Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"Food is the foundation of human life. Eating too much leads to obesity, eating too little leads to emaciation, and stopping eating leads to death."

Wearing a straw hat, Wang Haizhou was planting rice seedlings with his head down. The weather had warmed up considerably by then, and except for a few mountain valleys where snow was still falling, the rest of the area was in the planting season.

The planting season in Altai is always a few months later than in the Central Plains. They only dare to start planting in mid-April, since winter here lasts for more than five months. The grain planted today is both the first and the last crop of the year.

Of course, in addition to these staple foods, locals also grow cold-resistant crops such as oats and barley as a supplement to their staple foods.

In addition, jujube trees are commonly planted in the countryside and even in the city of Jinshan. This is not a custom or habit, but simply because in this vast Western Region, jujubes are one of the few plants that are not picky about the soil and are easy to store, lasting for a considerable number of years. For the people of the Western Region, jujubes can not only satisfy hunger, but also supplement sugar and other vitamins, sometimes even more so than grains. Therefore, the habit of planting jujubes is almost a common practice in every household.

Not only in the Western Regions, but also in Central Asia, Persia, and even the more distant Middle East, dates have been cultivated for thousands of years. There are even dates, a variety with extremely high sugar content, which can be called the Inner Asian Date Country.

"I rise at dawn to tend the overgrown fields, and return home with my hoe under the moon."

Muttering Tao Yuanming's self-deprecating poem, Wang Haizhou swung his hoe repeatedly at the loosened soil, drawing laughter from Li Yuanheng, who had come to drink tea and discuss philosophy.

"Master Wang has truly mastered the art of self-sufficiency in farming."

Wang Haizhou bent over and wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking down at Li Yuanheng, who was reclining in his rattan chair, and retorted sharply:

"Does the eldest son, who eats grain and meat every day, ever work in the fields, herd sheep, or feed pigs?"

"No."

The answer was very straightforward.

"If that's the case, have you ever advised farmers on farming, or led them in repairing river channels and dikes?"

Hearing the mocking remarks ringing in his ears, Li Yuanheng squinted, yawned, and stretched.

"In that case, Master Wang, please don your armor and take up your spear to fill my position. As for me, I can naturally retire to the countryside and become a farmer and shepherd."

"Nonsense! The affairs of the academy are of utmost importance; how can you be so frivolous?"

Despite his cursing, Wang Haizhou shouldered his hoe and walked to the wicker chair. Li Yuanheng, who was squinting in the chair, looked at the other man and suppressed his smile.

"Master Wang, I recently recruited a Westerner. This guy is an avid reader and has many good books written in Western languages ​​in his trunk. However, I only have a superficial understanding of Western languages, and I am only good at English. I know nothing about Latin. I was thinking of having the Swede translate them into English first, and then adding Chinese characters. Master Wang, you can make the books. What do you think?"

Wang Haizhou didn't care at all why Li Yuanheng knew English; instead, he focused on the translation and book production.

"But really, if that's the case, we'll probably need to call a few more people. Your writing is really crude and needs to be polished and improved."

"Also, we must keep the original text from the Swedish barbarians and let them figure out a way to add phonetic annotations. I have my own way of creating a similar Western script."

"By the way, compiling and editing this book is a time-consuming task. I'll contribute some silver coins myself, and the rest is all yours."

Master Wang's generosity can only be described in this book; in ordinary matters, he probably wouldn't have given a single copper coin.

After finishing their conversation about books, Master Wang became lazy and tried to use the excuse of sleeping to get rid of Li Yuanheng. Li Yuanheng, having achieved his goal, didn't linger and left with an inkstone. Wang Haizhou, who was seeing him off, repeatedly told him not to come again, saying that every time he came, he would take this or that, and that he had used the word "shameless" to death.

Upon returning to the Li residence, Li Yuanheng immediately saw Yuanli, who was acting somewhat lewdly and whose purpose was unclear, as soon as he entered the door.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Ah--Big brother, you scared me to death!"

Li Yuanli breathed a sigh of relief, then called out "Big Brother" again and ran outside, but was stopped by a thick arm as soon as he took a step.

Meeting those deep, unfathomable eyes, Li Yuanli, somewhat aggrieved, pulled out a packet of "tea" from his pocket. The moment it was taken out, Li Yuanheng recognized the aroma—it was southern tea stored from last year.

"Who is it for?"

"Um, I drink it myself, it tastes better when you drink it outside."

Li Yuanli couldn't even lie properly in front of Li Yuanheng, and could only come up with a reason that even he himself found awkward.

"Was it delivered to the Zhao family?"

"no!!"

This answer was so certain that it instantly aroused any suspicion Li Yuanheng hadn't felt before. He quickly snatched the tea leaves and sharply scanned Li Yuanli's face, which was even breathing rapidly.

"Since the drinks outside are so good, I'll go with you."

"No, no, no need. I'll just drink it at home. It's fine to drink it at home too."

Li Yuanli quickly snatched it back and started to run back.

"If we don't make this clear, I'm afraid we won't be able to go to the Eagle Division Camp again in the future."

Li Yuanli paused, forced a smile, and turned his head:

"Brother, I've discovered a great talent. This tea is for him."

Li Yuanheng raised an eyebrow and asked in a calm tone:

"They might go to war, they might build cannons and muskets?"

"I'm afraid not."

"If one cannot, then one cannot be considered a great talent."

Li Yuanheng turned to leave, but upon hearing this, Li Yuanli seemed to have been touched by something and quickly ran forward, calling out:

"This person said that the Dzungar Khanate would surely perish at the hands of Hu Qing."

With a "whoosh," Li Yuanheng turned his neck, his dark eyes flashing, seemingly persuaded, but his tone remained calm:

"Whether the Dzungar Khanate lives or dies is not up to him, but his plot against you is a capital offense!!"

"design----"

Li Yuanli was not a stupid person. On the contrary, he had been very clever since childhood, only inferior to his elder brother Li Yuanheng. With just one sentence, he recalled every scene of their acquaintance, from serving tea while listening to storytelling in the teahouse, to advising him to train in the camp, and recently suggesting that he should share the burden with his elder brother and that he should go to the countryside to govern the people.

This is also the main reason why Li Yanxing's attitude towards him has changed so much recently. Although he was ambitious before, it was all "fake ambition." He was either impatient, couldn't grasp the details, couldn't find the right approach, or was too eager to succeed.

Just like before, when he said he wanted to graduate from the academy early so he could go home and help his older brother, he was immediately scolded severely.

"Where is this person? What is their name?"

Li Yuanli lowered his head dejectedly.

----------

A poplar tree grows in the field. Because the weather has just warmed up, the branches of the poplar tree are just sprouting, which forms a stark contrast with the weeds that the farmers have cleared in the distance.

The farmer drove the oxen, glanced up at the fairly clear weather, and then continued to pull the plow behind them to prevent it from veering off course.

The sound of horses' hooves rang in his ears. The farmer turned his head and glanced around. Seeing that it was a few strong horses, he assumed that it was a young master from the city who had come to the countryside for a visit. He didn't pay any attention to it and continued to plow.

The sound of hooves finally stopped at a farmhouse. Looking around, there were several plots of land that had been cleared and were ready to be sown. Li Yuanheng, the leader, looked around and then asked Li Yuanli beside him:

"This person is right here, and he also cultivated this land?"

"This Mr. Ouyang, Mr. Ouyang usually lives in this village, but he goes to the city a few times a month to buy some snacks or some writing implements."

As soon as he finished saying "sir," Li Yuanli changed his mind, but the way he looked into the farmhouse betrayed him.

Li Yuanheng stood outside the fence that served as the outer gate and looked at the situation inside again, then gestured to Li Yuanli to call for help.

Li Yuanli suppressed his unease and pretended to be as usual:

"Student Yuanli has come to visit you, but I do not know if you are at home."

It took a while before sounds came from inside the farmhouse:

"I was tired and was getting dressed. I'll be right back now."

A moment later, the wooden door of the main house of the farmhouse opened, and a middle-aged figure with a gait as brisk as a pine tree and wearing a headscarf walked out. When the figure reached him, he first invited him inside, and then asked Li Yuanli, who was following behind him:

"Who is this person? I've never seen him before."

"Um, this is my classmate from the academy, his surname is Qin and his given name is Xian."

Li Yuanli then explained the reason for his visit:

"I came here because I heard that Mr. Ouyang is good at divination, and I would like to have my fortune told."

"Fortune telling----"

Mr. Ouyang, who led the way and guided the two inside again, first chuckled, then replied with a smile:

"This claim of divine accuracy is actually just boasting. Even if King Wen of Zhou were to be reincarnated, he wouldn't dare say that the Book of Changes he compiled is absolutely accurate."

"For matters of divination, seek someone else."

Mr. Ouyang took out some tea leaves and said to the two of them with some embarrassment:

"A can of coarse tea, please don't be angry, you two."

Li Yuanli repeatedly said he wouldn't dare, but Li Yuanheng, who took the teacup, muttered rudely:

"If it's just coarse tea, what right do you have to serve it to others?"

Mr. Ouyang was not angry when he heard this, but simply smiled and said:

"Our family is poor and we've never seen anything good. If our distinguished guest doesn't want this tea, I'll bring some dates instead, at least that will give it some flavor."

Not long after, Mr. Ouyang came out from the inner room carrying a handful of dried red dates, placed them on the table, and gestured for them to enter.

Chewing on a red date, Li Yuanheng spoke directly:

"It's not that I want to have my fortune told, but something strange has happened in my family recently, and I need you to tell my fortune."

"Oh, that's strange."

Mr. Ouyang raised his thick eyebrows, reached into his right sleeve with his left hand, pulled out three copper coins, and was about to perform divination when Li Yuanheng stopped him:

"How can divination be accurate without tortoise shells?"

Mr. Ouyang then stuffed the copper coin back into his sleeve and opened his left hand:

"Heaven and earth are all contained within it."

Li Yuanheng was breathing smoothly, but Li Yuanli panicked and hurriedly grabbed Ouyang's left hand:

"Sir, please don't joke around. This time, please take it seriously."

Ouyang chuckled and continued to extend his left hand:

"Oh, it's still a mountain-marsh formation."

What is Zeshan?

Li Yuanheng's face remained expressionless, while Li Yuanli's heart was in his throat. After all, if he said something wrong or did something that displeased his elder brother, he knew his brother well enough to kill him without hesitation.

Ouyang withdrew his left hand, crossed his hands in his sleeves, looked at the two people opposite him with a smile in his eyes, and answered in a light tone:

"You two were outside just now, and I was inside. Ze represents you, and Shan represents me. It's not that something strange happened in the house, but that I wanted to see if my mountain could withstand your overwhelming flood."

"Is that so?"

Li Yuanli was sweating profusely, constantly watching his elder brother's face. Seeing that he remained silent, he thought to himself that they were doomed.

Li Yuanheng's gaze was like thunder, fixed directly on the other side:

"Does the name 'Zeshan' have another layer of meaning in your heart?"

After a long silence, Ouyang met his gaze again, this time with an unusually heavy tone:

"Can Mount Ze be compared to the vast land of China?!"

"Bang!!"

The teacup shattered on the ground. Only Li Yuanli panicked, while the other two were completely oblivious, or rather, indifferent.

"You are only one step away from death."

"How can one hear the Way if one has never heard of death?"

This was their question-and-answer session, and it also marked the end of their meeting.

Li Yuanheng, having left the farmhouse, made no attempt to linger and rode away immediately. He was not the kind of so-called Liu Bei-style ruler, nor did he have the habit of eagerly seeking out talented individuals. Once someone began to try to approach him, unless they could bring something more, it would be difficult for them to even die, let alone gain his trust.

Watching the two horses depart, Mr. Ouyang lowered his eyes and sighed after a long while:

"All the people of the Central Plains have adopted the queue hairstyle, their attire has changed to a centipede-like lock, they came to this Golden Mountain last year, I don't know if it was the right thing to do----"

He then said to himself:

"Li Shi Dalang possessed the ambition of Cao Wei, yet why did he lack the benevolence of Shu Han? How unkind Heaven has been to our Han family!"