a glance and impatiently urged him on. “Get to the point. Don’t waste time on useless nonsense!”

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I paid you to come up with a strategy, not to listen to you ramble on endlessly.

Zhu Gaochi was not offended. He simply continued, “The southwestern territories have always been a grave threat to successive dynasties for two main reasons: their treacherous mountains and rivers, and the large number of native tribes.”

“Then the solution is simple. If the mountains and rivers are treacherous, we build roads. If there are too many native tribes, we extend imperial favor. With both measures carried out together, how could the southwest remain unsettled?”

Old Zhu: “...”

Build roads?

Extend imperial favor?

Wasn’t that just empty talk?

If it were truly so easy, would they have needed to wait for you?

Old Zhu’s expression immediately darkened. His displeasure was completely undisguised as he replied irritably, “Little fatty, congratulations. You’ve just lost your five thousand taels.”

“Why are you getting so worked up, you old bastard?” Zhu Gaochi snapped angrily. “Hear me out before you decide!”

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that outrageously disrespectful form of address, his already gloomy face instantly turned livid. His teeth ground together with a sharp clatter, and the fury in his heart surged like a raging tide, nearly swallowing him whole.

Still, he was genuinely curious to hear what other crooked reasoning this brat could produce.

If the mountains and rivers were treacherous, they would build roads?

Who the hell was going to build them?

You? Go build them yourself!

A road-building project would require an enormous investment of manpower and materials at the very least, along with the conscription of vast numbers of laborers and able-bodied young men.

Besides, the native chieftains and tribes were already unwilling to submit to the Ming court. And now you wanted to conscript them to build roads? It would be a miracle if they were willing to pay you any attention at all!

Moreover, those native chieftains and tribes had no desire whatsoever to integrate into the Ming Empire. They only wished to offer nominal submission, shut their gates, and live their own quiet lives. Why would they support road construction?

For these reasons, Old Zhu felt that the five thousand taels had been badly spent. He had no intention of paying.

“We can set the matter of road construction aside for now. It’s a major project, after all, and we’ll have plenty of time to discuss it carefully later. Let’s talk about extending imperial favor first. Listen to me to the end before you decide whether these five thousand taels were worth spending.”

Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing. He merely sat on the cushioned couch, staring at him with a dark expression.

His silence was the clearest answer of all.

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Seeing this, Zhu Gaochi smiled and said, “What we call ‘extending imperial favor’ originated with the Edict of Favor proposed by the Western Han scholar-official Zhu Fuyan. It would work just as well when applied to the native chieftains and tribes of the southwest.”

This so-called Edict of Favor was later hailed as “the greatest stratagem in history,” though in truth it was nothing particularly mysterious.

Its core principle was to change the old arrangement under which the feudal kings of the Western Han could pass their fiefs and titles only to their eldest legitimate sons. The new policy required each feudal king to divide his territory into several parts and grant them to several of his sons, thereby creating small marquisates directly subordinate to the central government.

The key to the scheme was that these newly established marquisates would no longer fall under the authority of the feudal kingdoms. Instead, they would be administered directly by commanderies established by the imperial court. In status, the marquisates were equivalent to counties under the commanderies.

After the Edict of Favor was implemented, the more than one hundred feudal states, divided again and again until they became smaller and smaller, were reduced to what degree?

“The great states possessed no more than a dozen cities; the small states no more than a few dozen miles of land.”

Across the country as a whole, “the Han possessed eighty or ninety commanderies.” In other words, commanderies directly administered by the central government occupied eighty or ninety percent of the nation’s territory. These commanderies were “interspersed among the feudal states, their borders interlocking like the teeth of a dog, while they held the strategic passes and advantageous terrain.”

That meant the commanderies constantly thrust themselves between the lands of the feudal states. Their territories and those of the feudal kingdoms were interwoven like jagged teeth, preventing the feudal states from joining together into a single contiguous region. At the same time, the commanderies and counties occupied or controlled the most strategically valuable terrain.

Thus, the once-arrogant kings of the Western Han were weakened by degrees, generation after generation, until little remained to them but the empty title of king.

And this same Edict of Favor could achieve equally remarkable results when applied to the native chieftains and tribes of the southwest!

After all, who would not want to rise up, become their own master, and live like a lord?

“Grandfather, we both understand that this native chieftain system is actually a form of indirect rule. Put plainly, it is a means by which the court wins over the tribal leaders in the southwestern frontier regions it lacks the strength to govern directly. It is ‘using native officials to govern native people.’ The court recognizes the hereditary status of the southwestern tribal chiefs and grants them official titles, thereby exercising indirect rule. In practice, the central government’s imperial edicts are never truly implemented. In other words, they merely submit on the surface.”

A sharp glint entered Old Zhu’s eyes. A trace of astonishment flickered across his already gloomy face.

This brat really did know something. With a single sentence, he had exposed the essence of the native chieftain system of indirect rule.

“Under the rule of these native chieftains, all the land and people belong to them by hereditary right, effectively becoming their private property. Each chieftain forms his own sphere of influence, exercising autonomy over the judiciary, finances, administration, and military affairs. They take whatever they want from the local people and hold absolute power over life and death. Apart from being unable to... ascend the throne and proclaim themselves emperor, they can do virtually everything an emperor can. And so long as they pay the court a token amount in taxes, the court leaves them alone...”

At these words, even Zhu Xiongying felt numb.

You really have some nerve!

His Majesty the Emperor is sitting right there listening to you! If you want to get beaten, don’t drag me down with you!

Old Zhu remained expressionless as he sat upon the dragon throne. His face was merely several shades darker than before.

He was already considering how he would beat this brat later.

If he did not beat him, he simply would not be able to vent his anger.

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