I'm a big dick

Chapter 534 Mekong Province’s First Nationality Law

The north has already had a severe winter, but the south is as warm as spring, and the temperature in Mekong Province is almost summer.

The expansion of Saigon Port has been completed, and several large ships are slowly approaching the pier, and the flags flying on the masts clearly indicate their identities.

Yes, the largest port in Mekong Province is Saigon Port.This is not the name of the emperor, but the port where the tribute ships from the west berthed when Zheng He sailed to the west. Saigon means "tribute from the west".

As soon as the springboard was set, the immigrants set foot on this strange land with their families, their mouths, their shoulders and their most important family assets.

"We recruited this, don't grab it randomly!"

"I saw the sign, look at how you scare that bear."

"It's a good thing to say. It's not safe to move forward when you see the sign."

Amid the quarrel, the immigrants were a little dazed, and they spoke well when they came, but they didn't expect it to be so popular.

"Folks, here, here." A fat face greeted enthusiastically, afraid that people would not be able to recognize his dialect accent, with a smile on his face, he led them to the registration office next to him.

The people from the government were busy registering for naturalization in the mat shed. Those recruited by the government and those who came spontaneously were arranged by the government, and those recruited by others were naturally taken away after registration.

Population is wealth, it is power, and this is the case in Mekong Province.

The Maritime Chamber of Commerce is rich and powerful, and the number of people recruited has already earned Li Guozhu a seventh-rank county magistrate; Yan Siqi started later, but he also relied on money to recruit people in Fujian, and made his nephew a county magistrate.

There is also the southwestern chieftain who has heard the news. Based on the idea of ​​spreading branches and leaves, he has already had several appeasement envoys and more than a dozen long-term lawsuits in Mekong Province.

This is just the beginning. Many chieftains in the mainland don't know about it yet, and some chieftains still don't believe it and are still hesitating.

Recruit dozens of people to be platoon leaders, and 100 people to be company commanders... The imperial court's policy of encouraging immigration is similar to a certain historical stage in later generations.

However, in actual operation, there are still many improvements in Mekong Province, and it is impossible for many local emperors to appear.

First of all, the army, whether it is a pacification envoy or a long-term lawsuit, must provide a certain number of soldiers in proportion to the population.

These soldiers will be trained intensively and formed into an army, led by the generals of the Ming army, to expand the territory, occupy more territory, and plunder resources.

Then, add a certain amount of land to the appeasement envoy and the chief lawsuit. To put it bluntly, it is to divide the spoils.

This not only deprived the chieftain of the direct command of the army, but also included incentives, so as not to cause too much opposition and conflict.

After all, the population of appeasement envoys and chief judges is not too large, and the armed forces drawn out are also difficult to compete with the local barbarians.

It’s just that they are able-bodied, and they don’t need to worry about food, grass, military pay, or pensions for the disabled. It’s equivalent to sending people to work to earn benefits for themselves, which is very good!
As for the county magistrate appointed for recruiting immigrants, the officials under you must be dispatched by the Ministry of Officials.

"Hui Xianzun, these ships are all from Qinzhou, Guangxi, not from Jiangsu and Zhejiang." The servant ran into a restaurant and reported to Li Guozhu.

Li Guozhu felt a little regretful, nodded slightly, and said, "It's only a few days, you come to the pier to watch every day, I'm on business, so I can't miss work because of this."

"Don't worry, my lord, the little one will stay at the pier, and even sleep with one eye open." The servant quickly bowed and agreed.

Li Guozhu stood up, went out of the restaurant accompanied by his entourage, got into the carriage, and drove to the distance.

The Mekong Delta, also known as the Jiulongjiang Plain, is also the largest plain in Southeast Asia.

There are dense river networks, criss-crossing rivers and canals, endless rice fields, and orchards that are fragrant in all seasons. If it is well built, it will become an extremely rich treasure land.

That's right, the Red River Plain has become Annan's main economic area, and the Mekong River Plain is far from being developed.

At first, it was just a small fishing village called Priango, surrounded by swamps.Later, it gradually developed into an important port trade center in Chenla.Because of the dense water network, this area is called "Water Chenla".

A few years ago, the Daming Navy occupied here, forcing Chenla to retreat westward.

Chenla, later the Kingdom of Cambodia.At that time, it was already in decline, not only unable to resist the Ming army, but even the refugees of the Yue nationality could not resist.

If the history has not changed, it will become the world of Vietnamese refugees in a few decades, and it will not be officially included in the territory of Vietnam until the Nguyen Dynasty sends a nobleman to rule here.

Now, because of the emperor's intervention, this place has become the Mekong Province of Ming Dynasty.

Over the past few years, immigrants and exiles have exceeded 20 people, and they have steadily overwhelmed the Vietnamese refugees who came here to escape the civil war between the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

At the same time, it has also become an important base of the Daming Navy and a transit port for Nanyang maritime merchants.

Nevertheless, Mekong Province is still in its infancy.Not only does it require a large population to fill up the development, but it is also an unavoidable problem to deal with the increasing number of Vietnamese refugees.

Li Guozhu rushed to the governor's yamen by car, and visited the governor Dong Yingju inside, only to know that the emperor had issued a new decree and asked Mekong Province to follow it.

Although the official meeting will not be held until tomorrow, Dong Yingju has conveyed the content of the new order to Li Guozhu so that he can make suggestions tomorrow.

"Although the Vietnamese refugees submit to the government's rule, they are not my race, and their hearts must be different. For long-term development and social stability, the "Nationality Law" can be said to be at the right time."

Dong Yingju is already very tanned, and his face is full of vicissitudes of life. He has devoted himself to the construction and development of Mekong Province.

Li Guozhu listened carefully to Dong Yingju's explanation, and nodded his head from time to time to express his agreement with the emperor's will.

Attracting people to settle down and reclaim wasteland, so that refugees from Yue (referring to Annan people), Tang (referring to overseas Chinese), Liao, and Man became citizens of Ming Dynasty, and enjoyed the same rights to open up wasteland, live in wasteland, pay taxes and pay taxes as immigrants from the mainland.

This policy is not new and unique. Dong Yingju did it when the Mekong Province was first established.But although it is very beneficial to the construction and development of Mekong Province, he also has hidden worries in his heart.

However, using the "Nationality Law" to screen and restrict people has fixed norms and conditions for becoming a citizen of the Ming Dynasty.

Either solemnly swear to become a Ming nationality, and fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of the people of the Ming Dynasty in the future, and enjoy the treatment of the people of the Ming Dynasty; or refuse, consciously get out of the rule of the Ming Dynasty in Mekong Province.

Taking the oath to join is not the final procedure. You have to learn Chinese within two years, first obtain the right of residence for five years; and then pass the naturalization examination within five years to truly obtain the status of Mingren.

Speaking Chinese and writing Chinese characters is tantamount to abandoning the cultural inheritance of the original ethnic group, and most of them have integrated into the Han nationality.

This generation is like this, and the next generation or the next generation may not even know their own language and writing.Can a nation without language and written heritage still be called a nation?

(End of this chapter)