Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 791 Zhu Youdong Teaches the Prince
"Father?"
"What is it?"
"It's already six o'clock in the afternoon. Many of the Indian kings kneeling outside have fainted after not eating for a day."
"Why? You can't bear it?"
"These guys betrayed our Ming Dynasty back then, so we can kill them all. I have no regrets. But if we want to rule here in the future and keep it stable, we still need their cooperation. So I think, is it…"
"What I am doing now is to ensure the stability of our rule here in the future." After patting the seat next to him and letting Zhu Ciyi sit over, Zhu Youdong said, "When the Mongols entered the Central Plains, there was a traitor named Xu Heng who deliberately misinterpreted Confucius' words and made up a bullshit lie that if you enter the barbarians, you will become barbarians, and if you enter the Xia, you will become Xia. In fact, he was looking for a theoretical basis for his Mongols to rule the Central Plains. Unfortunately, this saying was spread too widely under the propaganda of the Mongols, so that many scholars thought it was said by Confucius."
"Father, I don't know whether Confucius said this or not. At least, I haven't seen Confucius say this in the Confucian classics I've read. If there is a similar statement, Mencius did say that I have heard of using the Chinese to change the barbarians, but I have never heard of changing the barbarians . And Han Yu also said that if the barbarians enter China, they become Chinese, and if the Chinese enter the barbarians, they become barbarians. But these words are completely different from what Xu Heng said."
"Yes, you are well-read." After praising his son, Zhu Youdong said, "Since the Qin Dynasty, the vast northern regions of China have experienced invasions and rule by many ethnic groups, including the Xiongnu, Jie, Qiang, Di, Xianbei, Khitan, and Jurchen. During the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, both the north and south of China were occupied by them. Among these ethnic groups that have successively entered the Central Plains, only the Jie and the Mongol Yuan Dynasty have always refused to assimilate. But even for those ethnic groups that accepted Chinese culture, can you say that the countries they established are Chinese countries in the traditional sense?"
"Of course not."
"So, those foreign races that invaded our Central Plains were much more backward than us in culture, at least when they invaded. This backwardness cannot be corrected without spending hundreds of years to gradually integrate them into China through ethnic integration. Even if they accept Chinese culture and adopt traditional Chinese methods of governing the country, these countries still cannot be called Chinese countries. In short, if we want to achieve true cultural identity, no matter who holds the knife, the advanced culture can only assimilate the backward culture."
"Then how long do you think it will take for us to assimilate the Indians?"
"Haha~ Why should I assimilate Indians?"
"Isn't Father planning to directly govern the northern part of this continent? For the sake of long-term stability, shouldn't we assimilate them?"
"I just told you so much, in fact, I just want to tell you that cultural assimilation is the highest level of assimilation, but it is also the most difficult. Those foreign races are so much behind us Han people in culture, and their population base is much smaller than ours. Even so, it is extremely difficult for us to assimilate them. You say, India has its own unique, completely systematic culture, and has a huge population base. How can such a group of people be assimilated?
Therefore, you must extinguish the idea of assimilating them from the bottom of your heart, and never think of them as "they are my father's people, and they will also be my people in the future."
Over the years, I have conquered many places. For example, America has a large territory, but a very small population, and its original civilization was basically destroyed by the Spaniards. Therefore, I can hope to assimilate the Indians there. For example, Japan and Korea, these countries are originally part of my Chinese cultural circle, and cultural assimilation has been going on for thousands of years. As long as my Ming Dynasty remains strong, the complete assimilation of these vassal states will be a matter of time in the future. But only India, I don’t see any hope of cultural assimilation here. "
"Then what does Father plan to do with this land and the people on it?"
"It's very simple. From now on, this land will always be the raw material supplier and dumping market for our Ming Dynasty. These Indians will be responsible for growing food and mining minerals for us. At most, they can grow some cash crops such as jute and rubber based on the geographical and climatic advantages of this place. They must not develop industry or anything like that. In terms of infrastructure, except for roads and railways that facilitate the transportation of raw materials, other places should be kept as original as possible.
Hinduism is a good thing for the rulers. With it, no matter how hard life is, the lower-class people will not resist, at least not violently. As for Confucianism, it is necessary for it to exist here, and I can allow Confucianism to take the lead in resisting the rule of my Ming Dynasty here. But this kind of resistance can only be non-violent. Well, let's call it a non-violent non-cooperation movement. After all, if you are oppressed too much, you still have to give people a way to vent. As long as the Indians believe in the theory of non-violence, this place will never see the hope of rising, and it will always be a treasure land for my Ming Dynasty to suck blood. "
"I don't really understand what your Majesty is talking about, non-violence."
Of course you don't understand. This is a weird theory that Gandhi, the self-righteous guy, came up with in the historical plane. In the first half of the 20th century, China carried out a violent revolution of blood and fire, thereby clearing all obstacles to the rise of the country. Under the guidance of Gandhi's theory, India carried out non-violent reforms, but all the obstacles were not cleared, so that the country could never truly develop and become strong - social reform is the redistribution of the interests of the whole society, how can it be done without killing people?
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Anyway, I will preserve Hinduism here and the privileges of the Brahmins and Kshatriyas. But because of this, I will severely humiliate them. You don't have to worry about them being dissatisfied. As long as I protect the privileges of these privileged classes, humph, let alone making them kneel for one day, even if they are made to kneel for ten days, they will be happy to do so."
"Father, the caste system is indeed a good medicine for the rulers to maintain domestic rule, but I also think that this thing is the root cause of the national vitality and the weakening of the country. We are here to protect Hinduism and its caste system. What if the civil officials in the country also do the same?"
"The caste system is indeed a very attractive thing for rulers. In history, India has been conquered so many times. When new conquerors with strong soldiers and horses and full of vitality entered India, they could see that the caste system would corrupt them sooner or later like the conquered. However, they still accepted the caste system for the sake of immediate interests.
But! We Chinese believe in the belief that 'kings, dukes, generals and ministers are of different species'. You implement the caste system in the Ming Dynasty? I'm afraid that there will be many rebel kings. On the contrary, we must provide relatively fair educational opportunities and channels for the local people to enter the government, so that the flow of people from upper to lower classes can remain smooth to a certain extent. Otherwise, neither our Zhu family nor other families can sit firmly on the throne of the Chinese emperor. This is why I just talked to you about culture. Our Chinese culture cultivates this life, which is fundamentally different from the afterlife of Hinduism. When you become the emperor in the future, if anyone dares to spread Hinduism and promote the caste system in the Chinese mainland, you will exterminate him with his entire clan."
After looking at his son who seemed to be thinking deeply, Zhu Youdong continued, "The Chinese people are probably the most difficult group to manage in the world. Not to mention those tribes in India whose culture was almost completely destroyed but did not resist on a large scale, not to mention those Indian tribes that have been washed by the caste system for thousands of years. Let's talk about Japan and Korea, which are also in our Chinese cultural circle. In the early years, the daimyo of the Warring States Period in Japan collected 70% to 80% of the land tax, and the Japanese farmers rarely resisted. The two-shift system in Korea cut off the channels for ordinary people to become officials, and the Koreans hardly resisted. But look at the rule of the gentry during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties. Was there less resistance? Were the gentry themselves killed miserably enough ?
However, it is precisely because everyone in our nation generally wants to live a better life in this life, and at the same time, we must do our best to make our next generation live a better life. Therefore, the vitality of our nation is the highest. Although it is difficult to manage, as long as it is managed well, the upper limit of a country composed mainly of this nation must be the highest. Ci Yi, you must remember that as emperors, the rights and interests of a family are of course very important, but these things must be ranked after the rights and interests of the entire country and nation! "
"Yes, father, I will keep your teachings in mind."
"Okay, go get those Brahmins and Kshatriyas to come in. Uh~ wait!"
"Father?"
"Hiss~Okay, it's okay, you can leave first."
…
Oh, this Philip, actually wants to escape at this time? As your Majesty, it's fine if you don't lead the army in person. You are in Mumbai now, shouldn't you stay with your soldiers until the end?
After complaining a little in his mind, Zhu Youdong laughed at himself: If it were me, as long as I didn't intend to accept defeat, I would probably run away first, right?
He stood in front of the map of the peninsula and silently estimated: Zheng Chenggong's plan was approved by himself. It should be said that ambushing the enemy on Socotra Island is much more advantageous than fighting a hard naval battle outside the port of Mumbai. But if Philip retreated by ship now, Inukai Toji's fleet would not be able to catch up anyway.
It is a pity that we cannot deal with this guy in India. But it does not matter. When you return to Europe, I will let you experience what it means to cut meat with a slow knife and what it means to live a life worse than death. At that time, you will definitely sigh that the spiritual core of the white people is much weaker than that of my Chinese people.
