Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 355: Drifting Eastward
As for foreigners, common people might hardly see one in their entire lifetime, so whenever they saw one, they would definitely treat it as a rare thing and watch for a long time - in later generations, there were also rules not to watch foreign friends' foreign affairs - and as for Zhu Ying, she had often entered the palace since she was old enough to understand, and it was common for her to hide in the corner and watch the excitement during grand court meetings.
Therefore, when she was a child, she initially thought that all kinds of foreign people with strange clothes and strange appearances were monsters, but later she became accustomed to them and was no longer in the age of being surprised. Now that she is older, she no longer has any interest in the grand court meetings, but it does not mean that she will forget the strange appearance of those foreign envoys from the West.
Therefore, her first reaction was that Lao Xianyu was fooling her, and naturally she immediately questioned him with dissatisfaction. However, before Lao Xianyu had time to explain, she heard Zhang Shou say leisurely: "Yingying, what you said is not comprehensive. Westerners have blonde hair, blue eyes and white skin, some have curly hair and dark skin like Kunlun slaves, but there are also some who look similar to us, as if they are from the same lineage."
"For example, the Mongols, and the former Xiongnu, Khitan, and Tangut, if they had the same hairstyle and wore the same clothes as us, then there would only be a few differences." Because the races are not that different...
Zhu Ying usually agreed with Zhang Shou's statement, but at this moment, she said unconvincedly: "But that's only the foreign races bordering our dynasty. They can't look the same as us if they are far away! This is what I discovered after seeing so many foreign envoys! Besides, Lao Xianyu is talking about the West, not Southeast Asia. I have seen merchants from various European countries, and they don't look like this!"
Seeing that the eldest lady was angry, Zhang Shou said calmly: "Didn't Emperor Taizu say that the place where we live is a huge ball? You should have seen the globe in the Military Equipment Bureau. Beyond Europe and to the west, there is actually a continent across the sea. That can also be called the Western Ocean. Of course, if you turn the globe around, it is just across the sea to my east, which can also be called the Eastern Ocean."
Zhu Ying's heart skipped a beat. Of course, she had seen a globe before... There was one in the study room of the East Warm Pavilion of the Emperor's Palace of Heavenly Purity, and she often played with it as a toy when she was a child. However, the Emperor Taizu called it a globe, and they omitted the word "terrestrial". It was not spread among the people, and there were only countless versions of the story of Emperor Taizu dreaming of the Emperor of Heaven.
Zhang Shou said it so brazenly in front of two people whose backgrounds were unknown. The result of sailing westward was to turn back eastward. Is this really a good thing? You know, even those merchants in the southeast who make a living by sea trade rarely know that the earth is round.
Sure enough, she saw Lao Xianyu was slightly stunned, and then he showed an expression of listening attentively. On the contrary, Monk Zanghai yawned as if he was not very interested, and signaled with his eyes that the guy who had just escaped should come back to work quickly.
After a while, the small commotion that had just been aroused completely subsided. At this time, Zhang Shou changed his tone again.
"I remember a story. Legend has it that in the last years of King Zhou of Shang, You Houxi led an army of more than 100,000 to conquer the Dongyi people. On the way, he heard that King Wu of Zhou was going to attack King Zhou. Being loyal, he immediately led his troops back to support the king. However, before they had fought a few battles, he heard that King Zhou had committed suicide by burning himself, and the princes surrendered to Zhou. He was ashamed to associate with these people, but he was powerless to compete with King Wu of Zhou, so he disappeared with more than 100,000 people."
"In history books, in order to demonstrate its legitimacy and morality, the Zhou Dynasty at least made clear the fate of all the former ministers of the Shang Dynasty, even those who were unwilling to surrender, such as Boyi and Shuqi who starved to death on Mount Shouyang. However, there is no record of You Houxi and his many men. There are rumors that they actually built several large ships, sailed eastward, and then moved to a piece of land across the sea."
Zhang Shou's story actually involved the Shang Dynasty, which was rarely recorded in historical books. Zhu Ying was attracted to it unconsciously. Even Lao Xianyu couldn't help asking, "Dr. Zhang, are you serious? That's not a river or lake, it's a huge ocean. Even the big ships today would have to work very hard to cross it, let alone three thousand years ago!"
The fox's tail is finally exposed! You have never seen a globe, and if you have never walked there, how do you know that it is a huge ocean, how do you know that it takes a lot of effort to cross it, and how do you not doubt that there may be land on the other side of the ocean!
Zhang Shou was in high spirits, and then he smiled and said, "That's why I just said that it was a legend."
Zhu Ying had taken it all so seriously. When she heard Zhang Shou suddenly say this, she immediately said angrily, "Ah Shou, you can't be like this! You said so much in all seriousness, and at the end you said that it was a legend... How come I have never heard of such a legend!"
So, it is a good thing that Emperor Taizu did not spread the legend of the merchants crossing the East to others... Otherwise, it would be impossible for me to use this story to deceive Lao Xianyu! Even in later generations, this story has not been recognized by the historical community. The problem is that if you tell them that the Mongol race entered America through the Bering Bridge in the Arctic, and then the Bering Bridge disappeared due to plate tectonic shifts, who would understand?
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, but laughed on his face, "Legends are just legends because there is no way to verify them. But don't those Confucian scholars always talk about how the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were in ancient times? Who can be sure that You Houxi didn't have his own way to cross the ocean? Besides, from ancient times to the present, countless people have left their homeland for thousands of years, and it is normal for them to leave their common ethnic groups overseas."
"So, what Lao Xianyu said may not be a lie."
Seeing that Zhang Shou was just using this story to defend himself, Lao Xianyu suddenly felt mixed emotions. He wanted to ask Zhang Shou whether the story of merchants crossing the East was a legend or a fact, but he was afraid of exposing his true identity, so he could only laugh dryly and said, "Fortunately, Dr. Zhang is knowledgeable and talented, otherwise I would not be able to wash myself clean even if I jumped into the Yellow River."
Zhu Ying snorted in her stomach. You want to clean up your salted fish? I find everything about you suspicious!
The people brought back from overseas were not reported to the authorities, but hidden in a place like this? And judging from the number of people, there are more than one or two people. What is the purpose of this?
As if sensing Zhu Ying's sharp gaze, Lao Xianyu wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly explained with a smile, "When I brought the person back, of course I wanted to report it to the government. After all, it is a serious crime to smuggle foreigners. But you and Dr. Zhang have also seen that Xu Cheng has been the magistrate of Changlu County for five years. He is greedy and insatiable. Who dares to deal with him?"
As he spoke, he pointed at the monks and so-called barbarians who were working in all directions, with sincerity written all over his face.
"Look at them. Not to mention the weather now, in April, they try not to wear clothes when working. Why? Because working will damage clothes, and they don't have enough money to buy them! Not to mention them, even the damn monk Cang Hai and his disciples usually go shirtless if possible. It's because making clothes is too expensive!"
The older Lao Xianyu became sadder as he spoke, and at one point his eyes were filled with tears.
"This is the life of the poor... They don't even have money to prepare a few more sets of clothes, so how can they pay taxes to the government one by one? Oh, I just want to bring them back with kindness to give them a chance to live, but I have no money! It's only because Canghai manages the farm and grows vegetables for Wanghai Temple that there would be no place to take them in."
Seeing that Zhu Ying seemed to have been persuaded by the old man, Zhang Shou suddenly said, "So you are treating them like slaves who only provide food and no money?"
"How could I!" Old Salty Fish finally jumped up in anger as if his tail was stepped on. "Dr. Zhang, if you don't believe me, ask them themselves. Are they willing to stay here..."
"You have a good plan. These overseas people who don't have household registration can't even speak Mandarin. If they don't want to stay with you, where else can they go?" Zhu Ying finally came to her senses and snorted unhappily, "You just admitted that you can't even afford clothes, you just have to pay for food."
"I did only take care of the food, but I also provided two sets of clothes a year. Even so, after bringing them back and settling them here for a few years, I was almost broke. As for the harvest... How much money can you make from growing some fruits, vegetables and melons? What's more, after the first planting, they were not adapted to the local climate and soil, and the cotton has not grown at all."
Old Salted Fish didn't care about Zhu Ying's attitude and started to complain: "But even if I was only responsible for the food, it wouldn't be easy. Look at Cangzhou. The reason why the people were so angry and caused such a thing before was because they couldn't get enough food to eat."
At this point, he raised his head and said stiffly, "It will be time for dinner soon. You can also take a look at whether Zang Hai and his disciples eat the same food as these barbarians who have come across the ocean!"
Zhang Shou's question seemed to be just a casual one, but in fact he was not only trying to find out what Lao Xianyu's attitude was towards these so-called "barbarians" who had lost their homes, and whether he treated them as slaves. He was more curious about where these people came from.
You know, from Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia, there is actually not much difference in race. These so-called overseas barbarians may not come from America, but from places closer.
Moreover, if these so-called barbarians really came from America, then are they completely native Americans, or are they the descendants of Taizu's fleet?
So, when someone brought over buckets of dinner and opened the lid, it turned out to be bean rice with salted fish. Zhang Shou saw that everyone had a big bowl, and the frightened "barbarian" before also wolfed down the food with unusual relish, and even his companions and some people were whispering with the bald monks. He turned around and bowed solemnly to the angry old salted fish.
"I wrongly blamed you. Sorry."
The fat monk Canghai had not said much since the beginning, just watching the confrontation between Lao Xianyu and the distinguished guests. He was surprised to see Zhang Shou apologize so straightforwardly, and then he saw Lao Xianyu saying it was okay with the look of a wronged young wife, he couldn't help scratching his completely hairless head, wondering who was the more dramatic of the two.
He couldn't help it, so he just coughed and acted as a peacemaker.
"Ahem, it's just a misunderstanding. There's no need to take it too seriously, Dr. Zhang. In fact, when Lao Xianyu threw the person to me, I was also furious. Although I am nominally in charge of the land of Wanghai Temple, I only need to send some rice, grain and vegetables every year, but that also requires a good harvest. If it weren't for the subsidies from the salt fields in the east, we wouldn't be able to survive if we encountered a disaster year. But..."
He paused, then smiled at Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying and said, "However, these foreigners are indeed satisfied as long as they have enough food and clothing. Doctor Zhang and Miss, you don't know that it is said that their place is more terrifying than Mongolia and the U-Tsang Xuanwei Division in the west. Using a child's skull as a magic weapon is child's play."
"Most of the city-states over there would sacrifice people to the gods on weekdays. It was common to kill a dozen or twenty people during a sacrifice. If it was a big sacrifice, at least several hundred people would be killed."
"It would be fine if there were prisoners of war, but if there were no prisoners of war, they would just kill their own people. The so-called king is the high priest in charge of divine affairs... When the disaster was at its worst, the king even dedicated his daughter to some god. It's creepy to hear that."
As Zang Hai spoke, he scratched his head and then sighed.
"I heard that several decades ago, someone sailed across the ocean to these Yi people and taught them our official language, so we can still communicate with them today. When Lao Xianyu brought them here, I heard those things and I felt like I was back in the time of Xia Jie and Shang Zhou... Well, Dr. Zhang, you probably don't know that these Yi tribes have only just learned how to make bronze."
"Besides, it was a suggestion from a group of seafarers who were stranded there. At that time, their ship sank and many people died, so they came back to build a ship, right? Well, they finally subdued a tribe of barbarians and worshipped them as gods, but no one knows what happened to that place. There were floods, droughts, and tornadoes all the time. They were almost turned around by a few priests who lost their power."
"There weren't many large livestock in that place. They had three ships at the beginning, and they did raise more than a dozen horses, but they couldn't survive for a long time. They died of illness and old age, and they couldn't even mate. After all, the ship that went out to sea actually brought fodder and beans to feed the horses, which was extremely luxurious. I don't know where such a generous seafarer came from, and he took such a route..."
"These seafarers educated the people, encouraged childbirth, increased the population, and bred crops and wove. No one knows why they migrated several times. Although they could have built ships a long time ago, more people felt that they had to prepare all the tools and make adequate plans, otherwise they would just die at sea. It is said that many years passed like this, and the surviving seafarers grew old or died, but they finally made bronze."
The fat monk described it vividly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
"As a result, during one of the migrations, they fought with another city-state. Although they won a tragic victory, the last of the seafarers who were regarded as prophets was almost dead. Before he died, he was carried to the seaside. If Lao Xianyu's boat had not arrived by chance, he would have died there quietly. He really tried his best to go home, but it was a pity that he was unable to come back until his death."
Old Salty Fish did not stop Cang Hai from telling his story, but at the end, he asked a dull question: "It's a pity that the last seafarer did not come back, but these barbarians followed my ship back."
