Since they are the people of the Ming Dynasty, there is no distinction between high and low; Even if it is a feudal society, they are all human beings, how can there be slaves?

Therefore, the emperor must first change his nationality to a good one in law, and abolish the discriminatory and insulting regulations such as those who are untouchables are not allowed to take the imperial examination and wear identifying clothing.

The thinking and habits of later generations made the emperor unaccustomed to the lowly status system. Eliminating the lowly status and at the same time liberating the productive forces is progressive and enlightened good governance.

Xue Zhen doesn't know what to liberate the productive forces, but the emperor is indeed a benevolent and good act, and it is not an exaggeration to compliment the sycophants.

"The lowly status has been cut, and it is listed with the gangsters, and if there is another crime of abuse and killing, the criminal department should severely punish it." The emperor was not stunned by Xue Zhen's sycophancy, his face became serious, and he solemnly explained.

Poor people are not only discriminated against, but also mistreated. For example, the servants of Ningguo are like slaves, and good citizens can beat and abuse them at will. There are even examples of untouchables being beaten to death by good people, and good people are not punished by the law.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, and the emperor knows this truth very well.

It is impossible to put an end to all the mistreatment of untouchables, and even the local government may not take it too seriously.

Therefore, after the introduction of the new policy, the emperor should grasp a few typical examples and deal with them fiercely to set an example.

And this is also the emperor's habitual practice, not only Xue Zhen, but other courtiers with a heart should also be able to guess.

In fact, not only Zhu Youxiao, but all dynasties and dynasties are almost the same routine. In order to cheer for the new initiative, there is a boost, or to make an example, or to reward a thousand gold, and there is always no way to run the word reward and punishment.

"Wechen understands." Xue Zhen bowed down and said: "Whoever dares to defy the royal law, regardless of the rank and power, the micro-ministers will be severely punished." ”

Seeing that Xue Zhen understood what he meant, the emperor softened his tone and said a few words of encouragement before letting Xue Zhen retreat.

Although it was good governance, the emperor did not completely remove him. For example, the lazy people in Zhejiang, the Tanhu in Guangdong, and the emperor still have deep meanings.

Moreover, before the decree was officially issued, the emperor also issued a secret decree to the governors of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Mekong provinces, asking them to follow it.

In addition to these local governors, the emperor also gave special grace to the Maritime General Association.

Li Dan's righteous son, Li Guozhu, now came to Guangdong with the oracle and silver dollars. After greeting the local government, his own officials helped him and took him and his servants to the eastern part of Guangdong first.

"In addition to the four people, there is another kind, which is called the Tan household, which is not allowed to live on land, does not list household registration, takes the boat as its home, and pays taxes to the official ......."

The scattered descriptions of the Tan family in ancient books are endless, "the dialect is still barbaric, and the Yi is still mixed with eggs." ”

The words "barbarian, barbarian" in the sentence indicate that. In the concept of the Central Plains people who settled in Guangzhou in the early days, the indigenous Tan family was an outlier.

Therefore, the Tan family could not be recognized by the people living on land, and the government did not include the itinerant fishermen in the register, and they were not allowed to be buried on land after death, so they had to be buried in the sand hill area formed by the beach. Some of the graves were left uncovered after heavy rains. Wild dogs compete for food, and it is extremely miserable.

There are Sha Tin folk singing: Sha Tin Tan's water flows with firewood, barefoot is not allowed to go to the street, the bitter water and salty tide float the boat, and the vast sea buries the corpses.

The government's removal of lowly status does not immediately change the traditional concepts that exist in people's hearts.

For example, they are despised by the people on the shore, and they are not allowed to wear shoes, build houses, or marry with people on the shore. Some rules have no legal provisions, but they are more restrictive than official rules.

Of course, some of the Tan households are also due to their living habits, or they don't want to see the discriminatory eyes of the people on the shore, and they don't want to live on the shore, and they feel that the life of the people on the water is also good.

Although the households are not listed, they also have to pay taxes and are subject to the control of the government. Therefore, the officials were familiar with the situation, found the leader, made an appointment, and gathered the households to announce the new policy of the imperial court.

When the day came, the Tanmen came to the shore on time to assemble. I was nervous, and I didn't know what kind of harsh laws the government had on these untouchables.

Li Guozhu was dressed in a civil costume, and looked at the hundreds of men, women, and children below with a smile, thinking that the more people mobilized, the better, and first get a county master who is really lacking.

"Master Li." The official was still quite respectful to the lord who held the holy oracle, and when he saw that everyone was gathered, he bowed down and said, "The people are almost there, please give a lecture." ”

Li Guozhu arched his hand and said, "Thank you for your help, there is a heavy thank you afterwards, don't shirk!" ”

"I don't dare to say thank you, I don't dare to say thank you." The official resigned humbly.

Li Guozhu smiled, stepped forward to glance at everyone, and said loudly: "Li Guozhu, a certain and noble lord of the six grades, came to convey the imperial court policy to you today, which is closely related to you, and even related to the great events of future generations for a hundred years. ”

Everyone looked at each other, all of them were puzzled, they didn't know whether such a big thing was happy or worried about themselves.

Li Guozhu deliberately paused, as if he wanted to sell Guanzi.

"What's going to happen again? Is it to invite us to live ashore? People on land also look down on us. ”

An old man glared at his granddaughter, stopped her muttering, and thought: I am afraid that I will not be able to easily agree to invite the Tan family to live ashore, unless a piece of land is set aside to set up a separate village.

Li Guozhu smiled at the silent people and said: "There is an order from the imperial court: those who are willing to move to Mekong Province will be removed from their nationality and changed to civilian nationality. Although they are naturalized, they can also manage their original business, and they can be built and lived on land on the shore by the government. ”

The crowd let out a heckling cry, all shocked by the news. They talked to each other and whispered.

Li Guozhu looked at it with a smile, waited for the noise to be a little quieter, and then said: "Mekong Province is my Ming territory, just south of the former Zhancheng State, with thousands of miles of fertile land and rivers, but it is a famous land of fish and rice. ”

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and motioned for the servant to open the box, which was full of silver dollars full of white flowers and glittered with sunlight, which made people feel dizzy.

"In response to the call of the imperial court, those who are willing to go to Mekong Province will be rewarded with a ploughing ox if they go ashore to cultivate; Those who continue to engage in water livelihood will be rewarded with 10 silver dollars......"

It's a field, it's a ploughing cow, and it's a silver dollar, and Li Guozhu can be said to have taken out all the temptations.

People were shocked again and talked louder than they had just been.

Finally, an old man stood up, bowed very respectfully, and said, "Dare to ask Lord Li, how far is Mekong Province from here?" Is it possible to set aside a separate land and set up a village, so that we and other Tan people can live together? ”

Li Guozhu waved his hand happily and said, "There is absolutely no problem in demarcating land and setting up villages. As for the journey to Mekong Province, it will take a boat from Guangzhou to the west, and it will take three to five days. ”

Most of the Tan people have been looking at the shore for generations, hoping to find a place to establish a home and bury their bones on land.

Now, this wish, which has been considered hopeless in this life, has suddenly come true, and emotions such as excitement, excitement, and doubts are mixed, so that most people don't know what to say for a while.