After making these preparations, Wenren Sheng began taking further action.
That was to do business and accumulate capital.
With money came grain; with money came armor; with armor came men; and with men, one could fight.
Only after fighting could one accumulate military merit.
Only with military merit could one establish a military household or a regional military command.
Ming Dynasty rulers generally did not permit officials to serve in their native places, the purpose being to prevent local powers from growing too strong.
The borderlands, however, were an exception.
Because the Northern Tartars—that was, the Mongols—often invaded, many commanders had no choice but to be locals.
Later, when the Eastern Tartars rose to power, the same was true.
Outsiders were unfamiliar with the local terrain and environment; sending them there was simply sending them to their deaths.
Moreover, outsiders could not remain stationed locally for long. Morale would decline, soldiers would miss home, and commanders would miss home as well.
Ancient armies moved slowly. If visiting troops were stationed somewhere for too long, they could not be rotated out in time. Without rotation, they would eventually become locals themselves.
Locals understood local conditions and had greater combat effectiveness.
To guard against foreign invaders, the imperial court had no choice but to make an exception and allow locals to serve as commanders in their own regions for extended periods.
This was essentially a repeat of how the rise of banditry in the Han Dynasty had led to the rise of Provincial Governors.
The Ming Dynasty faced foreign invaders, and they could not be eradicated. There was no helping it; military households had to rise, with generation after generation guarding the border wall.
The court could only tacitly accept the existence of military households along the frontier.
Of two evils, choose