Spring and Autumn I Am King

"Jun Hou, you have no jokes!"

Liu Xiayue bowed to Zhao Wuxi again: "The monarch has already agreed to the minister that day, and asked the minister to lead a team to the west to open up and hollow out the foreign land."

Although he has the same thick eyebrows and big eyes as Roof Zhi, Liu Xia Yue looks a little weaker than his father, and his body is smaller. However, after joining the army in the past two years, he has exercised a bit of swordsmanship, but unfortunately... His career It's really bad.

Liu Xiayue was not outstanding in the war between Zhao and Wu. In the battle of Tang, although he fought bravely, he missed the subsequent battle due to falling from a horse and was injured, so he didn't get much credit and could only watch his friend Zhao Yi with envy. . When the Five Kingdoms fought against Qi, he also followed the army to fight against the wind and made some small contributions. But in general, it is far inferior to his father Liu Xiazhi's meteor who was born, and has repeatedly made extraordinary achievements.

There is no harm if there is no comparison. This time, Liu Xiayue, who is considered to be "not enterprising", is a bit true to Tian Ben's metaphor of "the father is the eagle and the falcon, and the son is the chicken".

Unexpectedly, this young man who is not very handsome and not astonishing, gave Zhao Wuxi such a show at the Huangchi meeting!

Looking at Liu Xiayue, who had been silent and became aggressive before the change, Zhao Wuxi had a headache, and even remembered the time when he and Rou Zhi fought wits and bravery in Onozawa.

At the banquet that day, he agreed to Liu Xiayue, but it was drunk, and men knew that it was not true when he was drunk. No matter how much he vowed, he would say nothing under the stimulation of alcohol. Besides, although he himself has plans to communicate things, but now the Qin state is still there, the West is still unknown, and the conditions for exploring the present are not yet ripe...

It's just that a gentleman can't chase after a horse, not to mention that he promised loudly in front of everyone in the hall that day.

He had to change a tactful way to reduce Liu Xiayue's enthusiasm.

"Although the widow has seen inscriptions about Mu Tianzi's westward journey in the treasury, and heard that there are Kyushu, and Kunlun in the Western Regions is one of them, but no one knows the specific route..."

"I know it!"

Liu Xiayue answered loudly, he took out a piece of paper from his arms and asked Ning Jian to give it to Zhao Wuxi. Wu Xie spread it out on the table, but saw that it was covered with dense lines. This was actually a map, the map of King Mu of Zhou's westward journey!

It turned out that during the two years he was recovering in Yecheng, Liu Xiayue was not idle. He compared several versions of the legend of Emperor Mu's journey to the west collected by the Linzhang Academy from the Chengzhou Keeper's Chamber, and he actually sorted out a rough outline. route and draw them on paper one by one!

"After King Mu of Zhou fought against Quan Rong, he led seven elite men to drive eight steeds, Chiji, Pioli, Baiyi, Yulun, Shanzi, Quhuang, Hualiu, and Luer, and drove out of Luoyi by the father-in-law. Crossing the Zhangshui River, going north along the Taihang Mountains, going out of Yanmen, staying at the lacquer lake, hunting the white fox Xuan raccoon, etc. On the auspicious day of Wuwu in March of the same year, Mu Tianzi arrived at Yangli Mountain, accompanied by Hezong clan, at Yanran Mountain The ceremony of sacrificing the great river was held at the foot. Afterwards, the leader of Hezong’s clan, Bo Yao, volunteered to take the camel in front, acted as the guide of Emperor Mu, and continued on the westward road, so he passed Qilian Mountain, Chung Mountain, Kunlun Hill, Chiwu Mountain. Sir, as for the mountain of jade..."

He paused for a moment and continued: "The route after this, because the inscriptions and slips are ambiguous and the language is unclear, the ministers have no way to verify, but in the end Mu Tianzi arrived in the state of the Queen Mother of the West, and feasted at the Yaochi in Tianshan Mountain. After that, he toured first. The wilderness under the Tianshan Mountains, the great northwest plains, are filled with precious gems and jade!"

After Liu Xiayue finished speaking, Zhao Wuxi also put down the map, his eyes changed from doubt to appreciation.

He could see that Liu Xiayue's hard work was condensed in it. This route, which Zhao Wuxi had been busy with government affairs, had no time to summarize, but Liu Xiayue had carefully pondered the route. Generally speaking, it turned from Hetao (He Zong's) to the west. Pass through northern Shaanxi and Longxi, and go northwest along the Hexi Corridor, entering the foothills of Tianshan Mountain.

This route is basically the same as the future communication route known to Zhao Wuxi. This road is the predecessor of the Silk Road, and it is called the "Jade Road"!

...

As early as more than a thousand years ago, the Western Regions had the dawn of civilization, but most of the inhabitants were the Sakura people with high noses and deep eyes. They established many small city-states in the mountains and oases, many of which made a living by picking and carving jade, and in Hotan. It was from that time that jade began to be transported eastward, passing through the Chiwu clan, the Yu clan, and the Hezong clan, and gradually flowed into the hinterland of the Central Plains.

These jade stones were transported in through the route of Emperor Mu's westward travel, that is, the "Jade Road". King Mu of Zhou once took three times of jade and loaded ten thousand jades in the mountain of jade, and appointed a special person to manage the jade mining work. The Western Tour met with the Queen Mother of the West in Kunlun, and praised Kunlun as "the only good mountain in the world, where the jade and jade are..."

Although King Mu of Zhou and Zhao Zaofu had actually been to the Tianshan Mountains, it is not known whether the slips and slips made by an anonymous person named "The Biography of the Emperor of Heaven" were forged. However, as early as the middle of the Zhou Dynasty, or even earlier, there was an ancient communication route between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, which is beyond doubt, and this document may be the historical memory of that road.

With the footprints of the predecessors, even if there is a possibility of hollowing out again. Since the possibility is not zero, and someone volunteered, Zhao Wuxi suddenly felt a little excited.

But there was one thing he had to ask.

"Liu Xiayue, why do you want to go to the Western Territory?"

"Chen..." Liu Xiayue had thought about this question for a long time, but today, the words can't come out of his mouth.

Yes, he has his father's legacy, and he can sit and eat in the mountains, relying on his salary and eaters to eat and wait for death, sitting on his sweet wife and concubines, and blowing the warm wind by the Zhangshui River in Yecheng. Why go to a foreign land to suffer?

Liu Xiayue clenched his fists all of a sudden.

but! He is unwilling to be an eagle who always looks into the distance on the eagle's nest, but dares not take half a step!

He did not go well on the battlefield, and he was unable to establish meritorious service for a long time, so that he could get rid of the criticism of "tiger father and dog son", and when he had nowhere to go, he could only turn his attention to the distant foreign land...

To make a name for himself in a foreign land is the only way out before him. It is not so much a thoughtful adventure as it is a desperate gamble!

Zhao Wuxi once said that death is inherent in human beings, either lighter than a feather, or heavier than Mount Tai. In this world of great competition, Liuxia Yue would rather die as Mount Tai than live as an insignificant feather!

Having made up his mind, he said loudly: "Chen, I want to go to the terrifying realm mentioned in the book; I want to see the foreign nations that are very different from those in the Central Plains; I want to take the monarch to the top. Bring back the Tianma, alfalfa and other things you want and spread them in the Central Plains, just like Guan Yiwu introduced Rongshu, to benefit the world!"

Zhao Wuxi nodded calmly, this answer passed.

He was not moved by the beauty of the Queen Mother of the West and the warmth and clarity of jade like King Mu of Zhou, but was interested in the animals and plants of the Western Regions.

As the saying goes, "It is not Zhang Qian who has access to the Western Regions, but the best species of Anyou come from the West." The exchange between civilizations is not only about technology, but also about varieties. Although there are hundreds of millions of creatures in the world, the species that can be domesticated by humans are only a drop in the bucket. How many civilizations, such as the Indians, are stagnant because of the lack of key crops or livestock, and the population has not been able to increase. . And once a high-yielding new crop is introduced, there will be a sharp increase in the population limit, followed by a great leap forward in civilization.

The Pegasus in the Western Regions can be used as a good horse breed to create a group of excellent war horses; the alfalfa, carrots, peppers, grapes, walnuts, cantaloupe, watermelon, guava... Although they cannot be compared with the later corn and potatoes, but It has also greatly improved the dietary structure of the people in the Central Plains. Perhaps the people of Zhao State can drink wine and eat watermelon in their lifetimes, and they have to rely on Liuxiayue to go to the hollow...

What's more, in history, the Western Regions and even the more distant West Asia and Mediterranean civilizations are extremely eager for China's exquisite luxury goods such as silk and porcelain. If the jade road can be opened again through Liuxiayue, silk, silk and porcelain can be exported. The West will definitely be able to exchange for Zhao Wuxi a large number of items that are not available in the Central Plains, and by going back and forth, Zhao Guoping will also make a lot of money for the losing department.

But it is easy to say, but difficult to do. Zhao Wuxi naturally knew how difficult it was, and suddenly said seriously: "Since King Ping moved eastward, the exchanges between the countries in the west of Qin and the Central Plains have been interrupted. , the Bangguo clan may be annihilated, the road may be covered with yellow sand, or a new path may be opened. The difficulty of hollowing out is really not what you can imagine when you draw a map in your house! You, be ready!"

Liuxia Yueji said: "This minister will go to look for the Hezong clan first, and see if anyone there has been to the west side~www.wuxiaspot.com~ to hire him as a guide. Just look for it piece by piece, and find the Xixia clan. , find the Chiwu clan, find the mountain of jade, and find the mother country of the Western King, and sooner or later, the old road will be restored and the mission of hollowing out!"

Zhao Wuxi didn't let him go, and continued to ask: "It is inferred from the map you drew that Mu Tianzi's trip back and forth is 35,000 miles, and if he walks 1,000 miles in a month, he has to travel three miles. Over the years, the landforms are complex, there are boundless grasslands with unknown boundaries, snow-capped mountains with snow in August, quicksand deserts that are difficult for humans and animals to travel, and there are countries and pirates along the way with unruly intentions. The suffering during this period, The response that needs to be done is very imaginable, can you bear it?"

"I know, it is said that in the past, when Emperor Mu returned to the east, when crossing the desert, the team lost the water source, so they had to pierce the neck of the war horse and draw blood to drink..."

Liu Xia Yue An said: "Chen Xiu said that he was drinking horse blood, even if he was thirsty for the blood of the Hu people and hungry for the flesh of the Rong and Di, he would still be able to survive! Nao, even if it is to climb, the minister must follow the path that the founder walked, climb to the Tianshan Mountains, and find the mother country of the Western King! Finally, hold the scepter granted by the king and stand on the Yaochi!"

Zhao Wuxi's hair stood on end when he heard it, and he slapped the table. For a time, he was also moved by this young man's fearless spirit. What he wanted was this pioneering spirit!

"Great! Since Ziqian has ambitions in a foreign land and is not afraid of life and death, then the widow will allow you!"

Unexpectedly, I didn't expect to see the results of the "Kyushu" and the rumors in the Western Regions that I didn't expect to see when I was alive, but the flowers bloomed so early, and the one who was very interested in this was actually the son of Robber Zhi. .

Is this the will of God in the dark? Could it be said that the era of geographical modernization, which belongs to China alone, will begin from this time?

(To be continued.)