Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 446. Drifting in a Foreign Land
The hunters returned to the village, and time passed by. Pang Lin would not let the soldiers just sit there and wait, so he asked them to take a break while on guard to see what the other side was up to.

"General, these natives will not call for help, and are ready to do something bad to us, right?"

Pang Lin sat under the shade of a tree, and a few soldiers next to him chatted with him in a casual manner.

"I don't think so. They just saw that our Han army is powerful. Even if they want to kill us on the spot, they have to consider the consequences."

Pang Lin shook his head.

"But General, these savages are uncivilized, how could they possibly understand those principles? Maybe they saw that we were well-equipped and became greedy."

A few soldiers with rich imaginations were still quite worried.

"It is because they are uncivilized and like wild animals that they know what to provoke and what not to provoke. Apart from anything else, if there were two or three hundred hunters like the ones just now, would you be afraid?"

Pang Lin smiled in silence. As Pang Tong's younger brother, although he was not as proud as his brother, he was also somewhat proud. Although he respected these natives, he was not afraid of them.

The reason for this is that Feng Xi once personally wrote a letter to General Pang, Lin and the other three, telling them that if they met the natives in Yizhou this time, they should make good friends with them. If the Han army really wanted to kill these natives, it would be like playing, but what would happen after that? The chain of hatred would only be passed down from generation to generation, and it would also have an impact on the soldiers of the Han army.

However, Feng Xi also said in the letter that if you encounter hostile natives, after confirming that the other party has malicious intentions, you should still focus on protecting yourself.

The principle of "having a legitimate reason for attacking" has remained unchanged since ancient times. However, this reason was not given to the uncivilized natives, but to the Han army, so that they would not have extra psychological pressure if they took action.

"General, several people came out of the village."

The soldier who had climbed up a tree to act as an observer shouted loudly, interrupting the conversation.

"Assemble the entire army!"

Pang Lin's face turned serious, and the soldiers stopped laughing. Their expressions became as solid as mountain rocks, without a single ripple.

Pang Lin took out his telescope and took a look. He saw that it was a few middle-aged hunters he had just met and the woman who could speak a few words of Chinese, supporting an old man with white hair.

The most surprising thing was that the old man was wearing a linen brown robe, which was obviously the clothing of ordinary people and did not fit in with the natives around him.

"Everyone else please stand by for now, and you two teams will follow me."

Pang Lin saw that the other side was only a small number of people, and it was not a good idea to mobilize all the hundreds of Han soldiers, so he took a dozen Han soldiers and strode towards the other side.

"You...you are the official army of my Han Dynasty?"

When Pang Lin approached, the old man who seemed to be dying suddenly stopped, his chaotic eyes suddenly shot out a gleam of light, and he looked as if he had received a shot of cardiotonic, and was full of energy.

"Exactly. May I ask who you are, old man? Why are you here on Yizhou Island?"

Pang Lin bowed and could tell that the old man seemed to have not spoken Chinese for a long time, and his accent was a little distorted.

"My surname is Cui, I am from Guangling, and I make a living by fishing. When I went out to sea to fish, I encountered a storm and was blown all the way here. My fishing boat hit a reef and sank. Fortunately, the local people took me in and I have survived till now." As the old man Cui spoke, he became emotional and began to wipe away his tears. However, Pang Lin could understand that anyone who had traveled far away could relate to the feeling of being a stranger in a foreign land.

"I wonder when Elder Cui came?"

Pang Lin wanted to find out the other party's situation first, so he asked.

"I went out to sea in the third year of the Chuping reign. I wonder what year it is now?"

Old Man Cui thought about it and seemed to find some vague fragments from the depths of his memory.

"The third year of Chuping? That was thirty-two years ago... Now it's the third year of Jianxing."

Pang Lin was also a little surprised when he heard what Old Man Cui said. This old man had been wandering in Yizhou for more than 192 years. According to the Western calendar of later generations, the third year of Chuping was 224 AD, and now it is AD, and years have passed.

"Thirty-two years... What is the current situation of our Han Dynasty? Have the Yellow Turban bandits been completely wiped out? What about Dong Zhuo?"

All the things that Old Man Cui said were about the past, which made Pang Lin feel as if he was out of place in time and space.

"Dong Zhuo died the year you went to sea. The biggest enemy of the Han Dynasty is the Cao family of Qiao County. Cao Cao, the former governor of Yanzhou, kidnapped Emperor Xian and proclaimed himself the King of Wei. After Cao's death, his son Cao Pi openly forced Emperor Xian to abdicate. Now my lord and the traitor Cao Pi, who usurped the Han Dynasty, are facing off from north to south."

Pang Lin explained briefly, but Old Man Cui was still confused. Pang Lin shook his head, indicating that they could talk about these things later.

"Then I wonder why the general has brought my Han army here? What do you need my help with?"

Old Man Cui also turned his attention from the past back to the present. He knew that the Han army could not have come here for no reason, and there must be a purpose.

"We are here on the orders of the Grand Commander of the Han Dynasty to explore the local conditions in Yizhou. The Grand Commander once said that the land here is quite fertile and can produce three crops a year. The Han Dynasty intends to restore this place to the rule of the king, so they asked me to come here to communicate with the residents on the island first."

At this time, Pang Lin didn't know whether Old Man Cui had lived on the island for decades and had any feelings for the people on the island, so he concealed it a little.

"So that's how it is. I once wanted to learn from the ancient sages and educate the local people. Unfortunately, I don't know many words, and one person's ability is limited. I only let my granddaughter learn a few words of Chinese. If the Han people are willing to educate the people here, I am willing to do my best."

I didn't expect that the old man would be so excited when he heard that the Han Dynasty wanted to expand its territory. But think about it, if you have read some books, who wouldn't want to do the work of education like the sages Confucius and Mencius?
Seeing the old man say this, Pang Lin breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards the village behind.

"In that case, please act as our interpreter and tell them that the Han Dynasty will build a city, a port, and cultivate land here. The Han Dynasty has always taught everyone. If they are willing to learn culture and become Han citizens, we will welcome them."

As soon as Pang Lin opened his mouth, Old Man Cui was excited. Now he had the opportunity to return to the Han Dynasty, and to make his sons and granddaughters Han Chinese, and even to have the opportunity to farm the land. For a man like him who had pure Han blood in his bones, the attraction was too great.

"Okay, General, please follow me. I have been living here for dozens of years, but I have learned the local language."

Without saying a word, Old Man Cui immediately led the way, taking Pang Lin and others towards the village.

(End of this chapter)