Yangzhou Mansion is not far from Zhennan Wangfu, on the same north and south streets, the road paved with stone slabs is also very spacious and flat, but Ma Shao felt that this road was so difficult, and his heart was full of bitterness, and he had to go on. Yesterday, he accepted Zhang Ting's proposal, and on the one hand, in the name of the province, he issued a circular to 'Anmin', recruited warriors with a large amount of money, ordered Ding Zhuang in the city, and collected grain;

Ma Shao was actually very reluctant to make this trip, both disappointed by the current situation and dissatisfied with the imperial court. As a northern Han who has experienced the alternation of Jin and Mongolia, he also hoped at first to realize the wish of every scholar to settle down in the world at the time of the change of regime. After his resignation, he immediately threw himself into the work of reconstructing a new order with great enthusiasm, but soon felt that there was a very large gap between reality and ideals.

As a Han Chinese who was born under the rule of the Jurchens and was influenced by nomadic culture and Confucian culture, Ma Shao knew that after the establishment of the regimes of a small number of nomads in the north, they all began to change from plunder to rule, and successively changed their political center from their original territory to Han land. The relocation of the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the five capitals of Liaoding were all carried out in order to achieve the goal of ruling the Han land, and the high-level people no longer took the Han land as the target of plunder, but really took it as their own ruling area.

However, the nomadic regime first has to face a problem - whether to accept sinicization. If you accept more sinicization, you will be completely annexed by Han culture. If there is less acceptance, the national strength will be weakened and the people will be unpopular. After experiencing the lessons of the collapse of the minority countries in the Wuhu Chaos and China, Liaojin and Jin all adopted a policy of neutrality on this issue, and both adopted two sets of systems, that is, the so-called 'north and south officials'.

That is to say, the Han people use the Han law and the Han system, and the own people use the own ethnic system. In the later period, many orientations were unified into the Han system, and the administrative institutions and legal classics were successively sinicized, and the imperial examination system was implemented, Han officials were appointed, and Chinese characters were learned, etc., and gradually began to transform from a minority regime to a Han national regime. To Ma Shao's regret, the Mongols completely abandoned this set, and finally implemented the 'steppe fundamental system', and the Mongols still set their political center in Holin, most of which were just the seat of government, and refused to fully accept Sinicization from the heart.

As a result, contradictions inevitably arose, and the Mongols implemented the livestock division method in the steppe, established post stations, and appointed Nen Tu Wuchi as a steppe production official. Every year, a large amount of income from various places is sent to the grasslands, and subsidies are provided to Mongolians who remain in the grasslands, and relief is provided in case of disasters. The entire empire existed for the purpose of transfusing blood to the steppe, and the central government set up a large number of institutions to deal with steppe affairs.

Although there were some changes, imitating the Central Plains regime to set up government departments, official positions and related systems, but the old Mongolian systems such as the cast-down system and the system of disobedience, as well as a large number of old Mongolian officials such as Daru Huachi, were retained, which played a positive role in maintaining the original Great Mongol Empire, strengthening the rule over all parts of the original empire, but playing a negative role in the ruling area of the Yuan Dynasty.

The steppe-based system had a direct impact on the Yuan Dynasty's policy of governance, which always regarded each place as a conquered and plundered region, rather than a domination and absorption area. In particular, the household level system is implemented, and residents are divided into levels based on assets to collect taxes; In addition, the various types of households are divided into several types according to occupation, religion, etc. It is also divided into Mongolian, chromochromous, northerners, and southerners according to race. This system of discrimination made the high-ranking Mongol kings arrogant and lascivious, and supported their own troops. The life of the low-level Han is worse than death, and they are like slaves.

As a result of this system, social mobility between ethnic groups was almost cut off, and although the Mongols were the dominant ones, the Semu could act as deputies. The Han people in the north and south can't. Originally, the Han people could move upwards through the imperial examination system, but the imperial court only treated Confucianism as a religion like Buddhism, and although the status of Confucius increased, the status of Confucianism actually declined greatly. They were listed separately and were required to live in a special place like monks and Taoist priests, and their enrollment was equivalent to entering the church, and for a time they even forbade secular people to become Confucian scholars.

Ma Shao and some of the great Confucians in the court believed that the reason for this situation was that the Mongols did not understand Han Confucianism, and did not 'respect Confucianism' like other dynasties. During the Temujin period, the Quanzhen Dao Changqiu went to the Western Regions at the age of 74 to persuade the people to stop killing for good, which also created the heyday of early Taoism in the Yuan Dynasty.

After that, there was Naizhen who believed in Buddhism, and then triggered the debate of Buddhism and Taoism, and Desheng's Buddhism became the mainstream of Mengyuan, and once forced people who had attained Taoism to convert to Buddhism and burned Taoist scriptures. Later, there were red and yellow sectarian disputes within Buddhism, and the top leaders were involved in sectarian conflicts. As a result, there is a great deal of confusion, and political battles often involve sectarian strife. With the Mongol expedition to the west and the reopening of the Silk Road, a large number of Central Asians and Arabs brought in *** religion, Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Manichaeism, and Shivaism all spread in large numbers.

In this way, although a grand scene of a hundred sects gathering, it is still chaotic because of the management of the sects, which leads to confusion in thinking. In the selection of officials, the policy of intercommunication between officials and cowardice of Xue entering the court was implemented, and the Mongols and Semu people acted as the Xue army, and they could rely on the emperor's trust to assist in handling the government and enter the list of central officials appointed. The status of officials at the bottom is equal to that of officials, and they can be transferred to officials after they are familiar with official affairs, and the room for officials to rise increases.

The former relied on blood and nepotism, and the latter accumulated experience in handling examination affairs, which were all advantages that Confucian scholars did not have. As a result, most of the officials did not receive traditional Confucian education, and it was difficult for them to become ideologically conscious. There was not much influence among the officials who adhered to the idea of the world being the public in the Han Dynasty, which indirectly caused the decline in the quality of officials.

After the founding of the country, although the call for the establishment of the branch was very high, it was not implemented once, and the scholars could only enter the office through introduction, which almost completely blocked their channels for promotion, and a small number of people who entered the ranks as supplementary officials and instructors only stayed at the bottom. Ma Shao knew very well that after the Han people who occupied the position of civil servants during the founding of the country died and became officials, it would be difficult for Han officials in the court to participate in it. However, the path of Confucianism to the public was cut off, and a large number of talents were hoarded in the local heroes, which indirectly caused the loss of talents, but it would make the local power bigger and compete with the imperial court and many other drawbacks.

Han Chinese officials also tried to change this situation with the help of Kublai Khan's trust in Han officials, but no matter how hard they tried, it was difficult to gain complete trust, that is, to gain Kublai Khan's trust and grant Zhang Hongfan, who led the elimination of the remnants of the Song Dynasty, that is, the so-called lord in Zhang Ting's mouth. It is not because he was born as a marquis of the Han army and made great contributions to the destruction of the Jin and Song dynasties, but more because he also joined the cowardly Xue army as a hostage and won the trust and appreciation of Kublai Khan.

After the efforts of the Han officials failed, they turned to exert influence on the princes and foreign officials who were close to the Han people, trying to exert influence through the curve to achieve the goal of sinicization, but they were defeated again and again by the forces of the king, and many people were either killed or deposed in the battle. Even after Zhenjin, who had received a complete Han Confucian education, succeeded to the throne, the honeymoon period lasted only a few months, and they had to be left out in the cold again, and many Han officials left the center, and they were forced to leave Beijing to take up posts, and the situation was even worse for them......

"Right Cheng, the Zhennan Wangfu has arrived!"

"Oh!" The guard's reminder interrupted Marshall's musings, and he looked up to see that he was still fifty paces from the palace gate, but he had to dismount and walk over as a sign of respect. Although he learned these 'bad habits' quickly from these Mongols, he was very disdainful of those essences, but he had to dismount from his stirrups on the dismounting stones beside the road and go forward on foot.

Zhennan Wangfu covers a wide area, almost occupying half of the most prosperous main street in Yangzhou, with 100 acres of land, although it sounds small, but here is the main city of Yangzhou where every inch of land is valuable. According to rumors, in order to settle this difficult brother, the current Great Khan Zhenjin not only rewarded him with this treasure land, but also expelled the surrounding residents and gave them a lot of money to repair them.

And the income of the joy is not only these, he also obtained the right to operate Yangzhou salt industry, only two years to recover the vitality, but also along the Yangtze River to buy a lot of land, it can be said that from Yangzhou south to Kaifeng, east to Haikou, west to Xiangfan have its industry. On weekdays, salt merchants from all over the country gather in front of the house, just to get some salt in their hands, and want to ask to meet, which is really like climbing to the sky, and a door can collect money softly, which shows how much it has profited.

For this kind of behavior of obtaining benefits with the help of royal status and privileges, although Ma Shao, who has been in the officialdom for many years, has long been surprised, but he has never visited Yangzhou for a long time, in addition to not wanting to fall into the reputation of tending to be inflammatory, he is also ashamed to be with these people in his heart, disgusted that his appearance is too ugly, and he even disdains to cover up one or two, which is no different from robbery.

Recently, due to the siege of the Song army, the trade route was cut off, and the Zhennan Wangfu was also deserted. Although Menzi was a little dissatisfied with what he had gained, it may also be due to his identity, and in the extraordinary times, he just frowned and went in to report. After waiting for about a stick of incense, Menzi opened the side door to let Ma Shao and others enter the house, and of course, the swords and other sharp weapons he carried with him had to be kept temporarily.

Ma Shao had something on his mind, and he had no time to care about these little things, let alone appreciate the magnificence of the palace, but walked around the main hall to the apse with the subordinate officials of the palace. In fact, it is said that it is an apse, but in fact, it is a few huge palace tents, and he is immune to this. Although these Mongols have been in the Central Plains for many years, they don't know whether it is out of the psychology of not forgetting their roots, or because of habit, they live in tents on weekdays, and even Kublai Khan set up a tent in the harem.

"See His Royal Highness the King of Zhennan!" When Marsho entered the tent after the briefing, he smelled a strong smell of wine, but he saluted upwards without squinting.

"Ma Youcheng, please sit down, no need to be formal!" Tuohuan waved his hand to get him up, and pointed to himself to let him sit down.

"Your Highness!" Only then did Ma Shao look up at the king of Zhennan, who was only about thirty years old, with a strong figure, and the appearance of the Great Khan Kublai Khan, but it was the prime of life that had an aging look on his face, he leaned lazily on the blanket, and there was wine and meat on the low table in front of him, obviously he drank it when he got up in the morning. Scanning the tent, there was no one else except a few waiters, the cook who was cooking beside him, and the two subordinate officials, who sat down next to the low table under him, and then a waiter brought wine and meat.

"Your Highness is fine!" Marsho sat down and said hello again.

"I'm an idle prince, what's so bad, if there are no thieves outside the city, it will only be better!" He took a sip of wine, picked up a piece of meat and ate it with a smile.

"His Royal Highness seems to be very disgusted with the puppet emperor of the Southern Dynasty!" Ma Shao knew that the thief in his mouth was the little emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and with hatred in his words, he said.

"Hmph, I have a grudge against it, if there is no it, how can this king end up like this......" Speaking of the little emperor of the Southern Dynasty, Tuhuan opened the chatterbox, thinking that he and he are really enemies, since he was named the king of the south to the south of the Yangtze River, the thief also escaped the pursuit and killed to Qiongzhou, and the two began to talk about endless grievances.

Several failed conquests against Qiongzhou, and he was driven from Jingjiang to Ezhou, and then from Ezhou to Yangzhou, and now he has hidden in Yangzhou, and he has chased here. During this period, he was the most favored by the Great Khan, and the prince who was likely to inherit the throne of the Khan, was punished and forbidden to enter the capital to meet him, and lost his fief, and was snubbed by the imperial brother, and became an idle prince with almost no power.

"Your Highness, time has passed, and you still need to let go of the past, don't dwell on it!" Ma Shao listened to the chatter about his hatred for many years entangled with the little emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and saw that he had drunk a few more bowls of wine, and he was already a little drunk, and before he could say anything serious, he interrupted.

"Yes, the past is in smoke, what is it to say!" Tuohuan showed a wry smile on his face, and secretly said what happened to him today, talking about this with an outsider, he took a sip of wine and sat up straight and said, "Ma Youcheng has never been to this king's mansion when he came to Yangzhou for a long time, and there must be something important to come to the door today, as far as it can be said, this king will do his best!" ”

"Your Highness, do you know the current situation?" Ma Shao saw that Tuhuan seemed to be a different person in an instant, his eyes were shining, showing the majesty of a king, and he no longer had the lazy appearance just now, so he arched his hand and asked bluntly.

"Although this king no longer cares about the affairs of the court, he still knows a thing or two about the things in front of him." The corners of Tuhuan's mouth twitched, revealing some disdain, and said, "At present, the southern army has invaded the border, and our army has repeatedly fought unfavorably, and the losses have been heavy, but the reinforcements have not arrived. After the defeat of Batu, he said that he was sick, and the rest had their own thoughts, but the southern army wanted to tighten the encirclement and attack the city! ”

"His Royal Highness is not in the game, but his heart is like a mirror, and his subordinates admire!" Ma Shao was secretly happy in his heart when he heard this, this king of Zhennan was just greedy for money and lustful as rumored, and then gave a salute, "In the current crisis in Yangzhou, the lower officials want to ask His Royal Highness to preside over the overall situation, stick to the city, and defeat the southern army!" ”