My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 173 Characteristics of the Chinese Nation

"The second characteristic of the Chinese nation, to put it in a popular witticism, is 'I just want to farm, but if anyone disturbs me from farming, I will plant him in the field'!"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help laughing out loud, and the more he thought about it, the more interesting it became, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

These words immediately made him imagine an honest old farmer in his mind, who was actually a peerless master in secret, with his face facing the earth and his back facing the sky, and then he planted the enemy bad guys in the soil one by one.

"To put it another way, wherever there is arable land, that is the territory of China.

Therefore, this characteristic of the Chinese nation is a combination of extreme endurance and strong pioneering spirit. Specifically, the Chinese nation, from the emperor to the peasants, has an iron-like obsession with the land.

After all, the expansion of China's territory from the Yellow River and the Central Plains to the five lakes and four seas was not given by others, nor was it obtained by praying, but was won by actual fighting!"

That’s right, that’s right. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly, and couldn’t agree more.

Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi, Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi, why can Emperor Wu of Han be listed alongside Qin Shi Huang? Isn't it because Emperor Wu of Han conquered the Huns, opened up the Western Regions, and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions?
Not only that, he also conquered hundreds of kingdoms in Nanyue and expanded Chinese territory to the shores of the South China Sea.

Expanding territory is the greatest achievement of an emperor!
"This characteristic is also reflected in the fact that the Chinese nation has a very strong sense of shame. Since ancient times, any victory in a foreign war was recorded in history books with only a few words, such as 'Yan Sanguo', 'Fa Budi', etc., without any intention of showing off. It was simply too modest.

Little did we know that countless countries and nations were glossed over in our history books and completely disappeared from the long river of history, without even their names being remembered.”

Yes, this is indeed the characteristic of our Chinese nation, which is particularly humble. However, behind this humility is the demise of many countries.

Just like what Wang Changling wrote in "Seven Military Poems, No. 4", "Clouds from Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains, From the lonely city I look towards Yumen Pass in the distance. A hundred battles in the yellow sand have worn through my golden armor, I will not return until I have conquered Loulan"!
Loulan, a great country in the Western Regions in history, was reduced to ashes. If the great poet had not written about it, how many people would know about the place Loulan.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care at all, and was even very proud. Our Chinese nation is so powerful!

"But the ultimate expression of the Chinese nation's sense of shame is that after a defeat, it must be highlighted in history books, summarizing the lessons learned, what were the weather reasons, what were the terrain reasons, what were the human factors, what mistakes the generals made, and what mistakes the emperor made.

It’s simply a collection of lessons learned!
It's like telling future generations, 'You must avenge me!'

It was like telling the enemy, 'I can't beat you now, but I will write it down in my little notebook. My descendants, and my descendants' descendants, there will always be a generation that will avenge me'!
There is a saying that goes, "A vengeance that has been fought for ten generations can be avenged, even if it takes a hundred generations!" That's what it means.

"Hahahaha!" Zhu Yuanzhang's beard trembled with laughter. It's true.

Whether it is the "Strategies of the Warring States" of the pre-Qin period, Sima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian", or Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian", almost all of the defeats suffered by China were recorded in great detail.

Looking at it this way, in some ways, our ancestors were indeed a bit "petty".

Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself, it is this petty-mindedness that has created the unique national characteristics of China.

At this point, he had already understood what the Chinese national character meant.

Lao Li's summary was so accurate that he was even more curious about what more profound insights Lao Li would come up with next. "The lessons learned from our ancestors' defeats were summarized by generation after generation, forming specific cultural characteristics and integrating them into our thinking, which created the third characteristic of the Chinese nation:

Very strong cohesion!"

"Why did China always unite after being torn apart? This is the absolute role played by the idea of ​​great unity, and what supports the idea of ​​great unity of the Chinese nation is our strong cohesion!

This is because our culture has been passed down from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese nation has experienced countless challenges and tests in its thousands of years of history, but our culture has never been interrupted!
Chinese culture is profound and extensive, including various ideological systems such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. These cultural elements have formed common values ​​and behavioral norms among the Chinese nation, enhancing the sense of belonging and identity among national members.

This further strengthens the cohesion! ”

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was a little moved and his eyes became moist again.

Well said. Our civilization has been continuing, and Chinese culture will unite the people living on this land time and time again.

He was moved by the wisdom of his ancestors and shed tears for the splendid civilization of China!
Rubbing his eyes, he smiled at himself. We, Old Zhu, also crawled out of a pile of corpses. When we were little, we almost starved to death, but we never cried. When we grew up, we almost died in the battlefield, but we never cried either.

But ever since I started communicating with Lao Li, why have I been crying more and more often?

Perhaps, this is what I admire most about Lao Li. He can always dig out the deepest feelings in my heart.

Perhaps, our national characteristics as a Chinese were discovered and awakened by him bit by bit.

"There is one last point. Compared to the alien races, it is also the most terrifying and powerful. It can even make the alien races disappear without a trace without any warning or war.

This characteristic is also the most powerful weapon of the Chinese nation. Guess what it is, Lao Zhu?"

There is such a thing? How come Old Zhu doesn't know about it?
Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes wide, opened his mouth, and thought about it over and over again, but he just couldn't figure it out.

He simply put the letter down, closed his eyes and began to meditate. He was trying to compete with Li Han.

There is no need to fight, and we can even let the alien race die out silently. The people of our Chinese nation are not all as powerful as you, Old Li. It seems impossible no matter how you think about it!
Is it because the military strategy is powerful?

No, no, we have said there is no need to fight, so what is it?

I've been thinking for a long time and my head hurts, but I still can't figure it out. Forget it, I'll admit defeat and see what you, Li, have to say.

"The most powerful characteristic of our Chinese nation is our national culture, which has an unparalleled ability to integrate and assimilate in the world!
In other words, our culture has a strong ability to assimilate ideas. It can turn yours into mine and completely assimilate foreigners into our own kind!"

(End of this chapter)