I've never felt happy to become an immortal.

Chapter 23: The barbarians have been in chaos for five hundred years; the Northern and Southern courts share the same world

The next morning.

The cook carried a simple bag and set out on the journey back home. Before leaving, he sang a northern folk song that was difficult to understand. He came and went in a very carefree manner.

Bai Xuan and Ning Jianshuang took a coffin and set off for Jiankang.

We traveled by horse-drawn carriage all the way.

However, the quality of ancient roads was really worrying.

Moreover, Bai Xuan didn't have time to develop cement here in the past. He had spent most of his previous life practicing cultivation. At worst, he was a martial arts master. He didn't need to take a slow carriage to travel.

Only after riding in a horse-drawn carriage for a long time do you realize how torturous it is... Even in modern times, you will feel uncomfortable all over your body if you sit in a carriage for a long time, no matter how soft the seat cushion is; and the carriages of this era did not even have shock-absorbing devices such as springs, which naturally made it more torturous for the waist and back and tested the buttocks.

Women who have been doing business abroad for a long time and female generals who are skilled in archery and horse riding, regardless of other aspects, their buttocks muscles must be quite developed.

Ning Jianshuang and Luoluo were able to maintain a dignified sitting posture in the car for a long time, which showed that they had good family education and willpower.

There was nothing to do along the way.

Bai Xuan took the initiative to ask some questions, and the first topic he asked was the five hundred years of history that he was still unknown.

Ning Jianshuang was born in the Ningguo Mansion. She was a lady from a prominent family who was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting since childhood. Although her level of poetry and songs might be average, she was quite well versed in historical classics.

She spent three hours briefly telling Bai Xuan about the five hundred years of history after the fall of the Qin Dynasty.

To describe it with four words that modern people can understand, it is - evil barbarians disturbing China.

Bai Wuming severed the dragon vein of the Qin Dynasty with a single sword, and thus shattered the theory of national destiny. Countless Qi-refining masters who were climbing the dragon vein were killed or injured.

After the Qin Dynasty's dragon vein was destroyed, war broke out everywhere. Royal families and noble families from all over the country rose up in rebellion and proclaimed themselves kings in each place. This is known in history as the Rebellion of the Eight Kings.

At the same time, foreign tribes from outside the Great Wall invaded the Central Plains on a large scale, occupied the northern regions, and established more than a dozen foreign regimes.

These foreign races had very different appearances from the people of the Central Plains. During the Qin Empire, they were despised as "monsters". "Yi" is pronounced the same as "Yi", so their official name was "Yao Yi". Together with the "barbarians" on the grassland, they were collectively called "Yao Man".

History books from the Qin Dynasty recorded them as "furry and horned creatures, hatched from eggs in moisture, beasts that eat raw meat and drink blood."

Because the Qin Empire had a history of five hundred years of rule, the internal national identity of the people in the Central Plains had long been established. The Qin people were the largest group of people in the Central Plains. Once national cultural confidence was established, everyone around them would be seen as a group of barbarians.

During the heyday of the Qin Empire, all other ethnic groups were excluded by the Qin people, with the Qin people respected and the demons looked down upon; but after the demons established their regime in the north, this situation was reversed, and this historical stage was extremely bloody and brutal... Historical records show that in just fifty years, the original 30 million Qin people in the north were reduced to only 5 million.

The demons and barbarians attacked from the north to the south, but the north was vast, and there were a large number of ethnic groups within the demons and barbarians themselves. They lacked a unified regime, so they were unable to swallow up the south in the first place. Instead, under tremendous high pressure, the south quickly completed the unification of the regime and resisted the invasion of the demons and barbarians in the north.

It was from this time that the entire history entered a stage of division between the North and the South.

A large river and the Huai River separated the city, and Sanmenxia was a strategic military stronghold. The Northern Dynasty's cavalry could not break through. Without sufficient navy, neither side had the possibility of directly launching a major war.

Because of this, "Yumen", which was originally a secondary battlefield, has become a meat grinder for repeated confrontations between the countries.

Four hundred years ago, the northern barbarians sent a million soldiers to try to swallow up the southern land. The most critical Yumen Pass experienced no less than twenty major battles in just ten years, and countless minor battles.

The Qin people in the south were unprecedentedly united in the face of life and death, because the evil barbarians at that time had not been assimilated by the Qin people and the Central Plains culture. If the South had been lost at that time, the result would probably be the white people enslaving the black people. Not only would the country be destroyed, but the race would be exterminated, and the cultural heritage would be burned to ashes.

But the Southern Dynasty held on for that crucial hundred years.

At the same time, fierce internal strife began to break out among the demons. The next three hundred years were a period of establishment of one regime after another and a grand history of national integration.

In terms of results... the Northern Dynasties five hundred years later basically completed the Qinization, but this Qinization does not mean that the "large ethnic group" relies on the absolute advantage of population size to change the lifestyle of the "small ethnic group".

Because in the Northern Dynasties, the Yaoyi tribe not only held an absolute dominant position, but also had an advantage in population size.

However, the Yaoyi tribe discovered that if they wanted to maintain the long-term rule of a regime, they had to actively accept the Qin people and the Central Plains ideas. Otherwise, if they continued to fight like that, they would have changed more than a dozen regimes in a few hundred years, and sooner or later they would have been destroyed by themselves.

The Qinization of the Northern Dynasties was an act of active learning.

However, reforms always face huge resistance, and no one can succeed easily in one go.

Five hundred years later, the situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties remained unchanged, only the regimes had changed.

……

"The Southern Dynasty was called Southern Chu; the Northern Dynasty was called Northern Zhou."

"The Northern and Southern Dynasties are now facing each other across the river."

"The Southern Dynasty had a larger population than the Northern Dynasty and was more prosperous. However, it also faced invasions from all sides, putting immense pressure on the country. It had to maintain a steady and defensive posture. Furthermore, fifteen years ago, the Emperor's death and the struggle for the throne among the princes led to chaos in the government. Now, the government is barely stable thanks to the Empress Dowager's behind-the-scenes rule."

"The Northern Dynasty has just ended its sixty-year division and is still in the process of recovering its national strength."

"Although the Northern and Southern Dynasties were in a state of confrontation, it did not prevent them from doing business with each other and maintaining a certain level of economic exchanges."

Ning Jianshuang took a sip of water. "For example, the Southern Dynasty was rich in silk, tea, and porcelain; while the Northern Dynasty was rich in fine wine and precious black iron weapons... and these things can now be used by people in both dynasties. This is also the benefit of mutual trade." Hearing this, Bai Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little relieved. "So, the five hundred years in the South can be considered tolerable?"

"The Southern Dynasty had one or two regime changes, but compared to the bloody Shura battlefield of the Northern Dynasty, it was certainly better." Ning Jianshuang said softly, "Although our Southern Dynasty has a rich culture, it is indeed not as strong as the Northern Zhou Dynasty."

Luoluo also nodded and said, "Southerners are indeed not as good at fighting as northerners."

Bai Xuan looked at Green Ivy, staring at the two green leaves above her head.

The little maid's cheeks felt slightly hot when she was looked at: "What are you doing?"

"You also have the blood of the Yaoyi tribe, right?" Bai Xuan asked.

"Yes, yes." Luoluo tilted her head: "Rather, who doesn't have the blood of the Yaoyi tribe now?"

"Isn't it said that there are so many Qin people in the Southern Dynasty?"

"But there's no way we can stop the large number of people from the Northern Dynasty from fleeing to the Southern Dynasty." Luoluo put her hands together in prayer: "My ancestors fled from the north."

"……beaver."

Bai Xuan understood why there were so many people with alien-looking faces on the streets.

The Yaoyi tribe has already completed the integration with the Qin tribe from blood to culture... It is also subtle that people with fur and horns can call themselves the Qin tribe with a lot of nonsense.

After the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China in history, the number of pure-blooded Han people will become fewer and fewer. This is what ethnic integration is all about. Isn't it that you are in me and I am in you?
Don’t look down on anyone else, just get along, what’s the big deal if you break up?

and……

Bai Xuan looked at the two leaves on top of the green radish and couldn't help but smile: "Looking at it this way, it's quite cute."

Green Radish proudly put her hands on her hips and said, "Is that so? Plant-based demons are rare. My ancestor is said to have been a palace gardener! And my bloodline isn't bad either. As long as it gets more sun and drinks more water, it will be easy to keep alive. We don't have to waste too much rice or flour to feed it!"

"You can also perform photosynthesis?" Bai Xuan was stunned. This leaf is not just a decoration, but it really has some use?
"I'm easy to support myself, otherwise I wouldn't have been the one to sell myself when my family started." Luoluo said proudly, then her eyes dimmed slightly. "But there was a fox girl in my village who had a very unfortunate fate. Just because she was beautiful and was sought after by the rich and powerful, she was sold to a brothel for a high price."

"What is Kitsune-hime?"

"They're women born with fox tails. Some have ears... They look weird, but they're pretty." Luoluo gestured with her hands above her head. "I heard this type is very popular in brothels. Besides, there are also snake princesses, tiger princesses, and flower princesses..."

"Ahem!" Ning Jianshuang interrupted Luluo's words with a light cough. She knocked the maid's head and said, "What are you going to say to the young master?"

Her eyes were calm but majestic. "Don't take what I just said seriously. It's best not to go to brothels if you can. They're not good places."

"I'm powerless now even if I want to."

Bai Xuan is still suffering from the side effects.

But I secretly took note of this and decided to go and see it if I have the chance in the future.

When I was an official in the Qin Dynasty, I had visited places like this before, but the Qin Dynasty... after all, was limited by the vision of the times. Compared with the peak prosperity of the Song and Ming Dynasties, it was far behind, and I soon got bored after visiting it.

It’s different now. There seem to be a lot more girls with animal ears. Now I have to go to brothels to listen to music.

"Oh right, now that you mention it..." Bai Xuan asked again, "Miss Ning also has demonic and barbarian blood?"

"Yes, but my three generations ago all looked like ordinary humans." Ning Jianshuang replied calmly, "So I also look like an ordinary person."

"They are all ordinary humans, so how do they know that they have demonic blood?"

"Because there were ancestors who gave birth to people with strange appearances. Both parents looked like humans, but the children were..."

"Is it an atavism phenomenon?" Bai Xuan whispered.

“What is atavism?”

"That's it..." Bai Xuan explained briefly.

"Is there any way to treat this?"

"It's congenital, and it's not a disease, so it can't be cured." Bai Xuan shook his head. This is just like people being born with golden hair or heterochromic eyes. Not only is it not a disease, but it's also a rare product, just like a white tiger. It looks so handsome.

"Is there anyone around you who is experiencing this kind of atavism?"

Ning Jianshuang paused slightly: "Let's not talk about this matter for now... Let's continue talking about the Northern and Southern Dynasties."

She forcefully changed the subject: "Although the courts of the north and south are divided, the rivers and lakes of the north and south are interconnected."

"I've previously said that the Southern Dynasty was inferior to the Northern Dynasty. This isn't just my opinion; it's universally acknowledged."

"Because among the ten people in the world who are hailed as the ultimate warriors today, six of them are from the Northern Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)