Han Shizu

Chapter 2158: Sejong 34: Triggered by "labor export".
The turmoil in Central Asia needed to continue to ferment if it was to have a significant impact on the Han Empire, after all, it was too far away. In the short term, from the perspective of the Han Empire's sphere of influence, only the Northern and Kang Kingdoms and Gaochang Road were deeply affected by it, and at most, the Hexi Road was included, and its influence was unlikely to radiate further east.

Due to the spatial distance, the vast Central and East Asian continent is large enough to accommodate two, three or even more powerful land states. However, under the Han Empire system, it was psychologically difficult for the central court to accept such a reality for a while.

The results of the six major battles between Han and Iraq were also reported to the emperor in late September through the channels of communication between the vassal states and the post system that stretched from the east to the west of the empire.

The court was also shocked by the outbreak of such a large-scale war in a foreign land and the prosperity of Anxi. From the perspective of imperial civilization, they should be proud of this, because the Anxi Dynasty was nurtured by the Han Empire. However, from the perspective of the central court, they could not ignore its impact or threat to the security of the northwest of the empire.
What is worrying is that Anxi and the empire are of the same origin. If there is an unexpected change, with this title, they will be more easily accepted by the internal classes of the empire than by foreign invaders.

However, this concern was not clearly expressed, and the court only sent an envoy to congratulate Anxi on its great victory.

There are three reasons for this. First, the inertia of the suzerain-vassal relationship remains, and it is far from the time to break it up and consider how to deal with it after the break;
Second, the powerful Central Empire had its own inevitable self-confidence and even arrogance. Ships as big as mountains could not be shaken by the mere waves that Anxi had stirred up in the foreign land of Central Asia.
Third, in the second half of the sixth year of Jianlong, the imperial center focused its main attention on the state of Andong in the northeast in dealing with the relations with the vassal states. Even if it was interested in Anxi, it could not take care of it for the time being.

Something big happened in Anton Country!
There is no doubt that if something happens in Anxi and Andong at the same time, the court will definitely give priority to Andong. This is determined by historical and geographical factors.

After all, Anxi is located in a remote foreign land, and is restrained and blocked by a large number of foreign forces and pagan civilizations. But it is not the case with Andong, absolutely not!
Although the Northeast is regarded as a remote, cold and barbaric place by many scholars in the Central Plains, it is undeniable that it is the traditional sphere of influence of China. Although it is located in the marginal area, it is also an important part of Chinese history and an important supplement to culture.

Over the past thousands of years, countless states and forces have risen from that bitter and cold region, which have had a significant impact on the Central Plains dynasties.

Even if we put aside history and only look at the empire itself, Anton, after decades of sinicization and great development, cannot be ignored by the empire. It is a huge military and political force.

According to incomplete statistics, by around the fifth year of Jianlong, the population under the jurisdiction of Andong had exceeded 220 million. A large number of Han towns sprang up along the banks of the Heishui and Yazi Rivers. Hundreds of barbarian tribes emerged from the white mountains and black waters, the wild lands and old forests, and became naturalized citizens of Andong.

This is the Northeast, excluding the Liaohe Plain and half of the Northeast Plain. The population is the highest in thousands of years, and population means the development of civilization and the improvement of productivity.

Of course, the rapid increase in Andong's population is not only due to the population attraction policy that has been adhered to since the time of Qin King Liu Xu, but also related to the progress in grain production, which is the basis of population growth.

Anton has been focusing on developing the cultivation and production of basic food grains. However, due to the harsh and cold geographical and climatic conditions in Anton, there are not many food crops that can adapt to growth. Large-scale cultivation is even more difficult, and breakthroughs in grain planting technology are not easy either.

Therefore, for a long time, Anton needed to import grain from the empire to meet basic needs, and Anton's grain business was prosperous for decades.

A fundamental change in the situation occurred around the seventh year of Yongxi, when a Kangju Sogdian merchant named Tuji, with his caravan, traveled thousands of miles to the Kingdom of Andong by chance.

After learning about Anton's desire for cold-resistant grain crops, he took the initiative to go to the Suihua government to make a suggestion, saying that he knew that Ghazni had a kind of cold-resistant crop that met the requirements, and expressed his willingness to find it for Anton.

Fortunately, the Anton official in charge of the reception did not ignore the information provided by the Western Region merchant. He reported it directly to the royal court.

After hearing the news, Liu Wenyuan, the King of Andong, also became interested and finally summoned Tulu to the palace to listen to his introduction. After some questions, Liu Wenyuan made a decision on the spot and gave him 100 gold coins as funds to allow him to return to Kangju and bring the grain called "rye" to Andong.

The stimulating effect of real gold and silver was strong, which gave Tulu enough motivation and forced out the "supernatural powers" of merchants. Two years later, Tulu's caravan once again crossed thousands of miles to the east. The other goods were handed over to his entourage, while he himself went to the Suihua government with the rye seeds that carried his dream of wealth.

The one who received Tulu was the same farmer from two years ago. During these two years, everyone else had almost forgotten about the matter, except this farmer, who was still thinking about Tulu. If Rye was really as Tulu said, then it would concern his own future.

Therefore, the agricultural officer was overjoyed at Tulu's return. After inspecting the wheat seeds and finished products, he could not hide his excitement and quickly reported the matter. This time, the handling efficiency was even higher, and Tulu was received by Liu Wenyuan with higher efficiency.

Finally, Liu Wenyuan allocated a thousand acres of royal land outside Suihua City, assigned farmers to it, and gave it to Tulu, asking him to try growing rye, and promised that if he succeeded, he would reward him with a huge sum of money and a title.

During this trip, Tulu not only brought a large amount of rye seeds, but also a group of farmers with planting experience. They readily responded to the order of King Anton Liu Wenyuan, thus opening the prelude to the large-scale planting of rye in the eastern Songnen Plain.

Twenty years later, rye has become the main staple food for the people of Anton. Although it has a rough texture and a bitter taste, it can fill their stomachs after all. And it is a rare thing in the Northeast region with a special climate to find a grain crop that can be planted for a long time and harvested in large quantities.

During the many white disasters, frost damage, and floods, the unpalatable rye was the life-saving food, which saved countless people in An Dong from starvation and cold. Combined with An Dong's traditional animal husbandry, soybeans, and fisheries, by the Jianlong era, from the perspective of food security, An Dong had gotten rid of its dependence on external food.

Of course, from the inside of Andong, the exploitation and oppression of the lower classes by the ruling class is becoming more and more serious. This trend is even more obvious than that within the empire. After all, starting from Liu Wenyuan, the king of Andong, blood has been drawn from all classes for the strength of the country, and this pressure has been sinking layer by layer, and will eventually fall on ordinary people.

If rye had not been introduced and successfully rolled out, Andong would have been in trouble long ago with Liu Wenyuan's militarized rule. But even so, the class contradictions within Andong were much more acute than when Qin Wang Liu Xu ruled thirty years ago. In terms of internal political management and the ability to reconcile yin and yang, Liu Wenyuan was not even a little bit inferior to his father.

But even so, the cohesion of the two million people in Andong is not comparable to that of Anxi. One of the most critical factors is that more than half of the population in Andong are Han people, and other barbarian tribes have been domesticated for a long time, and there is no contradiction in religious beliefs.

Of course, during Liu Wenyuan's era, the attractiveness of Andong State to the people within the Great Wall declined greatly. Therefore, in order to maintain a rate that exceeded the natural population growth, some "special" measures had to be taken.

There are always some low-cost or "zero" cost businesses in the world, but most of them need to trample on moral bottom lines and legal standards. And how could Anton stay out of the endless black business on the South China Sea route?
Moreover, due to the shorter distance and lower risk, many merchants engaged in the "immigration" business have their final destination in Andong, and the Andong government is not stingy in this regard. This time, the incident in Andong was also due to this industry.

There are many routes to Andong, including sea, river, and land transportation. However, Zeng Hui, the "jinx" of Andong, has been working hard to crack down on this matter since he took over the Binfu. After he took control of Liaodong Road and carried out a series of severe rectifications and crackdowns on the border areas, the black industry leading to Andong has only become depressed. Even after the Zongfan Conference, the upper echelons of the court relaxed immigration restrictions, but the Liaodong Road has always implemented Zeng Hui's high-pressure policy.

This also led to the almost stagnation of the growth of the immigrant population in Andong in recent years. Therefore, in the past few years, apart from the people in Andong, the ones who were deeply hated by Zeng Hui were the businessmen engaged in black and gray industries roaming around the border between Andong and Liaodong.

Many people wanted to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin, and even tried to assassinate him, but there was nothing they could do about him. Therefore, in the sixth year of Jianlong, Zeng Hui, who was nearly 70 years old and had served in Liaodong for eight years, was eager for Zeng Hui to retire, and even hoped that he would be promoted to the capital to become prime minister.
However, the incident of Andong's "immigration business" did not happen in Liaodong, but in Yanshan South Road. In May of the summer, the newly appointed Yanshan South Road Censor Xia Song made a memorial to expose the matter, which reached the emperor's ears.

First, Xia Song arrested more than a dozen businessmen of all sizes who were engaged in "labor export" at the Tianjin Customs. After interrogation, a business that was under the banner of "immigration" but was actually engaged in human trafficking was revealed, and its mysterious veil was torn off, exposing its evil truth.

In addition to reporting the investigation process of the case in detail, Xia Song also submitted an emotional and harshly worded memorial to Emperor Liu Wenji, in which he detailed the serious harm of human trafficking to the country and the people, and requested the court to strictly rectify the situation, clear up the world, and give justice to the people.

Xia Song was a talent recommended to the emperor by Prime Minister Wang Qinruo. He had been the governor of Yingzhou. During the continuous floods in Hubei in the past few years, he was promoted for his effective relief efforts. He was later promoted to the position of Censor of Yanshan South Road. As soon as he took office, he caused a big incident.

The issue of "immigration business" should be severely condemned and suppressed, both morally and legally. Even from the perspective of ruling interests, it is worth careful consideration for the central government.

The expansion and explosion of the empire's population did indeed bring tremendous pressure on the "living people" and also brought about many social and class contradictions. Land has always been the most important property and wealth in the eyes of the Chinese people. After all, it is the fundamental thing for survival.

However, even the most fertile land still needs labor to manage and cultivate it in order to generate wealth. And all of this ultimately depends on the population, especially the young and middle-aged. Although the empire has basically realized the use of land as the basis for taxation in tax reform, and it has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people more than 30 years later, in fact, from the court down, in the collection of many taxes, it is still inevitable to "put people first", especially in the levy of corvee labor.

From the perspective of the ruling class, their importance to the population cannot be ignored. The output, taxes and corvee labor required by the court all need to be created by the hands of the common people.

Even the powerful and bureaucrats were aware of "cherishing" the people's strength. The people's strength is financial strength. Even for the thousands of hectares of good farmland and fertile land they own, even for the sake of being the superiors and having enough people to exploit, they could not turn a blind eye to the loss of the empire's population. Strictly speaking, this involves class interests, which is also one of the contradictions and conflicts between the imperial powerful, the landlord class and the ruling class of overseas feudal states.

There are two reasons why the empire has been able to persist in its population export. First, it is a national policy that has been set since Emperor Shizu. Apart from other things, the Han imperial family has withstood tremendous pressure on the sea and land vassal states in this regard and never owes them anything.
Secondly, under the promotion of Emperor Taizu, a group of powerful people who held great influence within the empire "went into business" together. They possessed special status and power both at home and abroad, and they also played a role in promoting and facilitating it.

Compared with these two, the black interest groups that emerged around the population business are simply insignificant. It is difficult for them to influence the empire's decisions on relevant policies through the huge profits they gain from it. At most, they can drag some bureaucrats into the water and engage in some power-for-money transactions.

However, over time, the problem of population loss has gradually developed into a disadvantage for the empire, especially the black industry engaged in "labor export" trade, which has become a cancer parasitic on the huge body of the empire.

In the two or three years after the Zongfan Conference, with the new treaty and national policy of the court as guidance, merchants in this business became more unscrupulous, and more powerful people were lured and corrupted. The wise men in the court were deeply worried about this, and some local governments had already taken action, but without strong power to promote it, the effect was not significant.

As for these issues, all the high-ranking officials in the temple, from Emperor Liu Wenji to others, may have been aware of them and may have had political thoughts, but they had multiple concerns.

What Xia Song did was to expose the matter thoroughly, leaving it uncovered and leaving the court with no choice. Of course, compared to the bad nature and consequences of the incident itself, Xia Song also put a serious political issue on the table of the court.

According to the confessions of those merchants, they specialized in running the Andong route. At the same time, according to them, in the past 20 years, the number of people transported from all over the Han Dynasty to the Kingdom of Andong was definitely no less than 200,000, and they only accounted for a part of it.

At the same time, the trading partners of An Dong also surfaced one by one, including the powerful families of An Dong. What is even more shocking is that there are officials in the An Dong government who are specifically responsible for this matter, and a series of An Dong bureaucrats have also been pulled out. This is just the tip of the iceberg that has surfaced.

The Kingdom of Anton, the way you eat is too ugly! The King of Anton, too restless
As for Anton, a large number of people in the imperial court had a consistent attitude, full of fear and caution. In addition to considerations based on the interests of the empire's security and stability, this was also related to the "primogeniture dispute" that had lasted for decades.

Although there had never been a formal struggle for the throne between the two lines of Emperor Taizong Liu Yang and Prince of Qin Liu Xu, this kind of struggle took place countless times in secret and lasted for decades.

By the generation of Liu Wenzhi and Liu Wenyuan, this tradition had obviously continued, and King Liu Wenyuan of Andong had made many undisguised moves in this regard over the past 30 years.

The imperial court was also on guard against and restricted Andong. Since the time of Emperor Taizong, the other vassal states in the empire still retained the titles of Emperor Shizu, but Liu Xu's title of King of Qin had been lost for decades.

As for Liu Wenzhi's vigorous promotion and appointment of Zeng Hui, it was an obvious political signal that there was a fundamental contradiction between the two sides, and it became more acute as Anton Guo grew stronger.

When Xia Song used the "immigration case" to drag out Andong State and made him a target, how could those loyal and filial ministers of the "Taizong faction" in the court, who had long disliked Andong, not aim and shoot arrows?
(End of this chapter)