No one picks up lost items on the road, and no one locks their doors at night. The ancients used this phrase to describe a peaceful world or a simple and honest folk custom.
Little do they know that times have changed, and the standards for small countries with few people are no longer applicable to huge empires.
Just like no matter how harsh the laws are, they cannot completely eliminate crimes.
However, the Ming Empire's prisons were sparsely populated. All but the most heinous criminals had been exiled. Prisoners from several northern provinces were sent to the northeast, while those in the south had more options.
Now, with Kuye Island and Vladivostok in the north, there are too few prisoners and there is a shortage of supply.
The ruffians and hooligans were in trouble. They were already subject to a few beatings and a few days in prison, but now they were all exiled. The immigration plan was full, and the remote areas, desperate for "people", were very "welcoming" them.
If we follow this standard and continue to implement this system, it will not be long before people can stop picking up things on the streets and leave their doors unlocked at night.
Of course, the emperor was not concerned with achieving this goal. He was more concerned with expanding territory and maintaining a stable and long-term occupation.
As the disaster spreads and worsens, immigration work continues in an orderly manner.
Although there have been no large-scale disasters in provinces such as Shandong, Northern Zhili, and Henan, the landless and land-poor people were still attracted by the preferential policies and moved to Liaodong to settle down.
The migration of population also provided a better foundation for the Ming army's advance to the north. After crossing the Songhua River, the Ming army advanced both by land and water, and took another solid step northward.
"The Bohai Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty, right?" Nara Zhongming slowed his horse and asked the Han staff beside him, "I heard it was quite famous in history."
The aide chuckled and said, "Emperor Xuanzong of Tang conferred the title of Prince of Bohai on Dae Jo-yeong and appointed him Governor of Hukhan Prefecture, hence the name 'Bohai'. Our army is already in his territory, and only sixty or seventy miles away is his capital, Longquan Prefecture (now Ning'an, Heilongjiang)."
Shaking his head slightly, the staff member sighed and said, "In its heyday, the Bohai Kingdom had jurisdiction over five capitals, fifteen prefectures, and sixty-two states. Its culture was deeply influenced by Tang Dynasty culture, earning it the reputation of 'the prosperous kingdom of the East Sea.'"
Nara Zhongming smiled and said, "It's not surprising that things will decline after prosperity and perish after decline."
At the peak of its power, the Bohai Kingdom was bordered by the Pei River (today's Taedong River) and the Ni River (today's Longxing River) with Silla in the south, reached the area of the present-day Sanjiang Plain in the north, and connected with the Northern Heishui Mohe, faced the Sea of Japan in the east, and reached near Baicheng and Da'an in Inner Mongolia in the west, bordering the Khitan. It had "hundreds of thousands of soldiers" and was a powerful country with a vast territory in the Northeast at that time.
Unfortunately, the former territory of the Bohai Kingdom was severely damaged in the war, and the Bohai civilization also suffered a devastating catastrophe; its survivors fled in large numbers or were forcibly relocated and integrated into the Jurchen, Korean, Mongolian, and Han ethnic groups.
Nara Zhongming listened with great interest as his staff talked about the rise and fall of the Bohai Kingdom. However, he looked around and saw only vast expanses of wilderness. Where was the trace of the "prosperous kingdom in the east of the sea"?
"Sir," the scout returned on Pegasus, reporting, "another group of men have fled from the mountains and surrendered."
Because of Nara Zhongming's loyalty, he tried not to mention the name Jianlu in front of him. Of course, he didn't care. He had long since stopped considering himself a Jianzhou barbarian, and instead considered himself a subject of the Ming Dynasty.
Nara Zhongming nodded and said, "We must investigate carefully and make sure those guys don't slip through the net."
Those guys were naturally the emperor's designated "traitors." Fan Wencheng, Luo Jinxiu, Li Yongfang, and others were to be absolutely unforgivable. If alive, they would be brought to the capital to be tortured by slicing, and if dead, their heads or bodies would be seen.
The further north we advanced, the more people surrendered, including Manchus, Mongols, and Han Chinese.
After a few years, they were almost turned into savages due to the harsh environment. Their clothes were especially worn out, as they could be torn into strips at a glance, leaving them with only fur to cover their bodies.
Unable to raise silkworms or grow cotton, and with few supplies to take with them during their retreat, it's no surprise that such a situation has emerged.
Nara Zhongming lightly dusted off his neatly-made woolen uniform, causing a speck of dust to fall off. It was the perfect outfit for the early spring, with the weather still slightly warm.
After walking for a distance, Nara Zhongming saw a group of people surrounded by soldiers on the grass beside the road.
His hair was disheveled, he was wrapped in animal skins, his face was dark and thin, and the pile of weapons thrown beside him were extremely crude.
Poor thing! Nara Zhongming shook his head, missing his home in Jilin Prefecture City.
In the large house with three courtyards, the kang and fire walls were so hot in winter that people could only wear underwear. In the summer, they bought ice cubes and had servants fan them. The food and drink changed every day, and they lived a comfortable life.
"The remnants of the Jianlu are still trying to resist stubbornly?" Nara Zhongming sneered, but in his heart he hoped it would end soon. After achieving this achievement, he could go home and continue to enjoy himself.
The staff shook their heads and said, "I guess they haven't given up yet. With Daishan dead, there's no one with the prestige, experience, or age to make decisions, so they're just arguing nonsense."
A lot of intelligence was obtained from the surrendered people who fled south. Daishan died of illness last year, and Dorgon and others faced difficulties, but they were constantly arguing and had no unified opinion.
The climate was getting colder, and several years of poor harvests had left the remnants of the Jianlu without even any seeds. How could they support so many people by relying on fishing and hunting?
The Han people who followed the Jianlu were the first to run out of food, and this had been going on for almost two or three years. When disaster struck, everyone fled, and the Jianlu couldn't even care about their own people, so how could they care about the Han people who had come to them?
What's the use of being able to read and write, or being full of strategies and articles? These traitors who have fallen into this situation are not as capable of surviving as the Han people Aha!
Some died, some fled south, starting with the Han people, then the Mongols, and finally the Manchus.
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