After listening to the two central points mentioned by Liu Jin, Emperor Hongzhi suddenly felt enlightened. At first, he was confused and a little overwhelmed by the upcoming great era.
But now, after listening to Liu Jin's explanation of the two central points, Emperor Hongzhi had an idea and knew how to get there.
As long as we work around this central point, no matter how big the territory is, no matter how many people and tribes there are, there is no need to panic, because everything is under control.
"The third center is the unremitting implementation of centralization."
Liu Jin nodded slightly and continued to speak slowly.
"The larger the Ming Dynasty's territory and the more tribes it rules, the more it must insist on centralization of power. The so-called centralization of power should include four aspects: politics, military, finance and resources."
Hearing Liu Jin talk about centralization of power, everyone immediately pricked up their ears. There is still history to learn from in this regard.
The history of China is actually a history of centralized power.
Starting from the enfeoffment of princes by the Emperor of Zhou, then the reunification of the Qin and Han Dynasties, and then slowly to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Yuan and Song Dynasties, the whole process was a process of continuous centralization of power.
At the beginning, the princes were divided into feudal princes, and each prince was a local emperor in their respective fiefdoms. Therefore, the dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou were changed by a powerful prince who overthrew the rule of the old dynasty.
It was Shang Tang who overthrew Xia. Shang Tang was the tribal leader of Fang. King Wu of Zhou who overthrew Shang was also a powerful prince.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, all the countries in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were originally vassals of the Zhou Dynasty. Like the State of Qin, they used to herd horses for the Emperor of Zhou. Because of their merits in resisting the Rong and Di, they were granted the title of vassal, as well as the Qin State.
The Kingdom of Chu, the Kingdom of Chu, the Kingdom of Korea, the Kingdom of Wei, etc. were also all vassals entrusted by the Emperor of Zhou.
The power of the princes was too great. In the feudal country, they were the local emperors, so they had the strength to overthrow the central dynasty. Of course, in the final analysis, it was because there was something wrong with the ruling central dynasty, so we took advantage of it.
By the time of the Han Dynasty, a large part of the demise of the Han Dynasty was due to the fact that the power of the aristocratic clans was too strong. They almost monopolized the power from the central to the local level, thus eclipsing the power of the emperor.
This was clearly reflected in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The frequently changing dynasties were basically the leading generals who frequently sought to usurp the throne. The basis of these leading generals was still the family members.
Until the establishment of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the power of the family clans had been very strong. In order to centralize power in the Central Plains, the emperors of the Sui and Tang Dynasties spared no effort to attack the clan clans.
The power of the aristocratic clans was weakened, but the power of the local Jiedushi became unprecedentedly strong, forming a separatist regime of vassal towns, which eventually led to the demise of the Tang Empire.
In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms after the Tang Dynasty, dynasties changed frequently, also due to the separation of vassal towns. Taizu of the Song Dynasty was a general who wore a yellow robe and usurped the throne.
Feeling that in the past dynasties, feudal vassals and towns were separated, clans and clans, warriors seeking to usurp the throne, and melee fighting led to dynasty changes, so Song Taizu began to continuously strengthen the centralization of power, emphasizing culture over military force.
The entire process and history is actually a history of continuous strengthening of centralization.
Therefore, as we get to the later stages, all the forces such as aristocratic clans and vassal towns have been eliminated, and the change of dynasties will not lead to the phenomenon of military generals seeking to usurp the throne.
However, due to the emphasis on culture over military power, the power of attacking the clans and clans was also weakened by China's external power. Whenever the central dynasty weakened and perished in the later period of a dynasty, it was often the time of foreign invasion, and
The success rate of foreign invasions is getting higher and higher.
Taking the Song Dynasty as an example, the Liao, Xixia, Jin, and Mongolia all pushed the Song Dynasty to the ground and rubbed it against each other. In the end, they were destroyed by the Mongols, while the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the Qing Dynasty.
Is it because these foreigners have really become stronger that they can move into the Central Plains?
Obviously not. The real reason is that the Han people's military power was completely wiped out because they valued culture over military force. By the end of the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, those who rebelled were just idiots who did not have any culture or knowledge at all.
Military literacy is really difficult to succeed.
In the past dynasties, due to the inheritance of the aristocratic families and the equal emphasis on civil and military affairs, the Han people's military force always existed. Therefore, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, any prairie man who could be beaten by anyone screamed and defended the Central Plains. During the Three Kingdoms period, even
The war between the Three Kingdoms was in full swing, but foreigners still did not dare to think of taking over the Central Plains.
Therefore, this aristocratic clan still has the benefits of a clan clan. At least when dynasties change, this great country will not make it easier for outsiders. In the end, a Han will be the emperor.
But the trend of historical development is to centralize power and centralize power.
"So political centralization means that all power must be centralized in the center of the court, concentrated on the royal power, and separatist forces of vassal towns, local princes and kings, and the emergence of a country within a country are absolutely not allowed to appear."
"For this reason, the appointment of any local officials must go through the imperial court, the power of local officials must be limited, the military and political powers must be separated, and at the same time, the fiscal and taxation powers must be separated from the local governments and managed by the Ministry of Household Affairs of the imperial court."
Liu Jin looked at everyone, thought for a while and continued to speak slowly.
"In this regard, we need to pay special attention to the formation of separatist forces by tribal leaders. On the grasslands and in the Western Regions, tribal leaders have huge power and influence. In addition, they are nomadic people, and it is easy to form feudal separatist forces."
"In the past, the southwestern chieftains were capricious and often rebelled because these chieftains controlled all the power in the region. Although each chieftain was not strong, they were all capricious and ambitious."
"If such a problem occurs on the grasslands and in the Western Regions, the situation will be more serious than the rebellion of the southwestern chieftains."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Zhang Mao and others couldn't help but nod their heads, and their faces became serious.
In the past, just the rebellion of the chieftains in the southwestern region caused unrest in the court, and they could never find a good way to solve this problem.
Now listening to Liu Jin's words, everyone clearly understands the origin of the rebellion of the southwest chieftains. In the final analysis, it is because these southwest chieftains have mastered all the power in these places and formed various local emperors. Even if they are not strong enough,
But he was also ambitious, which led to the rebellion of the chieftains in the southwest.
The policy proposed by Liu Jin of returning natives to locals and appointing local officials to govern these places would cut off the power of these chieftains, which would naturally slowly and completely solve this problem.
Fundamentally speaking, the problem in the southwest is that the number of Han people in the southwest is not dominant. These large and small tribes in the southwest have formed a state within a state, and rebellion will naturally breed.
And if this problem occurs on the grasslands and in the Western Regions, the problem will be much more serious.
Because there are many nomadic tribes in the grasslands and the Western Regions, the characteristic of the nomads is that all the people are soldiers, and they can march and fight on horseback. If we do not take advantage of the strong strength of the central dynasty to solve this problem.
If you give them time, they will soon become stronger again. By then, these places will still be divided, they will still be eyeing the Central Plains, and history will repeat itself.
"I see. No wonder Liu Jin insists on appointing officials to manage these places. At the same time, you also move the tribes in these places overseas and bring the leaders of these tribes to the capital. All this is to prevent
They became Southwest Toasts."
Liu Jian seemed to understand all of a sudden and said as if he had a sudden realization.
"Yes, all this is to prevent the tribes in the grasslands and the Western Regions from becoming the chieftains of the southwest. If you want to successfully rule these places, you must not appoint their tribal leaders to manage them like the previous dynasties. You must appoint official officials.
Management, and at the same time bring their tribal leaders, nobles, etc. to the capital."
"The other thing is to keep moving them out, whether it is Australia, the Golden Continent, or even Africa. In short, we must always control their population and not let them have too concentrated populations in the same place."
Liu Jin smiled and nodded solemnly.
"That's good, but it's also looking far ahead. Keep talking."
Emperor Hongzhi also understood it all at once, with a smile on his face. Now he was confident, and he was not worried at all about the Ming Dynasty's excessive territory and too many tribes.
"Military centralization is easier to understand, that is, all armies must be concentrated under the royal authority. In this regard, it is not just that the command of the army belongs to the royal authority, but it includes many aspects."
"For example, the army should have specialized training personnel, and the officers and generals who lead the troops should be trained by specialized military academies. The army must implement the idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism and carry out ideological control."
"At the same time, the military's expenses and expenditures must also be concentrated on the royal power. All expenditures must be controlled by the emperor and not controlled by anyone."
"In addition, in terms of the source of the army, we can no longer recruit troops from just one place like previous dynasties. Instead, we should recruit troops from all provinces and places throughout the Ming Dynasty, and allocate quotas uniformly based on the population of each place."
"The soldiers who have been recruited in a unified manner will be trained and managed in a unified manner. In this way, there will be no excessive concentration of soldiers in one place, and the concentration of military power will naturally be strengthened."
After listening to Liu Jin's words, Emperor Hongzhi's eyes couldn't help but light up.
In the past, I just thought that I could have the final say on this army, and that I could hold the tiger talisman for dispatching troops and generals in my own hands.
Now it seems that there is great knowledge here. What Liu Jin talks about is the true centralization of power, designing all aspects. Under this method, the military power can always be firmly controlled in the hands of the emperor.