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[The History of Yuan gives Toqto'a a very high evaluation, saying:
"He rendered merit to the state yet did not boast. He rose to the highest rank among ministers yet was not arrogant. He cared little for wealth and kept far from sensual pleasures… from beginning to end he never failed in a subject's duty… who could surpass him?"
For a Mongol to receive such praise from Song Lian, who compiled the history, besides genuine ability, the most important reason was that Toqto'a's conduct closely matched the Han ideal of loyal service to the sovereign.
While Emperor Shun of Yuan was happily indulging himself, a man in Jiangsu named Zhang Shicheng also responded to the Red Turbans and rose in rebellion.
Zhang Shicheng made quite a stir. Taizhou, Gaoyou, and Yangzhou fell one after another. He even proclaimed himself King Cheng and named his state Great Zhou.
Everything else could be tolerated, but once Zhang Shicheng captured Yangzhou, he effectively cut the recently restored Grand Canal in half.
As a result, the wealthy Jiangzhe region could no longer ship tax grain to Dadu. For Emperor Shun, this was fatal. He quickly ordered Toqto'a to suppress the rebellion.
Up to this point things were still normal. In his edict the emperor said, "I and the chancellor shall together govern the realm," granting Toqto'a authority over the princes and provincial armies.
Toqto'a was deeply moved. He gathered commanders and troops, claiming an army of a million, determined to reverse the fate of Great Yuan.
A chancellor leading a million troops against a former salt smuggler, Zhang Shicheng naturally could not prevail. After retreating in disarray to Gaoyou, he began to defend desperately.
Toqto'a did not rush. After surrounding Gaoyou, he methodically cleared nearby Red Turban forces and defeated several relief armies. In plain terms, he used the classic tactic of besieging a point to strike reinforcements.
Since the Red Turbans had spread across the realm, even with a million troops it would have been impossible to sweep them region by region without starving on the march. Forcing them to come to the Yuan army was tactically sound.
It proved effective. Quan Heng, writing Gengshen Waishi at the turn of Yuan and Ming, described the moment as "awe spreading far and near, the state's fortunes gradually reviving."
Yet this was only a final flash before extinction. What followed was neither rare nor surprising, but almost cliché.
After three months, the minister Hama began whispering against Toqto'a, repeating the usual charge of building personal power. He accused him of "using the wealth of the state for himself and making half the court his followers."
As for Emperor Shun, though he could proclaim, "I and the chancellor govern together," it was largely forced by circumstances. A ruler who indulged in debauchery, who practiced the so called Tantric "Great Bliss," and built the Muqing Pavilion filled with women could hardly be called wise.
First Toqto'a's brother at court was stripped of rank. Then an edict removing Toqto'a's military authority was sent to the front.
It is said his subordinates urged him to refuse the order, citing the principle that a general in the field need not obey every command. Otherwise the cause would be lost.
But Toqto'a insisted he bore the emperor's favor. If he did not obey, what would remain of the bond between ruler and minister?
After surrendering command, he was first placed under house arrest in Huai'an. Later he was exiled to Dali in Yunnan. Fearing further trouble, Hama forged an edict and sent a messenger ordering him to drink poisoned wine. The final glimmer of Yuan's twilight sank. He died at forty two.
Emperor Shun's maneuver directly rescued the Red Turbans, who had nearly been crushed. Replacing the general mid campaign threw the million strong Yuan army into chaos. Many defected on the spot and joined the rebels.
In textbook terms, the Gaoyou campaign, where the Yuan army collapsed without battle, turned the peasant uprisings from passive to active and marked the turning point of the late Yuan rebellions.
At this point, the coffin lid of Great Yuan was completely shut.]
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At the Xu Chang prefectural office, Zhang Fei nudged Cao Cao again.
"Old Cao, Old Cao, if you were Chancellor Toqto'a, what would you choose?"
Call a man by name, courtesy name, or title, but what kind of address was "Old Cao"?
Though annoyed, Cao Cao knew protesting to Zhang Fei would be useless. He glared briefly, then fell into thought.
Holding heavy troops, controlling the grain transport, the Son of Heaven incompetent, rebellion everywhere. Would that not mean…
He suddenly snapped awake.
This thick browed brute is setting a trap for me.
"And you, Zhang Fei? If you held such a position, what would you decide?"
Zhang Fei burst into laughter.
"If I, a Han man, held the chancellorship with a million troops, I would first ask Emperor Shun why he harbored rebellious intent."
Cao Cao froze, then laughed and shook his head, secretly envying Zhang Fei's simple and unburdened mind.
At the upper seat, Guan Yu stroked his beard and lightly rebuked:
"Third Brother."
Zhang Fei immediately put on an obedient face.
"Second Brother, I was only speaking hypothetically."
"Though if Toqto'a had carefully read the records of Chancellor Cao in the histories, perhaps he truly might have…"
Cao Cao decided to retract his earlier thought. Pure of mind? Without schemes? Nonsense. This butcher was sly indeed.
At the head seat, Liu Bei ignored the bickering and simply remarked to his strategist:
"Though Mongol in body, he was a Han chancellor in truth."
Zhuge Liang paused before replying:
"If one of foreign origin honors the governance of Xia, he may also be called of the Xia."
The distinction between Hua and Yi had been debated since pre Qin times. To Zhuge Liang it was nothing new.
Nor was transforming outsiders into members of the civilized realm anything astonishing.
Did not the Former Han have Zhonghang Yue serving the Xiongnu?
Did not Emperor Zhao's regent Jin Midi bear the title of Marquis Du?
Who among them was Hua, and who Yi?
With such precedents, adding one Mongol who served as a Han style chancellor was hardly shocking.
…
"In later times, that summary is rather precise."
In Huagai Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang commented with a smile.
He had personally lived through that chaos. He knew clearly that the irreversible decline of Yuan began the moment Toqto'a was stripped of command.
Zhu Biao asked curiously:
"Father, did Toqto'a truly command a million men?"
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted.
"At that time the canal transport was cut. Supplies depended on the north. Emperor Shun squandered wealth on pleasure. All provisions relied on Toqto'a's arrangements.
"If a few regions of military farms could support a million troops, then you and I should not rule from Yingtian. We might as well rise tomorrow to farm and enrich the people."
In the seventh year of Hongwu he established regional military commissions. By the eighth, thirteen provincial commands were reorganized, with additional regional commands at Xi'an, Datong, and Jianning. Altogether they exceeded a million troops, but that was across sixteen commands throughout the realm, all sustaining themselves through military farms.
Toqto'a farmed only in Hebei, and even that grain had to be shared with the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang refused to believe it could truly support a million soldiers.
Zhu Di pointed curiously.
"Then Father, that strategic retreat of yours, was it because Toqto'a used the tactic of besieging a point to strike reinforcements?"