Zhang Ximeng had a headache, which caused Zhu Yuanzhang to make trouble.
"Lord, that boy Chengtian has been successful enough, so don't support him. I'm afraid that one day, he will really become unscrupulous, and that will cause trouble."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily and said nonchalantly, "How else can he mess with this? Besides, this kid is your son after all. Even if there is something wrong with him, it won't be a problem. Don't worry, let's discuss important matters!"
Zhu Yuanzhang sat down on the chair, poured a cup of tea, took a sip, and frowned.
"That's wrong! Why don't you drink Longjing?"
Zhang Ximeng said: "Nothing, just a change of taste. This is Guizhou's high mountain tea. How do you like it, my lord?"
Lao Zhu took another sip and then said: "The taste is very rich, the bitterness and fragrance are very obvious, somewhat similar to Tieguanyin... It is suitable for martial people to drink. People like Mr. should still drink Longjing."
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "No, I'd better drink this... If my lord thinks it's good, I'll help sell it more. If you're lucky, hundreds of thousands of tea farmers in Guizhou will have a chance to make a living."
Lao Zhu pondered for a while and then suddenly laughed, "Sir, you care about the folks in Guizhou! To be honest, we are also worried now and don't know what to do."
Lao Zhu sighed: "Now there is a group of folks from Fengyang who have promised to go to sea and are willing to explore outside. But when they are about to leave, we remember that there are a lot of things going on here... I think they are abandoned by the Ming Dynasty."
People?"
Zhang Ximeng shook his head repeatedly, "Of course not. Not to mention those words about being connected by blood. They went to help the Ming Dynasty. Instead, we abandoned these people. What did that mean? Is it ungrateful?"
Lao Zhu looked solemn, "Sir, you are right, but once this person goes to sea, what will happen to the next generation? After they settle down and live and multiply, what will happen to the next generation?"
Zhu Yuanzhang asked questions one after another, involving more and more questions... Zhang Ximeng also pondered for a while, and for a while he didn't know how to answer.
For example, a group of immigrants from Fengyang and a group from Yangzhou chose to settle on both sides of a river... In order to compete for water sources, they started fighting. How should that be calculated?
Instead of fighting, the two families joined forces and bullied the local natives, killing a lot of them. How should this be calculated?
If there are state troops behind the natives, and they come to attack the Ming immigrants, do they need to send troops? Do they need to be killed no matter how far away they are?
They successfully produced grain and wanted to sell it back to the Ming Dynasty. How should tariffs be levied?
A few years later, they settled down there and gave birth to children. Are their children considered citizens of the Ming Dynasty? Can they return to the Ming Dynasty and take the imperial examination?
These questions are all good, but there are others that are more complicated.
What if there are people of the Ming Dynasty who pretend to be Japanese pirates and rob the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty?
Should it be under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of War? Or should it be handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
For another example, what should we do if the people of the Ming Dynasty pretend to be foreign vassals and come to pay tribute?
The territory outside is vast and there is a lot of land. What if a powerful country really develops and in turn mobilizes troops and generals to attack the Ming Dynasty and invade the Central Plains. If you want to enter China and replace the Ming Dynasty, what should you do?
Faced with these many problems, Zhang Ximeng suddenly understood a little bit.
Why have all the dynasties followed the simple formula of leading the Barbarians and Di and entering China?
After all, when faced with such an extremely complicated matter, it may not be a good idea to cut it all in one fell swoop, but it is definitely the simplest.
Therefore, immigrating overseas is not only a cultural issue, nor is it only a matter of technical conditions.
It also contains complex legal issues, which are messy and entangled.
Not to mention in the Ming Dynasty, even in later generations, it would be difficult to explain clearly for a while.
If you can't control it, just ignore it.
Obviously Zhang Ximeng can't be lazy and avoid it, this is his responsibility.
"Lord, we must first establish a few basic principles. When dealing with overseas lands, I think we should adhere to the principle of first possession."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "What do you mean?"
"Whoever arrives first and gets it first will get it. If we plant a flag and report it to the court, we must recognize it. If others want to occupy it, it won't work. When we immigrate, we still need to avoid armed fights, especially
You can’t kill each other.”
Zhang Ximeng's worries are not unfounded. In fact, in history, during the voyages to Southeast Asia, immigrants from various places often fought with each other, and blood flowed into rivers. It is not new.
Guangdong and Fujian, from different provinces, can fight each other, and Zhangzhou and Quanzhou can also fight... As for different village surnames and clan fighting, let's not go into details.
Therefore, if there are no good rules or proper arrangements, there will be no need for overseas barbarians. If you fight among your own people, you will suffer heavy losses.
Therefore, when it comes to overseas development, the number one principle is the principle of first possession.
Whoever gets there first will get it, no random robbery, no killing each other.
"This one is very good, are there any more?" Lao Zhu asked.
Zhang Ximeng said: "The next step should be to start with merchants and settle the fields, and then use troops to build the country."
How to put it this way, if a fleet finds a piece of fertile wasteland that can be cultivated and produced, then it must first cultivate the land, plant food, lay a foundation, and then consider the next step.
In other words, you must accumulate enough wealth before you can consider establishing a country, issue decrees, canonize, and other matters.
If a country already exists and immigrants from the Ming Dynasty want to directly occupy the land, they will probably not agree.
Is it possible to immediately deploy cavalry, horse artillery and start a fight?
Obviously it doesn't work either.
Therefore, Zhang Ximeng advocated focusing on trade. He first understood the situation and had a certain foundation before proceeding further.
Of course, this is not absolute. For example, Goryeo and the Japanese Kingdom are in front of us. The Ming Navy can reach them and the door has been opened, so there is no big problem.
You can go in directly, and depending on the situation, you can either engage in business, or cultivate and farm... But there is also a problem, that is, if you immigrate these lands that have been controlled by the Ming Dynasty, you cannot establish a country casually.
Because some of these lands were assigned to the princes as feudal states, and some were promised to nobles, they were already considered owner-occupied lands. They could not be allowed to be occupied at will.
You can live a life, do business and make a fortune, that's all fine, but you can't build a country.
Zhang Ximeng mentioned another thing, "Lord, do we need to set some standards...such as how much land they occupy when they immigrate, how much they produce, and what kind of treatment they can enjoy! For example, we have already determined that there will be a kingdom
, duchy, prince, uncle, are there any more, do you want to arrange a sub-state, a male state?"
Zhu Yuanzhang also felt his scalp numb after hearing this, "It's better not to go to so much trouble. Under the uncle's country, let's count it according to cities, towns and villages! If you immigrate, dozens or hundreds of people will become a village. If you have some business transactions, you can be upgraded to a village. Town. When commerce and trade flourishes and the population exceeds 10,000, it can be counted as a city, and so on."
"Are we counting local people, or only people from Ming Dynasty? Are local people... considered people?" Zhang Ximeng's voice was not loud, but he asked another fatal question.
Human, what counts as human?
It has hands and feet and belongs to the genus Hominidae.
This is a human being, do you have any questions?
Sorry, it really does.
Because for a long time, indigenous people were not recognized.
They are not persons in the legal sense, so they can kill at will.
One bullet, one life.
A scalp, a piece of fertile farmland.
Therefore, the issue of human registration is not a trivial matter... You must not be deceived by any lofty historical documents. Don't think that the "people" mentioned in it automatically include you.
After all, in the eyes of some people, you are just a yellow animal.
In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang also had a deep understanding of this matter.
After all, under the rule of Dayuan, the life of the Han people in the south was equivalent to that of a donkey!
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered over and over again, and finally said: "Since we are going out, fighting for land, reclaiming wilderness, fighting and killing people, it is inevitable. But we must also stop killing, and we still have to use the labor of the local people. Another point, if the local people If people are willing to join the Ming Dynasty and become Chinese subjects, they must be given a way. If in some places, the number of Chinese subjects reaches more than 70% and their hearts are drawn to the Central Plains, they can also be included in the mainland and treated equally with the Central Plains!"
Zhang Ximeng had a smile on his face. He had been with Lao Zhu for so many years. He knew very well that although Zhu Yuanzhang would not be merciful when killing people, he would always consider ordinary people the most. Even if they were overseas, Zhu Yuanzhang would be willing to do so. Give them a way to survive.
So from this point of view, having the Ming Dynasty take the lead in overseas development and China taking the lead in the world is a kind of luck for many people, at least it will not be easily erased.
"Lord, since you said so, this involves educating overseas, and our civilized habits must be spread to the outside world. Schools, temples, ancestral halls, these things must also be sent out together."
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and couldn't help but sigh.
First of all, temples, ancestral halls, and clan forces were all suppressed by the Ming Dynasty and even needed to be completely eradicated. But when it came time to expand to the outside world, these forces needed to be used.
Sure enough, power abhors a vacuum.
Without a strong administrative system or even a sufficient garrison, it cannot bring enough order, so it needs to rely on the past to fill it.
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt a strong worry, and he suddenly thought of a situation.
"Sir, if they are allowed to grow bigger and develop, will they revive the dead and affect the Ming Dynasty in turn?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled helplessly, "So it is not a small matter to immigrate overseas and expand on a large scale. It is not impossible for father and son to be reversed and the host and guest to be in different places."
Zhang Ximeng added: "So, how to control overseas is also a university question. We seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. There are still many things we need to do!"