The western regions are remote, why did the Yuan Dynasty carry out wild reclamation in the western regions?

Reclaiming farmland is an agricultural production organization in ancient China, whose main purpose is to meet military needs. It is usually related to the agricultural and military policies at that time, as well as the immigration and ethnic policies at that time. The Yuan Dynasty was the first unified dynasty established by ethnic minorities in the history of China, which inherited the advanced experience of agricultural civilization in the Central Plains and promoted the development of farming management mode. Tunnel is the basic national policy of the Yuan Dynasty. Tunnels in Yuan Dynasty have a special position in the ancient history of China. Because of the western development, it is also caused by many reasons. The difference of its ruling center of gravity also led to the difference of the western regions, as well as different backgrounds and reasons. The Yuan Dynasty's land reclamation in the western regions also had its specific factors. In ancient times, as a form of economic organization, it was of great significance to military supplies and economic development.

The essence of "farming" is an organizational form of agricultural production, which refers to the economic activities of the feudal government at that time relying on the state to force laborers to farm official land. In ancient times, wasteland reclamation mainly refers to the economic activities that the government requires farmers or businessmen to reclaim wasteland in order to obtain military salaries and levy grain. Why did the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty move away from the Western Regions on a large scale? It originated in Qin and Han Dynasties, developed in Sui and Tang Dynasties, matured in Yuan Dynasty, and gradually developed into a new trend in Ming and Qing Dynasties. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the collapse of the well-field system and the emergence of Niu Geng promoted the germination of land ownership, which was finally established in the Qin Dynasty, providing conditions for the emergence of wasteland reclamation. With the unification of Qin and Han Dynasties in China, the integration of ethnic minorities and Han nationality, the war between ethnic minorities and Han nationality, and the development of agricultural economic exchanges, the reclamation system came into being. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, large-scale development and reclamation were carried out. Due to the war, the scale of reclamation has been expanding, and the land system has gradually been privatized from state-owned land. The land reclamation system formally established in the Han Dynasty carried out land reclamation on a larger scale.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to regime change and ethnic migration, the scope of reclamation was continuously reduced, and the reclamation center gradually moved eastward. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the progress of reclamation system was mainly manifested in the improvement of on-the-job official system and the establishment of standardized agricultural system. However, after the implementation of the land possession system, Cao and Wei officials established the disintegration of the land reclamation system in the form of law. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, feudal rulers began to implement the system of reclamation and raised this system to a new level. The nature of feudal corvee in Sui and Tang Dynasties was more obvious. During the Liao and Jin Dynasties' rule of the Central Plains, they continued to innovate on the basis of inheriting the traditional ways of land reclamation in the Central Plains and developed the unique agricultural production characteristics of ethnic minorities. The reclamation of border land in Jin Dynasty was mainly expanded with the expansion of the scope of rule. From the form of land reclamation, the Liao Dynasty mainly used military and folk land reclamation. Although the regime ruled by ethnic minorities is different from the Central Plains dynasty in the organizational form of reclamation, the rulers also attach great importance to this agricultural organizational form.

The biggest problem in the Northern Song Dynasty was that it was often harassed by northern minorities, so it was heavily guarded in the northern border areas. In order to solve the food problem of border soldiers, a series of measures have been taken, and land reclamation is one of the important policies. Since the Qin dynasty, the system of cultivating farmland began to develop, and the rulers of previous dynasties continued to improve, laying a solid foundation for cultivating farmland in the Yuan dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty, wars were frequent, and the social economy was greatly destroyed. In the war, more expenses were needed, which increased the burden on the people. The long war led to heavy military expenditure, a large number of people joined the army and the labor force decreased. The Yuan government continued to expand its army, and the supply of rations was difficult for a while. Later, after the rise of large-scale reclamation, grain output increased year by year, and the Yuan Dynasty increased grain reserves, which ensured the supply of military grain and increased fiscal revenue. The Yuan Dynasty vigorously governed the Western Regions, and the reclamation measures not only promoted the economic development of the Western Regions, but also promoted national integration.