The next day Chen Jingke went to the palace and gave an overview of the results of the negotiations with Longhu Mountain, focusing on the subsequent missionary work to Lingnan and Nanzhong areas.
"It's easy to conquer the place, but it's difficult to conquer the heart. The reason, as I told you before, lies in cultural identity and interest relationships."
"They have lived there for generations and have their own customs and habits. There is a psychological gap between them and us, and they are naturally unwilling to accept our rule."
"It's OK to conquer it by force, but how many lives will it take to completely conquer the barbaric land in the south? Even if it is conquered by force, what will happen to the subsequent governance?"
"If we can guide them to change their customs and keep pace with us in culture and beliefs, we can weaken their resistance to the greatest extent."
"Just imagine, if they grew up listening to stories about Shen Nong Tasting Hundreds of Herbs, the Yellow Emperor's battle with Chi You, the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty, and even your Majesty's heroic stories, how could they not agree with us?"
"There won't even be any need to use force. As soon as the army arrives, there will be many tribes who admire the strength of the Central Plains and eat pots of wine to welcome the king's army."
He spoke with great excitement, spitting foam from the mouth, and looked like a tiger from the Central Plains Dynasty whose body shook and all the barbarians bowed to him.
Li Shimin on the side was dumbfounded when he heard this. This kid has been a little swollen recently, and he actually painted a big cake for me.
He shook his head and said: "Then tell me first, the barbarians have their own customs and habits, why would they convert to Taoism for no reason?"
Chen Jingke said: "Because faith is like painting pie. Whoever paints pie well will be believed. Buddhism can spread all over the world because they are better at painting pie."
"The countries in the Western Regions originally believed in shamanism. Later, Zoroastrianism, which was good at drawing big cakes, was introduced, and they converted to Zoroastrianism."
"Hundreds of years ago, Buddhism, which was good at drawing big cakes, was introduced, and they converted again. Now the entire Western Region has been transformed into a Buddhist country."
"Most of the large and small forces in our southwest are also influenced by Buddhism. This is especially true in China. It is now the religion with the most believers and the most influence."
"All this is just the spontaneous missionary behavior of some eminent monks. They did not send out any soldiers or give any benefits. They relied on their ability to paint a big pie."
"In the past, Taoism had huge loopholes in this aspect, but after the reform, it has made up for this shortcoming. When it comes to the ability to draw cakes, I dare say it is unparalleled in the world."
"Now we have an organization and a plan to preach. If we have the support of the imperial court, why can't we do it?"
Li Shimin retorted: "It took hundreds of years for Buddhism to spread to China before it reached its peak today. How long will it take for Taoism to change the southern barbarians? We, the Tang Dynasty, cannot wait for hundreds of years."
Chen Jingke said confidently: "With the support of the imperial court, it won't take long, because behind Taoism is the Tang Dynasty and the entire Chinese civilization."
"There is no need for the imperial court to actually send troops to protect us. We only need to warn the barbarian tribes not to harm the Taoist priests who are going to preach."
Li Shimin asked again: "If the Taoist priests go there and act recklessly, won't it ruin the reputation of the imperial court?"
Chen Jingke said: "Such a situation may still occur among wild Taoists, but this time it is an organized operation by the Taoist sect. They will naturally choose reliable people to go."
"Take Longhu Mountain as an example. Their ancestral court is within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and they are determined to restore the glory of their ancestors. How can they do this to annihilate their future?"
Li Shimin was somewhat moved, but seemed to have some concerns and could not make up his mind.
Chen Jingke did not rush and waited for his final decision.
After a long time, Li Shimin raised his head and voiced his worries, saying: "If you allow preaching, how can you be sure that the old events of the Yellow Turban will not happen again?"
Chen Jingke was a little surprised. He didn't expect Li Shimin to be worried about this matter. He couldn't help but shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, you think the Yellow Turban Uprising is related to religion?"
Li Shimin asked: "Isn't it?"
Chen Jingke affirmed: "Of course not. How many of the people who rebelled really believed that the Zhang Jiao brothers were gods? The real reason for their rebellion was that they could no longer survive."
Li Shimin frowned. He didn't like the word uprising, but he didn't refute it.
"There is no essential difference between the Yellow Turban Uprising and other peasant uprisings. They are just people who can't survive and take risks in order to survive."
"As long as the imperial court allows the people to survive, how can it be possible to persuade them to rebel at the risk of killing the nine tribes with the help of a few Taoist priests?"
"If the imperial court makes it difficult for the people to live, won't they rebel even if there are no Taoist priests?"
"Buddhism is currently the largest sect. There are temples and followers everywhere. If you want to worry about them, you should worry about them first."
"You didn't allow them to preach because you were worried about them inciting people to rebel. Why do you distrust Taoism so much now? Isn't this very unfair?"
"Bang." Li Shimin slammed the table and shouted angrily: "How brave, are you accusing me of being unfair?"
Chen Jingke finally figured out Li Shimin's character and was not afraid. He said, "This is just reasonable. I am doing this for the Tang Dynasty and Chinese civilization."
"First use religion to ideologically disrupt them, then use force to conquer them, and finally use culture to assimilate them. This is what I have always advocated."
As expected, Li Shimin didn't do anything to him, but said impatiently: "It's the same thing again, my ears are almost ringing."
Chen Jingke said: "If you are tired of hearing this, I will say it again. You have also seen the true face of the world. With your ambition, you definitely want to conquer these places."
"The world is vast. If you want to achieve this goal, you must immigrate. Only when our people of the Tang Dynasty fill every corner of the world can we complete our rule."
"But those people don't even know who they are. How loyal can they be after leaving China? How many people will be willing to die for the Tang Dynasty if they encounter setbacks?"
"I'm afraid most of them will be mothers if they have milk, and they will be loyal to whoever gives them food. Under such circumstances, do you still dare to immigrate on a large scale? Can your ambitions be realized?"
Li Shimin said a little irritably: "You are a young boy who knows nothing about state affairs. If only things were as simple as you think."
In fact, he had been persuaded for a long time, and there were two reasons why he had been hesitant. First, this kind of thing had never happened before, and no one knew the consequences. As an emperor, he had to think carefully.
The second reason is that the spies he sent out to find out the news have not yet returned specific information. Unable to confirm the authenticity of what Chen Jingke said, he did not dare to take action.
Chen Jingke had already guessed what he was thinking under Sun Simiao's guidance, and immediately said:
"I know your concerns, but continuing to hesitate like this is not the answer. Why not find a place to verify the method I mentioned."
Li Shimin said: "Oh, tell me how to verify it."
Seeing his move, Chen Jingke perked up and said, "We will conduct experiments in two places, military and civilian. Let's talk about the civilians first."
"Choose a county, preferably one with a relatively complex population. Here we can promote the concept of Chinese civilization and tell the glorious deeds of our ancestors."
"We will conduct a survey in two or three years to see if the local people identify with the Chinese ethnic group, whether they have become more loyal to the Tang Dynasty, etc."
"If everything is as I said, we will expand the scope and try it in one state. If we can still succeed, we will promote it all over the world."
Li Shimin was thoughtful, but still did not express his position. Instead, he asked: "As for the military, do you want to select an army for experiments?"
Chen Jingke knew that he did not express his position precisely because he was moved. It was just a matter of great importance that required careful consideration and the opinions of important ministers.
So I didn’t explain too much, but just followed his words:
"Your Majesty is wise, and this is what I mean. However, the military is the country's barrier after all, and the content of education needs to be different from that of the civilian population."
Li Shimin asked: "Oh, what's the difference?"
Chen Jingke said: "The army is a knife. They must know the meaning of their existence, who the owner of the knife is, who they should chop at, and why they should chop at it."
"Only if they understand this, they will not hurt their master and will be more loyal and brave."
This time Li Shimin nodded repeatedly and said: "Well said, this is the right way. You should compile the required books as soon as possible."
"Ah, I'll write it?" Chen Jingke was a little dumbfounded and said, "Isn't it better to leave such a big matter to me?"
Li Shimin smiled and said: "You made the suggestion. Only you know it best. If you don't write the book, who will write it? Write it as soon as possible and bring it to me."
Naturally, he would not leave everything to Chen Jingke for such a big matter, but would privately find a think tank to compile another set of related books.
But as he said, since Chen Jingke made this suggestion, he must have already had a full set of ideas in mind.
Ask him to write down all these ideas, which can be used as a reference. Keep the ones that are useful and delete those that are not suitable.
Chen Jingke was also very happy. He had talked about this matter with Li Shimin countless times, and they always talked about it almost every time they met. Now he finally saw the results.
As long as the concept of Chinese civilization is popularized, the assimilation of the tribes conquered by the Tang Dynasty can be accelerated. The Han people will become more powerful after absorbing hundreds of tribes.
Integrating hundreds of races can not only eliminate internal hidden dangers, but also twist all forces into one rope to conquer the world.
But these are things for the future, let’s write the relevant books first.
No, I almost forgot the original purpose of coming here. Chen Jingke hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you haven't given us an accurate answer yet on our missionary work in the south."
Li Shimin said seriously: "I can give you a chance, but everything must be based on the court's plan and you cannot act without authorization."
Chen Jingke immediately said: "Don't worry, you can just kill anyone who disobeys."
Anyway, he is not a disciple of Zixiaoguan, so he doesn't feel bad at all if he is killed for disobedience.
Li Shimin then said: "I will send an order to Lingnan and Nanzhong to ask them to give you certain support."
Chen Jingke said happily: "Thank you, Your Majesty. How about you write a handwritten edict?"
Li Shimin broke through his defense instantly and picked up the paperweight on the table as if to smash it: "Asshole, you really think I don't dare to beat you, do you?"
Chen Jingke turned around and ran away, saying as he ran, "Your Majesty, if you have nothing to do, I'll leave first. You're busy."
The corner of Li Shimin's mouth twitched, he put down the paperweight and shouted: "Go to the queen, she has something to ask you."