Chapter 746: The Protectorate

Western Regions Protectorate.

Anxi Protectorate.

Although there is only a one-character difference, the difference in nature is truly too great.

Why say it like that?

The so-called Protectorate is a military institution established by the Zhongyuan dynasty to supervise the various ethnic groups on the border.

The term "Protectorate" (Duhu) is Chinese; "Du" means "all" or "general," and "Hu" means "to lead troops and supervise," so "Duhu" means "General Supervisor." The duty of a Protector is to "soothe the various vassal states and pacify foreign invaders." All matters concerning the "soothing, punitive expeditions, recording of merits, and punishment of faults" of surrounding ethnic groups are under their jurisdiction. Its emergence was an objective necessity for the development of ethnic relations in the frontier regions during the early Tang Dynasty. Many tribes had voluntarily submitted since the Wude era.

Therefore, from this explanation, a Protectorate is merely for supervision, not actual governance.

A Protectorate appoints a Protector, Deputy Protector, Chief Clerk, Sima, and other officials to "manage the various vassal states, soothe and conduct punitive expeditions, and record merits and punish faults." It also appoints Record-keeping Military Advisors, Record-keepers, Departmental Military Advisors, and Military Advisors, similar to the positions in a prefecture or government office. There are divisions of Large, Upper, and Middle; a Large Protectorate has a Prince remotely holding the title of Grand Protector, with a separate Deputy Grand Protector appointed to manage the affairs of the office.

The number of officials is also only a dozen or so.

The garrison generally does not exceed thirty thousand.

In this aspect, even the Liaodong Protectorate is actually the same. It is just that the Liaodong Protectorate, under the hardline methods of Qiao Yuan, drove the local natives into the mountains, so there is naturally a difference. Compared to the Annam Protectorate, which is the Southern Protectorate, the existence of a Protectorate is merely to supervise these small countries, not to truly take action to rule and manage them.

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Therefore.

Generally speaking, the garrison of a Protectorate will not be too large.

Therefore.

Previously, the furthest Protectorate of Longyan to the west was the Western Regions Protectorate; Loulan, Qiuci, and other Western Regions countries, although they all submitted to the imperial court, actually still belonged to independent nations.

But if one were to go further west and establish an Anxi Protectorate...

Protectorates are mostly symbolic, representing the dignity of a great power, and are responsible for mediating relationships and cultural differences between local ethnic minorities.

To put it bluntly.

A Protectorate is equivalent to a military base or garrison of a great power within a small country.

This is the basic concept and process.

Therefore, the Prince of Qin's proposal is very bold, and speaking of it, it is also quite arrogant.

Incorporate all the countries of the Western Regions into the territory of Longyan!

This concept is completely different.

First of all, the Western Regions would no longer be the furthest west, so the Western Regions Protectorate would have no need to exist. That is to say, this is equivalent to swallowing up all the countries of the Western Regions.

And then, establish an Anxi Protectorate.

Actually, during the prosperous Tang Dynasty of Longyan, Longyan had the opportunity to take the Western Regions, or even further places. But why didn't Longyan do it? And why did it only establish a Protectorate in the Western Regions? This involves many aspects of problems and conflicts.

First of all.

In the long river of history, before the Industrial Revolution, no civilization could transcend both farming and nomadism, so there would not appear any long-term, stable regime that could firmly rule over these two forms of territory. Throughout history, no matter how powerful Longyan was, it could only adopt expulsion and plunder toward the Xiongnu and Barbarians of Mobei and the Western Regions, and could not truly conquer them; this is the reason. This is the relationship between man and nature, as well as the relationship between lifestyles and civilizations.

This is true territorial expansion!

His words caused the whole room to fall silent.

Of course, there was excitement, but more of it was actually calmness.

It is still that same cliché topic: the Western Regions and Central Asia were truly too poor. If they were really conquered, the imperial court would still have to allocate funds for their construction every year, which is not a good thing for Longyan and would be a very heavy burden. But now, things have changed.

With the Silk Road becoming more and more mature, and the Grand Canal becoming longer and longer.

These countries have already begun to show signs of restoration and are becoming increasingly wealthy.

Secondly.

Wanting to truly colonize these places was still too difficult for the Zhongyuan imperial court of the farming economy at that time. The supply lines were too long. Under such circumstances, it was not that the Zhongyuan imperial court had not thought of methods. For example, marriage alliances; the strategy of Northern Wei Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao toward the Rouran was his magic weapon for unifying the north. But such a situation could only appear during a period of great ethnic integration; for an environment like Longyan that pursues Han orthodoxy, it is difficult to implement.

Thirdly.

They were discussing the feasibility of this matter.

Xie Tianyao was also tempted.

Suddenly, they felt that Vice Minister Liu had sent a great gift to Longyan this time.

All of a sudden.

People's minds began to become active.

In the imperial court, discussions began to buzz.

Everyone had to prepare their own countermeasures.

He needed a foolproof plan.

Once this news spread, the entire Longyan was excited. Is our Celestial Empire finally going to incorporate the countries of the Western Regions into its territory? Not to mention, the current development of the Western Regions has indeed taken on many appearances of Zhongyuan, and even in terms of culture, it has already begun to lean toward the Zhongyuan imperial court.

Just like the route he has been taking himself: abandon domestic struggles and cast his vision abroad. Make war profits and use colonization and territorial expansion to resolve domestic conflicts. This is a path with a unique line of thought, but it is a very useful path.

Xie Tianyao waved his hand.

This topic will be discussed in the imperial court in the future.

Loulan, Qiuci, and these countries—are they willing?

Liu Zheng, who was still blasting mountains, also received this news at the first opportunity.

In this aspect, the Western Regions Construction Corps has made great contributions.

Only.

After people heard this news, the first thought that popped into their minds was.

This made him look forward to it as well.

What would Reguli and the others think?

Xie Tianyao's letter asked Liu Zheng to provide a countermeasure.

The Prince of Qin's suggestion left him unable to laugh or cry.

Of course, in Liu Zheng's plan, the Western Regions must be incorporated into the territory of Longyan, but not now, but after the Industrial Revolution truly begins. After all, the land of the Western Regions is still not very suitable for a farming economy; forcibly incorporating it into the territory would lead to great conflicts.

But fortunately, Ling Chen's cultivation of the Western Regions was going quite smoothly, and the economic prosperity also made the various states of the Western Regions willing to draw closer to Longyan.

Finally.

Xie Tianyao wanted a definitive answer.

Liu Zheng discussed it with the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Yong; they did not bring Tiemu Cheng to this discussion, as the matter was, after all, somewhat sensitive.

He naturally understood what Xie Tianyao meant. The Western Regions were conquered by him, and Reguli had a close relationship with him.

Liu Zheng wrote one character in his reply.

"Agreed."