The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 851 Earth-shaking Changes

While Europe was engulfed in conflict, the political landscape of Dayu was also undergoing tremendous changes.

The most important change was in the aristocratic system.

After twenty years of development, the system of internal meritocracy, Chinese vassal states, and foreign garrison states established at the beginning of the nation's founding is no longer suitable.

The reason they insisted on creating a somewhat strange system of regional military governors was actually to quell the discontent among the nobles who had followed the emperor in the fall of the dynasty.

Because the Dayu Dynasty as a whole learned from the lessons of the Ming Dynasty, the system of nobility was quite restrictive.

Among the imperial clan, it was rare to be granted the title of king. Mo Zibu's two elder brothers, Mo Zihuang and Mo Zitang, were only dukes when they were alive, and were only posthumously granted the title of prince after their deaths.

Most of Mo Zibu's own sons were dukes or even marquises. He only began to grant them the title of king when he needed them, and even then, he only talked about it but never actually did it. His grandsons were even worse off; being a marquis was considered a good title for them.

Among the meritorious officials, there were only four ranks of nobility: Duke, Duke of a Commandery, Marquis, and Earl. There were no viscounts or barons. Below that were honorary titles such as General Who Guards the State and General Who Assists the State.

Moreover, only one-fifth of these were hereditary and perpetual, while two-fifths were degraded in each subsequent generation after the third generation.

The remaining two-fifths were directly demoted, meaning that if the father was an earl and the son did not have great merit to maintain his position, he would directly become a general who protects the country.

The titles of nobility within the imperial court are so precious that many people struggle for half their lives to obtain one. If a group of dukes, marquises, and earls were to be granted out after acquiring the Eastern Ocean, it would certainly not be able to win over the people. Therefore, Young Master Mo established the system of vassal states.

Chinese princely relatives, on the other hand, were used for colonization and were employed in conjunction with the colonial system.

Therefore, although the Chinese princes and the vassal states of the East, South, North and West Mongolia were hereditary, they could not compare with the meritorious officials in terms of economic and political status.

Moreover, the former requires going out to establish settlements, and the difficulty increases as you progress.
In recent years, in the market for trade between foreign lands in Guangzhou Prefecture, the southern capital, several baronies and princes who could not make a living would directly put their titles up for sale, hoping to recoup their losses and go home to live off their ancestors.

Occasionally, a viscount might even run away with a huge loss, carrying away a bucket.

For example, in the 23rd year of Guangzhong (1798), Tan Xing, a gentleman from Nanbin, lost all his investments of more than ten years due to a large-scale insect disease and malaria that swept across the entire island in his banana plantation. As a result, creditors blocked his door and he could not even leave the house.

In desperation, this guy ran back to his hometown, Laibin County in Liuzhou Prefecture, and used his reputation as a gentleman to attract deposits at high interest rates, raising over 500,000 silver dollars, but still couldn't turn his life around.

By the time he was exposed, he still had more than 300,000 silver dollars in principal that he could not repay to the lenders, in addition to the promised interest.

Finally, Mozibu, enraged, ordered the removal of his title and confiscation of his fiefdom, and exiled his entire family to the remote frontier (Kamchatka Peninsula) to watch over seals.

It's important to know that Nanbin Island isn't in a particularly remote location. It's situated east of Nanji Island (Java) and adjacent to Berlin Island (Bali), which is actually the Lombok Island of later generations.

There were over two thousand Chinese on the island, more than one thousand white slave laborers on the estate, three thousand five hundred native laborers (Nanyang natives), and over sixty thousand unregistered savages. This was not a small number among the viscounts of Nanyang, and their ability to withstand risks was very strong. In the end, they still lost everything, which shows how risky colonization was.

As for the vassal states in the East and the southern, northern, and western parts of the Gobi Desert, although they did not face the risk of colonization, they had another indicator.

The Mongol tribes in southern, northern, and western Mongolia had to cooperate with the court's westward expansion policy. They not only had to provide cavalry for the army, but also logistical support. Furthermore, they had to implement the "Decree of Grace," continuously distributing populations to their sons so that they could follow the army to the west to be enfeoffed.

The task of the Japanese garrison commanders in the East was not easy. They had to provide a large population for Southeast Asia, as well as provide people and food for the development of North America, suppress the samurai army of the Jurchens in Hezhou, and build ships to go to North America.

As a result, the population growth rate of Silla and the four provinces of Japan under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Sea Envoy has remained low for the past two decades, and in some years the birth rate has even been far lower than the loss rate.

It can be said that in an era without white slaves and where natives could not be trusted, the entire Southeast Asia relied on farmers from the Japanese and Korean ethnic groups who went to sea and acted as the lowest-level tenant farmers, thus stabilizing the Southeast Asia's foundation.

The number of people who migrated to Southeast Asia in the early and middle periods was almost equal to the number of Chinese plantation workers. Considering the difference in the total population, this was quite astonishing.

This high level of expenditure was maintained for about 20 years. Now, the development in Southeast Asia has stabilized, and the number of Chinese has surged from about one million at the beginning to more than 70 million in the past 30 years.
At its peak, Guangzhou alone was sending 20,000 to 30,000 people to Southeast Asia every day.

The indigenous population, however, only increased from over nine million to around twenty million, and its share of the population has completely stagnated.

Nowadays, there's no need to coax or deceive people into going to Southeast Asia; plenty of people are willing to go.

Therefore, when the large-scale population export from Japan and North Korea to Southeast Asia was no longer necessary, the system of vassal states they used began to have problems.

The problem is not that they want to cause trouble or are causing trouble, but that the local warlords have become the last obstacle to their complete integration into Chinese society.
The existence of these regional military governors constantly reminded these people that they were not Chinese, but Japanese.

Therefore, in recent years, not only officials of Japanese descent have submitted petitions, but other Chinese officials have also submitted petitions, demanding the abolition of the feudal system as soon as possible.

So, in May of the previous year (1805), when Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate, Maurice decreed:
The old system of vassal states, which was in use in the five provinces of the East and the southern, northern and western deserts, was abolished. The titles of Shunyi King to Zhongshun Earl in the original vassal states were all cancelled and replaced with the new system of dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts and barons.

From then on, the titles of nobility in the Great Yu Dynasty were only divided into those of meritorious officials and those of regional governors.
The title of "meritorious official" refers to the noble titles within the Chinese nation, which are divided into four ranks: Duke of a State, Duke of a Commandery, Marquis, and Earl.

There are three categories: hereditary succession, succession by succession, and title. Succession by succession begins after three generations, while title is reduced to a lower status after the second generation.

The vassal states were divided into five ranks: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. The duke was given the title of Grand Duke, while the marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons were given the title of "Lord" in front of their names to distinguish them from the five ranks of meritorious officials.

As for the princes and dukes, those belonged to the imperial family and were not included in these two categories.

Moreover, it's not simply a matter of adjusting the original garrison commanders to the current garrison commanders; rather, those who did not go out to expand the territory were meritorious officials, while those who went out to expand the territory were garrison commanders.

Of course, during this transition, many of the nominal titles of the regional military governors were lowered, otherwise they would still be too high.

For example, the Aizu Domain was originally named the Prince of Shunyi by Mo Zibu as the highest rank of the old garrison, but after being replaced by meritorious officials, it became the Earl of Aizu.

The highest title in all of Japan was only granted to the Satsuma Domain of the former Shimazu clan as the Marquis of Shinhara, and the son of the former Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu, who had been living in Nanjing, was granted the title of Duke of Edo.

The lowest rank of nobility among the remaining old garrison commanders, such as the Earl of Zhongshun, was even transformed into a meritorious title like the General of the State.

Along with the system of granting titles, the political landscape was also being adjusted. Starting five years ago, Mo Zibu began spending more and more time in Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing.

The biggest problem for Dayu right now is not global hegemony, as that is not a major issue. The biggest problem is the widening gap between the North and the South, and even the cultural differences, which are rapidly increasing.

At that time, Dayu had the entire South Seas, and even Zhanzhou (Oceania) had more than two million people.

This caused the empire's territory to stretch dramatically. Even if we only consider Khabarovsk in the outer northeast, a straight line stretching to Jambudvipa would be more than 10,000 kilometers. In reality, the actual distance would probably be close to 30,000 kilometers.

In this situation, especially with the South holding so much wealth, the entire country tilted sharply toward the South in every respect.

Guangzhou replaced Nanjing's original status, Nanjing directly became Beijing, and Nanyang became the fertile Jiangnan region.

The North, including the entire Central Plains, is now in a similar position to the former border regions. Economically speaking, the traditional South and the North are no longer on the same level.

. . . .

Shuntianfu, Yuquanshan, Jingmingyuan in Beijing.

The 58-year-old Emperor Mozibu, dressed in shorts and a modern half-sleeved shirt (T-shirt), looked about the same age as a 40-year-old.

Under the influence of Mo Zibu, the new clothing styles of the Dayu Dynasty quickly became similar to those of later generations. Before Europe had even evolved to this level, Dayu had already developed these things.

As a result, short hair, shorts, T-shirts, and other items are consistently regarded by Westerners as innovations of the Eastern Seres civilization.

However, while Mo Zibu could be so carefree, the ministers who came to discuss matters could not. They still wore loose-fitting summer robes and sweat dripped down their faces in the sweltering heat of Beijing.

In particular, the veteran minister Lin Qiaoyin, who was basically the same age as Mo Zibu, was finding it hard to bear the heat.

“Yue Ting, we are ruler and subject, why are you so reserved? Wearing shorts and a t-shirt is not impolite, why make things difficult for your body?” Mo Zibu said with a smile.

Lin Qiaoyin cupped his hands in greeting, “Your Majesty is the sovereign, and as a true dragon in the world, there are naturally no taboos. This old minister is Your Majesty’s henchman, how can I disrespect etiquette and act improperly?”

Moreover, in recent years, wealth has corrupted people's hearts, and many have pursued profit at the expense of morality. The world has become increasingly corrupt, and people's hearts have lost their traditional virtues. As the head of all officials, I must pay even more attention to etiquette; otherwise, how can I assist Your Majesty in educating the people of the world?

At this time, Dayu was somewhat like the early days of reform and opening up in later generations. Productivity and wealth grew exponentially, shattering the moral system that originally relied on agriculture.

In this era where everyone is obsessed with money, it's not surprising that people will do anything as long as they can get money. Scamming and deception have become commonplace, causing countless people to worry that the country will cease to exist if things continue like this.

Mo Zibu smiled but didn't say anything. He wasn't too worried about it. When you're making money, it's impossible to expect people's hearts to remain calm. This is just like development; you have to develop first and then govern.

The current predicament of a nation on the verge of collapse will be much easier to resolve when the country is relatively prosperous, and it will not be as difficult as going against the tide as it is now. Immediately, Emperor Mo clapped his hands, and a group of eunuchs and palace servants piled up ice blocks around the pavilion and fanned them with large palm-leaf fans, while others carried ice water and continuously poured it down from above the pavilion.

In an instant, icy mist filled the air, and icy water gurgled, making it comparable to air conditioning in later generations.

"Your Majesty, I have rejected all the petitions from the provinces of Rinan and Taiping in Southeast Asia to build steel and cement plants, and the three coal and iron mines that had already been approved for operation have also been shut down."

As the temperature dropped, ministers from various departments, led by Lin Qiaoyin, began to report to the emperor.

Mo Zibu's solution to the widening gap between the North and the South was simple: he positioned Southeast Asia as a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for industrial products, preventing Southeast Asia from developing too much industry and relocating all of that industrial capacity to the North.

At the same time, it is necessary to restrict the heavy industrial capacity of the South, especially the Jiangnan region, and place all of these in the North, in order to ensure that the economic gap between the North and the South is not so large as to resemble a terrible difference between two worlds.

"It should be like this. It's so hot inside steel mills and cement plants. Even on ordinary days, people in Southeast Asia would die from the heat. Why bother setting up these factories?"

"If you're going to do it, come to Luoyang, Taiyuan, Shenyang, Yantai, Tianjin, or Jinzhou. Those willing to go to Beihezhou will receive extra rewards from me."

Mo Zibu wasn't just talking nonsense. The weather in Southeast Asia is terrible. Even in later generations with air conditioning, it's not suitable for large-scale heavy industry, let alone at this time.

The reason why heavy industries are constantly being built in Southeast Asia is actually because the competition in the heavy industry in the Pearl River Delta is too fierce and there is a lack of space to build factories, leading to spillover effects.

Because the Pearl River Delta is full of local tycoons, many of whom can be considered as founding heroes.

The wastewater and exhaust gas discharged from your cement plant and steel plant have polluted their good paddy fields. These people, with the same surname, are capable of forming hundreds or even thousands to block the factory gates.

As a result, many people considered moving their factories to Southeast Asia, even if the iron ore was transported from Ha Long Bay in Guangnan and Shilu in Hainan, it would still be worthwhile.

But Mo Zibu wouldn't let them have their way. Damn it, all the heavy industry has gone to Southeast Asia. What will happen to the Central Plains?

"I have ordered the Fuxing Company to take the lead in relocating all factories to the northern coastal areas. I think Yantai and Tianjin are very good options and worth investing in."

Unlike emperors in history, Mo Zibu holds the reins of the Fuxing Company, allowing him to guide the industry without resorting to administrative power.

This time, just to be on the safe side, Mo Zibu had his eldest nephew, Mo Gongbing, come closer.

"Ah Bing, go down and gather the heads of those big companies. Tell them it's my opinion and ask for their support."

Then Mo Zibu looked at Sun Xingyan, the Minister of Education, and instructed him: "I plan to build three Imperial Academies in Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, and the Northeast, and one in Gansu and the southern part of the Gobi Desert within ten years."

Furthermore, you should conduct thorough research on the required number of primary and secondary schools in these five provinces and one region, and then submit the figures to the Prime Minister.

Sun Xingyan quickly obeyed, but after a long silence, he looked at Mo Zibu and said, "Your Majesty, should we wait until after the new law is implemented to conduct the investigation in the nine northern provinces?"

Mo Zibu thought for a while, then nodded. The new law he was going to implement in the nine northern provinces, including Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, was very simple: it was to further increase the amount of land owned by each family unit.

Following a collective discussion between the Imperial Academy and the Council of State, it was unanimously agreed that the number of acres of land would no longer be calculated per capita, but per household.

In the next ten years, the average amount of farmland per household in the nine northern provinces should be at least around 300 mu.

This is the benefit that Mo Zibu brought to the people at the bottom of the nine northern provinces, and it is also his main way of reversing the excessive economic gap between the north and the south.

That is, compared to Jiangnan and Lingnan, which have already surpassed the North in terms of economy and culture, Mo Zibu will establish a large number of small landlord families in the North.

Through preferential education policies, such as establishing large-scale imperial academies, middle schools, and primary schools, scholars from the north—specifically, the "phoenix men" and "scrolling kings" from the nine northern provinces—could enter high-ranking government positions through the new imperial examination system.

The presence of these northern officials would further bridge the newly emerging north-south divide and ensure that the court's policies would take care of the nine northern provinces.

At the same time, since each household was a small landowner, they did not feel inferior when facing wealthy people in the south, and could even develop a sense of superiority, thinking that they were the foundation of China and that others were not.

As for industry, it was also the most important part of Mozibu's plan, which was to allow the South to control the economy while allowing the North to control a considerable amount of heavy industry, as well as the military industry that was very compatible with heavy industry.

Of course, a great deal of effort is required to achieve this goal.

From a land perspective alone, at least 40% of the current population in the north would need to be driven out to establish settlements.

This is also the real reason why Sun Xingyan reminded Mo Zibu that the research needed to be postponed.

Without delay, you won't get accurate data, because things are constantly changing.

If the deadline is not postponed, the government will not be able to afford such a large-scale investment in education, and ordinary people do not have such a high average land area per household, nor can they afford basic tuition fees.

"Are the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Colonial Affairs confident in handling such a complex task?" Mo Zibu asked in a deep voice. "I can only give you a maximum of ten years, because I am getting old and I do not want to leave these problems to my sons and grandsons to solve."

These were Mo Zibu's true feelings, because he was somewhat worried about whether his son, Da Laosen, had the courage and understanding to do something that was clearly not pleasing at the moment, but should be beneficial in the future.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, we are fully confident that we can accomplish this monumental task," replied Liu Tai'er, the Left Assistant Minister in charge of education, who was equivalent to a second-in-command.

This Left Assistant Minister was a close confidant of the former Prime Minister Luo Fangbai. He was not very educated, but he was decisive, ruthless, and very capable of execution.

As for Mo Zibu, he knew that the emperor was somewhat reluctant to use too drastic means to promote the new laws in the nine northern provinces.

But that was because the emperor was benevolent and cared for the people; these officials, however, didn't need to be so hesitant.

Liu Tai'er felt that the first priority was to get things done and to push forward the development of the nine northern provinces.

As for the common people below, well, just be careful. As long as they don't cause any major problems, such as kidnapping entire families and sending them out for settlement, it's fine.

Mo Zibu nodded in satisfaction. He knew Liu Tai'er's style of doing things, but he still entrusted this important task to Liu Tai'er, which could be considered a tacit approval to some extent.

Mo Zibu knew very well that this matter was extremely difficult to handle. If he were to tie the hands and feet of everyone below, it would definitely not be possible to do it, and no one would be willing to put in the effort.

That's just how things are in the world. No matter how powerful an emperor is, he can't just wave his hand and make his subordinates carry out orders like machines. Many times, he also needs to make certain compromises with his officials.

June 20, 1806. The 31st year of the Guangzhong reign of the Great Yu Dynasty in China, which was originally the 11th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, the fourth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar.

Mo Zibu held a investiture ceremony in Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing, and conferred the title of Prince of Qi upon the third son of the emperor, Mo Zhouyu, to be enfeoffed on the island of Sumatra.

Originally, Mochyu's fief was in Dana Salim, but in recent years Sumatra has been one of the most unstable regions in Southeast Asia, requiring a king to be in charge, so Mochyu was transferred to another fief.

The fourth son of the emperor, Mo Zhouzhe, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Han and took up his fief in Hanchuan Province (lower Burma).

The fifth son of the emperor, Mo Zhouzhen, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yan and enfeoffed in the Wenshui Port Protectorate of Beihezhou (west coast of North America).

The ninth son of the emperor, Mo Zhouzhan, was made King of Song and enfeoffed in Luzon.

The tenth prince, Mo Zhouzhao, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Liao in the Caucasus region.

At the same time, at the request of his third brother Mo Zirong, he conferred the title of King of Lu upon Mo Gongze, and took over the Lu vassal state completely from Mo Zirong.

During the investiture ceremony, neither Prince Yan Mo Zhouzhen nor Prince Liao Mo Zhouzhao, nor Crown Prince Mo Zhousen, who was originally scheduled to attend, were present.

The journey is too long; we should avoid it if possible. If something unexpected happens on the way, it will be too late to regret it.

Just after the investiture ceremony was completed, Mo Zibu received a report that the English envoy Charles Whitworth had arrived in Tianjin and requested to go to the capital to meet the emperor.

Mozibu immediately understood. It seemed that the Battle of the Three Emperors must have taken place during this period of the anti-French coalition. The Tsarist Rus' Empire and the Austrian Empire must have suffered particularly heavy losses, and the English were getting anxious.

Hmm.

Thinking of this, Mo Zibu stroked his chin and waved his hand, "Just say that I went to the Chengde Mountain Resort to cool off, and tell him to go to Nanjing to wait for me."

At the beginning of the year, the navy sent a report on the Battle of Trafalgar. The English were anxious, but with the French naval power gone, their lives were not in danger.

Then there's no need for Da Yu to rush. Let's wait and let the English figure out who's in charge before we start talking.

(End of this chapter)