The policies proposed by Zeng Guofan are actually nothing new, and Chinese history has always been a history of ethnic integration. Before the founding of the People's Republic www.biquge.info of China, the general trend was ethnic integration, and the Han nationality, as a melting pot of ethnic integration, has always undertaken the responsibility of integrating various ethnic groups into one - in fact, the Han itself is a hodgepodge. In the process of long-term ethnic integration, many traditions and customs of other ethnic groups have also been absorbed. In the Republic of China period, the customs of the Han nation and the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty can be said to be completely different, and compared with the Han Dynasty at the beginning of the formation of the Han nation, I am afraid the gap is even greater.

In fact, most of the peoples of later generations were the result of thousands of years of integration. For example, the Japanese ethnic group is a mix of immigrants from China and Korea, Ezo people from Siberia and elsewhere, and Ryukyuan people from Ryukyu Island. And the genealogies of many of the Koreans' big names can be traced back to China – they are all descendants of Chinese immigrants. And many ethnic groups in Southeast Asia also have Chinese ancestry.

In the general trend of ethnic integration for thousands of years, the Central Plains Dynasty has long summed up a series of experiences and methods of integration. For example, from the sealing of the toast to the transformation of the soil is a complete integration process. The former is equivalent to national autonomy, while the latter is the completion of national integration. It can be seen that the policies of the ancient dynasties all regarded national autonomy as a means of national integration. It starts with autonomy and ends with integration. Whether it is the management of the Tusi or the rule of the fetters, the purpose is for the ultimate integration.

Of course, this eventual convergence may not be realized, and there are many examples of failures. However, in ancient times, the Han dynasty in the Central Plains, even including the Manchu Qing Dynasty, promoted integration through autonomy, and never engaged in the Tusi system on the territory that had been integrated. It's just that the national integration of the Manchus did not include the integration of the ruling nation and the ruled nation......

As a former Manchu bureaucrat, Zeng Guofan was proficient in the application of the world. Of course, he is proficient in this traditional method of ethnic integration. The solution he is proposing now is actually a variant of "changing the land and returning it to the stream". The Mongol tribes were changed from nomadic to settled, and then sent officials to rule, while the central government invested a certain amount of financial resources in the development of education and infrastructure. Helping the settled Mongols integrate into the big family of the Chinese nation – of course, helping to integrate, not helping the Mongols to grow stronger. The things that grow and grow usually have to work hard and struggle for themselves. Just like the Mongols of Genghis Khan's generation, they could grow by exterminating men of other peoples and then merging their women.

However, it is not easy to integrate the current more than 400 Mongolian tribes by "changing the land and returning to the stream" - due to the northward and westward expansion of the Ming Empire, the Mongolian tribes that were originally under the rule of the Russians have now become subjects of the Ming Empire, and many Mongolian ethnic groups living in Northwest Kazakhstan and Western Siberia were expelled to the territory of the Ming Dynasty by Tsarist Russia - similarly, the Russians on the territory of the Ming Dynasty were expelled like the Cossacks.

In addition, a part of the mixed race of Mongolians and Central Asians (that is, the fusion of murderous men and sleeping women) also abandoned the true god religion and converted to Lamaism under the education of the Mongols who moved to Kazakhstan (education with a broadsword), and became a member of the Mongols again.

So now the number of Mongols in the territory of the Ming Empire (including the Kazakh Khanate and the jurisdiction of the Eastern Siberian Company) is large. Divided into more than 400 tribes, the population is more than 4 million! Moreover, in order to win over the Mongols to deal with Russia before, Emperor Zhu appointed himself as the Great Khan of Mongolia, and also named a large number of Mongolian princes, the largest being the Khalkha Mongol and Ili Mongol five county kings, and there are thousands of dukes, county dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons, and these Mongolian vassals are all vassals, that is, the ministers of the great emperor who have tribal territories. Similar to the toast of the pseudo-Qing and the former Ming Dynasty, but the reputation is better than that of the toast, and it is not earthy at all. Other than that. Zhu Jishi also specially formulated a "Vassal Law" to determine the rights and obligations of Ming vassals.

The purpose of enacting this "vassal law" is actually to promote the integration of ethnic minority areas into Greater China. However, in the process of implementation, many problems have been encountered. It is mainly the upper strata of ethnic minorities who have benefited a lot and are not too resistant to entering China, but it is difficult for the middle and lower strata of ethnic minorities to integrate into Greater China. Even if some vassals took the initiative to hand over their territories in exchange for rich annuities, it was difficult for the Ming government to govern their territories, and in some areas it even provoked popular uprisings. Therefore, the Ming court is not very enthusiastic about taking over the vassal territory, and would rather maintain the status quo.

"Your Majesty, there were many problems in the imperial court's takeover of the vassal territory before, and the reason for this was that money was the word." Zeng Guofan has actually participated in several such takeovers. Know why. "Most of the vassal territories are remote, and the people are poor. The customs are very different from those of the Central Plains, and rashly taking over the implementation of Han law will definitely cause some trouble......"

Zhu Jishi waved his hand. Interrupted: "I'm not afraid of trouble!" He paused, and then said, "I am not only the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but also the Great Khan of Mongolia!" ”

Yes, the Great Khan of Mongolia and Genghis Khan's method of ethnic integration! Under the guidance of Genghis Khanism, what troubles could not be solved?

Zeng Guofan smiled, nodded and said: "Genghis Khan's thunder method is the last resort, before that, my Ming should still give priority to education and help." Perhaps they can give some support on top of financial, educational, construction and other issues to help them get rid of poverty and promote their entry into China. ”

Zhu Jishi first nodded, and then shook his head: "It's not that I am reluctant to give up the silver, but the silver is spent, and they are willing to enter China?" His worries are justified, the silver of later generations has not been spent, but the effect of national integration has not been seen much! Although the finances of the Ming Empire were much stronger than those of the Qing Dynasty, there was no way to compare them more than a hundred years later. It is not easy to spend millions a year to support the areas with young people, but can it really be useful?

He seemed to be saying to himself: "Spending money may not be useful...... And there are so many Mongolian tribes, and there are millions of barbarians outside Mongolia, how much does it cost? ”

Zeng Guofan was shocked, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, educating barbarians is a long-term thing, and you can't rush it. The minister suggested that the Mongol tribes be helped to enter China in phases and batches...... It is up to the heads of various ministries to choose whether or not to enter China. Those who are willing to enter China can choose a land with abundant water and grass for their subordinates to settle, the imperial court can allocate funds to build a city for their clan to live, and the imperial court can fund the education of their people. The annuity received by the head of each ministry is also generous. For those who are unwilling to enter China, the imperial court can settle their troops in relatively barren places, and also make them settle down for livestock and not move at will. The imperial court also did not help him, and the head of his clan also had to pay an annual tribute in accordance with the "Vassal Law".

In addition, in view of the limited financial resources of the imperial court, it could only accept a certain number of Mongol tribes into China each year. More than 400 departments can be divided into 20 years, with an average of more than 20 pieces per year, and it should be enough to allocate 200,000 silver dollars for each department's various support funds at a time, so that it is only more than 4 million a year. The court can fully afford this money, and it is much more economical than using soldiers. ”

Zhu Jishi nodded slightly, and ordered: "Weng Tongyi, write it down, in the future, all vassal and autonomous lords will not be able to receive funding from the imperial court under any circumstances unless they send troops to help in the war." ”

Weng Tongyi hurriedly took out a pen and paper to record Zhu Jishi's words, he knew that these words were an edict issued to the cabinet!

"The autonomous lord should rely on himself for everything, and if he wants to get the help of the imperial court, he can only enter China!" Zhu Jishi also said, "After entering China, the imperial court should subsidize local governments to develop education and promote the economy as appropriate. However, it is necessary to follow the relevant norms of compulsory education in the Ming Dynasty and implement education that is consistent with that of Han and China, and Chinese characters and Nanjing official dialect must be used as the only legal language.

After entering China, the local household registration will no longer indicate the nationality, and the surnames of residents will also need to follow the Han customs and adopt Chinese surnames...... All this must be made clear at the Kuritai Conference and the heads of the Mongolian tribes! I took out the folk fat and folk ointment of the Han people to help the Mongolian people in the north, and what I wanted was to promote the eternal integration of their race into China! (To be continued)