Chapter 24 V. Operation and management of Qinghai and Tibet regions

"From Zhuanglang to the south for more than three hundred miles is Xining, which is the middle of ancient Huangzhong. From Liangzhou to the northwest is more than two hundred miles to Zhenfan, which is also known as Gugu Zangye. The husband takes a one-line road, hanging alone for several thousand miles, and west control The Western Regions, separated by the Qiang and Rong in the south, and covered by the Hulu in the north, have been in a difficult position since ancient times.In order to maintain the normal passage between the Ming Dynasty and the Western Regions, the portals of Zhenfan and Xining must be well guarded.

In Hezhou, Taozhou, Minzhou and other places in Xining, many "Fan" and "Ju" lived together, and Ming people called them Xifan.In the fourth year of Hongwu, Hezhou Guard was set up. In the same year, Taozhou and Minzhou Military and Civilian Thousand Households were established. Minzhou Guard was established in 11 years, and Taozhou Guard was established in 12 years.In the sixth year of Hongwu, Xiningwei was established.Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Taozhou is the gate of Xifan, and the city is guarded, and its throat is choked." "Control Fanrong in the west, cover Huang and Long in the east, and prepare border areas since the Han and Tang Dynasties", "abandon them and not defend them", "is it a good strategy".Xifan in the Ming Dynasty also included Tibet.The Ming Dynasty established Duogandu Division and Uzangdu Division in these areas to strengthen control and management.

In addition to political solicitation and military conquest, Zhu Yuanzhang and his son also used trade and religion as means to win over.Trade has been detailed in the previous article, and this is about religion.The laws of the Ming Dynasty were very strict on monkhood, and folks were not allowed to be ordained as monks privately, and monks were required to take a pass examination.But for the Fan monk Youli Longhou, he really wanted to use his power to stabilize the "Fan clan".In March of the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu, in Bingyin, Xining Seng Gangsi was established, and Seng Sanci was the capital.Hezhou Weihan Monk Gangsi took Wei Shila, the former master of the Yuan Dynasty, as his capital.Hezhou Weifan Senggang Division takes Sengyue Jianzang as its capital. "Gai Xifan admired the pagoda, so he established it, so that the master can teach people from far away", "Yin helps the king to transform".

After Zhu Di came to the throne, he sent Hou Xianseng Zhiguang, the young supervisor of the ceremony, to Tibet, and the foreign monk Harima also came to the capital to pay tribute, and Zhu Di sent his son-in-law, the captain, to meet him.Zhu Di's kindness to the monks cannot be increased. "All monks who practice precepts and practice diligently are given the titles of lamas, Zen masters, and empowered national teachers. Those who increase the national teacher and the disciples of the Buddha in the Western Heaven will all be granted a seal, promised to be hereditary, and ordered to pay tribute every year. Therefore, all The monks and the guards and local officials spoke to the capital."Zhu Di even called Kunze Siba and Harima "Shangshi", that is, "Guru", and later named him "Great Treasure King".Later, Buddhist monks came to the court one after another, Kunze Siba was named "Mahayana Dharma King", and Sakyamuni, a disciple of Pope Tsongkhapa, was also named "Buddha Son of the Western Paradise".Many monks who came to pay tribute lived in the capital for a long time.Lu Rong said: "It is the custom of Gai Xifan that once there is a rebellion and vendetta, it cannot be controlled for a while. If he prescribes his law, he will sharpen the golden sword and swear by the scriptures. The opportunity is here, so although the supply is too extravagant, it doesn’t bother soldiers and soldiers to pay for food, but it’s a lot of money.” The strategy was successful, although it was not original, but it started with the Qing Dynasty’s use of religion to win over The first of its kind for minorities.

"History of the Ming Dynasty" said: "The ancestor Cheng Yifeng granted the king of the Dharma, the master of the great country, and the Buddhist sons of the Western Heaven, etc., so that they can transform and guide to respect China. Therefore, there will be a feast in the west, and there will be no danger of bandits in the Ming Dynasty." At the same time, all ethnic groups in Xifan, regardless of their size, were allowed to pay tribute. In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang and his son controlled the Xining area by means of military conquest, religious win-win, and tribute and rewards, thereby protecting the Hexi Corridor and preventing Mongolian forces from going south to Tibet.The Ming Dynasty's control over the entire Western Regions was strengthened and consolidated, not only preventing the possibility of Tatars and Oirats penetrating into the Western Regions, but the Ming Dynasty was able to contain them in the Western Regions.For example, when Timur Khan colluded with Wan Zhetu (Ben Ya Shili), a descendant of Yuan Dynasty, to plan to advance eastward, the court was able to understand it in time and made preparations.

The activities of managing the Northeast and the Western Regions ran through the second half of Zhu Di's life.From a more macroscopic point of view, we can see that Zhu Di's development and control of the Northeast and Northwest regions was not only used to encircle the Mongolian forces, but also to consolidate the forces of the Ming Dynasty on a larger scale. In fact, It is part of Zhu Di's overall grand plan.We will discuss this further below.