Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 276 Autonomy? The King's Army Returns in Triumph!
The third day of the fourth month in the fifth year of the Xifeng era.

Wende Hall.

Civil and military officials stood in orderly rows.

There was no one on the steps of the imperial palace.

Below it is the imperial altar.

King Jing, Zhao Shen, sat obediently, cupping the honey water in his hands and taking sips from time to time. His small eyes looked around, showing no fear of strangers.

Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao stood solemnly with his hands at his sides, wearing a purple robe and a gold belt with the words "a loyal and capable minister who assists in governance" on it. His face was serious and unsmiling, exuding an indescribable air of authority and solemnity.

The entire hall was silent.

All the civil and military officials were focused on one person!
The Grand Chancellor, the head of all officials, could clearly demonstrate his prestige in this very moment.

Clearly, Jiang Zhao had accumulated considerable power and influence.

Even compared to Han Zhang, the Grand Chancellor who ruled the country for more than ten years, he is probably no less capable, and may even be more capable!

However, this is not surprising.

For any official to accumulate prestige, there are essentially four main paths:

First, they possess abilities, political achievements, merits, and reputation that surpass those of ordinary people.

Secondly, they possess power, political base, and political connections that are far beyond what is typical for ordinary people.

Thirdly, the methods are steady, accurate, and ruthless, yet they also subtly incorporate a touch of "virtue," balancing both means and morality.

Fourth, it can bring benefits to people to a certain extent, or it has the ability to distribute benefits.

Grand Chancellor Han Zhang ruled the country for more than ten years, and was first-rate in terms of ability, political achievements, merits, reputation, political base, and methods.

With his accumulated power, he could easily subdue all the civil and military officials.

Jiang Zhao is relatively young, but that doesn't mean he lacks prestige.

In terms of ability, political achievements, merits, and reputation, Jiang Zhao is definitely superior to his teacher Han Zhang.

Expanding territory and implementing reforms are enough to allow it to easily surpass its predecessors.

In terms of political base, Jiang Zhao may be slightly inferior, but the difference is not too great.

The two border expansions of Xihe and Xifeng, along with the two consecutive imperial examinations, have been continuously consolidating his political base in recent years.

As Yan and Yun expanded their borders, Jiang Zhao was also a key figure in sharing the spoils.

In addition, there are the political resources left behind by the lineage of Grand Tutor Wang.

With these three factors combined, Jiang Zhao's political base is extremely stable.

In terms of political connections, Jiang Zhao is indeed far inferior.

Networking requires cultivation and relies heavily on the accumulation of time; it is indeed less likely for young people to have a dense network of political connections.

As for the methods used, such as splitting up Zhejiang and Jiangsu, abolishing the empress's position, killing tea merchants, and confiscating the property of nobles, the methods were destined to be "surpassing their predecessors".

In terms of interests, Jiang Zhao is even more adept at expanding the pool of profits, naturally surpassing his predecessors in skill.

Therefore, even in just five years, Jiang Zhao had accumulated considerable prestige, enough to easily subdue all the civil and military officials.

On the throne, Jiang Zhao stood with his hands clasped, gazing down indifferently.

The six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet exchanged a silent glance.

"Have someone drag him up."

At a summons, several imperial guards rushed out.

In less than ten breaths, the group dragged two five-foot wooden frames inside.

One of the sets features a brocade cloth draped over a document, which is a military report.

Jiang Zhao said calmly, "Let's set aside politics for today."

"Jiang has some good news to announce."

With all the officials watching, Jiang Zhao slowly announced, "A great victory has been achieved on the frontier!"

"The army of 100,000 has broken through the Rising Dragon Pass."

"Jiaozhi, this nation is destroyed!"

The destruction of a nation?!
What an unfamiliar word this is!

All the civil and military officials were startled and immediately turned their attention to the military report.

[The imperial army of 100,000 men marched south, and thanks to Your Majesty's divine might and the soldiers' valiant efforts, we now report the victory in the pacification of Jiaozhi:]
On March 17th, they broke through the natural barrier of Yongji, annihilated 20,000 enemy troops, captured the bandit leaders Nong Zongdan and Li Richeng alive, and the remaining troops scattered.

On March 21st, it swept through Yongping, Anping, and Guangyuan, and was invincible.

On March 29th, they surrounded Thang Long, firing ten thousand cannons simultaneously. The city walls collapsed, the false ruler Li Rizun abandoned his temple and submitted, and all the royal family members were captured.

In this battle, His Majesty commanded the troops with great enthusiasm, and the entire army was moved to tears, ultimately achieving a complete victory!
Since Emperor Wu of Han opened up Jiaozhi (Vietnam), after a thousand years of turmoil, it has finally been unified. This is truly the pinnacle of military virtue in a century, worthy of being recorded in history!

Please inform me accordingly.

The military report was short and was written by Su Shi, a secretary in the Ministry of Works.

Besides the military reports, there was also a wooden frame with documents hanging on it, which were written in the handwriting of the official Zhao Ceying and were rather brief.

[The army of 100,000 has utterly defeated Thang Long. I have no worries, Grand Chancellor, and all officials!]

I read through both documents one by one.

In an instant, all the civil and military officials were in an uproar.

Destroy the country!

Such achievements are unparalleled in a century of national history.

And now, success has been achieved in an instant!
Immediately, discussions arose from all levels of society.

Even the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet couldn't help but discuss it.

Destroying Jiaozhi would be a tremendous boon for the Great Zhou Dynasty, whether from an economic, political, or geopolitical perspective.

In terms of economy, the Kingdom of Jiaozhi was rich in resources, especially spices and minerals, which were always quite good.

In politics, the destruction of a country can greatly boost national self-confidence.

Over the course of a century, Jiaozhi became increasingly arrogant, and the Great Zhou's southern expedition suffered repeated defeats. Even Emperor Taizong almost met his end in Jiaozhi, which led to Jiaozhi becoming an independent regime.

It would be a lie to say that officials and ordinary people are not frustrated by this situation.

The fact that the dignified Central Plains could not even subdue the barbarians would likely become a laughing stock in history books.

This predicament lasted for nearly a century until Jiang Zhao expanded the territory and turned the situation around.

Now that the army has conquered Jiaozhi in the south, it is undoubtedly a great boon.

From a geopolitical perspective, this move can be seen as eliminating a potential military threat from the southwestern frontier and is beneficial to consolidating border control.

In any case, it's definitely a great thing.

After about an incense stick's time, the sound gradually faded away.

Jiang Zhao looked down and said calmly, "His Majesty has traveled thousands of miles to personally lead the expedition and expand the territory."

Today, there are only two main issues:

"Firstly, the triumphant return of the royal army. This involves drafting a series of rewards and honors, bestowing honorific titles upon the emperor, erecting a monument to his merits, and compiling the national history."

The so-called honorific title is a term of praise used to express respect to the emperor and to symbolize the emperor's "political achievements and honors".

Honorific titles and posthumous titles are corresponding things, both being long strings of names. One is a compliment given during one's lifetime, and the other is a praise given after one's death.

However, since the Tang Dynasty, almost every emperor has had an honorific title, so the prestige of such a title is not very high.

Emperor Zhao Ceying has been on the throne for five or six years, but perhaps due to lack of time and the low prestige of the title, he has not yet been granted an honorific title.

As for the monument to merit and the compilation of national history, these were all products specifically designed to record the achievements of the monarch.

Generally speaking, merit steles are considered to have some value, as they are associated to some extent with unification, governance, and territorial expansion.

Apart from founding emperors and those who made significant contributions to territorial expansion, the vast majority of emperors would not voluntarily erect monuments to commemorate their achievements, as this would be seen as self-aggrandizement.

Of course, this is also because without the achievement of expanding territory, even if a monument is erected, it would be in vain.

However, it cannot be ruled out that some shameless people might forcibly erect a monument to their merits.

In earlier years, Emperor Zhenzong regarded the "Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai" as a great merit and erected a stele commemorating the Fengshan altar.

The signing of the Treaty of Shanyuan gave Emperor Zhenzong the illusion that he could "pacify the world by signing an alliance," and he erected a monument to his merits, which lowered the status of the monument.

Now that Zhao Ceying has expanded his territory and destroyed the Kingdom of Jiaozhi, he is naturally qualified to have a monument erected to commemorate his achievements.

"Let the Privy Council and the Ministry of War draft a list of rewards and honors," Jiang Zhao said thoughtfully, waving his hand. There was no need to discuss this first issue; it was better to simply give the order.

"Your Majesty, take your orders."

Zheng Shun, the Vice Privy Councilor, and Deng Runfu, the Left Vice Minister of War, both bowed in unison.

"The task of designating honorific titles is the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

Jiang Zhao looked down and said, "According to custom, all officials who are qualified to participate in government affairs can propose honorary titles and submit them to the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Once the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices have formulated their proposals, they can select suitable honorary titles and submit them to the Grand Secretariat."

"promise."

Wu Kui, Minister of Rites, and Xu Zhi, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, both performed the same ceremony.

"Let the Hanlin Academy draft the inscription for the merit stele," Jiang Zhao continued. "Once the draft inscription is submitted to the Grand Secretariat and is found to be correct, it can be engraved."

"Your subordinate obeys."

Hanlin Academician Tao Jinyi bows.

"Let the people from the Imperial History Office, the Secretariat, and the Hanlin Academy be in charge of compiling the national history."

"promise."

The three chief officials stepped forward in unison and bowed.

"Secondly, regarding the disposal of the Kingdom of Jiaozhi."

Jiang Zhao glanced down and slowly said, "Your Majesty has destroyed the Jiaozhi regime, but how to deal with the thousands of miles of territory and millions of people in Jiaozhi is still a matter for discussion."

"Therefore, the Emperor specially issued an edict to the Cabinet, asking the Cabinet and all officials to provide suggestions and to send them to Jiaozhi as soon as possible."

"Officials, do you have any suggestions?" Jiang Zhao asked calmly, his hands clasped.

Both were territorial expansionists, but Jiaozhi Kingdom and Xihe Prefecture were slightly different.

Firstly, the people of Jiaozhi had already clearly developed an ideology of "nation".

The Li dynasty, with its successive generations of rulers working diligently, led the people to disregard the legitimacy of the Central Plains and recognize only the Li emperors.

This is the most distinctive feature of the people of Jiaozhi compared to the people of Xihe.

Secondly, Jiaozhi (Vietnam) was plagued by miasma.

The presence of miasma also meant that it was impossible to rule too violently, otherwise the losses would be unimaginable.

This means that the strategy towards the Kingdom of Jiaozhi must be carefully considered.

Taking it down is one thing, but you also have to be able to hold it!
Many ministers exchanged glances and began to discuss among themselves.

However, no one spoke for the time being.

The main problem is that when it comes to the handling of matters concerning the vast territory of a country and the lives of millions of people, officials of the fourth or fifth rank have absolutely no say.

Officials of the third rank or above are qualified to speak, but the problem is that the time is too short, making it difficult to come up with any mature and reasonable suggestions.

So, naturally, no one spoke up.

About half an incense stick's time.

Yuan Jiang, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, raised his hand in a salute and pondered for a moment before saying, "Both the Han and Tang dynasties had laws concerning the handling of the Kingdom of Jiaozhi."

"Among them, the Han Dynasty used a centrally administered system, while the Tang Dynasty used a system of indirect control. In my opinion, it is simply one of these two."

With just one sentence, the discussions throughout the hall intensified.

The so-called central jurisdiction law means that the country of Jiaozhi was divided into prefectures, and a few officials were appointed by the central government to govern them. The policies, taxation system and household registration system implemented were all unified with the central government.

This method of governance is basically consistent with that of the Central Plains region.

The Han Dynasty adopted a centralized system of governance, dividing the Kingdom of Jiaozhi into three commanderies: Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Rinan.

As for the "tributary system," it involved treating the country of Jiaozhi as a "prefecture," where the central government recognized the power of some tribal leaders and made them submit through investiture and rewards. In return, the leaders had to pay tribute and send troops to assist in battle.

Under this method, the central government does not exercise control over the Protectorate's administration.

During the Tang Dynasty, the policy of indirect rule was adopted, and Jiaozhi was established as the Annam Protectorate.

Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage of the central jurisdiction system lies in its strong control, unified government orders, and the opportunity to deeply integrate resources and promote Central Plains culture.

Essentially, this approach leans more towards ethnic integration, but its disadvantages include high governance costs and a high risk of triggering ethnic conflicts, potentially leading to numerous ethnic clashes during governance.

If the effects of miasma are taken into account, there is even a possibility of disaster.

Centuries later, the Ming Dynasty also adopted a central jurisdiction system, but ultimately had to relinquish its jurisdiction.

The core of the "tributary system" was to use barbarians to control barbarians. In essence, it followed the same procedures as the "vassal states" or supported a puppet monarch. It could stabilize the borders with low cost and low conflict. The disadvantage was that it had poor control and was still prone to resistance and rebellion.

"There are several million people in Jiaozhi."

Han Jiang, a Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Hall, pondered and said, "If we remain a vassal state, it will only be a matter of supporting one person to control the government. But if this person harbors evil intentions and develops a rebellious heart, all our efforts will be in vain. If the central government controls the government, it will be impossible to use barbarians to control barbarians, which will also easily breed rebellion."

"If we can take care of both the central government and the principle of using barbarians to control barbarians, that would be ideal!"

"To protect the central government and to use barbarians to control barbarians?"

Jiang Zhao narrowed his eyes; this coincided with his own thoughts.

After some thought, Jiang Zhao shared his idea: "Why not have a central government govern Jiaozhi, but not split it up, allowing it to be semi-independent and autonomous? The central government would only control military, taxation, diplomacy, and administration, while the rest of the governance would be left to the local chieftain families."

"The Protectorate is headed by a Grand Protector, who is the chief official of the Protectorate and is of the second rank. He is in charge of military affairs, taxation, diplomacy, and administration. The Protector is of the second rank and is a native chieftain who is in charge of governance."

Both were of equal rank, but the Grand Protector was in charge, with a Deputy Grand Protector appointed, a third-rank official, to assist in governance. The remaining prefectures and counties followed the same organizational structure.

The concise system easily achieves the best of both worlds.

Officials were placed in the central government to control the movements of the Protectorate General.

The Tusi family participated in the distribution of benefits, which enabled them to achieve autonomy and stabilize the region.

Yuan Jiang's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "The Grand Master is truly a divine being!"

Yuan Jiang had "heard a little about" the conflict between Jiang Zhao and Wen Yanbo.

Therefore, he was quite grateful to Jiang Zhao for speaking up for him, which gave him the opportunity to rise to power.

Whenever there is no conflict of interest, Yuan Jiang tends to side with Jiang Zhao.

“This is indeed the best course of action,” Han Jiang nodded in agreement.

This system is indeed quite interesting.

The division of power and benefits is quite clear and is truly rare.

"Let's do as the Grand Master says."

"The same applies to Yu."

Tang Jie and Yu Jing echoed his sentiments.

As for Zhang Fangping, he nodded silently.

"Okay, it's settled then." Jiang Zhao waved his hand, making the decision.

The system he was referring to is the "autonomous region" system.

This is a proven, classic system!
……

The eighth day of the fourth month in the fifth year of the Xifeng era.

Jiaozhi, Shenglong.

Dragon Throne Hall.

On the steps of the imperial palace, Zhao Ceying picked up the documents and nodded repeatedly.

autonomy?

This method is truly worthy of Jiang Qing!
"Have someone find the major local clans one by one."

After the document was passed down, Zhao Ceying calmly said, "Once the affairs of Jiaozhi are settled, we will return to the capital on a chosen day!"

"promise!"

All the civil and military officials bowed in unison.

Many people exchanged glances, their faces beaming with joy.

Destroy the country!

This time, I reckon quite a few people will be re-sealed, right?
……

(End of this chapter)