The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 936 Who Can Become the Sage of the New Era?
"Being an official in the Great Yu Dynasty is not easy. Every step you take up a step forward is fraught with danger. No matter if you have the talent to be a prime minister, you have to roll around in the mud first."

Upon arriving in Lanzhou, a host of matters immediately came to Lin Zexu's attention. Huang Mian, who was standing beside Lin Zexu, couldn't help but complain, "The Earl of the South Sea left so quickly, as if there would be some risk if he stayed even a second longer."

Huang Mian was from Changsha, Hunan, and was historically a close partner of Lin Zexu.

In particular, after being exiled to Xinjiang for resisting the British army, Huang Mian followed Lin Zexu to build water conservancy projects in Xinjiang, relocated more than 100,000 Han people, and reclaimed more than 500,000 mu of fertile land, which was a great achievement.

Because of these 500,000 mu of fertile land, in the years that followed, it became the most solid support for the Han people in Xinjiang and one of the largest settlements of Han people.

This occurred before Zuo Zongtang arrived in Xinjiang during the Yaqub Beg Rebellion.

More than 60% of the national heroes who resisted the invasion in northern Xinjiang, such as Xu Xuegong, Kong Cai, Shen Tingxiu, and Zhao Xingti, and the Han Chinese volunteers under their command, were descendants of these land reclamation farmers or generals who managed them.

Upon hearing Huang Mian's somewhat hasty criticism, who was only in his early twenties, Lin Zexu laughed and replied, "Prime ministers must rise from the prefectures and counties, and fierce generals must be promoted from the ranks. This is an old rule from the Han and Tang dynasties."

However, the imperial examination system had not yet emerged or taken shape during the Han and Tang dynasties. In reality, the emperor could only control the Guanzhong Plain and the Central Plains where the two capitals were located. Local areas were mainly governed by the emperor and powerful clans.

The so-called prime ministers who rose from the prefectures and counties were actually just local powerful figures who entered the central government through the recommendation system. The emperor gave them high-ranking positions and generous salaries, and in return, they made the local people loyal to the central government to ensure the unity of the country.

The same applies to the valiant generals who rise from the ranks; they are a stepping stone for those from humble backgrounds who are not from aristocratic families, to protect the emperor and restrain the powerful clans.

Ordinary people are lucky if they can just make ends meet in their local area; they don't have time to grow fat and acquire a valuable skill.

Look at those fierce generals during the Han and Tang dynasties; no matter how badly they fared, they still had hundreds of acres of land in their hometowns.

By the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao had destroyed half of the foundations of the aristocratic families, and his followers, including his personal guards, had destroyed the other half.

By the time Emperor Taizu of Song established the new dynasty, the aristocratic families hadn't even recovered from their decline when the new dynasty, which strongly promoted the imperial examination system, eradicated them. In addition, with the continuous development of printing technology, they had no chance of a large-scale revival.

By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the entire country belonged to scholars. Central government decrees could reach even the most remote prefectures and counties, and people from all directions could be easily selected. The emperor only needed to govern from the capital.

The prime ministers of the Ming Dynasty no longer needed to go down to the prefectures and counties to help the emperor control the whole country. They only needed to stay in the central government and control the operation of the country through the huge civil service system.

Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the greatest challenge for prime ministers was precisely how to more effectively utilize the civil service system, represented by the central government, to assist the emperor in governing the country. It is therefore not surprising that prime ministers all came from the Hanlin Academy.

Huang Mian seemed to understand something. He stroked the little bit of beard he had just grown and said, "And my Great Yu has a territory that far exceeds that of all previous dynasties, by more than tens of thousands of miles. It is only inferior to the Mongol Yuan, which considered the four Khanates as its vassal states."

It's simply unrealistic to completely adopt the prefecture-county system from mainland China for such a vast territory.

In order to firmly occupy these lands, His Majesty had no choice but to share the world with the colonists and immigrants outside of the Central Plains.

This led to a situation in the Great Yu Dynasty where prime ministers were always appointed from the prefectures and counties, and valiant generals were always promoted from the ranks. We officials, therefore, had to travel all over the world again.

Lin Zexu gazed at the immigrant shacks under construction in the distance, lost in thought. His expression suggested he was either nodding in agreement with Huang Mian's words or shaking his head in opposition.

After a long pause, he slowly said, "To be honest, not only do we not know where the future of the Great Yu Dynasty lies, but I don't think even His Majesty knows."

This dynasty is truly peculiar, completely unprecedented. When I returned to the capital last time to report on my duties, His Majesty seemed to have a bit of a headache.

While His Majesty is undoubtedly a great emperor throughout history, and His Highness the Crown Prince is a brilliant and wise ruler, what about the Imperial Grandson, the fourth generation of monarchs?
Do they still possess the abilities, the vision, and the talent of His Majesty and His Highness to govern such a vast empire effectively?

Huang Mian had also thought about this question, and it can be said that all the insightful people of the Great Yu Dynasty had considered it, but none of them came to a conclusion.

"This matter is so complicated that even if Confucius were to be resurrected, I wouldn't know what to do," Huang Mian sighed.

"Confucius is certainly not capable. Compared to now, the Spring and Autumn Period was just a time of small countries with few people. The problems of today can only be solved by people of today themselves."

I believe that whoever can solve this problem for the Great Yu Dynasty and for the Chinese nation will be the sage of the new era!

Lin Zexu was quite ambitious. He wanted to be a sage who pioneered the world, but at the same time, he didn't know if he had the ability to accomplish such a feat.

After Lin Zexu arrived in Gansu and began to take charge of the overall situation, the wave of disaster victims surged even more.

In addition to the impact of natural disasters, the task of relocation was the most important and demanding assessment criterion assigned by the imperial court to local officials.

The more immigrants a prefecture or county sent, the greater the rewards for its officials.

This situation, where immigration targets are placed too high in political achievements, cannot be reversed in the short term, nor can it be easily reversed.

If this is reversed, what if there are no more natural disasters? Will it all happen again?

How could such a large country change its policies so quickly?

Thus, from the emperor to local officials like the governor, everyone in the Great Yu Dynasty could only watch with sweaty palms as the tide of disaster victims rushed toward the unknown shore.

Just one month after Wan Wu and his group arrived in Yinchuan, the transportation capacity of the Yintai Line could not keep up for a short period of time, and immigrants came westward in large numbers, numbering 300,000 per month and nearly 4 million per year.

Why did Chen Shaowen, the former governor of Gansu mentioned by Huang Mian, the fourth-generation descendant of Chen Zizhuang, one of the Three Loyalists of Lingnan, and the Earl of Nanhai, disappear so quickly?

He was completely incapable of performing the job. He just had to run faster; if he had run too slowly, something bad would have happened.

Fortunately, Mo Zibu also knew that Lin Zexu was under great pressure, so he transferred Li Luan, the highly capable Governor of Taiping Province and the Nanyang Envoy, to Shaanxi to serve as the Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and to fully cooperate with Lin Zexu in resettling the disaster victims.

At the same time, he also sent the Second Grand Secretary Cao Zhenyong to Luoyang to take charge and allocate resources. Rice from Southeast Asia was transported directly to Kaifeng via the Grand Canal, and grain from Henan was requisitioned and transported to Shaanxi and Gansu via the newly restored Wei River Canal to ensure the supply of materials.

Zhenbeibao, northwest of Yinchuan Prefecture.

Located on the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains, on the edge of the Yellow River alluvial plain in Ningxia, this area is characterized by dry weather and scarce rainfall.

Looking around, all you see are low bushes and meadows. When you climb up with binoculars and look into the distance, you can even see the Gobi Desert in the distance.

"This craftsmanship, hey, it's really good!" Old Man Meng from Jia County, Ruzhou, Henan Province, exclaimed in admiration as he looked at the wardrobe made by Wan Wu.

"Are these officials blind? Do they really think they can let a craftsman like you go out to guard the border?"

Old Man Meng is over sixty years old, but his thinking is still stuck in the Qing Dynasty. He therefore regards the current expansionist actions being promoted by the Dayu Dynasty as the Qing Dynasty's previous practice of sending Han people to the Western Regions and the southwest to strengthen the borders.

Well, actually they seem pretty much the same, just different in scale and ultimate purpose.

Wan Wu waved his hand, "I came out on my own. With this skill, I can make a living, but I have nowhere to put my box-making brothers who have been with me for more than ten years!"

We've cut down all the large trees that can be cut down on Zhongnan Mountain, and I was worried they'd be bullied if we scattered to the west. So I decided to lead the way and take them out to make our own way."

After listening, Old Man Meng gave a thumbs-up with admiration, his attitude completely changing. "Young man, you are a man of principle, capable of great things. The officials are not blind after all."

A hero like you, with such skill, should be released to fight for territory for our descendants!

Wan Wu laughed heartily after hearing this. Although his wife complained a little that he had abandoned his family to run west for the sake of his brothers, Wan Wu himself was quite intoxicated by the thrill of being a good elder brother like those in Liangshan.

"Uncle Meng, I should leave after I finish this work today, otherwise I won't have enough credits to complete the official course, and I won't be able to catch the train to Dunhuang at the end of the year."

After Wan Wu polished it again and made sure there were no problems with the wardrobe, he spoke to Old Man Meng.

According to the order of the newly appointed Governor-General of Gansu, Lin Zexu, all immigrants must accumulate points through study, and only those who reach the standard score can go west.

The specific learning programs include four areas: climate, geography, agriculture, and animal husbandry. The main purpose is to help them get started on production as soon as they arrive in the Western Three Kingdoms.

Among them, males aged twelve to forty-two were required to train in horsemanship, archery, bayonet tactics, and short sword and hand-to-hand combat. As for the cost of living for immigrants in the local area, the government covered part of it, while the rest they had to find work on their own.

Yinchuan and even the entire Gansu province are actually in dire need of labor, because after the great turmoil in the Northwest, only a few million people from the Central Plains migrated to Shaanxi and Gansu.

Furthermore, in the following thirty years, a large number of the second and third generations of these millions of people were transferred to Anxi Envoy Office and Gaoliang Prefecture for immigration.

Therefore, the population of Gansu and some northern Shaanxi prefectures and counties has remained at a low level.

This is also why Lin Zexu and other leaders believed that the large-scale influx of disaster victims from four provinces was a good thing for Gansu.

These migrants will fill the labor shortage in Gansu by working as they travel.

We can also filter out those whose physical condition and will are indeed not suitable for going to the Western Three Kingdoms, and directly leave these people in Gansu to enrich the local area.

The immigration credit system, which Lin Zexu created based on the new imperial examination system promoted by the emperor, was designed to adapt to this immigration method.

Those who fail to complete their credits multiple times, or even over many years, are considered unsuitable for going west and should simply stay in Gansu.

However, this must be done very discreetly, otherwise no one will bother to learn it, because staying in Gansu is definitely the best choice compared to going to the distant Western Three Kingdoms.

This is also why the Crown Prince wanted to recommend Lin Zexu for the position of Governor-General of Gansu; His Highness only believed that Lin Zexu could handle this matter well.

Wan Wu was using his carpentry skills to make furniture for Old Man Meng in Zhenbeibao because someone in his small group didn't have enough credits and would only be allowed to board the train after passing the exam later this year.

Upon hearing that Wan Wu was leaving, Old Man Meng showed a reluctant expression. "Thirty years ago, I was about your age, and my whole family of eight was so poor that we were crammed together in a thatched hut."

All five brothers are bachelors, and no parent would bear to push their daughter into a pit of fire. We also felt too embarrassed to harm other women.

At this point, Old Man Meng cupped his hands in the direction of the capital, "Fortunately, at this time, His Majesty quelled the great rebellion in Shaanxi and Gansu and needed to send people to guard the border, so the five of us brothers signed up."

The eldest brother and youngest sister stayed home to care for their parents, while the rest of the family followed the constables to Zhenbeibao. Later, the second brother and the others went to Anxi.

After listening, Wan Wu praised, "Uncle Meng, you've really struck gold! I've seen this land. Although it doesn't rain much, it has snowmelt from Helan Mountain, so the crops won't lack irrigation, and you can even raise cattle and sheep."

I heard your family owns several hundred acres of land; even with just a basic crop, you'll have no shortage of food and drink.

"Nothing's lacking, absolutely nothing's lacking!" Old Man Meng grinned, and when he talked about his current life, the wrinkles between his eyebrows seemed to smooth out.

"The old man had been starving for half his life, and in his prime he only weighed a little over 90 jin (45 kg). But when he arrived at Zhenbeibao, almost ready to be buried, he still had more than 130 jin (65 kg) left."

This is all thanks to His Majesty's love and care for us, and the people's willingness to go out and expand our territory. Otherwise, if we stayed at home, we would be poor to death, how could we have enough to eat, let alone have offspring.

Old Man Meng became more and more excited as he talked, and waved to his eldest grandson, who was about ten years old, and called him over. "Go, tell your father to go to the cellar and get two jars of the good wine that I brewed two years ago, and also kill a sheep. I want your Uncle Wan to stay for dinner."

Just as Wan Wu was about to refuse, Old Man Meng quickly waved his hand, "Now that we're in Zhenbeibao, even if I sell all my possessions, I still can't afford the fine silks and satins of Jiangnan or the precious jewels and watches of Lingnan, I can't buy them even if I go bankrupt."

But as for food, the sheep are pretty much the same as those that grow on the mountain, and they eat wheat flour for about ten days every month.

"Then let the old man go to the trouble of paying; I won't stand on ceremony." Wan Wu saw that the old man was really going to treat him, and that the Meng family really didn't lack food, so he agreed.

Old Man Meng smiled, his eyes narrowing, and then instructed another grandson to fetch Wan Wu's wife and children. He then said with some regret:
"It's a pity that when I came to Zhenbeibao, I was already over thirty and still poor. I couldn't marry a local woman, so I ended up going to my second brother in Anxi, who brought me back three wives."

This woman from the Garolu tribe is actually quite good; she's hardworking and takes good care of her family. However, she's shallow-minded, and her children and grandchildren are prone to having curly hair.

Even my third son had blond hair, which made me so angry that I sent him off to Anxi to settle down and start a family.

What the hell!

Wan Wu stared wide-eyed. How could such a withered, unremarkable old man have three wives serving him?

At that moment, he remembered that the woman he had met a few days ago, who was not very old but had the air of a matriarch, was not his daughter, but his wife.

Good heavens, he was probably only a teenager when he was kidnapped and sent to Zhenbeibao!
He was truly shocked, because marital relationships are the best indicator of whether a group is popular or not.

Even handsome young men in their twenties from unpopular ethnic groups find it difficult to find suitable wives, while in popular ethnic groups, middle-aged men still have women from other ethnic groups flocking to them.

In the evening, Wan Wu, having eaten and drunk his fill, led a mule carrying his youngest son, along with his wife, eldest son, and eldest daughter, towards the fortress of Zhenbeibao.

In just one month, the eleven-year-old daughter has become quite plump, and the two sons have become much stronger and more lively, radiating great hope for the future.

When he arrived in town, several of his brothers were already waiting for him.

He Zaili looked at Wan Wu embarrassedly and stammered, "Fifth Brother, I was selected by the Left Guard of the Liang Prince's Mansion a few days ago."

They said I was a good shooter and had guts, so next month they'd give me special permission to take a special train to Dinghai Peninsula (Crimea Peninsula) to enlist.

Wan Wu's face was full of joy. He held He Zaili's hand and said, "This is a good thing. You have become a bodyguard of the Prince of Liang. If you work hard, you can become an official directly."

"What's wrong? What kind of person do you think Fifth Brother is? If a brother has a bright future, why would I stop you from leaving?"

He Zaili was extremely grateful. "We brothers swore an oath to work hard with Fifth Brother. It would be too disloyal of me to leave before we even get there."

"What nonsense! I'll be happy if you're doing well. Besides, it's not like we're no longer brothers just because you're gone. Keep up the good work, because I might need your help someday!"

Although Wanwu was also reluctant to see his brother leave, he was happy for him because his brother had such a bright future.

"Fifth Brother, I married Xiuya here. I went to see that family. They have over a thousand acres of land. Although they only cultivate over four hundred acres, they still have dozens of cattle and sheep, enough to eat and drink."

Their family was willing to give a bride price of thirty silver dollars and didn't want a dowry, saying that Xiuya could marry whichever son she took a fancy to, so I agreed.

"This is a good thing!" Wan Wu was still very happy. "The official said that when we go over there, it would be best to have more men around."

Since we are all men, we can quickly marry Western women and have them bear our Han children.

"Having another child means one less person to oppose us in the future. Your decision is good, as long as Xiuya herself is willing."

After that, more and more of the fellow villagers and colleagues who had come with Wan Wu were selected.

Some became guards, while others showed a talent for literacy and numeracy and became prospective officials.

Wan Wu wasn't angry. He smiled and saw his brothers off. In the end, only about a hundred people, led by Jiang Daqi, remained by his side.

"That's right, our Zhongnan Mountain has produced so many talented box makers. Those of you who stayed here, don't be discouraged. In this vast territory of the Western Three Kingdoms, practice your martial arts diligently, and with the brothers working together, we'll be able to conquer any land together in the future."

Wan Wu was indeed a decent leader, quite magnanimous, and capable of inspiring people when morale was low.

What Wan Wu didn't know was that the number of people around him gradually decreased from more than four hundred to just over one hundred, which was entirely intentional on the part of the government.

The three kingdoms of Taixi naturally need someone like Wan Wu who is intelligent and can lead people to suppress the local area, but it is impossible for him to lead four or five hundred people to band together. If that happens, will the royal palace still be able to command him?
With a hundred or so people following Wanwu, this was the best option. The number of people was neither too many nor too few, enough to suppress the natives without becoming too powerful to control.

At the same time, those selected are essentially undergoing targeted training, making them easier to deploy and use in the future.

(End of this chapter)