The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 305: Mo Dengyong is good, Le Loi is bad
May 1774, 5, the first day of the fourth month, the 11th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty.

A loud cry was heard from the side hall of the newly built Hoi An Palace in Hoi An.

After a while, several maids wearing Siamese-style tube skirts hurried over, and the middle-aged female official in the lead happily saluted Mo Zibu.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Queen has given birth to a prince, weighing six pounds and six ounces. This is a sign of good fortune. The mother is safe and the son is strong. He will surely become a wise and respected ruler in the future."

"Hahahaha, okay, rewards, everyone will get rewards." Mo Zibu was still very happy. This was his second son. In addition, his cousin from the Chen family gave birth to a daughter for him a month ago. Mo Zibu now has three children.

The Mo clan members and other close relatives, both civil and military, who were surrounding them all had happy expressions on their faces. Of course, the happiest one was Chao Phraya Chanthaburi who came from Siam.

He was the uncle of Queen Taksin, and was sent by Taksin to come from Siam specifically to witness this moment.

Since this child was the fruit of the marriage between the Zheng and Mo families, Siam attached great importance to her. Queen Wu Xuan added a group of Siamese maids and guards to Shishi.

From then on, until the child was ten years old, he would be taken care of by maids and doctors from Siam. There were three wet nurses alone to ensure that he grew up healthy.

"I, your Highness, congratulate you. I believe that King Zheng will be so happy that he won't be able to sleep when he hears about this. The Queen has even prepared several large ships of gifts for her grandson, which will be delivered soon."

Chao Phraya Chanthaburi said happily that the birth of this child meant that the relationship between the Zheng and Mo families had become closer.

Currently, the Teochew people in Siam are stepping up their efforts to exclude other ministers and nobles of non-Chinese descent. With the support of the Xingtang Mo family, they are more confident.

Mo Zibu certainly knew what the Teochew people in Siam were doing. If he hadn't intervened a little, these guys would definitely not exclude those who were not of Chinese descent, they would definitely exclude those who were not of Teochew descent.

After that, Phraya Chanthaburi said to Mok Tsipuk: "I would like to go and pay my respects to the Queen. I beg Your Majesty's permission."

"Uncle, you are so polite. Let's go together." After saying that, Mo Zibu started to lead the way, but he did not go to the side hall of the delivery room, but went to the other side.

Because this child was not born to Zheng Shishi at all, but to Wu Qian, the concubine who married with her.

Inside the house, except for Zheng Shishi, all of Mo Zibu's other concubines were there. When they heard that Zheng Shishi's uncle was coming to pay a visit, they moved to another side hall.

Mo Zibu knew that Phraya Chanthaburi must have something private to say to Zheng Shishi, so after looking at the child, he found an excuse to leave.

On the other side of the hall, Mo Zibu's eldest son Asen was running around and playing excitedly. He would spend some time cuddling with his mother, and then he would stare at his baby sister carefully, his shiny saliva almost dripping onto his sleeping sister's face.

"My lord, Asen is already over two years old. Isn't it time to give them a formal name? At least we should come up with a generation name."

Chen's cousin quickly grabbed her son and wiped the saliva off his face, but she was not in a very good mood, which was normal because the two were in direct competition.

Now the people of Mingxiang, the Mo family’s fellow countrymen from western Guangdong, and most of the people from southern Fujian all believe that the cousin of the Chen family has pure blood. Although she is not the queen, the eldest son she gave birth to should be considered the legitimate son.

Because Ye Xiaomei was still pregnant, the Hakka people were thinking about whether they should find another opportunity to send a Hakka beauty to King Mo, and they also agreed with the Minnan people.

Of course, the Chaozhou clique and the high-ranking families in Jiading all supported Zheng Shishi. After the news spread, they were celebrating outside with drums and gongs.

"Let's wait a few years before we decide on a name, as well as a generation name..." Mo Zibu pondered for a moment. He was the king now, and he certainly couldn't use the generation name of Emperor, Duke, or Marquis passed down from Mo Jiu anymore.

"Let's use the eight characters 'Mountains and Rivers Recast, Jiuzhou Renewed' as our generation name. We can discuss the rest after we enter Beihe. This is my lifelong ambition, and it's just right to use it as a generation name for Asen and the others."

Several women in the room looked at Mo Zibu in surprise. Although they were not well-educated, they still knew what the eight words "Mountains and rivers will be rebuilt, and the nine provinces will be restored to glory" meant.

Mo Zibu was about to explain to them when the eunuch outside came to report that Zheng Jinshui, who had gone to the front line with Chen Guangdong for field investigation, had returned.

In the study, Zheng Jinshui had already changed into his official uniform and was waiting for Mo Zibu with a very calm expression. There was no trace of fatigue on his face from rushing back at night. He was not like other ministers who deliberately made themselves look disheveled so that Mo Zibu could see how hard he had worked.

Zheng Jinshui has always been like this. He is always meticulous in formal occasions, and his dress, speech and every word and action are in accordance with the rules. He never takes credit for his achievements and hard work.

His only shortcoming is that he is too independent and likes to hold onto power. Zheng Jinshui will feel very uncomfortable if anyone, except a master like Mo Zibu, takes away a little power from him. He would rather work day and night than have others help him share some of the burden.

Being rigid is easy to break. Doing everything by yourself is not a sign of longevity. Mo Zibu reminded him several times, but Zheng Jinshui simply couldn't control his personality, so Mo Zibu didn't mention it again.

"Your Majesty, this is the first-hand information we have collected." Zheng Jinshui handed the report to Mo Zibu, and then began to explain while Mo Zibu was reading it.

"I've discovered that the organizational model of the high-ranking families in Hue is extremely centralized. Take the Xiangyun Nguyen clan as an example. Apart from the dozens of core disciples at the top, the rest of the Nguyen clan, even if they are very close by blood, do not receive many resources.

The biggest benefit was that he could avoid corvée labor by relying on the Ruan family and could attend a private school.

As for the common people below, many of them were actually branches of the Nguyen family, but they were still exploited as tenants and lived a miserable life.

As he spoke, Zheng Jinshui pointed to a tree diagram for Mo Zibu to see. This was the core genealogy of the Xiangyun Ruan family.

"There is another situation that Your Majesty must pay attention to. After the fall of Ruan Youcai, these lowest-level tenants were extremely frightened.

Because these people are used to being protected by the Ruan family, and now that they no longer have the person in control over them, they have no idea what to do.

Furthermore, rumors are spreading that the King wants to kill all the southerners in Hue and give all the land to the northerners. People are already fleeing from various prefectures, counties, and communities throughout Hue."

"Then divide the land as soon as possible. We can't let the countryside get into chaos!" Mo Zibu tapped the table lightly with his index finger. The countryside can't be in chaos now, otherwise where will he get food and laborers when he goes north to Beihe.

Zheng Jinshui hesitated for a moment, and Mo Zibu, who had vetoed it for the first time, decided, "Your Majesty, we can't divide it like this.

As the saying goes, there is no reward without merit. How can these people get land when they have not done anything? What do the officers and soldiers of the Three Guards who retired due to injuries and got the land because of their fathers and brothers’ military merits think?
Even if they were to divide up the land, there would be cattle, horses, houses, cloth, furniture, etc. Should they be divided up? If so, who would be the one to do it? Sixty percent of the lower-level officials in the court are from high-ranking families in Hue. If we let them divide up their belongings among themselves, it would only cause the others to mourn and cause problems.”

Mo Zibu was stunned by what Zheng Jinshui said. Only then did he realize that land reform seemed simple. It was just about dividing the land.

But in fact, without strong administrative capabilities, it would be impossible to carry out the reform. Even in later generations, there were not many countries that could implement land reform thoroughly.

Money can move people's hearts, and a slight deviation can change the fate of an entire family. Delegating such great power to the hands of the grassroots officials will test their abilities and character.

However, Mo Zibu does not have this condition now. If the middle and lower-level officials of the high-ranking families in Hue are asked to divide the property of their class, it is not surprising what they will do.

At the same time, Zheng Jinshui also pointed out that Mo Zibu could not use the army to carry out land reform because his army was a standard feudal army.

The soldiers fought for you, King Mo, in the army, but they didn't get much land. Instead, you gave the good land in Hue to the poor Koreans in Annan. I guess if someone instigates it, the army might cause riots or even mutiny.

Mo Zibu was so worried, and then he saw Zheng Jinshui looking at him with a look that said "Ask me, ask me, ask me quickly". I, King Mo, was so angry that I hit him on the head with a chestnut.

"You kid, tell me!"

Zheng Jinshui showed no dissatisfaction after being beaten. Instead, he showed a trace of admiration. He chuckled and said, "This time when I went down, I found many talents that the king could recruit.

Although the Hue noble family has a strict hierarchy, as a family of poetry and etiquette, it is necessary to continue the clan education, and thus it has cultivated many children who are proficient in literature and writing.

But at the same time, the noble families in Hue could not provide these children with enough places to display their talents. When the Nguyen court was functioning normally, these children were sent to Qui Nhon and Gia Dinh to compete with the Champa and Khmer for land.

But the political chaos of the past two or three decades has cut off this path. These young men, scattered among the upper and lower classes, who were literate and often skilled in swordsmanship, have been trapped in the countryside. To say they are frustrated is an understatement; many have become destitute and destitute.

"You mean to distribute these lands to them?" Mo Zibu's face lit up with joy. He didn't expect that Annan actually had this group of pseudo-warriors hidden.

In fact, I, King Mo, just didn't think about it carefully. The Nguyen family of Guangnan was able to completely digest a big country like Champa in a hundred years, and assimilate the Khmers, Shang people and other barbarians to the point of being on the verge of death. How could it be possible that the Confucian family had no fighting power and that there were few children who were both literary and martial.

This is also the reason why Vietnam's combat effectiveness in the Indochina Peninsula was very eye-catching in later generations, and it is even one of their genes, because they have been dealing with Cambodia, Laos and other countries in this way since ancient times.

"You can't just give it to them directly. Your Majesty can take out a portion of the land and then hold a special provincial examination.

The topic was about Le Loi's rebellion against the Ming Dynasty and Mo Taizu's return to the Ming Dynasty. If you are not allowed to write eight-legged essays, you can write policy essays and current affairs comments.

Those who can understand the king's intentions and follow the king's footsteps to return to the capital and serve the Han Dynasty will have one out of three families selected.

One of them will go to West Borneo to settle and cultivate the land, while the other two can stay at home to farm and study and serve the king. They can also be given more land, 50 mu each, so that they have enough money to raise their children in the local area and learn literature and martial arts in preparation for conscription."

Zheng Jinshui's face was filled with the excitement of commanding the whole country, and he was completely immersed in the pleasure of giving orders.

"The rest of the land will be built into the king's farm. Those tenants who are not good at civil or military affairs are used to working for others anyway, so why not let them work for the king?

This way they can feel at ease, and if there is labor, they can be directly conscripted."

"Yes, Ah Shui, you have grown up and become a senior official of a country." Mo Zibu looked very pleased, and then just when Zheng Jinshui was feeling a little complacent, King Mo changed the subject.

"But even so, rumors are already flying everywhere, and it's too late for us to refute them now, because, as you said, the officials below are all from high-ranking families, and they won't work hard for us.

Even if we work diligently, if the candidates who come to take the exam and are versed in literature and literature insist that Le Loi is following the will of heaven and that my great-uncle Mo Dengyong is a traitor, we dare not accept such talents."

Zheng Jinshui was stunned when he heard this, and immediately frowned and began to think hard. The smugness in his heart disappeared in an instant.

In fact, Zheng Jinshui's suggestions are very useful. To sum it up, it is to unify thoughts and redistribute the high-ranking families.

Those pseudo-warriors of Annan who want to obtain the land of my King Mo will definitely write good words for Mo Dengyong and criticize Le Loi, which is equivalent to giving a token of allegiance to Mo Zibu.

Instead of distributing the land to the tenants, they distributed it to these pseudo-warriors, and gave each man fifty acres of good land in Hue. This was equivalent to distributing the means of production that were originally highly concentrated in the hands of the noble families to some of their children.

This is actually also land reform, but it is not an equal distribution among all the people. Instead, it is to eliminate the super-large landlords and distribute their means of production to specific groups of people, creating a group of rich peasants and small landlords who support me, King Mo.

It is true that whoever wins the hearts of the people wins the world, but this is a great test of the government's mobilization capabilities.

The current Xing Tang is not yet able to mobilize the lowest level of people, so it still has to rely on the people of the country and the government soldiers. Only these people can see the benefits immediately after giving them benefits.

Zheng Jinshui's suggestion has actually solved Mo Zibu's problem. He is now deliberately making it difficult for Zheng Jinshui, just to suppress Zheng Jinshui's arrogant personality. He is only seventeen years old, and he needs to polish himself well to shine more brightly.

"And I dare say that these rumors were not spread by the common people. How far can they spread by word of mouth? Even those farmers you saw who were already fleeing might be the ones that some people wanted you to see."

"Ah!" Zheng Jinshui, who was considered a rookie, was hit hard and began to savor Mo Zibu's words carefully.

And I, King Mo, chuckled, "Ah Shui, believe it or not, within today, the Associate Grand Secretary Chen Taili will come to see me, and he will also bring Tao Weide from the Pengshan Tao family."

Just as he finished speaking, the guards outside came to report, "Assistant Grand Secretary, Earl of Xiangcha, Chen Taili, and his son, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Chen Taixing, are outside the door requesting an audience."

Zheng Jinshui stared at Mo Zibu in amazement, and immediately felt a sense of awe.

(End of this chapter)