After taking Turpan and Hami, the population of the Huit Tribe exceeded 700,000, and the controlled area doubled.
Even better, they controlled the golden trade route with the Great Ming Dynasty.
Yes, the golden road; by controlling this golden road, they possessed a continuous source of wealth.
With money, they could expand their army.
Sultan expanded his imperial guard, the Kheshig, to 12,000 men, and also established prefectures in Turpan and Hami, recruiting 2,500 local garrison troops in each.
He established the Hami Land Customs Branch Division in the area adjacent to the Great Ming Dynasty's Jia Yu Pass, and also established Land Customs Branch Divisions in Kucha, Chalish, and Xiao Yule Duosi, directly under the Ministry of Revenue's Sea and Land Customs Department, to levy taxes on passing merchants and travelers.
This was the suggestion of the newly appointed Langzhong (Doctor) of the Ministry of Revenue, Xue Zongzhou.
The Great Taiji was extremely satisfied with this Langzhong Xue, finding him capable and skilled in financial management, cherishing him greatly and allowing him to be actually responsible for the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue.
However, regarding his suggestion to establish a Tea and Horse Office within the Ministry of Revenue and Tea and Horse Branch Offices in various places, Sultan still made some changes, changing "Tea and Horse Office" to "Sea and Land Customs Department" and "Tea and Horse Branch Office" to "Land Customs Branch Division."
As soon as this name came out, the ministers discussed it heatedly.
Our Huit Tribe is not near the sea, so why include the word "Sea"?
The benevolent see benevolence, and the wise see wisdom.
Han ministers such as Liu Haogu, Xue Zongzhou, and Fu Shan believed that the Great Taiji had high aspirations, residing in a corner of the land but holding a vast sea territory in his heart.
He is indeed the Great Taiji, with a broad mind that can encompass thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.
Mongol ministers such as Batu and Tan, Tiemuer, and Nasutu believed that the Great Taiji was, after all, one of their Mongols, and was unwilling to use the Ming Dynasty's name "Tea and Horse Office," so he invented a new name, "Sea and Land Customs Department."
As for the word "Sea," it is because their Mongols cherish lakes with abundant water and grass, calling them "So-and-so Haizi."
Their Mongol customs, the Han people do not understand!
Alas! It is difficult, extremely difficult!
Any reform will touch upon the interests of various parties and involve multifaceted relationships.
Conservatives and reformers, Mongols and Han, and so on.
In the end, it is all about the word "profit."
Precisely because of this, although he very much wanted to learn the official system of the Great Ming Dynasty, Sultan did not dare to do so under the guise of learning Han customs, but instead quietly promoted reform under the guise of "restoring the old system of the Great Yuan Dynasty."
The Great Yuan Dynasty was the regime established by their ancestors; whoever opposed it was forgetting their roots.
Under this banner, the resistance to reform was much smaller.
Fortunately, many of the Ming Dynasty's official systems originated from the Great Yuan Dynasty, and many official positions were even exactly the same, so it was understandable.
Establishing the Land Customs Branch Division in Hami also had the intention of controlling the Qarā Hūj Tribe.
The grazing land of this tribe was adjacent to the Great Ming Dynasty's Jia Yu Pass, holding the throat of the golden trade route.
Moreover, this tribe's surname was Choros, the same ancestor and same surname as the Dzungar Tribe and the Dörbet Tribe.
The Huntaiji of the Dzungar Tribe, Khara Khula, and the Great Taiji of the Dörbet Tribe, Dalai Taishi, were both figures Sultan feared.
If he were to have a conflict with these two in the future, and this Qarā Hūj Tribe rebelled in the east in response, it would be troublesome!
Therefore, while Sultan granted the Taiji of the Qarā Hūj Tribe, Abah Huo Zhe, the official position of "Zaisang," allowing it to be hereditary, he also dispatched 600 Kheshig under the name of "protecting the Land Customs Branch Division" to be stationed in the Qarā Hūj Tribe.
He also established official positions such as Qianhu Chief, Demuqi, and Shouleng'e in the Qarā Hūj Tribe, separately managing military affairs, judicial affairs, and tax collection.
As a result, the power in the hands of the Taiji of the Qarā Hūj Tribe, Abah Huo Zhe, was greatly reduced.
To appease him, Sultan wanted to form a marriage alliance with him.
But the problem was that his parents had only given birth to a younger brother, Sumuer, and no sisters.
When his two uncles, Noyan Ubashen and Buyanbu'erhan, rebelled that year, their families had all been exiled to Iron Gate Pass.
It seemed that his younger brother could only marry a noblewoman from the Qarā Hūj Tribe.
After discussing with his mother, Subude, the fourteen-year-old Sumuer Taiji married Abah Huo Zhe's granddaughter, Wuyun Qiqige, and the two families were considered to have formed a kinship.
His master, Liu Haogu, had always advised him to widely open up the imperial examination system in the tribe, but the Uyghur-Mongolian language was obscure and difficult to understand, and few Mongols were literate.
If he held imperial examinations with Chinese as the medium, he feared it would provoke opposition from the Mongol nobility and make the position of Great Taiji unstable.
After thinking about it, he decided to promote Chinese among the tribal powerful and establish a noble academy.
All sons of Great and small Taiji and officials above the thousand-household who were ten years old or older were required to enter the academy to study both Chinese and Mongolian languages and various kinds of knowledge.
In daily official documents, it was also stipulated that both Chinese and Mongolian languages should be used.
As for the imperial examination, it would not be opened for the time being, and would be considered after these noble masters became proficient in Chinese studies.
In other aspects, there were also obvious changes.
After Fu Shan took office as the head of the Tai Hospital, he established eleven departments in the Tai Hospital: Internal Medicine for Adults, Internal Medicine for Children, Febrile Diseases, Gynecology, Sores and Ulcers, Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Ophthalmology, Stomatology, Orthopedics, Otorhinolaryngology, and Smallpox and Measles.
He employed a group of highly skilled imperial physicians and translated a large number of medical classics.
He himself also compiled medical works such as "Fu Qingzhu's Gynecology," "Fu Qingzhu's Andrology," and "Secret Methods of the Green Bag," which were widely circulated.
The popularization of medicine greatly reduced the death rate of the Huit Tribe and also earned Fu Shan the title of "Medical Saint."
"Great Taiji, look, that is the Great Ming Dynasty's Jia Yu Pass, the westernmost end of the Great Wall, known as the 'Border Fortress's Key'," Xue Zongzhou pointed to the majestic pass, his expression full of pride.
He was a Han person, so naturally he was proud of the Han people's mountains and rivers.
Sultan smiled slightly, "This pass is not only the 'Border Fortress's Key,' but also a vital transportation hub of the 'Silk Road.'
Once the pass is open, wealth will flow in.
Let's go and see our wealth pass."
The so-called "wealth pass" refers to the "Hami Land Customs Branch Division."
In the heart of this Great Taiji, the Hami Land Customs Branch Division, which could collect taxes, was the pass of wealth.
Because of its important economic position, he wanted to go and see it.
Walking into the Land Customs Branch Division, he saw various businesses following procedures, declaring goods, and after paying taxes, they could enter the pass for free trade.
There was a commercial street within the pass, where merchants from various countries had opened nearly a hundred large and small commercial houses, and there were still some empty shops being advertised for rent.
Seeing the orderly situation, Sultan was very satisfied and asked Xue Zongzhou with a smile, "Minister Xue, how much tax silver does the Hami Land Customs Branch Division collect annually now?"
"Great Taiji, the Hami Land Customs Branch Division has been open for half a year now, and has submitted forty thousand taels of tax silver, which is twice the total of the Kucha, Chalish, and Xiao Yule Duosi Land Customs Branch Divisions.
This amount is still increasing."
"Good! This is truly a hen that lays golden eggs!"
Sultan praised incessantly, and then suddenly asked, "I heard that the Ming Dynasty's Tea and Horse Office often has incidents of smuggling and tax evasion.
Minister Xue, do you have any good methods for this?"
"Great Taiji, your minister suggests establishing a Patrol Customs Censorate office at the pass to supervise tax collection.
If there are corrupt officials such as directors, they can be impeached.
In addition, there must be border soldiers patrolling, and if smuggling caravans are found, the personnel should be captured and the goods confiscated."
"Excellent!" Sultan shouted happily.
