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In the early morning of summer, the rays of light linger over the magnificent Daqin Palace. The morning breeze is refreshing, the flags and curtains are fluttering, and the warriors with golden gourds stand upright in front of the Xuanzheng Hall, looking mighty and extraordinary. The entire Daqin Palace is full of the magnificence of China.
Inside the main hall, the emperor was attending court and all officials were paying homage.
After the ministers above the third rank sat down, Huang Zhenlin, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came out holding a hu tablet, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
Qin Mu raised his black sleeves and said loudly, "Huang Qing, please speak."
"Your Majesty, Ambassador Xie Jingting has reported that factions in Korea are constantly fighting, the country is weak, and people's livelihood has not recovered. King Yi Jun of Korea has just ascended the throne and his prestige has not been established. Although he is willing to promote Chinese language and Chinese characters, the progress is slow.
After consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I suggest that our dynasty donate 50,000 dragon coins to help Li Jun build 100 official schools to teach Chinese and Chinese characters. On the one hand, it can accelerate the pace of sinicization of Korea, and on the other hand, it can strengthen Korea's centripetal force towards Daqin. "
Fifty thousand dragon coins is not a lot, but not a little either. If it can really effectively advance the progress of the sinicization of Korea, it would be worth it.
Qin Mu then asked, "What do you think, ministers?"
Imperial Censor Li Ze then came out and said, "Your Majesty, I object. Although the people's livelihood in our Great Qin has recovered rapidly in the past two years, there are still many people who are living in difficulties, and there are many who cannot afford to send their children to school. How can the court turn a blind eye and instead use money to provide free aid to North Korea?"
There are many people who hold the same view as Li Ze and have expressed their opposition.
Huang Zhenlin retorted: "Your Majesty Qin is wrong. During the Wanli period, the Ming Dynasty sent troops to aid Korea, spending millions and causing huge casualties. I dare to ask if the people's livelihood was not difficult at that time? Promoting Chinese language and Chinese characters in Korea is a policy that your majesty and the ministers of the court have decided on. It is of great importance. How can it be shelved for some petty gains?"
After listening to Huang Zhenlin's words, Qin Mu couldn't help but think of the huge amount of funds that major countries such as China and the United States provide to foreign countries every year in later generations. In order to advance the country's strategy, some money must be spent.
Seeing that the ministers were about to quarrel over this matter again, Qin Mu said, "Ministers, there is no need to argue. I think this matter is feasible. One hundred official schools can teach thousands of students. After graduation, if these people pass the examination, they can come to the Qin Imperial Academy to study and be allowed to take the imperial examination. If they pass the examination, they can serve as officials in Qin or return to Korea. Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs take charge of this matter."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In addition to economic control, cultural assimilation is more important for North Korea. 50,000 Dragon Coins. It may seem like a lot, but it is not difficult to earn this much money back from North Korea. There is no need to be so fussy about this.
After the morning court session, Qin Mu returned to the Jianjia Palace to review memorials.
Liu Rushi was wearing a light purple palace dress, graceful and charming, serving Mo Tianxiang.
Although she did not have the title of concubine, she was often visited by the emperor and her status was different from that of ordinary palace maids.
After returning from the expedition, Qin Mu simply appointed her as a seventh-rank female official.
In the harem, from the queen to the palace maids, they are all the emperor's women. It is not important to be a concubine or a female official. The key is whether you can get the emperor's favor.
Liu Rushi should be about 27 or 28 years old, but she is becoming more and more charming, with dark eyebrows and green hair. Her exquisite and graceful figure gives people a feeling of roundness and smoothness, and her intellectual beauty contains a graceful temperament.
After reviewing the memorials, Qin Mu held her on his lap and tenderly held her for a while. Her graceful and charming body made him want to search for her a thousand times and he couldn't let her go.
Qin Mu hugged her, closed his eyes, and asked her to read the memorial to him.
He has to review mountains of memorials every day. If he had to read them all himself, he would suffer from back pain, exhaustion, and his efficiency would be greatly reduced.
Therefore, he often asked Liu Rushi, Li Xiangjun, or Dong Xiaowan to help read the memorials, so that he could lie down when he got tired of sitting, or even do some gymnastics while listening. This way he was not so tired, his mind was more relaxed, and his efficiency in reviewing the memorials was much higher.
Liu Rushi and the other girls were well-educated and all came from brothels. Their backgrounds meant that they would not be able to take advantage of the opportunity to stir up trouble and interfere in government affairs. In addition, they had no external relatives to support them, so Qin Mu was more confident in them.
Occasionally, a few pleasant bird calls could be heard outside the Jianjia Palace, making the surroundings seem even more peaceful. A breeze blew in through the carved windows, and a wisp of incense smoke drifted away.
Liu Rushi sat on his lap and read softly the memorial, her voice soft and pleasant. When she read the victory report about the southwest submitted by the Ministry of War, Qin Mu's heart was delighted. He took the memorial from her hand and read it carefully himself.
There were frequent reports of victory in the southwest war. Gu Rong and Ma Liuliang captured Thang Long Prefecture in Jiaozhi in one fell swoop and captured Zheng Zhen, the Le Lord and a number of civil and military officials of the Le Dynasty alive.
Chen Hui defeated the Dongwu general Wu Jing and helped Siam recover its capital Ayutthaya. The King of Siam's letter of thanks should arrive soon.
Cui Feng captured Zhu Cihuan, Mu Tianbo and others alive, and with the help of Wu Jin's 50,000 Dongwu troops, he captured the Dongwu capital Ava in one fell swoop. Bai Mang broke out overnight, but only more than a thousand troops escaped, and all the ministers of the Dongwu Kingdom were wiped out.
Hai Rufeng captured Dagon City, an important town in the southern part of Dongwu, and took advantage of the situation to advance northward with great momentum.
Zheng Sihai also defeated the Nguyen clan of Jiaozhi and captured several important cities such as Hue and Quang Nam. The remaining Nguyen clan troops retreated to the southern mountainous area.
Liu Rushi smiled and congratulated him, "I congratulate Your Majesty. Given the current situation, the generals will be able to pacify Indochina much faster than expected."
Qin Mu put down the memorial and shook his head, saying, "That may not be the case. With the capabilities of our Great Qin, it is not difficult to conquer the plains, but the Indochina Peninsula is mountainous and densely forested. It is not so easy to clear and straighten out the entire Indochina Peninsula."
"Your Majesty, Dongyu and Jiaozhi are disobedient. Your Majesty can just teach them a lesson. Is it necessary to occupy these places?"
"The southeastern coast is the heart of our Great Qin, and the Luzon Islands and the Indochina Peninsula are like the two legs of our Great Qin. Only by taking these places can our Great Qin stand firm and the coastal heartland be free from the threat of foreign enemies. I have my own sense of proportion in these matters, so you don't need to ask more."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In the Indochina Peninsula, it is not difficult to conquer plain areas such as Thang Long Prefecture and Ava, but Qin Mu is not optimistic because of this. In history, the Central Plains dynasty has also conquered Jiaozhi many times, but it was always lost again not long after.
Qin Mu closed his eyes and thought about the reasons. He felt that Daqin absolutely could not send officials to govern these places immediately. Once officials were sent to govern, Daqin would surely be stuck in the quagmire and unable to extricate itself, and would eventually be exhausted.
Now we can no longer treat the people in these places as our own people. It is better to adopt the Western colonial model and station two to three thousand troops in Thang Long, Ava, and Dagon to control these wealthy plains, and then use the barbarians to control the barbarians.
Organize more vassal armies in the local area and continue to suppress the rebellion. It would be best if the war continued uninterruptedly, just like Sichuan in the late Ming Dynasty in history, where there was almost no one left.
During the entire process, whether it takes ten or twenty years, the Qin Dynasty does not need to invest any war funds, but can still obtain a steady supply of raw materials, manpower and wealth from these places.
For example, now we can use Wu Jin's 50,000 Dongwu troops to clear out all the mountainous areas. No one is allowed to live in the mountains, and they must all move to the plains.
After moving to the plains, they were no longer polite. They assimilated the people into the Han culture while conscripting men for military service. When the Qin Emperor built the Great Wall, he conscripted hundreds of thousands of men. Now the imperial court wanted to build roads, which also required a lot of labor.
Nearly 300,000 laborers have been conscripted from Luzon and Jinghai to build the asphalt road from Changsha to Kunming. As many as 40,000 to 50,000 people have died from disease and fatigue. It is no exaggeration to say that this road, like the Great Wall, was built with bones.
If the Qin Dynasty needs to build more roads, it will need more laborers. So let's recruit them from the Indochina Peninsula.
Through war and forced labor, when these places are almost deserted, they will move the people there. In this way, the Qin Dynasty can acquire this territory at the lowest cost.
Although this method is a bit cruel, if it is carried out as in previous dynasties, it will not only consume countless soldiers, money and food, but also make it difficult to maintain long-term stability. It is also very cruel to the people in the country.
In a word, if the original indigenous people are not eliminated, these places will sooner or later rebel, and the Qin Dynasty will repeat the same mistakes and will eventually have no choice but to abandon these places.
After Qin Mu thought it through, he picked up a pen and gave instructions to Cui Feng and others, asking them to carry out the plan.
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ps: On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I visited relatives and friends and wished everyone a happy New Year. I wish you all happy every day and all your wishes come true. (To be continued..)
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