Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 413 The Various Xia in the New World (Part 1)

Su Guang and his companions traveled for a long time in this unfamiliar land before encountering some wild people.

"They are barbarians!"

The young Qi man, an orphan who had gone to sea only for fame and fortune, pointed to the humanoid creatures in the distance, dressed in rough animal clothing and wielding wooden and stone weapons, and whispered.

“They look even more savage than the German barbarians from the West and the black people from Rongzhou,” Su Guang replied quietly.

When he was on a diplomatic mission to the Qin state, he met people from these places.

The former, who ate raw meat and drank blood, were far inferior to the Xiongnu;
The latter was entirely black, resembling a wild beast come to life.

This led Su Guang to choose to keep his distance from these humanoid beings, and he wrote down his reflections in his travel notes from his westward journey:
"The Chinese people stand in the center, representing the essence born from heaven and earth."

"Therefore, the closer a civilization is to the Chinese civilizations, the more prosperous it becomes. Even barbarians can benefit from its influence and be enlightened by the king's rule."

"The farther away from the Central Plains, the stronger their barbaric nature becomes, making it difficult to distinguish between humans and beasts."

"Taixi is the far west, and the barbarians here must be the lowest among all the tribes."

And now,
Su Guang wanted to retract his naive comment from back then.

They stood in the shadows, barely noticeable to others, holding sharp, hard swords and bows, spying on the movements not far away—

The barbarians used their crude weapons to capture a large deer, and then happily carried their prey back to their settlement.

Su Guang and his group followed cautiously and discovered that the other party was a small tribe with only a few dozen people living together.

The house was simply built with wood and thatch, and there were no livestock inside.

When the warriors returned laden with their spoils, most of them came out, grinning broadly with joyful smiles.

An elder lit a fire and began to butcher the prey.

They used sharp stone flakes to cut off the flesh of their prey, then skewered it with wooden sticks and placed it on a fire.

Some mischievous children smelled the aroma of food and, taking advantage of the adults' inattention, sneaked over to the fire, hoping to steal a bite.

Fortunately, his actions were discovered in time.

The elder in charge of distributing the food grabbed the child's black hand and slapped him twice.

The child, clutching his sore bottom, ran away yelling.

then,

The elder calmly took the roasted venison, first handing it to the returning hunter, then to the old man beside him...

Upon seeing this, Su Guang said to his companions:
"Although they may seem barbaric, they are not so primitive as to eat raw meat and drink blood, and they know how to respect the elderly."

“They can receive the teachings of the Chinese.”

then,

After making some preparations, Su Guang and his group took the initiative to approach and make contact with this tribe that liked to wear brightly colored long feathers in their hair.

The latter were very surprised by their arrival.

Even after more than half a year of weathering the storms at sea, Su Guang and his companions still retained traces of civilization on their faces.

Su Guang and his group were quite different from the tribe's residents due to their tall stature resulting from a long period of plenty and little physical labor, as well as their hands which were more delicate than those of the locals.

Fortunately,

Communication was not hindered by these differences.

They convey their inner thoughts through gestures and facial expressions.

The two sides had a cordial and friendly exchange, and fully exchanged opinions and gifts.

After the locals learned of their origins and received a precious pottery jar as a gift, they warmly invited Su Guang and his companions to stay temporarily in their tribe, and even offered them more food.

The latter naturally agreed.

then,

The guests from all over China stopped on this continent and began a completely new life.

"...Was this what our ancestors looked like when they first ventured into Japan?"

After teaching the people of this tribe how to make simple pottery and build more sturdy houses,

Su Guang, covered in dust and dirt, laughed at his companion.

My companion said, "It might be even harder than for them!" "After all, there aren't any major storms here, and the produce is much more abundant."

The bighorn deer, drawn by curiosity, would approach as soon as it was lured in.

Those numerous birds, so many that they blotted out the sky,
That net can catch countless fish with just one cast.
Everywhere,
All of these reflect the pristine and passionate nature of this land.

"I am amazed that the people here live on such land, yet their lives are like those of the ancient times of Suiren and Youchao."

As for Shennong?
This tribe, which was named "Youyu" by the gentry of the Xia people, relied mainly on fishing and hunting for its livelihood. There was no trace of domestication of animals, so there was no need to mention agriculture, which was more difficult and required more sophisticated skills than animal husbandry.

Before Su Guang and the others arrived.
Pottery used for holding water was considered a "treasure" by the Yu clan.

Su Guang listened to his words and nodded, saying, "Therefore, I privately believe that this is a new territory bestowed upon the Chinese by Heaven."

His companion, who hadn't thought that far ahead, was somewhat surprised by his words. "Huh?"

"Another gift?"

"The Central Plains, Lingnan, and the Western Regions, plus India and the Western Sea beyond, should be enough for us to live on, right?"

He had accompanied Su Guang to Qin and Xia, and knew the vastness of the land there, as well as its distance from the Central Plains.

Therefore,
He had a general understanding of the vastness of the Chinese world at that time.

And they traveled across the ocean to get here.
He knew all too well how many hardships the gentlemen of the Central Plains would have to endure if they wanted to come here to develop the region.

Why bother?
But Su Guang said, "The bloodline of the various Xia peoples multiplies very quickly."

"In the three hundred years of the Xia Dynasty, there have been one million registered households with more than 30 million people."

This data still doesn't take into account the large number of hidden members from aristocratic families.

"When the Qin state was restored, it had only a thousand people, but now it has several million. If it weren't for the frequent wars and the lack of abundant rainfall, its population would probably be even larger."

Based on this rate of reproduction, how could the Chinese people not need new land to support their descendants thousands of years from now?
The Romans, who lived next to the Qin state, were quite nervous about this.

Su Guang had come across some articles by Roman scholars, had them translated, and thus learned how the Qin people were viewed in the eyes of the Romans.

"They're all insects!"

"They're going to eat the whole world!"

But regarding this,
His companion just laughed it off, "We're incredibly lucky to have made it this far. Whether we can return safely is still an unknown."

Why did you suddenly start thinking about things hundreds or thousands of years in the future?

From the perspective of their companions,
The propagation of bloodlines,

It cannot continue indefinitely.

Back then, Qin Shi Huang possessed the four seas and his power extended to all directions. He had many descendants, but when his country was destroyed, if it weren't for one of them escaping from the Central Plains halfway, his eldest grandson from outside the territory would have been dealt with by Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu, who said, "A family must be together."

Therefore, his companion felt that he didn't need to think too far ahead; it was enough to take care of three generations.

"Besides, both Qin and Xia are great powers, so we cannot use the usual theories to judge them."

"How could the population of us Qi people have expanded as much as theirs?"

Japan is poor and sparsely populated.
It could not provide enough resources for the Qi state to become powerful.

The State of Qi, situated on barren land, naturally resembled a malnourished teenager, growing slowly and becoming small and weak.

The fact that the Qi people were able to expand their territory to Jeju Island in the East China Sea and some territories in the South China Sea by relying on their navy is already the result of their hard work!
Su Guang stroked his beard and laughed, "That's why I was referring to the various Xia states!"

"Furthermore, since we've come all this way through so much trouble, we should at least earn a good reputation in the eyes of future generations."

We can't let future generations laugh at us.
The adventure, the daring to brave the waves, the expenditure of countless treasures—all for naught, weren't they?

Su Guang's curiosity about the ends of the world had been satisfied.

He naturally wanted to have his name engraved in the annals of history, where words are as precious as gold.

If this is achieved
Su Guang felt that his life was perfect!

His companion scoffed, "If future generations dare to mock us like this, I'll curse them even as a ghost and throw them into the sea to feed the big fish!"

"Not really!"

Su Guang shook his head, wanting to chat with his companions about a five-zhu coin, but then he heard others calling them to eat.

So the two put aside the topic and turned to walk towards the Yu family's communal dining area.

(End of this chapter)