Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 1365 Zhu Ke Arthur
"Okay, I'm sure you won't be disappointed." Zhu Zhen smiled and asked him to sit down, then began to test him: "What is the current situation in Jiuzhou?"

Yang Shiqi introduced: "The situation in Kyushu is very good. The Shimazu family has been eliminated internally, and the threat from the Northern Dynasty has been eliminated externally. The economy has also recovered quickly. The people have followed our requirements and now mainly grow cash crops and eat rice imported from China. Their lives are much better than before. Everyone praises our benevolent government!"

"Those daimyo and lords are now rich and have begun to pursue silks, satins, jewelry and jade. The trade volume of the Maritime Customs has increased dramatically year by year." Yang Shiqi said as he reported the data to Zhu Zhen to support his conclusion.

He had an excellent memory and extraordinary administrative talent. After hearing his report with extensive citations and rigorous arguments, Zhu Zhen praised him endlessly: "Not bad, not bad. The king was right about him."

Zhu Zhen's requirements for Jiuzhou are not high, as long as he can make a small profit without losing money and not rely on the mainland for bleeding. This is also his minimum requirement for Han Yike and others.

But he estimated that in Yang Shiqi's hands, Jiuzhou could become a cash cow.

"Let's talk about other aspects." Zhu Zhen was more concerned about the naturalization situation of Kyushu, or whether the gap with the Southern Dynasty continued to deepen?
"In other aspects, according to the prince's arrangement, we have promoted Confucianism and Buddhism in Jiuzhou." Yang Shiqi said, "We have invited hundreds of well-known Confucian scholars from China to give lectures in Jiuzhou. As expected, they are very popular among all walks of life. Even King Changqing is fascinated by Confucianism and often sends people to copy the lectures of Confucian scholars. He is particularly interested in Lu Jiuyuan's theories of 'enlightenment of mind and nature' and 'mind is principle'."

"Okay, it doesn't matter which one you like, the key is to only talk about philosophy, not reality. The more abstract, the better." Zhu Zhen smiled and said, "I see that they praise the Tang style, but what they really like is the Wei and Jin style. Then follow their preferences and guide them towards the Wei and Jin style."

"Your Highness really hit the nail on the head." Yang Shiqi agreed and said, "That's what I saw. The mentality of the Japanese nobility is very similar to that of the Wei and Jin literati. If we introduce the Wei and Jin traditions, it shouldn't be difficult to adapt to the local conditions."

"That's right. Everything from pure talk to metaphysics to Five Stone Powder, arrange for them!" When talking about how to trick the Japanese, Zhu Zhen's eyes lit up and said, "What about religion? Have Buddhism, Lamaism, and Brahmanism been arranged?"

"This has to be done bit by bit," Yang Shiqi coughed lightly, thinking to himself, how much hatred and resentment does the prince have? He quickly answered seriously:

"At present, Buddhism is still the main religion. In the past five years, we have introduced thousands of monks from China and built hundreds of temples in various prefectures and counties in Kyushu, including more than ten yellow temples. As for the Brahmanism that the prince mentioned, we also invited several Brahman priests from Champa, but the effect was not very good. Basically no one recognized it."

"Why?" Zhu Zhen asked.

"The Japanese know the Ming Dynasty very well. They know that none of us believe in this stuff, so they look down on it." Yang Shiqi smiled bitterly and said, "They will only regard it as a good thing if we believe in it and use it. It's difficult to expect them to believe in something we don't believe in."

"Then you and my second uncle should make some sacrifices and convert to Brahmanism." Zhu Zhen said, "Just say that Buddhism is defeated by Brahmanism, believe in Shiva, practice yoga, and start a beautiful new life."

"..." Yang Shiqi's forehead was black, and he asked, "Are you serious, my lord?"

"Of course I'm serious." Zhu Zhen nodded heavily and said, "As I said before, if you can make the caste system take root in Japan, you will be our national hero!"

"They already have a very strict hierarchy..." Yang Shiqi said softly, "I think it's about the same as the Brahman caste." "It's far from enough, we must increase our efforts!" Zhu Zhen said in a deep voice, "The soil here is very suitable for the development and growth of the caste system. As long as we cultivate it patiently, we can definitely turn this place into a small India!"

"Yes." Seeing that the prince attached so much importance to this matter, Yang Shiqi nodded and said, "Since the prince thinks it is necessary, then the student is a Brahmin!"

“Hahaha, don’t think it’s such a big sacrifice.” Zhu Zhen laughed loudly and said, “The Brahmins are very happy!”

~~
Zhu Zhen's arrangement was not a whim, but was made after careful consideration.

It is well known to all generations that the biggest obstacle for India to achieve industrialization and become bigger and stronger is the deep-rooted caste system.

The reason is simple. In a country where class status will not change no matter how hard they try, the lower class people think that so-called reform and strengthening the country are the business of the upper class and have nothing to do with them. They will not develop a sense of ownership that "every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country".

Without the participation of the general public, what is the use no matter how wise the ruling class is?
This has long been seen by people of insight in India, and the caste system has been abolished by law, but Hinduism still dominates all classes in India, and its deep-rooted influence cannot be changed by a piece of paper. Although the Indian government has been committed to eliminating the barriers between castes, the results have been minimal.

Therefore, as long as Hinduism still holds the dominant position in India, the untouchables will remain untouchables, the Brahmins will remain Brahmins, and India's huge population will be a burden rather than a boost to its development. There is no way to make the country truly strong.

This is all old news, but what many people don’t know is that a similar caste system once existed in Japan.

In the Edo period, in order to consolidate its rule, the Tokugawa shogunate also fixed the already strict social class hierarchy in law. It was also divided into five levels: the royal family, the nobility, the common people, the non-humans, and the eda. This is the so-called family system.

Under the family system, everyone's social class is hereditary and fixed, and upward mobility is prohibited. Therefore, everyone's future is already determined. Only the Chinese are qualified to be officials, and no matter how hard the common people work, it is useless.

Not to mention the non-humans and eda of the fourth and fifth classes, who were oppressed at the lowest level of society, subjected to humiliation, and whose lives were not guaranteed. When samurai got a new sword and wanted to test its sharpness, they could just find a "non-human" and kill him without any consequences.

Unfortunately, Japan's family system had no religious support and was too young to be as deeply rooted as India's caste system, so it was basically abolished during the Meiji Restoration. Although society was still strictly hierarchical, it at least opened up a path for class advancement, giving ordinary people hope. When everyone had the same desire, the country would naturally become stronger.

Zhu Zhen now wants to see, if the caste system was introduced to Japan a few hundred years in advance, and then added with Brahmanism, whether the knowledgeable people in Japan in the future could break through this cage and make the flowers of evil bloom on this sinful land.

(End of this chapter)