Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"Where's Dalang??"

"They're in the inner courtyard, paying their respects to the old master."

In the courtyard filled with northern style, Li Yanxing, who had just returned from the weapons workshop, listened to his wife Li Zhangshi's words. He picked up the teacup he had just picked up, and then put it back down.

"Paying respects to the old man is correct, but who will visit the parents of those fallen soldiers?"

Looking at her husband's worried face, Li Zhangshi wiped the tea stains off the table and then gently comforted him:

"Where in war can you expect to die? Besides, blame it on our past actions of joining the Dzungar Khanate. Since then, every major battle has reduced the number of men in our Li family. All these years have passed, and we still have so few left."

"this----"

Li Yanxing wanted to say something, but in the end he just sighed and went back inside to change into clean clothes.

In a mourning hall in the backyard, where dozens of memorial tablets were enshrined, Li Yuanheng, now dressed in black undergarments after removing his armor, knelt on a prayer mat beneath the hall, repeatedly performing the three bows and nine kowtows. Each time he bowed, a striking sound echoed behind him as he struck the ground. Just as Li Yuanheng was about to rise after the final bow, a slightly aged and hoarse yet powerful voice rang out:

"Since our great-grandfather, with his foresight, led his troops and families across the desert to trade when the Ming Dynasty fell, and later our great-great-grandfather, assessing the situation, brought us to this deep part of the Western Regions, at the foot of the Golden Mountain, it has been ninety-five years since then."

"Ninety-five years! The Ming Dynasty has been gone for ninety-five years!!"

The voice behind him began to sound somewhat disappointed. Although Li Hongbin, as the great-grandfather, was born in the desert and grew up at the foot of Jinshan Mountain, he had never actually seen what the Ming Dynasty Empire, which his father and grandfather had always talked about, was like. However, he could sense its glory from snippets of conversation since he was a child.

The voyages to the Western Ocean and the compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia brought peace and prosperity to the world, and the people lived in peace and contentment. Although the lives of ordinary people were not very good at the end of the dynasty, it was still better than the Qing dynasty's persecution of queues, suppression of culture, and burning of clothing, which made almost all Han Chinese people illiterate.

Li Yuanheng climbed up from the prayer mat, turned around, and looked at his great-grandfather sitting in the armchair with a determined gaze. He spoke in a heavy tone:

"Rest assured, sir. This family fortune in Jinshan, the place where our traditions are preserved, I will protect it for the rest of my life, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

"It's not death, it's life. You must lead everyone to survival, lead the more than 10,000 people of the 2,200 households under the jurisdiction of Jinshan Prefecture to survival----"

"Survive!!"

Li Hongbin's aged and cloudy eyes revealed a trace of resilience and perseverance. In Li Yuanheng's view, it was a voice full of mission and expectation, silent yet constantly striking his heart, which was beginning to take on responsibilities.

Li Yuanheng's throat bobbed several times, as if he wanted to speak, but in the end he only nodded silently. For him at this moment, no vow could replace the future. Only by giving the Jinshan Han family, who had survived this era by chance, a future could he truly fulfill his mission of coming to this world from hundreds of years later.

Looking at his eldest grandson, who was much more mature and had become increasingly upright, Li Hongbin felt more and more satisfied, and his grip on the dragon-headed cane became even stronger.

"Do you know why my Li family has been able to establish itself in this land of the Western Barbarians for decades?"

"Taking advantage of mountains and rivers, submitting oneself to those in power—this is the wisdom of our ancestors!"

Li Yuanheng's composed reply once again made the elderly man, who was over sixty years old, nod in approval:

"That is exactly the case. The advantage of mountains and rivers is that there is first the obstruction of the great river, and then the support of the golden mountain. It can be said that the four seasons are distinct and the products are abundant. This is why my Li family was able to build such a large family business in just a few decades."

The Ertis River and the Altai Mountains were later renamed the Golden River and the Golden Mountains, reverting to their Tang Dynasty names.

When the topic turned to Jinshan Prefecture, which was occupied by the Li family, the old master Li's smile never stopped. After all, in this vast area of ​​thousands of miles in the Western Regions, perhaps only the fertile land of Ili, occupied by the Dzungar royal court, could compare with it.

After all, this was the homeland of the Turkic Empire in history, the true place where the dragon rose. If it weren't for the changing times, the rise of powerful countries, and the constant conquests that led to the disappearance of most tribes and the survival of only a few small tribes, this land of abundance would not have been theirs to fall into the hands of a bunch of homeless dogs who had run away from the border of Han China.

"As for submitting, others, including your father and second uncle, all consider it a disgrace. But I don't see it that way. If it weren't for my great-grandfather's decisive choice to join us when the Dzungar Khanate was still unstable and needed someone to guard the border and keep an eye on the Rakshasa demons, how could my Li family have a foothold in this place? We would probably have died under the blades of the barbarian tribes long ago, and we wouldn't be where we are today!!"

"However, all of this comes at a price---"

The old man's words made Li Yuanheng's hands tremble a few times. After all, the so-called price was paid by his men, and he knew better than anyone what that price was.

It is blood, the blood of generations of Jinshan Han people, that has maintained the peace and tranquility of this land of abundance.

"Grandpa, Second Master is here. He says he wants to see Eldest Brother."

A servant's voice came from outside the door. The old man's wrinkled eyelids drooped a few times, then he picked up his dragon-headed cane and walked out. Li Yuanheng, who was beside him, followed closely behind and reached out to help him.

He had barely stepped out of the mourning hall when a loud, hearty laugh reached Li Yuanheng's ears:

"Nephew, do you want a wife?"