Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Chapter 75: A small test of sea and land customs

After capturing Turpan and Hami, the population of the Huite tribe exceeded 700,000, and the area under their control doubled. Even better, they controlled the golden trade route with the Ming Dynasty. Yes, the golden road. If you master this golden road, you will have a steady stream of wealth.

With money, you can expand your army. Sultan expanded his imperial guard "Qixue Army" to 12,000 people, and set up separate offices in Turpan and Hami, each recruiting 2,500 local guards.

He set up Hami Land Customs branch in the area adjacent to Jiayuguan of the Ming Dynasty, and also set up land customs branches in Kuqa, Chalishi, and Xiaoyuledus. They were directly under the jurisdiction of the Customs Department of the Ministry of Revenue to collect taxes from business travelers. . This was the suggestion of Xue Zongzhou, the newly appointed household doctor. Dadaiji was very satisfied with Dr. Xue. He felt that he was very capable and good at managing money. He was so precious that he was actually responsible for household affairs.

However, Sultan made some slight changes to his proposal to establish a Tea and Horse Department in the Ministry of Household Affairs and tea and horse branches in various places, changing the "Tea and Horse Department" to "Sea and Land Customs Department" and "Tea and Horse Customs Department". Branch" was changed to "Lu Customs Branch".

As soon as this name came out, the ministers started talking about it. Our Huite Department is not close to the sea, so why should we use the word "sea"? The benevolent sees benevolence, the wise see wisdom. Liu Haogu, Xue Zongzhou, Fu Shan and other Han officials believed that Dadai Ji had lofty aspirations and lived in a small place, but he had thousands of miles of sea territory in his heart. As expected of Dadaiji, he has a broad mind and can tolerate thousands of miles of mountains and rivers; Mongolian ministers such as Batu Hetan, Tiemoer, and Nasutu believe that Dadaiji is us Mongolians after all, and they are unwilling to use the "Tea Horse" of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, we made up a new name "Hai Lu Guan Si". As for the word "sea", it is a rare lake with rich water and grass that we Mongolians call "so-and-so Haizi". The Han people don’t understand the habits of us Mongolians!
well! How difficult it is, extremely difficult!
Any reform will touch the interests of all parties and involve all aspects of relations. Conservatives versus reformers, Mongols versus Han, and so on. In the final analysis, it is just the word "profit".

Because of this, although he wanted to learn from the official system of the Ming Dynasty, Suletan did not dare to do so in the name of learning Han customs. Instead, he quietly promoted reforms in the name of "restoring the old Yuan system." Dayuan is the political power established by our ancestors. Anyone who opposes it will forget their ancestors. Under this banner, the resistance to reform has become much smaller. Fortunately, many of the official systems of the Ming Dynasty originated from the Yuan Dynasty, and many official positions were even exactly the same, which makes sense.

Setting up a land customs branch in Hami also meant to control the Halahui Department. The tribe's grazing land is adjacent to the Jiayuguan Pass of the Ming Dynasty, which strangles the throat of the golden trade route. Moreover, the surname of this tribe is Choros, which has the same ancestor and surname as the Junggar tribe and the Dulbert tribe. Hutai Jiharahula of the Junggar tribe and Jidalai Taishi of the Dulbert tribe were all figures that Sultan was afraid of. If I have a conflict with these two people in the future, and the Harahui tribe rebels in the east and responds, I will be in trouble!

Therefore, while Sultan gave the official position of "Zaisang" to the Taji Aba fireman of the Halahu tribe and allowed him to be hereditary, he also sent 600 "Qixue troops" in the name of "protecting the Luguan branch". , stationed in the Halahui Department. In the Harahui Department, there were also official positions such as Chief of Thousand Households, Demuqi, and Shouleng'e, who were in charge of military affairs, justice, and taxation.

As a result, the power in the hands of the Hala Hui tribe Taiji Aba Fire Man will be much smaller. In order to appease him, Suletan wanted to marry him. But the problem is that his parents only gave him a younger brother, Sumur, and no sisters. At that time, his two uncles Noyan Ubas and Buyan Burhan rebelled, and their families were all exiled to Tiemenguan. It seems that the only option is for my brother to marry a noble girl from the Harahui tribe.

After discussing with his mother Subude, fourteen-year-old Sumurtaji married Wuyun Qiqige, the granddaughter of Aba Huozhe, and the two families were considered to be married.

His master, Liu Haogu, had been persuading him to hold imperial examinations widely among the tribes. However, the Uighur Mongolian language was difficult to understand and few Mongolians were literate. If the imperial examinations were held in Chinese, they were afraid of arousing opposition from the Mongolian nobles and losing the title of Taitaiji. unstable. After thinking about it, he decided to promote Chinese among the tribal dignitaries and set up an aristocratic academy. All the sons of Taiji and officials of more than 100 households over ten years old were required to attend the academy to learn Chinese and Mongolian languages ​​and various knowledge. In daily official documents, it is also stipulated that both Chinese and Mongolian languages ​​​​should be used together. As for the imperial examination, it will not be held for the time being until these aristocratic gentlemen are proficient in Sinology.

In other aspects, there have also been obvious changes. After Fu Shan took office as the envoy of the Taiyuan Hospital, he established eleven departments in the Taiyuan Hospital: Dafangmai, Xiaofangmai, Typhoid Department, Gynecology, Sores and Ulcers, Acupuncture, Ophthalmology, Oral Dentistry, Orthopedics, Throat Department, Acne Department, etc. The Department of Eczema appointed a group of imperial doctors with superb medical skills and translated a large number of medical classics. He himself also compiled medical works such as "Fu Qingzhu Women's Medicine", "Fu Qingzhu Men's Medicine", and "Secrets of Qingsang", which were widely circulated.

The popularization of medicine has greatly reduced the mortality rate in the Huite Department, and also earned Fu Shan the title of "Medical Saint".
"Dataiji, look, that is the Jiayuguan Pass of the Ming Dynasty, the westernmost end of the Great Wall. It is known as the 'key to the border'." Xue Zongzhou pointed to the pass, his expression full of pride. He is a Han Chinese, so he is naturally proud of the mountains and rivers of the Han family.

Sultan smiled slightly and said, "This pass is not only the 'key to the border', but also the transportation hub of the 'Silk Road'. Once the pass is passed, wealth will roll in. Come, go to our wealth pass."

The so-called "Fortune Pass" refers to the "Hami Land Customs Branch". In this Dadaiji's mind, the Hami Land Customs Branch that can collect taxes is the gateway to wealth. Because his economic status was important, he wanted to take a look.

When I walked into the Customs Branch, I saw that businesses from all over the country were following the procedures, declaring goods, and after paying taxes, they could enter the customs for free trade. There was a shopping street in the customs, and merchants from all over the world had opened nearly a hundred shops, large and small, on the street. Commercial buildings and some empty shops are for rent.

Seeing that the order was in order, Sultan was very satisfied and asked Xue Zongzhou with a smile: "Xue Qing, how much tax money does the Hami Land Customs Branch pay now?"

"Datai Ji, Hami Land Customs Branch has been open and closed for half a year, and has paid 40,000 taels of tax, which is twice the sum of the Kuqa, Chalishan, and Xiaoyuledusi Land Customs branches. Currently, this amount is still increasing”.

"Okay! This is really a hen that can lay golden eggs!"

Suletan was full of praise, and suddenly asked: "I heard that tea and horse companies in Ming Dynasty often smuggle and evade taxes and money. Does Xue Qing have any good ideas about this?"

"Dataiji, I propose to set up a patrol censor's office in the customs to supervise the collection of customs. If there are officials such as principals who are corrupt, they can be impeached. In addition, border soldiers must be patrolled. If smuggling caravans are discovered, the officers will be captured and arrested. Goods confiscated”.

"Good!" Sultan shouted happily.

(End of this chapter)