Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 875 Overseas Development

Yuan Xi looked around and saw that there were about a dozen or so scattered natives from the Wonu Kingdom. After Mi Tai explained, Yuan Xi realized that more than half of them had not come, mainly because they were either ill or unrecovered after a long voyage. The body was weak, so Mi Tai only picked those who were in good health to come over.

Yuan Xi saw that these people were both male and female, but most of them were not tall, about five feet tall. They had sallow complexions and thin muscles, which was obviously caused by long-term malnutrition. The clothes on their bodies were similar to Ma Ge and were quite rough.

Yuan Xi raised his hand and asked the leading man to step forward. The man was at a loss until Mi Tai said something, and then he stepped forward tremblingly.

When Yuan Xi saw it, he asked Mi Tai curiously: "Are you able to understand their words now?"

Mi Tai replied: "Simple ones are fine, but the syllables are confusing and vary from place to place, making communication quite difficult."

The man walked up to Yuan Xi and saw Yuan Xi reaching out to grab the hem of his clothes. He was startled and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy. Yuan Xi stopped his movement and rubbed the hem of the man's clothes with his hands. He found that the fabric He was quite rough and said to Mi Tai: "What do they use for weaving?"

Mi Tai said: "The raw materials are similar to jute, and the spinning wheel used is quite crude. It looks like something from ancient times. There is no good soaking method, let alone the gray liquid degumming method, so the linen cloth is quite hard and not easy to use." It’s like what I, a big man, use.”

The retting method mentioned by Mi Tai was used to degumming linen. Because the texture of linen is hard, it is difficult to wear clothes without degumming, so the hemp degumming and retting method was born.

The technology of this method is quite complicated. The water quality should be clear. If you use turbid water, the color of the hemp fiber will turn black. The amount of water should be sufficient. If the water is too little, the hemp fiber will be brittle. The soaking time should be moderate. If it is too short, the degumming will not be enough and it will be difficult to peel. If it is too long, it will be difficult to peel. The degumming will be excessive and the fibers will be damaged.

Yuan Xi nodded, "It seems that the possibility of Xu Fu reaching the Wonu Kingdom is not small. I am afraid that due to various reasons, the technology he brought there is only spread in a small area."

"Considering that if it was Xu Fu, he must have thought about returning to the Han Dynasty one day, so he would focus on shipbuilding and navigation. It is also possible."

What Yuan Xi was looking at now was the linen spinning technology of the Wonu Kingdom. At first glance, he found that it was indeed very different from the linen of the Han Dynasty today, so he said to Mi Tai: "Do you think their current level is better than the linen spinning technology of the Han Dynasty?" Not to the level of pre-Qin?"

Therefore, this method was born very early and can be traced back to the Neolithic period. Its technology has been continuously improved and developed. It was not until the Qin and Han Dynasties that people accurately grasped the season of retting. The Northern Wei Dynasty began to grasp the key details. The Song Dynasty summarized the sensory identification method. During this period, a scouring method using gray liquid instead of clean water was invented.

"I have been to the Wonu Kingdom several times and found that there are great differences between regions. Many technologies have huge gaps, but there is no follow-up development, as if they were brought in from outside."

Mi Zhen said from the side: "From another perspective, Emperor Qin's purpose is to find Penglai Immortal Mountain. Naturally, the closest route is from Qingzhou to Xuzhou."

The reason why Yuan Xi must study this issue clearly is that he also wants to study the most suitable route based on the path of his predecessors, which involves where to start and what route to take in order to reach the Japanese Nu Kingdom as quickly and safely as possible.

During the Warring States Period, the Yue State established its capital in Langye. Langya became the political, economic, and cultural center of the Yue State. After it was later assigned to the Qi State, it became an important economic and cultural area outside Linzi, the capital of the Qi State. After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, Langye became the political, economic, and cultural center of the Yue State. The status of the seat of Langxie County was further improved. During this period, it has been one of the famous seaports of the Warring States and Qin States.

Mi Tai said: "The most obvious evidence is that the navigation and shipbuilding technology of the Wonu Kingdom is not bad. In many cases, it can even reach the level here two hundred years ago. It is obviously developed on a certain basis."

"Did Xu Fu reach the Japanese slave country?"

According to historical records, only Langya was suitable on the long East China Sea coastline at that time.

Yuan Xi praised: "You are right, I think so too."

Langya has a natural and excellent harbor, which is the best choice for going to sea. Sima Qian also adopted Xu Fu's statement of setting off from Langya in The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang.

"For example, in most areas, hemp is still spun by hand. This method is too old, but I have also heard that some people have seen traces of spinning wheels. I don't know why it has not spread."

He let go of the worried native man's hand and asked him to step back, "But if you really want to say that, it is most convenient for the Qin Dynasty to send people to cross eastward in Youzhou or Qingzhou, and it will be difficult to go further south."

Mi Tai nodded in agreement, "My lord is great. Going from Xuzhou to the Wonu Kingdom is several times more difficult than Qingzhou. What's more, the sea ships in the pre-Qin period were far inferior to today. The official speculated that based on the direction of the spring and summer winds, Qingzhou would be the most suitable place to start. Yes, Xuzhou, including Jiangdong or further south, the possibility is very low."

At the end of the Han Dynasty, people had just mastered the retting season, and the softness of the processed twine could even reach the level of silk, but it was quite scarce and the cost was high.

"In some places, such as linen technology, it is a little better than in the pre-Qin period, but in other places it is far behind. If no one interfered, there would never be such a difference."

The most important thing when going to sea is the local environmental conditions. Firstly, the economy is developed. Secondly, the natural conditions of the port. The water depth of the harbor, the climate of the waterway, and the convenient transportation with the Central Plains are all important conditions. In this way, a large number of people are gathered and a large amount of materials are mobilized. , large-scale operations such as shipbuilding can be carried out.

Yuan Xi felt the same way. Some people in later generations speculated that his starting point was the Guangdong area. This is unlikely. During the Qin Dynasty, Minyue was full of wild animals and desolate people. Qin Shihuang went thousands of miles south to build a seaport and shipbuilding, and then let the fleet go north against the wind?

These two questions were obviously related. Mi Tai naturally knew the intention, so he replied: "I think it's time to arrive."

Judging from Mi Tai's experience in several voyages, there are two routes to Japan, northbound or southbound.

The northbound journey started from Langye, along the coastline of the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula and the western part of the Korean Peninsula, passed through the Tsushima Strait, and reached places such as Kitakyushu and Wakayama in later Japan.

The southbound route starts from Qingxu and passes through the southern part of the Korean Peninsula to Kyushu, Japan, or crosses the Yellow Sea, or goes to the Korean Peninsula and crosses the Jeju Strait to Kyushu, Japan.

The reason for this choice is due to monsoons and ocean currents. People cannot violate the laws of nature. Only by finding the most suitable method and route can we get twice the result with half the effort, otherwise we will only die in the sea. Later generations of Jianzhen may not understand history, so it is normal to encounter failure if they have to set out from Quanzhou. The area south of Jiangdong has excellent conditions for going to Nanyang, but it is really not suitable to go north to the Wonu Kingdom.

Yuan Xi also asked the indigenous people about their customs and conditions to learn about the situation along the coast of the Wonu Kingdom, and found that there were indeed places on the coast where no tribes had settled, which could be used as sites for establishing seaports in the future.

So he made plans to send the natives to free schools to learn Chinese characters. At the same time, he asked Mi Tai to quickly find a suitable location for establishing a seaport on the map.

Yuan Xi already had Tian Yu's experience in building ports along the coast of the Korean Peninsula, and knew that development was not easy. Just to transport infrastructure materials along the coast, Tian Yu used a large fleet and supplies, encountered various difficulties, and almost failed several times.

It is several times more difficult for Mi Tai to do this kind of thing. Not only does he have to bring enough materials, tools and food, but also craftsmen with relevant skills. This number is not a small number. Once he fails, he has to do it again. It will take several years.

Therefore, this time when he goes overseas, Yuan Xi plans to invest all the expenses for Xuzhou's recuperation and recuperation in the next few years in order to achieve success at once.

Mi Tai also knew that the matter was of great importance. After telling Yuan Xi many things that needed Yuan Xi to make a decision, Yuan Xi thought for a while and said, "I'll go back and think about it. During this time, you should follow the steps step by step."

Mi Tai agreed, and Yuan Xi suddenly thought of something and said to Mi Tai: "Ask them, do they have any Shinto faith?"

Mi Tai was startled. He had not thought about such questions before, so he asked them one by one. Finally, he came back and said to Yuan Xi: "They almost all believe in the primitive totems of the tribe. I have never heard of anyone who has come into contact with the Central Plains."

He immediately shook his head and said: "It's strange. Logically speaking, Xu Fu is a seeker of immortality. When he arrives in the Wonu Kingdom, he should be able to spread the Taoism of Huang Lao to some extent, but it seems that this Taoism has not spread?"

Yuan Xi nodded, "Except for Xu Fu, there is really no possibility of going to the Japanese slave country. Maybe he is not a Taoist at all, which is unknown."

Seeing that Mi Tai was confused, he said: "To develop overseas, collective belief is very important. I will explain this issue to you later."

After Mi Tai left, Mi Zhen said, "My husband seems to be hesitant about the candidate?"

"Also, why are things of faith so important?"

Yuan Xi sighed: "This is actually a problem."

"Xu Fu went to sea. Behind him was the Qin Emperor who established a great unification and could be called the emperor of the ages. He may not be able to win over people's hearts, let alone me, a state shepherd?"

"The sky is high and the emperor is far away from the Japanese slaves, so it is easy for the mercenaries to become self-reliant. Even if the leader is loyal, it is difficult to guarantee the loyalty of his subordinates. As long as he escapes with tools and skills, annexes various tribes, and establishes himself as king, he will be able to succeed in the future. It’s a hidden danger.”

"So if you want to unite people's hearts, you need to rely on imperial power and preaching, such as Taiping Dao."

Mi Zhen smiled and said, "Isn't my husband very prestigious in Taiping Dao?"

"Can't this be used?"

Yuan Xi sighed: "This is an expedient measure to fight against Cao Cao, not a last resort. I am not willing to take this road."

"Especially as an emperor, it is not a good thing for imperial power to be mythologized."

Mi Zhen was confused and shook her head: "I don't understand."

Yuan Xi took Mi Zhen's hand and said with a smile: "Let's go back and talk while walking."

The two got into the car, and Mi Zhen leaned in Yuan Xi's arms. She felt that Yuan Xi's hands were being dishonest again, and she blushed. Then she heard Yuan Xi say, "Do you know about the Yellow Emperor becoming a god?"

Mi Zhen didn't react and asked doubtfully: "Which emperor?"

Yuan Xi said: "The Yellow Emperor of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors."

"He has become a god alongside other ancient emperors, but the process of his ascension to the gods was a process in which Taoists used his influence and were then used and blocked by Confucians."

"At that time, Taoists took advantage of Huangdi's reputation and wrote many classics on state governance, such as the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classics, the Yellow Emperor's Four Classics, the Huangdi Ming, the Huangdi's House Classics, etc., collectively called the Emperor's Book."

"In fact, it contains the principles of managing the world, and the emperor's name has a great influence. It blocks the way of Confucianism, but there is no good countermeasure. Finally, after thinking hard, the Confucianists came up with a poisonous plan."

"What's the plan?" Mi Zhen asked confused.

"Praise to kill." Yuan Xi said slowly.

(End of this chapter)