The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 563: Granting Surname and Changing vassalage

Mo Zibu didn't pay much attention to Prince Sanghe of Dogusan who was huddled like a quail and standing next to Princess Sangkuanshi of Jinjiashan.

Because he had learned from Ye Mingyue's report that this princess had placed her eldest brother, King Shangmu, under house arrest, and Ryukyu had actually fallen into the hands of this woman.

Of course, this is only the apparent power. The military is still controlled by the Chinese army. Even if it is only the apparent power, if there is no Chinese army to support Shang Kuanshi, she will not be able to keep it.

However, on the other hand, he was able to make a quick decision under the circumstances at that time, and he was able to decisively choose to kill the Satsuma Domain Bugyo stationed in Shuri Castle, and then control King Shangmu, which can be considered a bit of ability.

Mo Zibu also needed such a person to temporarily help the court unite the thirty-six surnames of Fujian people and stabilize the situation in Ryukyu.

"Shang Kuanshi, what do you think the future of Ryukyu should be like?" Having found an obedient partner, Mo Zibu asked more directly.

After hearing this, Shang Kuanshi pulled his quail-like brother, Prince Dugushan, and knelt down again with a plop.

"Your Majesty, the Ryukyu Islands are called a vassal state, but in reality they are smaller than a county in China. They claim to be isolated and powerless, which is a shame for them. They cannot defend themselves.

Therefore, we, the Shang clan, are willing to offer our territory and registers to make Ryukyu a county within the Chinese mainland."

"Hahahaha, loyalty is commendable. You and the Shang family are both loyal!" Mo Zibu smiled and waved his hand.

"But I am not the kind of cruel ruler who would seize other people's inheritance. If that were the case, what difference would there be between me and the Satsuma Domain?"

"Your Majesty, I and the Shang clan of the Ryukyu royal family have sincerely dedicated our land and are willing to become citizens of the Celestial Empire. We beg Your Majesty to grant us your approval!"

Shang Kuanshi's words were sincere, and Mo Zibu was willing to believe that she was indeed sincere in some ways, but Mo Zibu still refused.

Changing a feudal domain into a prefecture should be done with caution, especially during periods of overseas expansion. The target of the change should be a country like the Ryukyu Kingdom, which has its own set of laws and has no record of disrespect or other bad behavior.

I don't know how many eyes are watching him. You, the emperor, can't even tolerate Ryukyu. Everyone must be worried, fearing that the fiefdom he has built with all his family fortune, manpower, material resources and time will be taken back by the emperor with just one decree.

Of course, more importantly, by stationing troops and supporting people like Shang Kuanfu, Ryukyu can be directly controlled without causing trouble. Even if the feudal domain is to be changed into a county, there is no need to rush now.

"I have received your loyalty. However, the Ryukyu Kingdom has been established for thousands of years, and successive emperors since the Song and Ming dynasties have granted it the orthodoxy of a vassal.

Although I am the ruler and father of Ryukyu, I cannot treat Ryukyu in this way, just as a father would never take away his child's beloved possessions."

Mo Zibu pretended to think for a moment, but in fact, he had already made a plan. "But it still seems a bit inhumane to completely disregard your filial piety and loyalty.

Let’s do this: change Ryukyu from an outer vassal state to an inner vassal state, and grant the Shuri clan, Kume clan, and local lords the status of nobility.

The Prime Minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom will initially be Cai Jin, and in the future he will be selected from among the students who are studying there."

Now China is the king of the Eastern world, so naturally the Chinese identity cannot be easily possessed by a farmer or fisherman from Ryukyu. If they want to become Chinese citizens, they cannot even think about going through wind and rain for this country and even shed blood and sacrifice their lives.

Cai Jin, who was appointed by Mo Zibu as the Prime Minister of Ryukyu, was the father of Cai Rulin, who had just been married. Of course, he was also the second son of Princess Tsujiashan Shang Kuanshi and Cai Yi, the son of Cai Wen.

Although the couple has made great contributions, Cai Yi will soon be sixty years old. Given the life expectancy of people at that time, if Cai Yi is allowed to serve as prime minister, he may die next year.

In this case, the reward would be too little and would certainly not meet the Cai family's expectations.

Therefore, Mo Zibu directly chose Cai Jin, the son of Cai Yi. After all, with the garrison to stabilize the situation, the Prime Minister of Ryukyu could not do much, and loyalty was far more important than ability.

"Your Majesty, if the Prime Minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom is to be selected from the students who come to the mainland to study in the future, then the Ryukyu students should not be prohibited from serving in the mainland. At least they should be allowed to gain some experience in government affairs before returning to the country to take on important responsibilities." Liang Guozhi reminded from the side.

Before this, although both the Ming and Qing dynasties opened up four official students, or supervisory students, to Ryukyu every three years, they were not allowed the opportunity to become officials on the mainland, but were required to return after completing their studies.

This doesn't feel like being a government student, but more like an invitation-based study abroad program with a high scholarship.

The reason for such a regulation is that people are afraid that the Chinese from the 36 surnames of Ryukyu will stay in the mainland directly through this identity, and then the number of Chinese in Ryukyu will decrease and they will not be able to influence the local area.

But Mo Zibu did not have such concerns, because in the past, the thirty-six surnames of Fujian people in Ryukyu only belonged to the middle to upper class of civil officials, and the internal competition was serious. If they had the opportunity to return to the mainland to live, it would naturally be more comfortable than living in Ryukyu.

But now, Mo Zibu directly handed over the Ryukyu Kingdom to them. No matter what, it was a place for more than 100,000 people to be in charge, which was definitely better than returning to the mainland to be a reserve official or a minor official.

"Minister Liang's words make sense. From now on, Ryukyu officials will follow this example. After graduating from the Imperial Academy, they can serve as officials in various places and learn government affairs, mainly in various departments of the imperial court."

"Shang Kuanshi, what do you think?"

Shang Kuanshi only sat halfway on the brocade stool that was given to him. Seeing the emperor and the cardinal ministers speaking in unison, and then hearing the emperor asking for their opinions, he immediately understood.

These extremely favorable treatments for the thirty-six surnames of Fujian people are actually conditions. The emperor is waiting for them to show that he is willing to give up these treatments.

"Since Ryukyu has been changed from an external vassal to an internal vassal, I petition the great emperor to build the Ryukyu royal palace according to the regulations, and the rest of the places will be established as counties, and the royal palaces will only enjoy the rice salary." Shang Kuanshi immediately gave the conditions.

This woman is quite cruel to her own family. This is exactly the same as the Ming Dynasty's practice of treating princes like pigs.

"That's too much, that's too much!" Mo Zibu smiled and waved his hand again. Although he didn't mind raising pigs, they could not be raised in Shuri because they would always be an unstable factor.

But Mo Zibu couldn't directly say that he wanted to bring the King of Ryukyu to the capital, so he could only use the phrase "Guo Yi" to explain his intention.

"Shanghe, are you of the Shang family willing to be a vassal king like the Ming Dynasty?" After waving his hand, Mo Zibu asked Prince Shanghe of Dogusan, who nominally represented King Shangmu of Ryukyu.

Shang He knelt on the ground, looking at Mo Zibu's chest and replied, "Your Majesty, China is the emperor and father, and Ryukyu is the bastard. As a son of Ryukyu, I have no objection to how the emperor and father deal with me."

At this point, Shang He paused for a moment. The princes of the Ming Dynasty were not kings at all. They were just prisoners locked up in the palace, and the prince's palace was a prison.

Those who have a good relationship with the royal family can still move around in the city, but those who have a distant relationship will be imprisoned.

"However, Your Majesty, the reason why the Ming Dynasty treats the vassal kings so well is because they are close vassal states. How could an external vassal like the Ryukyu dare to hope to receive such treatment? Your Majesty's grace is too generous."

After hearing this, Mo Zibu's eyes lit up. Shang He looked like a cowardly guy like a quail, but what he said was really beautiful.

He explained that he was unwilling to be a prisoner in the palace because Mo Zibu's reward was too generous. It must be said that this is also a kind of skill.

It seems that the Shang family was able to survive for such a long time in history, and they had some luck.

So, does that mean that you, the Shang clan, are really willing to become an inner vassal?"

Shang He prostrated his head on the ground and answered loudly, "I, your humble servant, dare not conceal from His Majesty the Great Emperor that the Shang family is indeed willing to serve as an inner vassal and even to offer our territory to His Majesty."

Shang He wasn't lying. Prince Shang Mu and the core members of the Shang family had made this decision when he left. The Ryukyu Kingdom wouldn't have had much of a chance to struggle in the hands of Satsuma, let alone China, the patriarchal nation. So, instead of being so timid, why not just lie down and show your belly, showing the utmost respect? I wonder if you, Emperor Mo, would be too embarrassed to take drastic action.

This trick really works. Let alone Mo Zibu, the only ruthless person who could take such a vassal state is probably someone as ruthless as the First Emperor.

Well, the First Emperor probably couldn't have done it either. The Wei State survived until the time of Qin II.

"In that case, then grant me a surname." Mo Zibu pondered for a moment.

"I grant the royal family of the direct line of the Shang clan the national surname, promote the King of Ryukyu to the title of Prince, and order the royal family of the national surname to reside on the mainland. I grant them a royal palace in Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing, two royal palaces in Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing, and a garden.

Except for the descendants of King Shangjing, all the side branches were given the title of baron, collectively known as Guiyi Baron, and were allowed to pass it down after three generations.

The income from the land, shops and other properties of the royal family and their collateral branches in Ryukyu was collected by the imperial court and converted into annual salaries.

The Ryukyu Prince will receive an annual salary of 100,000 taels of silver. The rest of the people will receive their salaries based on their actual output, and I will increase their salaries by 20%.

The stone in Shang He's heart fell to the ground with a thud. This result can be said to be very good.

The Ryukyu throne was preserved, the ancestral temple was preserved, and even the status was improved, because he was given the surname of the country and his status was based on that of the Mo clan. His income almost doubled compared to before, and he could also live on the wealthy mainland.

This is simply too good!
Prince Dugushan, who was about to change from Shanghe to Mohe, was overjoyed and slammed his forehead to the ground with such great force that a big blood bag appeared instantly.

"Your Majesty's grace is as high as the heavens and as deep as the seas. On behalf of the Ryukyu royal family, Mo He expresses his gratitude to the Emperor for his grace. We are filled with tears of gratitude and are willing to serve His Majesty with loyalty and filial piety for generations to come!"

"Haha, get up, we are a family from now on." Mo Zibu was also very happy. After relocating the Ryukyu royal family, he mainly relied on the thirty-six surnames of Fujian people to form the Ryukyu Royal Palace administration, and completely controlled Ryukyu.

Moreover, he thought of the uses of so many large mansions and gardens in Beijing. In addition to planning to establish a number of universities in Beijing, they could also be given to meritorious officials and vassal kings.

The royal family only needed to retain palaces and temporary residences of the level of the Old Summer Palace and the Chengde Mountain Resort.

Otherwise, even Mo Zibu would find it difficult to bear the terrifying maintenance costs.

Moreover, after bringing these wealthy local tycoons to Beijing, they can also bring something else to Beijing. Otherwise, if there are Mongolian and Tibetan nobles everywhere, the smell of the outside world will be too strong.

"Shang Kuanshi, your loyalty is commendable, and you have performed great deeds. I heard your childhood name was Zhenhe Jin, so I will promote you to Princess Zhenhe. You will be treated like my elder sister, and in imperial edicts, imperial reports, and other official documents, you may be referred to as the eldest princess."

Shang Kanfu's title in the Ryukyu Kingdom was Princess Tsukayama. This title was originally given to the daughters of princes and was popular during the Han Dynasty.

Now she has been promoted from princess to princess, her status has been greatly improved, and because the Shang family was given the national surname, Shang Kuanshi can also take the surname Mo, so she can also get the title of eldest princess.

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace. I will govern Ryukyu well in the future to repay Your Majesty's kindness."

Shang Kuanshi was so grateful that he started crying again. Shang He also shed tears of joy with a purple forehead.

This is the magic of the beacon of civilization. In history, the Japanese King Meiji also did this, but it aroused opposition from all the Ryukyu people, and many people felt very humiliated.

What is your status as a Japanese? You are so arrogant and self-proclaimed emperor behind closed doors. But you, the ruler of a mountain city with only 30,000 koku, really think you are the emperor of the Eastern world?

But China did this and was rewarded with gratitude. The situation was completely different.

Since the three groups came to the court together, the transformation of Ryukyu into a vassal state and the granting of a surname took place right in front of the other two groups.

For a moment, the representatives of the shogunate and the Satsuma domain, whose knees were numb from kneeling, felt mixed emotions.

They didn't care about the physical pain because the mental trauma was greater than the actual trauma, especially that of the Satsuma clan.

They are the main culprits for the suffering that Ryukyu has suffered over the past hundred years. The so-called 140,000 koku of tax rate for Ryukyu was also established by the Satsuma Domain.

With the help of the stone revenue obtained from the land survey, the Satsuma domain made a lot of wealth every year through collecting taxes and extortion.

Even if not much is taken away each year, it has been 1609 years since Hisataka Kabayama took control of Ryukyu in .

Even if only 10,000 taels of silver were taken from Ryukyu every year, 1.74 million silver dollars would not be a small amount. If interest was added, it would even be higher than the current debt of the Satsuma Domain.

With so much money, even Shimazu Tadamichi, the guide who had firmly surrendered and made many contributions, felt a little worried, fearing that Mo Zibut would mention it.

But what you fear will come to pass. Just after the Ryukyu issue was dealt with, Mo Zibu looked at the people in Satsuma Domain and spoke something like a thunderclap.

"Your Satsuma clan is so rebellious, using your status as a vassal of Japan to invade the vassal state appointed by the Ming Emperor. This is a heinous crime. Even I can't think of how to punish you!

Any punishment is too light for the crimes you have committed!"

Mo Zibu's words were quite harsh. The wrath of an emperor was also very terrifying, because he controlled the life and death, honor and disgrace, and wealth of everyone.

This thunderous wrath frightened a group of Satsuma people so much that they kowtowed repeatedly and could not even utter a word in rebuttal.

Because Mo Zibu did not wrongly accuse them. The crime committed by the Satsuma clan was indeed serious, so serious that it was a complete provocation to China's status in the East.

This kind of thing basically depends on whether China wants to intervene. If it does, then it will be like a matter of course weighing nothing, not even three ounces, and not even a thousand pounds.

While the people of Satsuma were trembling with fear, Liang Guozhi, the cunning and treacherous supporting actor scheduled for today, spoke again next to Mo Zibu.

"Your Majesty, although the Satsuma Domain was guilty, it has been nearly two hundred years since then, and the culprits are no longer alive, and many have even lost their descendants.

Although the nine generations of hatred can still be avenged, the Satsuma clan is now so respectful and has the merit of welcoming the royal army. Although the merits and demerits cannot offset each other, it is not necessary to avenge the nine generations of hatred.

The old minister suggested that the Satsuma clan should pay compensation to atone for its crime.

Ah? ? ?
Everyone in Satsuma felt as if they had been struck by lightning. They had thought that Cardinal Liang could offer some good advice, but in the end he asked them to pay compensation.

If the Satsuma Domain had so much money to pay compensation, would it take such a big risk to become a dog?

If you had that much money, wouldn't you recruit tens of thousands of troops to fight the Xing Tang Army in the mountains of Kyushu?
This kind of recruitment through fighting is much better than being treated like a dog.

Pay compensation, wuwuwuwu, we really don’t have the money to pay. This is not a preferential treatment at all, it’s worse than taking my life!

　I still have to handle some procedures in the afternoon, so I may only update once today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)