Chapter 43 7. Shi Tianze successfully relieved military power

In 1262, in February of the third year of Zhongtong, Li Fen, governor of Jianghuai in Shandong Province, launched a rebellion and occupied Jinan.Kublai Khan marched northward to Ali Buge, first ordered the Zongwang Habichi, and the governors of the Mongolian and Han armies to crusade against the Nanping rebellion.When Shi Tianze arrived in Jinan, he teamed up with Habichi to open the river to build a ring around the city, built a long wall, and a forest fence, and besieged Li Fen in Jinan for four months. The city ran out of food and the army's morale was scattered. Li Fen attempted to commit suicide by throwing himself into Daming Lake and was captured. .Shi Tianze immediately executed Li Fen in front of the army.

The reason why Shi Tianze wanted to execute Li Fen in a hurry was because Li Fen knew too much. More than ten years ago, when the Kingdom of Jin was destroyed by Mongols, in order to win over the powerful warlords in the Central Plains, Wo Kuotai and Meng Ge implemented a soft policy towards these local separatist forces. They were named princes and generals. Yu's family, let them help the Mongols appease the place, or help them fight the Song Dynasty. However, as a Han who has been deeply influenced by Confucianism, their orthodox thinking still makes trouble from time to time.They look down on these people who can only bend their bows and horses, and often look down on them with China's thousands of years of civilization, and regard them as a group of "bandits" who have no culture and only know how to kill, and feel that they will not become a big climate after all.Therefore, while dealing with the Mongols, they often talked together, revealing their views unabashedly.It was only later that the Mongols became popular, especially when Kublai Khan showed the great talent of the emperor through the ages, and only then did they wholeheartedly support him and show their allegiance to him.Now, Li Fen overestimated his own strength, and rebelled when Kublai Khan personally conquered Brother Ali, leaving the rear empty, trying to use the strategy of supporting Han and destroying Mongolia to get the response of various princes.Shi Tianze thought that Li Fen knew too much about himself and Shihou, once he was brought in front of Kublai Khan and bitten, everything about his past would be exposed without a doubt.Li Fen should be killed, but he will never have any good fruit to eat!Therefore, Shi Tianze considered it again and again, and finally decided to take the risk and kill Li Fen.

Of course, he also knew that killing imperial criminals without authorization was not allowed in any dynasty.So, he wrote to the emperor overnight to plead guilty.He found some reasons for himself, such as the thief Li yelling at the emperor, which made people angry; But Kublai Khan was not easy to fool.He was full of doubts and doubts, and his dislike for Shihou added another level to Li Fen's rebellion: he didn't understand why Shi Tianze was so eager to kill Li Fen?Is there any connection between them? Kublai Khan had to re-examine these Han staff, how did they come to his side?

He couldn't forget Liu Bingzhong, Yao Shu, Lian Xixian, Zhang Yi, Shang Ting, Zhao Liangbi, Wang Wentong...they all recommended each other to come to his side.They recommend each other, can they not form cronies and work together?I entrust them with heavy responsibilities, but can they really treat themselves with Confucian orthodoxy?Today there is Li Fen, tomorrow there will be Shi Tan, Zhang Tan... more Han princes rebelling?One is okay to say, once they become one, how will he deal with it? A series of question marks and too many associations made Kublai Khan sweat profusely on his back.For Kublai Khan, since the end of the Jin Dynasty, the princes and princes who have exercised the power of the soldiers and people in the Central Plains are undoubtedly a great obstacle for the new dynasty to effectively consolidate and strengthen its own rule.Although only Li Fen and individual responders were the only ones who publicly declared rebellion, there were quite a few princes who communicated with Li Fen and criticized the government.Therefore, it is not yet time to solve this difficult problem.The Song Dynasty will not die for a day, and their minds will still be shaken for a day.If you act too hastily, it will cause rabbits to die and foxes to mourn, groups will defend themselves, and even arouse more rebellions.

Knowing this truth, Kublai Khan resolutely stopped investigating the case of Li Fen and Wang Wentong after he killed Li Fen's father-in-law, Wang Wentong, the Pingzhang political officer of Zhongshu Province. For three days in a row, Kublai Khan did not go to court.He was terrified, worried, angry and irritable. He performed the Golden Wheel Retreat on the Buddha's Roof in Sheng'an Temple several times, suppressing his shock and praying for himself, or he just lay in the phoenix tent of Queen Chabi and looked at the golden-roofed pillars in a trance.There was even a message to warn Shi Tianze that if I tell you to kill someone, you can't execute it immediately, you have to delay it by three or five days, so as not to kill the wrong person...

Kublai Khan was frightened and restless, and the Han ministers were even more on pins and needles. Shi Tianze understands the reason why big trees attract wind.As the prince of the Han people, I have two armies, the "Qingyue Army" and the "Black Army". The reason why the Mongols rely on themselves is entirely due to their strategic needs.Now Li Fen's rebellion shocked Kublai Khan a lot, and it also provided an excuse for the Mongols who wanted to ban the Han staff.Although he doesn't take weight as a good thing, this Kublai Khan knows.Back then, when I was in Wokuotai, in order to avenge my brother's murder, I took over the position of my eldest brother Shi Tianni as a soldier.After defeating Wuxian, he invited the performance to his nephew, and he was willing to return to the field and cultivate it for fun, which was approved by Wo Kuotai.

But today's Kublai Khan is facing the problem of the trust of the Han princes, and Shi Tianze can see this.Although Li Fen's rebellion did not expand his involvement, and he killed Li Fen Kublai Khan without further investigation, but Kublai Khan did not go to court for three days, which shows that he was fighting an arduous ideological struggle.Kublai Khan was enlightened and had the mind of an emperor.However, after all, he is a Mongolian who is called a "barbarian" by the Han people, and there are many people around him who stick to the Mongolian tradition.He has the ability to overcome all opinions, and it is not easy to use Han people to implement Han law and Sinicize the country.Today, Li Fen rebelled, so how could his fragile mind not collapse all of a sudden?

Instead of moving the knife from top to bottom, it is better to ask yourself to eliminate military power so as to eliminate Kublai Khan's suspicion of Han Confucianism and princes. The method is to deal with the warlords of the Han nationality. So, after Kublai Khan went to court on the fourth day, Shi Tianze went up and said: "The power of soldiers and people cannot be united in one family since ancient times. The states of the Han Dynasty and the vassal towns of the Tang Dynasty are all bloody lessons, which show that since ancient times, localities should obey the orders of the central government. Today, our court is too fond of ministers, etc., not only conferring beautiful posts , and also imitated the traditional Mongolian system in Mobei to let us hereditary official positions, resulting in too large local separatist forces, leading to the rebellion of unruly people like Li Fen. Therefore, in order to strengthen the control of the central government over the local area, eliminate the contradiction between the central and local separatist forces In order not to cause social turmoil and the people to suffer, I ask the emperor to remove his power and retire and return home. At the same time, he also relieves the military power of seventeen Shi's sons and nephews who hold military talismans. Please start from the minister's house!"

Kublai Khan said: "Shi Aiqing, you don't have to worry too much. Your historians, the establishment of our Mongolian Empire, can be said to have thrown your head, sprinkled blood, heart and soul, and loyalty is commendable. Previously, Okuotai Khan praised Aiqing, constitution Emperor Zong also praised your good character many times, but they all didn't agree with your request to retire, how can I let you retire today?" Yao Shu came out of the class and said: "Your Majesty, the ministers think that what General Shi said is very true. One family cannot be in charge of soldiers and people at the same time. The princes of the vassals, the teeth are set up by chess, and each land is divided into its own people. , the father dies and the son succeeds, each holds a heavy army, the most is 50,000 to 60,000, and the few are no less than 20,000 to 30,000. It is difficult to guarantee that there will be no more Li Fen. Since General Shi once again proposed to eliminate power, the emperor can make the best use of the situation and dismiss the princes. , set up guards and shepherds, and established a transfer law. It is stipulated that those who are both soldiers and civilians can choose one of their own positions; The officials in charge of the people manage civil affairs, and the officers in charge of the army are in charge of the army. Each has its own department and is not under the control of each other. The officials under the next generation are all transferred from the central government, so that the world's high-ranking officials and small staff are well-known from the imperial court. This will not only strengthen the central government's influence on the local Control can also reduce the burden on local people.”

When Kublai Khan heard this, it hit his heart.He had also thought about this issue during the three-day strike, but the key was how to do it more safely.Shi Tianze's resignation and Yao Shu's suggestion just solved the problem that had been a headache for him for a long time. How could he not be happy? Therefore, Kublai Khan deliberately said: "Everyone has worked hard and made great achievements, and they are the pillars of our country and society. How can I be willing to do this? Absolutely not, you don't need to say too much." Seeing that Shi Tianze, who was once the prime minister, was like this, the hearts of other Han princes were even more bottomless.So they all went out to play and said: "The ministers are willing to release their military power, return the fief, and accept the dispatch of the court. Please consider the country and the country, and send guards to various places to govern. We should cooperate fully and repay the emperor's kindness. .”

Seeing that all the princes of the world were like this, Kublai Khan pushed the boat along and said: "Ogotai Khan once sighed that in the past, there were many people who fought for officials and few who gave up their posts. My dynasty is just the opposite. I am really moved by your actions. Since everyone agrees and is sincere and sincere, I have no choice but to agree. Haha, however, I will not treat you dearly badly. Starting today, I will provide a monthly salary to ensure that you are not in the financial situation. Suffering!" Soon, under the imperial decree, the military power of the princes in various places was lifted, and the military and civilian rule were divided.It is stipulated that the chief managers and ten thousand households only deal with civil affairs and must not interfere in military affairs; secondly, weaken and eliminate princes.It is stipulated that the Marquis Fu Festival will be received and the official will be changed.After death, his descendants were appointed officials according to the Yin Shu method and no longer inherited the father's position.Except for one official of the Shihou warlords, all the official positions of the sons and daughters were dismissed, and they could not be hereditary, and the migration law was implemented, requiring them to leave their old nests and go to other places to be officials. Establish the military headquarters—the Privy Council, with the crown prince personally serving as the envoy of the Privy Council, and under it there are deputy envoys, Qianshu Privy Council officers, etc., all of whom are Mongols and Semu people, and uniformly dispatch the guards and thousands of Mongolian and Han troops from all over the country .As a result, the command system of Qianhu and Wanhu - Commanding Army Division (separated in Henan and Shandong) or Marshal's Mansion (located in East and West Sichuan and other places, and later changed to Commanding Military Division) - Privy Council was established. Centralized control is in the hands of the central government.The fourth is to strictly prohibit civilian weapons.Weapons are manufactured by the state, those who make them privately will die, and those who have them refuse to hand them over.Even farmers' rakes and forks belong to the category of handing in. If you want to use them, you must apply to the local officials for them, and hand them in immediately after use. With the imperial decree, as many as 17 of Guangshi's nephews and nephews who wore gold and silver tiger charms were high-ranking, and they were all relieved of their military power and transferred to other places for defense.Zhang Honglue, Zhang Hongyan, Yan Zhongfan, Yan Zhongsi, Yuwengan, Zheng Ding, Li Yi and more than 20 Han army Wanhu also surrendered their military power successively.In the first month of the fourth year of the Central Unification, the "Ten Route Aulu Chiefs" was established, and it was stipulated that the Aulu of each Han army would no longer be under the control of Wanhu of the Han army.The taxation and taxation of military households in the Han army were managed by the Commanding Army Divisions in Henan and Shandong, the Marshal's Mansions in Dongchuan and Xichuan, and the branch households in Shaanxi. "Where there are ten thousand brothers, men and private individuals in the Aulu official, let them go." At the same time, set up a supervising war and a commanding army department to monitor the actions of the Han army Wanhu and take charge of the Han army Wanhu households in the area. , Deal with daily military affairs.At the same time, the children of officials are required to join the proton army, and the traditional method of accepting protons is used to control the scattered Han, Semu, and civilian officials. Kublai Khan grew up under the influence of Han culture, and he wanted to take control of the Central Plains, so he didn't want to completely break with the Han Shihou, but he strengthened his psychological defense against the Han people. It lies in their open resistance, but in the fact that they are subtly changing the way of life of a prairie tribe with bows and horses, and this is the most dangerous.In this way, on the one hand, he cleaned up the Han princes, and gradually alienated the Han Confucians.On the other hand, while being close to the Mongols, they began to gradually cultivate Semu people to compete with the Han people in order to check each other.Kublai Khan's honeymoon with Han Ru slowly ended. It should be said that Shi Tianze was wise and wise, judged the situation, and acted accordingly. For the unification of the country, he voluntarily handed over his fiefdom and military power, and achieved a smooth transition in a peaceful manner. It led to prosperity and decline and potential danger, and at the same time, it was also conducive to the close integration of the Mongolian nobles and the Han landlord class to achieve the goal of centralization, which undoubtedly played a decisive role in stabilizing the political situation.However, Kublai Khan used Han people and Semu people at the same time, which caused many contradictions among the Mongolian, Han, and Semu people in the ruling group. The resulting long-term disputes within the Yuan Dynasty were unexpected by Kublai Khan.