Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Ma Maocai and Tian Jianxiu both witnessed Huang Zongxi's ordeal.

Tian Jianxiu pondered how to attract more disaster victims to Liaonan, while Ma Maocai felt that it was inappropriate for Huang Zongxi to make such a fuss, as it would affect the transfer of migrants.

He stepped forward a few paces and addressed Huang Zongxi and the others:
"what happened?"

Why are you making such a racket here?

The immigration camp officials hurriedly explained, and Huang Zongxi dared not act rashly either.

He was a disciple of Liu Zongzhou and was quite influential in the capital. He even dared to confront the emperor directly.

However, after spending more than a month at the immigration camp, his morale had waned considerably. Facing Ma Maocai, the powerful imperial inspector, he suppressed his anger and said:

"It's not that Mr. Huang caused trouble, it's just that these incompetent officials have gone too far in bullying people!"

“The immigrant ships of my Lu province were not even fully loaded in a month.”

"How much distance can they travel in a month, and how much money will they lose?"

They angrily accused the officials at the immigration camps of incompetence.

The officials in the immigration camp blushed, yet found it difficult to refute them. They were either officials by birth or former military officers, and naturally felt inferior in the face of Huang Zongxi, a scholar.

However, Ma Maocai could not allow Huang Zongxi to slander them. Pointing to the leading official, he said sternly:
“Mr. Huang, you should be careful with your words. The ninth-rank official in front of you is one of the best officers in the immigration camp.”

"He was rated as excellent for three consecutive years and was promoted from a clerk to a ninth-rank official."

"You can't call someone an incompetent official just because they didn't handle their job well."

This praise made the manager's eyes redden. His previous complaints about Ma Maocai instantly turned into gratitude.

If a ninth-rank official were labeled as an incompetent official by Huang Zongxi, his future prospects would be bleak.

Ma Maocai spoke up for him to clear his name.

Although Huang Zongxi did not know how difficult it was to be recognized for excellence for three consecutive years, he knew that everyone who was promoted was extraordinary.

Upon hearing Ma Maocai's words, he bowed to the steward and apologized, saying:
"I apologize to this gentleman for speaking too harshly."

“But the fleet from Luzhou has been delayed for too long, and you find it troublesome to occupy the dock.”

That makes sense, and that's why Ma Maocai got involved in the matter.

Although many wharves have been built in Cangzhou over the past three years, it's not good that they're still occupied by the Lu vassal state. He said to Huang Zongxi:
"Show me the recruitment measures of the Lu Fan."

"Let's discuss this."

Then he called over Tian Jianxiu and asked him to participate as well.

According to Ma Maocai, who was familiar with immigration affairs, the fact that the Lu Kingdom could not recruit immigrants must be related to its policies.

Didn't you see that the Nan'an Earl's Kingdom was also newly established and located in Borneo, just like the Lu Kingdom? They recruited many immigrants, and many people responded.

Huang Zongxi presented the conditions for new immigrants from the Lu region. Ma Maocai frowned upon seeing only the first condition and said:

"Brother Huang, you've come to Cangzhou to recruit immigrants, but why does the first requirement state that those above the rank of Gongshi have priority and that Gongshi and military personnel will be allocated the same amount of land?"

"Are there many public servants among the disaster victims in our immigrant camp? Who is this for?"

Upholding the principle of giving preferential treatment to scholars, Huang Zongxi insisted on providing public scholars with treatment at least equivalent to that of soldiers.

However, this was not a good thing. Many disaster victims lost interest in listening to the Lu vassal's speech when they heard that the public servants and soldiers were treated the same.

Tian Jianxiu said the following:
“Mr. Huang, you treat these public servants the same way you treat soldiers. It’s really heartbreaking.”

“If I were a disaster victim in an immigrant camp, I would definitely not choose Lu Fan.”

Huang Zongxi became curious and asked:

“If public servants are treated the same as soldiers, how can that be offensive?”

"Furthermore, our policy towards soldiers is the same as that towards other territories, allocating land according to square plots."

Tian Jianxiu pursed her lips, and seeing Ma Maocai nod encouragingly, she mustered up her courage and continued:
“Soldiers have to serve for generations, so there will always be people in the army, but public servants don’t need to.”

“If civil servants are treated the same as soldiers, do you think people would rather be civil servants or soldiers?”

"If this continues, who in the Lu region will be willing to join the army? Will you be able to gain a foothold in Southeast Asia?"

"Even if I were an immigrant, I wouldn't choose Lu Fan. You guys don't value soldiers at all!"

Huang Zongxi was still somewhat confused and asked, puzzled:
"The three guards of Luzhou are not short of men, so why recruit so many soldiers?"

“Borneo has no capable natives; our current forces are enough to deal with them.”

Upon hearing this, Ma Maocai shook his head, feeling that Huang Zongxi was too bookish.

Tian Jianxiu also wanted to laugh, but he pursed his lips and said:

"After dealing with the natives, what about the bandits?"

"Luzhou is a large country spanning thousands of miles. Surely you don't think there won't be bandits there?"

"Moreover, there are pirates in Southeast Asia, and even hostile countries like the Netherlands."

"If you don't value soldiers, why would they risk their lives?"

"When faced with internal and external troubles, should we rely on the imperial court to send troops to our aid?"

Huang Zongxi, enraged, not only failed to reflect on his actions but also loudly complained:
"Giving land to the soldiers isn't enough; are we going to give them the land that belongs to the commoners as well?" "These soldiers are really greedy; do they want to lower the status of the scholars to their level?"

He complained that the soldiers were ungrateful and were dissatisfied with the treatment they received.

Tian Jianxiu was stunned, never expecting Huang Zongxi to think that way.

Ma Maocai, being a scholar, understood his mentality to some extent.

After all, the Ming Dynasty had valued civil officials more than military officials for too long, and in the eyes of many people, the status of soldiers was far lower than that of scholars.

However, understanding does not equate to acceptance, Ma Maocai said:

"It is human nature to want more after getting what you want. Your Majesty's five-level demand theory is a progressive one."

"After their basic needs for survival are met, soldiers naturally want to gain respect."

“If you treat conscripts who do not serve in the military the same as soldiers, they will naturally be dissatisfied.”

"Most of the disaster victims' way out is to join the army or to become hereditary soldiers overseas. If you treat them like this, of course they won't enlist."

"If we want to recruit more immigrants, we must change this."

People from Shaanxi are good soldiers, a fact that has been widely recognized since Sun Chuanting's Qin Army and the Dongning Army were formed and made meritorious contributions.

Even Zheng Zhilong offered good conditions to recruit immigrants to the Cangzhou camp in order to make up for the disadvantage in land warfare.

Immigrants from Shaanxi who came to Cangzhou also saw joining the army and receiving a salary as a way out. They were registered as military and civilian households in Shaanxi, and now, in their desperate situation, they were not opposed to joining overseas military garrisons.

Huang Zongxi introduced policies that were clearly biased towards scholars, which they naturally disliked.

After Ma Maocai explained everything in detail, Huang Zongxi finally realized his mistake and said with some annoyance:
"My teacher said back then that I was too lenient with scholars, and that their rights and obligations were not aligned."

"Now it seems we were wrong; there were discerning people among the disaster victims."

Hearing these words, Tian Jianxiu's lips twitched, knowing that Huang Zongxi still did not take the disaster victims seriously.
Having come from a humble background, he knew that although these disaster victims were not as knowledgeable as scholars, they could still sense who was good and who was bad.

Huang Zongxi's policies for the Luzhou region were clearly biased towards scholars, so the knowledgeable disaster victims naturally didn't flatter him.
-
After pointing out the flaws in Huang Zongxi's policies, Ma Maocai said:
"The reputation of Luzhou for valuing scholars has already spread, and it will be difficult to reverse it in a short time."

"But it's not acceptable for a public servant to receive the same treatment as a regular soldier without doing anything. Why don't you revise it and add an additional condition—"

"Only after teaching at the garrison school for at least three years and producing ten scholars, or ten first-class and one hundred second-class garrison children, can a public servant enjoy the treatment of a soldier."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Tian Jianxiu immediately exclaimed that it was brilliant.

Although he was illiterate, he knew that many people from the lower classes, like him, deeply respected scholars.

If there are scholars willing to impart their knowledge, they certainly don't mind that these scholars enjoy the same treatment as soldiers.

After all, these benefits were given by the Prince of Lu, so naturally no one would object after enjoying them.

This could even increase the attractiveness of the Lu region:
The Wei School in Luzhou had scholars who were able to educate their children to become successful.

Huang Zongxi was eager to remedy the situation and wanted to fill the positions quickly before leaving. Upon hearing this suggestion, he immediately agreed:
"This is a good approach, as it unifies rights and obligations."

"If a public servant wants to enjoy the same treatment as a soldier, he must make meritorious contributions."

After adding this, he sighed again:
"I heard from the capital that the Emperor plans to reform the North-South and Central Divisions, dividing the inland areas outside Fengyang Prefecture into North and South, and the border regions and overseas areas into the Central Division."

“In the future, vassal states will also have quotas for Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), so Wei Xue really needs to pay attention to this.”

This was the hottest news in the capital recently. After the dispute over the ownership of Chuzhou and Hezhou due to the division of the volumes, the emperor decided to redivide the north and south, and to assign the area outside Zhongdu Fengyang Prefecture to the southern and northern volumes.

Only scholars from border regions such as Yunnan and Guizhou, as well as those from overseas, were included in the middle volume as a form of preferential treatment for scholars from these areas.

Tian Jianxiu's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately said:
How is southern Liaoning included?

"Will it be included in the middle volume?"

Huang Zongxi said with certainty:
"The entire Liaodong region is outside the Great Wall, so it will naturally be the middle of the range."

"However, Liaodong used to be attached to the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examinations, so I don't know if it will become independent."

Tian Jianxiu said with a smile:

"It will definitely become independent from Shuntian Prefecture."

"Now two military and civilian prefectures have been set up in Liaodong, Liaoxi and Liaonan. After the area is completely recovered, several more will be set up."

"It is said that His Majesty intends to establish the Liaoning Provincial Administration Commission after pacifying Liaodong, just like the thirteen provincial administration commissions in the interior."

This news has spread widely in Liaodong, and many officials in the capital know about it.

That's why the value of Liaodong land certificates has been rising all the way up, because this area will be considered part of the interior in the future.

After learning that Liaoning might be included in the central region in the future, Tian Jianxiu became even more eager to settle in Liaoning.

They even wanted to spread the news to attract more cultural figures—

Old Tian also had ambitions; he wasn't satisfied with just recruiting disaster victims.

Then Ma Maocai gave Huang Zongxi another suggestion: highlight the cultural advantages of Luzhou and publicize how many scholars and officials there were.

If a few people from the Lu region can pass the imperial examinations in the future, that would be the best form of publicity.

At the same time, we must also promote the overseas Chinese identity and dual citizenship to the disaster victims, and tell them that citizens of vassal states can also be citizens of the Ming Dynasty.

This would reduce their resistance to going overseas, letting them know that even abroad, they could still be citizens of the Ming Dynasty and wouldn't be treated as outcasts. (End of Chapter)