pdf-ebookys Chapter 944 Are you sure this official isn't known for being inhuman?
Chapter 944 Are you sure this official isn't known for being inhuman?
Just as Yang Shaofeng was mentally ranting, Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up. He approached Li Shanchang with a fawning smile and said, "Prime Minister Li, could you bring those barbarians who are impersonating local people to Liaodong?"
Hu Weiyong looked around, lowered his voice, and said, "No matter how much they impersonate someone else or fabricate their family tree, barbarians are still barbarians. The local officials must be fed up with them."
"If we could bring them all to Liaodong, it would solve the problem of manpower shortage in Liaodong and also save trouble for the officials in various prefectures and counties."
What does Prime Minister Li think?
Li Shanchang glared at Hu Weiyong with annoyance and snorted coldly, "Don't even think about it!"
"You think those local officials are all brainless idiots?"
"You're short of manpower in Liaodong, but don't you think the other prefectures and counties are also short of manpower?"
"Reclaiming wasteland, building roads, planting trees, setting up small workshops—all these miscellaneous tasks require a large workforce."
"Moreover, the fact that the barbarians are allowed to impersonate others is with the tacit approval of the higher authorities and the imperial court. How can we allow you to cause harm at will?"
Hu Weiyong was slightly taken aback and asked, "Did the higher-ups and the court tacitly approve of it?"
Li Shanchang grunted in agreement, then looked at Zhu Biao and Yang Shaofeng, and said, "Allowing the barbarians to impersonate others is indeed a tacit approval from the higher authorities and the imperial court."
"It's not just because the Ming Dynasty lacks manpower."
"More importantly, we need to show the people of those chieftains that if the court can accept even barbarians, it can certainly accept them as well."
"As for the stench of fish everywhere..."
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "The ones who are most worried about the stench of mutton spreading everywhere are not the rulers and the court, but these barbarians who have successfully impersonated others."
"As far as I know, these barbarians would first give themselves and their families heroic names and change their clothes to the right-fastening style when they first registered their residence."
"They paid more attention to the distinction between Chinese and barbarians than the common people of the Ming Dynasty, and they were also more particular about etiquette than the ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty."
“The common people of the Ming Dynasty might occasionally utter a few words of nonsense, but these barbarians would never utter a single word of nonsense.”
"..."
Li Shanchang recounted the information he had gathered with a smile.
Yang Shaofeng unconsciously smacked his lips.
This is fucking convert fanaticism.
Just like Li Shunchen, the number one general in Asia.
Despite Li Shunchen's inability to even enter Li Rusong's central command tent, this fellow was more ruthless than any regular Ming soldier when it came to fighting in order to become an official in the Ming Dynasty.
He finally managed to charge into the pile of short, ugly people and died in battle, his dream shattered.
Speaking of which, the Mongol soldiers in the Ming army were quite ruthless when fighting against the Yuan dynasty. Whenever Yangla Karakorum was mentioned, these Mongol soldiers would become more and more enthusiastic.
Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting when Li Shanchang turned his gaze to Zhu Biao: "Does Your Highness still remember that you once said you would use water pumps and harvesters to entice the Tusi people to change their registration to Han Chinese, in order to complete the reform of Tusi into Han Chinese?"
There were many Tusi (chieftains) within the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
This can be considered a legacy issue.
A small portion of the responsibility lies with Da Song, while the majority of the responsibility rests with Hu Yuan.
Because the Great Song period was a small court system, the control and management of local areas were not as strict as in the Han and Tang dynasties.
Hu Yuan only cared about collecting taxes and ignored everything else.
After the Great Song and the Hu Yuan dynasties, a large number of Tusi (chieftains) emerged in Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou.
After the Ming Dynasty took over, although it intended to implement the policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials in these areas, the Yuan Dynasty had not yet completely collapsed, and the Ming Dynasty's treasury could not provide enough funds and supplies in the short term. Therefore, it could only temporarily adopt a laissez-faire attitude.
When Yang Shaofeng invented the harvester and water press, Zhu Biao did consider using them to induce the Tusi people to change their ethnicity to Han.
In fact, the Ming Dynasty court had been implementing this approach all along.
Priority was given to allocating harvesters and installing water pumps to the Han people near the chieftains, and then the officials of the local prefectures and counties were instructed to change the Han nationality of the chieftains' people directly if they wanted to do so.
Once a large number of people under the Tusi chieftain's command had changed their nationality to Han, the Tusi chieftain became like a tree without roots, and the imperial court could do whatever it wanted with him.
Unfortunately, this tactic didn't work very well.
Li Shanchang continued, "The original effect was not good because the Tusi people wanted to change their Han nationality, and the Tusi chieftain would try every means to stop them."
"But the fact that these barbarians impersonated others gave the chieftains and their people an idea."
"First change your Chinese name, then migrate."
“If it’s just a simple change of Han nationality, the local Han people and chieftains will know their origins.”
"After the relocation, who among the residents and officials in the new settlements will know their background?"
"Most importantly, the original chieftains are no longer able to control them and can no longer find ways to oppress them."
Zhu Biao nodded unconsciously.
This is good news.
Li Shanchang then turned his gaze to Yang Shaofeng and said with a smile, "The Prince Consort is known for his many clever ideas."
Yang Shaofeng was a little confused.
My official?
A master of clever schemes?
Are you sure I'm not known for being a troublemaker, daring to cause trouble, and doing inhuman things?
Others may not know who I am, but surely I myself am aware of it?
I am no good person!
Yang Shaofeng continued to rant in his mind, but Li Shanchang continued, "Why don't you think about why the higher-ups and the court would tacitly allow barbarians to impersonate citizens instead of creating a reliable set of rules for how barbarians can register their citizenship?"
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but roll his eyes.
why?
Because Brother Li Shunchen dreams of becoming an official in the Ming Dynasty.
Old Deng dreamed of uniting all the tribes into one.
To tacitly allow barbarians to impersonate other peoples is, frankly speaking, the same as Old Deng's prohibition against intermarriage between different tribes.
Intermarriage between ethnic groups is prohibited. Violators will be punished, flogged, or exiled. Those who wish to intermarry with Chinese people are permitted to do so.
In simple terms, it means that "anyone living within the territory of the Ming Dynasty who is not a Han Chinese citizen is not allowed to marry within their own clan and must intermarry with Han Chinese citizens. Anyone who disobeys will be fined, flogged, or exiled."
To put it bluntly, the sheer number of Han Chinese people is what it is.
Over time, ethnic groups such as Tujia, Hakka, Miao, Zhuang, and Mongolian will gradually assimilate into the Han Chinese population.
To establish a reliable set of rules, it is necessary to define the identity of these naturalized barbarians, which is tantamount to indirectly reminding them that they are not Han Chinese.
If these barbarians are allowed to impersonate Han people, they will try their best to become Han Chinese themselves.
The Five Surnames and Seven Clans are just basic operations; it wouldn't be surprising if they pulled off something like falsely claiming to be descendants of the Eight Ancient Surnames.
Coupled with the fervor of those who convert...