The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

When Zhao Fengnian led the seven ministers into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the lights were already on inside. Liu Mu sat on a heated couch, holding a cup of tea in his hand.

After the seven ministers entered the hall, they bowed in turn. Liu Mu put down his teacup and his gaze first fell on Li Guangdi.

"Li Guangdi, the six kingdoms have submitted, but those landlords and landless people are ultimately a hidden danger. Leaving them untouched will only allow them to be exploited by those with ulterior motives sooner or later. What are your thoughts? Tell me!"

Li Guangdi stepped forward. He had worked in the Ministry of Revenue for many years and knew everything about the country's population, land, and taxes. He knew what Liu Mu was talking about as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Does His Majesty mean to relocate them?"

Liu Mu twirled the jade thumb ring on his thumb.

"The land in Annam Province should be reserved for the Han people, but I don't want the people of Annam to become refugees. Fortunately, in the South Seas, Java, Luzon, and all those large and small deserted islands, after the Westerners were driven away, the trading posts and fortresses on the islands are all empty. The land is familiar, and the ports are ready, but the lack of people is the problem."

Yes, the Indochina Peninsula is at the junction with the Central Plains. Liu Mu's plan was to gradually move the local people and landlords out of there, and then take over the landless people from Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou.

After this series of measures, every commoner will have a large amount of land to cultivate. As long as the future emperor of the Han Dynasty doesn't act recklessly, there won't be a land problem for the next two hundred years.

Li Guangdi nodded upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, if we want to immigrate, we must be able to put down roots in the local area. We cannot accept those who bring their families with them. People who have started families have their roots in the Indochina Peninsula. If they move to Java, they will want to go back to their hometown after three or five years. We also cannot accept the elderly. Their minds are full of their original local kings and temples. They cannot be Sinicized in a short time."

"So, just like North Korea, we should gather together those unmarried 15 or 16-year-old boys. At that age, their minds are not yet fixed. They can go to places like Java, marry a local woman, have three or five children, and ten years later they will be locals, our Han people in Southeast Asia."

"Currently, the population of the six kingdoms in Annam Province is around twelve million. Of the unmarried men aged fifteen or sixteen, after deducting the sick and disabled, there are probably just over three hundred thousand who can migrate!"

"Give 100,000 each to Java and Luzon, and the rest to the coastal trading posts of Borneo and Sumatra. That will be just enough. Once these people have established themselves, their families can be relocated there. In less than ten years, five or six out of ten of Annam Province will be gone!"

"If 300,000 young people were to marry one indigenous woman in Java, with each household consisting of five people, that would amount to 1.5 million in ten years. With the naturalization of local indigenous people, the area around Java could have over 2 million taxpayers."

"But these 300,000 people need food and drink on the way, and once they arrive, they need seeds, farming tools, and resettlement funds. My rough estimate is at least six million taels."

Liu Mu waved his hand: "Six million taels, can't the Ministry of Revenue come up with that?"

"We can produce it," Li Guangdi said without hesitation. "Liu Weiqing's fleet of gold and silver will arrive soon, six million taels of silver being a small portion. But I have another matter to discuss—how will these people be registered after arriving in Java? Will they be classified as Han Chinese or as naturalized citizens?"

"They will be considered Han citizens." Liu Mu said without hesitation. "If they marry indigenous women, their children will be Han citizens. In the Han Dynasty's household register, if one parent is a Han citizen, their children will be Han citizens. This law does not need to be changed."

"But there's one condition: before going to Java, Fat Fish, unafraid of firepower, will first spend three months intensively learning Chinese language and characters. The Ministry of Education will send people to teach them to speak Chinese and recognize Chinese characters. The better they learn, the more land and women they will be allocated, and the prettier they will be!"

Li Zheng, the Minister of Education, who had been listening nearby, stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, with 300,000 people gathered in Guangzhou for three months, we'll need 2,000 instructors alone. The Imperial Academy and the provincial education commissioners are currently busy with next year's spring imperial examinations and can't spare that many people."

Liu Mu glanced at him: "Who told you to draw them from the Imperial Academy? How many scholars and experienced students from Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou are idle? Let them go. They will teach for three months, and each instructor will receive thirty taels of silver. After they return, they must immediately draft a plan and show it to me before the 20th of the first month."

After all that talk, it turns out the Ministry of Education has to pay for it itself. Li Zheng reluctantly agreed and returned the class.

Liu Mu shifted his gaze from Li Guangdi to Zhou Peigong, the Minister of War, who had not had much trouble pacifying Yunnan and Guizhou.

The chieftains who followed Wu Sangui in raising an army collapsed as soon as they heard that the Han Dynasty had granted the southwest a three-year tax exemption. Some even ran to the Han side to ask if they needed troops. So apart from a hard battle to break through, the rest were all appeasement.

"Pei Gong, what's the Ministry of War's decision regarding the garrison in Annam Province?"

Zhou Peigong stepped forward, took out a document from his sleeve, and handed it to Zhao Fengnian with both hands. Zhao Fengnian took it and placed it on the imperial desk. Liu Mu opened it and flipped through it.

"The Ministry of War plans to station six garrisons, two each from Guizhou, Guangxi, and Yunnan. Their families will also be relocated there, and the land will be chosen by local civil officials—all of it top-quality farmland!"

"Each of the six royal cities is garrisoned with two thousand men, and the rest are garrisoned with one hundred men each at key locations. The total number of troops stationed throughout the province is 33,600, which is more than enough."

Liu Mu closed the folding book, but instead of returning it to Zhou Peigong, he placed it on the corner of the table. He leaned back on the heated couch, tapped his fingers slowly on the armrest twice, and then suddenly changed the subject.

"Doesn't Portugal have several large colonies along the African coast? I'd like to organize a group of Annamese soldiers to gradually expand there!"

P.S.: At this point, the names for Africa are all different, so let's just call it Africa from the beginning!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peigong's expression hardened, and he took half a step forward.

"Your Majesty, the African continent, from east to west, is more than ten times larger than the Indochina Peninsula. Although the inhabitants are all uncivilized savages, it would take at least 200,000 troops to conquer and suppress them."

Liu Mu smiled after hearing this. He knew that Zhou Peigong had misunderstood and thought that he was going to seize territory again.

"Lord Pei, I am not a greedy army. My intention is simply to send tens of thousands of well-trained Annamese soldiers to occupy the fertile coastal lands of Africa. Also, there are many diseases there, and I cannot bear to send Han Chinese soldiers!"

Li Zheng, who knew nothing about military affairs, had remained silent for a while. Only after hearing this did he slowly speak up: "Can we fight the Annamese soldiers?"

Zhou Peigong answered on behalf of Liu Mu: "They are capable of fighting. The local soldiers in northern Annam are even more capable than the Korean soldiers. I suggest selecting 30,000 elite troops from these six countries. This will also prevent them from causing trouble locally."

Liu Mu was satisfied with Zhou Peigong's arrangement. He nodded, then walked to the map of the Han Dynasty's territory hanging on the wall and drew a circle around the African continent with his finger. "The gold mines and ivory in the African interior are no less than those in India. If the Han Dynasty doesn't plunder them, others will!"

"Therefore, Lord Pei, the vanguard generals going to Africa must be capable of fighting. Give me a list within three days."