Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 850 Contact
The secret letter written by Zhang Lu on behalf of Zhang Shou appeared on the emperor's desk immediately. When he saw Zhang Shou's claim that the Ruiqiying soldiers were stationed around the place, it was too easy to cause speculation among officials and civilians, so it would be better to leave the Shanhaiwei soldiers to serve as defense. If there were still concerns about someone trying to escape or even plotting something bad, or if outsiders were spying, then he could just dispatch a few imperial attendants to stake out.
Facing this letter that was obviously not written by Zhang Shou, the emperor could not help but flick the small piece of paper in annoyance and said unhappily, "He just sent students around casually after he had them. He even asked someone to write a letter like this for him! He thinks that a bunch of soldiers from the Sharp Cavalry Battalion standing there will attract too many people's curiosity. Don't I know that? If anything goes wrong, will he be able to explain it?"
That being said, the emperor knew that what Zhang Shou had requested was indeed reasonable. Therefore, when he saw the Third Prince standing aside, hesitant to speak, he said helplessly, "Sanlang, you don't need to say anything. Your teacher's request will be granted. I will ask Hua Qi to select a few smart and capable imperial attendants to help. If you have the time to worry about your teacher, you might as well worry about Silang."
"Even if my fourth brother was sold out by the teacher, he would still help him count the money." The third prince smiled slightly. When the emperor glared at him, he knew what his father was angry about, and immediately said, "My fourth brother is a lively person, so he has never liked all kinds of rules since he was a child. He likes to be close to the father the most, and because the father has never controlled him, he lives very freely."
"And now he likes his teacher so much because he has the most creative ideas and doesn't restrict him too much. He never has to worry about having nothing to do, and he doesn't have to stay in the palace and study every day."
"What's wrong with staying in the palace and reading every day? Back then, I also stayed in the palace and read every day! Don't think that Old Master Ge is cheerful and amiable now. Back then, he really dared to use a ruler..." Thinking of the taste of Ge Yong's ruler, the emperor stopped abruptly and snorted.
"Even if the content of Master Ge's lectures is lively and interesting, it is impossible for him to indulge you and Silang like Zhang Shou did, and let me do whatever I want! So, Zhang Shou is really better than me in this respect."
"In the final analysis, you are lucky now because I am here to stop you. Zhang Shou is young, capable, and stubborn. Otherwise... you, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, would have to study until you are dizzy in Ciqing Palace every day, listening to the same old tunes every day! Emperor Taizu once said that scholars in this world, especially those famous scholars and wise men, love to argue about academics the most."
"The greatest honor in life is to have your knowledge become official knowledge, and the imperial court loves to select the knowledge that is most conducive to ruling the world as official knowledge, and then popularize brainwashing from top to bottom. When the emperor was still a prince, he listened to their talk every day. As a result, the whole country is united, and the emperor and the officials rule the world together!"
"So now every time I think about it, I feel regretful. When Emperor Taizu established his throne, he felt that governing a country was too troublesome, so he tried his best to train Emperor Taizong. However, he gave up too early and disappeared overseas. The system he established could not become an official school. Otherwise, why would it be so difficult to open a Jiuzhang Hall?"
"Why did Zhang Shou have to find another way to open a public school? Why not just promote it in the Imperial College or even in the prefectures and counties across the country?"
The emperor paused after saying this in one breath, as if realizing that it was useless to say any more. After a long while, he looked at the third prince who had been appointed as the Crown Prince.
"So, I actually hope that those so-called envoys are real, and I really hope that the descendants of Taizu who established a country overseas are also real. Without the shackles of many official families and local nobles, it will be much easier to govern a new country that can be freely created from scratch."
If Zhang Shou heard what the emperor said, he would definitely laugh and think that the emperor was overthinking. To build a country from scratch is to start from scratch and survive with great difficulty.
People in later generations talk about how rich America is, how it is a gift from God, and how it has all kinds of new food crops and cash crops... But they don't realize that from the discovery of America to the plundering of America and then to the colonization of America, those European guys spent a lot of time, and they also increased the wealth of their mother countries through a large amount of plundering. And that wealth in turn stimulated the development of science. Otherwise, how could there have been such a leap later?
Can the poverty of those small European countries and their small populations support such huge ambitions?
Moreover, although the climate in America is generally good and much stronger than that in Africa, there are also various hurricanes and tornadoes every year, no large livestock, and few leafy vegetables. Most importantly, Emperor Taizu's team was looking for a new world, not a well-prepared colonist!
If he had quietly returned to transport supplies after arriving there, it would be fine, but if this was his first time back, he was not optimistic about this so-called Haidong country that called itself China! What's more, it might be fake.
After the so-called servant of the Fourth Prince went to serve the wine and food, he really patiently watched them eat, and only slipped back after a long time. As soon as he entered the room, he shouted: "Teacher, teacher, the skin color of those so-called envoys is a little darker than our people, but it is similar to those I met in the countryside of Baijia Village. Other than that, there is no other difference."
Zhang Shou was writing furiously at his desk - after all, after Ge's new compilation of mathematics had published a total of ten volumes, his new textbooks were a little behind. Physics was on the way, and he had not yet touched on chemistry. Although he had learned advanced mathematics well in college, memory is one thing, and it would take a lot of effort to organize the memory into textbooks, so he had to make good use of every bit of time.
Therefore, when he heard the Fourth Prince shouting, he asked without even raising his head: "Oh, what else? Any other big discoveries?"
Although Zhang Shou was still busy writing, he did not ignore his words. The Fourth Prince was very satisfied, so he circled around to get close to Zhang Shou and said flatteringly: "Also, they speak just like us, the official language of the capital, with standard pronunciation. You know, the official language of the capital was promoted by Emperor Taizu, and it is quite ."
"Teacher, I don't think they look like foreigners!"
Hearing the fourth prince's confident statement, Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile. He finally put down the pen, rubbed his wrist, and looked at the quill pen with satisfaction, thinking that it was really good after the blond boy came. Although pencils and pens couldn't be used, the quill pen was finally available. After all, it didn't matter at other times, but writing formulas with a brush was really tiring!
Then, he raised his head and said to the Fourth Prince earnestly, "Just because they look alike doesn't mean they are definitely from the Ming Dynasty. And the similarity in language could also be the result of the teaching by the people that Emperor Taizu brought with him. After all, as long as one has enough skills, even a barbarian country can learn the elegant music of our Celestial Empire."
There are many theories about the origin of American Indians. The speculation that the Yin people crossed the sea to the east once occupied a large market. Moreover, among the famous sites in America that still exist today, both historical materials and various murals show human sacrifices at every turn, with rivers of blood flowing, which is almost exactly the same as the most popular human sacrifice in the Shang Dynasty, not to mention the oracle bones that have been discovered.
Therefore, at this moment, Zhang Shou smiled and told the story that he had told Zhu Ying and Lao Xianyu before, about You Houxi leading the army to the east to the Haidong Continent. Although he still used the excuse that it was a legend, the Fourth Prince was still very excited when he heard it. The naughty boy was excited all over, not considering that all the historical books in this year were all about disparaging the Shang Dynasty and respecting the Zhou Dynasty.
He even grabbed Zhang Shou's sleeve and asked impatiently, "Teacher, what happened to You Houxi after he arrived in the Haidong Continent? Did he kill people everywhere and then restore the Shang Dynasty?"
"How should I know?" Zhang Shou burst into laughter. "I've only heard of this legend. As for You Houxi's subsequent events, I don't know. Moreover, if you ask me, even if he really brought tens of thousands of troops and even a corresponding number of women and children to Haidong, and could have reproduced, it would be too difficult to develop in a strange and isolated continent."
"Even if they originally had writing, etiquette, and other excellent things that were no less than those of the Zhou people, think about it, from the Shang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties, have you ever heard of the three words You Hou Xi? Without a doubt, no. In other words, even if those people went to a certain continent east of the sea, they never came back."
"They may have completely forgotten their ancestors, and may have already become barbarians in our eyes!"
The Fourth Prince's expression finally changed. Although he was always reluctant to refute his teacher, he still said unconvincedly at this moment: "Teacher, do you mean that even if Emperor Taizu's fleet really drifted to the Haidong Continent, they would have forgotten their ancestors? But you said before that Old Salty Fish found a stone tablet there!"
" Perhaps the stone tablet was left there by other people like him after they crossed the ocean?" After asking a question, Zhang Shou smiled and touched the child who clearly said that the other person was a fake, but seemed to hope that Taizu's group of people had really drifted to the Haidong Continent. Then he smiled and said, "Don't worry, wait until they have eaten and drunk enough..."
"I'll go see them again."
The fourth prince was immediately shocked: "Teacher, shouldn't we have gone to see them when they were tired and hungry after traveling? This would have been more effective? When I saw them eating, they were so tired that they buried their heads in their bowls. I guess they couldn't eat much before they wanted to sleep."
"Oh, according to what you said, I will go now."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was truly , Zhang Shou laughed and said, "When people are tired and hungry, they will naturally want to sleep after eating and drinking. Once they are extremely sleepy, even after the most rigorous training, all their precautions and vigilance will drop to the lowest point. What's more, I don't plan to trap them. I just plan to chat about family matters."
"When it comes to everyday things, it's even harder to fake them."
Before the Fourth Prince could say anything else, he said bluntly, "So, Zheng Yan, you follow me. You must be alert and do your job as a servant. The Emperor will be waiting for you to report to him later!"
Now, the Fourth Prince was truly satisfied. He no longer had any objections and followed Zhang Shou with his head held high. As for status and other things, the naughty boy had completely forgotten about them. He had spent so much time hanging out with those poor students in the public school and with a group of poor boys in Baijia Village. He no longer cared about his status, which was once the most important thing.
Of course, a big reason for this was because the third brother had become the crown prince. So, when they reached the door, this genuine princess even took the initiative to open the door curtain, then turned a little and said very attentively, "Sir, please come in."
Hearing the word "Young Master", Xiao Cheng and Xiao Huasheng inside shuddered at the same time. When they saw Zhang Shou coming in calmly, they were busy serving food and pouring wine when they stole a glance at the Fourth Prince who looked like a servant. They all felt that the scene was too weird. Xiao Huasheng even thought seriously about whether he should take Xiao Cheng and run away.
Zhang Shou saw that some people had already stood up in a hurry. The table was in a mess. The vegetables in the carefully prepared hot pot and hot pot dishes were not touched at this moment. All kinds of meat had been swept away. The meatballs were slightly moved, but there were still a lot left. The stir-fried dishes were almost all empty, as if they wanted to lick the plates clean.
In contrast, no one touched the bowl of rice that was piled up like a small mountain.
Seeing this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but glance at Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng who were standing obediently on the side. As a result, Xiao Huasheng immediately said in a wronged tone: "Sir, I told them that rice is best eaten with vegetable soup, but they all refused to eat it, saying that they had never eaten it before."
Zhang Shou saw that there were only six people in the room. They could have sat at an eight-person table, but they had deliberately set up two tables. So there were three people standing next to each table. Most of them looked uneasy when they saw him. They didn't know how to put their hands or talk. At first glance, they didn't look like people with great insight or sophistication.
Even so, Zhang Shou knew that what he saw was not trustworthy, so he smiled and gestured, saying, "Everyone, sit down. There is no need to be so restrained. Since you are the descendants of our Taizu, you are also the people of our dynasty."
The fourth prince didn't take it seriously, but he was now Zhang Shou's servant, so he could only lower his head and curl his lips. However, he thought no one else saw it, but Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng on the opposite side were so sharp-eyed that they actually saw it clearly. And among the six so-called envoys who seemed a little scared, someone also saw this scene keenly.
The person who noticed the Fourth Prince's contemptuous look immediately exploded the next moment: "My lord, we are indeed not those noble adults in our Chinese delegation. We are just the accompanying guards. Because we got separated from the main ship and lost our direction, we worked hard to find a warm and non-freezing place to anchor ashore, but we are definitely not thieves or bandits!"
No wonder the Fourth Prince didn't believe that people came from the Haidong Continent. These people really speak Chinese very well. Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, but a smile that made people feel more like spring breeze appeared on his face: "Oh, so you found this ice-free port with great difficulty? Then I want to ask you one thing, when you sail along the coast, do you go from north to south?"
