The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 264: Calculating the Nature of Things and Elixir

In the Jiading Zongli Office, Zou Tianci, wearing a scarlet robe, walked slowly, and the officials around him were reporting the situation to him one by one.

Last year, Ou Tianci focused on repairing the original water conservancy project that was deliberately abandoned by the clan member Yan in order to oppress the Chen family. At the same time, he returned most of the land belonging to the Mingxiang people to them.

In addition, in order not to affect productivity, Ou Tianci comforted the Mingxiang people in Jiading with a great heart and let go of the hatred in his heart.

All crimes that did not involve rape, serious injury, or even killing of Mingxiang people were forgiven.

Throughout the Mekong Plain, and even in the entire Gia Dinh Prefecture, including Ha Tien and Phan Thiet, the only punishments inflicted on the Han people of Annam were hard labor and increased taxes.

Of course, this is premised on them returning the property they have seized from the Mingxiang people.

At the same time, in order to prevent the Annan Han people who had given up their property from becoming discouraged, after the Xing Tang Army cleared Xining Prefecture upstream of the Saigon River, Ou Tianci gave a large amount of land here to these Annan Han people who had lost a lot of property.

It was promised that as long as they were willing to open up wasteland in Xining Prefecture, they would be exempt from grain taxes for the first two years, half the tax would be levied in the third year, and normal taxes would be collected in the fourth year.

It can be said that in the past two years, without Ou Tianci's broad mind, who persuaded the Mingxiang people and appeased the Han people in Annan, Jiading would never be as prosperous as it is now, and productivity would not have recovered so quickly.

You have to know that when the royal family bullied the Mingxiang people, the high-ranking families in Jiading, including the Jinghan family, might have also colluded with them. If they really wanted to settle the score, Jiading would have to be in chaos for a few years.

After Ou Tianci used this method to end the hatred between the two populations, everyone immediately calmed down and began to concentrate on production.

This is also the reason why Mo Zibu clearly took back the power from his father in a somewhat arrogant way, but returned part of it to Mo Tianci in this way.

If Mo Zibu were to do this, he probably wouldn't have such good patience, and in the end he would probably have to use force to carry out united front work.

That is, to eliminate some of the high-ranking officials in Jiading, and win over some of them.

There is nothing wrong with doing this, of course, but it will definitely delay things in terms of restoring productivity and stabilizing the rear and heading north as soon as possible to participate in the chaos.

"Prime Minister, the county schools in the eight counties of Xingtang Prefecture, the four counties of Hexian Prefecture, and the four prefectures and nine counties of Xining, Bien Hoa, Fan'an, and Longmen in Xinghan Prefecture have all been completed.

Last year, we recruited over 300 Confucian scholars from mainland China, 21 of whom achieved the title of "Xucai" (Scholarship). There are now over 1,000 registered students in this town, and culture and education are flourishing!"

At the end of last year, Mo Zibu promoted his father to a higher level.

The original Jiading Prefecture has now been upgraded to Jiading Dao.

The eight counties that were originally under the jurisdiction of Jiading were established as a prefecture, namely Xingtang Prefecture.

Therefore, the current Jiading Dao governs Xingtang Prefecture, which includes most of the Mekong Plain, and Hexian Prefecture, where the Hexian Ou family originally lived.

The rest of the border areas and counties were also upgraded to prefectures, and the counties directly governed by the high-ranking officials of Jiading and Jinghan were upgraded to prefectures. The prefects of prefectures were hereditary, and the remaining counties were still governed by prefects of the itinerant official system.

The prefecture established in these four states and nine counties was called Xinghan Prefecture, with one prefect in charge of the four provincial governors and nine county magistrates.

When he heard his subordinates report on cultural and educational achievements, Ou Tianci was overjoyed.

He himself was famous for his literary talent. When he was in Hexian, a small city with only a few tens of thousands of people, he created the Ten Scenic Spots of Hexian and summoned a group of literati to write poems and records.

Now that we are in Jiading, we naturally have to catch them as much as possible.

However, Ou Tianci suddenly thought of a problem, that is, Jiading today can attract hundreds of Confucian scholars from the mainland and more than 20 people with the title of scholar to come here.

The main reason was because his son Mo Zibu had established contact with the deputy envoy of the last delegation, Lin Qiaoyin from Houguan.

These scholars were basically from Fujian and Wenzhou Prefecture in southern Zhejiang. All of them were mobilized by Lin Qiaoyin to go south.

Even among those Confucian scholars, those under the age of twenty were basically sent by Lin Qiaoyin.

Ou Tianci vaguely remembered that before Mo Zibu left, he asked him to let these scholars learn French and then translate all kinds of French books brought back by Lin Tong's delegation.

It would be best to set up three courses: Mingsuan, Gewu, and Danhua to start the research.

Damn it, I have been busy with production and construction in the past two years, and immersed in the continuous development of culture and education, and I have basically forgotten about this matter.

Ou Tianci glanced at his subordinates with a guilty look in his eyes, "Have you started translating those French books?"

The subordinate looked at Lu Tianci with a guilty look, and said hesitantly:
"The Prime Minister said at the time that culture and education should be vigorously promoted. After these scholars moved south, they first adapted to the local climate and then were busy participating in the construction of new Daoist schools and county schools."

Mo Tianci understood in his heart that what the officials said were secondary. The most important thing was that when he, Mo Tianci, saw so many mainland scholars coming, he asked them to study the Four Books and Five Classics every day, comment on current affairs, and even took prostitutes with him to travel around the mountains and rivers and write poems and songs.

Ou Tianci had a great time, and so did the literati who came to Jiading!
In the mainland, they can only get a scholar at best and that's all they can do.

As a result, when he arrived in Southeast Asia, he was at least treated like a scholar and a famous literary figure. How could he have the heart to work hard to learn the foreign language or study alchemy like a Taoist priest?

Ou Tianci was not in a hurry about these things, so why should others be in a hurry? Everyone was just relaxing and basically forgot about what Mo Zibu had told them to do.

The two looked at each other again. Ou Tianci felt that it was a bit unreasonable. He asked with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face:
"Is there not one among the hundreds of people who is willing to learn French and is diligent in learning it?"

At this moment, Ou Tianci also began to feel that reciting poems and composing essays every day to act like a playboy was a waste of time, and he was also quite interested in the subject of alchemy.

Isn't this just alchemy? He is already seventy-three or seventy-four years old. He certainly can't think of immortality, but if he can make some elixirs to prolong life, that would be pretty good.

The official touched his chin and suddenly remembered someone. "Yes, there is one person, but he is very rude to others. His nostrils are so long that they grow up to his forehead. He even dares to insult the scholar. Hundreds of scholars went south, and not a single one liked him."

Ou Tianci suddenly laughed. Isn't this the legendary arrogance and conceited talent? "Who is this person? Take me to see him."

. . . .

Jiading Taoism, Tiangong Academy.

This college was established with donations from the arsenals in Pattani and Nakhon Si Thammarat by Mo Zi Bu.

By the way, the industries under the command of General Mo have never been managed in a meticulous manner. They are still in a stage of wild growth, and the factories are run like a government department.

Mo Zibu originally wanted to set up Tiangong Academy to teach mathematics, physics, and chemistry at the same time, but it turned out that few people were interested.

It’s not that there are no talented people studying mathematics in China today, but that Mo Zibu is unable to recruit such talents.

Most of those who were willing to go to Southeast Asia could only be said to be literate and had a general understanding of the Four Books and Five Classics.

They couldn't even comprehend the eight-legged essay, so expecting them to delve into mathematics was wishful thinking. Physics was a popular field, but because Mo Zibu named it "Ge Wu," many people assumed it was about studying Yangming's philosophy of mind.

This is really lively. There are literary inquisitions on the mainland, and it is not convenient to express opinions. But in Southeast Asia, there are not so many concerns. There are quarrels almost every day in the Gewu exam.

It was not a quarrel over physics, but a quarrel between the Confucian Han School and the Ming and Qing School. The former can be roughly regarded as Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism, while the latter can be roughly regarded as a strange inheritance of Yangming's philosophy of mind.

As for the Danhua Department, there are only a few people who work for three days and rest for two days, and then there is this weirdo who is called "high-minded" by his subordinates.

However, when Ou Tianci was introduced into the Danhua Department by his subordinates, he was stunned by the situation before him.

He thought there weren't many people around, but it turned out that the entire Danhuake's fourteen large houses were filled with people.

The subordinates may not have been here for a long time. He flipped through the roster and found that there were indeed only seven or eight people registered in the Danhua Department. Why are there so many people now?

He was about to explain with some embarrassment when the weirdo came over in shorts and T-shirt to chase him away. It looked like his nostrils were on his forehead.

"Nonsense, who let you in?
It's a military stronghold, filled with sulfur and saltpeter. They're wearing robes, and no one's checking for fire. If something explodes, no one will be alive."

Ou Tianci was furious and raised his hand to scold, but suddenly he saw the weirdo opposite with a look of hair standing on end, and he was stunned.

Tao Guiyi was sweating coldly. The man in front of him, who might be the Prime Minister of Jiading, actually came in wearing a scarlet robe.

This is made of silk, which is very easy to catch fire after friction. There is a large amount of gunpowder stored in this room. If something really happens, it will be a big deal.

"Don't move, step back slowly, step back!" Tao Guiyi hunched his waist, made strange gestures, and used an extremely strange tone to command Ou Tianci to step back slowly.

Ou Tianci was a little frightened by him for a moment, and involuntarily followed Tao Guiyi's command and slowly retreated.

Tao Guiyi heaved a sigh of relief only after several people left the room. "Sir, gunpowder is stored in the Danhua Department. Anyone wearing silk clothing is not allowed to enter."

Ou Tianci's face turned red with anger. This gentleman has been in charge of Ha Tien for thirty-four years and is now the governor of Gia Ding. In addition, he is old and has the temper of a child.

He was not like Mo Zibu who had been influenced by the template of respecting the wise and humble as seen in movies and TV shows hundreds of times in his later life, so he immediately felt very dissatisfied with the dwarf in front of him.

However, Ou Tianci still held back his last breath and asked in a deep voice, "Where are your ancestors from? Who are your ancestors?"

Tao Guiyi felt a little disappointed when he heard what Ou Tianci said.

This is a question about one's ancestors. If one's ancestors were famous, he might be treated better. If one came from a poor family, the person opposite would probably get angry.

Fortunately, Tao Guiyi had some family background, so he replied indifferently, "I am from Kuaiji, Zhejiang. My great-grandfather is Tao Cunzhai, the Taoist Master of Tongwei."

Tao Suchi, also known as Tongwei Zhenren, was a famous Taoist master in the Qing Dynasty. He was active during the Kangxi period and served as the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner. He was fond of elixirs and was well versed in alchemy.

If this name were placed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he would definitely be a well-known figure. Even though he has been dead for fifty years, everyone has to give his descendants some face.

It’s a pity that this happened in Jiading, Nanyang. Although Ou Tianci was well-versed in classics and was good at poetry and prose, he knew little about Taoism.

In addition, as a Cantonese, my focus is mostly on Guangdong and Guangxi, and I am not very familiar with the people and customs of the Jiangnan region of my home country.

Therefore, Tao Guiyi thought that even if the other party did not show awe after hearing what he said, he would at least treat him with courtesy.

As a result, after thinking for a long time, Ou Tianci really couldn't remember which immortal Tongwei Zhenren Tao Cunzhai was.

He felt that he had never heard of him before and thought that he was not a famous person, so his face immediately turned cold.

Given his status, he was almost driven out with a disgusted attitude just now. It was considered quite magnanimous that he could endure until now.

Now that he had confirmed that the boy opposite him was not from a famous family, he was about to attack.

Fortunately, General Mo Da is lucky. Just as Ou Tianci was about to order the guards to drive this kid out of the Danhua Department, he heard thunderous cheers coming from outside.

Chen Dasheng, who had been looking a little sick, rushed in like a whirlwind. The man in his forties jumped and danced in front of Ou Tianci, almost going crazy with joy.

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law!" Chen Dasheng called out to him twice, tears streaming down his face. "Zi Bu won a great victory in Hue. Sob... sob..."

Chen Dasheng was so choked up that he could not speak. His nephew Chen Dali, holding the battle report, shouted to Mo Tianci:
"Uncle, our Xing Tang army owes its existence to the great general's bravery and wisdom. One hundred thousand soldiers bravely fought and died. We first attacked the Zheng lord of Beihe at night in Shunzhou City. Six thousand of them defeated one hundred and twenty thousand, beheading ten thousand. Only Zheng Sen, the king of Jingdu, escaped with his life.

In this battle, 30,000 elite Zheng troops were completely wiped out at the gate of Hue, and generals Huang Wufu, Ding Xirang and others were captured and killed.

My Xing Tang army has already recaptured Hue and gained half of the country."

"Really?" Ou Tianci jumped up. He snatched the battle report and quickly read through it, then laughed out loud with tears in his eyes.

"God has eyes, may the ancestors and gods bless us!"

At this time, Ou Tianci no longer cared about little Tao Guiyi. He took Chen Dasheng's hand and said, "Come on, Ah Sheng, let's go to the shrine of my father-in-law and tell him the good news."

Chen Dasheng's eyes welled up with tears. "I should also tell my elder brother that Zibu has already redressed the injustice he suffered!"

"Six thousand defeated one hundred and twenty thousand?" Tao Guiyi muttered. "Although we were fighting against the Annan army, if we can do this, we can definitely get enshrined in the Martial Temple."

After muttering, Tao Guiyi glanced at Mo Zhengsong, who was mixing gunpowder with him, and said, "The general is so powerful, was he really raised by this governor?"

Mo Zhengsong couldn't help but roll his eyes, but he thought that this person was very proficient in the alchemy that the general mentioned.

As soon as he arrived in Southeast Asia, he improved the gunpowder formula a little bit and brought out dozens of craftsmen who were skilled in mixing gunpowder, increasing the gunpowder production by more than 30%. He was a rare talent.

"The general has never heard a word from the master since he was a child. He always says the opposite of what he says." Mo Zhengsong thought for a moment and made an objective evaluation.

This was not a lie. The big fool in his previous life had an extremely rebellious mentality towards Mou Tianci and really didn't listen to a word he said.

General Mo Da, who came from another time, had his own ideas and basically never listened to Ou Tianci's opinion.

"So that's how it is. That's really interesting!" After hearing this, Tao Guiyi temporarily put aside his worry that General Mo Da would be the same as Ou Tianci.

Then he began to mutter again, "It seems that General Mo Da has gone astray in his alchemy practice. He doesn't focus on practice, but instead keeps working on calculations. It's a bit of putting the cart before the horse!"
I will wait a few more months. If I still can't see him and can't confirm what I'm thinking, then I'll go back to eastern Zhejiang."

(End of this chapter)