Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 382: Ten Measures to Stabilize Central and South China
The next day, vassal kings and powerful ministers from various countries continued to pay homage to Zhu Youdong at the Siamese Royal Palace.
"My Lords, I feel that the Ming Dynasty has been too lenient to many of its vassal states in the past, causing countries like Siam to covet our suzerain. Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to further split up the remaining 40 prefectures of Siam.
...Prince Songtan of Siam has been in charge of domestic affairs for many years and is highly respected by the people. I have been in Siam for several months and have heard about it. Therefore, I have conferred him the title of King of Phrae and granted the original Phrae Prefecture and four surrounding prefectures in Siam. I have conferred the title of King of Yasothon and four surrounding prefectures on Suprachalai, the former Prime Minister of Siam. In addition, since Siam has refused to submit to the king for many years, I am going to confer two princes in the Ming Dynasty here. They are Zhou Fan and Tang Fan, and their fiefs are..."
Zhu Youdong's division of the territories made the vassal kings, led by Burma, who were just excited about the benefits they had received from the meeting yesterday, feel heartbroken. It also made the princes and ministers in Siam extremely angry.
But what can we do? The situation is stronger than the people. The Ming Dynasty has gathered eight towns and 120,000 troops here. All the troops in our country, even those who surrendered, have handed in their weapons and were disbanded and returned home - even if the organization and equipment are still there, they can't win at this time.
As for your suggestion to mobilize the people to revolt? Well, it would be fine if the Thai people were so irritable. Didn't you see that when Naresuan set the land tax to 20% in order to fight against Burma and Chenla at the same time, the farmers didn't revolt?
Forget it, let's wait until the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty leaves, and then see how the new King Zhou and King Tang treat the people here? It is said that Annan was once directly governed by the Ming Dynasty's provincial governor system, but more than ten years later, didn't it also restore its independence?
Besides, the Thais still have several countries of their own, albeit small ones.
Seeing the complicated expressions below, no one took the initiative to jump out and yell at the nobles of various countries, such as "You, the suzerain country, are so immoral and we firmly oppose it." Zhu Youdong nodded, and then spoke again: "I have inherited the foundation of my ancestors and nurtured the people. The many vassal states are also my people. It is also my responsibility to educate, guide and protect the many vassal states... Who knew that there would be a rebellion like Siam. As the saying goes, the guilt of all parties lies with me. The matter of Siam, in the final analysis, is due to my lack of education, and it is my responsibility. Therefore, from today on, in addition to sending the King of Zhou and the King of Tang to come here to educate the people here on my behalf, the vassal tribute system of my Ming Dynasty should also be changed.
This is Xiong Tingbi, the first Governor-General of Indochina. When I return to Beijing, he will take my place in Bangkok. He will directly govern the five states of Saigon, Phnom Penh, Singapore, Bangkok, and Yangon. In addition, the Ming Dynasty will station 50,000 troops in these five states, and will also build a new Ming Nanyang Fleet. The fleet commander is this one, Admiral Yan Siqi. And this one is Captain Xu Xianchun. Well, he will soon be promoted to the co-governor of the Jinyiwei, and will also be stationed in the five states of Nanyang. From now on, they are my representatives here. If there are any disputes among the countries, they can apply to the Central and South Governor's Office for mediation. In addition, after the establishment of the Governor's Office, some new policies will be implemented to ensure that the countries on the Indochina Peninsula can coexist peacefully with each other and always be loyal vassals of the Ming Dynasty. "
"We are here to greet Governor Xiong, Admiral Yan, and Tongzhi ."
"Everyone!" Xiong Tingbi took a heavy step forward. "The emperor trusts me to be in charge of this place. After repeated discussions between me and my two colleagues, the emperor has approved it. Now, I will announce a few rules of the Central and Southern Governor's Office."
"Please give me your instructions, Master Xiong ."
"The first one is that the Celestial Empire is the suzerain of all the vassal states, and the people of the vassal states are also the people of the Celestial Empire. Therefore, starting from next year, that is, the first year of the Tianqi reign, the Central and Southern Governor's Office will hold Chinese proficiency tests simultaneously in Bangkok and other five states. Anyone who passes the Level 4 Chinese test will automatically obtain the qualification of a local student of the Ming Dynasty, and can go to the Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan provincial governments of the Ming Dynasty to participate in the prefectural examinations. After the prefectural examinations, they can also participate in the provincial examinations, and then the joint examinations and the palace examinations."
Looking at the kings of various countries who were terrified below, and the few translators in the hall, especially those of the kings and powerful officials, who all raised their eyes with hope, Zhu Youdong smiled softly in his heart: When you take the exam, you will know that my Chinese is much more difficult than all the languages in the world.
"Second, if the people of the vassal states want to join the army and serve the Ming Dynasty, they can also go to the Five States to sign up. Once they pass the assessment and are hired, they will be treated the same as the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. In the army, they will receive free Chinese language instruction, and if they achieve military merit on the battlefield, they will also receive normal promotions."
"Article 3. Starting will establish Chinese academies in the five states. It will only charge low tuition fees to cover maintenance costs, and will accept bright students from all over the world to teach them Chinese writing, language, culture, and etiquette."
"Article 4. Starting next year, all vassal states will establish a unified customs under the guidance of the Central and Southern Governor's Office. Customs tariffs will be unified. Currently, ordinary agricultural products and civilian goods are temporarily set at 5%. Military supplies are listed separately and are not subject to tariff management. Starting next year, goods between the Ming Dynasty and the vassal states must have tax payment certificates to circulate between them. Otherwise, it will be considered smuggling, and each country has the right to confiscate the goods and arrest the merchants."
"Article 5. Our Ming Dynasty has implemented the ID card system since the 40th year of Wanli, which is also a kind of nationality certification. In the future, when tariffs are unified, especially after the establishment of the Central and Southern Governor's Office, there will definitely be a lot of people from the Ming Dynasty traveling to various parts of Southeast Asia. Among these people, there may be a small number of lawless people and profiteers. For such people, the government of each vassal state has the right to arrest and temporarily detain them. However, they must be transferred to the five prefecture governors under the Central and Southern Governor's Office in the shortest possible time. They must not be tried, ruled, or convicted alone! If violated, the garrison of the Governor's Office will ask the kings of various countries for the person! If the people of the Ming Dynasty are killed , the royal families of each country must compensate the family of the person concerned!"
"Article 6. As the suzerain of all nations, the Ming Dynasty has the obligation to ensure the safety of all nations. In today's world, Europeans have launched great voyages and are plundering everywhere on ships. Therefore, if any nation's land is occupied by the Red Barbarians, it can apply to the Ming Dynasty for help. The Central and Southern Governor's Office will review and decide whether to send troops to support. Of course, if troops are sent to support, the military expenses must be borne by the applicant."
"Seventh, all countries must obey the decisions of the Ming Dynasty in diplomacy and ensure that they speak with one voice."
"Eighth, in terms of military, the Ming Dynasty allows all countries to purchase Ming-standard equipment. Each country can establish its own armed forces... Ninth, if there are disputes between countries, they are encouraged to resolve them by themselves. Such solutions include but are not limited to negotiation and war... Tenth, if a vassal state is in danger of being destroyed due to the conquest of other vassal states and asks the Central and Southern Governor's Office for help, the two sides must first cease fire if the Central and Southern Governor's Office clearly intervenes, otherwise..."
The ancients were not stupid, not to mention that those present now were all top elites from various countries. Perhaps due to the various limitations of the times or the small scale of their own country, they were unable to fully understand what the "Ten Bear Rules" meant. But this did not prevent them from reading a lot of information from it.
For example, the first, second, and fifth points, as long as they are combined, the royal families and powerful officials of various countries will naturally think of it. From then on, the elites of the country all wanted to run to the Ming Dynasty. In such a situation, it was difficult to maintain domestic rule, let alone wait until the country was strong enough to drive out the Ming Dynasty's influence in Southeast Asia.
The third one is that in the next few decades, everyone in their country may be proud to speak Chinese. The prospect of this one is really terrifying to think about.
Regarding the tariff, however, the royal families and powerful officials of various countries did not react much: the maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty were extremely powerful in those days, and it would be good if they could collect some tariffs based on this clause.
Just when the monarchs and ministers of various countries were full of thoughts, they heard Xiong Tingbi cough twice: "I have finished speaking, who agrees? Who opposes?"
