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

As the messenger entered the inner city, the vendors outside Zhengyang Gate began to shout loudly again, and the surrounding people strolled around in all sorts of clothes.

No longer will they have to suffer the same fate as during the Qing Dynasty, when they couldn't afford new clothes and were even whipped when entering the city.

Women no longer had to stay at home; they could go out to buy cloth and sew uniforms for the army.

Originally, the military uniforms were to be given to the palace, but Liu Mu chose to give them to the women of the capital, giving them another way to make money. Only when they had money could the capital quickly become prosperous.

What is most eye-catching outside Zhengyang Gate is that on the open space to the side, a troupe of opera performers is singing Qinqiang opera.

At this moment, he was singing the story of Yue Fei. His loud voice from Guanzhong conveyed Yue Fei's helplessness and the sentiment that the weak should go home and be beaten.

Even though it was the dead of winter, the open space under the stage was packed with people, and some young people even climbed onto the rooftops.

People clapped and applauded incessantly. Some elderly people shouted a couple of times and then cried, perhaps remembering the bloodshed that followed the Eight Banners entering the city.

The young men, however, were indignant and their faces turned red with anger. They wanted to join the army and go south to fight the Manchu Tartars.

After all, there are few entertainment programs available to the general public these days, so many people tend to take traditional opera seriously and get quite carried away with it.

As for this opera troupe, it was naturally funded and organized by the imperial court, without the common people having to spend a penny. Of course, they could also give tips if they were in the mood.

Nowadays, there is a performance every day in Beijing, a performance every ten days in the county towns, a performance every five days in the prefectural city, and a performance every three days in Taiyuan and Chang'an. All the performances are about loyalty to the country and the debate between Chinese and barbarians.

Because his home was almost raided by the Eight Banners bondservants last year, Liu Mu specially asked Pan Feng to organize a theatrical troupe, which included not only Qinqiang opera but also Kunqu opera and local folk tunes.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Rites took the lead in organizing a theatrical competition. Those who won the top three prizes received a plaque issued by the imperial court and a certain subsidy.

At the same time, they should promote their own agenda, advocating Han imperialism, boosting national pride, and mitigating the damage caused by the Manchu Qing dynasty.

When it comes to future colonization, Liu Mu hopes to have a group of powerful figures, not slaves who can be dominated by foreign races.

Just like the post that Liu Mu read in his later years, we Han people have always been at the top of the world, so why can't we be confident and proud? Han people should hold their heads high and accept praise.

……

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City, after a year of renovations, the Hall of Mental Cultivation was finally completed. The interior still retains the style of the Daoist era, but the overall design has become more livable and suitable for office work, allowing more officials to enter.

After all, conferences are for arguing and bickering.

The key is in the small meetings!

At this moment, Liu Mu was holding Subutai's military report.

Subutai means that there are now more than 300,000 Mongols in the entire northern desert. Those who have made contributions have been released to serve as households of hundreds and thousands. Now all that is needed is for the court to appoint scholars to manage accounts and teach them to read and write.

However, the Ministry of Personnel had already made preparations in this regard, and those sent this time were all candidates who had passed the imperial examinations in April.

However, he was no longer in charge of a thousand households, but of the entire ten thousand households. His official rank was equivalent to that of a seventh-rank county magistrate, but this county magistrate was mainly an assistant, serving the various hundred and thousand households.

Three years later, the proportion of the 10,000 households under their management who speak Chinese and can read Chinese characters, as well as the output of their pastures and farmland, will be the indicators for whether they can return to Beijing.

For thirty years, these scholars were left without real power in their positions by the Qing dynasty. They dared not complain and eagerly took up the posts. Liu Mu had to thank the Qing dynasty for this.

Once these officials, who came from harsh backgrounds, grew up, they became the vanguard of the Han Dynasty in expanding its territory.

It sounds like a lot, but these 330,000 people, calculated as five people per family, can only be divided into 70,000 households, which is equivalent to seven county magistrates. This is insignificant compared to the reserve of more than 300 tribute students.

As for the Jin state mentioned by Subutai, Liu Mu does not intend to manage the army for the time being, but will let Wanyan Wu do as he pleases first, and then send troops over to reap the rewards when things are more or less settled.

This is a win-win situation, allowing Wanyan Wu to experience the joys of being a king in his lifetime. Otherwise, being a puppet king from the start wouldn't be fun.

Of course, this is under the condition of having absolute overwhelming strength.

Upon seeing Liu Weiqing's battle report, Liu Mu clenched his fists, and even with a different soul, he couldn't help but curse.

"Ponsuk, you big idiot!"

"If you bow your head and submit to me, what's wrong with granting you the title of Duke of Anle or even a king? Do you think I don't even have that much tolerance?"

Zhou Peigong, sitting to the left, seemed to sense something and offered some guidance.

"Your Majesty, the Dalai Khan is, after all, a descendant of his ancestors. His elite troops have been wiped out one after another. Even after arriving in the capital, he can't sleep or eat!"

After Zhou Peigong said that, Liu Mu nodded. Although I am a member of the Oirat, I am different from the Dzungars. We are all related by blood among the tribes.

After Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, defeated his eight thousand soldiers from Jiangdong, he returned to his hometown without a word and continued to recruit more soldiers.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, Liu Mu looked at Li Guangdi and voiced his question.

"Minister Li, now that the Western Sea and Tibet are unified, these two regions are extremely impoverished. How should they be managed to bring benefits?"

Li Guangdi must have been prepared, as he pulled out a folded paper from his chest, which was clearly a draft with scribbles on it.

"Your Majesty, Tibet was still under a system of indirect rule during the Ming Dynasty; as long as taxes were paid, the nobles could govern themselves!"

"However, Your Majesty's swift and decisive actions have now purged the nobles. What remains are the Yellow Sect monks. Our Great Han can establish a regulation that all reincarnations of Yellow Sect Living Buddhas, both high and low, must be approved by the Great Han court!"

"Then the imperial court takes precedence over religion. Without the approval of the Han imperial court, any reincarnated Living Buddha, whether great or small, is acting illegally. This will naturally prevent such a powerful force from becoming uncontrollable!"

Liu Mu nodded upon hearing this. The Qing Dynasty also used this strategy, and it remained so in later generations. This meant that even if Buddha were to reincarnate privately, it would still be illegal.

Seeing that Liu Mu was satisfied, Li Guangdi spoke again.

"However, we Han people must add one condition: abolish all land owned by temples. Monks should focus on chanting scriptures and spend more time with the Buddha!"

hiss...

This isn't about taking those monks' lives!

However, since the nobles had all been killed, it didn't matter to these monks; they were just doing their jobs.

"As for the Western Sea, a capable minister, skilled in both literature and martial arts, should be selected to oversee the pastures and farmland of Qinghai. From then on, all tea, salt, and iron from Tibet must pass through the Western Sea. In this way, Tibet and the Western Sea will form a pincer movement, with no possibility of rebellion!"

Liu Mu nodded. Tibet is such a vast place. Without a lock, who knows which remote mountain village might harbor a rebellious force, and by the time the imperial court finds out, Lhasa might already be captured.

However, if troops are stationed there for an extended period, they will eventually develop disloyalty, which would be even more serious than the Tibetan rebellion, because they can secretly accumulate strength without the knowledge of the imperial court.

By holding the Western Sea, Tibet will not be able to get enough iron, and even if those generals wanted to rebel, they would not have the foundation or the ability to do so!

"Then let's choose one from the Ministry of Revenue!"

"Ouyang Jing, what do you think of the firearms manufactured by the Ministry of Works?"

"Maybe we'll head south next year?"