Chapter 1053: then translation of chapter title

On the silky-soft meadow of Yǐnmǎchuān, Chen Wuji lay reclined on a mat, signaling Yuan Jinshi to fill cups of wine for Xu Zengyi and Chen Li Man.

They were drinking proper grape wine, coming from the distant Xiyu, with a crisp, smooth taste that made it easy to overindulge.

Especially when the beautiful scenery of Yǐnmǎchuān lay before their eyes.

"Lao Yang relocated 200,000 Uyghur people southward, placing them under the Garrison Officer for settlement; Lu Ping'an's burden may be great. Elder Shi Yi Shu, later mobilize the wounded in the central army who cannot fight; if they are willing to settle in the Garrison Officer, we can grant them increased compensation, with housing and residences provided by the commandery, and double their land holdings." Chen Wuji said, "But we must still adhere to the voluntary principle—first persuade them; if manpower remains desperately short, we can openly recruit in the commandery as a last resort."

Chen Wuji very much hopes that these veterans who have seen battle, after retiring, will go to the Garrison Officer to continue contributing and help the Garrison Officer manage the settlers.

But these are all meritorious officials; Chen Wuji really cannot bring himself to demand that, after being wounded and discharged, they uproot their whole families from their homeland to settle in a strange place, always ready to fight again and suppress rebellions.

All we can do is increase their rewards and then see what they wish.

"I will order the generals to persuade them well, but judging by past experience, it probably won't be too ideal," Chen Li said with a wry smile.

"Aside from those who usually go to brothels for a drink and a gamble, these lads basically aren't short of silver; now that they're wounded and can't stay in the army, they'll surely prefer to live at home when they return."

"With military pay, rewards, and pensions, even if they return home and do nothing else, just tending a few mu of land, they won't go hungry for the rest of their lives. Moreover, the commandery has regulations prioritizing the recruitment of retired veterans in its workshops, so they won't lack livelihood upon returning."

"It's hard to leave one's homeland; as long as there's a good livelihood at home, few would be willing to run off to Qiang Land."

Chen Wuji nodded, "Let's persuade them first; however many can go, that's how many we'll get. The rest we'll recruit from the two commanderies, giving priority to drawing people from Nanyue Jun."

"Yes!"

"Besides, there's another matter." Chen Wuji propped himself up with his arm.

"Lu Ping'an previously memorialized, outlining the basic situation of the Garrison Officer; its overall scale has now stabilized, and I think we can move on to the next step."

"Change attire and surnames, unify language, script, customs, weights and measures, etc., thoroughly eradicate the traditions and language of the Qiang People and Uyghur, have them all learn the Central Plains official speech and our writing, and adopt all our customs."

This matter, Chen Wuji had already discussed it with Xu Zengyi and others when the Garrison Officer was first established.

Upon hearing it again, Xu Zengyi and Chen Li still couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

This is truly eradicating the root!

Leaving aside other additions, simply the loss of language, script, and customs means that after two generations, the Qiang People and Uyghur will forget where they came from.

This move is truly ruthless!

But no one objected.

The people of the Central Plains have long suffered from border troubles; since records began a thousand years ago up to the present, the Central Plains has constantly been in conflict with its four neighboring border regions, losing large numbers of people each year, year after year.

Now that we can see a method that might permanently resolve the border troubles, how could they not support it?

"My lord, this matter is no small difficulty; we need to remind Lu Ping'an to prepare early and guard against rebellions!" Xu Zengyi said, "Why not use a somewhat gentler approach, encouraging the Qiang People and Uyghur to volunteer?"

Chen Wuji shook his head, "Encouraging them to participate on their own? That's impossible."

"They will only obey outwardly while betraying inwardly, then conspire behind my back on how to rebel. Following the old rule, we will push forward forcefully, without needing to give them any pleasant looks; offenders will be dealt with according to circumstances—either executed or exiled to work in the mines."

"However, those who perform well enough can be given substantive rewards, starting with land, housing, personal freedom, and so on."

"This matter must be thoroughly resolved in our generation's hands; it cannot be postponed to the next generation. As for this villainous role, let me take it."

Xu Zengyi chuckled, "My lord will only be seen as a villain in the eyes of the Qiang People and Uyghur; the Dayu Commoners will certainly not curse my lord, for the Dayu Commoners' hatred of the four neighboring regions runs deep, and it's uncertain that in their eyes my lord will become a living saint of the age."

"Don't give me that, spouting these comforting words—curse if you must, but I'm definitely going to do this." Chen Wuji said, "I don't want, under my rule, the people to still suffer the former pain, being treated like livestock penned up, with a status even lower than that of livestock."

"My lord, please forgive me; this truly is not just empty consolation!" Xu Zengyi said.

"Then I'll take your word as true. However, don't bother thinking about how to console me; if this is to be accomplished, the difficulty is not small—consider what needs to be considered once more."

Xu Zengyi gave a helpless smile, sat cross-legged, took a sip of wine, and said, "Changing attire and surnames, unifying weights and measures, altering customs, etc., are relatively simple—one order and those who don't comply will be dealt with."

"But changing language and script is a slow, painstaking process; it requires time and many teachers to instruct them, and the commandery has long lacked educated people and teachers, so we probably can't spare many to send to the Garrison Officer."

Chen Wuji said, "What sort of educated people do we need to teach them? I don't want them to take the imperial examinations; as long as they can roughly recognize characters and write a thousand-character essay, that's enough."

"I want them to learn our language and script, but these captives, within five generations, are absolutely not allowed to take the imperial examinations or become constable clerks. After five generations, we could consider gradually relaxing the restriction, but matters beyond five generations are not for me to decide; I can leave this clause for future descendants to follow as they see fit."

Xu Zengyi stared for a moment, then after a while said with sincere admiration, "My lord's considerations are thorough; I am far inferior, and I nearly made a grave mistake."

"Don't give me that!" Chen Wuji laughed and scolded.

His thoroughness is merely standing on the shoulders of giants, viewing and handling the affairs of this era.

Even with such stringent background checks in later ages, countless spies, infiltrators, and good-for-nothings still slip through, causing great trouble with restoration and sabotage—let alone this era.

Among any crowd there are never lacking clever people; if he were to open a path to the imperial examinations, even without two generations, these relocated people would likely rise up with poles, launching a rebellion for freedom.

"In the two commanderies, educated people are not hard to find, but those who can recognize characters and write are by no means few; let Lu Ping'an arrange it himself."

Xu Zengyi and Chen Li both nodded without hesitation.

"Second matter, you two consider who will stay to hold this post; we ought to move out with the troops!"