Chapter 14 Chapter 4 Founding Emperor III, Capital and Northern Defense

After Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor and established the country, the question before him was, first, how to establish an effective political center, that is, where should the capital be built?Second, what methods are used to maintain the rule of the descendants of the Zhu family dynasty? As far back as when he first crossed the river and conquered Taiping, Tao An suggested taking Jinling first, and then proceeding to the four directions according to the situation. [01] Feng Guoyong persuaded Jinling to be the capital, thinking it was fundamental. 【02】Ye Dui wrote a letter requesting that the capital be Jinling, and then expand the territory of Jiangguang. If he advances, he will cross the Huaihe River to the north, and if he retreats, he will draw the Yangtze River to defend himself. [03] Advisers and strategists unanimously advocate that the capital should be heaven.After long-term consideration, in June of the twelfth year of Longfeng, the old city of Yingtian was expanded, and a new palace was built to the south of Zhongshan Mountain. It was completed in September of the following year. This was the capital of King Wu.

In the first year of Hongwu, Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor, and conquered the north and the south. In the 20th year of Hongwu, Liaodong was completely settled, and the north and the south were unified.In these two decades, Yuanzhang's status changed from king to emperor, and the territory he ruled expanded from a part of the south to the whole country. How the capital of Wu Wang's era could adapt to the expanded situation became a problem.Because Emperor Yuan Shun and his descendants went to the desert in the north, but they were still called Beiyuan. They retained government agencies and powerful military forces, and they tried to go south for restoration from time to time and make a comeback.The determination of the national capital and the arrangement of the national defense plan are closely related, and they were the two major issues that the ruling and opposition parties were most concerned about at that time.

The natural environment is like this. From the Liaodong Peninsula to Guangzhou, the long coastline along the coast is always in danger of being invaded by Japanese pirates.To the northeast, north and northwest, beyond the Great Wall is the forces of Beiyuan. If heavy troops are not stationed in dangerous places, once the Beiyuan cavalry gallops south, it will be very difficult to defend the north of the Yellow River.Border defense requires heavy troops, such as entrusting border military power to generals of different surnames. The lessons of Shao Rong and Xie Zaixing are profound enough. Moreover, even if there are no problems, the border generals have too many troops and their tails are too large. The domineering fate of feudal towns, such as heavy troops directly attached to the imperial court, requires the country's capital to be located on the front line of national defense so as to be convenient for command. In Yingtian, it is too far away from the northern front line, so it cannot be commanded.The southeast region is the economic center of the country, where food and salaries are paid, and the north must be established as a military center for the sake of border security.If the national capital is built in the southeast and combined with the economic center, the north will be empty and unable to prevent the Northern Yuan from invading the south; if it is built in the north and integrated with the military center, the food will still have to rely on the southeast for supply, and the transportation cost will be too high and it will be extremely uneconomical .

In addition to the issue of the imperial capital, there is also the issue of the imperial system. Is it the county system?Or feudalism?In terms of historical experience and lessons, one of the reasons for the demise of Qin, Han, Tang, and Song was that there were no strong pro-fans to support the screen guards.However, the feudal children of the Zhou Dynasty made troubles so that the branches were strong and the stems were weak, and the emperor's orders were not enough.The compromise between these two systems is the prefecture-state system in the early Western Han Dynasty. On the one hand, prefectures and counties were established, officials were divided and governed, and the power was concentrated in the imperial dynasty;Solve the problems of the imperial capital and the system together, set the capital in the southeast wealth area, seal the children in the northern frontier stronghold, in this way, economically, militarily, and permanently maintain the royal ruling power, all can be satisfactorily achieved. solved.

The important reasons for establishing Yingtian as the capital in the early Ming Dynasty were economical: firstly, because Jiangsu and Zhejiang were rich, there were not only big granaries in the Yangtze River Delta, but also the center of the textile industry and salt industry. Yingtian was the distribution center for these materials. Fu is from the southeast, and Jinling is its meeting [04].The second is that the palaces built in the time of King Wu were unwilling to give up easily, and if another capital city was built, it would require additional labor and expense.The third is that Zhu Yuanzhang's left and right civil and military officials are all descendants of Jianghuai, and they are unwilling to stay away from their hometown.The first reason is primary, the latter two are secondary.Even so, the court felt that it was not very appropriate, because from the perspective of taking care of the northern military, it was obviously inappropriate for the capital to be located in the southeast.After Bianliang was taken down in the first year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang personally inspected it. He thought that although the status of this place was moderate, it was not safe to defend militarily. [05] Just because the Northwest is still undetermined, a military supply base must be set up to transport food and supplement military forces, so imitating the ancient system of two capitals, Yingtian is Nanjing and Kaifeng (Bianliang) is Beijing in August.In August of the following year, Shaanxi was pacified, and the north was completely included in the territory. The situation changed, and the question of rebuilding the capital was brought up again.Some of the courtiers advocated that Guanzhong is dangerous and solid, and that the golden city is a land of abundance; some people suggested that Luoyang should be the center of the country, and that the distances from the four directions of tribute should be equal; cost.All kinds of opinions have cited history to discuss the present and put forward discussions.Zhu Yuanzhang criticized these proposals for one-sided reasons, but none of them are comprehensive, and none of them can adapt to the current situation.Chang'an, Luoyang, and Kaifeng were capital cities in the Zhou, Qin, Han, Wei, Tang, and Song Dynasties in the past, but judging from today's situation, after decades of fighting, the people have not rested. If new capitals are built in these places, The supply of forced labor comes from the south of the Yangtze River, and the common people cannot afford it.Even if it is Beiping, although there are old palaces from the Yuan Dynasty, some changes must be made, and it is still troublesome.It's better to still be in Nanjing. According to the situation, the Yangtze River is a natural moat, where dragons and tigers can build a country.Secondly, Linhao (Haozhou) has the Yangtze River in front and the Huai River in the back. The terrain is dangerous and the transportation is convenient. It is also a place where you can build a capital. 【06】It was decided to use Linhao as the central capital to start the construction of the city palace. From September of the second year of Hongwu to September of the eighth year, the construction project was still in progress.Liu Ji resolutely opposed it, thinking that although Linhao was the emperor's hometown, it was not suitable for establishing a capital in terms of various conditions, so the work was stopped just now. 【07】In the 11th year of Hongwu's imperial edict to change Nanjing to the capital, he hesitated for ten years about establishing the capital, and only then did he make up his mind. 【08】

Although the determination was made, in order to defend the Northern Yuan Dynasty and control the northern border defense, Zhu Yuanzhang still planned to move the capital to the northwest, and the selected locations were still Chang'an and Luoyang.In August of the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, the crown prince was sent to inspect the northwest to compare the situation in the two places.After the prince came back, he presented a map of Shaanxi and offered his opinions.Unexpectedly, the prince died of illness the next year, and the matter of moving the capital had to be put aside. 【09】 The new palace of the capital was originally Yanwei Lake, and the lake was filled to build the palace. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north, which is unqualified according to geologists.After the death of the prince, the old emperor was very sad, and in his boredom, he blamed the death of the prince on the bad Fengshui of the new palace. At the end of this year, he personally wrote the "Worship of the Stove God in Guanglu Temple" and said:

I have been running the world for decades, and everything is done according to ancient times.However, the situation is uneven because the front of the palace is high and the back is low.I wanted to move the capital.Now I am old and tired.And the world is newly established, and we don't want to labor the people.And there are countless ups and downs, so we have to listen to the sky.I only wish to learn from my heart and bless my descendants. 【10】 The sixty-five-year-old white-haired old man was superstitious and lost courage, so he had to ask God to bless him, and never mentioned moving the capital again.The system of enfeoffing the kings was decided in the early April of the second year of Hongwu when the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" was compiled, and the second to tenth sons were named princes in April of the third year.However, the kings became vassals after they decided to make Nanjing their capital in the eleventh year of Hongwu. [11] There was a nine-year gap between being a king and becoming a vassal. The reason was that some of the sons were underage, and the country had not yet been decided, and the system of establishing the country could not be determined.After the decision to go to the capital, the second son, King Qin, founded the country in Xi'an, and the third son, King Jin, founded the country in Taiyuan.In the thirteenth year, the fourth son, King Yan, founded the country in Beiping.Out of the town is an important frontier defense town along the Great Wall.In the fourteenth year, the fifth son, King Zhou, founded the country in Kaifeng, and the sixth son, King Chu, founded the country in Wuchang.In the fifteenth year, the seventh son, King Qi, founded the country in Qingzhou. In the eighteenth year, King Tan went to Changsha, and King Lu went to Yanzhou.Afterwards, other young kings successively entered the country as adults, scattered all over the country, and stationed in strategically important places in the country to suppress the people's resistance.

As far as the military situation is concerned, the establishment of the kingdoms is divided into the first line and the second line, or the front and the rear.The task of the kings on the front line is to prevent the invasion of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and rely on natural dangers to establish military priorities, known as the King of Sai.The kings of Zhusai established their country along the Great Wall, which can be divided into two outer and inner lines: the outer line crosses Yuguan in the east, crosses Liaodong, connects with Korea in the south, connects with Kaiyuan in the north, controls the tribes in the northeast, and builds the Liao Kingdom with Guangning as the center; Pass through Yuyang (now Jixian, Hebei), Lulong, and Chuxifengkou, cut off the north-Yuan southward invasion road, center on Daning, including the current Chaoyang and Chifeng areas, and build the Ning Kingdom; Beiping has a dangerous terrain, and build the Yan Kingdom; Yong, covering Yanmen, stationed the king of Gu in Xuanfu (now Xuanhua, Hebei Province), and stationed in Datong on behalf of the king; crossed the river to the west, protected Ningxia in the north, leaned on Helan Mountain, and guarded Ningxia in order to celebrate the king; and controlled the Hexi Corridor in the west, Shun Jiayu, protect the countries of the Western Regions, and build the Su Kingdom.From Kaiyuan in the east to melon and sand in the west, they are all in one.The inside line is the state of Jin in Taiyuan and the state of Qin in Xi'an.The kings in the rear are facing inwardly. Kaifeng has the Zhou king, Wuchang has the Chu king, Qingzhou has the Qi king, Changsha has the Tan king, Yanzhou has the Lu king, Chengdu has the Shu king, Jingzhou has the Xiang king, Guilin has the Jingjiang king and so on. 【12】

The kings established palaces and set up officials in their fiefs.The prince's mianfu car flag is only inferior to the emperor's, and the princes and ministers must bow their heads to pay homage to the prince when they see the prince, and they are not allowed to bow.Although the status is extremely high and noble, they have no land, cannot rule the people, and cannot interfere in civil affairs.Outside the royal palace, it was governed by officials at all levels appointed by the imperial court.On the other hand, the kings have the right to command the army and command the military. Each palace has a prince's guard and commander, and there are three guards. The guards range from 3,000 to 19,000. [13] King Sai's military strength is particularly strong. For example, King Ning's troops have 80,000 armored troops, 6,000 leather chariots, and the Mongolian cavalry of the Duoyan Sanwei, who are brave and good at fighting. [14] The guards of the three kings of Qin, Jin, and Yan were specially supplemented by the court, and their strength was also the strongest. [15] "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" stipulates: Every kingdom has guards and guards.The soldiers guarding the town are under the command of often elected commanders.Its guards were dispatched from the king.If the country is a dangerous place, if there is a police emergency, the guards will be dispatched from the king to protect the guards.Moreover, in addition to the emperor's imperial treasure documents, the dispatch of guarding soldiers must obtain the order of the prince before sending troops. "Ancestor's Precepts" stipulates: Whenever the imperial court dispatches troops, there must be imperial treasure documents and kings, as well as imperial treasure documents and town officials.The guardian of the town has not only the imperial treasure document, but also the king's decree, so he can send troops.Without the king's decree, no troops can be sent. [16] This provision made the prince the supervisor of the local defenders and the emperor's representative of the local military power.In peacetime, the guards are used to monitor the local defenders, and they can respond alone; in wartime, they command the two armies and take charge alone. Zhu Yuanzhang entrusts the military power to his own son, so he can rest assured.Every autumn, the kings of the states would send troops to patrol the borders, and go as far as to go outside the Great Wall to train troops and practice martial arts, which is called clearing the desert [17].The kings of Fansai participated in military affairs, and the two kings of Jin and Yan were repeatedly ordered to send troops out of the fortress, build cities, and garrison fields. Generals such as Song Guogong Feng Sheng and Ying Guogong Fu Youde were under his control. Minor matters in the army were decided, and major events were only reported. In the imperial court, the two kings had sole military power and made the most meritorious deeds. 【18】

The prince guards the border and decides military affairs exclusively.The major cities in the mainland are also based on princes, and every kingdom is a military center. In this way, even though the capital is far to the southeast, there will be no problem.Zhu Yuanzhang thought this arrangement was very appropriate.But he did not expect that giving his son too much military power would cause internal conflicts in the royal family.Soon after his death, Emperor Jianwen was afraid that the kings would be too powerful and would take away the power of the vassal kings. King Yan raised troops against Emperor Jianwen, and a civil war broke out. King Yan became emperor and moved his capital to Beiping.His two plans of building the capital and border defense were smashed to pieces.

Notes from the original book: 01: "Ming History" Volume 136 "Tao An Biography" 02: "History of the Ming Dynasty" Volume 129 "Feng Sheng Biography", Sun Chengze "Chunming Meng Yulu" Volume 1. 03: "History of the Ming Dynasty" Volume 135 "The Biography of Ye Dui" 04: Qiu Jun's "University Extends Yiyi to Complement the Construction of the City" 05: "Deeds of the Beginning of the Country" 06: Huang Guangsheng's "Zhao Dynasty Code" 07: "Ming History.Taizu Benji" II, Volume 128 "Liu Ji Biography" 08: "Ming History and Geography" 1. 09: "History of the Ming Dynasty" volume 115 "Biography of Emperor Xingzong Xiaokang", volume 147 "Hu Guang Biography", Jiang Qing "Secret History of the Jiang Family" volume 1, Zheng Xiao "Jin Yan" 274. 10: Volume 13 of Gu Yanwu's Book of Lies and Diseases under the Commandments of the World, Jiangnan 1. 11: "History of Ming Dynasty", "Benji of Taizu" II. 12: He Qiaoyuan's "Famous Mountain Collection" and "Fenfan Ji" 1. 13: "History of the Ming Dynasty", "Bingzhi", Erweisuo, "The Preface to the Biography of the Kings". 14: "Ming History" Volume 117 "Ning Wang Biography" 15: "History of Ming Dynasty" Volume 117 "Biography of King Ning", "History of Ming Dynasty" and "Benji of Taizu": Xinmao in the first month of the tenth year of Hongwu, guards Yiqin, Jin, and Yan with Yulin and other guards. 16: "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" and "Soldiers and Guards Chapter" 17: "History of the Ming Dynasty", "Bing Zhi" three "Border Defense", Zhu Yunming "Nine Dynasties" one. 18: "History of the Ming Dynasty" volume 116 "Biography of the King of Jin", "Benji of Taizu" III: In March of the 26th year of Hongwu, it was first heard about the two kings who commanded military affairs.