Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 445: Experience in reducing vassal status
Although Chang Qianhu was a little surprised by the changes mentioned by Monk Dao Yan, he only raised his eyebrows and did not appear too surprised.

"Beizhen Fusi has been arranging personnel here for many years. I have watched the development over the years with my own eyes. If the situation changes, the focus of work will naturally need to be adjusted. We are also prepared for this kind of thing." He said : "But why do you take this matter so seriously? We are so eager, but we are really not prepared."

"It's not too urgent..." After he said this, Monk Dao Yan also thought about it, but finally insisted: "But I can feel that this time should indeed be a turning point. Whether we continue to monitor or exert influence , you have to choose what to do.”

"This Guo Kang has no outstanding performance in our records before." Chang Qianhu thought about it for a moment and told Dao Yan: "He played quite well with Prince Wu, but according to our understanding, it seems that Let’s get together to study some mechanical skills, do some craftsmanship, etc.”

"At the beginning, when our people delivered medicine to Princess Ma in private, she complained that the prince was following him and didn't study hard anymore. He went to tinker with carpentry stuff every day. The two of them acted like a craftsman. At that time, we thought he was just an incompetent playboy, and he had some eccentricities."

"However, two years later, the princess also looked away. She said that the Roman Khanate, like the Ming Dynasty, had been established for some time. At this time, such dissatisfaction would naturally appear among the children of aristocratic families. People, and I'm afraid there are quite a lot of them. Compared with other people who like wine and sex, indulge in dogs and horses, or even indulge in more bad hobbies, they are just practicing some craftsmanship, which is already considered very good."

"That's understandable." Monk Daoyan nodded.

"Yeah. My family can't get any better, hey." Chang Qianhu said with emotion that his children were not living up to expectations.

"When I first came to perform my duties, I also thought that Prince Wu was overseas and didn't have to worry about so many serious matters, so I slacked off. Later, I gradually realized that King Wu's behavior was more... unique. In fact, many things were different. He's supporting it, and it doesn't look easy. I guess the princess also knows this, so he just plays it off and doesn't care."

"So, we did not regard the Crown Prince and Mr. Guo as our main targets of attention. Instead, King Wu, since the failure to reduce the vassal state, has been traveling around every day, dealing with people from all kinds of religions, and has also taken in a large group of roosters, dogs, and thieves. Because we are afraid that something might happen to him, we have to allocate manpower to protect him. In fact, that is the focus of our work."

"And even if we take into account future changes, the focus of our concern is not the crown prince and his friends, but the little princess." He expressed his judgment.

"Why are you suspicious...or paying attention to her?" Monk Daoyan said.

"It's not doubtful. Her performance is even public." Chang Qianhu said with some entanglement: "To be honest, you have
'Intuition', I actually have it too. "

"After working overseas for so many years, I have some instinctive reactions. Of course, this is not just a guess." He thought for a while and said: "I didn't want to comment on King Wu. But you know , what are the regulations for intermarriage with outsiders in past dynasties, including this dynasty?"

"I know some of the laws and regulations of this dynasty." Monk Daoyan said modestly: "When the country was founded, Emperor Taizu issued an order that Mongolians and Semu people should give priority to intermarrying with Han people, and were not allowed to marry each other privately. Only if you really can't find it and no one wants it, can you intermarry within the family. Therefore, it depends on how the inside and outside are distinguished. If it is between Han and Hu people, then intermarriage is encouraged."

"At that time, it was necessary to break down the distinctions between various ethnic groups as soon as possible to prevent them from gathering together to cause trouble." Chang Qianhu hesitated: "And the Mongolian and Semu people in China felt different from those here... Having said that, Who are the French? Are they considered perverts?"

"It's not Mongols, it's not Han, it's not Goryeo, it's all people with various eyes." Monk Daoyan didn't seem to have thought about it seriously before, so he thought about it and said.

"In the laws of this dynasty, Semu people are generally classified into two categories: Qinchao and Huihui. Most of the time they are treated the same, but sometimes they are separated. The other categories are too small, and they basically fall into these two categories. Chang Qianhu said.

"The Kipchaks are mainly nomadic people from outside Mongolia. The French are not nomadic, so they are not considered Kipchaks. So if you look at it this way, they can be considered a different species."

"Then we can only distinguish it this way. Anyway, this category has been widespread since the Yuan Dynasty." Monk Daoyan thought for a while and tentatively agreed with the French's statement that they belonged to Huihui.

"Yes, let's classify them like this for now." Chang Qianhu nodded: "But in this regard, we have actually never encountered any precedent before."

"Don't talk about the return of the Taixi people. Even in places closer to the Central Plains, the clan must be cautious about intermarrying with these people. Especially marrying a Hu girl is actually more troublesome than getting married."

"This dynasty has not often married outsiders, but we can look at past examples. I heard that during the Tang Dynasty, the court would marry outsiders from time to time to control the barbarian forces on the border. But letting the clan marry Hu women would mean On the other hand, it is a marriage by someone else. So unless it is forced, the court will try its best to avoid it. The few times when Turks and Uighurs wanted to marry their daughters to the Tang Dynasty were also forced by this general trend. "

"Now that King Wu is far away in Western Thailand, I am not worried that the barbarians will use this opportunity to interfere in court affairs. But later, didn't the court send tokens? Didn't you also bring rewards such as service badges? Then, from time to time, the court still wants King Wu to Where are you going back?"

"You and I can't predict this kind of thing." Monk Daoyan shook his head and said, "We can only see what His Majesty wants when the time comes."

"I still don't know what the title of this princess from France is. This is not because I want to interfere with King Wu's family affairs. It's really that the matter has become big and I don't know how it will end." Chang Qianhu began to pour out his bitter words. : "Because we are not the only ones paying attention to this issue, and that princess is not stupid either. She also knows about this kind of problem."

"Not long after she came here, she started moving around. She obviously wanted to compete for this status and use it to manage her own power. My lieutenant investigated the background of the French royal family and found that the women in their family have always been It’s very troublesome. I don’t know what will happen this time.”

"Did she and Princess Ma start a fight?" Monk Daoyan asked.

"Not yet, but I feel it will be a matter of time." Chang Qianhu said truthfully: "This princess's abilities and skills do not seem weak. In this short period of time, she has won over many people, including those who were previously There was civil strife in France, the exiled nobles, and the French and Italians running industries here. A group around her has quickly formed around her."

"This is normal. France is a big country in the West, and the French royal family is also the oldest and largest noble family here." Monk Daoyan said: "Not to mention Italy, even Eastern Europe, they have a lot of involvement. Although Women, but the ladies here also have a tradition of participating in politics. To many forces, this princess is also a 'rare thing to live in'." "Yes, that's why it's troublesome." Chang Qianhu shook his head: "According to our understanding, Prince Wu Over the years, he has only been able to maintain it through hard work. Apart from gathering dozens of servants with rough backgrounds, he has not managed much power. He has some personal relationships with the Roman Khanate, but there is no political cooperation. As for Princess Ma lives in seclusion all year round and does not care about worldly affairs."

Monk Daoyan nodded, not looking surprised by this.

"We have nothing to do about this matter. We can only wait until King Wu comes back to take care of it." He said lightly, not looking too concerned.

"I guess I can't control the King of Wu..." Chang Qianhu muttered helplessly: "The cause of all these things is that the King of Wu went to France and insisted on being a guest and guiding others to reduce the vassal state. In the end , but almost got himself killed. Not only did he lose the capital, but he was also being hunted, and he was in such a hurry that he dressed up as a priest and fled overnight to escape."

"Anyway, it seems that His Highness King Wu is not suitable for the political situation here." Chang Qianhu was a little more polite and said: "I suspect that if this princess causes trouble, he will not be able to control it... …”

"Then he shouldn't be suitable here." Monk Dao Yan also complained, and he didn't look too optimistic about King Wu.

"We are far away from here. It takes half a year to report a letter and come and go. Many times it is really too late. Therefore, Your Majesty allows us to do things expediently. From myself to the captains and squadron officers working below, there are basically It's a high-profile job. If it were normal things, we would have solved most of them ourselves." Chang Qianhu said to him.

"But this kind of thing is indeed beyond my ability and beyond the scope of my authority. You have not brought new orders. If there is no better way, I can only collect intelligence first and then send someone back to inform me. Wait until His Majesty makes a decision."

"Beizhen Fusi can report to His Majesty according to regulations. Of course, I have no right to interfere with the matters you think are necessary to report." Monk Daoyan avoided the topic tactfully.

"Even so, we must have a focus when performing official duties. We are not smart enough, so it is necessary to ask others for guidance. After all, everyone has a mission, and they are all for the Ming Dynasty." Chang Qianhu was already prepared. Said: "Especially this matter, it involves a high level and is of great importance. The 'hometown' side is likely to take countermeasures and adjust our authority and allocated resources. Master, don't you also have a lot of important things to arrange? Huh? For the convenience of everyone in the future, I would like to ask you to give me more guidance."

These words obviously moved the old monk. He thought for a moment and said: "I still think that this is indeed not a big deal. Instead of reporting it now, it is better to wait for this round of events to pass and see what happens."

"His Majesty has issued edicts more than once before, requiring each vassal king to abide by the law and restrain himself and his family. However, there are still vassal kings who do not listen to the advice and violate the laws. After repeated warnings were ineffective, His Majesty told everyone at the court meeting that they must be dealt with seriously. Moreover, , this is not because he disregards brotherhood, but because Emperor Taizu has already warned him."

"It turns out that when Taizu was in power, he felt that some vassal kings were acting wantonly, but due to the feelings between father and son, he did not deal with them severely. It's just that many vassal kings are really domineering and often do evil, so they can't just let it go. So So I specially compiled a book called "Yu Zhi Fei Lu" to record the illegal behavior of the feudal kings. At that time, this record had not been released publicly, but was hidden in the palace to warn them."

"Your Majesty has always valued brotherhood. When Taizu wanted to punish the kings, he once interceded for several people. But when it comes to official matters, the world can only be the most important thing. Therefore, he held the kings of Zhou and Qin responsible for the most serious crimes. , and also published the crimes recorded by Taizu back then to show that there is no partiality."

"The King of Zhou and the King of Qin were punished during the time of Taizu, and there is no way to excuse this time. Your Majesty, according to the story of Taizu, exiled the two kings, reduced the fiefdoms and population of the two vassals, and ordered his prince to take over the sacrifice."

"The two kings pleaded guilty, and the King of Zhou was exiled to the southwest again, under the supervision of the Duke of Guizhou; the King of Qin was exiled to the north, under the supervision of the King of Yan. The other guilty vassal kings were intimidated, and they all came forward to blame themselves. So the world felt that Your Majesty could take care of both the public affairs and the public affairs. With righteousness and family ties, he is a qualified elder brother. Before I came, I followed King Yan to the capital for an audience, and I also met all the vassal kings. Everyone felt quite guilty and expressed that they must correct themselves in the future. "

"I know about this matter." Chang Qianhu probably understood: "You mean, compared with those vassal kings, what King Wu did seems not serious, right?"

"According to Taizu's records, King Zhou was good at killing court officials, and he especially liked girls who were engaged; King Qin was even more ridiculous. Not only did he like prostitutes and nuns the most, but he also kept many men in the palace. It's really hard to describe." Dao Yan The monk nodded: "King Wu only married a Hu princess for political goals. In terms of etiquette and morality, it is not too serious..."

Chang Qianhu also nodded helplessly.

Apparently he understands this too.After all, a large part of the illegal deeds of these vassal kings were probably collected by their people in Fusi, Beizhen, starting from the Taizu era.

"If King Wu had been so well-prepared when he cut off his vassal, there might not have been so many things that followed." He murmured.

Monk Dao Yan fully agreed with this.

The emperor had obviously been preparing for the reduction of vassal vassals for a long time. Even now, perhaps the father and son had already started planning when Taizu was still here.

Apart from anything else, the book that specifically recorded the vassal king's faults but was not published at the time was obviously intentional by Emperor Taizu.Moreover, what is more interesting is that almost all of the lawless feudal kings recorded in this book were in the second line of fiefdom, and the King of Sai who was in the first line was rarely mentioned.Therefore, although it was said that he kept it as a warning to the kings, in fact, I am afraid that it was a weapon that he intentionally left for his son, which is equivalent to an extra layer of assurance.

Judging from the results, this kind of treatment may not be a bad thing.For example, although the King of Zhou was always absurd, after being exiled to Yunnan, this man who Zhu Yuanzhang called "no one so stupid since ancient times" actually began to study local plants and medicine seriously.Not only did he collect prescriptions and medicines, he also took the lead in compiling the medicinal book "Puji Prescriptions" and the emergency reading "Hundred Herbs for Relief from Famine".

In order to make it easier for others to understand, he specially drew graphics and tried to describe them in concise language.He even tried the medicine himself at any risk.I don’t know what happened, but since I became a prince, I suddenly seemed to have a different temperament...

From this perspective, King Wu's plan to cut down the feudal vassals seemed like a joke.However, it was difficult for the two people present to comment directly.

(End of this chapter)