Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 256 Global Situation

In the Great Han Dynasty, 2103, on the day of Lichun (the Beginning of Spring), fireworks lit up the air across the Han Dynasty. Meanwhile, in Europe, the "Alliance of Banners" rang its bells.

On this day, Xuan Chong was listening to Confucius explain the current global situation.

In the steamy, heated room, coats hung on a clothes rack by the door.

In the classroom, this Confucian scholar, wearing a square headscarf and glasses, stood before a beautifully crafted large map, explaining to Xuan Chong and his fellow students that in this world, besides the orthodox Modern Chinese, there are four other major groups.

Oulu Group, Dashi Group, Dayang Group, and Yinlu Group.

According to contemporary Confucianism, this kind of world order is a mess left to future generations after the collapse of the "Zhen Han" dynasty.

After the "Zhen Han" army trampled across the entire continent, they adopted a system of enfeoffment, and thus left governors-general in the Abbasid Caliphate and Europe.

When the Zhenhan dynasty perished, although astronomy had already discovered the heliocentric model and calculated that the Earth was round.

However, the Industrial Revolution had not yet begun, and transcontinental railways and telegraphs did not exist. Therefore, the empire at that time merely spread its benevolent rule without actual control. The governor, a mere figurehead, could not fill the void left by the absence of local feudal groups.

After the collapse of the Zhenhan regime, the former subjugated states of the Old World declared themselves independent and reclaimed their kingdoms.

When the modern Han dynasty regained its imperial authority, it did not receive tribute from the various European banners.

Even if the modern Han dynasty compromises with Western powers on religious matters, the Western countries are still unwilling to submit to its rule.

Human affairs influenced celestial phenomena. When the banners of Europe feared power and did not cherish virtue, the title of the Ten Emperors was completely downgraded. From being a figurehead, he was reduced to merely a gatekeeper of the northern heavens.

At this point, the great Confucian scholar felt resentful that "the barbarians did not submit."

Xuan Chong silently thought to himself, "Oh, this is branding my mind with a steel imprint. It's about reinforcing the concept of a unified world in the education of the existing vassal kings' offspring, preventing them from rebelling."

After all, the amount of information conveyed by telegrams cannot compare to that of the internet in later generations, and the cost of railway transportation cannot penetrate all lands. Only by unifying the thoughts of the upper echelons can we ensure that there is no division, that is, achieve ideological unity.

As the old master rambled on, Xuan Chong appeared serious, but in reality, he was thinking about the current ruling logic of the Han Dynasty in his own way.

Xuan Chong recalled the situation in his previous life: It seems that the current Han system is actually quite correct. In his previous life, those superpowers, such as the United States and Russia, maintained their territorial control by strengthening a certain "shared understanding." This is the key to the "dominance of elites such as lawyers with academic backgrounds" in traditional powers like the United States, Russia, and Russia.

On the other hand, the "literature faction" on their side is useless, incompetent, and even a traitor.

As a result, the rulers of the science and engineering system began to strengthen physics, pushing industry to its extreme, and using power grids and highways to physically connect the various parts of the country.

That kind of situation was commonplace for me, but in the world at that time, it was considered an anomaly!
Despite possessing a rich cultural heritage that would be the envy of the world, it insists on "equal respect" and forgoes the strategic advantage of cultural outreach. Instead, it chooses to defend its territory with a costly and powerful military force.

Xuan Chong's previous kingdom always maintained a force capable of assembling and deploying 20,000 troops anywhere on the land border within 24 hours, and of deploying a firepower capable of destroying a powerful enemy fleet on the sea frontier.

In the current timeline, the Han dynasty does not maintain such a "high-density defense" on its borders. The primary military task of a great empire is outward projection.

What if problems arise on the borders of the Han Dynasty? It would have to rely on vassal states to hold things up and delay the "one hour and 22 minutes" for three years, giving the Han Dynasty enough time to complete its military preparations.

Xuan Chong should pay close attention to the map and carefully search for any super powers that can "speed through" the eastern map in the surrounding area.

Xuan Chong glanced at it: Oh, no.

There was no Jurchen rebellion, nor any troublemaking peasants hiding thirteen suits of armor. That thing is now a forest ranger in the primeval jungle. Xuan Chong: This means that his hometown has no value in being united.

Xuan Chong looked down at the guards standing watch downstairs from his house, carrying water droplets.

…I drew my sword and looked around, feeling lost and bewildered…

After confirming that Dongtu's strategic location was very safe, Xuan Chong thought: "No wonder I (the predecessor) was bullied."

The Master is explaining the current situation using a map. The current "world" refers to the five continents and five oceans, and the "All-Flag Alliance" on the European side is currently the most powerful force besides the current Han Dynasty.

Four hundred years ago, when the Han Dynasty was first established, Emperor Taizu ascended the throne as "Son of Heaven." He stipulated that the various banners of the Ou Lu were not allowed to use the title of "Son of Heaven." Anyone who dared to claim the title of "Son of Heaven" would be punished.

By attacking one faction and winning over another, the Han dynasty gained recognition in the Oulu region. In effect, this also tacitly acknowledged the fact that these states had declared themselves kingdoms.

At that time, the Han dynasty was the most benevolent force against the Lu, but a hundred years ago, the Han emperor focused too much on "tyranny".

The Ou-Lu alliance employed a strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, but the Ou-Lu kings saw through their intentions and began to unite against the "Yue King" (roughly the Gaul region), who was allied with the present Han dynasty. Ultimately, the Ou-Lu coalition defeated the old Yue King.

After the new Yue King ascended the throne, the Ou Lu region began to form an alliance, completely breaking with the current Han dynasty.

Of course, as the European "Alliance of Banners" sought to challenge the modern Han and attempted colonial expansion, it clashed with the Arab forces in the Mediterranean region.

The political landscape of the Abbasid Caliphate was also a consequence of the mess left behind by the governors-general of the "Jeong Han" regime. With the collapse of Jeong Han, the various governors-general, unable to control the local powerful clans, eventually declared themselves kings.

Before 1838 in the Chinese calendar, the Abbasid Caliphate initially leaned towards the alliance of various banners from Europe, especially during the European-Chinese War. The "Turkic King" (Constantine of Asia Minor) cooperated with the northern states to blockade the "Old Yue King" who was loyal to the present Han dynasty.

As a result, after driving away the direct agents of the Han dynasty in Europe, when the European states needed a new opponent to form an alliance, they turned around and, under the pretext of fighting heretics and with the call of the cross, rose up to deal with the "Turkic King".

The European fleet not only bombarded the wealthy cities on the southern coast of the Mediterranean, but also crossed the Red Sea to establish strongholds in the lands of the Arab kings and instigate rebellion.

After 1933 in the Han calendar, the "Turkic King" understood what ingratitude meant, and only then did he turn his ships around and begin to pay tribute to the East annually in exchange for weapons. The Han Dynasty, through westward trade and the establishment of Sinicized cities, has gradually expanded back into the Mediterranean in recent years.

In recent decades, the Arab world has essentially become a quasi-ally of the modern Han.

Confucius: Although they may still have some ulterior motives, the industrial and technological fields are too underdeveloped to tolerate much of their ulterior motives.

The current strategy of the Han Dynasty in the Arab world leans towards the "benevolent rule" of governance.

Build seawater treatment plants to help cultivate specialized forage and food crops, forming a strong economic bond.

In return, the Arabs began to defend the current Han dynasty in their religious texts, acknowledging that under their doctrine of "sage succession," the current Han emperor inherited the virtue of the "Zhen Han" emperor.

The entire Arab cultural system was infused with the concept that "the Son of Heaven, who is ordained by Heaven, is the incarnation of the supreme and holy Lord of Heaven on earth," which is a legacy of the "Zhen Han."

…The headache-inducing history of modern culture…

Xuan Chong rubbed his head, forced to re-evaluate the current state of local religious affairs. Indeed, Zhen Han had promoted global integration back then.

The "Zhenhan" people originated from horseback riding. After entering the Central Plains, these nomadic tribes held swords to the throats of historians and forcibly linked their founding emperor's lineage to a branch of Liu Xiu. In other words, the "Zhenhan" people from the grasslands claimed to be a branch of Liu Xiu.

Then the "Zhen Han" went to the Arab world and added the concept of "Son of Heaven" to their doctrines, claiming that the "Son of Heaven of the East" was the greatest sage.

In other words, the "Zhen Han" used his saber to rewrite education and culture everywhere back then. Xuan Chong complained: This "style of valuing education and culture" is really Han.

Xuan Chong could hardly imagine how much the existing scriptures of the Ottomans and the Abbasids had been altered.

…Of course, the "Zhen Han" sword has its limits… The Ocean Alliance, now the power of the Southern Kuril Islands and "Dianlu" (Australia), claims to have inherited the legitimacy of "Li Han." This is clearly the power that slipped through the "Zhen Han" sword.

The official name of the present Han dynasty is Eastern Shu.

This dates back to the end of the Li Han dynasty, when a large number of southerners had to cross the sea to the south to escape the swords of the "Jeong Han" regime. Along the way, they established their own kingdoms.

The Southern Kuril Islands go without saying, as for "Dianlu," which is the territory of kangaroos.

It was called "Dianlu" because the first Han Chinese who migrated south here discovered that the seasons here, namely winter and summer, were reversed.

As a result, the Southern people who migrated here at that time had to recompile the calendar they brought from the Central Plains. Later, the people of the Central Plains discovered that the so-called "recompiling" was just reversing the twenty-four solar terms of the Central Plains, so they called this place Dianlu (meaning "inverted land").

Note: The compilation of astronomical calendars in the Central Plains required visiting various places and observing celestial phenomena and phenology on a ten-year cycle. In its early years, Eastern Shu focused on maritime commerce and did not have time to invest such talent on land. Later, when funds were available, the name was already fixed.

The Han Chinese from Southeast Asia defeated the fleet sent by Zhenhan twice, and thus stabilized their presence there.

Since these Han Chinese established "Eastern Shu," they have fought three times with the current Han Chinese forces in Southeast Asia, the most recent of which was ten years ago.

The Eastern Shu and the fifty-seven kingdoms of the Southern Thousand Islands have never recognized the legitimacy of the "Zhen Han" dynasty and have maintained their independent lineage to this day.

The appeasement of the Han people was perfunctory, and they did not pay tribute in accordance with the rules and regulations.

…Division inevitably means war…

Two hundred years ago, during the era of sailing warships, large-scale expeditions to the south were extremely risky due to the monsoon season.

The current emperor and cabinet of the Han dynasty were unwilling to take this risk. However, in the last hundred years, the steam engine replaced sails as the power source, ironclad warships appeared, and several wars to the south were won.

The Han dynasty has gradually gained control of eight island nations in Southeast Asia, forming a stepping stone to the mainland. However, even a weakened giant like the Eastern Shu is still formidable; the Eastern Shu followed the Han dynasty's ironclad warships and the revolution in rifled gun technology.

The Ocean Alliance has fallen apart, and without external assistance, Eastern Shu is destined to perish. However, Eastern Shu has a very thick health bar.

As early as the age of sailing warships, the people of the continent sailed further east by taking advantage of the monsoon effect. They not only discovered the southern ice continent, but also found the "Penglu" (South America) further east, confirming that there were large grasslands and vast forests there, with a land area no less than that of China and the continent.

During the late Zhenhan period and early Han period, that is, from 1400 to 1700 in the Han calendar, Eastern Shu only used this place as a place for exile.

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, Dongshu built numerous shipyards in the eastern part of Dianlu, strengthening ties between the two regions. This area became Dongshu's most important colony, leading to three wars with the Oulu banners to the north. This indirectly instigated Longzhou's independence.

Although the various banners of Oulu also had conflicts with the present Han, the Eastern Shu did not have the concept of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

Eastern Shu: Pengzhou is a core area of ​​our national interest and must not be interfered with by others. You mainlanders, you are content with "Dragon Island" and should not covet more.

…Unbeknownst to him, Liu Haoxing had found the final piece of the puzzle on his world map: North America as he remembered it…

The name Longzhou in North America comes from the mid-Zhenhan period, around 1200. At that time, maritime merchants had already headed east, crossing the ocean through a series of island chains to reach North America, exchanging silk and porcelain for local specialties. Of course, the most important thing in the later period was the iron trade.

Subsequently, some even more exotic items were exchanged, such as gold nuggets. What truly caught the attention of the scholars of the Zhen Han dynasty was the "giant dragon bone" sent by the Eastern Yin people from North America.

This sparked a "classical debate" in the imperial court at the end of the Zhen Han dynasty.

Because Zuo Qiuming recorded: When Wu attacked Yue, they captured Kuaiji and obtained bones there, which were used to build a chariot. The King of Wu sent an envoy to make friendly visits and asked Confucius, who said, "Do not follow my orders." The guest presented gifts to the high officials and then to Confucius, who then bestowed a title upon him. After the feast was held, a guest, holding a bone, asked, "May I ask why this bone is considered so large?" Confucius replied, "I ask you this: Long ago, Yu summoned all the gods to Mount Kuaiji. Fangfeng arrived late, so Yu killed and executed him. His bones filled a whole cart. This is what is considered so large." The guest asked, "May I ask who guards the gods?" Confucius replied, "The spirits of mountains and rivers, those sufficient to govern the world, are gods; those who guard the altars of the state are dukes and marquises. All belong to the king." The guest asked, "What did Fangfeng guard?" Confucius replied, "He was the ruler of the Wangmang clan, guarding the mountains of Feng and Yu, and his surname was Qi. During the Yu, Xia, and Shang dynasties, he was the Wangmang clan; during the Zhou dynasty, he was the Changdi; now he is called Daren (Great Man)." The guest asked, "What is the maximum height of a person?" Confucius replied, "The Jiaojiao clan was three feet tall, the shortest of the short. The tallest is no more than ten times that, the limit of numbers."

In short, the story goes that the State of Wu obtained a huge bone from the State of Yue and asked Confucius about it. Faced with the actual object, Confucius fabricated a legend about Fangfeng.

The reason why the delivery of dragon bones during the Zhenhan period caused such a great uproar was that the Confucian aristocracy was solidified at that time. The disciples of these solidified aristocratic families did not have much ability and began to adhere to fundamentalism.

The monopoly of high positions by the incompetent and immoral offspring of traditional Confucian scholars has aroused dissatisfaction from all sides.

The appearance of this dragon bone can prove that "Confucius was not necessarily right all the time," refute the classical school of thought, and return the power of discourse to the practical school.

This great debate directly turned Confucius from an unquestionable figure back into a human being, and even caused the status of the Confucius Temple in Lu to decline.

Xuan Chong's assessment: This historical event is similar to Galileo's questioning of Aristotle in the previous life. The subsequent great discoveries broke the dominance of Confucianism and Legalism, and reopened the era of a hundred schools of thought, its historical significance being comparable to the "Renaissance" in the previous life.

Because the modern Han dynasty adheres to a historical perspective centered on itself, the name "Longzhou" for this continent north of "Pengzhou" is so deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Therefore, debating scriptures behind closed doors is far less effective than traveling ten thousand miles…

The large-scale development of Longzhou took place at the end of the Zhenhan period, a time when global navigation technology made great progress and Europeans also discovered this new continent.

Because the western part of Longzhou is full of steep cliffs, one has to cross mountains and deserts after landing, while the eastern part is rich and fertile.

In theory, the Western powers held an advantage in this large-scale development, having a geographical advantage over the modern Han people. After landing in Longzhou, the Ou Lu people had extremely serious conflicts with the local Dongyin people, to the point of being irreconcilable. The Ou Lu even brought a large number of Kunlun slaves from Africa, which further intensified the conflict.

It just so happens that during the late Zhenhan period, the people of the Central Plains and the Eastern Yin had exchanges, and both sides shared common ideas about ancestor worship and the relationship between heaven and earth.

The Oulu people's colonization strategy involved "exterminating their descendants" before bringing people over. In the early stages of the Oulu people's expansion into Longzhou, the Dongyin people first lost most of the land east of the river (Mississippi River).

As the Eastern Yin people migrated westward on a large scale, they flooded into the colonies of the present-day Han Dynasty. The present-day Han Dynasty dispatched many military nobles to Longzhou, who, having suffered setbacks in the Old World, supported the Eastern Yin's eastward expansion war.

Subsequently, in Hexi, a tribe of the Eastern Yin people, with the assistance of talents sent by the modern Han dynasty, completed reforms, absorbed the population of various tribes, changed their original tribal names to surnames, and thus completed the unification of the state.

After the formation of the state, the Eastern Yin people adopted Qin laws, established state-run workshops, produced their own cannons and firearms, and manufactured ammunition; fifty years after the reforms, they regained control of Hedong.

At the end of the Zhen Han dynasty, the "tyrannical" approach to the Oulu banners backfired. However, a hundred years after the founding of the Han dynasty, the Han dynasty used benevolent rule to win over the Arabs and Longzhou.

Later, in 1999 of the Han calendar, after the eastward expansion movement completed the clearing of the last European stronghold, Dongyin began to become an independent power.

…However, that was a hundred years ago…

The Eastern Yin is currently making the modern Han government uncomfortable because it wants to usurp the throne, proclaiming itself the "Eastern Emperor," which has drawn criticism from the "domineering" faction of scholars within the modern Han government! (Scholars: You fear power but not virtue! You, a people on the verge of extinction, only survived because we gave you a hand, and you still want to act like a monkey in a crown?)
The scholars began to murmur among themselves: Why didn't they send a member of the Liu family to become king when they were supporting him?

In the eyes of the literati at that time, Liu was a good person; wherever there was hardship and a need for a strong leader, she would be sent there.

Xuan Chong couldn't help but pay more attention to Longzhou. It wasn't because Dongyin was currently being aggressive internationally. Rather, it was because there was a Beiyang shipping route between his own Dongtu and the west coast of Longzhou, which went directly to the west coast of Longzhou.

This shipping route follows the Alaskan Islands, a series of volcanic islands located in the northern part of the Pacific Plate, as navigational landmarks.

A century ago, when the West Coast fur trade was booming, Dongtu, as a maritime hub, reaped a great deal of the benefits. Now, the fur trade is gone, and gold mining has shifted south. Dongtu has become a forgotten corner of the world.

Xuan Chong: If I were more of a literary type, I, a down-on-his-luck prince, would be the one to write One Hundred Years of Solitude.

The great Confucian scholar continued to ramble on in Xuan Chong's ear during class.
The Confucian scholar said, “There is a current trend of thought among the people of Longzhou. They consider themselves to be of Roman descent, not Shang descent. Their character stems from their terrain, where strong winds blow from the north all the way to the southern bay, and the people here are like weather vanes, swaying with the wind.”

(End of this chapter)