knife

Chapter 163 On the road

The influence of the Qin state on the Northern Yuan was multifaceted.

When the Qin state was first established, there was no such state as Beiyuan. At that time, they were just scattered tribes living in this area, constantly at war with each other.

Neither the ancient Great Yong nor the later Great Qin had a friendly attitude towards them.

It belongs to the kind of state where you can get whatever you want.

If they don't want to give it to them, they'll come and get it themselves.

The exploitation of these tribes in the border regions is extremely severe.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance; this is an age-old truth.

Since we are born as human beings, we naturally do not want to be bullied at will and even enjoy it.

The battle begins.

The feud between them continued for many years.

Amid this chaotic state, the Xiongnu, the dominant ethnic group of the Northern Yuan, gradually emerged. More than a hundred years ago, the Mamba appeared out of nowhere, formed the Xiongnu tribal alliance, and marched south in a large-scale attack. The Qin border army, caught off guard, suffered a crushing defeat.

Thus began Li Muye's northern expedition.

Tactically, Mamba did lose the battle, but strategically, he won.

In this bloody war, the weaker tribes were mostly wiped out, while the Xiongnu tribal alliance of Mamba survived and became the most powerful force in the north.

Qin won the war, but its long logistical supply lines were simply insufficient to support Li Muyi's strategic vision of annihilating the enemy. Furthermore, the longer the war dragged on, the greater the losses became, which also contradicted Qin's strategy. At that time, Qin was still striving to conquer Southern Chu and unify the world. It had little interest in the northern tribes.

Thus, the Yuan Dynasty was established.

From the very beginning, the political structure of the Yuan state was basically copied from that of the Qin state.

Even the capital city of Yandu was designed and built entirely by copying the layout of Chang'an.

It's just a smaller version.

Chang'an had a population of over one million, while Yandu had a population of only one hundred thousand.

With powerful neighbors to the south, the newly established Northern Yuan Dynasty lived in constant fear and trepidation for over a century, always keeping a low profile and showing no regard for face.

Now, the once-powerful Qin state has finally exposed its weakness, while the Northern Yuan, after the painstaking efforts of several emperors, is flourishing and thriving.

Li Dachui was filled with emotion as he traveled.

The closer they got to the border, the more the lifestyle of the Yuan people resembled that of the Qin state.

Centered on Yandu, the area extending south to the border with Qin was primarily agricultural, supplemented by animal husbandry. Moreover, their agricultural techniques were in no way inferior to those of the people of Qin beyond the Great Wall.

The two companies are so close that it would be incredibly easy for them to steal any new technologies they might be using.

Just like the curved plow, which had only been popular outside the Great Wall for a few years, Li Dachui saw it here as well. Although there weren't many, it was clear that the Yuan people had also mastered the manufacturing technology of the curved plow. However, due to the limited speed of forging, it had not yet been widely adopted.

This made Li Dachui very unhappy.

Because he invented the curved plow.

"That damned Tiele, who knows how many spies he's recruited outside the Great Wall, they steal everything! Judging by this, they probably stole the curved plow not long after it was put into use!"

We must never allow the Tiele to ascend the throne.

Li Dachui was seething with hatred, but his eyes were drawn to Sha Liewen in the prison van ahead.

Poor Shaliewen was still running around flattering Fu Qingzhu while he was in Qin territory, but as soon as he arrived at Qingtongxia, he was immediately arrested by Lengge and stuffed into a prison cell.

Now, this guy's head and two hands are stuck outside. The key problem is that the cage isn't tall enough, and Shalievin is incredibly tall, so he can only squat in the cage, which is a deadly position.

Lenger was dealing with him.

Unable to sit down or stand up straight, Sha Liewen, whose true energy had been sealed, was now just an ordinary person. After traveling for more than ten days, he was exhausted and emaciated.

Shalievin is a man of the Northern Yuan, and to the Northern Yuan, he is indeed a sinner.

Therefore, even Fu Qingzhu couldn't say anything about Lengge's actions.

Of course, out of compassion, it would be acceptable to give him some medicine along the way to keep him alive.

However, Charlevin's arduous journey is about to come to an end.

We're almost at Yandu.

It's likely that the Third Prince Akdun wouldn't stand idly by and watch Shalevin be dealt with. If he didn't offer assistance, it would discourage his other subordinates. Akdun had an excellent reputation in the Northern Yuan, being known for his generosity and kindness. When officials committed crimes and sought his help, they would generally receive a response.

Whether he succeeds or not, he will always lend a hand.

Compared to Tiele's meticulousness and the sharp and strict nature of his elder brother Jebe, Akdun was quite shrewd and adaptable. Of course, Akdun's behavior in private was another matter entirely.

"Master, I heard that Attila, the owner of the Northern Yuan Imperial Medical Academy, studied medicine in Changchun Valley for many years?" Li Dachui asked Fu Cheng when he had nothing to do.

“Yes, the Valley Master teaches without discrimination. As long as you are willing to learn, the Valley Master will teach you. Attila even gave himself a Qin name in Changchun Valley, Fu Qin. Speaking of which, he was really diligent back then!” Fu Cheng looked up and thought for a moment and said, “This person’s talent in medicine is stronger than mine.”

"Master is too modest. How could he compare to you? Just look at the achievements you've made over the years. Any one of them would leave Attila speechless."

"I'm not being modest, I'm just being self-aware. The Valley Master has taught me everything he knows and is grooming me to be his successor. Attila, on the other hand, is mostly self-taught and only consults the Valley Master when he doesn't understand something. Even so, he's no less capable than me. To be honest, the medical achievements over the years have been mostly practical, and most of the credit goes to you. As for medical theory, Attila understands it much better than I do."

"I only mentioned a possibility, Master is the real hero!" Li Dachui waved his hand with a smile and said, "Master, when our medical clinic officially opens, you will truly have students all over the world. Just thinking about so many junior brothers and sisters makes me, as the senior brother, very happy!"

"You want to use those people in the medical center like cattle, don't you?" Fu Cheng laughed. "You never do anything without a profit!"

"Practicing medicine to help the sick and save lives are all acts of benevolence. Master, I do have some selfish motives, but if we succeed, I won't be the only one who benefits!"

"If you hadn't seen this, do you think the Valley Master would have agreed to let you command the people of Changchun Valley at your will? The Valley Master is risking his entire life's reputation!"

"Don't worry, Master. I will not let down either the Valley Master or you!" Li Dachui said solemnly.

Fu Cheng glanced at Li Dachui, his face full of distrust: "This time you're going to Yandu, don't cause any big trouble, or it'll be hard to clean up the mess."

“This time we’re not here to cause trouble, but for peace.” Li Dachui said firmly, “The Anxi Protectorate has just been established and doesn’t want to fight. However, the Yuan people probably won’t agree, especially since we’ve made Sha Liewen suffer so badly this time! Just look at his appearance, and you can tell the Yuan people are very angry.”

He nodded with his chin at the prison cart among the Yuan army guards ahead.

"Ah, it's so good not to have war." Fu Cheng said with emotion, "I also traveled to Yuan Kingdom to practice medicine a few years ago. The people I met were no different from those on our side. They were all good people. But once a war broke out, they immediately became mortal enemies, fighting to the death."

"In order to fight for living space, for resources to survive, and for the sake of living better for themselves and the people they care about and love, conflicts will naturally arise!" Li Dachui shook his head and said, "Wherever there are people, there will never be a lack of such struggles. Master, this has absolutely nothing to do with whether someone is good or bad."

"Is the Ice Age you're talking about really true, or are you just making it up?"

“You only need to look at what Yingzhuo has been doing these past two years to know that what I’m saying is true!” Li Dachui said, “Why are the Eastern and Western Hu and Northern Hu moving south? Because it’s no longer possible to survive in the north. Although the climate change may seem insignificant, it will definitely affect all of us. When your land can no longer grow crops, when your pastures can no longer raise cattle and sheep, when your people are starving and cold, what can you do? You can only attack.”

"So war broke out!" Fu Cheng sighed.

“Yes, we don’t want to give up our territory to them, but they need to survive, they need to live, so what can they do but rob us!” Li Dachui said, “From their respective perspectives, you can’t say they are wrong.”

“There is nothing we can do about this. As doctors, the only thing we can do is save as many people as possible in this chaotic world and do our best. But if we really want to save the world, then the world must be unified!” Fu Cheng said, “Although the Great Yong Dynasty has fallen, judging from the historical records, the people lived very well during the hundreds of years that the Great Yong Dynasty was strong.”

"Of course, I will try my best!" Li Dachui said with a smile.

"You're quite confident!"

“People like me are very confident. Whether we succeed or not, confidence is essential,” Li Dachui said. “If a person has no dreams, what’s the difference between them and a salted fish? So you must have dreams, what if they come true?”

Fu Cheng smiled and gave him a thumbs up: "You want to govern the world, which is much more ambitious than my desire to cure diseases."

Just as Li Dachui was about to praise Fu Cheng, the sound of horns rang out in the distance, and the Yuan army escorting them immediately responded with their own horns.

A moment later, a dark mass of Yuan people appeared in the distance.

"Such a grand display! Valley Master, you certainly have a lot of influence. Who's leading this? I see, it's Aktun! Haha, it really is him!" Li Dachui laughed loudly, "Finally, we're going to meet this Third Prince! What a stroke of luck!"

(End of this chapter)