Northern Myanmar, a now feared place, was once also Chinese territory. So, how exactly is it discarded?
Yunnan Three Divisions and Three Xuan Six Consolations
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, in the face of the frontier areas that had just been included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, the policy implemented could be said to be the Daming version of the "carrot + stick" policy, which was summarized in eight words as "Weide successively, and appease its subordination", that is, backed by state force, forced it to submit, and then implemented the "government of appeasement" to make it live and work in peace and contentment. The specific implementation methods are: first, to set up various administrative agencies to transmit orders, deploy troops, collect taxes, and send conscription; the second is to send officials and troops to appease, requisition, and appease; The third is to adapt measures to local conditions and implement different ruling systems. On this basis, a number of different consolation divisions and consolation divisions were set up in the southwest.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the area under the jurisdiction of Yunnan Province was much larger than the current territory. This is mainly due to the fact that Yunnan Province has to manage not only the Han population in the interior, but also the various large and small tusi in the frontier. In order to respect the customs of various ethnic groups, the Ming Dynasty implemented "one country, two systems" in Yunnan, that is, the Han population was managed by three departments, namely the Department of Political Envoys, the Department of Commanding Envoys, and the Department of Punishment and Inspection, which was the same as the institutions of the inland provinces. Other ethnic minorities are managed by the individual toasts themselves, and it can be said that these toasts are in fact in an autonomous position, and the toast status can be passed on hereditarily.
In the eleventh year of orthodoxy, the imperial court unified the various tusi that had previously been divided into seals to "three declarations and six comforts". "Sanxuan" refers to Nandian Xuanfusi, Ganya Xuanfusi, Longchuan Xuanfusi, and Liuwei refers to Cheli Xuanwei, Myanmar Xuanwei, Mubang Xuanwei, 800 Dadian Xuanwei, Mengyang Xuanwei, and Laos. Sanxuan Liuwei and Yunnan Sansi (often referred to as the Chengxuan Political Envoy, the Du Command Envoy, and the Punishment Inspectorate Department) formed the overall administration of the southwest, and its jurisdiction included the areas of present-day Burma, northern Thailand, and central Laos in addition to present-day Yunnan Province. At this stage, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty could completely cover the entire Indochina Peninsula, and even reach Southeast Asia.
In the event of a rebellion
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the country was strong, the military coverage and strike area were very strong, and these toastmasters in the southwest could be safely guarded. With the change of Tumu Fort, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty declined sharply, and the deterrent power of these toasts gradually decreased, and some powerful toasts began to stand on their own and break away from the control of the central Ming Dynasty.
Early days of the Donggu Dynasty
In the tenth year of Jiajing (1531), due to dissatisfaction with the central government of the Ming Dynasty, the Burmese Xuanwei Si Tusi Mangtirui launched a rebellion and established the rise of the Donggu Dynasty, and the "Three Xuanxuan and Six Comforts" began to be continuously encroached upon and plundered. The central Ming Dynasty, faced with the constant harassment of the southwest by the Dongyu Dynasty, originally decided to send Wang Shouren to judge, but before he reached the place, he had already died of illness. At this point, there was no other suitable person to quell the rebellion. The southwestern toastmasters are constantly out of central control.
The Donggu Dynasty gradually annexed the Lao Xuanwei Division and the 800 Da Dian Xuanwei Division, and took advantage of the disaster in Mubang Xuanweisi, and also learned to use sticks and carrots to pull Mubang over. In Liuwei, only Meng Yang and Che Li were still under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty. The "three declarations and six consolations" have basically existed in name only.
Wanli Expedition to Myanmar
In the summer of the fourth year of Wanli (1576), the Donggu dynasty began to attack Mengyang again. Meng Yang Tusi urgently asked Kunming for help. Wang Ning, the governor of Yunnan at the time, refused without thinking about it, with the attitude of "concerning my Mao affairs". Meng Yangtusi, who could not find reinforcements, finally repelled Dongyu's attack on his own.
For the war in the southwest, the central government of the Ming Dynasty was not unaware. For example, in the fifth year of Wanli, the Yunnan governor Chen Wenxiao wrote to the imperial court about this matter, and the first assistant at that time was the famous reformer Zhang Juzheng. However, at that time, Zhang Juzheng was engaged in the "Ding worry" incident, and Chen Wenxiao's performance did not echo at all. This is giving Dongyu an excellent opportunity to develop and grow. Two years later, Dongyu officially took Meng Yang under his command. After another three years, the entire "three declarations and six consolations" were all returned to Dongguo. At this point, the hinterland of Yunnan has been completely opened, and the southwest of Daming is in a precarious situation.
Wanli eleventh year Donggu invasion route
In the eleventh year of Wanli, Dongyu planned to capture Shunning Province (present-day Fengqing, Yunnan), and then continue to conquer Kunming, capturing the entire southwestern region. At this time, Zhang Juzheng had died, and the Wanli Emperor took matters into his own hands and selected military generals from all over the country to participate in the Battle of Ping-Burma. The Ming-Burma War officially began.
Quelling the rebellion
Among these selected military attachés, two stood out, namely Liu Yao, garrison of Xundian (present-day Xundian, Yunnan), and Deng Zilong, a general of Wuding. At this time, Dongyu, after many years of conquest, the army was extremely powerful, and very familiar with the mountain warfare of Yunnan, and Liu Yao and Deng Zilong seemed to be specially born to restrain them, both of them not only fought bravely, but also had extremely rich mountain combat experience, just suitable for fighting the barbaric Burmese army.
Deng Zilong, a native of Fengcheng, Jiangxi, was a martial artist in the 37th year of Jiajing. Before going to Yunnan, he had been involved in the Ping Bandit War in Jiangxi for many years. Deng Zilong's first battle in Yunnan chose Yao Guan. Deng Zilong once pointed to Guan and vowed: "If you do not return the three Xuan counties, do not capture Han and Yue Zhuyi, and unify the southwest, you will not enter this pass again."
In the Battle of Yaoguan, the Ming army first waited for work, consumed the physical strength of the Burmese army, and then attacked with all its might when the Burmese army was exhausted. Deng Zilong personally commanded the Chinese army, and the ambush soldiers on the left and right fired rockets together, and loudly sounded gongs and drums to disturb the elephant herd, and the war elephants ran in all directions in the Burmese army. Yao Guan beheaded more than 1,000 people in a battle, captured several war elephants, and won a big victory! On the other hand, Liu Yao also achieved many victories, and many toasts also rejoined the Ming Dynasty. By the 12th year of Wanli, the original pattern of "three declarations and six comforts" was basically restored.
stage a comeback
After Yao Guan's great victory, both Liu Yao and Deng Zilong were promoted to deputy commander-in-chief, each becoming the military leader of one side. These two people are very fierce in fighting, but the shortcomings of being people are also very "fierce", they can't look at each other, they both think that their functions are greater than each other, and they seize the opportunity to trip each other.
Once, Liu Yao's subordinates were sued to the imperial court by the local toastmaster for lying about military merits, and the imperial court arrested the offender after finding out. Before that, Liu Yao had also been arrested for other things. Now all the troops in Liu Yao's jurisdiction are under the management of Deng Zilong, and Deng Zilong always feels that they are the same as Liu Yao, and he always treats them and his own army favorably, and finally causes a mutiny.
Dong Wu seized the opportunity to make a comeback. In the eighteenth year of Wanli (1590), Dongyu captured Mengyang and Manmo, and Manmo Tusi asked the Ming Dynasty for help, and only then did Wanli discover that the imperial court had no generals available in the southwest. In desperation, he released Deng Zilong from prison. As soon as Deng Zilong came, the Ming army quickly helped Manmo stabilize the battle line. At this time, Dongyu can be said to be a disaster. This side was defeated by Deng Zilong, crying and crying, and the backyard of the house was counterattacked by Siam. Then, the Arakan dynasty (present-day Bengal) next door also came to kick a few feet. Donghu beaten into a pot of porridge. In 1599, the capital of Donggu was breached, and King Mang Yingli was killed.
At this point, starting in 1531, the Southwest Rebellion, which lasted for more than sixty years, temporarily came to an end.
Lose northern Myanmar forever
After Mang Yingli's death, his younger brother ascended the throne as King of Donggu. In order to keep Donggu, the newly ascended king also began to play the spirit of "lying down and tasting courage". On the one hand, he moved the capital to the city of Ava in the north, away from the troublesome neighbors in the south, and close to the face-loving Daming, which is also a better choice. On the other hand, the envoy repaired with Daming and developed production with his tail between his legs. After some hard work, Dongyu gradually regained its vitality.
On the side of the Ming Dynasty, after so many years of war, the country's financial resources were too depleted, and Zhang Juzheng's reform dividends were basically squeezed out by the station master. At the same time that the Ming Dynasty quelled the rebellion in the southwest, there was also the famous "Three Great Expeditions of Wanli" during the Wanli year.
In the eighteenth year of Wanli (1590), the Ningxia rebellion broke out, and the Ming Dynasty had to use troops against Ningxia.
In the twentieth year of Wanli (1592), Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Japan sent troops to invade Korea, and the Ming Dynasty had to send a large army to enter Korea to participate in the war in order to save the vassal state.
In the 27th year of Wanli (1599), Yang Yinglong, the Tusi of Banzhou, once again launched a rebellion, and the Ming Dynasty had to spend a lot of money to quell the Banzhou Rebellion.
It can be seen that these wars and the time of the rebellion in the southwest basically overlapped. Zhang Juzheng's reform in the early Wanli period did increase the country's huge income, but war was a meat grinder, and no amount of state finance could withstand years of consumption. Moreover, since the ten years of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng's reforms have basically been abolished, and the state's financial revenue has also come to an abrupt end, and any large-scale war launched is also a lack of follow-up.
Against this background, the Ming Dynasty had to adopt a strategic contraction.
Since the 22nd year of Wanli (1594), the Ming Dynasty built eight passes, including Shenhu Pass, Wanchu Pass, Jushi Pass, Tongbi Pass, Tiebi Pass, Huju Pass, Hanlong Pass, and Tianma Pass, along the borders of the three Xuanfu divisions of Nandian, Ganya and Longchuan. The establishment of these eight passes marked that the Ming Dynasty had effectively renounced its territorial sovereignty outside the passes.
In the 30th year of Wanli (1602), Donggu attacked Manmo, and Manmo Tusi Sizheng asked the Ming Dynasty for help, but the Ming Dynasty not only did not give any assistance, but cut off the Sizheng who came to ask for help and handed it over to the Donggu army, and Manmo was finally included in the Burmese territory.
In the 32nd year of Wanli (1604), Dongyu attacked Mengyang. The Ming army still refused to make a step forward, and in the end, Meng Yang was also included in the Burmese territory.
In the thirty-fourth year of Wanli (1606), Donggu attacked Mubang, but the Ming army remained silent, and eventually Mubang became part of Burma.
At this point, the Ming-Burma War finally came to an end. This war lasted for 23 years if it was counted in the twelfth year of Wanli, and as long as 75 years if it was counted from the tenth year of Jiajing. This rebellion dragged the Daming Empire to the abyss of destruction.
The northern Ga waist group we are talking about today is entrenched in these former Ming Dynasty territories and once belonged to our Chinese territory.
postscript
Although the Ming Dynasty's will to war was very strong, it could not withstand the inaction of the top. But if Jiajing and Wanli are not so mixed, we will not lose so many places. Judging from the entire course of the war, the Ming Dynasty was beaten by a small country in the southwest until it shrank to the pass and did not dare to go out, how humiliating.