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Qin Mu suddenly proposed to establish a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and elevate it to an equal level with the existing six ministries, which surprised Sima An, Li Yuan and Yang Shen.
At first, the three of them were silent, anxious to digest the information.
They were all old people who had followed Qin Mu for a long time. They knew that although Qin Mu was young, he would never make rash decisions on impulse when it came to such a major matter.
Since Qin Mu had been planning this for a long time, as close ministers, they would not act rashly like ordinary imperial censors. They would definitely think clearly about the pros and cons before reacting.
Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the autumn sun was shining all over the ground. The parasol trees were beginning to shed their leaves. Large flakes of leaves were floating past the window. A gust of west wind came and flew over the high eaves.
Qin Mu asked the palace maid to brew some more Longjing tea before the rain. The faint fragrance of tea filled the air, refreshing the heart and lungs.
After thinking for a while, Li Yuan said hesitantly: "King of Qin, this move is equivalent to automatically elevating all other countries to the same status as our Great Qin, which is quite inappropriate. As the suzerain state, if we are on an equal footing with other countries, then the prestige of the Great Qin will be lost. How can we command the surrounding countries?"
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "I want to establish a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and let it stand alongside the six ministries. This only represents the importance that the Qin Dynasty places on diplomacy, and it does not necessarily mean that the status of those vassal states will be enhanced.
All vassal states are still vassal states, and their rituals of worship remain the same. This move by the king is just to strengthen the control over them. Sun Tzu's Art of War says that the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. This king hopes that in the future, when the Great Qin interacts with foreign countries, it will use less force and focus more on attacking their plans and alliances.
Since it is more important to attack the enemy's plans and diplomacy than to attack the enemy's troops, there must be a special department responsible for planning and execution. In the past, the diplomatic powers were dispersed among the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and the Honglu Temple. This was obviously not enough attention to attacking the enemy's plans and diplomacy, and there was no unified decision-making among the several departments. Without high efficiency, the final consequence was often that they had to resort to force.
Before the Song Dynasty, the surrounding barbarians were still in a state of ignorance, so it was understandable that the Central Plains court did not attach importance to diplomacy. But since the Song Dynasty, the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Western Xia, Korea, Japan, Annan, Dali, and Qing dynasties have emerged one after another. Whether we admit it or not, they have indeed formed the concept of a country and are no longer the traditional barbarians who rise and fall suddenly.
In view of this, the Central Plains court still adheres to the previous diplomatic strategy and attitude. This is a serious ideological lag. Therefore, in the future, the Qin Dynasty will still seek the dominant position of the suzerain state;
But on the other hand, we must attach great importance to diplomatic affairs and can no longer blindly regard the neighboring countries as barbarians. To better control them, we must pay more attention to them. This is inevitable. This does not conflict with the continued pursuit of the dominant position of the suzerain state by the Qin Dynasty. It can also reduce the situation of attacking troops and wasting national strength. Isn't this what the ministers want to see?"
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were many examples that showed that a strategic strategist could easily avoid a war and at the same time gain the greatest benefit for his country.
In that era, the masters of diplomacy were all guests of honor of the monarchs of various countries and were extremely respected.
The reason why these strategists were not welcomed later was that the country was unified, and there was no equal force outside that needed these strategists. Such people became a group that was harmful to the country.
But things are different now. We can no longer treat neighboring countries in the rough way we did in the past. This will only lead to more losses than gains. For example, the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic methods towards Japan and the Qing Dynasty's diplomatic methods towards Britain were too crude, turning countries that could have been trading partners into enemies.
Qin Mu hoped that the Qin Dynasty could also produce a few people like Su Qin and Zhang Yi, who could achieve their goals through diplomatic skills without using a large army. This would greatly reduce the crisis brought by the outside world and reduce the waste of the Qin Dynasty in war.
"The King of Qin is far-sighted and I agree with him." Yang Shen was the first to express his support.
Strengthening diplomacy can avoid many unnecessary wars. This is a simple truth, and Sima An and Li Yuan naturally understand this. Especially now that the Qin Dynasty needs to recuperate, it is best to use diplomacy to resolve external threats and avoid excessive use of troops.
Overall, establishing a Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate Daqin's diplomatic work has no disadvantages and only benefits, and Li Yuan and Ma Si'an have no reason to object.
Of course, to establish such an important department, it must be discussed in detail in the court. But if these core officials are convinced, there will be much less resistance when discussing it in the court.
Next, the topic turned back to policy toward Mongolia.
Li Yuan said: "The reason why it is difficult to send officials to govern Mongolia is that it is mobile. The motives of their invasion of the south can be summed up in two aspects: one is the personal will of their leader, and the other is the interest. Therefore, if we want to find a fundamental solution, we can only start from these aspects."
Qin Mu nodded, sipped his tea, thought for a while and said, "In fact, there are ways to solve the problem of nomadic people's mobility."
Sima An and the other two couldn't help but look surprised.
You know, since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Central Plains court was not without the ability to occupy the grasslands. It was just that after occupying them, they were unable to govern them effectively. The reason lies in this mobility.
If this problem is solved, it will not be difficult to bring the Mongolian grasslands under governance.
No one has been able to solve this problem in the past one or two thousand years. Can Qin Mu solve it
"Please enlighten us, my king." The three said in unison.
"This king only has a rough idea. Whether it can be implemented or not still needs discussion and supplementation from everyone." Qin Mu put down the teacup and said slowly, "This king's idea is to privatize the grassland."
"Privatization?" The three asked in a lost voice, feeling that their brains were not enough.
"Well, my ministers, please think about this. Although the tribes on the grassland now live by following the water and grass, in fact, each tribe still has a relatively fixed pasture. They divide their sphere of influence based on each pasture.
If we do it in a more detailed way, we can divide each piece of grassland into households and distribute it to herders, just like the division of farmland in the Central Plains, and set up monuments as boundaries, so that they will have the concept that the grassland within the monument boundary is my private property and can have a fixed value like farmland.
In this way, their property is fixed. The herders rely on the pastures for survival, and if the pastures are fixed, then the herders will be fixed accordingly.”
When Qin Mu said this, Yang Shen couldn't help but clap his hands and cheer: "The king's plan is a stroke of genius. After dividing the grassland into private property, it will not only make the herdsmen relatively stable, but also greatly weaken their solidarity and personal dependence on the tribal leader."
"Yes, yes, after listening to what my king said, I suddenly realized something. The herdsmen need to migrate twice a year, so we will allocate two pastures for them..."
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "In my opinion, this is not necessary. A pasture may be enough to solve the problem. The main reason for the herders nowadays is that their grazing methods are backward and they rely too much on the weather. They don't have the habit of storing a lot of grass for the winter. We should teach them that in the season when grass is abundant, they should cut grass in advance to prepare for the winter, so that they basically don't have to migrate with the seasons.
Furthermore, they should be made aware that overgrazing is not allowed. If the livestock produce too much, the market price will drop and it will not bring them more income. So it is not the case that the more sheep the better. There should be a reasonable number.
Moreover, overgrazing will cause serious grassland desertification, which is a very serious problem. Not only herders should pay attention to it, but people inside the country should also pay enough attention to it.
Let me give you an example. Before the Tang Dynasty, the soil and water in Guanzhong were very fertile. However, excessive reclamation in the Tang Dynasty led to massive soil and water loss, so that Guanzhong is now in ruins.
Ministers, if you go to the grassland, you will know that the grassland is located in the north, with relatively little rain and strong winds all year round. Once overgrazing destroys the grassland vegetation, it will be difficult to recover. After a few years, it will gradually form the Hanhai Desert. When the strong wind comes, the sky will be full of sandstorms, which will not only cause disaster to the grassland, but also pose a huge threat to the interior.
But if you now publicize the dangers of overgrazing to herders, they will definitely not take it seriously, because in their view, the grassland is so big, and if it is destroyed here, they can just migrate somewhere else.
But after the grasslands were privatized, the situation was different. The grasslands were no longer ownerless, but the places where the families depended on for survival. Only in this way would the herders seriously protect the grasslands and prevent them from being desertified.
In addition, we cannot let herders rely solely on grazing for their livelihood. We must encourage businessmen or the government to open some textile factories to attract the excess manpower on the grassland to the textile factories to carry out deep processing of wool and meat. On the one hand, this can reduce the pressure caused by the increase in grassland population, and at the same time increase their source of livelihood and the stability of life.
In short, there are many ways to think of it, but the key lies in privatizing the pastures and increasing the stability of their lives. If these two points are achieved, it will no longer be impossible to include herders in daily governance.”
"Our king is wise!" This time, Sima An and the other two stood up together and bowed respectfully to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu's words today gave them a subversive understanding and also provided Daqin with a fundamental solution to the problem in the northern border.
If the northern border issue that has plagued the Central Plains for two thousand years is truly solved, it will be an unprecedented feat, and its significance will be difficult to measure.
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ps: What methods can be used to settle the herders down so as to solve the problems of the Mongolian grasslands from the root? If you have any ideas, you can post them in the book review area. If they are feasible, I will definitely adopt them.
Well, finally I just want to ask for subscriptions and recommendation votes. I rely on the subscription income to make a living, and all the subscribers are my parents who provide me with food and clothing, please accept my greetings!
.(To be continued..)
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