Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Two to three percent of North Koreans have Ming citizenship, which is a legacy issue.

Last year, in order to encourage Korea to resist the invaders, collect food and clear the countryside, Zhu Youjian specifically allowed Koreans to donate Ming citizenship.

With only 200 dan of rice or 100 taels of silver, one could become a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, and the title was promised to be passed down from generation to generation.

This was not a problem at the time. After all, the Ming Dynasty at that time wanted to win over all forces to contain the Jianlu, and even invited Kublai Khan back to the Imperial Temple.

What Zhu Youjian wanted at that time was to do everything possible to avoid the Ji Si Rebellion and divert the Jianlu's power to other places.

This strategy was also effective. Korea and Mongolia at least delayed the Jianlu's energy for a year.

During this year, Zhu Youjian completed the reform of the Beijing Army and promoted the new type of musket.

Then Man Gui's battle on the grassland made Zhu Youjian realize that it was only a matter of time before the Ming Dynasty eliminated the Jianlu.

His attention also turned to the construction of world order, and the problems of the measures that had been hastily adopted previously were exposed.

Zhu Youjian almost lost face over whether Kublai Khan would move out of the Imperial Temple. The citizenship of Korea as a citizen of the Ming Dynasty was even more contrary to the current education policy being implemented.

Zhuang Tingchen said:

"According to rough statistics, there are more than two million Koreans who donated their Ming citizenship."

"Most of the yangban and middle class donated money to obtain this status."

"According to the policy set by Your Majesty a few days ago, overseas Ming citizens must at least pass the Ding-level examination before the next generation can continue to become citizens."

"But the court at that time promised the Koreans that they could have Ming citizenship for generations."

"I think we need to educate them so that they can be completely transformed into Chinese."

Although they did not openly criticize the contradiction, they were actually still trying to clean up the mess of previous policies.

He planned to educate the children for generations and fulfill the promise of Ming citizenship.

However, this method is neither a temporary solution nor a fundamental solution.

Because according to the etiquette and laws being formulated, the court treats all citizens of the Ming Dynasty equally. Even if they live overseas, they are still Chinese living abroad.

The Overseas Chinese Committee established by the Congress was specifically for these people. Since the Koreans had Ming citizenship, they should be allowed to elect representatives and participate in the Ming Congress.

Regardless of whether the Joseon royal family is willing, such a large population will definitely have a seat in the parliament. The members of the Ming parliament may not necessarily accept them.

Zhu Youjian felt a headache just thinking about it, and felt that making decisions on the spur of the moment was really unacceptable. The policy used temporarily at that time, who would have thought that such a big problem would be left behind later.

Huang Liji said to Jun:

"Your Majesty has foreign officials who enjoy all the rights except the right to elect and be elected."

“It would be better to classify North Korean citizens who have donated as foreign citizens and deny them the right to vote.”

"I guess those people don't understand these things, so I just added them quietly."

Zhu Youjian certainly did not adopt this bad idea and shook his head:
"The most important thing for the court to re-establish rituals and music is to establish credibility."

"How can we waste the reputation of the imperial court for such a small matter?"

"I recognize these two million citizens. I will educate them well according to what Mr. Zhuang said."

After formulating this policy, Zhu Youjian said:
"If North Korea uses Chinese as its official language and more than half of its people speak and use Chinese, then it will be considered a Chinese-speaking region."

"I have issued an edict to grant Ming citizens in the Chinese-speaking areas of Korea the right to hold Ming citizenship for generations without taking an exam."

"But ordinary citizens only have the right to vote. To have the right to be elected and become a member of parliament, one needs to have a status higher than public official."

"Overseas civil servants must pass the C-level test to become naturalized citizens and have the right to be elected. Otherwise, they will be treated as foreign civil servants with limited rights."

"Huang Qing, you come to draft the edict. Don't go against the education policy that was set before."

This measure almost treated Korea as the mainland of Ming Dynasty, and the Ming citizens of Korea as Han people.

Previously, only the Han people in the Chinese-speaking area could naturally obtain Ming citizenship.

Now North Korea and those who previously donated their citizenship have been added.

Huang Liji and Zhuang Tingchen both felt that something was not right, but they could not think of a better solution.

After all, the credibility of the emperor and the court is important, and they cannot overturn previous measures and go back on their word.

They can only hope that North Korea can successfully break away from foreigners and join China, and regard this policy as preferential treatment for the first half-Chinese country.

Speaking of the Half-Chinese Country, Zhu Youjian, in order to show its nobility and attract other foreigners to escape from the barbarians and enter China, issued an order:
"We should not treat a country that is half Chinese as a barbarian."

"We should treat them as civilized people according to Chinese etiquette, and not use derogatory terms such as barbarians."

"The same goes for other three-star and four-star countries. Don't view them as barbarians."

"We must abide by the three principles of peaceful coexistence, coexist peacefully with them, respect each other, and achieve mutual benefit."

This was a major shift in foreign policy, meaning that the Ming Dynasty no longer regarded all outsiders as barbarians, but recognized them as human beings.

This question may sound ridiculous, but in the later Western-dominated world order, "Are Chinese people human beings?" is also a big question.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty also boasted of being the Celestial Empire and looked down upon all foreigners equally.

Today, recognizing that some foreigners have civilizations is a major change.

Zhuang Tingchen said:

"Your Majesty, the Rongdi people have beastly faces, this is what Emperor Taizong of Tang said."

"Su Shi's "On the King's Failure to Rule the Barbarians" says: The barbarians cannot be ruled by the Chinese. They are like animals. If you want to rule them, you will end up in chaos."

"We must learn from the lessons of the Five Barbarians' Rebellion and the An Lushan Rebellion."

"Don't use Chinese etiquette on barbarians!"

Huang Liji also advised not to regard barbarians as civilized and to treat them with Chinese etiquette.

However, Zhu Youjian knew that Western civilization had completed initial material accumulation through great voyages of discovery and colonization, and science and technology were on the eve of an explosion, about to be ushered in by Newton and enter the next stage.

If we still look down on them as barbarians, it is not only unrealistic, but will also bring many big problems. It is really not worthwhile to have conflicts with Western countries in the future.

And most importantly, Zhu Youjian hoped that the Ming Dynasty's scholars would put aside their arrogance and actively absorb the beneficial parts of other civilizations. If other countries were regarded as barbarians, this would inevitably affect this.

So he insisted:
"Three-star and four-star countries already have civilization."

"The Ming Dynasty is only a four-star country now, so we must take them seriously."

"Leave this matter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ask Cao Sicheng to send envoys to sign peace treaties with all countries willing to live in peace with the Ming Dynasty, recognizing them as civilized and polite countries."

"Those who are unwilling to sign, or who violate the treaty after signing, will be regarded as barbarians and will not be recognized as civilized countries."

"For example, if the Netherlands dares to violate the treaty and invade the Ming Dynasty again and plunder Ming merchant ships, then we will continue the war and drive the Netherlands out completely."

"I hope that when the Ming Dynasty goes to war with the Netherlands, no other country will interfere."

"We must not allow the countries of the West to unite and become enemies of the Ming Dynasty."

Using this specific example, he explained why he wanted to recognize them as a civilized country and sign a peace treaty. Huang Liji and Zhuang Tingchen gradually calmed down after hearing these words. They knew that the emperor still had the same attitude and put practicality first.

This was the case before, when Kublai Khan was invited back to the Imperial Temple and Koreans were given Ming citizenship. Now it is just a matter of forming alliances and dividing the Western barbarians.

Huang Liji pondered over this matter and said:
"I think that when dealing with ordinary three-star and four-star countries, we only need to sign a peace treaty."

"Only countries that are allied with the Ming Dynasty can be treated with Chinese courtesy."

"We must also make these allies recognize that the Ming Dynasty is supreme, allow Ming citizens to reside overseas, recognize dual citizenship, and allow people with dual citizenship to serve as officials."

Zhuang Tingchen listened to this compromise and also expressed his agreement.

As a civil servant, he was not a warmonger and was certainly willing to sign peace treaties with other countries.

It is only natural to treat our allies with Chinese courtesy.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to find foreigners willing to serve the Ming Dynasty when it came to forming alliances.

Seeing that they all had the same attitude, Zhu Youjian could only nod his head in agreement. For the time being, he only recognized his allies as civilized countries and treated other foreign countries peacefully.

As for the enemy countries, we must strike hard, and first of all, we must not recognize that they are civilized people:
"All countries and forces that are hostile to the Ming Dynasty are regarded as barbarians."

"Yidi are just like beasts, fearing power but not being virtuous."

"Don't try to persuade them with virtue, but use the barbaric way and show your authority first."

This is a mistake that the Ming Dynasty often made when dealing with foreigners.

Many people despise foreigners in their hearts, but in their actual actions, they wish to influence them with virtue.

The Ming Dynasty made this mistake in its treatment of the Jurchens and Li Chengliang made this mistake in its treatment of Nurhaci.

They forgot that Nurhaci and other Jurchens were barbarians and had no moral integrity at all.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian explicitly requested that the barbarians should be treated in their own way, conquering them first and then letting them know the power of the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Liji and Zhuang Tingchen felt uncomfortable again after hearing these words.

They felt that the emperor's treatment of foreigners was really contradictory:
Too lenient with some barbarians and too strong with others.

This attitude really makes it difficult for the officials to deal with.

However, Zhu Youjian did not know that the traditional way of dealing with barbarians was schizophrenia:
Many scholars and officials despised the barbarians as beasts, yet they also wished to influence them with virtue.

Zhuge Liang's seven captures of Meng Huo is a typical example.

This may be able to reform some barbarians, but what will remain are more lessons, which is totally unacceptable.

Therefore, his attitude towards other countries is pragmatic:
Those who are useful to the Ming Dynasty should be treated preferentially and recognized as civilized people.

Those who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty should also be treated with favor, and spiritual Chinese should be cultivated and gradually educated.

Those who are hostile are regarded as barbarians and treated in a barbaric way.

In order to let the Lifanyuan know how to treat other countries, Zhu Youjian asked the Lifanyuan to send envoys to rate the stars for various countries and forces.

The first country to be rated is naturally North Korea, and the conditions for becoming a three-star country are set based on North Korea’s strength.

Mao Pijiang was placed in the diplomatic mission to Korea to investigate the situation and explore how to use Xia to transform Yi and turn Korea into a half-Chinese country.

The Crown Prince of Joseon, Li Wang, was very supportive of this. He wrote a letter to recommend Mao Pijiang to the King of Joseon and explained the significance of the Half-China Country.

This is definitely a big deal for North Korea, as it means that they will truly transform from barbarians and beasts into a human being.
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At the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion, Zhang Weixian learned of the actions of the Lifanyuan and was very concerned about it.

He was not interested in whether North Korea was a half-Chinese country. What he was worried about was whether North Korea's separation from the barbarians and its integration into China would bring changes to Annan.

After all, compared with Korea, Annan was more sinicized. During the Yongle period, Jiaozhi was once a province of the Ming Dynasty.

If people from Annan came to the imperial court to make a request, they might also be identified as half Chinese and half barbarian.

In that case, there will be great changes in the establishment of the British Duke's fiefdom in Jiaozhi.

Thinking of this, he said to his son:
"Go check carefully to see if there is any mention of Annan in the court documents recently."

Zhang Zhiji didn't know what his father was going to do, and asked in confusion:
"What does Cha'anan do?"

"Is father planning to establish a fiefdom now?"

My eyes suddenly lit up and I felt very excited.

Obviously, he is now very enthusiastic about establishing a fiefdom and wants his family to own a fiefdom.

Zhang Weixian looked at him speechlessly and warned again:
"The matter of establishing a fiefdom is entirely the responsibility of Shi Ze, so please do not interfere."

"Now Shi Ze has trained 10,000 soldiers in Guangdong. Even if they only have half the combat power of Man Guidong Ping's army, they can still conquer northern Annan."

"Don't cause him trouble and hold him back."

Zhang Zhiji did not expect that his image in his father's mind was so bad, and he repeatedly warned himself on this matter.

He was very unhappy, but looking at his father's serious expression, he had no choice but to agree.

After he made the promise, Zhang Weixian said in a weak voice:
"Don't blame Dad for being strict, this is for the Zhang family."

"The capital needs someone to take charge, and the vassal states also need people."

"Even the emperor doesn't interfere in foreign affairs, let alone you?"

"All matters concerning the British vassal state are handled by Shi Ze."

After hearing these words, Zhang Zhiji felt somewhat convinced.

He admires the current emperor very much and thinks he can be called a wise ruler with a far-sighted vision.

But even such a monarch did not interfere in local affairs outside of the North and South Zhili. Moreover, as a middle-class person, he was completely clueless about the situation of the vassal states.

Looking at his father's frail look, thinking that he might die at any time, he said with some emotion:
"Dad, please take a good rest. Your son will take care of the things outside."

"As long as Daddy is safe, no matter what disturbances happen outside, they won't affect us."

This was a very insightful statement, and Zhang Weixian nodded.

As a hero recognized by the current emperor for his ascension to the throne, no one dares to challenge the majesty of the Zhang family as long as he is alive.

Even the emperor respected him very much. Anything related to Annan must be discussed with the Duke of Ying.

But the more this happened, the more cautious Zhang Weixian became.

If he didn't feel that time was running out, he wouldn't be so radical:
"No matter what, the establishment of the domain must be finalized before I die."

"Without me, the Duke of England may not be able to keep its fertile land."

"After all, the Zhang family is still a courtier, and cannot compete with the royal family!"

Now that the establishment of vassal states is becoming more and more popular, Zhang Weixian is very worried that some princes of the royal family will take a fancy to Annan and compete with the Duke of Ying for the fiefdom.

So he planned to speed up the process and push the Duke of Ying to open a fiefdom. (End of this chapter)