Ruyi's Rebirth: Ruyi's Disease Retreat Retreat

Chapter 209: Appointing Ortai as Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou; Changzhai Tusi is destroyed

The chieftains had the right to dispose of their "subjects" at will, to possess, transfer, and sell them at will; when they were drinking and having fun, they often shot and killed the indigenous people as a joke; when they were offering sacrifices to their ancestors and gods, they also killed the indigenous people as sacrifices.

If they were not satisfied with something, they would use tortures such as cutting off ears, amputating fingers, pulling out tendons, skinning, and castration.

As for seizing their property and forcing them to pay taxes, they did it at will.

The chieftains all had their own armies, and the numerous chieftains, big and small, were like kingdoms of varying sizes, posing a threat to the central government. If nearby officers and soldiers showed any concern, they would immediately engage in combat.

The chieftain system hindered national unity and obstructed local economic and cultural progress.

There have been governance efforts over the centuries, but none have been successful.

When Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, local officials in southwestern provinces submitted memorials one after another, demanding that this major issue be resolved.

The ministers believed that the only way to solve the problem was to "reform the chieftain system into a system of officials", that is, to abolish the chieftain system and replace it with a system of officials sent by the central government.

At this time, Emperor Yongzheng appointed Ortai as the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou and Feng Zhengnan as the Commander-in-Chief, with the aim of letting him solve the problem of the chieftains.

As soon as Ortai's troops set up camp, they were harassed by the chieftain's soldiers and their barracks were burned down.

After investigation and research, he felt that sending troops to attack could only solve temporary problems. If we consider the long term, we must completely eradicate the chieftain system and resolutely implement the policy of "transforming the chieftain system into a commoner".

In his memorial, he expounded on the principle of "transforming the natives into commoners": using military force as the vanguard to address the symptoms, and using fundamental reforms to address the root causes.

For the chieftains who dared to resist, both suppression and appeasement were used, and those who resisted to the end were resolutely eliminated; as long as they repented, the chieftains who had resisted the officers and soldiers would be pardoned.

The key strategy was to encourage chieftains to surrender, appease those who surrendered, and appoint those who performed well as officials in their government, so as to minimize hostility and alleviate the resistance to "changing chieftains to officials".

Ortai's memorial made Yongzheng determined to implement the policy of "reforming the natives and returning them to the Han people".

In October of the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, Ortai was appointed Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, and was given the title of Minister of War.

Ortai used troops against the chieftain of Guangshun Changzhai who provoked the officers and soldiers. The chieftain resisted stubbornly and suffered a devastating blow.

The Changzhai Tusi was destroyed, and Ortai petitioned for permission to send temporary officials to govern the area, and established the Changzhai Hall (now Changshun County) here.

This was the successful beginning of Ortai's large-scale "reform of the native people and the return of officials to the Han people".

After the Changzhai incident was settled, Emperor Yongzheng approved the dispatch of the first official of the Changzhai Hall and promoted Ortai to the governor-general of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces.

Because the task of reforming the military administration in these three provinces was the most important, after receiving the order, Ortai immediately gained a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of the three provinces and the situation of the chieftains in the three provinces, and further formulated plans for reforming the military administration and deploying troops.

His use of military force against the chieftains was highly policy-oriented, and he knew the importance of priorities well.

When the chieftain system was being reformed in Changzhai area, the local chieftains were very aggressive. Wherever the government troops arrived, the chieftains would gather their people to resist.

Ortai ordered the general to advance his troops, capture one fortress after another, and resolutely suppress the chieftains of all sizes who dared to resist. He quickly conquered 1398 villages including Yongning, Yong'an, and Anshun, and more than 680 villages including Guangshun, Dingfan, and Zhenning, with brilliant results.

Dao Han, the chieftain of Zhenyuan area, and An Yufan, the chieftain of Zhanyi area, were local prefects and prefects appointed by the previous dynasty. They recruited troops in their capacity as officials appointed by the court, which not only expanded their power but also destroyed the image of the government.

Ortai sent troops to attack and captured Dao Han and An Yufan alive.

Zhenyuan Prefecture (now Zhenyuan County) and Zhanyi Prefecture (now Zhanyi County) were set up in the area, and local chieftains were replaced by itinerant officials.

Afterwards, Ortai sent a letter to persuade the local governors of Wumeng and Zhenxiong to surrender voluntarily to the government troops.

The local chieftains Lu Wanzhong and Long Qinghou not only refused to surrender, but instead joined forces to fight against the government troops. They attacked the Qing army camp in Dongchuan Prefecture without waiting for the government troops to take action, and their arrogance was extremely arrogant.

Ortai ordered guerrilla Ha Yuansheng to lead troops to fight against the rebellion, and asked the Sichuan Army for assistance in the suppression. In one fell swoop, the coalition forces of the two chieftains were defeated. He then changed the flow of the two places and established Wumeng Prefecture and Zhenxiong Prefecture.