When Gwanghae-jun came out of the Qianqing Palace, Li Yongji, who was supporting him forward, could feel that the former Joseon king seemed to be in a slightly more cheerful mood.

Li Yongji didn't care what promises Gwanghae-jun got from the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom, as a North Korean who had already taken refuge in the Social Investigation Institute, he only cared about whether he could complete the tasks ordered by General Manager Lu.

For a person like him, who had offended Gwanghaejun in the past and now betrayed the Joseon Kingdom, he couldn't imagine what his end would have been without the protection of Myeonggu.

But now, as an informant at the Mingguo Social Investigation Institute, he finally feels that his future is not so dark. As for him, who relied on Ren Aiying's betrayal to gain the trust of Gwanghae-kun, it has become a matter without psychological obstacles to betray Gwanghae-kun again to gain the trust of the Akito.

Lu Qi stood under the corridor of the Qianqing Palace and watched the departure of the pair of Korean masters and servants, only stayed for a while, then turned around and walked towards the hall without thinking, ready to invite that Liu Jingting to meet His Majesty the Emperor.

When Liu Jingting followed Lu Qi into the upper study, he found that Chongzhen was holding his cheek with his hands, looking at something intently.

He subconsciously stopped like Lu Qi, wanting to wait for Chongzhen to finish the matter in his hand and then visit him, but Chongzhen didn't let him wait too long, after hearing the sound of someone entering the room, Zhu Youzhen looked up, then closed the scroll in front of him, and greeted him with a smile: "Mr. Liu is here, move a stool for him, get closer to me." ”

Zhu Youzhen said, and also stretched out his hand and pointed to the place in front of his desk, and motioned for Lu Qi to move the stool over. Although Chongzhen is getting closer and closer to him, Liu Jingting does not dare to get carried away, he knows that he is not from the right path, and he has been appreciated by Chongzhen by chance, so he can rise to the top.

The Donglin Party members who invited him to Beijing to do business at the beginning naturally couldn't see his current proud appearance. First, he dislikes his humble background, but he is just a child of a local tyrant in the countryside who has committed a crime and wandered the rivers and lakes. At best, they can be called strange people, but how can they be in the same class as them?

Second, after all, this Liu Jingting participated in an unspeakable conspiracy, once this matter is exposed, many people will be ruined, and maybe their families will be ruined. Liu Jingting was by Chongzhen's side for a day, and some people had some difficulty sleeping.

Although they really wanted to persuade Liu Jingting to leave or write to Chongzhen not to get close to the fortunate people, Liu Jingting was not only a very assertive person, but also happened to make an envoy. And Chongzhen is obviously not the emperor they can persuade, so they can only try to suppress Liu Jingting and prevent him from coming forward.

Originally, Chongzhen wanted Liu Jingting to take the opportunity of meritorious service to enter the position of Ren Langzhong, the host and guest of the Ministry of Rites, which could be regarded as clearing him of the front and entering the formal system.

However, this appointment was opposed by the vast majority of courtiers, who considered it to be a disruption of the imperial system. In the end, they threw out a position of the commander of Taichang Temple, which was used to arrange Liu Jingting. This position was very important in the early Ming Dynasty, but today it is used to place some officials from miscellaneous backgrounds.

As a result, Zhu Youzhen pushed the boat along the way, agreed to the suggestions of these courtiers, and appointed Liu Jingting as the governor of the Siyi Pavilion. But soon, Chongzhen made a backhand blow and set up a committee for ethnic and religious affairs, merging the Siyi Pavilion, the monks, the Daolu Division, and the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee established in the southwest.

Although Chongzhen delegated the posts of chairman of the committee and members of the committee to the heads of the ethnic minorities, the permanent secretary general who presided over the day-to-day affairs of the committee was left to Liu Jingting.

He summoned Liu Jingting today because he wanted to have a good talk with Liu Jingting about what this Minority and Religious Affairs Committee did and how it should be done in his vision.

After Liu Jingting saluted and sat down, Zhu Youzhen first raised his head and said to the other attendants in the room: "Except for Wang Companion who stays to serve, everyone else should go out first." ”

Lu Qi, who was standing in the room and waiting, and the other two attendants agreed very obediently, and then walked out with their heads down, and carefully closed the door.

Seeing the emperor so cautious, Liu Jingting's heart couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and he cheered up his whole body and prepared to accept Chongzhen's orders.

Zhu Youzhen pondered for a moment, then clarified his thoughts and said, "Mr. Liu, do you know what these Siyi Pavilion, monks, and Daolu Division do?" ”

Liu Jingting replied without thinking: "Admiral Siyi Pavilion: a matter of translating books; The second is to be responsible for translating the language and writing when receiving foreign envoys.

The monks and the Taoist Division are in charge of the world's monks. In the prefectures and counties of other prefectures, there are still monks and Taoist disciplines, which are in charge of their affairs, and they all choose those who are proficient in the classics and have good precepts.

I don't know if the minister's statement is correct? ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded and said: "What you said is the same as what is written in the Daming Guild Dictionary, it seems that you have used your heart." So I will tell you today why I want to merge these two departments and let you be the permanent secretary-general. Also, what you need to do in the future. ”

"Please show me to your majesty." Liu Jingting bowed his hand again, then straightened his sitting posture, and waited for Chongzhen to speak.

Zhu Youzhen looked at him so nervously, and couldn't help but smile slightly and said, "Don't be so nervous, relax." There are no outsiders here, and what I am talking to you about today is not an official order.

Even, when you walk out of this room, I hope you will forget what I told you today. There are some things that can be said but not done, and some things that can be done but not said. This is the case with ethnic minorities and religious affairs. ”

Although Liu Jingting relaxed his back a little, he subconsciously tensed his body after hearing Chongzhen's words.

However, Chongzhen didn't seem to care about his expression, but Gu Zi said: "Speaking of this ethnic minority, everyone only looks at the Mongolians outside the Saiwai, the Zhuang people in Guangxi, the Li people in Hainan, and the Miao people and Yi people in the southwest.

In fact, there are not only these ethnic groups in the land of my Ming Dynasty, if you really want to talk about it in detail, there are always dozens of ethnic groups large and small.

But why is it that when we mention ethnic minorities today, everyone thinks of the above ethnic groups and cannot think of other ethnic groups?

In the final analysis, it is because the above clans have either opposed the imperial court or are doing things against the imperial court. It is precisely because they have the ability to rebel and their rebellious behavior that the people of the world can't remember that there are other ethnic minorities in the land of our Ming Dynasty.

However, I want you to remember that those who are in my Ming land are called ethnic minorities, and those who are not above my Ming land are aliens. The National Minorities Affairs Committee has to manage the ethnic groups within the national border, and as for the ethnic groups outside the national border, it is the matter of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War.

This distinction will be the code of conduct of the Ethnic Minorities Affairs Committee, and you must remember not to exceed your authority. ”

Liu Jingting was stunned, and immediately replied: "The minister remembers, but the minister wants to ask, is this Mongolian a minority of my Ming Dynasty, or a foreign race on the grassland?" ”

Zhu Youzhen thought for a while and said: "The north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, the north to the sea of the northern pole, the west is bounded by the West Siberian Plain, and the east is excluded from North Korea and Japan, all of which are considered to be within the borders of my Ming Dynasty." The same is true for Qinghai and Tibet in the southwest, as well as Taiwan and Ryukyu on the sea.

Although most of the places are not yet under the effective management of my Ming Dynasty, I hope that you will keep this concept in mind so that you can act in the future. ”

Although Liu Jingting didn't understand the scope of the Northern Pole Sea, the West Siberian Plain and the East, he still suppressed the doubts in his heart and first agreed to Chongzhen.

Only then did Zhu Youzhen continue: "In my opinion, the reason why these ethnic minorities who oppose the imperial court cannot live in harmony with our Han people like other ethnic groups who are peaceful and self-serving.

On the one hand, it is because they lack education, because they have not fully accepted the culture of our Han people, so they do not regard us as a family.

Second, the leaders of those ethnic minorities have different intentions, and deliberately provoke disputes with our Han people for their own selfish desires, so that they can become the rulers of heaven and earth.

Therefore, the most important task of the Ethnic Minorities Affairs Committee is to promote cultural and educational undertakings for all ethnic minorities. It is not enough to just spread culture, we also need to select the best talents of all nationalities and train them in the capital, so that they can also contribute to the motherland.

In addition, the leaders and leaders of the various ethnic minorities are not only the link between the imperial court and the people of those ethnic minorities. When ethnic minorities were in turmoil, they were also the banner of rebellion against the rule of the imperial court.

But these chiefs and chieftains are not only the rulers of their own people, they are also the oppressors of their own people. Therefore, we must unite these leaders and leaders, but we must pay more attention to uniting the middle and lower classes of ethnic minorities.

Only in this way, when they have bad ideas, will most of the people not be deceived by them and stand on the side of the court..."

Although under Chongzhen's tampering, this set of Marx's theory of class struggle has become very shallow. But when Liu Jingting heard it, he still felt like he was stunned.

Since his appointment as Permanent Secretary-General of the Commission on Ethnic Minorities and Religious Affairs, he has been somewhat overwhelmed by the need to proceed with this work. The relationship between the leaders of the Mongol tribes was complicated, and Liu Jingting did not know who to rely on, who to woo, and who to attack.

But after today's conversation with Chongzhen, he felt that he had grasped the backbone of the heart, no matter how many tribal leaders there were in Mongolia, but the people were still those people.

As long as they can get the support of those people, a few tribal leaders will not be able to make any tricks. As for the other minorities, in his view, it is not yet a problem that needs to be solved so urgently.

Immediately, Chongzhen shifted the topic to religion, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he frightened Liu Jingting.

"I think that all religions are just based on a false understanding of the unknowable world, and with the progress of the times and the development of science, the more we understand the world, the more many lies of religion will be destroyed. So, in the final analysis, religion is going to die..."