Entry

Previously, the native official Pu Chong-zheng of the region of Lin-an in Yun-nan, linked up with Nong bandits, invaded territory and opposed and inflicted defeats on government troops. The Grand Coordinator Zou Ying-long proposed deploying troops to eliminate them and that, subsequent to pacification, the native official be replaced by a circulating official. The Ministry of War deliberated and re-submitted the memorial, noting: "Chong-zheng and the others have led rebellion and employed troops. Their crimes certainly cannot be forgiven. The grand defender should make good plans to capture or eliminate them so as to remove the root of the troubles. As for replacing the native official with a circulating official, it seems to be a good policy. However, in the time of your Imperial ancestor, when he pacified the empire, his power humbled the competing warlords. Why did he not turn all the territory under Heaven into prefectures and counties? There is great significance in the fact that he felt that not all be so changed. We can liken the people [under native officials] to bees and ants. They can be ordered as a group to accord and the Emperor need not implement the full components of rule. On the proposal to change to a circulating official, the new Grand Coordinator Wang Ning should be instructed to deliberate on the appropriateness of this measure." The Emperor approved this.