The solemn statues of gods and temples as numerous as locusts greatly shocked King Qin.
This reminded him of the word "obscene sacrifice".
If he were in the Ming Dynasty, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, he could even directly send troops to attack, confiscate temple property, and obtain a large amount of money.
But in Saigon, as conquerors, the Ming army could not do anything. They could only respect them and gain support.
Because the army's food and grass depended partly on the countryside of Saigon, this was also the intention of the court, and self-sufficiency was the way to go.
"Shivism——"
Zhu Cunming frowned and sat down, muttering.
"Shiva, what a strange name, this so-called Mahavamsa, the destroyer and propagator of the world, where does this religion come from?"
There was only one interpreter beside him. He was also a Han businessman doing business in Saigon and Champa City. Now he was recruited into the palace to serve as a clerk and an interpreter.
"Your Highness, this Lord Shiva comes from the ancient country of India. He traveled across the ocean and came to Champa and Saigon. His emphasis is that people are divided into four classes, each in their own place, and they cannot be changed or married for life."
Zhang Wenzhou, wearing a green official robe, stood respectfully beside King Qin, explaining softly, staring at the prince.
"Oh? Which one am I?"
Zhu Cunmai turned his head and asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, according to the Shiva religion, the first class of sacrifices is Brahmins; the second class of monarchs and officials are Kshatriyas; the third class is Vaishyas, who are farmers, and the fourth class, Sudras, are
artisan."
"In addition, there is the fifth class with the lowest price, which is the untouchables."
"Absurd——" King Qin scolded him when he heard this: "With such suppression, wouldn't the people's resentment boil over?"
"During the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, I heard that there was also a four-class system, but it fell over within a hundred years. This is a lesson from the past."
"Your Highness, there is Shivaism, which teaches people that as long as they practice hard in this life or believe in Shiva, they can be reincarnated and become superior people in the next life."
Zhang Wenzhou sighed: "It's strange to say that because of Shivaism, there have never been any rioters in Champa for hundreds or thousands of years, only the invading Khmer Kingdom and Annan."
"Huh--"
"Tell me carefully——"
Suddenly, King Qin became interested.
After getting off the carriage, a servant immediately brought tables and chairs, and the two sat opposite each other. Next to them was a stream, with the water flowing and the birds chirping on the trees, which was quite like a mountain forest.
By the stream, a Shiva temple the size of an earth temple also appeared in front of it. The surroundings were clean and there were altars piled with stones in front.
Zhang Wenzhou elaborated on the matter, such as vegetarianism, the prohibition of killing cattle, and the prohibition of contact with non-untouchables, etc., which was an eye-opener for the latter.
In the blink of an eye, half an hour flies by.
After hearing this, King Qin sighed repeatedly: "I never thought that there is such a religion in the world. I almost missed it."
Shivaism, also known as Hinduism, is naturally a pawn of the ruler, making people more obedient than Buddhism. This Confucianism is easier to capture people's hearts, and no monarch would be happy to see it.
Suddenly, he stood up directly, exuding indescribable confidence: "This trip is not in vain."
"Conquer Saigon and occupy the city. I finally found a way."
Just like that, he hurriedly boarded the elephant carriage, three steps and two steps at a time.
Everyone was a little surprised, but they had no choice but King Qin, who was the eldest, so they could only follow his wishes and return to the city.
After entering the narrow palace, after a night, King Qin still had a smile on his face, which seemed to be unable to go away.
Zhu Jing, who was on patrol in Champa, was also hastily called back, which made him difficult to understand.
In the main hall of the palace, apart from him, the other ministers were also standing, as many as a hundred people.
Many of them were scholars who had already taken refuge in the Ming Dynasty, and some were former officials of the royal family.
For example, Shi Liuguan, the chief minister of the Qin Dynasty, was in charge at this time.
He was born in the same Jinshi family and is now in his early forties. He has served successively as county magistrate, magistrate, Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and doctor of the Ministry of Rites. He has very rich political experience.
However, his status as a Jinshi made his future visible to the naked eye. In this case, it was a wise move to choose to follow the King of Qin and become a vassal.
At worst, I'll wait until I'm old to become an official and return to my hometown.
This is also the reason that all civil servants understand deeply.
Even the King of Qin was no exception.
After all, he only needs these people to help him establish the Qin State, not to care about their old age.
"Your Highness——" Zhu Jing said respectfully.
To the civil servants on the side, he was not restrained and nodded directly.
After all, according to the Ming Dynasty's official rank, as a baron, he is a superior person and does not need to salute at all.
"General Zhu, sit down quickly."
King Qin spoke quickly: "The main reason I am calling you back this time is because there is a major event that needs to be implemented in Champa and Saigon, that is, to establish a system as soon as possible."
"System?" Zhu Jing's brows jumped, feeling that this word was very fresh.
"That is the sum of the Qin State's official system, etiquette, sacrifices, and military systems. Your Majesty calls it the system."
King Qin explained casually.
When Zhu Jing heard about the emperor, she immediately looked serious.
"In my opinion, the first thing that should be announced is the official system of the Qin State. In this regard, there is a case in Korea, so there is no need to be too troublesome."
Nine grades and eighteen grades, six books of ministers changed to judgments, etc. This is just a few changes in the name, and the rest has not changed much.
These official systems were drafted by the imperial court as early as when King Qin was about to declare his rule.
The biggest change is that the name of the cabinet can no longer be used, but is named by the King of Qin himself:
"What I want is to call it the Council of Government. All the people in it will be prime ministers, and the first person will be the prime minister."
Hearing this, Zhu Jing's expression didn't change much, and she didn't even make any unnecessary movements.
The King of Qin did not take it seriously: "The local area is a prefecture, and the county is directly divided, without the division of provinces. Its rank is the same as that of the Ming Dynasty."
"This is the right thing to do." Zhu Jing flattered with a smile: "Compared to the Ming Dynasty, the Qin State is just a province, and it is more appropriate to govern it with prefectures and counties."
After establishing the official system, we can arrange for those demoted nobles to integrate into the officialdom, thus quickly establishing the Qin court.
This is what Zhu Cunqi should have done long ago, but before it was just a city like Saigon.
"Liu Guan, the chief minister on the left, is the prime minister, and Shi Maofu, the chief minister on the right, is the second prime minister..."
Soon, the eunuch on the side began to read out the appointment and dismissal decree.
Some high-ranking officials in the royal palace are basically either serving as prime ministers, while the rest are serving in the six ministries, so there is a real shortage.
Of course, as a prince, his imperial edict should be called the Royal Edict to avoid conflict with the Ming Dynasty.
At the local level, the Qin State currently governs two prefectures, namely Saigon Prefecture and Champa Prefecture, with three counties each.
The position of prefect is high and powerful, and of course it is held by former officials of the royal family.
As for the officials such as Tongpan and Tongzhi, due to the small size of the Qin State, they were personally appointed by the King of Qin. Seventy percent of them were held by local nobles and bureaucrats, changing the current unstable situation.
However, at the patrol camp, King Qin said to Zhu Jing: "Many soldiers from the Beijing camp have worked hard to develop. In addition to a certain amount of money, I decided to give half of the patrol camp quota to the children of the Beijing camp."
Zhu Jing was startled when she heard this. She never thought that there would be benefits from Beijing Camp.
Then he bowed down and said, "Foreign ministers, I would like to thank the king for his kindness on behalf of the soldiers."
Since the Qin State was officially established, Zhu Jing must be a foreign minister, and the two people did not and could not have the same intimacy as before.
King Qin showed a slight smile: "In addition, I am planning to form a Royal Forest Army. If there are people in the capital camp who are willing to stay in Qin, I hope the general will not stop them."
Hearing this, Zhu Jing was silent for a while, and could only grit her teeth and respond: "This is natural."
"Your Highness, just relying on the land of the two palaces and hundreds of thousands of people is not enough. Now there is Annan that has not yet been captured. After the Royal Forest Army is formed, it will also be under my command."
King Qin's smile froze and he looked at Prime Minister Liu Guan.
The latter nodded slightly, and King Qin then smiled and said: "Of course, the war is tense now, and except for the guards who should be in the palace, the rest are under the command of the general."
The military power was intact and Zhu Jing had no objection to not delaying his conquest of Annan, so he simply listened with open ears.
At this time, King Qin was speechless and handed the rest to Prime Minister Liu Guan.
This important minister of the Qin State turned around and said with a serious face: "The important affairs of the country are worship and military affairs. Now it is time to build an ancestral temple."
"This is what it should be. Needless to say (the officials in the Imperial Court's Department of Rites have nothing to do and have finished their work), the most important thing now is education."
"Every county must build Confucius temples and City God temples. This must not be ignored."
"Besides this, the imperial examination is the foundation of our Qin State. We must win over the indigenous nobles, scholars and people without delay."
At this time, suddenly the Ministry of Rites judgement said with a wry smile: "I know the anxious thoughts of the King and the Prime Minister, but whether it is Saigon or Champa, there are very few people who can read Chinese characters and speak Chinese."
"If it were an imperial examination, I'm afraid it would be too hasty."
"That makes sense." King Qin nodded.
Liu Guanze said: "That's the case, but the imperial examination cannot be delayed. The court can be established next year, which is the autumn of the seventeenth year of Shaowu. It has been nearly a year. Are you afraid that no one will know the poetry and calligraphy?"
"I don't believe there aren't any smart people among these hundreds of thousands of people."
"I agree." King Qin nodded: "At worst, we will lower the difficulty when the time comes, as long as it can be used."
"Your Highness, the Holy Ming—" the ministers praised and bowed.
At this moment, King Qin felt like he was sitting on the clouds, and he felt a chill in his heart that went straight from his heels to the back of his head.
This is the pleasure of having great power.
Under such circumstances, who would be willing to leave the feudal state?
After enjoying himself, King Qin’s back and forehead were covered with sweat, and his whole body seemed to be soaked:
"In addition, I went to inspect the place yesterday and noticed the situation of Shiva religion..."
King Qin described the situation in detail, especially emphasizing the four-class system of Shivaism and its impact on the people.
He cautiously said: "I want the people to continue to maintain their religion, but among us Han people, it will no longer be practiced."
"However, in order to facilitate exchanges, marriages and other matters, I will not be included in this. Ministers, those above the fifth rank are Brahmins, and those below the fifth rank are Kshatriyas."
"As for ordinary soldiers and poor people, it is Vaishyas."
"Of course, this is just their identity when they are dating. You can marry each other and you don't have to follow the rules of Shiva."
At the end, he added: "It's just a temporary measure."
After hearing this, the ministers fell into deep thought.
There is no doubt that if this standard is implemented, they must be a vested interest group, most of them are Brahmins.
But at the same time, if left unchecked, I am afraid it will be affected in the future and lead to class solidification.
"Your Highness, this is a variant of the four-class system during the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, and it is not good for the court -" someone raised his head and said.
Clearly, he is passionate.
"Your Highness, although we may gain temporarily, in the long run, we in Qin may become barbarians and be laughed at by the court——"
Someone else thought of the key.
Prime Minister Liu Guan thought for a long time and finally spoke first: "Your Highness's words can be said to be a good policy adapted to local conditions."
"Everyone, think about it. The people of Qin are all in the fourth class. If we are not in the fourth class, wouldn't we be isolated from them?"
"Like a fish out of water, how can it last long?"
"Just imagine, when the time comes, the local people will collude with the local people, become powerful, evade the chief officials, and even occupy the court and threaten His Highness..."
"Then we didn't come here in vain?"
These words immediately woke up the officials.
It does make sense.
Therefore, the voices of approval outweighed the objections.
Zhu Jing, who was on the side, had a clear view. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at King Qin on the throne.
A faint smile could be seen on the corner of his mouth, which obviously made him very satisfied.
Soon, everyone's thoughts were unified and officially implemented.
"Dear ministers, let's choose an auspicious time and immediately write to the court to request the founding of Qin -"
King Qin stood up with a loud voice and a smile on his face.
At dusk, the meeting ended.
After the party was over, as Prime Minister, Liu Guan rode in a carriage and returned to the mansion where he was distributed.
The housekeeper looked longingly at the door and immediately went to greet him: "Sir, several big nobles who occupied the city came to ask for an audience, and they sent a lot of women, money, and slaves."
"Even the land exceeds a hundred hectares."
"Huh?" Liu Guan was unhappy at first, and then thought of the policy to appease the Champa nobles, he casually said: "Are they still at home?"
"Still there!"
When they arrived at the hall, they saw several nobles in robes sitting there.
Seeing Liu Guan coming, everyone stood up one after another, showing great respect.
Obviously, as the chief historian of the Qin Palace, Liu Guan had great power over them with the return of the Qin King.
After the interpreter changed the conversation, the nobles greeted them respectfully, and then talked about their treatment:
Is it derogation or beheading?
Or should they learn from their predecessors and demote all the caste and blood of these nobles to commoners, or even untouchables?
This is the most difficult for them to accept.
As the chief civil servant, Liu Guan, although the identity of the prime minister has not been revealed, he has great say, so they can't wait to consult.
After Liu Guan pondered for a moment, he said: "Your noble status will be discussed later, but I can guarantee that your wealth and name will not matter. It's just your property. I'm afraid you will lose a little."
"After all, the Qin State is now very strapped for using troops abroad."
The nobles patted their chests one after another and expressed their willingness to donate to state affairs.
Liu Guan then smiled with satisfaction and said: "You are smart. Let me tell you one more thing. Shivaism is not only stable, but your caste is also relatively safe at the moment."