The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 759 A Future with Chinese Characteristics
October 1797, 10. Mid-Autumn Festival on August 4th, the nd year of Emperor Guangzhong's reign in China (formerly the nd year of Emperor Jiaqing's reign in the Qing Dynasty).

As fifty chieftains from Guangxi arrived at Shuntian Prefecture in Beijing, or perhaps it was just a coincidence that these chieftains from Guangxi arrived, the first republican congress of the Great Yu Dynasty of China began.

Mo Zibu allocated the Qingyi Garden, the predecessor of the Summer Palace, for use by the Republican Assembly, and the Qingyi Garden was renamed the Palace of the Republican Parliament.

Speaking of it, the republican parliament of the Dayu Dynasty also underwent a very complicated evolution.

At the beginning, in order to gain the support of all the Chinese in Southeast Asia, attract a large amount of capital and able-bodied men from China to go south to build Southeast Asia and accumulate strength for the counterattack, Mo Zibu launched the earliest version of the Republican Parliament.

At this time, the Republican Parliament had considerable power.

Many old parliamentarians still remember that the Changyu Port garrison commander committed a crime by shielding his brother who harmed his compatriots, but the government was unable to arrest him because of his status as a parliamentarian.

In order to deprive the Changyu Port Garrison Commander of his parliamentary status and convict him, the Republican Parliament voted four times in a row.

It was thanks to two speeches made by the then Emperor Chao Phraya Andai of Siam that the parliamentary qualification of the Changyu Port Garrison Commander was stripped away, the legal protection of the Republican Parliament was deprived of him, and he was eventually convicted.

It was after that incident that a group of local scoundrels who came from China to Southeast Asia finally understood what law was, what it meant that doctors should not be punished, and what it meant to be protected.

Since then, the number of people going to Southeast Asia from the mainland has increased year by year. And once they go to Southeast Asia, they don’t go anywhere else but go straight to join the emperor.

It even developed to the point that a large number of Teochew people went to Southeast Asia, not to join King Taksin of Siam, but directly to the present-day Hin Long Peninsula, which was the Andai Peninsula at that time.

From then on, all the Chinese, and even the high-ranking officials in Beijing and Han who came from Annan, followed the emperor desperately, because they knew that helping the emperor was helping themselves, and if the emperor had a piece of meat, they would definitely have a share of the soup.

Twenty-two years ago, in the decisive battle of Beihe with the Qing Dynasty, among the 4,000 soldiers of the Xingtang Army who died in the battle, more than 1,000 were the children of various Republican members, including the children of their own families.

Among them, Ye Fengchang, the Marquis of Jida, lost two of his younger brothers, more than 40 sons of the Zhuang family of Gaozhou were killed in the battle, and Ye Xianyang, the Marquis of Tao, was ambushed by the cavalry of the Qing vanguard camp, his knee was smashed, and he became a cripple in that battle.

It can be said that half of the Battle of Beihe was carried out by close relatives such as the Mo and Chen families of Mingxiang, and the other half, well, at least 30%, was carried by the children of the Nanyang Republican Parliament for Mo Zibu.

After expelling the Tartars and regaining the country, Mo Zibu once hoped to directly transfer England's parliamentary system to his Dayu Dynasty.

Emperor Mo was born in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was brainwashed by public intellectuals of all schools since he was a child. Readers and Yilin were openly displayed in the study corner of his school.

The teacher of ideology and morality talks about the lighthouse on the top of the American mountain, while the English teacher keeps silent about the paradise on earth in Europe.

So much so that even after traveling through time, I still believe that the parliamentary system, the so-called false political democracy, is the panacea for solving problems.

But soon, Mo Zibu discovered that he was digging his own grave.

The reason why England was able to have the House of Commons and the House of Commons was that they had formed the prototype at least six hundred years ago, and started doing so four hundred years ago. In order to keep doing so, they even chopped off the head of Charles I.

The Hanoverian dynasty allowed the existence of such a House of Commons and House of Lords because its throne was given to it by the nobles and big capitalists who were the members of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

The King of England can still hold on to the throne even with the House of Commons and the House of Lords because this is the best form of England, and the interests of all parties can be taken into account.

If the people below cause trouble, the members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords can really use the most brutal means to help the King of England suppress it.

They surrounded the King of England and treated the people like pigs, dogs, cattle and horses. Everyone had blood on their hands and everyone had eaten the people's blood and fat in their stomachs. Although they were not born together, they would definitely die together, so there was stability.

But did the Great Yu Dynasty have such a class? Was there such a class that could help the emperor shoulder the burden and suppress the Chinese people who were used to the idea that kings, princes, generals and ministers were of different races and that the blue sky was dead and the yellow sky should be established?

No!

In this land, no class or group would help the emperor treat the people like pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep for the sake of imperial power.

Even if they wanted to, no class had the ability to get it done.

So after two years of trying to promote a republican parliament, Mo Zibu himself gave up.

At this time, the Republican Parliament entered its third stage. It became a way for the emperor to bypass the civil servants and scholar-officials and the military honors group that controlled the Beijing camp and the garrison troops, and directly contact the backbone forces within the empire.

Through the Republican Parliament, Mo Zibu successfully united around him a large number of the middle and large bourgeoisie outside the aristocratic families, opposition opinion leaders from the literati who were unable to hold official positions, high-end talents focused on science and technology, and heroes who could help the empire expand overseas.

As the Dayu Dynasty was rapidly moving towards a capitalist society that was completely different from Western Europe, the strength of these people continued to increase, and they were close to forming a third force that the emperor could rely on.

To put it bluntly, the current Republican Parliament is a magnified Imperial Household Department countless times over.

The emperor used his supreme authority to guarantee their property and social status, and they used their enormous energy outside the officialdom and the army to protect the emperor who gave them power.

Why is it that wherever Mo Zibu wants to develop industry or build infrastructure in recent years, there are always people following him?

Although the Renaissance Company, China's first financial group controlled by the emperor, provided great help, more came through this Republican Parliament.

. . . .

In fact, at this time, many of the chieftains in Guangxi could no longer be called chieftains, but should be called local officials and local inspectors.

Because basically in the late Yongzheng period, most of the chieftains in Guangxi had completed the transformation into officials, and only a small number of chieftains still had actual control over the territory.

However, the policy of converting chieftains into officials can be implemented, but it is impossible to completely eliminate the influence of these chieftain families on the local area.

There were even many chieftains who were very helpful to the local people in making them loyal to the imperial court. Without them, things would be bad.

However, after the Dayu Dynasty, the territory became larger and the benefits became more abundant. The Han people simply could not eat it all. This was the entire Southeast Asia, 4.5 million square kilometers.

Therefore, a large number of Guangxi chieftains also benefited greatly from the Great Yu Dynasty's expansion. For example, Nanji Island, the most important grain-producing area in Southeast Asia, was basically conquered by the people of Guangxi for the imperial court, and at least half of them were not Han Chinese.

In order to allow the young men of Guangxi to be led by someone to march south in an organized manner to eliminate the natives of Nanji Island, the chieftain officials in Guangxi were restored.

Of course, this restoration does not mean the restoration of the chieftain system in Guangxi, where the system of itinerant officials has already been established.

Instead, most of the chieftains in Guangxi, whether they had managed to escape the policy of converting chieftains into officials or had already been converted, received a large fiefdom on Nanji Island and continued to rule the local area in Nanyang as chieftains, which were what the Han people called vassals of the Chinese in Nanyang.

Therefore, in the current Dayu, there is no need for the imperial court to implement the policy of converting the natives into officials.

All the chieftains in the southwest, including Guangxi, were vying to assimilate into the Han culture to show their loyalty. They all said that their ancestors were descendants of ministers of a certain Han dynasty who stayed in the local area.

Even ordinary people of all ethnic groups in the southwest don't mind. They stay in the local area because there are fewer people and less competition. Everyone has good land and lives a comfortable life.

Those who went to Southeast Asia basically obtained Chinese provinces and became the superior people there. Their status was much higher than that of the Koreans and Japanese in Southeast Asia, so they were extremely supportive of the imperial court.

This is the advantage of having a bigger cake. Even just the overflow is enough to feed and satisfy everyone in your family.

At this time, Mo Xialing, the chieftain of Nandan Prefecture in Guangxi, which is the Hechi area in later generations, was standing with his chest puffed out and his belly protruding at the gate of the Qingyi Garden, which is also the Palace of the Republican Parliament.

He looked at the gate of the Palace of the Republican Assembly, which was not too tall and majestic in the eyes of future generations, but was definitely very majestic at that time. Looking at the red roof and green tiles, he said to the people around him with great pride:

"Look, Long Live the Emperor! He is my family. If my family hadn't moved from Leizhou to Nandan, we would also be royal relatives by now."

You know what, Mo is originally a small surname. The Leizhou Mo family claims to be descendants of Mo Xuanqing, the first number one scholar in Guangdong history. They are not from southern Fujian, but old natives.

The Nandan Mo chieftains also began to rule Nandan since the end of the Tang Dynasty. It is possible that the two families actually have the same ancestor.

"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to you, Boss Mo, that we can enter the palace to play." The other chieftains of Tianzhou and Wancheng all complimented him.

Although these people were chieftains, they had not actually reached the threshold for Republican parliamentarians, so their presence here was indeed beyond their expectations. Some people actually thought that they had benefited from the Mo family.

At this time, Dayu had 977 republican members, including representatives of the navy and army, leaders of the literati, great scholars of science, large and medium-sized capitalists, large and medium-sized vassals from all over the world outside the Chinese mainland, and representatives of colonial strongmen.

Almost all the leading figures in society who have not entered the officialdom or politics are here.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the door of the Republican Parliament was officially opened, and the members of parliament, wearing colorful Xiezhi robes, entered one after another.

Xiezhi is an ancient mythical beast, shaped like a Qilin. It can distinguish right from wrong, and know loyalty, treachery, good from evil. It has always been a symbol of justice and bravery.

So Mo Zibu ordered the Shangyi Supervisor to make a new Xiezhi robe in the style of a dragon robe, and only gave it to republican members to wear, in the hope that they would distinguish right from wrong and distinguish loyalty from treachery for the country.

Among them, those wearing red Xiezhi robes are leaders of the scholarly circles, those wearing purple robes are big names in the scientific community, and those wearing green robes are representatives of large and medium-sized capitalists. There are a total of eight colors to distinguish industries.

At 11:00 AM, the bells of the Republican Palace rang, signaling the Emperor's arrival. For such a solemn occasion, kneeling was a must. Everyone knelt three times, kowtowed nine times, and shouted "Long live the Emperor" three times.

Mo Zibu wore a royal robe and a crown with twelve tassels on his head and delivered a speech on the throne (rostrum).

Every ten meters there was a carefully selected student from each imperial academy. When the emperor finished speaking, the golden drums on both sides of the throne sounded, and they picked up the speech manuscripts that had been distributed to them and began to read aloud in unison.

This is what it's like without speakers, only in this way can everyone hear clearly.

If the emperor had any impromptu remarks that were not in the speech, the gongs and drums would not sound. Naturally, a stenographer would quickly write down the words and pass them on to them. After the last person had read them and rung the bronze bell at the end, they would read them aloud again collectively.

The biggest disadvantage of this approach is that it is slow. By the time Mo Zibu finishes his speech, it will be past noon, so the emperor will give a banquet in the Palace of the Republican Parliament.

In addition, the emperor would select the member of parliament who made the greatest contribution and bring him to his table as a reward.

One of this year's lucky winners is Wu Dingyuan, who invented the percussion cap, making it possible for Dayu to enter the era of percussion rifles.

At this time, as Dayu began to expand its territory on a large scale, names like Dingyuan, Weiyuan, Weiguo, and Po Nu became very popular.

Wu Dingyuan was not a big shot. He was from Guan County, Shandong Province, and his family was poor when he was born.

When Mo Zibu regained his territory, Wu Dingyuan's father became a laborer in the army and received wages, which enabled the family to survive.

Afterwards, the Wu father and son followed the fellow civilians they met at that time to venture into the East China Sea, that is, to cross the sea to North America to dig for gold.

During the intense exchanges with the local indigenous people in Beihezhou, Wu Dingyuan invented the percussion cap and fulminate of mercury in actual combat. He was the biggest contributor to the emergence of the revolver and a prerequisite for the appearance of the percussion rifle.

"Your invention has benefited the present and future generations. Countless people will survive the fierce competition thanks to your invention, and countless brave soldiers will be able to kill more enemies and defend the country."

Mo Zibu picked up the wine glass and held it in front of Wu Dingyuan, "I offer this wine to you, sir!"

The eyes of the Republican members in the banquet hall were red with envy. This was not just a matter of honor, this was a golden body, a golden medal of immunity from death!
Even though Wu Dingyuan was a gold digger before, from now on, no one dares not to address him as "Sir"!
Any local official or local tyrant who dared to trouble the emperor would be called "Sir".

Wu Dingyuan really had not read much. When the emperor raised the glass of wine, his legs went weak and he wanted to kneel down. However, he was supported by two quick-eyed and quick-handed masters of the Jinyiwei Palace Front Division.

He wanted to say something, especially words of gratitude, which he had memorized for several nights before coming here, but now he had forgotten everything.

All he could do was cry loudly, cry loudly with gratitude, his nose running, and sob "Long live" at the top of his lungs.

Although he was not a Republican member of parliament, Mo Xialing, who had gained the qualification to attend the banquet, was so anxious that he stomped his feet. Damn, what a good opportunity! If he had the qualification, he would definitely not perform so poorly.

After crying for about seven or eight minutes, Wu Dingyuan, who was almost exhausted, finally calmed down and looked at the person sitting at the same table with him.

Well, that’s not right. The banquet given to the emperor was a separate dining system, and the emperor sat at the top, surrounded by guards and eunuchs.

Well, it can barely be considered a table.

Wu Dingyuan secretly made up his mind that from now on, even if his entire family was asked to fight for the emperor, not to mention his own life, he would never refuse.

"Mr. Lavoisier, I would like to offer you a glass of wine as well. The development of Dan Chemistry in Dayu depends on you." Mo Zibu raised his glass and said to the only Frenchman in the Republican Assembly today:
"As long as you can serve Dayu wholeheartedly, I can tell you that whether you want to return to France or take root in the Chinese Empire in the future, I can make you not only extremely wealthy in the world, but also a person that no one dares to mess with."

"I am the Great Emperor of the East, rich in all the land. Whatever I say, I will definitely do it."

Lavoisier looked at this scene and was completely convinced. He knelt down and kowtowed to Mo Zibu three times and nine times.
"Long live Your Majesty. I, Lavoisier, will dedicate all my knowledge to this great land and the great king who rules it."

This is why Mozib chose Lavoisier as the Frenchman to enter the Republican Parliament, because Lavoisier was greedy for money and power-hungry enough, but at the same time he had some bottom line.

Of all the great French scientists, he was one of the few who could be trusted to a certain degree and who was also the easiest to control.

Of course, Lavoisier's contribution was great enough. He not only taught some chemistry students, but also established the entire system of Dan chemistry in Dayu.

After the banquet, the Republican Parliament continued to meet.

This time, it is time to vote on national affairs.

Mo Zibu announced that Dayu would begin a major adjustment starting today, mainly in government departments.

For example, the Ministry of War was abolished and three ministerial-level units were established: the Ministry of the Army, the Ministry of the Navy, and the Ministry of Military Logistics.

At the same time, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Navy, and the Ministry of Military Logistics were no longer directly under the responsibility of the Prime Minister, but were handed over to the Privy Council, with the Privy Councilor becoming the person who coordinated their relationship.

The full name of the Military Logistics Department is the Military Supply and Personnel Logistics Department. This department will be responsible for the army's logistics, personnel assessment and archives.

The Deputy Privy Councilor will also become the fourth in command after the Emperor, Crown Prince, and Prime Minister.

Once this system is stabilized, the civil servants of the three departments of navy, army and military logistics under the Privy Council will be appointed and dismissed through another imperial examination system.

This imperial examination system was held every few years, and the emperor would decide alone how many people would be selected in each exam. Even the exam questions were personally controlled by the emperor.

Of course, the Guards system is still not included in the Privy Council or even the three departments of the Privy Council. All the twelve Guards Armies, more than 160,000 of the empire's most elite troops, still only obey the emperor.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry was expanded into the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The education system, from the chief academic officer of the Imperial College to the provincial education commissioners and county instructors, were all under the jurisdiction of the newly established Academy of Education. The Academy of Education was also responsible for the Imperial Colleges throughout the country and promoting scientific research.

The Ministry of Rites was split into the Taichang Temple, which was responsible for ceremonial systems, sacrifices, religion, seal casting, and book collection.

Honglu Temple, in charge of diplomacy and reception.

The Lifanyuan was responsible for coordinating foreign colonial expansion and managing vassal states outside the Chinese mainland, and its officials were appointed directly by the emperor.

The Ministry of Revenue separated out the finance and taxation related businesses and absorbed the original Transportation Bureau system to establish the Ministry of Finance and Taxation.

And so on and so forth, Mo Zibu made all the adjustments that had been discussed for a long time in one breath.

This marked the beginning of the Dayu Dynasty's departure from the traditional framework that had existed for thousands of years and a major step towards the unique Chinese semi-capitalist system.

Although these had already been decided, Mo Zibu still took them out and pretended to discuss them.

There was even a vote on whether to establish some departments' courts and departments, which gave these republican members a great deal of fun. It seemed that everyone had become an indispensable person in the court.

Mo Xialing's mouth was watering with envy. He was truly enlightened. Not only him, but many of the southwestern chieftains who followed him also felt numb all over.

They never thought that the current court's governance model would appear before their eyes like this.

Many people suddenly realized that even if he was a chieftain and not a Han Chinese, as long as he became a republican member of parliament, he would have the opportunity to obtain this invincible golden body and the qualification to participate in national affairs.

And this is exactly what Mo Zibu wanted them to see.

After the five-day Republican Council Conference ended, Mo Zibu met with these chieftains.

In fact, these chieftains are not all from Guangxi. Some are from Yunnan, Guizhou, and even Xiangxi.

After all, Guangxi's population was still too small at that time. After a large number of people moved to Southeast Asia, there were only more than 6 million people in the province. It was necessary to add the chieftains from other provinces to have enough strength.

"What I worry about day and night is this land of Beihezhou. It does not belong to China. I am afraid that these Jurchens of Hezhou will become a disaster for our descendants in the future."

Mo Zibu introduced the situation in Beihezhou, took the hand of Mo Xialing, the chieftain of the Nandan Mo family, and said, "You and I are from Lingnan. The Mo family is not a big family, so we can be said to be from the same clan.

"Jiamen, I have this difficult problem, you must bring all the chieftains and officials with you to help me share my worries!"

Mo Xialing's blood rushed to his head, and he knelt down with a thud, "Your Majesty, just give the order. Our men train day and night, just waiting to go into battle and kill the enemy to serve our country!"

"Your Majesty, if you pacify the Jurchens in Hezhou and develop the land of Hezhou, can you become a republican member of parliament?" someone asked in a low voice from behind.

"Of course!" Mo Zibu replied decisively, "Republican members are exactly the kind of people we need to expand our country's territory and leave a great legacy for our descendants!"

(End of this chapter)