The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 872 Emperor Mo understands filial piety best.
The Native Americans of North America should not be considered a nation or ethnic group, just as it is absurd to insist on considering all Southeast Asians as a single ethnic group.

Of course, the blood ties among Native Americans are closer than those among the ethnic groups in Southeast Asia; at least they cannot be said to be completely unrelated.

In the era of industrialization, the Americas seemed incredibly prosperous, a land seemingly chosen by heaven.

But before industrialization led to a surge in productivity, the Americas were not suitable for agriculture and were not a good place.

The main reason is that the Americas lack east-west mountain ranges as a barrier, making most of the Americas, especially North America, extremely vulnerable to cold waves in winter and frequent typhoons in summer.

Along with the cold wave and typhoon came not only extreme weather, but also severe damage to water conservancy facilities and vicious pests and diseases.

For thousands of years, the productivity of Native Americans was comparable to that of sub-Saharan Africa.

Therefore, when European colonists discovered the New World, these low-productivity groups were quickly wiped out.

The Inca Empire and the Aztec Empire were successively conquered and destroyed by the Spanish, and the Mayan city-states were also smashed.

However, the Maya fared much better than the Incas and Aztecs.

Although the Mayan city-states were conquered by the Spanish, many Mayans survived, and their traditional culture was preserved.

The most important reason, of course, was the decline of the Spanish kingdom, which made it impossible for them to spend a lot of manpower and resources to treat the Maya cruelly.

Furthermore, the Maya had a unique characteristic: they were more inclined to farm and thus had slightly stronger resistance to infectious diseases from Eurasia, such as smallpox, compared to other Native Americans.

So after being controlled by the Spanish and their population decreased from five million to six or seven hundred thousand, the Maya population has begun to recover in the last half century, thanks to increased disease resistance and the cultivation of maize, and is now around 1.6 million.

The core Yucatan Peninsula is home to about 600,000 Maya people, while there are also 200,000 to 300,000 people living in the Lake Atitlán basin of Guatemala and the Copan River Valley of Honduras.

However, when Ding Ruoyong, an official from the Southern Garrison Command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and a Thousand-Household Officer of Beihe Prefecture, arrived here...

He discovered that the restoration of the Yucatan Mayan population seemed to be a false proposition.

Because, in his view, children and young people who clearly had white features made up at least 30% of them.

No wonder the Maya had increased resistance to smallpox; it turns out they had this method of increase. The hundreds of thousands of additional people included many mixed-race individuals who could be classified as mixed-race Caucasians.

“Those Western barbarians possess extraordinary and ingenious skills that surpass all others in the world, yet they lack morality, ethics, and etiquette. They will never amount to anything.” Ding Ruoyong’s deputy also noticed this situation, criticizing it verbally but feeling regretful in his heart.

"What a finely educated race! With such a large proportion of people of Western descent, they should be incorporated into the nation, elevated in status, and given the opportunity to develop the land."

Westerners ruthlessly abandoned it, even wanting to eliminate it as soon as possible—what a waste!

That makes sense, but Ding Ruoyong shook his head after listening, disagreeing with his deputy.

This man is not a true Han Chinese, but a Korean.

In the original history of Joseon Dynasty, he was a figure of some importance, a thinker and philosopher rarely seen on the Korean Peninsula.

Around 1801 in history, the famous Shin-yu Heinous Crimes broke out in Joseon Dynasty.

Xinyou is a year, and "cult" refers to Christianity.

What appears to be an xenophobic political campaign against Christianity is in fact a brutal political struggle.

Twenty-nine-year-old Jeong Yak-yong, having been exposed to Western culture, began to doubt the outdated and ineffective Confucianism of Korea, which was completely incapable of guiding society. In addition, some of his family members were religious, and he was eventually implicated.

After being implicated in the Shin-yu Heinous Case, Jeong Yak-yong was sentenced to exile and spent the last eighteen years wandering through the poorest regions of Korea, witnessing firsthand the immense suffering of the peninsula's underclass.

Over the course of eighteen years, he continuously summarized his experiences and lessons, analyzed the root causes of social suffering, and wrote a large number of books on finance, governance, medicine, architecture, and other fields. He can be considered a pioneer in opening the eyes of the peninsula to the world.

In this timeline, Ding Ruoyong is still implicated by his family and elder brother. Originally, he had some understanding of the outside world and was preparing to take up a government post to make his mark after Dayu reclaimed the legal authority of the Joseon Kingdom.

As a result, their Ding family, especially his eldest brother Ding Ruoquan and second brother Ding Ruozhong, believed that Dayu had not shown the demeanor of a patriarch, but instead annexed its vassal states, which was immoral. They then recruited Ding Yong with a group of top-ranking members of the Yangban (aristocratic class) to rebel.

As expected, the Ding family was uprooted, and Ding Ruoyong's eldest brother, Ding Ruoquan, and his entire family were exiled to Sichuan Province (upper Myanmar).

The second elder brother, Ding Ruozhong, was a Catholic with the Christian name Austin and had connections with the French Foreign Church. He even attempted to escape to India to borrow the help of the French army to defeat Da Yu.

Before they even left port, they were arrested, which enraged Wu Wenhui, the eldest son of Wu Rang, the Marquis of Songcheng, who was in charge of the operation and was then a naval rear admiral.

Instead of reporting to the imperial court, he first beheaded Ding Ruozhong and more than ten others under military law. Afterward, he arrested hundreds of Korean Catholics, killing all the men and exiling the women to Southeast Asia.

As for Ding Ruoyong, he did not participate in the uprising and had even planned to defect to another side, so he was not punished.

However, his mother was also sentenced to exile because she was implicated by his two older brothers.

Although Ding's youngest son was already twenty-eight, he was actually not yet fifty and therefore not among the elderly who could be pardoned.

To save his mother, Ding Ruoyong wrote to the imperial court, offering to take her place in his own life, instantly becoming a nationally renowned filial son.

Upon hearing this, Mo Zibu was very pleased. Emperor Mo himself was a filial son and understood filial piety best. So he immediately granted Ding Ruoyong's request and sentenced him to exile in Beihezhou.

Now it was Ding Ruoyong's turn to be dumbfounded, because according to past practice, his behavior and the impact it caused would eventually move the emperor to tears by his filial piety and lead to the pardon of his mother.

Unexpectedly, the emperor showed no mercy and only pardoned Ding Ruoyong's mother, ordering the prefect of Hanseong to provide her with rice, grains, and vegetables every month. Ding Ruoyong, however, was not pardoned and was directly exiled.

For more than ten years, Ding Ruoyong had been wandering around Beihezhou until he was willing to take up an official post, at which point his situation improved.

Given the situation in Beihezhou, being able to recognize a few hundred characters and do addition and subtraction within ten thousand is considered a talent. Someone like Ding Ruoyong is practically a top-notch Confucian scholar, which is why he is more successful than in his hometown.

He served as the tax commissioner of Wenshui Port, the instructor of Jiaoyang Fort (Seattle), and even followed the army to the battlefield to annihilate the Jurchens of Beihezhou. For more than ten years, his footprints have covered the Beihezhou Protectorate.

Ultimately, he was selected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Don't assume that the members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are either ruthless spies or bloodthirsty torturers. In fact, the Embroidered Uniform Guard recruits mostly people like Ding Ruoyong.

A thinker and philosopher who can also get things done, with considerable expertise in teaching, governance, finance and taxation and engineering, is a powerful asset anywhere.

It is extremely easy to expand Dayu's influence in the local area, spread Chinese culture, and gain the respect and even worship of the locals.

The influence of such a person's infiltration is greater than that of a hundred ruthless and cunning spies.

Before venturing deep into the Mayan communities of the Yucatan Peninsula, Ding Ruoyong already enjoyed great renown among the Pan-Mayan tribes and the Texas Indian tribes.

The reason he was able to bring more than a dozen people to the most sacred core secret area of ​​the Maya was because a large number of Pan-Mayan tribal chiefs vouched for him.

"Western countries are small and poor, and located in the far west, where the development of civilization is not easy. It was impossible for them to rise to the point where even our Great Yu has to be wary of them. They survive entirely by relying on the law of warring states, where the strong get stronger and the weak perish."

Without good land and geographical resources, they didn't treat people like human beings, forging a path of hope from the brink of despair with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Ding Ruoyong, like a teacher, educated the members of the secret mission behind him: "This kind of extreme cruelty is like raising poisonous insects. The one who survives is the most poisonous of all, and should not be underestimated."

You see Westerners as not assimilating the Jurchen and Mayan tribes of Hezhou because you still consider these Mayans to be human.

Little did they know that in the eyes of Westerners, they were not human beings, but rather, as His Majesty described in his writings, the means of production.

After saying that, Ding Ruoyong, who had an air of otherworldly elegance, suddenly gave a wicked smile, and his tone became sinister.

"After all, who would consider cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, cats, and dogs as human beings, and think about educating them instead of skinning them, dismembering them, drinking their blood, and eating their flesh!"

The deputy envoy shuddered at Ding Ruoyong's laughter, feeling a chill run down his spine. He never expected that this virtuous scholar, who cared so much about the world, would have such a ruthless side.

However, Ding Ruoyong realized a truth during his more than ten years of colonization in Beihezhou: sometimes, fierce competition and oppression can be a driving force for social progress. In this respect, the Chinese are actually somewhat lagging behind, which is also a hidden worry for the future.

"Honorable sage, please allow me to introduce you." Inside the Kukulkan Temple (Kukulkan Pyramid), a minor Mayan chieftain who had brought the secret mission here solemnly introduced the Mayan supreme leader who was participating in the meeting.

"This is the twenty-third priest of Quetzalcoatl, the most revered sage of the Maya, and Quetzalcoatl's representative on earth, Aktiq Cher."

The Kukulkan Pyramid was originally a temple dedicated to the feathered serpent god, and at that time it was a place that outsiders could hardly set foot in.

"Welcome, sage of the North." The feathered serpent priest was tall, with only a few colorful strips of cloth wrapped around his upper body and a colorful long skirt around his lower body, and feathers adorning his head.

He referred to Ding Ruoyong as a sage of the North, clearly with a hint of resentment.

“You all come from the north. You are not the Indians that the West speaks of, but the Jurchens, a group of Jurchens who left their own people thousands of years ago and came to Xiniuhezhou through the permafrost ice bridge.”

Ding Ruoyong certainly wouldn't tolerate this so-called feathered serpent priest, no matter how high his status was among the Maya.

Because at this time, it was the Maya who needed the help of the Dayu, not the other way around.

The Quetzalcoatl priest was rebuked, but did not continue to argue. Instead, he tacitly retreated to a slightly more secluded position.

The chief who brought Ding Ruoyong immediately continued the introduction, fearing that the two would break up at the very beginning.

Meanwhile, Ding Ruoyong's tough stance had an effect. Seeing that he had successfully silenced even the highest-ranking feathered serpent priest, the other chieftains immediately became respectful. "This is General Cecilio. Not only do we Maya accept his leadership, but the Zapotec people further south are also willing to follow him."

"The Spanish call me the Skinner. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard that you've saved many people in the north with your miraculous medical skills and taught them farming and construction. The Maya also hope to receive your guidance."

His nickname was terrifying, but he looked very gentle and spoke very politely, showing no signs of being a warrior who instilled fear in the Spanish.

"This is the psychic Francisco May. He can communicate with the big cats in the jungle, and any enemy who enters the jungle will not escape his pursuit."

“Sage, I cannot actually communicate with the big cats. They are just my closest companions and they use their own way to convey the enemy’s movements to me.”

As he spoke, the psychic, whom the Spanish called the Eternal Witch King, uttered a soft call, and several lithe big cats, or jaguars, appeared in the temple.

Their thick paw pads make no sound when they walk, which would be absolutely useful for tracking enemies.

Ding Ruoyong and the members of the delegation were very nervous, which is normal. It is impossible for a person not to be nervous when in close contact with a creature like a jaguar.

But Ding Ruoyong showed no sign of nervousness. He smiled and said in Spanish, "I've heard about your story, but I didn't expect you to be so honest. I'm very pleased with that."

"This is Maria Uchi, the most valiant female warrior of our Maya people."

Ding Ruoyong looked closely and realized that the 'strong man' wearing a coarse cloth robe and with his face smeared with various colors of paint was actually a woman.

No wonder he's called the most valiant; just looking at his physique and strong muscles, he's practically a man.

“Fate was too cruel to the Mayan men; many of them were killed by the evil seamen, and their corpses piled up higher than the temple of Kukulkan.”

So, the Mayan women had no choice but to shoulder the responsibilities that men originally had to bear: protecting their people.

But if I had a choice, I would much rather plant countless ears of corn in the fields, so that no one would go hungry, than shoulder this responsibility that is not traditionally considered a woman's duty.

These words were quite insightful, earning Ding Ruoyong a degree of respect. "Such days are not far off, because you are all members of the Eastern people."

"If one so desires, one can bask in the blessings of all the emperors of the East, the Great Emperor of the Great Yu. With the Great Emperor's protection, the Spanish are no problem at all."

“Sage, if we are to judge by appearance, we are not much different, and we should have been of the same race a long time ago.”

Even among the Maya themselves, there were still considerable internal conflicts, let alone among their own people thousands of years ago.

"So why should we believe you? Do you really think the Great Emperor of the Great Yu would protect us out of a sense of kinship, instead of coveting our land like the Spanish and then annihilating us?"

The Feathered Serpent priest was still full of doubts about the arrival of the Great Yu secret mission, perhaps thinking that he still had some value, but Ding Ruoyong quickly shattered his illusions.

“Priest, we are not of the same race.” Ding Ruoyong waved his hand rapidly. They, the people of the peninsula, had to ‘sacrifice’ their country and ethnicity in order to become Han Chinese.

You're just a desperate barbarian who thinks too highly of yourself by immediately declaring you want to be a Han Chinese!

“You are the Jurchens who fled, and you are considered a race close to civilization in the East. We are the Han Chinese, the masters of the Eastern world, and the benevolent race at the pinnacle of civilization.”

Of course, in the East, the Jurchens will soon be just like the Han people, but you are not yet.

"Your names are Spanish; you haven't studied Eastern culture, and you haven't shed blood for the great Eastern empire. How could you possibly become Han Chinese directly?"

This was so hurtful that the High Priest of Quetzalcoatl, the spiritual leader of the Maya people of the Yucatan Peninsula, couldn't hold back any longer. His face flushed red, and he roared in a fit of rage:

"Then we can't trust you even more. You don't even treat your own kind well. You'll definitely treat us like the Spanish in the future!"

Ding Ruoyong understood; was this the feeling he'd been waiting for?
All the hesitation and rejection were in order to secure the best possible treatment for oneself when there were few other options.

“I understand the High Priest’s thoughts.” Ding Ruoyong softened her voice, trying to make her more poignant words gentler.

"But the Maya had no other choice. The Great Yu Empire did not have the Maya, so at most it could only postpone the time to take over New Spain."

But if the Maya lose the Great Yu Empire, you will soon be defeated by the Spanish again, and at least half of your people will be ruthlessly killed. The Maya's last stand will be over.

"I can only tell the High Priest that the Great Yu Empire has always kept its word. No matter which Hezhou Jurchen they are, as long as they pledge their loyalty, they will certainly receive protection."

Da Yu's reputation in North America isn't actually that good, but you can't stand up to the comparison with your peers.

The development of Dayu was also full of bloodshed and plunder, but compared with the Europeans who directly hunted the Native Americans as animals and often skinned and dismembered them, they were practically the embodiment of trust and righteousness.

The Maya were indeed desperate, although they did not suffer a very serious blow at this time in history.

However, forty years later, during the Yucatan caste war, it was almost completely destroyed, with over 300,000 people killed directly.

"What do you mean by your hesitation? Didn't you ask us to come here?" Ding Ruoyong's deputy envoy began to put pressure on the Maya at the opportune moment.

"When you're at your wit's end, you should grab onto any straw that offers a lifeline. But if you have no leverage and still dream of getting even greater benefits, do you think that's possible, High Priest?"

These words turned the faces of the Mayan leaders pale, and they seemed to be about to give in, but because the matter was of great importance, none of them dared to make a decision. Ding Ruoyong took the opportunity to give the final price.

“His Highness the Prince of Yan ordered me to come here. As long as you offer your loyalty, one hundred and fifty guardians will appear in all the territories protected by the Feathered Serpent God, and this place will forever be your territory.”

This is actually the same tactic the United States used to drive Native Americans into reservations. It seems to protect the rights of the Maya, but in reality, it confines them to a fixed area, and all other benefits are irrelevant to them.

Moreover, the 600,000 people on the Yucatan Peninsula will be divided into 150 minor lords (garrison commanders). Unless they are forced too much in the future, they will basically lose the ability to resist.

The leaders exchanged glances, then politely asked Ding Ruoyong to leave, as they needed to discuss the matter further.

Ding Ruoyong remained very calm, because he knew that these Mayans had no choice.

The Great Yu wanted to use them, but they coveted their population. Once the Maya settled down and began to multiply on a large scale, they could provide Texas and Louisiana with a stable supply of farm workers or tenants in the future.

Without the Great Yu, they'll suffer terribly.

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of New Leon, efforts were underway to win over native-born whites and mixed-race whites.

At this time, the map of Mexico was actually still taking shape, and there were some strange regimes in many places.

For example, the Kingdom of New Leon is one of them. It is located on the US-Mexico border in later times, close to Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.

"Therefore, the system in New Spain was unreasonable, even inhuman, as the corrupt nobles from the Iberian Peninsula divided it into four very distinct parts."

Within these four divisions, there are further subdivisions. For example, if a native-born white person comes from a noble family, then they can generally be considered a white person from Europe.

Among mixed-race children, those whose fathers are white outnumber those whose mothers are white outnumber those whose fathers are willing to raise them as Europeans outnumber those who were abandoned in Native American tribes.

"And our arrival will bring an end to all this—the grandson of the greatest emperor of the most civilized race in the East, and the grandson of King Louis XVI, the Duke of Valois."

When it comes to spouting these clichés about Enlightenment ideals like liberty, equality, and fraternity, no one is more suited than the Marquis of Lafayette, who lived through the French Revolution.

Coincidentally, these native-born and mixed-race white rebels were also very receptive to this idea, listening with their eyes practically sparkling.

"How does the Duke of Valois plan to resolve all this?" Miguel Costilla, the leader of the resistance and a native white man, listened with some fascination, but still managed to maintain a basic level of awareness.

"It's easy to solve. All the assets of the peninsula people (white people from mainland Spain) will be confiscated and reorganized, and the land will be redeemed to benefit some of those who have contributed to the fight for equality."

I believe that neither the Spanish government, the new Viceroyalty of Spain, nor Napoleon, who now controls the Kingdom of Spain, could have accomplished this.

They were all only thinking about taking from the colonies, rather than developing the place and bringing benefits to the locals. The Seris Empire was different.

Once the land issue is resolved, the Seres Empire will devote significant resources to developing New Spain, as well as the neighboring Texas and Louisiana.

"As long as these places begin to develop rapidly, and there's no need to transport all the wealth back to the homeland, good days will come soon." Marquis Lafayette explained the policies of the Great Yu.

This is indeed a difference between Dayu and European countries in their treatment of colonies. Dayu did not particularly need to treat colonies with direct plunder, but rather focused more on occupying territory and cultivating markets.

“My lord, if that is the case, we would be very happy to accept the rule of the Duke of Valois and the Seris Empire, but we hope to sign a law to confirm that this will be the case in the future.”

Marquis Lafayette shook his head. "The law is impossible because His Highness the King of Zhongshan, also known as His Highness the Duke of Valois, is not the king, but the grandson of the Great Emperor."

The Zhongshan Kingdom, being part of the Seris Empire, could only have signed a decree regarding land redemption policies, not a law.

Although it was a refusal, Miguel Costilla was actually even happier.

He believes that this is the kind of government that truly follows the law, with clearly defined rights and obligations.

"Yes, as long as there is a law, we will serve the empire. If the empire protects our rights, then we will serve the empire."

The matter can be said to have been resolved perfectly. As for the very few people who needed to be won over, the white people from the Iberian Peninsula have also been contacted, and Prince Yan, Mo Zhouzhen, personally took charge.

The task of these white families was simple: when the Native Americans and native-born, mixed-race whites started causing trouble and the Viceroyalty of New Spain could not suppress them, they would propose to borrow troops from the Seres Empire to suppress the conflict, thus providing a legal basis for the Great Yu to enter New Spain.

(End of this chapter)