The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 815 Having Understood the Universe, Yet Still Pitying the Green Grass and Trees
Dayu was the Northwest Envoy Office, and the Western Capital, Chang'an Prefecture.

At this time, the prevailing administrative structure in Dayu was a local administrative system of two capitals, four municipalities, and eight counties under the Tang dynasty.

The two capitals were Beijing (Shuntian Prefecture) and Nanjing (Yingtian Prefecture).

The four capitals were Guangzhou Prefecture (Southern Capital), Chang'an Prefecture (Western Capital), Osaka Prefecture (Eastern Capital), and Xingang Prefecture (New Capital, Singapore).

The eight Hung Thang prefectures are those with the prefix "Hung Thang". For example, there is the Hung Thang Ha Tien Prefecture where the Ha Tien Mo family originated, the Hung Thang Gia Dinh Prefecture (Ho Chi Minh City) where the Minh Huong people live, and the Hung Thang Thai Binh Prefecture (Ma On Son) where the Mo family's second ancestral home is located.

According to regulations, the emperor had to stay in the two capitals, North and South, for a period of time each year, send princes to the four capitals to oversee them, and make an imperial tour every five years. The eight Xing Tang prefectures were also to be overseen by important court officials or virtuous members of the imperial clan.

The Great Yu Dynasty can be considered an unprecedentedly large dynasty. Its territory was so vast that even if the Han and Tang dynasties included the areas they controlled at their peak, they would only be half the size of the Great Yu Dynasty.

After all, the combined area of ​​Southeast Asia and Australia is terrifying.

Ruling such a large country was an unprecedented challenge, with ever-changing circumstances that led to the resurgence of the feudal system, which had been largely phased out in China, on this land.

The Great Yu Dynasty was probably the only truly feudal state established after the First Emperor unified China by conquering the six other states.

This country is too big. Centralization can only be done in key areas. In many other non-key areas, we need to delegate power, otherwise things will definitely be delayed.

This is also why Confucianism flourished again in Dayu. Even though Mo Zibu disliked the Confucius family, he still began to treat them well and elevated Confucius to a higher level once again.

Without the Confucian concept of a unified empire, the ethical relationships of ruler and subject, father and son, and the corresponding imperial examination system, it would have been impossible to maintain the cohesion of such a vast empire.

Chang'an, inside the Daming Palace.

Crown Prince Mori, wielding a long sword and wearing mountain armor, was fighting a burly man.

Neither of their swords were sharpened; the tips had been slightly blunted, and the blades were coated with a special white dye. As a result, each strike left a mark on the armor.

"Twenty-five to twenty-one, His Highness the Crown Prince wins!" The referee announced the result as soon as the clanging of metal on the ice stopped.

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the surrounding palace servants and guards, and some people cheered loudly.

Crown Prince Da Laosen smiled and hugged his sixth brother, Mo Zhouhuan, before sitting on the arena. He waited for his body temperature to drop before changing into his everyday clothes, otherwise the cold from removing his armor could be fatal.

"Sen'er, you have indeed practiced diligently. When I was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, my body was probably not as strong as yours."

Mo Zibu laughed and said that he was relieved to see that his eldest son, Mo Zhousen, was still so strong.

The longevity genes of the Mo and Chen families are clearly evident in Mo Zibu and Mo Zhousen.

As descendants of Mo Jiu and Chen Shangchuan, who lived to be around ninety years old in the humid and hot Southeast Asia, Mo Zibu and his son were incredibly strong.

Historically, Zhu Biao, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, only went to Xi'an once and died upon his return. Meanwhile, the powerful Sen had traveled back and forth between the Central Plains and Central Asia several times, yet his health remained good.

After the two of them removed their armor, Mo Zibu carefully inquired about Mo Zhousen's eating habits.

When she heard that this boy loved to eat Anxi flatbread with fatty meat and sweet milk tea, and that Princess Charlotte, her daughter-in-law, liked to make overly sweet cakes, she immediately became unhappy.

“When Crown Prince Yiwen died young, I searched through the secret palace records and found that Crown Prince Yiwen was thin and often had minor ailments.”

Now that I think about it, it seems to be either tuberculosis or diabetes.

Previously, there was no way to prevent certain diseases, but diabetes can be prevented. You should eat more vegetables and fruits, and more beef, lamb, chicken, and duck, and less fatty meat.

Your body, Mo Zhousen, doesn't belong to you alone, but to everyone in the world. You bear the heavy responsibility entrusted to you by your ancestors and the nation, so you must be extra careful.

Go back and tell Charlotte that if she dares to bake those cloyingly sweet cakes again, making you and herself fat, I, her father, will drag her back from Anxi and make her kneel in the ancestral temple as punishment!

Mo Zibu is fifty-two years old this year, which is considered an old man. So he has been particularly fond of nagging in recent years. What he cares about most is the health of Crown Prince Asen.

Historically, Crown Prince Zhu Biao suffered from minor ailments and was extremely thin. Mo Zibu speculated that Zhu Biao either had tuberculosis or diabetes.

With so many underlying health conditions, the administrative pressure of governing the country increases significantly. It is not uncommon for a severe cold combined with underlying health conditions to directly kill a person.

Big Brother Sen was inexplicably scolded, but he knew that his father, Mo Zibu, was doing it for his own good.

So that he could walk less, his father even made a special trip from Shuntian Prefecture in Beijing to Chang'an Prefecture in Xidu during the winter to wait for him.

"I remember, I will definitely give Charlotte a good scolding when we get back," Mo Gongze quickly agreed, like a child making a promise to his father.

Mo Zibu nodded in satisfaction and had the Hanlin scholar accompanying him bring out a stack of official documents and hand them to Asen.

“Your fifth brother, Prince Han Azhe, and your third uncle, Prince Lu, have arrived at Xingang. However, your third uncle caught a cold on the way and has been unwell ever since. He wrote a letter saying that he wants to go to Hexian to recuperate for a while before coming to pay his respects.”

Mo Zirong should have arrived much earlier, but he was unwilling to go with the navy, fearing he would die at sea.

So they first took a ship to the Mediterranean Sea under Ottoman control, then crossed the Middle East to near Basra in Iraq, then took a ship to Kyaukpyu Port in India, and finally traveled overland to Siam.

During the journey, his main mistress, Maria Theresa, the mother of Mogongpo and a princess of the Kingdom of Sardinia, fell seriously ill and almost died on the way, which delayed him considerably.

As a result, after arriving in Yangon, the capital of Hanchuan Province (lower Myanmar), Mo Zirong fell seriously ill and had to be rushed to Singapore, the capital of Singapore, where medical facilities were better. Therefore, he has not yet set foot in mainland China.

"I suppose Father has already sent the imperial physicians south. Let Third Uncle stay in Hexian for a while longer."

Asen was also somewhat emotional. His third uncle, Mo Zirong, was only five or eight years older than him when he left the motherland, and now he is almost seventy years old.

"Sixth brother, would you like to go to Europe? Your fifth brother and your third uncle's family both suggest that one of you go to the West so that you can better get involved in European affairs."

Mo Zibu then asked the sixth son, Mo Zhouhuan, who had just competed in swordsmanship with Crown Prince Mo Zhousen, about one of the gains of the fourth son, Mo Zhouzhe, from his trip to Europe: he had scouted out a route for Mo Zhouhuan's trip to Europe.

“My son is willing to go, and my father-in-law has always wanted to return to the Netherlands and make a triumphant return. Now the Batavia population is growing rapidly, and many families are running out of money. There are also plenty of men who are willing to venture out.”

The so-called Batavia were white people who remained in the Dutch East Indies. About 30% of them assimilated with the Chinese, but most of them still retained their European characteristics.

Since they were unwilling to integrate, Mo Zibu didn't offer them any special treatment.

These people, known as Batavia, were excluded from the mainstream Chinese communities. Apart from those who had accumulated wealth in the past, many of them were destitute. Therefore, they conceived the idea of ​​returning to the Netherlands to cause trouble and claim credit for their success.

For Mo Zhouhuan, he naturally did not want to go to Europe, but if he did not go to Europe, then as the grandson of Tushetu Khan of the Northern Desert, he would have no choice but to go to the Northern Desert.

Although the northern desert is close to the Central Plains, it is deep inland, a dead land with no room for development. How can it compare to the colorful life in Europe?

"If you're willing to go, then go ahead and prepare well." Mo Zibu didn't say much more. It was still early. Napoleon hadn't fallen yet, and it was still unknown whether the Dutch would recognize William the Silent's lineage for more than ten generations.

The father and his two sons talked for a few more minutes, and then the second son, Wei Wang Mo Zhouxu, also arrived.

In recent years, in order to suppress the local areas, Mo Zibu has also begun to continuously bestow titles of kingship upon his capable sons.

However, among the sons who received the title of Prince, the second son, Mo Zhouxu, the Prince of Wei, is probably the only one who will not go out to take up his fief.

Because Mo Zhouxu's main job now is to build railways. This is a matter of utmost importance to the Great Yu Dynasty. The improvement of transportation capacity means an increase in the efficiency of national governance and the degree of centralization.

"Father, it's time for us to set off." The second son, Prince Wei, Mo Zhouxu, had come to invite Mo Zibu to attend the opening ceremony of the Sanqin Railway.

At this time, Dayu's railway mileage was unparalleled in the world, and it is very likely that the combined railway mileage of all other countries in the world was only one-fifteenth of that of Dayu.

The three main railway lines in Dayu are: the North-South Line from Nanjing to Beijing, the Hexi Line from Lanzhou to Dunhuang, and the Yellow River Line from Luoyang to Jinan.

The reason why there are basically no long-distance railway lines in the south is that the well-developed water system and small steam-powered boats weighing tens of tons have made transportation relatively convenient, so the demand for trains is not so strong.

Therefore, railways in the south are mostly very short, such as those from Zhenjiang to Nanjing, Suzhou to Shanghai, and Guangzhou to Huizhou.

The North not only lacks developed water transport, but also lacks the towering mountains and rugged terrain of the South, making it suitable for railway construction, and there are also relatively existing routes that can be borrowed.

For example, the north-south line from Nanjing to Beijing didn't need any route planning; it simply followed the Grand Canal. So, although it's a railway from Nanjing to Beijing, it actually started from Yangzhou in the south.

The same applies to the Yellow River route from Luoyang to Jinan; you can simply follow the Yellow River.

The Sanqin Line, which is traveling with us this time, runs from Huayin in the east of Chang'an to Longxi in the west, following the Wei River the whole way. It does not require crossing mountains and valleys, and Dayu does not have this technology now.

With this line, there are now less than 200 kilometers of railway no longer running between Huayin and Lanzhou, a distance of about 800 kilometers.

"Second brother, you have made a great contribution!" Crown Prince Da Laosen gave a thumbs up.

He came back this time to witness the opening of the Sanqin Railway. From now on, the manpower required to transport various key materials and goods produced in Guanzhong to Dunhuang can be reduced by more than 70%.

At this time, the steam engine of Dayu was progressing very rapidly. After all, millions of silver dollars were invested every year, and each effective invention was rewarded with tens of thousands of silver dollars. In addition, with Mo Zibu's determination of the research direction, it would be strange if they could not produce a high-performance steam engine.

The Sanqin Railway, which is now in operation, uses the latest steam engines, which can pull thirty carriages, carry a load of 190 tons, and reach a speed of over 30 kilometers per hour, basically reaching the level of around 1850 in history.

The journey of 600 kilometers took about 22 hours. In later times, even riding a scooter would be faster, but in this era, it was an extraordinary speed.

It's not that there's no speed that can be surpassed, but the fact that trains can run day and night is just too amazing.

After arriving in Longxi County, Mo Zibu also attended the completion ceremony of the Li Family Dragon Palace, which is the ancestral hall built by the Li Tang royal family for their ancestors.

The Li family's Dragon Palace was destroyed during the chaos in the Northwest, and Mo Zibu dragged his feet, only now finally rebuilding it.

Standing before this highly symbolic temple, Mo Zibu asked his son, Mo Zhousen, with a touch of emotion, "Have you finished reading the 'Biography of Emperor Huan of the Later Han Dynasty' from the Book of the Later Han Dynasty that I asked you to read?"

Da Laosen didn't know why his father wanted him to read the biography of Emperor Huan of Han, but he did as he was told and read it very carefully. "I finished reading it and read it five times carefully."

Mo Zibu nodded. "Then tell me, what are your thoughts after reading the biography of Emperor Huan of Han?"

After thinking for a moment, Asen said, "I have many feelings after reading the Records of Emperor Xiaohuan, but there are three main points."

Firstly, Emperor Huan of Han's original intention was to use the three forces of eunuchs, imperial relatives, and scholars to balance the court after eliminating powerful ministers like General Liang Ji, so that the emperor could break free from the shackles of powerful ministers and take control of the country.

Unfortunately, he did not conduct sufficient research and preparation, so after promoting the eunuchs and relatives of the emperor, there was not much left to distribute to the scholars.

This led scholars to believe that the emperor still only favored his relatives and eunuchs and was unwilling to serve him. Before the tripartite balance of power could be achieved, an important ally was already missing.

Secondly, Emperor Huan of Han was not resolute in his thinking and was easily angered and impulsive, so scholars were unwilling to serve him. He should have been more courteous to scholars and approached them, offering more benefits to win them over.

However, Emperor Huan of Han acted impulsively and used this as a pretext to punish scholars, which further alienated the emperor from the scholar-officials and ultimately led to the disaster of the partisan purge.

Thirdly, Emperor Huan of Han lacked the ability to recognize talent. The relatives of the empress who he relied on were mediocre and could not play any helpful role. The eunuchs he employed were all treacherous and wicked, which led to the further deterioration of the court.

"I believe that with these three points in mind, Emperor Huan of Han was destined to achieve little."

After Da Laosen finished speaking, he felt that he had summarized and analyzed Emperor Huan of Han very clearly, so he looked at Mo Zibu with the eyes of a child expecting praise from his parents.

But Mo Zibu shook his head. “These three points are indeed very big mistakes of Emperor Huan of Han, but they are not the most fatal ones. I think Emperor Huan of Han has two major problems.”

First, his lifespan was too short. We can see that Emperor Huan of Han was not a foolish ruler, and he was also willing to work hard to govern the country, but he died at the age of thirty-six, making everything a pipe dream.

The three problems you mentioned can actually be solved.

As Emperor Huan of Han grew older, his experience and knowledge also increased. If he could live another twenty years, reaching the age of fifty-six, he would have ample time to adjust.

Secondly, Emperor Huan of Han only focused on the court and was completely engaged in power struggles.

For emperors, this is putting the cart before the horse. Take Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, for example. He was full of cunning and was always doing things that couldn't be brought to the table.

They failed to see that while they manipulated power, creating a system where relatives of the emperor, eunuchs, and scholars jointly governed the court—one person in power today, another tomorrow—the people of the entire realm were suffering terribly from these drastic court changes, their lives worse than death, their families destroyed.

As Mo Zibu spoke, he pointed to the statue of Emperor Taizong of Tang, “Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Emperor Taizong was truly a great emperor throughout the ages, able to summarize such lessons more than a thousand years ago.”

The way an emperor rules the world lies in principles, not in tactics.

You must remember that for emperors, political maneuvering is a minor matter. When a monarch devotes all his energy to playing power games with his ministers and trying to maintain a balance, that is when he fails the most.

A true emperor must ensure that every decision he makes takes into account the common people of the world, and minimizes the negative impact of every policy on his subjects.

Only in this way can his rule win the hearts of the people, his power be secure, and the country prosper.

Remember this well: never fall into the trap of manipulating power in the future.

It's not that monarchs can't use imperial tactics, but rather that they shouldn't make it their primary, or even sole, means.

Da Laosen frowned, carefully considering his father's words, while Mo Zibu took out a calligraphy scroll and handed it to his son.

"After you go to Anxi, frame his portrait and put it in your bedroom so that you can see it every day and be mindful of it every day."

Big Brother Sen took it and unfolded it, only to see ten large characters written on it.

Having already grasped the vastness of heaven and earth, one still cherishes the green of grass and trees.

"Is this Father's new work?" Boss Sen asked in a low voice. He felt that these ten words were like a morning bell and an evening drum, ringing in his heart.

"You'll figure it out for yourself. If you succeed, after you've stayed in Anxi for three to five years and resolved the threat from the Tsarist Russian Empire, I'll go and enjoy a carefree life." Mo Zibu laughed and spoke his mind.

Asen was shocked and was about to say something when Lao Liu, Mo Zhouhuan, ran over with an urgent report.

Mo Zibu took a look and then handed it to Asen. “Your brother, Prince Aze of Lu, has sent a letter. Tsar Paul I has yielded. He no longer dares to oppose France and is likely to shift his power to the East.”

“Go, my son, I believe you know how to deal with our greedy neighbor!”

(End of this chapter)