"I wonder if you two know that in the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a crime that was very common, and once confirmed, the punishment was also very severe."

"May I ask Your Majesty, is this a 'rash provocation'?"

"That's right. Although there are also reasons why the Northern Song Dynasty was too weak and did not like military warfare. However, because of the national policy of the Northern Song Dynasty to strengthen the branches and strengthen the branches, Bianliang experienced abnormal prosperity at that time. So much so that the officials of the Northern Song Dynasty

I don't like to serve outside Bianliang. If I am sent to the border area as a local official, I will think about how to operate it all day long and return to Bianliang as soon as possible. And if I want to return to Bianliang, what is more powerful than military merit? So,

In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were many border officials who often took the initiative to provoke the surrounding barbarians. When the barbarians couldn't stand the bullying and rebelled, they would lead their troops to put down the rebellion, thereby gaining military merit."

Zhu Youdong smiled sarcastically when he said this: "It is said that there are two wonderful ways to do things in the officialdom. One is the sawing and arrowing method. In short, it is to pick the light and avoid the heavy, and push when you can. There is also the method of smashing the pot. Originally, the pot is only

It was slightly broken, but the tinker took advantage of the owner not paying attention and deliberately made the hole larger. Then after repairing it, he could ask the owner for more labor fees.

But there is a problem with this pot-smashing method, that is, you can't smash the pot too obviously, so that the owner can see the problem at a glance. Or you can't smash the pot to an extent that your own skills are not up to par... And the Northern Song Dynasty's

It’s a fighting force, hahaha.”

"The Emperor really knows everything. So, Your Majesty, are you afraid that the governors who will serve here after the implementation of the governor-general system will also use these two wonderful methods to do things?"

"Yes." After a long sigh, Zhu Youdong said: "Master said that food and sex are also human nature. It is human nature to survive by yourself and pass on your surname through your descendants. To achieve this goal, you must first seek profit.

Avoid harm. Therefore, it is also human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm. If I directly implement the governor-general system on all the land that is so far away from our Ming Dynasty, but has such a vast area and large population, then what will happen to these governors after they arrive?

Think? Anyway, I have a term of office. Today, the emperor is far away, so I might as well try to make a fortune here. Or, using the two wonderful methods of doing things just now, I can either live in mediocrity and wait for death, or start rash provocations and find

War merit and promotion. These are not what I want.

And if it is enfeoffment, the problem just now will not exist. For example, when Zhou Fan and Tang Fan build their country here in the future, the land and people here will be the foundation of your country, and they will be passed down to future generations. In this way,

Will you impose excessive taxes here? Will you be mediocre? Will you start provocations?"

"Your Majesty is wise, of course you will not waste your own property like this."

"So." Zhu Youdong spread his hands: "This kind of enfeoffment will solve the clan problem of our Ming Dynasty internally. Externally, like the enfeoffment of Zhou Dynasty, it will quickly expand the coverage of our Chinese civilization. Hundreds of years later, our China may

It will fall into civil war again. Or maybe the area of ​​China's mainland will quickly expand again. However, you and I will not be able to see these things by then... Therefore, there are definitely disadvantages of enfeoffment, but that is ours

Children and grandchildren need to worry about solving the problem. And no matter what the final result is, it will be me, China, who will benefit."

"That's it. Thank you, Your Majesty, for clearing up my doubts."

Haha, actually I still have a lot to say.

In Zhu Youdong's heart, what he wanted to gain by implementing this enfeoffment system was not this little thing.

In the historical perspective, after the rise of colonialism, Portugal only occupied a certain point in colonization because of its small country and small population. However, Spain, and later Britain and France, directly ruled after swallowing up.

After the US imperialism became the number one power, it pursued economic colonization - politically maintaining a local government that obeyed the interests of the US empire, and no longer pursued the establishment of a colonial government in the local area.

In fact, these three methods do not matter whether they are clever or not. They can only be said to be in line with the specific circumstances at that time.

Needless to say, the Portuguese's choice, the country's strength is so great, even if it later swallowed the entire Brazil - but how many people did Brazil have at that time?

The indigenous inhabitants of the American continent conquered by the Spanish were Indians. Although there were so-called countries like the Aztecs and Incas, the political systems of these countries were extremely backward, and there were countless other Indians around them.

Tribes have different languages ​​and writings from each other. It is entirely possible for such a group to directly conquer and establish a governor-general for colonial rule before its overall national consciousness is formed.

And when the national consciousness of the Americas awakened, especially the Castilians born in the Americas (Spain calls these Creoles) or the Castilian-Indian mixed race, Bolivar, who traveled to Europe and North America,

As soon as San Martin and others who had served in the Spanish army for a long time rose up, the Spanish colonial empire in America collapsed instantly.

The British's main colonies, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, were all sparsely populated places at the time. As for India, it was a strange thing, needless to say. And North America? Everyone knows that when the North American economy develops to a certain extent,

After the awakening of national consciousness, direct colonial rule became unsustainable.

In Asia now, even in Southeast Asia, the various ethnic groups here have basically taken shape and have their own culture and writing. Under such circumstances, direct occupation is not impossible, but the cost of governance will be extremely high - and

This was something Zhu Youdong couldn't bear.

Therefore, for a country with a large population and a dominant ethnic group that has basically taken shape, it is better to adopt the economic colonialism of US imperialism: as long as the local government is obedient and can lie down honestly and feed the Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty will definitely support such a government.

, there is absolutely no need to kick out such an easy-to-manage government and directly govern it for the sake of a false reputation of opening up territory - with the local government, Ming Dynasty only needs to control the core elite group of several hundred people in the local area.

The benefits obtained from the local area will not be less. Without local government, the Ming Dynasty would have to directly manage hundreds of thousands or even millions of local people. It is likely that all the benefits that should be obtained will be thrown away in order to maintain rule. This is not much.

Good deal?

Of course, the most important nodes such as Saigon and Singapore must be directly controlled. However, as long as there are countries established by the local dominant ethnic groups around these nodes, the power of nationalism can be reduced by at least 90% -

—I haven’t seen the relationship between US imperialism and Cuba be like that. Isn’t it different that there is an enclave in Cuba?

The existence of these nodes, in addition to military strategic significance, is also to better deter local countries, making it easier for the Ming Dynasty to suck blood more comfortably in the future!

The above is external. However, the enfeoffment system has greater benefits internally than solving the clan problem.

"Two princes, I will return to Beijing in a few days. You can stay here temporarily, under the protection of my Ming garrison, and walk around your future fiefdom to understand the situation. I will also follow you.

Let me make it clear that in order to help you two vassals gain a foothold here, I allow you to recruit people from the Ming Dynasty to settle here."

"Ah? Your Majesty is so kind to me, I am deeply grateful!"

"Well, I have to make a three-part agreement with you first. To attract domestic people to come here, first, it must be voluntary and cannot be forced. Second, you must mainly recruit military households. The military town system of Ming Dynasty has reached its peak.

The situation has to change. Many dilapidated military households have no food and clothing. Coming here is to save them. Third, no matter how many people you absorb, each person and each household must report to the Ministry of Household Affairs and be approved by the Ministry of Household Affairs.

You are allowed to board the ship only after you have approved and modified the corresponding yellow list. When you come here, the Governor of Central and South China will inspect the people who get off the ship. Without a document from the Ministry of Revenue, you are not allowed to get off the ship. Is it possible to achieve these three things? "

"I will comply with the decree. Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We will never violate the Emperor's three rules."

Well, that's great. Look, wouldn't it be a lot more convenient for me to completely solve the military household problem after I return to China?

"Uh, Your Majesty."

"What does Prince Tang want to say?"

"Your Majesty, I am wondering if, in addition to ordinary civilian households, we can openly recruit scholars in the country to serve as official positions in our two vassals?"

"Hahahaha! Okay, absolutely fine. I will also set rules for you. First, you have to volunteer. Second, among the people who have studied, fifty of every hundred people must be descendants of our Zhu family. You need to know,

Although my Zhu family has a lot of waste, its literacy rate is probably the highest among all the surnames in the country. By doing this, you are also sharing my worries. Thirdly, you can invite children, scholars, scholars, and officials who have become officials.

.However, current officials, clerks and even servants, as well as officials and clerks who have served for less than five years, are not allowed to be invited."

"I obey your orders."

Hahaha, okay, this way, I will have a reason to completely reform the imperial examination system after I return to China. After defeating Japan, it will be much easier to bring up the war against Confucius again - the Qin Empire will be unified, and the law will be

In the later period of the Han Empire, Confucianism became dominant. In a country like China with a highly mature centralized system, the unification of political power often brings about the unification of ideas.

Ideological unification is very necessary to maintain national unity, but the time of Confucian unification is too long, and it has a smell of corruption. After the enfeoffment, the vassal kings of various countries will definitely adopt different policies due to different local conditions.

The country is governed by ideas. In this way, promoting the progress of domestic ideas is also one of the benefits of the feudal system.

"You two, especially Prince Tang, after listening to what I have said so much, do you now understand why I want to try to restore the enfeoffment of Zhou?"

"Yes, the emperor has a far-sighted vision, and his ministers cannot help but admire him."

"Then, you should understand how important the responsibilities of Tang Fan and Zhou Fan are, and how dangerous the situation they face is. Yes, you will be neighbors in the future, and there will definitely be conflicts in the future. But when you see that there are people around
Chapter completed!