Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 237 The World is So Big

"The descendants of Jiuli from thousands of years ago?!"

Wang Dayuan could never have dreamed that Lu Jin had come all the way here and taken great pains to find him, only to end up telling him such a "fairy tale" when they met.

Things that happened thousands of years ago can no longer be verified, so what's the point of talking about it now?

Seeing his surprised look, Lu Jin said, "Sir, please don't be anxious. Let me tell you in detail. However, if you drive one sheep, you will also release two sheep. I am too lazy to tell you twice, so just ask two people to listen together.

"Someone is coming."

A guard immediately came in from outside the door, "Marshal."

"Go find Yu Tongyuan and Meng Zhifang, and ask them to wait for me in the artillery classroom of the palace. I want to teach them."

"Yes."

Seeing the guards go out to look for someone, Lu Jin looked at Wang Dayuan and said, "Sir, please follow me first."

Wang Dayuan also stood up and said, "Then today I must learn from the Marshal and see what the Marshal wants me to do."

"You'll know later, sir. I can guarantee that you'll stay and help me."

Seeing Lu Jin's confident look, Wang Dayuan became even more curious and followed Lu Jin to the artillery classroom in the palace.

Meng Zhifang and Yu Tongyuan were also called over. Among the two, Yu Tongyuan was originally studying with the artillery training, while Meng Zhifang was teaching in the training camp, teaching mathematics knowledge to Lu Jin.

This guy is currently the one who has studied the Gongshu Secret Classics the most deeply. Usually, when Lu Jin thinks of something, he will ask Zhang Yunxiu and Ma Xiuying to compile it into a book, and then give it to Meng Zhifang to reorganize it. If this guy doesn't know something, Lu Jin will teach him. Then when there is any knowledge that needs to be imparted to others, Meng Zhifang, the chief disciple, will teach on behalf of Lu Jin.

The geography class this time is no exception. It’s the same whether we teach a few people or not, so why not call all those who need help together?

The two men were summoned and rushed over. When they heard that Lu Jin was going to give a class and that there was a middle-aged man beside him, they were a little confused.

"I've met the handsome man."

Lu Jin nodded and immediately introduced both parties.

"Well, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Wang Dayuan from Nanchang, Jiangxi. Mr. Wang set sail from Quanzhou at the age of 19. He sailed across the ocean twice, over a dozen years, and traveled more than miles. He has been to Champa, India, Persia, the West, etc. After returning to China, he wrote a book called "A Brief Account of the Islands and Barbarians", recording his experiences along the way. Now he is the Chinese who has sailed the farthest.

"This Meng Zhifang is my disciple, and he is now teaching me the secret book. This Yu Tongyuan is the commander of the navy under my command."

When Meng Zhifang and Yu Tongyuan heard this, they immediately showed respect to the middle-aged man in front of them. He went to sea at the young age, sailed over 100,000 miles across the ocean, visited so many places, and was even given the title of the Chinese who went to sea the farthest by Lu Jinguan. What kind of experience did he have? So they quickly bowed and said, "Hello, Mr. Wang."

Wang Dayuan also returned the greeting, "I, a young man, went to sea only because of my nature, and I don't have any special skills. You two friends don't have to do this. Today, I was summoned by your commander to attend the class together. Let's listen to what the commander has to say first."

"it is good."

The two men were not pretentious. They were familiar with the place and immediately found a table near the front and sat down. Wang Dayuan also found a place to sit down. In front of them was a large blackboard that Lu Jin had asked a craftsman to make. This was where he usually taught the artillerymen.

Lu Jin picked up the chalk made of white lime and wrote the words "World Geography" on the blackboard, then turned and said to the three people.

"Today I will give you a geography lesson. This is not about Chinese geography, but about world geography. There will also be some basic astronomy knowledge. You can listen together, but remember, nothing I say today can be disclosed to anyone without my permission."

"Yes."

Meng Zhifang and Yu Tongyuan were shocked when they heard this. Lu Jin rarely made such requests. Since Lu Jin said so now, it must be a top secret matter.

Wang Dayuan glanced at the two of them. He had not yet decided to pledge allegiance to Lu Jin, so he naturally would not publicize his relationship with the rebel leader to others. Wouldn't that be stupid? So he nodded.

Lu Jin then turned to face the blackboard and drew a world map by hand while explaining.
"This is Luzhou, this is the Yangtze River, Taiping Road, Jiankang Road, Yangzhou Road, Gaoyou Prefecture, Haozhou, Huaihe River, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Xuzhou, Jinan, Zhigu, Yuan Dadu, this side is Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula, Goryeo Peninsula, Jeju Island, Tsushima Island, Japan's Kyushu Island, Honshu Island, Shikoku Island, Chengzhou Island, Sakhalin Island, the Liugui Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty, and the Shiquan Tribe and Shideer Tribe in the Tang Book."

The three people in the audience were all surprised to see Lu Jin casually draw a map of most of China.

Meng Zhifang and Yu Tongyuan naturally knew that Lu Jin was knowledgeable, but this was the first time in their lives that they saw the shape of the earth so intuitively. You know, maps are not something that ordinary people can see. In ancient times, they must have been the collection of the emperor. However, Lu Jin could easily draw them freehand, which showed his familiarity with world geography.

The more Wang Dayuan looked, the more surprised he was. He had gone to the south and west on both occasions when he went out to sea. He had never seen the map of the northeast that Lu Jin was drawing, and he didn't understand it. Even if it was the places he had been to, he couldn't draw a map like Lu Jin's.

Lu Jin continued, and after drawing the important mountains and rivers in the north, as well as the outline of the continent, he began to turn to the south.

"The eight regions of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Dali, Kunming, Qiongzhou Island, Annan, and Khmer. Is this place now called Khmer or the Angkor Dynasty?" While Lu Jin was painting, he suddenly turned around and looked at Wang Dayuan.

Wang Dayuan also stood up excitedly, "I have seen Angkor Wat here, but I have never asked what dynasty it was from. I have only been to Siam, further south, for a while."

Lu Jin nodded, "Then let's write Cambodia first, Cambodia, Siam, Burma, Luchuan Dynasty, U-Tsang, India, Sri Lanka, this side is Luzon Islands, Mindanao Island, Kalimantan Island, Sumatra Island, Strait of Malacca, Java Island, Irian Island, South Australia."

Lu Jin drew the outline of the Australian continent, then turned around and asked Wang Dayuan, "When you came back from your second voyage, you must have passed by here, the place with cliffs and reefs that you wrote about in your book."

"This is South Australia. How could this island be so big?" Wang Dayuan was a little unsure, but he could easily see the comparison between the Australian continent and the Chinese mainland from the map drawn by Lu Jin. The comparison seemed quite intuitive.

"It is indeed very large. For a landmass this large, I, Gongshu, usually call it a continent, not an island. You probably only saw its northern side last time, and didn't go deep into the land to have a look."

Lu Jin continued to draw westward, and soon he had drawn out the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. He also drew several routes and said, "You set sail from Quanzhou, went south to Champa, passed Malacca, and then went north to Persia, went through the Mediterranean, changed ships and went to Egypt and other places, right?" Wang Dayuan immediately walked excitedly to the podium, and nodded repeatedly along the route drawn by Lu Jin.

"Yes, that's right. I didn't expect that the commander-in-chief knew Wang's sea route so well. Although I have sailed tens of thousands of miles twice, this is the first time I have seen such a direct map. It is magnificent, really magnificent. How long did Gongshu hide and how many places did he visit to draw such a detailed map?"

Wang Dayuan stared at the map for a long time, his eyes full of amazement. Although he knew the route and where he had been from his two voyages, he had never gone deep into the inland and did not know the specific conditions of these places. How could he know as much as Lu Jin? Yet Lu Jin could easily draw the outlines of these places and the main mountain ranges and water systems. How could he not be shocked?

Lu Jin smiled and asked, "Sir, you went south and west twice, do you know what is in the depths of the East China Sea?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dayuan shook his head in confusion, but Meng Zhifang remembered what Lu Jin said to him on the day he accepted him as his disciple.

"The commander-in-chief once told me about Lizhou. He said that thousands of years ago, Emperor Huangdi and Emperor Yandi fought a great battle with Chiyou in Zhuolu. Chiyou was defeated and died. One of the nine Li tribes moved to the depths of the East China Sea. It is called Lizhou. The area is tens of thousands of miles wide, not much smaller than China's Shenzhou. Is this Lizhou the commander-in-chief is talking about?"

Wang Dayuan was even more surprised when he heard this. He looked at Meng Zhifang and then at Lu Jin, "Is this true?"

Lu Jin nodded, "Of course it's true. What's the point of me lying to you? What's more, what I want you to do is related to Lizhou in the depths of the East China Sea."

Hearing him say this, the three of them were all excited. There have always been rumors in Chinese history that there is a fairy mountain in the East China Sea and there are fairies on the mountain. Yu Tongyuan, a teenager, asked curiously.

"Marshal, when I was a child, I heard people say that there was a fairy island called Penglai in the depths of the East China Sea, where fairies lived. Is there really such a fairy island?"

"There are no gods. If there really are gods in this world, they would be me, Gongshu. And I definitely don't believe in them. Also, there is no Penglai Mountain in the depths of the East China Sea. There is an Island called Danzhou. There are mountains on the island, covered with sandalwood. It is called Honolulu. There are also hundreds of thousands of savages who look similar to the Chinese. Legend has it that they are the ancestors of the Baiyue people seven or eight thousand years ago. They sailed to this place and have been multiplying for thousands of years." Lu Jin said as he casually drew the location of Hawaii.

Wang Dayuan gestured with his hand and asked, "May I ask, Marshal, how far is this Tanzhou Island from China?"

"If you go straight east from the East China Sea, it's about 30,000 miles."

"So far?!" the three of them exclaimed in shock.

Lu Jin pointed to the Bering Strait at the top and knocked on the blackboard.

"Have you heard of the story of my ancestor Gongshu Ban?"

Meng Zhifang and Yu Tongyuan both nodded. They had read Gongshuzi. Except for the scientific world view and methodology in the latter part, the entire book was almost entirely about Gongshu Ban's life. Of course they knew about it.

Lu Jin said, "Mr. Wang probably doesn't know, and Gongshuzi's book is actually not complete. There is a passage about my ancestor Gongshu Ban's later years that is considered a secret by the clan, so it was never recorded in the book."

Lu Jin suddenly turned his head and looked at the three people. "The Spring and Autumn Annals, the Book of Rites and other classics highly respected by Confucianism have recorded many of the deeds of my ancestor Gongshu Ban, but they never mentioned his whereabouts in his later years. Do you know what happened to him later?"

The three of them frowned when they heard this, as it seemed that this had never been mentioned before, so they all shook their heads.

Lu Jin then said, "During the Spring and Autumn Period, the nations were in constant conflict, and the people were living in misery. Various schools of thought contended with each other, and the wise men of the nations tried their best to stop the fighting. At that time, Confucianism and Mohism were both prominent schools of thought, and there was a saying that "either Confucianism or Mohism" was the opposite. Confucianism advocated benevolence, righteousness, and propriety, while Mohism called for universal love and non-aggression. Only my ancestor Gongshu Ban scoffed at this, believing that only the unification of the nations could truly stop the fighting.

"At that time, the King of Chu was recruiting my ancestor. My ancestor saw that the King of Chu had the ambition to dominate the world, so he helped the King of Chu train his navy, make hooks and guns, and fight with the Yue people in the Yangtze River. He helped the State of Chu to pacify the Yue people and expand the territory of Chu by a thousand miles, so that the territory of Chu extended to the East China Sea. Later, he helped the State of Chu to attack Song and invented the cloud ladder and battering ram. However, he was stopped by Mo Di, a senior official of the State of Song and a great scholar of the Mohist school.

"Mozi used his clothes as a city and set up nine weapons to defend the city. Gongshu Ban set up nine weapons to attack the city, but they were all defeated by Mozi, so he stopped attacking Song. This should be the version you have heard, right?"

The three of them nodded again, and Wang Dayuan asked in confusion, "Isn't that right?"

Lu Jin immediately sneered, "Anyone who knows a little bit about military tactics will not believe such nonsense. I dare to say that there is no city in this world that cannot be attacked. It's just a matter of how long you can hold on. Is that right?"

Wang Dayuan wanted to refute, but after thinking it over carefully, he nodded.

Lu Jin added, "This statement is nothing but the Mohists bragging about their own leaders. How could my ancestor Gongshu Ban not have a way to break the city? It's nothing more than he saw that the King of Chu had lost his ambition to fight for hegemony. The King of Chu didn't want to fight anymore, so what else could my ancestor do? After that, my ancestor became discouraged and decided to live in seclusion and concentrate on studying.

"To be honest, this matter is related to Mozi. You should have heard about it. When my ancestor fought with Mozi, he said that the wooden kite he made could fly in the sky for three days without falling. Mozi said that it was not as good as a chariot shaft. The chariot shaft installed on the cart can still bear the weight of several stones. The wooden kite is clever, but it is useless. Naturally, my ancestor was not convinced, so he ridiculed Mozi's "Tianzhi Pian" for knowing the results but not the reasons, and misleading his disciples.
"The two of them got to know each other through fighting, and they taught each other their respective skills. My ancestor learned the Tianzhi chapter of Mozi's Classic of Moji, and Mozi learned the mechanical art of Gongshujia. The two were enemies, teachers, and friends. After that, Mozi persuaded the King of Chu not to attack Song anymore, and returned to Song, while my ancestor lived in seclusion and devoted himself to studying.

"The Art of War by Sun Tzu says, 'Those who are good at defense hide under the nine earths, while those who are good at attack move above the nine heavens.' What does this mean? My ancestor's nine siege weapons were all broken by Mozi, who also ridiculed the wooden kite that could fly for three days as useless. I was angry, but no matter how good you are at defending the city, can you still build a dome over the city? If I attack the city from the nine heavens, how will you defend the city?"

The three of them were stunned when they heard this. Yu Tongyuan was even more surprised and asked, "In his later years, Ancestor Gongshu actually wanted to fly to the sky and attack the city from the sky?"

Lu Jin nodded, "Yes."

Wang Dayuan was incredulous and said, "How is this possible? Throughout the dynasties, there have been many people who have wanted to ascend to heaven, but has anyone succeeded?"

Lu Jin looked at him seriously, "You think it's impossible?"

Wang Dayuan subconsciously wanted to say yes, but Lu Jin didn't wait for his answer, "But who was my ancestor Gongshu Ban? He was able to make a wooden kite that could fly for three days without falling. Didn't Mozi ridicule the wooden kite for not being able to carry things? If I make the wooden kite as big as a chariot, wouldn't it be able to carry soldiers to attack the city from the sky?"

Wang Dayuan swallowed his saliva, thinking that this idea was too fantastical. Yu Tongyuan asked excitedly, "Did the ancestor Gongshu make it later?"

Lu Jin shook his head, then nodded, "Just as Mr. Wang said, since ancient times, how many people have wanted to ascend to heaven, and how many have succeeded?

“But my ancestor was different after all. Others ascended to heaven to become immortals, but he just wanted to make a boat that could carry people to the sky. The two are very different. Since wooden kites can fly, who says that humans can’t fly?
"My ancestor lived in seclusion and devoted himself to studying for seven years. One day, he realized the truth and knew that Qi is a tangible thing. People live in Qi, just like fish live in water. Water moves to form a stream, and Qi moves to form wind. If you want to fly, you must not imitate swans and sparrows, but fish in the water. So he made an airplane in the shape of a fish. After another three years, the airplane was finally completed."

This time the three were even more surprised, "Is it really done?!"

(End of this chapter)