Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 330: Back to Jiaonan
I ran for an unknown distance.
I don't know how long I ran.
Zhang Qian and others finally reached the end of the Hexi Corridor.

And in the team,
Some people disappeared one after another——

or sick,

Or they ran too slowly and were caught by the Huns.

all in all,
Just crossing this passage connecting Zhuxia and the Western Regions,

The Han envoys paid a heavy price.

“But we still got to Jiaonan!”

Zhang Qian raised his hand and said happily to his companions.

Because of the hardships along the way,
His crown was blown off,

His hair was a little disheveled and his beard was growing wildly from his chin.

But his eyes are still so bright,
His voice was still full of energy and joy.

He boosted the morale of the team, telling them, "As long as we enter Jiaonan City, everything will be fine!"

Jiaonan,

It is a city built during the Qin Dynasty, more than a hundred years ago.

In the ups and downs of a hundred years,
This city belongs to the Xia people.

It has existed tenaciously in the barbarian-filled Western Regions, experienced ups and downs several times, and now, it has shown signs of revival.

When the Huns rose up,

When he used his whip to whip the Western Regions,
Jiaonan was the first to surrender.

At that time, Jiaonan Jun was afraid of the Xiongnu's military power and did not dare to resist their swords, so he chose to open the city and surrender. He also served as a guide in the subsequent Xiongnu attack on Longxi of the Qin Dynasty.

He completely discredited his ancestors.
Abandoned the mission and responsibility inherited from bloodline.

I gave up living in Jiaonan.
Those nearly 100,000 seeds of Zhuxia.

The people of Jiaonan denounced him for this and, while they were displaced, sang songs cursing the last emperor of the Qin Dynasty and the Huns who had destroyed their homes.

Fortunately,

No matter where the gentlemen of the Chinese nation are, they are unwilling to surrender.

In order to show his loyalty to the Xiongnu, Jiaonan Jun followed the then Chanyu Maodun to migrate to the grasslands and lived in a tent that moved with the seasons.

The remaining Jiaonan people spontaneously united together.
With the Huns and the people of the Western Regions,
Started the struggle to "defend the homeland".

After they grew stronger, they took back Jiaonan City which was occupied by barbarians, reclaimed the land of their homeland, and spread the culture from various parts of China.

The things that were left behind by the last Jiaonan Jun,
It started from Qin again,
The descendants of the immigrants from the Xia Dynasty who continued to migrate here picked them up.

And as time goes by,
The culture of the Central Plains also inexplicably emerged in the Western Regions.

Some small countries began to worship the ghosts and gods of the Xia Dynasty and started to hold grand sacrifices on August 15, praying to God to be kind to their ancestors and to protect themselves who were still alive.

Therefore,

The attitudes of the Western Regions countries towards Jiaonan improved greatly, and they believed that they, who came from the Chinese, were more likely to benefit from the gods' blessings than themselves.

What's more, some people even believe that Jiaonan is a sacred place and go on a pilgrimage.

Because it is the closest city in the Western Regions to the Central Plains,

Because many of its residents are descendants of Yan and Huang,
Therefore,
The purity of Jiaonan must be the highest in the entire Western Regions!

The gentlemen of Jiaonan didn't know why they were like this.

But as long as more people come, the city can develop and the economy can grow.

There is no need for them to dwell on the reasons behind this. All they need to do is to warmly entertain the guests and revive Jiaonan's past glory of dominating the Western Regions!

Some hatred,

They will remember it and retaliate later.

But now is not the time.

The long camel bells rang out.
Zhang Qian and others entered the city along with merchants from the Western Regions who came to Jiaonan to trade.

They looked around at everything:
The city walls here are made of rammed earth.

Because there is not enough water and soil in the Western Regions, not enough grass and trees can grow.

The facial features of the people here are inevitably somewhat deep and their skin color is somewhat fair.

Because the ancestors of the Jiaonan people, more or less, were the offspring of their union with women from the Western Regions.

But the good news is that

The people of Jiaonan still wore clothes with right-side lapels and did not wear the pointed hats commonly seen in the Western Regions.

They simply tied up their hair and then, following the custom of their ancestors, wrapped a black cloth around their heads.

And in terms of living habits,

Zhang Qian and his companions could also see from the corners that Jiaonan was rich in the Xia ancestry.

“It’s amazing that vegetables can be grown in such a large area!”

"This is definitely something that only the people of Zhuxia can do!"

Tang Yifu stared at the corner of a house's wall, and then said to Zhang Qian with emotion.

Zhang Qian just smiled and said nothing.

Then Tang Yifu pointed at the green vegetable and said, "I know that the Central Plains is vast and rich in resources, and there are many kinds of food. Which one is this?"

Zhang Qian did not answer.

Because he didn't know what kind of vegetable it was.

The Western Regions are located at an important node on the long trade route.
It is normal for some things to appear here that are not found in the Central Plains.

So Zhang Qian changed the subject and said, "Go and present the letter to the ruler of Jiaonan!"

As for the Lord of Jiaonan,
After receiving the news from the Emperor of Central Plains, he was very happy.

Although times have changed,

It is no longer the Qin Dynasty that rules the Central Plains.

But the one who controls Jiaonan Kingdom is not the royal family appointed by Qin Shi Huang!

The grandfather of this king,
He was the leader who led the descendants of Xia to recover Jiaonan.

He took over the "Jiao Nan" business from his grandfather.

He had no extra feelings for Ying Qin.
Now, when they met the envoys from the Han Dynasty, they naturally did not have any resentment of "enemies meeting each other".

The king was very happy that Jiaonan could re-establish contact with the Central Plains.

Through the teachings of my grandfather,
And the study of Jiaonan history,

This young and shrewd king knew that Jiaonan’s most glorious moment was not due to its own strength, but to the support of the Central Plains for Jiaonan.

For Jiaonan, the Central Plains
Like a mother nursing her baby.

There it is,
Only by Jiaonan could continuously obtain population and resources, and have enough strength and confidence to bully the small countries in the Western Regions and beat those hateful Di Rong people.

Moreover, with the Central Plains as support,

Jiaonan is more powerful and should fight against the Huns!

When I think of these years,

The king could not help but grit his teeth in hatred at the oppression of Jiaonan by the Huns, who dominated the grasslands and galloped thousands of miles.

then,

Embracing the joy of "someone finally came to my hometown",

There is also the comfort of "finally having someone to lean on",

The king received Zhang Qian and his party warmly.

He went out of the city himself,
Welcoming the Han angels into his palace,

Then a sumptuous banquet was set up to entertain the distinguished guests from afar.

Zhang Qian, the angel, was very satisfied with Jiaonan's attitude.

He told the king, "The Western Regions have been isolated from the Central Plains for decades."

"I didn't expect Jiaonan to continue the etiquette of the Central Plains."

“This is not an easy thing to do!”

The experience of the Hexi Corridor,
Zhang Qian faced the tyranny of the Xiongnu people.

The Huns, like jackals, coveted anything better than themselves.

If you can't get it,

They will choose to destroy it!

Anyway, no one can be better than these barbarians from the grassland.

And hearing him say this,
The king burst into tears.

He told Zhang Qian, "Angels don't know what kind of injustice our ancestors have suffered here!"

Although Jiaonan was strong,
He once attacked from all directions, beat the barbarians and spread education.

After retaking the homeland occupied by the barbarians,

And those blood feuds were slaughtered and made into traditional buildings...

But none of this matters!

It is important that

After losing the "umbilical cord" that continuously supplied nutrients from the Central Plains to Jiaonan,

Jiaonan once became a vassal of other countries in the Western Regions.

Even the Weixu people next door, who had only two thousand soldiers, once showed off their military power under the city of Jiaonan.

When the Xiongnu came and supported the states of Yanqi and Qiuci,

Jiaonan's situation was even more difficult and bitter.

It was only in the past twenty years or so that the situation began to improve.

"These are the annals of Jiaonan, recording the experiences of our ancestors."

"I hope the Han Dynasty will not deny our status as Zhuxia just because Jiaonan is far away in the Western Regions."

Zhang Qian took the thick history book and read it through.

Then he said to the sincere Lord Jiaonan, "How can I bear to do such a thing?"

Jiaonan is the only one hanging here.

He also adhered to the traditions of his ancestors and wrote their characters, so that he, an angel from the Central Plains, could communicate with them fluently.

What kind of perseverance is this?
Moreover, Jiaonan treated himself with the courtesy of a gentleman.

Although Zhang Qian has the arrogance of an angel, he cannot be a mean person who takes advantage of others.

That is the attitude towards barbarians.

Naturally, it cannot be used to treat blood relatives like Jiaonan.

"Is the Han Dynasty willing to send troops to the border to fight against the hateful Xiongnu?"

After the Lord of Jiaonan received the "Zhu Xia Bloodline Identification" from the angel, he smiled happily and continued to ask.

Zhang Qian told him, "Your Majesty sent me here for this very reason!"

He told Xinxia that he was going to a place further west to contact her.

The king felt a little lost.

But his attitude did not change because of this. He just said to Zhang Qian, "Xinxia is still very far away from here."

Jiaonan is the closest city-state to the Hexi Corridor.

It is also the walled country farthest from New Xia.

If you depart from Jiaonan,
According to previous caravan experience, the journey would take at least three seasons.

And this is just the time when merchants just drop off their goods and leave without staying any longer.

The mission of the delegation is to contact foreign countries, persuade them to pay tribute to the emperor and accept education. I think their journey will become longer.

"I know!"

Zhang Qian straightened his chest and said nonchalantly, "But I will never let your Majesty down!"

No matter how far away the goal is
He's going to go over there!

No matter how difficult the journey is,

He's going to crush it to the ground!
Just as the Han people are destined to be as brilliant as the Milky Way,
He Zhang Qian,
It is also destined to move forward on the road to the West!

(End of this chapter)