The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 253
After Fan Xun took a quick look at the military camp of Yue State, he was attracted by the lively scene in Da Nang.Less than two months after Sun Shao occupied Da Nang, Da Nang has regained its vitality. The damaged guesthouses, docks, and fortresses have all been repaired. Merchants displayed their goods in the newly opened trading area in front of the guest house, and enthusiastically sold their goods to people passing by, including Chinese, Funan dialect, and various Xiyi languages.Among them, the busiest ones are some people wearing Han-style single gowns. Some of them are holding paper and pens, some are carrying a small box, shuttling between various shops, walking briskly, with satisfied expressions on their faces smile.

"Who is that?" Fan Xun asked.

"Interpreter." Shi Bao casually replied: "They specialize in translating for businessmen from various countries and drafting documents for large-scale goods transactions." Shi Bao smacked his lips and said: "Their business has been very good recently. You can earn hundreds of dollars every day.”

Fan Xun was taken aback. He didn't know the exact amount of hundreds of dollars, but he knew that the copper coins of the Han people and the gold coins of the Xiyi people were the most circulated currencies in the market. With Xiyi gold coins, there is a large port called Oe Port near Temu City, and there is a larger Port of Dunson hundreds of miles to the southwest. The income of interpreting in Oe Port and Dunxon Port is about Dozens to two hundred dollars a day, interpreters who can earn two hundred dollars a day can live very well in Hong Kong, but interpreters in the small Da Nang can earn hundreds of dollars a day?
Shi Bao dismissed Fan Xun's question: "Can the interpreters you mentioned know our Chinese?"

Fan Xun shook his head. Generally speaking, the Chinese merchants who can do business in Dunxun are very strong. They usually bring their own interpreters who can understand Yi, so those interpreters who are stationed in the port and do odd jobs for a living You can do things without knowing Chinese.

"There are many Han merchants doing business in Da Nang. If the price is right, many Yi merchants choose to complete the transaction here, sell their goods to Han merchants, and then buy what they need from Han merchants, and then return early." Shi Bao said with some pride: "Any contract written in Chinese will be notarized. If there is a dispute between the two parties, the government can make a judgment based on the contract."

Fan Xun suddenly realized that the government's contract in Chinese is the standard, so it will naturally require a lot of Chinese translators, no wonder their value has risen with each passing day.He immediately asked another question: "What about those who don't understand Chinese?"

"There are two ways. One is to find someone who can speak Chinese to translate it again after completing the contract, and pay him a certain fee. The other is to learn Chinese by yourself." Shi Bao pointed to the direction of Haiyun Port in the northwest and said: "There is In the newly opened Haiyun Academy, the students of Mr. Liu Beihai who came from Nanhai are teaching, and there are people who are proficient in business giving advice on how to write contracts."

Fan Xun became interested: "Can I visit it?"

"Of course." Shi Bao said generously: "However, for the sake of quietness, Haiyun Academy is several miles away from here. If you want to go, you might as well choose another day. Today, let's go to the market in Da Nang first. "Shi Bao's handsome face showed undisguised pride: "Linyi has returned to our Han territory, but it is changing with each passing day. Compared with the original market, the market in Da Nang has changed so much that you can't imagine. Fan Jun, I am very happy to show you the scenery of this new Da Nang."

Fan Xun bowed respectfully, imitating the etiquette of the Han people, saying: "I will do what I want."

"Hahaha..." Shi Bao looked at Fan Xun with great interest: "I heard that Mr. Fan has a good understanding of the customs and customs of my big man, and he can speak Chinese well. I wonder if he can write Chinese characters? If you can, you can Come to my Yue country to take up a post. I think Fan Jun is smart and capable, and being a county magistrate is not a problem.

"How dare you." Fan Xun smiled modestly: "Why, does the Yue Kingdom still recruit foreigners as officials?"

"Of course, my great king is eager for talents, no matter what country he is from, he welcomes them."

"Then I'm going to Haiyun Academy, not only to visit, but also to learn. My Chinese is sloppy, but I can read and write Chinese characters." Fan Xun joked with a smile: "I hope The tuition fee should not be too expensive, my salary in Funan Kingdom is not high."

"Don't worry, a general interpreter can afford it, but you, a general, can't afford it?" Shi Bao said intentionally or unintentionally.

……

Liu Xi and Zhang Zhao sat side by side with a small tea table in between. A round-faced maid knelt in front of them, skillfully pouring tea and refilling water for them.Zhang Zhao stroked his meticulously groomed beard, looked at the busy market at the foot of the mountain, and showed a somewhat smug smile on his face: "Cheng Guo, do you think this Lin Yi is managed well?"

Liu Xi smiled lightly, picked up the small lacquer cup with two fingers and took a sip of tea. After tasting it for a while, he said, "It's not a piece of cake for the students taught by Mr. Zhang to manage a Linyi."

Zhang Zhao chuckled, shook his head and said, "I don't dare to rob beauty. It’s just a bookcase. Your Highness has benevolence in his heart, so those who are near are happy, and those who are far away come. Chengguo, your academy is opened from the South China Sea to Zhuya, and from Zhuya to Linyi, and maybe it can be opened to Xiyi in the future. Go, this achievement is no worse than him."

Liu Xi smiled complacently: "How dare I stand shoulder to shoulder with His Highness."

"Sir, what you said is wrong." Sun Shao's voice came from behind. Liu Xi and Zhang Zhao looked back and saw Sun Shao coming slowly accompanied by Lu Ji. The place is not in court, the two gentlemen sat and discussed, I am here to disrupt the situation, how dare the two gentlemen get up again. Teacher, my uncle’s family letter has arrived, and I brought it for you by the way.”

Sun Shao said while handing a letter to Zhang Zhao.Zhang Zhao took a look at the hand, it was the handwritten letter from his youngest son Zhang Xiu, and quickly tucked it into the sleeve of the baby.After Sun Shao seized the South China Sea, Zhang Zhao served as the prefect of the South China Sea for a few more years. He is Sun Shao's teacher and a well-known senior in Jiangdong. Of course, the people in charge of the examination dare not disrespect him, so the assessments for several years have been unreliable. is optimal.After this year's examination was sent to the prime minister's mansion, prime minister Yu Fan sent him to Sun Shao with a flick of a pen, and his son Zhang Xiu took over as the prefect of Nanhai.Right now, Sun Shao hasn't assigned his duties yet, so he has time to sit here with Liu Xi and bask in the sun and brag.

"Mr. Cheng Guo, the way of civil and martial arts, one piece at a time, military force can be powerful, and literary style can be moral. Now Funan is afraid of being beaten by us, and we sent people to seek peace. It's your turn to show your power." Sun Shaorang The man arranged two seats opposite them, and sat down with Lu Ji.Lu Ji told the Funan faction about Fan Xun's peace talks.Zhang Zhao's beard trembled, and he laughed: "Talk about peace? I don't think so. It's more like he is using the name of making peace to find out the truth. Your Highness must guard against it. Gong Xu, you study hard and learn easily, don't you?" Don’t you know how to take precautions before they happen? Why don’t you remind Your Highness? If this kind of underestimation of the enemy is allowed to spread, small victories will also turn into big defeats.”

Sun Shao and Lu Ji glanced at each other, and smiled with sympathy. It seems that the old man has stayed in the South China Sea for a few years, and his thoughts have changed. He said he has adapted to his role.

"Mr. Zhang taught me that." Lu Ji smiled lightly, cupped his hands and said, "It is precisely because of this that the king has come to bother Mr. Cheng Guo. The art of war is well said, attacking the city is the bottom, attacking the heart is the top, since Funan sent people here For negotiations, it is not appropriate to attack the city at this time, so we must invite Mr. Cheng Guo to attack the heart."

"Attack your heart? How do you attack your heart?" Liu Xi was a little puzzled.

"I read a great work by Mr. Your Highness. It is said that there are many coincidences between the Funan dialect and my ancient Chinese books. I wonder if Mr. has studied it in depth later?" Lu Ji took out a few sheets of paper, which were written by Liu Xi Copy to Sun Shao's thesis.Sun Shao put a lot of effort into this paper, which was only a thousand words long, and Liu Xi's disciple Xue Zong was also able to explain this paper well, so he is now the director of Donghai Governor Su Chugui.

Liu Xi took the paper and glanced at it, and saw that there were few marks written on it with a cinnabar pen. It seemed that Sun Shao had worked hard, but it could also be seen that Sun Shao's background in exegesis was really terrible, which indirectly proved that Zhang Zhao is not his opponent in this regard.He nodded: "Since Your Highness reminded me back then, I have done a lot of research and wrote a small book, demonstrating in detail that more than 100 common words and names in Funan dialect are similar to those in Xia and Shang documents in my ancient books. It is about to be published." He said with a bit of arrogance: "However, such academic articles will definitely not sell well, I just plan to print a hundred copies as a gift for my colleagues, just to have a laugh."

"No." Lu Ji shook his head: "I have asked His Highness, and I am willing to contribute money to print this book for Mr. However, I must ask Mr. to send a student to Funan for a trip. Mr.'s masterpiece should not only be known to us, but also to the people of Funan. what."

Liu Xi was stunned for a moment, the books he wrote may not be understood by Han Chinese, those Funan monkeys are not as good as reading heavenly books?
"It makes sense." After all, Zhang Zhao has been in politics for many years, and unlike Liu Xi, a pure scholar, he quickly understood Sun Shao's intentions, and he put his heart first.Publishing Liu Xi’s book to Funan will definitely be a loss-making business, and if there is no accident, it will lose everything. But from another perspective, if Funan people can be convinced that they, like the Han people, were originally descendants of Yan and Huang , then it will be easier to deal with later on.If the printing of this book can be used to set off a trend of exploring ancestors and roots among the nobles in Funan, they will be able to gain the upper hand when they could not resort to force in the last negotiation.If it is said that Funan Kingdom still has a little resistance in terms of force, then Funan Kingdom has suffered a crushing defeat in terms of culture. They don't even have their own script, they still borrow Indian script, and the number of people who master it is very limited. In front of the classics, they only have inferiority complex from the bottom of their hearts.

After Zhang Zhao explained briefly, Liu Xi also understood.Of course, his understanding was slightly different from that of Sun Shao and the others. Sun Shao wanted to conquer the Funan people psychologically, at least to disintegrate their sense of resistance. To teach the desire of no class, the master is only teaching students of different classes, but I am educating the Chinese descendants who have become barbarians long before the master, and saving their lost souls. What a great cause this is.

Liu Xi readily agreed, and enthusiastically planned how to educate the Funan people. Of course, they must first be taught to recognize Chinese characters, of course, to recognize Chinese characters. Get rid of the four different Funan characters. It's really embarrassing.

However, Liu Xi quickly discovered a problem. When Lu Ji listed the required expenses, he used a script he had never seen before. After asking, he found out that this was the Tianzhu script he despised, and it was specially used to numbered.

Liu Xi is very upset. While you want me to spread advanced Chinese culture and eliminate Tianzhu’s influence on Funan, you are using Tianzhu’s characters. Isn’t this right hand against left hand?

The Tianzhu characters mentioned by Liu Xi are the Arabic numerals mentioned by later generations.This has nothing to do with Sun Shao. Zhao Shuang, who studies mathematics at the Taoist Academy, learned it from businessmen. He found it convenient to use it for counting, so he started to use it.Sun Shao was also taken aback when he saw it for the first time, but he admired Zhao Shuang's tolerant thought very much, so he began to promote it in relevant government departments. No one said anything bad. Unexpectedly, Liu Hee asked the question.However, he did not debate this issue with Liu Xi. This kind of orthodox topic needs to be quoted from classics. It is impossible to prevent the use of this Indian script.

As a result, Liu Xi and Lu Ji debated for a long time, but no one convinced the other, so they had to let it go.Liu Xi accepted the task of giving lectures in Fu Nanguo and prepared by himself.Zhang Zhao was in a panic and asked Sun Shao for orders.Sun Shao inquired about his wishes, and finally arranged an errand for him. Liu Xi went to Funan. You should go to Nanyang for investigation. I heard that there are many barbarians in Nanyang. They live on isolated islands. Don't talk about words, even talking is almost like a bird singing.Teacher, you are so knowledgeable. Those who govern a state and a county are too talented. You should educate the world like Mr. Cheng Guo.

Zhang Zhaozheng was a little jealous of Liu Xi. He was very happy when he heard this suggestion. Sun Shao immediately arranged a fleet of thousands of people, led by his trusted general Deng Ai, to escort Zhang Zhao to Xuanhua Nanyang. Zhang Zhao's title is very prestigious. , the Han Yue Kingdom Nanyang Xuanhua envoy, Deng Ai is the deputy envoy of Xuanhua.Since it is Xuanhua and not conquering by force, businessmen are naturally unavoidable. First lure them with profit, then use culture, and then disobedient, then they can only conquer, and use both soft and hard methods. This is the way of civil and martial arts. ——The idiot's way of being courteous and unarmed is not Sun Shao's style. Although Sun Shao is not a militaristic generation, he is not a kind person who buys a false name with money. A thousand miles away, at least they must monopolize the trade in Nanyang, otherwise, wouldn't this battle be fought in vain?
Before Deng Ai left, he specially invited him to see him. After carefully inquiring about the purpose of Xuanhua Nanyang, Deng Ai talked about the issue of Funan Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, I feel that Fan Man is not sincerely asking for peace. He is trying to slow down the army. He is the main army, and our army is the guest army. Quick battles are not good for long-term battles. Fan Man has been on the battlefield for a long time. He will not fail to see this."

Sun Shao smiled: "Go on."

Encouraged by Deng Ai, he continued to analyze that his stuttering had improved recently, but he still couldn't speak fast, and could only speak slowly, which made people feel that every word he said was carefully thought out.

"There is Changshan between Funan and Nichinan. Changshan is deep and leafy. We are not familiar with the terrain. Going deep into Changshan is a dead end. Therefore, it is unlikely to invade Funan from Changshan. Our navy has the advantage , but the number of sailors is limited. Once they land on the shore, the power of attacking the city will be greatly reduced. If they do not go ashore, Fan Manhe is helpless. If Fan Man insists on not holding on, our army lacks effective means of attack and will be in trouble Therefore, how to draw out Fan Man's main force as soon as possible and wipe them out at sea has become the most important thing in terms of defeating the enemy..."

Sun Shao nodded again and again, talked with Deng Ai for most of the night, and finally said to Deng Ai: "Shi Zai, cherish this opportunity to Xuanhua Nanyang, I will wait for you to return with honor and become one of the sharpest swords in my hands. "

Deng Ai was very grateful and left.

Fan Xun inspected Lin Yi for a few days, and felt that he had basically grasped the reality of the Yue Kingdom, so he bid farewell to Sun Shao.After Sun Shao heard his compliment, he showed a very satisfied expression. He re-drafted the contract and suggested cultural exchanges with Funan to enhance friendship. This kind of thing is not so easy to solve if the businessman is killed.

Although Fan Xun didn't take Sun Shao's statement seriously-is this matter easy to solve?For the death of several unscrupulous businessmen, if Funanguo really intends to negotiate, he will have to pay at least half of his annual income—but he was a little overjoyed at Sun Shao's sincerity. He came here just to find out the truth, but Sun Shao looked But he really wants to negotiate, which is quite different from the previous murderous look.There are two possibilities, one is that Sun Shao is not strong, he is just bluffing, and now he has achieved his goal, of course he will accept it as soon as he sees it; the other possibility is that Sun Shao was deceived by Funan's false appearance and relaxed Be vigilant, no matter what, it is a good thing for Funan, Fan Xun will certainly not be so stupid as to refuse.

Fan Xun rushed back to Temu City and told Funan King Fan Man what he had heard and seen. Fan Man sneered, but he did not act rashly.He sent Fan Xun to bargain with Sun Shao again, and at the same time stepped up to mobilize the navy.He rejected the generals' proposal to send troops to Nichinan. He said to Fan Jinsheng and others who were eager to fight, Wu Yue came from afar, and they wanted a quick battle, and we couldn't follow their wishes.No matter how strong the Wu army is, they can only defend the east side of the Changshan Mountain. Beyond the Changshan Mountain, there is a jungle hundreds of miles away. That is our battlefield. Once they break in, they will die. Defense not only shows sincerity, but also lures the enemy to go deep and throw himself into the trap.Our main purpose now is to regain control of the sea. If the navy of the Yue Kingdom is allowed to make trouble along the coast, the business tax paid by the merchants passing here will not be ours. This will be a great loss to us. big.Moreover, according to Fan Xun's inquiries, the mountain-sized ship of the Yue State Navy is a grain ship, not a warship. Could it be that they deceived us?Whether it is true or not, we must try it out. If the warships of the Yue State Navy are not much different from our country's warships, then he will definitely not fight recklessly when the force is not dominant, but will take the initiative to retreat and give up this opportunity. A piece of fat to the mouth, so that we can rest assured.

Fan Jinsheng and others were convinced, they mobilized almost all the navy of Funan Kingdom, and launched a tentative attack on Cui Qian who was cruising in the sea. Qian then led a large number of pirates to retreat, and he also sent someone to send a letter, saying that since Funan and Yue Kingdom have negotiated, we are friends and are no longer enemies. Don't mention it, I hope that Funan can sincerely cooperate with Yueguo, so that similar unpleasant incidents will not happen again.

Of course, the words of such a scene cannot be hidden from the eyes of Fan Jinsheng and others. After research, they concluded that the information Fan Xun found was accurate. The retreat of the National Navy is by no means a friendly gesture, they are looking for a step down for themselves.

Fan Man didn't stop there. He was preparing for the war, but on the other hand, he was friendly with Sun Shao. When the New Year was approaching, he asked Fan Xun to send a lot of gifts to Linyi. On the one hand, he celebrated Sun Shao's recovery of Linyi, and on the other hand, he responded Sun Shao's desire for cultural exchanges, he said modestly, there are not many scholars in Funan, and the culture is very backward. He hopes that Sun Shao can send a few scholars to Funan to give lectures and enlighten enlightenment.

Sun Shao readily agreed, and Liu Xi brought a mission composed of several disciples to Temu City and gave a one-month lecture.Although Fan Man knew something about Sinology, he was not interested in purely academic exchanges, so he didn't pay much attention to Liu Xi and his party. He just asked a few close officials to accompany him to give lectures. He was not polite until Liu Xi was about to leave. I listened to it once.

As soon as he heard it, Fan Man sensed the problem, and after thinking about it for a while, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Funan language is a branch of ancient Chinese language?So the Funan people are one of the descendants of Yan and Huang?So, the Funan Kingdom and the Han people are of the same origin?Wouldn't it be better for the king of Yue to rule Funan than Fan Man?He, Fan Man, is completely an outsider from Futzu country.Liu Xi said that Sun Shao was so good, he is a rare wise emperor in the past and present, the people under the rule of Yue King live and work in peace and contentment, the elderly have meat to eat, silk to wear, children have books to read, farmers cultivate for a year, not only can they have more than enough food and clothing, You can also sell surplus grain, or go to work in the workshop during the slack season, and you can enjoy preferential prices when buying goods in the market. The aristocratic families can run businesses, earn huge profits, and live a prosperous life, which is comparable to Funan. ?Funan Kingdom only knew how to collect taxes, but never knew how to make profits for the people.

If the name is not right and the word is not right, coupled with heavy taxes, why do you say that the people of Funan cannot rebel against you?

Is Liu Xi here to teach? He is simply here to instigate rebellion!Although these news from the Yue Kingdom are only spread in Temucheng, you must know that nearly one-third of the wealthy people in Funan Kingdom are in Temucheng, and the other two-thirds are mostly different from this third. The inextricable connections, Fan Man can imagine, taking advantage of the opportunity of everyone visiting relatives during the New Year, within three months at most, the news that the Yue Kingdom is a paradise on earth, and the Yue King is a benevolent king who loves the people like a son, will spread to the main people in the Funan Kingdom. area.

Fan Man suddenly felt that her strategy of delaying the attack was in vain, as if she had planned for a long time, but hit her heart with a punch that made him gasp for an instant.

In the past, he was unable to defeat the Yue Kingdom, but now he finds that there is still half the chance of going to war with the Yue Kingdom. If it is compared with culture, he does not even have the power to fight back, and he does not even need Sun Shao to fight. Those vassal countries include the people directly under him in Funan They will all fall into Sun Shao's arms.

We can't delay any longer, we must defeat Sun Shao and his expansionary ambitions before the greater influence takes effect.

(End of this chapter)