Chapter 1263: Manchu-Han Fusion, Marrying Ruoxi

The 46th year of the Kangxi reign finally arrived.

When Su Mingzhe learned that the navy had brought back the first batch of silver, he personally went out of the city to greet them and then sent them to Changchun Garden:

"Father Emperor, all the money Ishimi Silver Mountain has earned in the past year is here!"

Ten thousand boxes filled with silver were neatly arranged in the yard like a military formation.

The 10,000 imperial guards who were escorting them had their eyes wide open and didn't dare to breathe.

Kangxi, who was already in his fifties, could not hide his feelings:
"This silver mine can earn 50 million taels of silver a year, which is almost as much as the annual tax revenue of the Ministry of Revenue!"

"Such a rich silver mine is also a blessing for our Qing Dynasty!"

"Old Four, how do you think we should spend this money?"

It has to be said that Kangxi was a man who understood economics. He knew that keeping money in the national treasury was just dead money and was far less valuable than spending it.

Su Mingzhe thought for a moment, then said:

"Father, do you still remember the story of Feng Xuan building the 'Three Burrows for the Cunning Rabbit' for Lord Mengchang?"

"Ok?"

Kangxi was stunned, then reacted:

"Are you going to use this money outside the customs?"

The story of "a cunning rabbit has three burrows" begins with Feng Xuan's "Xue State Market" to build a "new burrow" for Mengchangjun.

The State of Xue was the fief of Mengchangjun.

Now that Su Mingzhe mentioned the story of "a cunning rabbit has three burrows", Kangxi naturally thought of this.

“Not just outside the pass!”

When Su Mingzhe saw Kangxi thinking this, he subconsciously curled his lips.

When Kangxi mentioned "outside the Great Wall", it basically meant that Kangxi did not really regard the Han people under the rule of the Qing Dynasty as his own people.

But it doesn't matter, I have already planned it:

"Father Emperor, although the Manchus have unified the Central Plains, there are still many people with radical ideas who do not recognize the rule of the Qing Dynasty."

"In fact, in my opinion, whether it is the Manchus, the Mongols, or other ethnic groups, tracing back to their origins, they are all descendants of Yan, Huang, and Miao, and descendants of the Chinese nation. Therefore, I am determined to follow the example of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty and promote the integration of the Manchus and the Han people..."

"no!"

When Kangxi heard his son's words, his face changed immediately and he became furious:

"You are destroying our ancestors' foundation..."

"Father, please listen to me first!"

Seeing that Kangxi didn't want to finish what he said, Su Mingzhe started to scold him. After waiting for Kangxi to stop scolding him, he finally spoke:

"Father, since the beginning of history, the Dongyi, Xirong, Nanman, and Beidi have constantly invaded the Central Plains. There was chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms were returned to the Jin Dynasty, and the Five Barbarians entered the Central Plains. For a time, sixteen kingdoms emerged in the north. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Khitan, Jurchen, Mengwu, Dangxiang, and Tubo tribes emerged. How many tribes are left now? How many descendants of the surviving tribes are still alive?"

"The Qing Dynasty has been established for sixty years. According to the fate of ordinary dynasties, how many more years can it last?"

"Father Emperor, as the saying goes, those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the present! Those who do not plan for the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a region!"

"Therefore, in my opinion, the integration of Manchus and Han people is an inevitable trend that cannot be resisted!"

Kangxi listened to Su Mingzhe's enlightening words, but facing Su Mingzhe's serious expression, he sighed and shook his head slightly, saying:

"Fourth Brother, you have been smart since you were young and learn everything quickly. Even when it comes to handling government affairs, you are countless times better than the other brothers! However, you are still too young and your ideas are too aggressive..."

"It's only been a few years since we, the Manchus, entered the country, and we haven't even gained a firm foothold yet, and you're already thinking about the integration of the Manchus and the Han..."

"If you do this, you will only lose the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, and it will not be of any practical benefit to maintaining the rule of the Qing Dynasty!"

When Su Mingzhe saw that Kangxi did not agree with his idea but did not get angry, he knew that Kangxi had also thought about this issue.

In this case, there is no need to talk about any great principles:
"What does the Emperor think is the foundation of the Qing Dynasty?" "Of course it is... the Eight Banners!"

As an emperor, Kangxi would naturally not be stumped by such a question.

Su Mingzhe listened, nodded in agreement, and then asked:
"Then, in your opinion, how many years can the fighting power of our bannermen last?"

"You have to know that the Mongol cavalry that followed Temujin to sweep across the world only maintained the Mongols' rule for more than a hundred years! Even powerful empires like the Han and Tang dynasties only ruled for three or four hundred years!"

"Compared to them, how long can the rule of the Qing Dynasty last?"

Kangxi was upset by his son's question:
"If it is according to your idea, the integration of Manchus and Han people can consolidate the rule of our Qing Dynasty?"

"At least it can ease the conflict!"

Su Mingzhe said affirmatively:

"Father Emperor, you often go to the south of the Yangtze River, so you should know that the bannermen and Han people in various places have always lived separately! If my Qing Dynasty is destroyed, if the people of the new dynasty want to retaliate, it will be easy to massacre all my bannermen!"

'Massacre', 'revenge'!
These two words combined together are like a sharp sword, radiating cold light.

Kangxi was instantly reminded of some things that happened decades ago when the Qing Dynasty just entered the pass, such as: "Ten Days in Yangzhou" and "Keep the head but not the hair"!

For a moment, Kangxi was extremely confused and didn't know how to communicate with his son.

After all, as Su Mingzhe said, once a new dynasty comes, the new dynasty will massacre the bannermen.

Moreover, this kind of thing is visible to the naked eye and is simply unavoidable.

Su Mingzhe saw that Kangxi had finally come to his senses, so he continued:

"In fact, this great integration is not just an integration between the Manchus and the Han people!"

"You know, in addition to the Manchus in Shengjing, Jilin, Heilongjiang and other places, there are dozens of ethnic groups in Mengwu, Qinghai, Plateau, Tianshan, Uliastai, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places. They are also descendants of Yanhuang and Miao, but they have lived in border areas for a long time, which is why they are different from the Han people."

"The ethnic integration that I want is to set up 'Xuanfusi' and branches of the Imperial Academy in these places, and recruit the children of local chieftains to attend school!"

"…Are you planning to implement the 'Enfeoffment Order' among the chieftains in various places?"

Kangxi suddenly understood what Su Mingzhe meant.

Emperor Wu of Han implemented the "Enfeoffment Order" in order to resolve the separatist rule of local princes.

Today, Su Mingzhe has set up many "Xuanfusi" in order to win the hearts of people of all ethnic groups other than the Han people and use them to fight against the Han people.

"Not bad!"

Su Mingzhe laughed again and said:

"However, we cannot favor one over the other. We must also win over and divide the Han people..."

After listening to Su Mingzhe's plan, Kangxi's frown finally relaxed:
"Old Four, since you have a detailed plan, just do it!"

Su Mingzhe secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Kangxi was convinced by him.

If Kangxi did not agree with his plan, in order to implement it smoothly, he would have to be "unfilial" once.

By then, whether Kangxi suffered from hemiplegia or something else, he would not be able to do anything about it.

Fortunately, Kangxi agreed, which was the best.

Everyone stay safe and sound!

"I have something else to ask for your approval, Father!"

Before Su Mingzhe left, he finally remembered one thing:
"I have been engaged to General Maertai's daughter for more than a year. Last year, due to Aunt Su's incident, the wedding was postponed for a year. Now that the mourning period has passed, I want to find an auspicious day to marry General Maertai's daughter!"

"For this matter, you can just ask the Imperial Observatory!"

Speaking of General Maltai's daughter, Kangxi began to have a headache again:
"This rebellious son is good in everything except being filial to his father!"

(End of this chapter)