Facing the old emperor's inquiry, Zhu Jingyuan quickly sorted out the information in his memory and pulled out several classic plans:
“I only have some immature ideas, and I planned to discuss them with the Ministry of Finance alone after I had time to summarize them carefully.
"Since Grandpa Huang is asking now, I will give you a rough outline first and ask Grandpa Huang and all the old gentlemen to judge.
“The first idea is to vacate the cage and change the bird.
“For example, the natives from Annam, Siam, Myanmar, Luzon, Malacca, Yingzhou and the Daming Ocean (Pacific Ocean) islands were concentrated and moved to a few islands.
“For example, Mindanao (the island in the south of the Philippines), Sioux Island (Sulawesi in the east of Borneo), the Fallen Islands (Solomon Islands), etc.
“Treat these islands as Aboriginal reservations, establish new Aboriginal vassal states on the islands, and arrange special officials to manage and educate the Aboriginals.
"The second idea is to recognize the ancestors and return to the clan.
"Carry out simple political and military training for the black natives in Jiguo, Tiannan and other places, as well as the black natives and slaves from other vassal states.
“Teach them the feudal state organization method of the Western Zhou Dynasty and send them to Mozhou (Africa) to establish the black primitive feudal kingdom.
“It’s too complicated and they might not be able to learn it, and even the feudal kingdom of the Western Zhou Dynasty can be considered an advanced system for the primitive tribes of the central and southern Mozhou.
“With the institutional advantages and material support from Ming Dynasty, their development within Mozhou should be relatively smooth.
“They should be able to open up territory for the Ming Dynasty, and also interfere with the invasion of Mozhou by the Western countries.
“The third idea is to return home in fine clothes.
“The objects of use include native Burmese, Yin slaves, Yin nationals of Yinzhou countries, etc.
“The knowledge they have, the skills and abilities they can learn are far beyond those of the natives in their home country.
“We can organize them, provide them with specialized military and political training, as well as weapons, equipment, and material resources, so that they can return to their hometowns and build their country.
"The operation method is actually similar to that of recognizing ancestors, but it is more complicated. It can establish a classical kingdom with military system in Sui and Tang Dynasties.
“The Burmese servants can go to Nanyang reservations, and the Yin people can go deep into Brazil, Peru, Mexico and other places to rebuild Yin Shang (edited), Inca, Aztec and other Yin kingdoms.
"The Fubing Kingdom we support is an alliance of small landlords. Compared with the manor-style colonial rule implemented by the Western Yi in Yinzhou, it has no institutional disadvantages.
"Coupled with the Ming's weapon support, they should be able to fight against the European colonial forces. If the Ming's main force dominates the battle, the chance of victory should be good.
"As for defeating the white ghost bandits led by Boliva and Sun Martin, it should be no problem.
“The fourth idea is the strategy of one servant and two masters.
“In places such as Tianzhu, Dongmo, Nanmo, Yinzhou, and Tiannan, the areas within the vassal state where Ming people accounted for an absolute majority were separately divided and established as new state capitals, which were jointly governed by the imperial court and the vassal state.
“People with pure Ming ancestry in the area will receive the same treatment as citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and will be governed by officials arranged by the imperial court.
“People who are not of Ming ancestry will continue to be treated as ordinary people of the vassal state and will be governed by the officials of the vassal state themselves.
“This is equivalent to partially dismantling the vassal state to which it belongs, granting civil rights to the people of the Ming Dynasty who are the dominant people in society, stimulating their centripetal force, and asking them to help rule the native ethnic groups.
“The fifth idea is to turn desert into summer.
“This is a strategy left by Emperor Sejo and has been implemented, mainly used to educate Korea, Japan, and Ryukyu.
“Nowadays, the upper class of citizens in the three places are basically descendants of Ming people, the middle class are all descendants of Ming people and natives, and only the lower class are the original natives.
“But no matter the upper, middle or lower classes, they don’t know what the emperor or the general are. They all use the elegant words of the Ming Dynasty, and their lives are no different from those in the Ming Dynasty. They can be regarded as the local people.
“The Korean and Japanese slaves who stayed in the Ming Dynasty should refer to the Renwu Dynasty’s local abolition plan and convert them into hired labor according to the situation.
"The sixth idea is a plan for the feudal dynasty.
"The vassal prince was ordered to bring his children to the capital to meet His Majesty, and then asked them to stay in the capital, and began to implement the title assessment and inheritance system.
“A beautiful land was selected around the new city of the capital, and the vassal king stationed in the capital was asked to build a new palace on his own to promote consumption in the capital and reduce unemployment and refugees.
“After the feudal prince and his children have adapted to the prosperity and liveliness of the new capital city, they will no longer miss the remote countryside of the feudal kingdom.
"At the same time, the external vassal was changed to the internal vassal. Now the internal vassal is no different from the provincial chief envoy. The change of the external vassal to the internal vassal is the de facto withdrawal of the vassal.
"The vassal kings and vassal states still exist in name, but they have returned to the traditional state of 'lords but not the people, and vassals but not the soil'.
“At that time, these vassal states will actually cease to exist. They can be gradually and formally abolished in the next few decades, or they can continue to retain their names as needed.
"The above six strategies can be used crosswise and superimposed. They should be able to eliminate the authority and influence of the vassal king, merge the most suitable colonies into the mainland, and then expand the empire's ruling base...
"Of course, these are just some immature ideas. Whether or not to adopt and implement them, and how to implement them, will have to be discussed and decided by the emperor and all the old gentlemen."
Zhu Jingyuan paused momentarily when he said this, and then raised his hands towards the emperor and ministers, indicating that he had finished speaking and that he could ask questions if he had any.
Wang Shangshu and other ministers looked at Zhu Jingyuan in shock and were speechless for a moment.
The previous ominous premonition came true, and this child actually gave a solution again.
And this time the plan is not just a simple and crude problem, but a complex, diverse and flexible level.
Even Wang Shangshu subconsciously felt that if these plans were really combined, it seemed that most of the problems of withdrawing the vassal could be solved.
Especially if the trouble of abolition is solved, at least it can be delayed and avoided. This is really the best operation.
But - is this what you call "immature" thinking?
Immature thoughts are all in this form, so what are mature thoughts?
Can you directly make the specific operation plans of each vassal state into a guidance document and send it down, so that we can directly follow it?
Although we lamented many times, everyone still couldn’t help but ask in their hearts:
Is this really something a fifteen year old should be thinking about?
The Wenhua Hall was quiet again for a few seconds.
Wang Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue, as the person who raised the question and the person who knows the most about household registration, vassal state, and slave matters, was the first to calm down:
"May I ask, Your Highness, why Korean and Japanese slaves do not use the strategy of one servant and two masters, or the strategy of vacating the cage and exchanging birds, and continue to retain the vassal state and the existing slaves?"
Since Wang Niansun raised this question, he had obviously accepted Zhu Jingyuan's "strategies", but he had different views on the scope of application.
Zhu Jingyuan had already expected this, so he answered directly:
"The three places are too important to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. They should be absorbed as the mainland as soon as possible and their people will become the people of the Ming Dynasty. There may be losses in the short term, but they will make steady profits in the long term.
"The key is that slavery must be completely abolished sooner or later. I suggest starting with Korea, Japan, and Ryukyu, which are the most suitable places."
Wang Niansun subconsciously wanted to continue asking, but the old emperor spoke directly:
"Jingyuan, Korea, Japan, and Ryukyu are indeed important, and abolition of slavery is indeed a necessary policy, but we must not be impatient.
“Unemployed slaves must not be allowed to merge with unemployed refugees, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.
“After the peace talks are over, the domestic situation has basically stabilized, and the refugees have basically become workers, we will then gradually advance the abolition policy.
“However, we can prepare in advance. The Ministry of Revenue and relevant government agencies will tighten relevant industries and markets, remind relevant industry personnel to change careers, and put pressure on the entire industry.
"The same goes for the withdrawal of vassal states. You cannot withdraw them all at once. Do not forcefully remove vassal states from places that are not suitable for withdrawal and places that do not need to be withdrawn.
"Similar to the abolition of slavery, the withdrawal of the vassal vassal is also a long-term policy. In the future, the withdrawal of the vassal vassal will be gradually promoted at any time based on the actual situation of the vassal country.
"The Ministry of Household Affairs will take the lead, and other departments will assist. For the time being, we will follow the six strategies proposed by Jingyuan, start from the easiest to the most difficult, and publish the timetable as soon as possible.
"Jingyuan, from now on, you should stop taking care of other government affairs and concentrate on planning the new battleship design. Others should not disturb you."
Before Zhu Jingyuan and the ministers argued about the abolition of slavery, the old emperor came out and gave everyone a compromise choice.
The old emperor did not compromise on spending money to build ships, but he actively chose to compromise on politics and reforms.
But this choice is also very effective. After this order is issued, all the courtiers immediately stood up and bowed in response:
"I obey your orders."
Zhu Jingyuan had no choice but to agree.
