Chapter 39: The Three-Step Strategy! Old Bastard, Do You Yield or Not?

Class!
Present everywhere!
In the Great Ming, it was the division of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, an insurmountable barrier.
Among the ethnic minorities of the Southwest, however, it was the division between nobles and commoners, where nobles enjoyed everything while commoners suffered under servitude.
"The native chieftains of the Southwest are the greatest malignant tumor, and they are the true obstacle that successive imperial courts have been unable to overcome in incorporating these regions into our territory and establishing prefectures and counties!"
Zhu Gaozhi spoke with a solemn expression, his eyes revealing a sharp and piercing light. He hit the nail on the head, appearing like a wise sage who saw through the myriad states of the mortal world.
"The reason these native chieftains and officers submit to the imperial court is not because they are grateful to the imperial dynasty; rather, it is because they understand that the court rewards them to pacify them and prevent rebellion, and the court wishes to use them to keep their own subordinate native tribes in check!" As he spoke, he gently shook his head, a trace of disdain appearing on his face.
"In other words, in the eyes of these native chieftains and officers, the court is actually begging them and supporting them. Therefore, the more moderately they provoke the court, the more anxious the court will become, the more importance the court will attach to their attitude, and the more rewards the court will bestow upon them. Only then can they reap greater benefits. This is somewhat similar to... maintaining military force for self-weight and intimidation!"
Hearing this, the old Emperor nodded in deep agreement.
For those native chieftains and officers acted precisely in this manner. Every now and then they would stir up trouble, making minor disturbances without cause, forcing the imperial court to dispatch officials to mediate and resolve the issues, and subsequently bestow appropriate rewards.
Now, through Zhu Gaozhi's explanation, the old Emperor finally understood that the ones who truly deserved damnation were not the ordinary native tribesmen, but these accursed native chieftains and officers!
"Therefore, this third strategy of mine is to adapt to local conditions, govern separately, and replace native chieftains with regular bureaucratic officials!"
Zhu Gaozhi straightened his back and looked at the old Emperor with a firm and confident gaze, concisely stating the core strategy.
"Adapting to local conditions means that the circumstances of the native tribes and chieftains in the four regions of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Huguang vary. Their cultural customs are not entirely identical, and the overall strength of each native chieftain differs. Therefore, the imperial court will adopt corresponding attitudes toward them: those who should be co-opted and supported will be co-opted and supported, and those who should be suppressed and annihilated will be met with military force!"
"Governing separately is based on the distinction between the native chieftains and the common native tribesmen." Zhu Gaozhi slightly furrowed his brow, his expression grave. "As for dealing with these native chieftains and officers, the imperial court must adopt a stance of resolute suppression. It is best to select a few scoundrels who have repeatedly provoked the court and intentionally stirred up chaos, confiscate their property, exterminate their clans, cut the weeds and root them out, and distribute all their accumulated wealth and grain among the ordinary native tribesmen to appease public anger and win over the hearts of the people."
"Replacing native chieftains with regular bureaucratic officials means that, building upon the foundation of the first two strategies, virtuous and wise officials are dispatched to govern the localities and bestow broad benevolent governance upon the native tribesmen." A gentle smile appeared on Zhu Gaozhi's face. "Just like the measures Ying'er mentioned earlier—such as providing relief for those impoverished native tribesmen, supplying them with salt, iron, and plow oxen, allocating plots of land for them to cultivate independently, and vigorously promoting Confucian studies in these regions by establishing official schools, academies, and charity schools. We shall select batches of bright native youths to enter school and study Confucian thought, provide financial aid and examination quota preferences to native scholars, place importance on the sacrificial rites honoring ancient sages and worthies, issue decrees prohibiting native sacrificial activities and crude customs, and promote the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues along with concepts of loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness..."
"In this way, once the native tribesmen shake off the exploitation and oppression of the native chieftains and personally experience the benevolent governance and righteous deeds of the Great Ming government, they will naturally and spontaneously support and uphold the imperial court. Otherwise, if one implements benevolent governance directly without solving these root problems, it is merely like viewing the moon reflected in water or flowers reflected in a mirror, and the southwestern territories will remain as thoroughly corrupted as before!"
The old Emperor was shaken to his core, and the gaze he cast upon Zhu Gaozhi grew increasingly ardent.
The first strategy: extending favors!
The second strategy: using native chieftains to control native chieftains!
The third strategy: adapting to local conditions, governing separately, and replacing native chieftains with regular officials!
It was hard to imagine that such strategies could be proposed by a half-grown child!
It was simply incredible!
Yet the facts lay right before him, and even the old Emperor could not fathom it.
One must bear in mind that this was a temporary whim of his own, and he had posed this question to test the two lads, meaning the two youngsters had no prior drafts prepared, nor could they have consulted with others. This was entirely their true talent and learning!
Zhu Zhuoying's previous answer had already filled the old Emperor with gratification and joy.
Yet the answer given by this little rascal Zhu Gaozhi left the old Emperor utterly thunderstruck!
From the policy of extending favors to create internal discord among the native chieftains, to using one chieftain to control another in order to dismantle their control over the tribes, and finally the ultimate stroke of replacing native chieftains with regular officials to completely shatter the southwestern chieftains...
If this series of stratagems had come from the hand of some veteran statesman, such as Li Shanchang or the like, Zhu Yuanzhang could have accepted it and even felt rejoiced by it.
However, this strategy happened to come from the mouth of Zhu Gaozhi!
A half-grown child, using three strategies to completely resolve the southwestern security troubles that had baffled successive dynasties, was simply startling!
Not to mention that this child had never even been to the southwestern lands, and had spent his blessed mother-fucking life deep within the imperial palace!
After being lost in a daze for a long time, the old Emperor finally moved his lips and asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "Chi'er, where did you come to know all these things?" His eyes were filled with suspicion and inquiry, and he stared intently at Zhu Gaozhi as if trying to extract the answer from his face.
Zhu Yingying also looked at him with full reverence, little stars practically sparkling in his eyes, admiring his younger brother's talent to the point of utter submission.
Upon hearing these words, Zhu Gaozhi's heart skipped a beat with a loud thump. However, since he had dared to bring this up, he was no longer afraid of the old Emperor's suspicion.
"It was all that old second Guo. Because he has to follow the army on the expedition, he carefully gathered intelligence on Yunnan."
Zhu Gaozhi shrugged with deliberate nonchalance, a cunning smile appearing on his face. "And in order to make me study military strategy and statecraft, old second Guo deliberately set these examination questions to trouble me, teaching me step by step how to conquer Yunnan and govern Yunnan..." As he spoke, he silently prayed in his heart that the old Emperor would believe his words.
Hearing this, a sharp gleam flashed in the old Emperor's eyes, and he said nothing more.
Guo Ying—he understood that fellow better than anyone else. That guy was a fine hand at fighting battles, but he was cut from the same cloth as Chang Yuchun: suitable for being a fierce and courageous general who charged into formations and captured cities, but entirely unfit to be a garrison commander guarding a region and standing entirely on his own.
In other words, this little rascal was lying again, opening his mouth and deceiving him right to his face!
The old Emperor sneered inwardly while keeping his outward expression completely calm.
How could Zhu Gaozhi know any of this? Believing that the old Emperor had actually swallowed his ghost story, he immediately shouted triumphantly: "Old bald-faced codger, are you convinced by my three-step strategy?" He tilted his head back, a proud expression on his face, completely oblivious to the impending danger.
As it happened, the imperial carriage had entered the palace city at that moment. The old Emperor leisurely dismounted from the carriage, his expression turning solemn in an instant. He immediately roared at the guards on either side: "Drag these two little rascals down for me!" His voice resounded like a great bell within the palace city.
The guards immediately stepped forward, proficiently dragging the two youngsters down and pressing them onto benches.
Following that, the old Emperor picked up a rattan cane and walked forward with a beaming smile—though that smile carried an inscrutable and unfathomable meaning.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaozhi turned as pale as a sheet of paper, his once rosy complexion instantly draining of color. In panic and despair, he shouted: "Old bald-faced codger, you play foul and show no martial virtue!" His voice carried a tremor, and his eyes were filled with terror.
Originally, the old Emperor had not intended to strike them; he merely wanted to put on a show for outsiders to prevent these scoundrels from gossiping behind their backs and placing the two youngsters in danger.
As a result, the moment the words "old bald-faced codger" reached his ears, Zhu Yuanzhang instantly flew into a towering rage, veins bulging on his face, and he brought the rattan cane down fiercely across the bottoms of the two youngsters.
"Calling me an old bald-faced codger, are you?"
"Playing foul and showing no martial virtue, are you?"
"A three-step strategy, are you?"
"Still daring to ask if I'm convinced, are you?"
"You little rascals, I'll beat the living daylights out of you today!"