The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 925 Meeting Again in History
On the railway between Beijing and Shanghai, Bolívar, sitting in a speeding carriage and looking out the window, suddenly felt like crying.

He recalled the scene when he disembarked at Baoshan Port in Shanghai. The riverbank was lined with five- or six-story buildings made of cement, and steam locomotives belching black smoke roared through the streets.

The shops along the city streets were filled with a dazzling array of goods, and the people walking on the streets all had satisfied smiles on their faces.

At the time, Bolívar thought it was just a prosperous side that Emperor Seres had deliberately shown him, but now even the villages along the railway were so wealthy, and this continued for thousands of miles. What else could be uncertain about?

"If I could enable the people of Venezuela to live such a life, I would be willing to fight for it for the rest of my life!" Bolivar's eyes seemed to be glistening with tears, and he spoke with heartfelt sincerity.

However, Xu Jiyu, who was standing beside him, had a different expression on his face. In the course of about a year of getting to know this young official whom the emperor valued most, he had discovered the deeply hidden characteristics of this hero from Nanhe Prefecture.

That means he has an extremely strong desire for power and is very good at performing.

For example, his current statement that he is willing to live such a life for the Venezuelan people and is willing to fight for it for the rest of his life may be out of genuine feelings, but the person who is fighting for it can only be himself, and the Venezuelan people must obey his command.

If the Venezuelan people want to fight alongside a second person, Bolivar wouldn't mind beating them senseless.

On the other hand, in the relatively quieter San Martin, this person is quite pure.

He simply wanted to drive out the Spanish and enable countries like Argentina, which had been painfully exploited by Madrid, to gain independence and no longer be treated as second-class citizens or even slaves, so that they could live like human beings.

This is a person who has no attachment to power and is as pure as a saint.

However, although Xu Jiyu admired San Martín more and preferred to befriend him, he felt that to succeed, one needed a ruthless leader like Bolivar.

. . . .

Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing, the Forbidden City.

Mo Zibu is hosting a farewell banquet for his fifth son, Prince Yan, Mo Zhouzhen.

His Highness the Prince of Yan returned this time because he had led his army to basically conquer Mexico and successfully implemented a moderate-intensity land reform there.

The specific method involved confiscating a large number of estates and lands belonging to the Peninsular people, that is, the nobles from mainland Spain who had migrated to Mexico.

Sixty percent of this land was distributed per capita to native-born white and mixed-race white people in Mexico.

The remaining 40% of the land was used to reward a small number of Mexican nobles and soldiers from the Great Yu who were willing to retire in Mexico, as well as Han Chinese volunteers, thus creating a core group of Great Yu in Mexico.

The subsequent edict emancipating slaves freed all slaves in Mexican territory, making them civilians.

However, this decree was not thorough; perhaps there is no such thing as complete liberation in the world.

More than a million slaves in Mexico were freed, but they themselves had no means of production, and Mexico did not give them any means of production either.

Therefore, although they were liberated, they still had to work as tenant farmers for landlords to survive, and their lives were actually even more difficult.

The liberated serfs gained the freedom from cruel exploitation and starvation, as well as the freedom from being bought and sold as commodities and killed at will like cattle and horses.

"Father, aren't you giving too much? Chemical plant, arsenal, steam engine plant, steel plant, these are all the most advanced technologies in our Great Yu."

You also want to build the Jinshan National Academy and the Royal Yuyang Academy for me, this is...this is way too much!"

Mo Zhouzhen kept saying that he had given too much, but he couldn't stop smiling.

This time, Mo Zibu essentially gave him a complete industrial system, encompassing everything from education to industry.

In the future, North Hezhou will no longer need to rely on the mainland to transport everything; even the latest Liangwang Cannon (Grendel Cannon) can be built.

Mo Zhouzhen could even spend about five years building up a fleet directly in Beihezhou.

"Not only will I give you these, but I will also gradually give you the directly administered territory of the Beihezhou Protectorate," Mo Zibu said calmly.

But when I brought the teacup to my lips, I realized the water was freshly poured and scalding hot, making it impossible to drink.

Mo Zhouzhen was completely terrified. He stared blankly at his father, beads of cold sweat dripping from his forehead to the tip of his nose, before falling to the ground with a thud and shattering into pieces.

Pfft!
Mo Zhouzhen immediately knelt down at the dinner table. "Father, are you going to kill me? I would never dare to covet the territory directly under the court's control!"

No wonder Mo Zhouzhen was terrified and sweating profusely. This thing was terrifying. With a complete industrial system and the Beihezhou Protectorate with a population of over two million, he could completely form his own country.

Because of his enfeoffment as the Prince of Yan, there were already rumors circulating in the court. Now that the Emperor has done this, wouldn't it just confirm the rumors?

With his elder brother, Crown Prince Da Laosen, about to ascend the throne, if this were to reach the ears of his elder brother, he would surely think that Da Laosen was about to abdicate and was therefore making exorbitant demands.

Oh no, oh no, if my brother finds out, he'll be in big trouble.

"You're spineless. Look how scared you are. How can you compare to Emperor Taizong of Ming? He led five expeditions to the Mongolian steppes and seven voyages to the Western Ocean, killing countless people. How can you compare to Emperor Yongle?"

After waving his hand to dismiss the palace servants and guards, Mo Zibu cursed in disgust and kicked Mo Zhouzhen, telling him to get up quickly.

"Since Father Emperor does not want Dayu to repeat the old stories of the Ming Dynasty, then why did he give the directly administered territory of the Northern Hezhou Protectorate to his son?"

To avoid a future tragedy for our Mo family, I absolutely dare not accept this offer. In fact, it would be best if the Yan Kingdom were granted the privilege of being converted into several prefectures and kingdoms in the future.

Mo Zhouzhen gritted his teeth and made up his mind. Although he hoped to make a name for himself, he never wanted to split the Great Yu, let alone rebel.

Well, actually, when Zhu Hongwu and Zhu Biao were still alive, Zhu Di would never have had any intention of rebelling. Just like Mo Zhouzhen now, he was too busy currying favor with them.

Hearing Mo Zhouzhen say this, Mo Zibu sighed and picked up the wine pot to fill Mo Zhouzhen's cup with wine.

"Fifth brother, you are loyal and sensible, but child, things are not like they were hundreds of years ago."

The development of productive forces propels the continuous advancement of production relations, which in turn inevitably alter the superstructure of human society.

Mo Zibu sat down and poured himself another glass of wine, his eyes slightly dazed, because fifty years had passed since he transmigrated, and he was now sixty-eight years old.

Such a long period of time not only made his memories of the time travel before his time travel begin to blur, but also, because the world had changed so much, the fog of history finally obscured Mo Zibu's vision.

He has no idea what the future holds.

“Look at Jiangnan, in order to reduce costs by even a little bit, factory owners dare to make textile workers work six hours a day, five of which are regular shifts and one is a guest shift.”

These guest troupes receive no pay; they work for the factory owners for free.

In addition to this, the age of factory workers is getting younger and younger, because teenagers only get half the salary of adults, and children in their teens only get half the salary of teenagers.

These are just a few examples; sometimes when I close my eyes, I seem to see our factories transformed into monsters that devour flesh and blood.

Mo Zibu was genuinely scared!

Capitalism is indeed a cannibalistic force. At first, the Great Yu Dynasty was able to control it because the Confucian ethics and morality, which had been passed down for thousands of years, still had a strong ability to correct errors.

The feudal system represented by Confucianism also devoured people, but it was packaged and devoured them secretly behind closed doors.

Capitalism is different; they don't care about manners. As long as they can make money, they dare to do whatever they want in full view of the public.

So after Confucianism was distorted beyond recognition by the national economy, capitalism in Dayu has also begun to openly prey on people in recent years.

Textile factories were relatively better off, but the other, more chaotic places like mines and steel mills were truly hell on earth.

"Over the years, I have ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to investigate and punish these crimes, and even mobilized the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Last year alone, more than sixty heinous criminals were arrested."

Among them, six were beheaded, fifty-four had their homes confiscated, seventeen were exiled to Zhanzhou, fifteen to Gaoliangzhou, and nine to Panama, but it was still impossible to completely eradicate the problem, or even to eradicate it at all.

Because our current advantage over the world lies in industry and commerce, if we use too harsh measures and create panic, our domestic industries will face serious problems. To put it bluntly, capitalism is about exploiting people, especially in this highly competitive world, where it is even more necessary to keep costs down to the extreme in order to avoid being eliminated from the competition.

This is determined by the characteristics of capitalism and is independent of anything else. As long as you adopt capitalist relations of production, this thing will inevitably emerge.

Mo Zhouzhen now understood his father's dilemma. If they cracked down hard, it would severely damage the capitalists' confidence in investing. If the country became stagnant, everyone would perish in the competition.

If there is no suppression or the suppression is too weak, it will be impossible to fundamentally reverse the situation, and even delaying it will be difficult.

“This isn’t the worst part.” Mo Zibu shook his head. He had been a master of the highest realms for over thirty years, and he wouldn’t be troubled by such a problem.

"What's most terrifying is that the most ruthless exploiters are all our fellow Fujianese and Guangdong natives."

"The powerful scholar-official class in Jiangnan is not only a strong weapon for their competition, but also a strong constraint on their internal structure. Anyone who goes too far will be boycotted by everyone."

However, people from Fujian and Guangdong are less educated, and clan power sometimes outweighs that of the government. Therefore, many Fujian and Guangdong merchants are willing to go to great lengths to harm anyone except their own family and clan.

After hearing this, Mo Zhouzhen, who had been quite calm just moments before, began to tremble. "The people of Fujian and Guangdong are the foundation of our Mo family and the basis of the Great Yu Dynasty. If we drastically harm them, we are shaking our own foundation."

But if we don't do anything to them and let them continue to exploit us, eventually all the resentment in the world will be directed at our Mo family.

"That's terrifying, that's terrifying!" Mo Zhouzhen said "that's terrifying" twice.

"The rise of industry and commerce has concentrated a large number of people in cities. Yingtianfu alone has more than 200,000 people from other places, and there are even more in Shanghai, Suzhou, Ningbo and Guangzhou."

Furthermore, with a developed industrial and commercial sector and no shortage of weapons, once this resentment reaches its peak, figures like Huang Chao and Li Zicheng will naturally emerge. With a single call to arms, hundreds of thousands will instantly follow.

As expected, he was Mo Zibu's favorite son. He was intelligent and insightful, and he understood things very quickly. However, he was somewhat frightened by his own description.

“Father, no dynasty or empire can withstand this force. We cannot allow this to become a reality.”

“Yes, for our Mo family to become royalty in this era is like sitting on a volcano.” Mo Zibu looked at his son with satisfaction and patted him on the shoulder to comfort Mo Zhouzhen.

"So your elder brother and I are going to do three things to slow things down and do our best to provide more security for our descendants."

As he spoke, Mo Zibu extended his index, middle, and ring fingers in turn.

"First, I will take advantage of your elder brother's return from the west, which is before I abdicate, to greatly expand the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) and severely crack down on those bad apples who have gone too far."

Second, I will further expand the power of the Republican Parliament, shifting some of our responsibilities to Parliament and letting Parliament share the burden of the monarchy, even if it means losing some power in the process.

With great power comes great responsibility; if you haven't enjoyed any privileges in this area, then you don't need to be responsible for it.

Thirdly, it's you. We will rebuild the Mo family dynasty in Beihezhou, where there are no constraints or hindrances, and the land is vast and full of opportunities.

Fifth brother, this is why I'm giving you all the directly administered territory of the Beihezhou Protectorate.

You are not only the Prince of Yan of the Great Yu Dynasty, but also another important branch of our Mo family. I want you to lead the various vassal states of Beihezhou and build Beihezhou into a second China.”

"Oh, right." Mo Zibu looked like he had just remembered.

"Kill the Americans! Those farmers don't want to be part of the Great Yu of the Northern He Continent, so wipe them out! Whatever you do, don't let them grow stronger!"

After hearing this, Mo Zhouzhen knelt down again, but this time it was a kowtow of gratitude filled with joy and a deep sense of responsibility. "How can I allow others to snore beside my bed? Your subject will remember this well."

However, after getting up, Mo Zhouzhen couldn't help but say to Mo Zibu, "Father wants to rebuild the Great Yu in Beihezhou, but I'm afraid that this will only lead to the division of China."

Your son is naturally loyal to your father and elder brother, and my son Qishu will be the same. I don't know what the future holds for my grandson, but he should never forget our ancestors and our country.

But what about the fourth generation? Will they still regard China as their ancestral homeland, and will they still be obedient to the eldest son's family?

Mo Zibu was quite open-minded. He laughed and said, "My son, even sages often can't control their children and grandchildren. It's already quite good if you can see three generations and fifty years."

As for what happens after that, that's up to the children and grandchildren to decide.

Whether it's division, strife, or mutual attacks, the meat will always stay in the pot; it won't be split between different people, with one from the west, another from the east, and everyone from the north and south wanting a piece of the pie.

After hearing this, Mo Zhouzhen knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Like father, like son. Father, the world belongs to all. How dare I not do my utmost?"

"It is only today that I bid farewell, and I do not know when we will meet again. I may never be able to fulfill my filial duties to my father in this lifetime."

A few tears welled up in Mo Zibu's eyes. Mo Zhouzhen was on a great mission: not only to clean up Mexico, but also to continue eastward to defeat the newly established United States.

The distance between Beihezhou and Shenzhou is vast and the mountains are high. Mo Zhouzhen's task is arduous, and Mo Zibu is almost seventy years old. Perhaps father and son will never see each other again.

"A father has many sons, and you are not the only one who can fulfill his filial duties. But when it comes to loyalty to the family, the country, and the nation, we cannot do without you, Mo Laowu."

"Work hard, and let's meet again in the annals of history!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Zhouzhen burst into tears, kowtowed repeatedly, drank the last cup of wine poured by Mo Zibu, and then left the palace.

Mo Zibu slowly got up, called for a palace attendant to help him, and returned to his study.

At sixty-eight years old, Mo Zibu's body and mind were not what they used to be. He didn't know if he could still suppress cannibalistic capitalism, or if he didn't even know whether suppression was a good thing or a bad thing.

So he patched it up by sending his beloved son, Mo Zhouzhen, to Beihezhou (North America) and giving him so much power.

It's not just about recreating China, but also about leaving China with a powerful competitor.

A single tree cannot make a forest, and a single thread cannot make a line.

China is a land of destiny, and so is the Northern Continent. Whether they are mutually supportive or mutually destructive in the future, they can at least be encouraged to progress together in the process of competition.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince sent a message from Anxi that the civil war in the Rus Empire has ended, and the royalists still have the upper hand. Our army was unable to seize the opportunity due to the snowstorm."

"If we didn't catch it, we didn't catch it. Tell the Crown Prince not to worry. The Ross Empire is also a great power. It's normal that we can't defeat it the first time. We can try again, or even a third time."

"The expeditionary force should consolidate its forces. Anxi's logistical pressure is already at its limit; if this continues, people will starve to death in Transoxiana. By consolidating now, we can at least hold Tsaritsyn."

"The King of Xia sent a message from Paris that the allied nations have little interest in launching a military attack on Tsarist Russia from the west and are acting slowly."

Conversely, Britain, Prussia, Austria, Sardinia, Naples, and other countries, after accepting the request from the Russian envoy, were all inclined to grant Russia's request for peace.

"This was within my expectations. European countries are still afraid of my Great Yu."

We fear that without Tsarist Russia as a shield, we can attack whomever we want.

They fear that if our directly administered territories extend into Europe, we'll end up acting as their fathers.

"The Spanish noble council has agreed to restore Ferdinand VII to the throne, and the Portuguese regent João has also refused to appoint the Prince of Goa as governor of Brazil."

Mo Zibu slowly opened his eyes and said to Tao Shu, who had come all the way from Anxi to report the news to him:

"Go to Europe as the plenipotentiary representative of Da Yu at the Paris Peace Conference and teach these ungrateful European barbarians a lesson."

Tao Shu understood that the emperor was truly angry. "As you command, Your Majesty, I would like to request another special decree to make His Highness the Prince of Xia obey my orders as well."

Mo Zibu smiled slightly. "With your words, Tao Shu, I'm relieved. As for the general framework of the meeting, go to the Imperial Academy for it."

Remember, leave enough hidden dangers for the European nations; make sure they have the motivation to continue fighting amongst themselves, so that it will be easier to launch a second and third invasion later!

(End of this chapter)