Chapter 47 Section 1 "Dragon Field Nine Stations"

Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty in 1368, and on the 22nd day after he proclaimed himself emperor, he ordered the rectification and restoration of post stations across the country.In the second year, he issued an edict to change all the "stations" in the Yuan Dynasty to "posts", and more than 230 indecent post names across the country were changed to more elegant names.At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang also vigorously engaged in the construction of postal facilities in the border areas. In the development of frontier post offices in the Ming Dynasty, there is a story about Mrs. Shexiang, who is very famous in history.Shexiang is a female leader of the Yi nationality in Guizhou who understands righteousness. Her deeds have now been met with the masses on the TV screens of our country.During the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, Ai Cui, the chieftain of Guizhou, accepted the leadership of the Ming Dynasty. Ten years later, Ai Cui passed away, and his wife Shexiang continued to manage the Yi tribe.Ma Ye, the governor sent by the Ming government, is domineering and domineering. He deliberately humiliates Shexiang, and wantonly humiliates and oppresses the Yi people.Shexiang's subordinates were filled with righteous indignation, and they all persuaded her to rise up and resist.But Shexiang endured the humiliation and asked her close friend, Mrs. Liu, another leader of the Yi nationality, to go to the capital to report Ma Ye's crimes to Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Shexiang to the capital and said to her: I can get rid of the domineering Ma Ye for you, but how do you plan to repay the court?Shexiang replied: I would like to lead my children and not rebel against the Ming Dynasty from generation to generation.Zhu Yuanzhang said: This is a natural obligation and cannot be regarded as a reward.What else is there to do?Shexiang replied: "There is a small road from Guizhou to the northeast that leads to Sichuan, but it is blocked. I would like to pay money and people to open up mountains and build post roads, in order to repay the emperor's kindness."Zhu Yuanzhang appreciated this very much, and immediately arrested Ma Ye to Beijing, where he was executed according to the crime.After returning to Guizhou, Shexiang immediately organized manpower and started road construction.A total of more than 560 miles of mountain roads have been built, and Jiuyi has been established.Because the first station is Longchang among the thousands of mountains in the northwest of Guiyang, it is collectively called "Nine Stations of Longchang".From then on, from the hinterland of the Ming government, you can go directly to the frontier of Yunnan and Guizhou via spacious post roads, connecting the economic and cultural ties between the Central Plains and the Southwest.This is a good story in the history of national unity in our country, and it is also an event worthy of a special book in the history of post post development in our country. Wu Guolun, a man of the Ming Dynasty, wrote "The Poem of Shexiang Post" to praise Mrs. Shexiang, saying: "I heard that the water is luxurious in the west Xiangshi, Fengzhao once paid a visit to the high palace. Cheng En promises nine stations, digs mountains and penetrates trees to open Mengrong. It has been 200 years since Taiping, and the way is still the same. Wind." Mengrong means mountains and mountains, and Zangzhang and (Jixiahuo) Dao are all place names in Yunnan-Guizhou area, which shows that the economy and culture of these areas have also caught up with the Central Plains, and the folk customs are the same.

Except for the Yunnan-Guizhou area in southwest my country, Zhu Yuanzhang opened up post roads and set up post stations in the northeast, north, and northwest frontier regions of our country, which greatly strengthened the connection between the central and border areas.In the early Ming Dynasty, nine important military towns were set up from the Yalu River in the east to Jiayuguan in the west, known as "nine sides".Posts have been set up along the border for more than 8,000 miles to exchange information.During the time of Zhu Yuanzhang's son Zhu Di (Ming Chengzu), he set up the Nuergan Dusi in the Heilongjiang and Wusuli River basins, established 45 post stations, and effectively managed the administrative affairs of this area.

In order to strengthen its rule over the northeast frontier, the Ming Dynasty set up post stations in the Liaodong area.With Liaoyang as the center, there are four post road arteries radiating: one goes south to Lushunkou, with twelve stations on the way; one goes southwest to Shanhaiguan, with seventeen stations on the way; one goes north to Kaiyuan, with five stations; Going southeast to Jiulian City, there are seven stops in total.There are post soldiers, bearers, boat carts, horses and donkeys at each post station.Under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong capital, the Ming government also set up "Yiren Hall" and "Korean Hall" to deal with post affairs for ethnic minorities.It is worth pointing out that during the Yongle period of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, the eunuch Yi Shiha was sent to set up a water-land transport post in the Nuergan area.In the early Ming Dynasty, the chiefs of Haixi Jurchen, Jianzhou Jurchen, and Savage Jurchen in the Heilongjiang River Basin in Northeast China "come to attach to the territory", and the Ming government gave them seals, and established nine guards including Nurgan and Jianzhou there.In order to operate the Nuergan area, the Ming government not only set up a post station in the area, but also opened a shipyard in Jilin and established a water transport post road.Depart from Liaoyang, trace the Liaohe River up to Kaiyuan, pass through Luyi to Songhua River, and then take a water post boat from Songhua River to Nurgan.There are a total of 3,000 officers and soldiers on this water and land combined post road, which supplies more than 20,000 stones of military rations every year. It passes through Tiger Skin Post, Shenyang Post, Yinzhou Post, Kaiyuan Post, etc. It is a channel for the Ming government to contact the vast areas of Northeast China.

The Ming Dynasty strengthened the construction of post roads in Tibet.Tibet was still called Tubo in the Yuan Dynasty, and the Yuan government set up post stations there. According to the "Jingshi Dadian", there were 28 large post stations and about seven or eight small stations in the Tibetan area in Yuan Dynasty.At that time, religious leaders and local officials in the Tibetan area often carried seal books, post coupons and official documents to and from the post road, and sometimes "sent envoys to the post with no less than a hundred horses" ("Yongle Dadian" volume 19420).In the Ming Dynasty, Tibet was called Uzang.In order to strengthen the connection between the Han and Tibetan areas, the Ming government ordered many times to restore and build post roads and post stations leading from Tibet to the inland.In the fifth year of Chengzu Yongle (1407 A.D.), the Ming government ordered King Chanhua, King Hujiao, King Zanpu and the national teacher in the Tibetan area to lead all ethnic groups in Sichuan and Tibet to work together to restore the post station and open up the post road of Uszang in Yazhou.This is another new post road from the inland to Uzang after the Ganzang post road.This post road has convenient transportation, and the supply of food and clothing along the way is very rich, which not only ensures the Ming government's edicts, decrees, and documents to the Uzbek area, but also facilitates Tibet's economic and cultural exchanges with the mainland.

The Ming Dynasty also set up post offices for foreign economic exchanges in the southeast sea.During the reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (1403-1424 A.D.), Huaiyuan Station was set up in Guangdong, Laiyuan Station in Fujian, and Anyuan Station in Zhejiang, which were specially responsible for receiving foreign envoys and businessmen.