Daming 1805

Luo Yashan specially came to see Zhu Jingyuan. Apart from discussing the oil business and caring about the future policy changes of the vassal state, the more urgent matter was Zhu Jingyuan's reform measures.

This matter is the same for all foreign vassal states, and it is reasonable to wait until the monarchs of several vassal states have arrived.

Even if it was unreasonable, Luo Yashan didn't dare to be serious with Zhu Jingyuan. Zhu Jingyuan said that he would have to wait patiently for two days after all the princes arrived.

So Luo Yashan and Zhu Jingyuan temporarily put aside their business affairs and started chatting about household matters.

At noon, Zhu Jingyuan asked Luo Feiya to stay with the whole family, and the two sides had a meal together, and then let Luo Yashan's family go back to rest in the afternoon.

In the next two days, the monarchs of the other four feudal states also rushed to Xi'an by plane.

After several monarchs arrived, they all went to visit in private first, greeted and reported, and sent out the gifts they brought.

It is very different from the gifts at Mount Roja, the gifts they bring are very traditional.

There is no real money, only antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jade, sculptures, and finally a few orchids...

If the target is an ordinary official, the value of these gifts they give is actually not low, and most ordinary officials would not dare to accept it.

But if it is put on Zhu Jingyuan, the richest prince, it really can only be regarded as a little meaning.

It is also impossible for Zhu Jingyuan to give them any direct care for this little thing.

Zhu Jingyuan had no interest in these things, but he didn't feel any psychological pressure to accept them.

In order to make them feel at ease, Zhu Jingyuan also had to accept them.

It's just that Zhu Jingyuan is currently in the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, and the mainland of the Ming Dynasty cannot directly raise servants, so the orchids sent to them are all assigned the status of the Great Food Kingdom.

After the informal meeting, they were allowed to rest for a day or two, and Zhu Jingyuan formally received them in the side hall of the palace.

After the two parties saluted and greeted each other, Zhu Jingyuan asked directly:
"I can more or less guess the purpose of everyone coming to Xi'an, but in order to avoid misunderstanding, let's talk about it first.

"As the saying goes, a visitor from afar is the guest, and the trip of the Duke of Egypt is the longest, so let the Duke of Egypt come and talk first."

During the negotiations on the armistice of the World War, the Duke of Egypt had dealt with Zhu Jingyuan, and he was more familiar with Zhu Jingyuan than anyone else.

Now hearing Zhu Jingyuan pointing it out, he immediately smiled and said he was polite, but he also directly asked the question:
"Returning to Your Highness, I just want to know how the various policies currently implemented in other Ming kingdoms, including the general education examination certificate system, the government-run consortium system, etc., should be implemented in foreign domains like us."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly after hearing this, and then looked at the other monarchs:
"You all come here with the same intention, right?"

Several monarchs immediately nodded in agreement, and added a few details by the way, but it was all Zhu Jingyuan's busy work in the past few years.

This proved that Zhu Jingyuan's guess was correct, so Zhu Jingyuan stopped writing and directly explained his plan:
"Comparatively speaking, the five countries of Xianbei, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Khiva, and Persia are in the middle of the suzerain-vassal system of the Ming Dynasty.

"It's in the middle between the black nobles of Mozhou and North Korea, and it's closer to the Daming people than the Taixi people, among which Khiva and Kazakhs are closer.

"The latest reform policy implemented by the Ming Dynasty in the neighboring vassal states has no plans to implement it in the black noble group, but in Xianbei and other five countries, it needs to be factual.

"However, the Five Kingdoms are foreign vassals after all, so the implementation of these policies in the Five Kingdoms is of course impossible to be completely the same as in the neighboring vassal states of Ming Dynasty.

"Specifically, it is the general education examination certificate system, which will only be open to people with more than half of the Ming blood in the five countries.

"Well, for example, Duke Xianbei, his mother is from Daming, he himself has half of Ming blood, his wife is also from Daming, and his children have three quarters of Ming blood.

"So Duke Xianbei and his children can take the exam.

"But the King of Egypt is not yet, because the King of Egypt is Albanian.

"If the son of the Duke of Egypt marries a Daming woman, then their two children will be able to take the exam."

The original purpose of Zhu Jingyuan's general education examination pass certificate was to integrate ethnic groups whose blood is close to that of Ming people.

However, this strategy also works for people of mixed race.

Which ethnic group is the mixed descendant of the two ethnic groups?There are different customs in different cultural traditions.

For example, the "one drop of blood" principle in the United States.

The principle of one drop of blood was originally a law in the era of slavery, and it was used to distinguish whether a person was a slave of the Mexicans.

As long as there is a drop of blood from a Mexican slave, then this person is not purely white and may become a slave.

Whites are defined as those who "cannot be traced to other sources of blood".

Young Mexican female slaves with the appearance of mixed whites were the most sought-after goods in the slave market at that time.

The original "one drop of blood" was a discriminatory law for whites against Mexicans, but it was used in reverse in later generations and became a means for other ethnic groups to win over mixed-race groups.

As long as the ancestors have ancestors of other skin colors, they can join the group of corresponding skin colors.

Only if the ancestors that can be found are all white, can they be considered white.

The birth rate of white people is already low, and those who have mixed blood are not considered white, so the population of white people is even more precarious.

Correspondingly, "Hispanics" in the United States are not considered white.

But "Hispanic" is not "Spanish", and Hispanics can become white.

Hispanics in the United States actually refer to Latin Americans, that is, the mixed race of the former Spanish colonies in Latin America.

Most of the paternal lines can be traced to the Spaniards, but many of the matrilineal lines have Yin and Mo people.

Most Latin Americans are of mixed race, and of course they are not considered white under the principle of one drop of blood.

But can pure Spaniards from Spain, or descendants of Hispanics whose ancestors have never mixed blood even though they lived in Latin America in previous generations, be able to integrate into the white American group?

Of course it is possible, but it may not be very smooth.

In reality, the basis for ethnic group division is more cultural identity than blood and unchangeable appearance.

In fact, the division of ethnic groups in the United States in later generations mainly depends on self-cognition. People who have no obvious differences in image may be characterized as what ethnic group they think they are when they are questioned.

The living habits of the vast majority of Hispanic descendants in Latin America, and even the image and living habits of the native Spaniards and Italians along the coast of the Great Qinhai Sea, are quite different from the Germans and Anglo-Saxons in the north.

"White people" in this world can be regarded as a somewhat "discriminatory" term. It was originally used to refer to white people in the traditional sense such as northerners of Lucia and British people.

The image of many of them from areas with little sunshine is really pale to the point of death in the eyes of Daming people.

The people of Ming Dynasty thought they were "white like ghosts", and their appearance was obviously different from that of Ming people. Blonde hair and blue eyes were originally a typical image of ghosts, so they were once called white ghosts.

Later, the Ming people knew that they were of the same kind as the Italians and Spaniards in the south, so they collectively referred to them as white people.

Based on this background, the Spaniards and Italians in this world don't like to be called white people, and most of the time they would rather pretend to be cannibals, barbarians, and Tartars.

In Zhu Jingyuan's view, although the clan policy of Emperor Shizu of Ming Dynasty was meaningful, it was obviously too forceful.

The people of Ming Dynasty also follow the "one drop of blood" principle to some extent.

As long as the blood of other ethnic groups is mixed, it is not allowed to write Ming people when registering household registration.

Those who are Daming people on their household registration are all people who have not mixed blood with other ethnic groups since the Renwu Dynasty.

However, unlike the United States, Daming's drop of blood is not only aimed at the Ming people, but also at the vast majority of ethnic groups.

Daming's household registration directly has the category of "mixed blood".

The mixed blood of Daming people and foreign races is not considered as Ming people, nor is it considered to be a complete foreigner.

In particular, the father is from the Ming Dynasty, and the mixed-race children who have lived among the Ming people since childhood, their living habits and self-awareness are not yet likely to be biased toward foreigners.

But the household registration also prevents them from integrating into the Daming community.

In Zhu Jingyuan's view, a drop of ink is enough, a drop of blood is really unnecessary.

The function of a drop of ink is to avoid pollution, and a drop of blood is to push the middle school out.

So Zhu Jingyuan is going to slowly change this strategy.

For those who have more than half of the Ming blood and who are completely Ming people in terms of cultural identity, they will be included in the Ming people group through the general education examination certificate system.

The general education examination certificate assesses cultural background and self-awareness.

When Zhu Jingyuan said this, Luo Yashan and other five foreign vassal monarchs were slightly relieved, and then they all felt that it was true.

Most of them can imagine the role of Zhu Jingyuan's general education certificate system.

If this system is implemented without restriction in their vassal state, it is estimated that after ten or twenty years, the middle and upper classes of the entire vassal state will all become Ming people.

In fact, they themselves don't care whether others can become Daming people, and they even hope that they can become Daming people themselves.

But all the citizens of this country have become Ming people, so there is no need for this vassal state to exist.

If the general education examination certificate system is fully implemented in their territory, it can even be regarded as a countdown to the withdrawal of the domain.

But they all know that the cleanliness of Daming people is obviously a bit high, and not everyone can be a Daming person.

Even among the Tatars of other countries, even if it can be confirmed that their ancestors were Mongols who migrated from the territory of Ming Dynasty, it would be extremely difficult to obtain the identity of Ming people.

The strictest Ming Dynasty identity is determined by the triple determination of region, bloodline, and culture...

Now Zhu Jingyuan can completely understand as long as he is of mixed race, and he can even be regarded as very "enlightened".

The point is that with this strategy of only mixing blood, most people who may never have the chance to mix with Daming people will become guaranteed citizens of these feudal states.

As long as these citizens are still there, most of their status as monarchs can continue to be retained.

Within this category, however, the identities of some groups remain ambiguous.

So after hesitating for a few seconds, the Duke of Kazakhstan asked the question he had to ask:

"May I ask Your Highness, the Mongols in our territory are definitely descended from the Mongols in the Ming Dynasty, and they are close relatives of the Mongols. What is the proportion of their Daming blood?"

The Mongols are nomads, and their ancestry is very mixed. Kazakhs have a large number of Mongols, and even the entire ethnic group can be regarded as Mongols in a broad sense.

At the same time, the Mongols belong to the Ming Dynasty.

So can all Kazakhs be regarded as having Ming blood?

Zhu Jingyuan also thought carefully about this issue.

Zhu Jingyuan initially planned to treat these Mongols as Ming people.

But after careful consideration, I found that this cannot be done.

That would lead to a child of a Kazakh Mongol and a Mexican Spaniard having a chance to have half of Ming blood.

That is really outrageous, the key is that there is no way to control and verify.

So Zhu Jingyuan's final conclusion is:
"The determination of the identity and lineage of the Ming people is based on the existing household registration information of the Ming court.

"The Mongols in Kazakhs are Kazakhs, not Ming people."

Now the Kazakhs, Khivas, and Xianbeis all breathed a sigh of relief. There are too many Mongols in their territory.

If these people are regarded as people of Daming blood, then the follow-up management will inevitably be messed up.

Zhu Jingyuan paused for a while, seeing that the monarchs had no new questions, he continued to explain the follow-up plan:

"Then there is the system of government-run manufacturers, of course we cannot directly copy the system of the local provinces of Ming Dynasty.

"After all, the feudal state is a feudal state, and the internal relationship between the feudal state and Daming is actually that the monarch of the feudal state is loyal to His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty and becomes His Majesty's vassal and tribute.

"It may not even involve the imperial court, but only the personal relationship between the royal family and the monarch.

"So it is unreasonable to set up government-owned manufacturers in various vassal states.

"My idea is to set it up with reference to the relationship between the vassal state and Ming Dynasty.

"The government-run manufacturers of the vassal state are not owned by the yamen at all levels of the vassal state, nor are they managed by these yamen.

"It was jointly funded and established by the monarch of the vassal state and His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, who jointly hold the shares of the manufacturer and enjoy profit dividends.

"The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was responsible for the formulation of the strategic direction, and the monarch of the vassal state was responsible for the actual daily operation and management.

"This form of state-owned official manufacturers is actually a local joint venture company of the Ming imperial consortium.

"The manufacturers of the vassal state need to cooperate with the royal consortium in terms of strategic layout, but the internal daily affairs are all decided by the vassal state itself.

"Your monarchs are the big shopkeepers of this joint venture company, what do you think?"

The five monarchs had different expressions after listening.

The monarchs of the three kingdoms of Kazakhstan, Khiva, and Persia all showed expressions of surprise from the heart.

They were actually very worried. The Ming Dynasty forced them to set up government-run manufacturers in the territory of the vassal state. The key was to set up manufacturers managed and operated by their vassal state court.

The authority of these vassal kings was not strong enough, and the subordinates were already deeply influenced by Ming capital and bureaucrats.

If government-run manufacturers are established, the power of the courtiers will be further strengthened, and the authority of these monarchs will continue to weaken.

They certainly don't want that outcome if they can.

At the same time, the royal consortium of Ming Dynasty is deeply yearned for and envied by most of the monarchs in the world.

Now the Emperor of Ming took them to engage in the same business, and these monarchs were pleasantly surprised.

The point is that with the consortium under his control, his authority in the country will also increase accordingly.

But Luo Yashan was a little undecided, and always felt that there was something wrong with it.

Mu Yi, the Duke of Egypt, frowned very quickly, but he was relieved soon after frowning.

As the monarch of the vassal state, I set up a joint venture with His Majesty the Emperor Ming to establish a large-scale manufacturer belonging to the vassal monarch. While strengthening my authority as the vassal monarch, it is likely to deepen the degree of separation from the local bureaucracy and private capital.

Instead of strengthening the relationship between the Ming court and the court of the vassal state, but strengthening the relationship between the monarch of the vassal state and His Majesty the Emperor, the status and rights of the monarch of the vassal state will be more dependent on the support and approval of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

However, this kind of direct cooperation can also deepen the bond between himself and the Ming royal family.

In the future, the bureaucrats and capital in the vassal state will confront him. If he can't solve it, he can have more reasons to directly ask the Emperor of Ming Dynasty for help.

The skill and reputation of the Ming emperor to help the vassal state suppress rebellion and stabilize the situation are very convincing.

Whether it was before Chongzhen or after the Renwu Dynasty, if Ming said it would not be annexed, it would really not be annexed, and counter-insurgency was really just counter-insurgency.

In the future, as long as the Ming royal family does not fall, his identity will be as stable as Mount Tai. Even if the country completely collapses, his family will still be the monarch of the vassal state after the order is re-established.

Although generally speaking, there are advantages and disadvantages, but the path of betraying the independence of Ming Dynasty is completely unrealistic, so the disadvantages are meaningless, and it can be considered that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

The point is that there is no way to refuse.