The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 394: One Country, Two...Divided

Looking at Yao Guangxiao's eyes full of admiration, Chen Jingke still felt very happy.

After all, this was the black-robed prime minister and the evil monk Daoyan, a figure that could not be surpassed during the reign of Zhu Di.

Being admired by such people gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

So, instead of giving the answer directly, he decided to test the other party:
"I guess you have gained enough understanding of Tianzhu over the years."

Yao Guangxiao nodded. Ever since Zhu Di decided to establish the fiefdom in Tianzhu, he had gained a comprehensive understanding of the place.

If I were not too busy, I would even like to go and see it in person.

Zhu Biao, Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi standing by also nodded silently.

For such a big event, they naturally have to participate in the whole process.

However, they knew very well that they were only there to listen to the final result, and the real decision was made by Chen Jingke and Yao Guangxiao.

So everyone remained silent and didn't make any noise to disturb the two of them.

Chen Jingke continued, "Then you should know that India is shrouded in the caste system... The entire society is like a stagnant pool of water."

"The majority of people at the bottom of society have no chance to change their fate, and therefore have no loyalty to the country."

"This is also the reason why the fighting power of the Indian nation has been low throughout the ages."

"The King of Yan's guards now have 30,000 soldiers on the ground and 20,000 soldiers on the navy. It will be no problem for them to capture Tianzhu."

Those who have no permanent property have no perseverance. It is nonsense to expect people of low castes to have fighting power.

As for the upper castes... they are used to enjoying a good life and cannot endure the hardships of the army.

Besides, if I died in the battle, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the fine wine, delicious food, and beautiful women at home.

Therefore, there are realistic factors behind the low combat effectiveness of their army.

Yao Guangxiao nodded again. He was confident that he could take over the entire Tianzhu with these 50,000 troops.

Zhu Xiongying couldn't help but straighten his chest.

We can conquer the subcontinent with a population of about 100 million with just 50,000 of us.

The Ming Dynasty is really too strong.

Zhu Di's expression remained unchanged. Except for the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he did not take any other forces in the world seriously.

It would be easy to capture just India.

Chen Jingke changed the subject and said, "But conquering the world is not easy, and ruling the world is equally difficult."

"I thought about it for a long time and came up with two different governance measures."

"First, start over."

"Since India implements a cruel racial system, the majority of the lower-class people are neither human nor ghost."

"Then we'll let them be real people..."

"After the Prince of Yan entered Tianzhu, he overthrew the local high-caste rule and granted the low-caste people civilian status."

“We also need to allocate land to them and ensure the safety of their lives and property.”

"Those who have stable property have stable heart. With the benefits of Yan State, I think the common people will enthusiastically support the rule of King Yan."

"When the time comes, we will certainly welcome the king's teacher with food and drink."

"Master, what do you think of this method?"

Yao Guangxiao was surprised at first, then he understood, and finally his expression became calm.

After Chen Jingke finished speaking, he said, "Since Chen Bandu is interested in arguing, I will speak directly."

"Although this method sounds good, it is... difficult. Very difficult. It can be said to be the most difficult way."

"If this method is implemented, Yan State will probably never be able to rule Tianzhu, and even Ming Dynasty will be dragged into the quagmire."

Chen Jingke did not comment: "Oh, why?"

Yao Guangxiao said: "The caste system of India originated from religion, which is their belief."

"And religious belief is unreasonable."

"Not to mention the Indian barbarians, even among the common people of the Ming Dynasty, there are many who are obsessed with superstition and religion."

"If the imperial court had not strictly prohibited it, many people would have voluntarily become slaves of Buddhism."

"If we don't let them be slaves, they will still hate the court."

It is really incongruous for a monk to criticize religion all the time.

But Yao Guangxiao said it very naturally, and Chen Jingke didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.

Zhu Di had seen this kind of scene many times and thought it was normal.

Only Zhu Xiongying and Zhu Gaochi had very strange expressions on their faces.

Isn't this monk afraid of being blamed by Buddha?

In fact, only those who truly understand him know.

Yao Guangxiao believed in the "Buddha" in his own heart, not the clay statues in the temple.

What he believes in is Buddhist thought, not some illusory gods.

"Even the people of the Ming Dynasty are like this, let alone the Indian barbarians."

"If we abolish the caste system from the beginning and promote the Chinese ideology and system."

"I'm afraid that those lower castes will not only not be grateful to us, but will also regard us as enemies."

Chen Jingke couldn't help but nod secretly, this truth had been verified in his previous life.

India has abolished the caste system legally, but it still permeates the entire society.

Because this system originates from faith, abandoning the caste system means betraying one's own faith.

Many people believe that they are of a low caste because of their serious sins.

If you serve the gods well and atone your sins in this life, you can be reborn as a high caste person in the next life.

Therefore, they would rather be low caste people than give up their faith.

It is so difficult to change people's minds in the 21st century, let alone in ancient times.

And even if a new system is established, what will happen?
Abolishing the caste system and establishing the county system would require a large number of officials.

Where could the State of Yan find so many officials to rule a population of about 100 million?

Do you really think that there are too many scholars in the Ming Dynasty to use?
It can be said that trying to tear down and rebuild a system is completely a thankless task.

Yao Guangxiao continued, "We will be a minority if we go to Tianzhu. To rule Tianzhu is to use a small tribe to control a large tribe."

“If there were no religion, and no strict hierarchy to imprison people’s hearts, those who were enlightened would turn around and overthrow us.”

“Maintaining the caste system will make everything simpler.”

"We only need to make ourselves Brahmins and Kshatriyas to achieve our rule over India."

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "Great minds think alike. Your idea coincides with my second measure."

"In fact, we are not the only ones who do this. When the Aryans conquered India, they transformed themselves into Brahmins and Kshatriyas."

“Even the third class of Vaishyas are Aryans.”

"The natives of India can only be Shudras of the fourth class and untouchables of the fifth class."

Untouchables are untouchables who are not even qualified to be slaves.

At this point, he changed the subject and said, "But where do you think the Ming people should be placed?"

Yao Guangxiao remained silent.

He thought about this problem and believed that after the establishment of Yan State, Han people would definitely be migrated there from Ming Dynasty.

And the number of people migrating will not be small, possibly millions.

Given the Chinese people's emphasis on their descendants, it won't take many years for the population to reach tens of millions.

We can’t classify everyone as Brahmins and Kshatriyas, right?
Therefore, the third class of Vaishyas is the most suitable.

In fact, it is quite good that Vaishyas have the right to engage in business.

However, there is one shortcoming that can never be overcome.

That is, the caste system cannot cross classes. Once they become Vaisyas, these Han people will no longer have the possibility of becoming officials.

Moreover, the caste system strictly prohibits inter-class marriages. Brahmins and Kshatriyas can intermarry, but those below them cannot.

If this continues, within a few generations, ordinary Han people will be separated from high-level Han people. This is fatal.

Chen Jingke paused for a moment, and seeing that he had no intention of answering, he continued:
“How can we ensure our independence without abolishing the caste system?”

"If we fail to do this, it won't be long before the Yan Wang family is assimilated by Tianzhu and will no longer be Chinese."

"Have you ever thought about how to solve this problem?"

The expressions of Zhu Biao, Zhu Xiongying and others also became solemn.

When going out, we are barbarians; when coming in, we are Chinese.

This is not just talk.

Since ancient times, China has not been a country that believes in bloodline only; shared cultural beliefs are also very important.

The Yan Wang family went to India as conquerors, and one of their missions was to promote Chinese culture.

If, on the contrary, we were assimilated into Indian culture, that would be a lot of fun.

In the past, they only considered military issues and never thought about this.

Or maybe I've thought about it, but just haven't come up with a good solution.

Now that the Ming Dynasty is about to take action against India, this problem must be resolved.

If you can't solve it now, it will become extremely difficult to solve it later.

Several people looked at Chen Jingke at the same time.

It's up to you to solve this problem.

"Amitabha." Yao Guangxiao chanted the Buddha's name and said:

"I have thought about this problem, but I have never been able to find a suitable solution. I hope Chen Bandu can give me some advice."

Chen Jingke didn't keep the secret and said, "In fact, the solution is very simple, one country, two..."

I spoke too quickly and almost said a sensitive word.

Chen Jingke coughed dryly to cover up his embarrassment: "Well, just divide and conquer."

Yao Guangxiao's eyes lit up. He really has a solution?

He quickly asked, "I don't know how to divide it?"

Chen Jingke explained: "We will enclose a piece of the most fertile land as the exclusive residence of the Han people."

"On this land, we will practice Chinese culture..."

The indigenous people of India are not allowed to enter or leave the land at will, and Han people are not allowed to go to the indigenous settlements at will.

Intermarriage between the two parties is not allowed.

Chinese culture was promoted here and various political systems of the Ming Dynasty were implemented.

Ordinary people can become officials through studying, and soldiers can change their class through the military merit system.

This way, it can be ensured that the Yanwang Mansion will not be assimilated by the local people, and the combat effectiveness of the Han army can be guaranteed.

Outside the exclusive Chinese circle, the caste system continued to be used.

If Chinese people became officials or nobles through military merit, they would be qualified to leave the exclusive circle and go to the indigenous settlement area.

Moreover, they went to the indigenous areas as Brahmins and Kshatriyas, that is, as rulers.

But before leaving, get a complete education.

To put it bluntly, it means telling them what they can say and what they cannot say.

What can be done and what cannot be done.

If they wanted to serve as officials in indigenous areas, they had to undergo more rigorous aristocratic education and assessments.

Try your best to ensure that everyone who appears before the indigenous people meets the standards of the rulers.

Zhu Di slapped the table happily and said, "Chen Bandu is indeed very talented. This method of divide and conquer is really ingenious."

Zhu Biao couldn't help but nod repeatedly. This method really solved all the problems.

Zhu Xiongying and Zhu Gaochi were not surprised at all. As he said before, in their opinion it was normal for Chen Jingke to be able to solve the problem.

Whenever you have a problem, just go to him. This has always been the case in the Ming Dynasty.

No matter whether he can solve the problem or not, at least he can give a good reference.

If he can't solve a problem, then there is a high probability that there is no solution.

When Yao Guangxiao first listened to it, he felt it was very familiar. Isn't this the way the Yuan Dynasty governed the world?

The Mongols have always lived on the grasslands and are not allowed to settle in the Central Plains.

They were even too lazy to send people to govern the Han people, and adopted the Han people's way of governing the Han people.

They just sent a few senior officials to monitor the local areas.

This method can indeed prevent assimilation and save the court's management costs.

But to see how big the harm is, just look at the Yuan Dynasty.

At this time, when he heard Chen Jingke propose the method of divide and rule, he was still somewhat skeptical.

But after listening to it, I realized that I was too arbitrary. Although they are both divide and conquer, the core is completely different.

While Chen Jingke was dividing the country, he did not give up his rule over the indigenous people.

On the contrary, to a certain extent, it strengthened the rule of the Prince of Yan's Mansion over India.

As long as the Han people maintain their purity, they will always be able to maintain strong fighting power.

Any rebellion by the indigenous people of India could be easily suppressed.

Under the stimulation of the military merit system, the Han army would even hope that the natives would rebel.

Economically, the Prince of Yan's Mansion could support the people in the Han area by plundering the indigenous people.

Ensure the loyalty of the Han people to the royal palace.

What if there is unrest in the Han area?
It’s too easy. The royal palace can mobilize resources from the indigenous people and form an army to suppress them.

The fundamental reason for the fall of dynasties in history was that the court could not afford to raise an army.

As long as the Prince of Yan's Palace has enough money and food, there will be no shortage of people to fight for them.

To put it bluntly, the Prince of Yan's Mansion still has one last trick up its sleeve, which is to mobilize the indigenous army to suppress the rebels.

As long as the Han area and the indigenous people do not rebel together, the Prince of Yan's Palace can suppress it by fighting both sides.

However, the Han areas and the indigenous people have different beliefs and systems, so it is very difficult for them to unite in rebellion.

It can even be said to be impossible.

Under Chen Jingke's system of division and rule, the rule of the Prince of Yan over India could be said to be as solid as an iron barrel.

If you are not satisfied with this and want to promote Chinese civilization.

The scope of the Han people's residential area was gradually expanded, and the living space of the indigenous people was gradually compressed.

Once the numbers on both sides have completely reversed, Indian religion will be abolished in one fell swoop, and Chinese culture and systems will be fully promoted.

But Yao Guangxiao reserved his opinion on this point.

As the counselor of Prince Yan, he first considered the interests of the palace, and then other things.

It is obvious that keeping the Han people and the indigenous people separate is in the best interests of the Prince of Yan's Palace.

But even so, he felt that this divide and rule measure was so ingenious and simply perfect.

"Mr. Chen has a profound opinion. I admire him."

If it were in the past, he would be very happy to be recognized by the evil monk.

Now, I'm used to it, so I'm not that excited anymore.

Chen Jingke smiled faintly and said, "Master, thank you for your praise. Whether this method can work depends on how the executor does it."

Yao Guangxiao immediately said, "Don't worry, I will never let you...let your majesty, the Prince of Yan, down."

Once the general direction is determined, the next step is to discuss the details.

This time, Zhu Biao and others also participated.

Everyone contributed their ideas and soon the general framework of the divide and conquer method was established.

As for the specific details, Yao Guangxiao needs to handle them flexibly according to the actual situation.

(End of this chapter)