Chapter 84 Warrior Bloodline
After Shen Yichen said this, everyone who participated in the celebration banquet turned their eyes to him, and many of them had eyes filled with surprise and shock.
After the weakening of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Yuan dynasties, by the time of the Ming Dynasty, the literati and scholars had long lost the courage and toughness to become generals or ministers, and to put down their pens and take up swords.
Even in the late Ming Dynasty, military men were still treated like pigs and dogs. They talked about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, but they themselves became lambs to be slaughtered.
Even in the early and middle periods, with the decline of military generals and nobles, the Ming Dynasty literary world seemed to be quite resolute on the surface, claiming that they would not marry princesses or pay compensation.
But being tough on the surface is useless. If you don't join the army to serve your country and respect the soldiers, who will help you fight the enemy and defend your country?
If this phenomenon is applied to specific cases, as it is today, most of the literati and scholars agree with Liu Qiu's memorial, believing that the Battle of Luchuan was a waste of life and money, and that education should be promoted to move the other side with Confucian benevolence and righteousness.
Therefore, no one stood up to refute Meng Fan's remarks, except Li Min, an official of the Ming Dynasty, who had to step forward to stop him.
These new generations of scholars, because of the presence of military generals and nobles, did not go to the point of despising military exploits and warfare. However, the seeds of valuing literature over military affairs had already taken root in their hearts, and they were transformed from generation to generation.
"Although Shen Yichen is the first in the Little Three Prizes, he still has the spirit of a military commander in his bones."
"Of course. Have you forgotten that his father is Duke Cheng?"
"Although what Shen Yichen said is correct, the battle of Luchuan has been fought twice so far, and it has cost the people countless money and resources. We cannot fight again."
"That's right. Just look at Meng Fan and you'll know that the chieftains on the border have been educated. Why bother starting a war?"
People in the courtyard were whispering. Most of them held on to the sense of superiority of the Ming Dynasty and still agreed with Shen Yichen's words that "All under heaven belongs to the king, and all within the four seas are the king's subjects."
It is just funny that this recognition is not based on military force but on culture and education.
Without the military support of the Ming Dynasty, would the descendants of the Tusi of Luchuan be educated? Without the troops of the Duke of Qian in Yunnan to guard it, it is not certain whether Luchuan is still the royal territory today under the expansion of Tusi Si Renfa.
"Well, since this is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, then my tribe is also a minister of the Ming Dynasty. Why does the current emperor want to continue to conquer it ?"
Meng Fan still did not accept Shen Yichen's defeat, and instead looked for loopholes in his words to refute them.
"Then I have to ask you why you came back and then rebelled, and then rebelled and came back again."
"That's because the Ming Dynasty wants to split up my tribe, divide our land, and install Han officials."
"Since this is the territory of the Ming Dynasty and I am a minister of the Ming Dynasty, why can't I do this?"
The argument between the two people began to touch upon the real core issue, which was the policy of converting native tribes into officials in the southwestern border areas that had been implemented since the Ming Dynasty!
The so-called "reform of chieftain system" simply means abolishing the original chieftain system of ethnic minorities in the southwest and replacing it with direct management by officials appointed by the central government.
Just like the place of Luchuan, the original local governor was a local emperor. On the surface, he submitted to the Ming Dynasty, but in fact it was a country within a country.
Therefore, after the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty attacked Yunnan, he established the Luchuan Pingmian Military and Civilian Xuanwei Office here and planned to appoint central officials to manage it.
When it came to the time of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty, he directly appointed Mu Sheng, the Duke of Qian, to govern Yunnan forever. It was from this moment on that Yunnan was truly incorporated into the Han territory and could never be separated again.
The reason why Shen Yichen spoke out was because he stood at the height of history and was very clear about how much positive significance those battles in the southwest that seemed to be costly and costly during the Ming Dynasty had for the stabilization of China's territory in later generations.
Just like most of the historical books say that the First Emperor was cruel and merciless, and that Emperor Wu of Han was aggressive and aggressive. But if they had not completed the unification and expanded the territory, where would the good farmland be for later generations?
Therefore, Shen Yichen's action this time has nothing to do with the bloodline of nobles that those literati and scholars think of.
"Oh, I won't argue with you, you are always right anyway!"
In fact, Meng Fan knew very well in his heart that from the day that the Luchuan Tusi chose to submit to the Ming Dynasty, the other party had already possessed the righteousness of a monarch and his subjects.
If the king wants his subjects to die, the subjects have to die. Now it is just a matter of changing the land into the people. How can you have the legal right to rebel?
But understanding it in one's heart does not mean accepting it. Once he was a local emperor in a remote place, now he has become a subject under the rule of others.
Even the tribesmen were subject to prejudice and contempt by the Ming Dynasty, and were not truly treated equally. Even the "united front" targets like themselves were regarded as educational achievements by Ming Dynasty officials, and were often pulled out to show off, which was a great insult to the literati!
This is what Meng Fan is concerned about.
To be honest, Shen Yichen could understand some aspects of Meng Fan's thinking. It was just that the two sides had different positions. The unification of the world was an inevitable trend and would not change because of personal wishes.
"Let's end the debate on this matter here. Meng Fan, if you discuss state affairs again, I will remove your honor."
Seeing that both sides had fallen into the enduring topic of "the distinction between Chinese and barbarians", Sun Tixue finally stepped forward to stop it.
Unlike administrative officials like Li Min who could only give verbal warnings, the Superintendent of Education was in charge of culture and education in a province and could revoke junior titles such as scholar at any time.
So Sun Ding should either not take it seriously, because once he takes it seriously, your amulet of fame and fortune will not be so effective.
Sure enough, after hearing what Sun Ding said, Meng Fan, who had been full of complaints before, had to stop and sit down obediently and shut up.
As for Shen Yichen, since the other party had stopped talking, he had no interest in arguing. Compared with this kind of verbal dispute, Shen Yichen actually believed that the truth was only within the scope of the cannon.
Of course, now that I am a scholar, I still need to keep a low profile on such crude and crude statements about violence for the time being.
In this way, a celebration banquet that should have been lively and exciting was plagued by disturbances one after another. As a result, when the banquet was over, Sun Tixue and others were not interested in talking any more, and they simply said a few words before announcing the end of the banquet.
In the academic office, Sun Tixue had a thoughtful expression on his face as he watched the students leave.
After hesitating for a long time, Sun Ding finally asked the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture beside him: "Lord Li, have you ever felt that Shen Yichen's aura is not like that of a scholar, but more like that of a military commander who has been fighting on the battlefield for many years?"
"I do feel this way. It may be related to Duke Chengguo."
Li Min also felt that Shen Yichen was different from ordinary scholars. He seemed to be more interested in frontier military affairs and did not like to get involved in all kinds of literary and artistic activities.
But after thinking about it, he is Zhu Yong's son, and Duke Chengguo has been fighting on the battlefield for many years, so he will definitely be affected a little.
"Yeah?"
Sun Tixue looked into the distance, and at this moment he suddenly felt that he did not know Shen Yichen as well as he thought.
At the exit of the Academic Affairs Office, Shen Yichen and Meng Fan met again. Because of the previous dispute, both of them were in a bad mood at the moment.
"Shen Yichen, I know you are the son of Duke Cheng, Zhu Yong, and you are used to conquering and killing border tribes. But have you ever thought that wherever your troops go, there will be corpses everywhere , and your hands will be stained with the blood of civilians?"
If Meng Fan had said this to traditional Confucian scholars, it might have had some effect.
But Shen Yichen was not moved at all.
"I only know that if the Ming army had not arrived, the people on the border would have been the ones who shed blood. Do you dare to say that the Luchuan tribe has not committed looting?"
In other aspects, Shen Yichen is rarely so aggressive. Even if others ridicule him behind his back, he often chooses to ignore it.
But this time when facing Meng Fan, Shen Yichen always confronted him, because this was not for his own personal interests, but for the rights and interests of the Chinese people.
The existence of one Annan in history is enough, and we must never allow Yunnan to become the second Annan.
"After all, people with different ideals cannot work together. I will continue to fight for the sake of my people."
Meng Fan knew that he could not convince Shen Yichen, but he also did not want to see his people always facing the blade of the Ming Dynasty.
“Then this may be the only path we have in common.”
Shen Yichen replied calmly that he would also fight for China. After saying this, he turned and left.
From a historical perspective, Shen Yichen knew that the victory of the Second Luchuan Campaign in February this year was far from the end. In the 13th year of Zhengtong, a larger-scale Third Luchuan Campaign would be launched.
The troubles caused by Luchuan even continued until the Battle of Bozhou, one of the three major expeditions of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, when countless soldiers and border residents were trapped in the quagmire of war.
Ultimately, this war will only end when one side is completely defeated.
Walking slowly on the way home, Shen Yichen did not think any more about what happened at the celebration party.
Because such family, country and world affairs are still far from me at this stage, and it is the high-level people at the center of power who should consider the problem. I am just a scholar, with only a lot of hot-blooded words, how can I affect the current situation?
In the small courtyard at the corner of the street, Shen was pacing back and forth in the courtyard anxiously. When she saw her son coming back, she immediately went to greet him and said, "Chen'er, come in and take a look. The Duke has written you a letter from the capital."
In fact, Shen had already received the letter from Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong at noon. However, she was illiterate and could not understand it after opening it, so she had to wait anxiously for Shen Yichen to come back.
Zhu Yong wrote to me?
Upon hearing the news , Shen Yichen felt confused and puzzled, because Li Da had not yet brought the letter of recommendation he wrote to Duke Cheng to the capital.
Unexpectedly, I received the other party's letter first.
Seventeen years have passed since he was born, and Shen Yichen has never received any letters from Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong. He even doesn't quite believe that this cheap old man would write to him. Could it be that his mother has recognized the wrong person?
With this doubt, Shen Yichen walked into the room. There was an envelope on the table. The opening was sealed with wax and stamped with the private seal In theory, no one would dare to forge it.
"Mother, do you know why the Duke wrote to me?"
Shen Yichen asked casually. He definitely didn't know as much about Duke Cheng as his mother did.
"I don't know, let's open it and see."
Shen urged, feeling excited and expectant, because this was the first time the Duke wrote a letter to Chen'er.
At least it means that Shen Yichen has a place in his heart!
