sbdcsierra Chapter 210: The success of the reform of the native system; Ortai was promoted to earl
Chapter 210: The success of the reform of the native system; Ortai was promoted to earl
In the early years of Yongzheng's reign, Cen Yingchen, the local prefect of Sicheng, Guangxi, had more than 4,000 soldiers with excellent weapons. Ortai was determined to recruit him.
After many attempts to persuade him, Cen Yingchen finally surrendered. Ortai gave him preferential treatment and established the Sicheng Prefecture here.
Thanks to Ortai's efforts, the "Reform of Natives and the Return of Officials" was carried out on a large scale. The broad masses of ethnic minorities in Wuzhou, Liuzhou, Qingyuan and other places actively supported the "Reform of Natives and the Return of Officials", took the initiative to donate grain and fodder to Ortai, organized self-defense forces, and cooperated with the government army to crack down on corrupt officials, which effectively promoted the implementation of the "Reform of Natives and the Return of Officials" in Guangxi.
Miaoling Mountain, Qingjiang and Dujiang areas in eastern Guizhou are the famous "Miao Territory" in Guizhou Province. It is more than 1600 miles in circumference and has more than earthen forts. On the left is Qingjiang, which can reach Chu, and on the right is Dujiang, which can reach Guangdong. The ancient state is located in the center and surrounded by a group of forts on all sides, with a dangerous terrain.
Ortai felt that it would be more difficult to change the flow of water in this area, so he sought advice from Zhang Guangsi, the Guizhou provincial governor who was familiar with the local terrain.
In the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, Zhang led his troops to repel the Miao army that came to fight against the government soldiers and entered the city of Guzhou.
However, the chieftains of "Miaojiang" were defeated repeatedly and rose again and again. Although Zhang Guangsi was brave and resourceful, it was difficult for him to successfully carry out the "reform of the chieftain system."
Emperor Yongzheng sent officials here to "proclaim the edict and convert the people", but it was of no avail.
After years of unrest, the situation finally relapsed. The expelled chieftains and their armed forces instigated the indigenous residents to rebel.
The rebels captured Guzhou, Taigong and Huangping, which had already returned to the Han Dynasty, and surrounded Danjiang and Kaili in Duyun Prefecture. Emperor Yongzheng dispatched troops from Guangdong and Sichuan to cooperate with Ortai to suppress the rebels, and also sent "Minister of Miao Affairs" Zhang Zhao from the capital to "join in the suppression."
As a result, Zhang Zhao secretly reported to Ortai that his strategy of "transforming the natives into commoners" was fundamentally wrong. Not only did it fail to quell the rebellion, but it also caused more civil unrest.
In his memorial, Ortai only admitted that he had failed to thoroughly implement the "reform of the native system", but he firmly did not think that the policy of reform was wrong.
It was not until Zhang Zhao was dismissed and Zhang Guangsi was ordered to suppress the rebellion that the system of itinerant officials was implemented.
The two lakes region also began to implement it when the river diversion project in Yunnan and Guizhou was progressing.
Although there are chieftains here, the indigenous people live together with the Han people, and the chieftains are also familiar with the system of itinerant officials.
The general trend of "changing the chieftain system to officials" intimidated many chieftains in the two lakes and territories and many of them actively requested to change their system, but there were also a few who stubbornly resisted.
When Hubei Rongmei chieftain Tian Ru refused to comply with the change of official system, Emperor Yongzheng ordered Ortai to send troops to suppress him. Tian was deserted by his relatives and friends and frightened to death, so he hanged himself. The area under his jurisdiction was then changed to a system of itinerant officials.
Ningyuan, Ebian, Mabian, Leibo and other places in Sichuan are full of mountains, where the ancestors of the Yi people worked and lived.
But the chieftain system caused them great harm and their lives were extremely miserable.
The military and political leaders of Sichuan were afraid of the difficulty of changing the water supply in the Yi area and were reluctant to take action.
After some achievements were made in Yunnan and Guizhou, they also sent troops into the Yi area, and carried out the "reform of the native system" relatively smoothly in Shama, Leibo, Tundu, Huanglang, Jianchang and other places.
In short, the reform of the native system was a major event in history. Ortai played a major role in this reform of the frontier official system. From submitting a petition at a critical moment, to formulating the policy of reforming the system, and then to its specific implementation, it took many years and arduous efforts.
In the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign, Ortai was appointed Governor-General of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces, and was promoted to Shao Bao the following year.
In the tenth year of Yongzheng's reign, he was summoned to the capital and appointed as the Grand Secretary of Baohe Hall, the chief minister of the cabinet.
Later, he was promoted to earl for his contribution to the reform of the system of native peoples.
In the same year, because the Qing government deployed troops in two routes in the northwest, he was appointed as the governor of the three border areas and went to the Shaanxi-Gansu front to supervise the troops. He returned to Beijing to report after a few months.