The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 307: The Dispute Between Chinese and Barbarians in the South
When you are in Mo Zibu's position, the most taboo thing is to talk about interests with young people and ideals with old people.

Young people are like the rising sun, with beautiful imaginations of the future in their hearts. This is the best and most touching time in a person's life. Most people have dreams at this time.

If you talk about interests with them at this time, they will only think you are vulgar or even dirty. Even if you can win over some of them, even if they have talents, most of them are not good people.

Therefore, for Zheng Jinshui and other young people who were personally trained by Mo Zibu, Mo Zibu rarely said how high the title or official position he would give them in the future.

Instead, he constantly encouraged them with the deeds of Yue Fei, Xu Da, and Chang Yuchun, and instilled in them the belief of expelling the Tartars and recovering the lost territory. This was more effective than giving them any benefits.

As for the old man, he is about to die, and he has seen a lot. His ideals have long been worn down by reality. Not everyone can be an old horse in the stable with ambitions to run a thousand miles.

So you have to explain the benefits to him and put the advantages directly in front of him so that he will know whether he should make the bet or not at first sight.

So it took Chen Taili only one and a half days instead of three days to unite the people's hearts.

For these high-ranking families in Hue, the benefits of supporting Mo Zi Bu are simply enormous. Although the cost is high, it is definitely worth it.

The most important thing is that even if those who live far away in the south follow Mo Zibu to cause trouble, they will not be punished in the end.

Because the Qing Dynasty was destined to be unable to govern such a distant place, and it was possible that they would have to bribe them later.

Tao Weide sat a little below Chen Taili. He sorted out Mo Zibu's opinions from that day and distributed them to the patriarchs of the high-ranking families in Hue who were present.

“I think that although King Ren De’s theory is a bit crude, it is still very desirable.

If we consider the Five Dynasties and the two Song dynasties after the Tang Dynasty as separatist regimes, then the logic makes sense, and it is also feasible to refute Le...Le Loi from this perspective."

“But if we want to portray Taizu Mo as someone who followed the will of Heaven and the will of the people, besides the fact that the Golden Bowl was intact, we still have to start with the debate between Chinese and barbarians.

Le Loi was born into the Jiuzhen barbarians, so he wanted to change from Xia to Yi and resist unification, while Mo Taizu was born into the Han Chinese family, so naturally he wanted to change from Yi to Xia.

Nguyen Jiuce said slowly that in fact, Mo Dengyong's reputation at that time was not as bad as it was in later generations. At that time, most people in Annan still regarded Mo Dengyong as a living Cao Cao because he rebelled against the Later Le Dynasty and killed a large number of royal relatives including Le Zhaozong.

The most important thing is that Nguyen Gan and Zheng Jian helped the Later Le Dynasty to restore its country. History is written by the victors, and Mo Dengyong became the failed living Cao Cao.

After that, Vietnam was colonized by France, and China fell into its darkest hour under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Many Vietnamese people had a strange sense of superiority after finding a new bully as their godfather and despised their own father who was just a migrant worker.

They think that having cultural bloodlines from China is a shameful thing and far less noble than having Western godfathers.

Under this trend of thought, Vietnamese historians began to criticize Mo Dang Dung as a traitor for his surrender, especially the famous Vietnamese historian Chen Zhongjin.

During the Le Duan era of the Vietnamese Communist Party, this ungrateful person, in order to get closer to the Soviet Union and fulfill Vietnam's desire to become a small overlord in Southeast Asia, began to fiercely attack Mo Dengyong, calling him Vietnam's puppet emperor Shi Jingtang.

The target of the attack was the pro-China faction in the Vietnamese Communist Party, such as Truong Chinh, Huang Wenhuan, Zhu Wenjin and others, implying that these people were puppet emperors who bowed to the north like Mo Dengyong.

But at present, it is still in the first stage, and not many people think that Mo Dengyong is a traitor, because the Later Le Dynasty itself was loyal to the Central Plains. After Mo Dengyong usurped the throne, many people went to the Ming Dynasty to complain.

Moreover, although Mo Dengyong surrendered, Emperor Jiajing of Daojun only abolished the title of King of Annan. Mo Dengyong still took charge of the affairs of Annan in the name of the Governor-General of Annan. There was not much change at all.

Therefore, after listening to Ruan Jiuce's words, everyone agreed and felt that it was okay to start with the orthodox teachings, talk about the debate between Chinese and barbarians, and promote the idea of family, country and the world.

Chen Taixing, the son of Chen Taili, also said excitedly: "Once the debate on Chinese and barbarians begins, it will justify our reputation. From now on, the northerners will never dare to call us barbarians again.

Moreover, the Central Plains is currently occupied by the Eastern Tartars, and King Rende is a remnant of the Ming dynasty. He is in line with the Hongwu Emperor's plan to expel the Tartars and reopen the world. We will benefit greatly from following his lead and suffer no harm."

After everyone had expressed their opinions, Chen Taili came out to summarize, "If you want to do something, you must put in the effort. Don't overthink it and be reluctant to give up a little.

We, the eldest sons of the family, use the name of ancestral property and clan property to not pay taxes and treat our own clan members as tenants. This is indeed against morality and it is time to change.

Since you have all agreed today, I will go to the King and report. Once I leave this door, the matter will be settled. If anyone still pretends to obey and is unwilling to part with the three or two copper coins, don't blame me for being rude."

In the palace, Mo Zibu handed a letter to Wu Wenchu. The letter was written to him by his nominal nephew Huang Gongzhi.

Huang Gongzhi was the leader of the peasant uprising army in Bac Ha. His original surname was Mo, and he was a descendant of the Vietnamese Mo Dynasty. He was considered the nephew of Mo Zibu.

Eight years ago, the first battle that King Mo fought after leaving Hoi An was to go to Vinh City to rescue Nguyen Tuoqiu, a general under Huang Congzhi. When he left, he ordered Nguyen Tuoqiu to take a letter to Huang Congzhi, stating that he would reach Bac Ha within five years.

Although Mo Zibu did not fulfill his promise, he defeated the Zheng army in Beihe, which solved a big problem for Huang Gongzhi.

Historically, Huang Gongzhi was cornered and died of anger around 1768 due to the encirclement and suppression by the Northern Zheng army. His son Huang Gongzun and others fled to the Qing Dynasty and were settled in Urumqi. His descendants still exist today.

In this time and space, Huang Gongzhi lived for five and a half years longer because of Mo Zibu's good news, but he is now dying.

His son Huang Gongzun was only eleven years old and unable to control the situation, so he wrote a letter to ask his distant uncle Mo Zibu to send someone to Mengtiangang to take charge of the deployment.

"My nephew wrote to me, saying that his mother is weak and his son is young, and he wants me to send a commander to Meng Tiangang to take over. After much deliberation, I think you, Wu Wenchu, are the most suitable."

Mo Zibu pointed out the location of Mengtiangang on the map to Wu Wenchu. Dien Bien Phu in northwest Vietnam was not a poor, mountainous, forested place. At least at that time, Mengtiangang was surrounded by mountains and water, with abundant food and a brave and warlike people.

Huang Gongzhi stayed in Mengtiangang for twenty years and controlled ten states. Relying on the natural barrier, he repeatedly defeated the attacking Beihe army and the Laotian Luang Prabang Kingdom army that wanted to control Mengtiangang.

"Huang Gongzhi controls ten states, but only the area around Mengtiangang is actually valuable. The Security Department claims he has 130,000 civilians and 3,000 soldiers, which seems credible. If there are more, Mengtiangang won't be able to support them."

Mo Zibu continued, "Although our numbers are small, most of them are veterans. They have fought against the Zheng army for more than ten years and are very familiar with Beihe.

If Lord Wu can unite and appease Huang Gongzhi's troops, and after I advance to the North River, we can move downstream from the northwest, we will achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Wu Wenchu nodded and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. I am also willing to lead the troops at Mengtiangang."

For an ambitious person like him, being able to stand on his own is what he desires most.

"However, as an outsider, I want to go to Mengtiangang to inherit the Huang family's legacy. I still need Your Majesty to reward the Huang family generously so that they will be willing to do so."

Mo Zibu nodded, "Of course. I plan to confer the title of Duke of Gaoping County on Huang Gongzun, making it hereditary and allowing him to restore his surname Mo. He will then be a member of the royal family.

His general Deng Tingjia was appointed as the envoy to Mengtiangang, and was allowed to guard Mengtiangang for three generations. Other generals such as Nguyen Liqiu and Nguyen Tuoqiu were also given the title of garrison envoy.

When Wu Wenchu heard what Mo Zibu said, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He was now certain that Mo Zibu really was in need of someone to command Huang Gongzhi's troops in Meng Tiangang, and he was not just finding an excuse to send him to his death.

At the same time, Wu Wenchu also understood that this was still a test. If he did well, he would have the opportunity to enter the core in the future.

If he defected to Nguyen Van Hue again, it would only make it more difficult for Mo Zibu to enter the Beihe River, but it would not be able to stop the overall trend.

"Your original Yanqing Regiment of 1,200 men will now be returned to you. I also allow you to recruit 500 brave men from among the prisoners and Hue civilians to form a new Yanqing Regiment."

Wu Wenchu immediately knelt down and thanked him, "I accept your command and will definitely fulfill my mission."

After seeing off Wu Wenchu, Chen Taili came in. Mo Zibu was also very happy that these guys could understand the current situation. Stabilizing the more than one million people in Hue and providing support for his northern expedition to Beihe was Mo Zibu's first priority.

"After I return, I will immediately organize each family to conduct a self-examination. According to the amount of land they own, the minimum number of people who can provide 30 places for the Enxiang Examination will be determined.

The original tenants on the land will be led by the descendants of this clan, and in accordance with the king's orders, they will go to Jiading and West Borneo to settle and cultivate the land.

In addition, all the taxes owed by the wealthy and powerful families over the years will be paid as soon as possible. It is estimated that there will be no less than 150,000 dan of grain and 8,000 pieces of cloth to help the king eliminate the Zheng family in Beihe.

I also organized Tao Weide and others to use the debate between Chinese and barbarians and Confucianism to refute Le Loi and clear the Taizu of his grievances."

Mo Zibu was overjoyed. Allowing the lower-class members of his family to take the provincial examination was equivalent to giving up a large part of the land he held.

Paying back taxes from previous years was equivalent to giving up one of the noble families' greatest powers. You must know that in the past, the imperial court could not collect taxes from the counties and communities where these noble families lived.

As for starting to criticize Le Loi and build momentum for Mo Dengyong to surrender, this was what Mo Zibu needed most.

"My brother and the others understand the righteousness of the cause. I am deeply moved. After we drive out the Tartars and restore the Han dynasty, I will establish the Guangnan Province in the former territory of Annan, and reserve at least six examination quotas for Guangnan in each subject."

According to the imperial examinations of the Ming and Qing dynasties, as long as one entered the joint examination, he would definitely pass. Only the top three would be divided into Jinshi Jidi and Jinshi Jundi, which were the only differences between them.

After hearing this, Chen Taili finally smiled. These six places were a guarantee, indicating that Guangnan would not lag too far behind in the imperial examinations in the future.

Moreover, this is for the lowest-ranking members of noble families. Those who invest now will only benefit more.

As for whether Mo Zibu could succeed, Chen Taili felt that there was still a certain possibility. At least there would be no problem for Mo Zibu to enter Beihe.

"Regarding the issue of my great-uncle, we should only argue that his submission was in accordance with Heaven's will. We should stay out of the matter of forcing the King of Li and the royal family to kill, lest we become a target."

Some of the things Mo Dengyong did cannot be redeemed. They were indeed more excessive than what Cao Cao did. Moreover, Mo Zibu brought out Mo Dengyong just to prove the correctness of his surrender. So let's just ignore other things.

. . . .

On the fifth day of the fifth month, the Dragon Boat Festival, when Mo Zi Bu was holding a large-scale dragon boat race in Hoi An, the En County Examination was held as scheduled.

Mo Zibu took 2,571 students as his disciples and granted them 129,000 mu of land. The remaining 200,000 mu of land was turned into royal estates.

The original tenants of the granted fields were recruited by the brothers of these ritual students and sent to West Borneo to establish plantations and reclaim wasteland.

Among the thirteen families who caused the riot, Mo Zi Bu only killed more than seventy culprits including Ruan Youjin, and the rest, including more than four thousand family members, were all exiled to West Borneo.

Afterwards, Mo Zibu appointed Wu Wenchu as the envoy of comfort to Mengtiangang, the captain of the Yanqing regiment, and granted him the rank of colonel. He led two thousand people through the dense forest to Mengtiangang to replace Huang Gongzhi who was about to die of illness, and make final preparations for the Northern Expedition to Beihe.

At the same time, the debate on China and the barbarians led by Mo Zibu began to spread everywhere, and more and more people began to pay attention to Mo Zibu's anti-Qing stance.

(End of this chapter)