I

It was already winter when the good news from the grassland was delivered to the south.

The Yangtze River is frozen!

It's not completely frozen. There's an ice floe in the east and an ice floe in the west. Some places seem to be completely frozen, and if someone steps on them and takes a few steps, the ice will crack.

Governments all along the river are organizing official and private ships to clear the ice floes in the center of the river and forcibly create a shipping channel.

The Little Ice Age did not disappear with the Ming Dynasty, and the real cold winter had just begun. At least during the Chongzhen period, the Yangtze River never froze. In the next fifteen years, the Yangtze River will freeze in four years.

In addition, Hanshui River is also frozen this year, so you can run horses on the ice!

The Khalkha cavalry who fled back to Mobei encountered a snowstorm on the way, and more than 10,000 horses froze to death.

Facing the cold winter, Zhao Han also wore furs and began to review the snow disaster memorials sent from various places. The temperature dropped so fast that people had no time to react when a cold wave hit overnight. Many people froze to death or suffered from frostbite.

Even a prince and two princesses caught a cold while living in the Forbidden City.

"Your Majesty, great victory in Monan!"

The cabinet, the Ministry of War, the Governor's Office, and the Royal Horse Supervisor all came to tell the good news.

Zhao Han carefully read the victory document, and finally a smile appeared on his face: "Well done, the Cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Rites will discuss how to reward the meritorious soldiers. Fei Ruhe and Zhang Mingshan (Zhang Tieniu) will not be promoted to the title for the time being. Give them the title of Shangzhu Kingdom. Fei Ruhe was granted the title of Taifu (the first rank) and the crown prince's Taibao (from the first rank). Zhang Mingshan was granted the title of Taibao (the first rank) and the crown prince's Taibao. In addition, both of them were crowned with Yiying. Reward his wife with a royal title. As for the gift of gold, clothes, and land, you can discuss these."

With such great military exploits, Fei Ruhe and Zhang Tieniu were not given promotions to their titles. It seems mean and ungrateful, but it really doesn't matter because the "Shangzhu Kingdom" is too important.

During the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, there were only a few "Shangzhu Kingdoms".

Li Shanchang, Xu Da, and Chang Yuchun were the Shangzhu Kingdoms, but they were all taken back after their deaths and renamed the second-level "Zuo Zhu Kingdom".

Xia Yan became the Shangzhu Kingdom and was extremely glorious for a while, but he was also deprived of the title.

Yan Song was granted the title of Shangzhu Kingdom, and he was so frightened that he quickly declined, saying that Xia Yan was unlucky because of this title. How can a person who is a minister be called "superior"?

Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng were granted the title of Zhuguo, but they also refused and did not dare to accept it. However, after Zhang Juzheng's death, he was posthumously granted the title of Shangzhu Kingdom, and then was deprived of it and restored again under another emperor.

Therefore, excluding those whose titles were withdrawn, Zhang Juzheng was the only one in the entire Ming Dynasty who was "Shangzhu Kingdom".

Although this thing is a false title, it is much rarer than a title!

By the way, Zhang Juzheng's fifth son, Zhang Yunxiu, was forced to become an official by Zhang Xianzhong, just like in history. Zhang Yunxiu refused and chose to commit suicide. He was almost 80 years old at the time.

Zhang Juzheng's great-grandson Zhang Tongchang did not die heroically in the fight against the Qing Dynasty. This king was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and refused to serve as an official in the Datong court. Now he lives in the countryside of Jiangling as a teacher. A serious primary school teacher has a staff and is paid a salary, but he insists that teachers are not considered officials. What he received was not a new salary, but the training he deserved as a teacher.

Among all Zhang Juzheng's descendants, two are currently serving as officials, one has become a prefect, and the other is just a county magistrate.

Song Yingxing said: "Dudu Fei requested that the Mongolian leaders who made meritorious service in this battle be given surnames and names. I think it is feasible."

Fei Ruhe requested that the Mongolian leader be rewarded with a name. The reason was actually very simple. He felt that Mongolian surnames were too difficult to pronounce, and there were too many duplicate names. For example, there were two names in Manzhu Xili, which could be confused if you were not careful.

Song Yingxing had other ideas. During the prosperous Han and Tang Dynasties, surnames were often given to leaders of foreign races. Why can't our Datong Dynasty do the same? Moreover, giving Han surnames is conducive to assimilation of foreign races. Mongolia doesn't write history books. As long as they change their surnames to Chinese, the Golden Family will slowly fade away after a hundred years.

Zhao Han also thought it was feasible, and said to Wang Tiaoding, the Minister of Rites, "Choose from among the hundreds of surnames...forget it, let's all have the surname Zhao. The Mongolian leaders probably wouldn't be happy with ordinary surnames, so they gave them the same surname as the royal family." The Ministry of Rites We will discuss picking some names and report them in a few days. After spring starts, we will send envoys to the grassland to reward the names."

After the Han Dynasty, a bunch of southern Xiongnu leaders were named Liu, and there were even hardcore "elite Han" like Liu Yuan. Although Liu Yuan was a Huns, in the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, he could definitely be called a benevolent and righteous monarch, even more benevolent and righteous than most Han emperors.

Now that Zhao Han has decided to give the surname, as long as the authority of the Datong court is still there, from now on, the leaders of the Monan Mongolian tribes will definitely have the surname Zhao for generations to come.

Maybe one day a few "skilled" Mongolians will emerge.

Zhao Han continued: "Over there in the Hetao, Li Zicheng refused Cao Bianjiao to recruit the army. I lost my mind about this matter. After the spring started, I asked Fei Ruhe to go to comfort Li Zicheng in person. The generals Fei Ruhe brought to the Hetao must not It is clear that the generals should be surrendered beforehand to avoid irritating Li Zicheng and his subordinates."

Lu Xiangsheng, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, cupped his hands and said: "After receiving the news of the grassland war last time, the Ministry of War, together with the cabinet and other ministries, drafted a new plan to control the grassland."

"Speak." Zhao Han said.

Lu Xiangsheng said: "The northern region is under the jurisdiction of the Sandu Protectorate. All places have restored their ancient names, such as Tumo River, which was changed to Chile River. Xilamulun River was changed to Raole River. Heilongjiang River was changed to Heishui... …”

Zhao Han interrupted: "Heilongjiang is a good name, there is no need to change it back."

Lu Xiangsheng was too lazy to dig into the details and continued:

"The three Protectorate's Palaces all follow the old names of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. One is the Protectorate of Anbei, the second is the Protectorate of Raole, and the third is the Protectorate of Andong (Heilongjiang Dusi)."

"Anbei Protectorate, the administrative seat is located in Guihua City (Hohhot). Guihua City was renamed Yunzhong City. It governs the Han people in Hetao and the Mongolians in Chahar, Tumote and other tribes. The Han people within its jurisdiction are governed by Han officials designated by the imperial court. . The Mongolian tribes established twelve capitals, and the twelve capitals were all served by Mongolian leaders. The Mongolian capitals can be hereditary, but they must be canonized by the court in advance. However, if there is a mistake, the court has the right to re-select the capital."

"Raole Duhufu will be located at the intersection of three rivers. A city will be built. The name of the city has not yet been decided. It can be Raozhou. It has jurisdiction over Horqin, Bahrain, Wengniute, Ujumqin and other tribes. The Han people in the jurisdiction are governed by the Han people. Official governance. The various Mongolian tribes also have twelve capital-general offices, which are the same as the Anbei Protectorate."

"Andong Duhufu was renamed from Heilongjiang Dusi. The original Dusi Administrative Office (Harbin) was moved eastward to Orimi Station (Tongjiang) in the former Ming Dynasty. A city could be built at the intersection of Heilongjiang and Songhua River, named Heishui City. The Han people within the jurisdiction are governed by Han officials. The Jurchen tribes also have capitals and administrative offices."

Zhao Han took the map and looked at it carefully, and basically agreed with the new plan formulated by the ministers.

Guihua City was renamed Yunzhong City, although its location was different from that of Yunzhong County in the Han and Tang Dynasties. But it's not that far apart. It's just the difference between Tuoketuo County and Hohhot. The distance between the two places is less than 200 miles.

The new Yunzhong City is backed by Yinshan Mountain and controls the fertile Tumochuan River. The terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it is completely self-sufficient in military supplies. In case of danger, the reinforcements from Shanxi and Shaanxi can go to the Yellow River to provide support, and the reinforcements from Hebei can go to Zhangjiakou to directly attack the Chahar tribes.

Zhao Han said: "The administrative seat of the Raole Protectorate will be called Raole City after the city is built. After all, there is a Raozhou in Jiangxi, so try to avoid duplication of names."

Raozhou in the Horqin Grassland was established in the Liao Dynasty and is located on the south bank of the Raoleshui River.

The name Rao Le Shui existed in ancient times and was not decided by the Liao Kingdom. In the Tang Dynasty, it was called Raole Dudufu, and it was a settlement of the Xi people at that time.

Raoleshui is a river of wealth and happiness. From the name, we can tell that the soil there is fertile.

Black land!

Raole City, which is about to be built, is 200 miles west of Tongliao City and located at the intersection of Xilamulun River, Laoha River and Xiliao River.

Following the river to the west is the base of the Bahrain tribe. Continuing westward, you can cross the remaining veins of the southern part of the Greater Khingan Mountains to attack the Chahar tribe, or you can attack Mobei. main traffic.

Following the river to the east, you can control the tribes of Erhorqin. After the West Liao River merges into the Liao River, it goes south to Tieling. Liaoning materials can be transported directly to Raole City by ship. main traffic.

Following the river south, you can reach the southern part of Ningcheng County. After crossing a few more mountains, there is a tributary of the Luan River, and supplies from Hebei can be quickly transported to Raole City. main traffic.

Not to mention the black land, the traffic that radiates from Raole City to three sides alone is enough to become the administrative seat of the Raole Protectorate. Strictly speaking, it radiates in all directions, and you can also walk a section of the river to the north.

The large area near Raole City was originally the territory of the Horqin tribe.

Now the Han people must be moved there. It just so happened that Horqin's tribes suffered heavy casualties this time, and all the pastures needed to be re-demarcated.

Zhao Han said: "There are twenty-four governors in the Mongolian tribes. The Ministry of Rites selects two right ministers to go to the grassland to preside over alliances and confer titles. All Han slaves kidnapped by each tribe must be released and moved to the governor's office for farming. Anyone who dares to hide a Han slave will be beheaded if discovered, and his son will not be allowed to inherit the position!"

It is said that there are three major protective offices, which are actually the governors of the Ming Dynasty.

Talking about setting up twenty-four Mongolian capitals, it was actually the Manchu flag system.

It sounds better after the skin change, and a large number of ancient place names have been restored. Yunzhong City definitely sounds better than Guihua City, and Rao Leshui definitely sounds better than Xilamulun River.

As soon as the name was changed, he immediately became taller, and he also had the air to catch up with the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Of course, the details are different, and it's not just a name change.

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Your Majesty, I and others have discussed repeatedly, and the Governor's Office also strongly suggested that the military commander's power should be restored. This time, Heilongjiang Dusi Li Zheng also temporarily restored the military command. It is estimated that there will be many wars in the future, and it will not be possible every time. Each time must be authorized by the court. If your majesty is worried about the story of the Tang Dynasty's Jiedushi, you can hand over all the civil affairs power of the Duhufu to the chief historian. The chief historian is a civil servant who controls financial power and civil rights. The rank of the governor of the Duhufu is determined For the second rank, the rank is higher than that of the right chief envoy of each province."

Zhao Han thought about it again and again, nodded and said, "Okay."

Song Yingxing suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the functions of the right and left chief envoys in each province overlap quite a bit. I have discussed with the cabinet ministers and asked each province to appoint two right chief envoys to take charge of the affairs of each department in the province."

In other words, a leftist chief envoy is equivalent to the governor of a province. The two right chief envoys are equivalent to the deputy governors in charge.

Zhao Han said: "We can seek the opinions of the chief envoys of each province on this matter and discuss it after summarizing it."

Zhao Han added: "The Andong Protectorate's headquarters can be moved to the intersection of Heilongjiang and Songhua River (Tongjiang). But don't worry now, it's too far there, and you have to stay at the current station (Harbin) for the time being. . Wang Fuchen has been stationed there with 1,500 soldiers. In recent years, many criminals have been exiled there. Although they are exiles, they must not be mistreated, and they should be given enough clothes and food as much as possible. Let the exiles enrich the population, cultivate the land, and marry local people. The native woman will be the wife. It will be at least five years before we can move to the headquarters of the Andong Protectorate. As for the construction of Blackwater City, we have to do it slowly. The population there is sparse and cannot withstand the torment of building a city. "

"Your Majesty is wise!" the ministers shouted.

Zhao Han smiled and said, "Let's disperse."

The important ministers of the cabinet left happily, although Zhao Han cleaned up the land affairs and officialdom, which made everyone in the capital feel in danger. But fighting corruption is one thing, and opening up new territories is another.

The Protectorate's Office was established in three places at once.

These important ministers in the cabinet were all very excited, dreaming of assisting the sage and restoring the distant and glorious Han and Tang Dynasties. From now on, it is best to restore the Anxi Protectorate and take back the Western Regions. Important ministers like them will definitely be able to leave their names in history.

Who said that only military generals want to open up new territories?

Wenchen wants it too!

(Looking up place names and information, I am so tired of writing this chapter. There is only one update today.)