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“Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Bonus Chapter: The Sea Route (4)”
Lu Meng hesitated for a moment but still reached out to pick up the small ball in front of him.
Upon this close encounter, he was increasingly convinced that this playful little ball was made of a material he had never seen before.
He also keenly sensed that this elastic special substance could not be limited to just children’s toys.
“Don’t be afraid…” Lu Meng spoke to the child.
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized that he was in a land where no one from the Central Plains had ever set foot. His words held no meaning to the other party.
Sure enough, the moment he spoke, the child looked as if they had seen something extraordinarily terrifying. Ignoring that the ball was still in Lu Meng’s hand, the child turned and ran.
At that moment of escape, Lu Meng clearly saw that something similar was on the child’s shoes.
In a flash of insight, countless guesses crossed Lu Meng’s mind, prompting him to pursue while shouting, “Catch him!”
The child had never encountered such a scene before and immediately bolted through the mountains.
Yet, no matter how familiar with these mountains that felt like home, facing Lu Meng and his small group of retainers, there was no chance for resistance. After running three to four miles, the child was pinned to the ground.
Seeing that the child could not understand their words and even turned to attempt to bite Lu Meng’s hand, he decisively struck the child unconscious.
Now that he had the child captured, how to communicate became a major problem.
This seemed… not quite the right way to start a conversation.
When Lu Meng brought the child back to camp, preparing to showcase kindness with food once he woke up, he quickly discovered that his camp was being watched by a group of local natives.
Some sharp-eyed soldiers even pointed out that the weapons used by the others had poison needles.
To avoid being caught in a passive situation, Lu Meng decisively took the offensive, using fishing nets from their sea expeditions to capture these individuals.
But taking down one group meant another would soon appear…
In the early morning of the next day, Lu Meng sat beside the campfire, running a hand through his hair and asking his soldiers, “We’re here to discover new species in new territories, not to become slave traders, right?”
Before the soldiers could even respond, he glanced towards his camp, where a group of bound and cursing locals were, and rubbed his temples.
In just over half a day, he had almost turned this camp into a hunting trap to intercept those who rushed in.
To prevent conflicts from escalating further, he refrained from killing the locals, merely injuring them before dragging them into the camp for the medics.
But such attacks needed a resolution.
If this endless cycle continued, it wouldn’t be long before both sides were clashing weapons!
By that time, talking it out would be out of the question!
After all, they had no means to communicate for negotiations.
With thoughts racing, Lu Meng suddenly signaled for a spare set of iron armor, grabbed it, and walked briskly over to the child he had captured.
The earlier skirmish with the locals hadn’t been futile; he had gained crucial intel!
These people had no iron tools!
Rudimentary bronze and stone weapons were the best they could muster, meaning that iron armor was something completely unknown to them.
This situation was akin to his never having seen that bouncy little ball or those peculiar shoes before.
However, even realizing this fact turned out to be a communication challenge far more arduous than battle.
When he tried to convey that he simply wanted the ball and shoes, and knew where they could be found in exchange for the iron armor, hoping to avoid escalating conflict, the nearly petrified child finally realized that his cries for help might have caused unnecessary trouble.
He then began explaining the situation to his people.
Lu Meng finally let out a long sigh of relief.
As he watched the locals quiet down one by one, still cursing but now silent, he was sure he had made the right choice.
But the only issue was, he couldn’t let them think they could trade away his armor for just a toy ball and shoes.
He would need to come up with additional bargaining chips.
Otherwise, it would be challenging to obtain what he desired from these still-hostile natives.
He wondered if, when they had departed from Xuzhou, the gold, silver, and silk that the majesty had mentioned as hard currency would actually work out.
——————
“Not just gold, silver, and silk can be used as trade chips; paper can too!” When both sides rejoined at Victory Port after traveling north and south, Gan Ning proudly declared upon hearing Lu Meng mention this.
During their northern travels through several rudimentary cities, especially the largest one, Gan Ning realized that the local papermaking techniques were a bit off; even when using the same tree bark, perhaps due to the tree species, it was far thicker than the paper used in Da Yong.
This thickness didn’t mean it was easier to preserve than bamboo paper; on the contrary, it had no advantage of portability and was more like “tree bark boards,” easily broken upon bending.
When Gan Ning pulled out the incomplete maritime guidebook from the ship, the locals regarded it as more precious than iron weapons.
This civilization, which possessed writing, statues, and sacrificial culture, desperately needed an effective medium to record their development.
Paper was that medium!
In contrast, Lu Meng headed south, where he saw the grand Chavun Temple and various idols but found no writings, making it impossible for him to find a trading item like Gan Ning.
But, fortunately, since humans had formed tribal groups, distinctions in class were unavoidable.
Exquisite gold jewelry and silk, distinct from woven cloth, practically won the immediate favor of the tribal leader.
Lu Meng used the excuse of having injured a member of their tribe to gift them two fine garments, quickly swapping earlier hostility for hospitality.
“I illustrated that we traveled for over a hundred days to reach this place, convincing the leader that we come from a mysterious and powerful overseas nation. In summary, whether it’s paper or silk, as long as it achieves the goal, the rest isn’t so important.”
Gan Ning chuckled at this and replied, “That’s rather inappropriate to say. Compared to this place, isn’t our homeland mysterious, powerful, and rich in history?”
They weren’t just putting on a show with a few items.
When they arrived on this underdeveloped land clad in iron armor, it was hard not to feel a clear and direct impression—
If they wanted to annihilate this weak civilization and turn these indigenous people, who only knew slash-and-burn farming, into slaves, it wouldn’t be a difficult task.
But it was precisely the profound civilization behind them that endowed them with sufficient confidence and grace to choose trade as a means of obtaining what they needed.
After Gan Ning finished talking, he couldn’t help but mutter, “To be honest, I rarely feel like a good person.”
“Then I’m not,” Lu Meng replied, “I took the child’s toy ball, and their elders took the armor away for research.”
Gan Ning and Lu Meng exchanged a look and suddenly both burst into laughter.
“Alright, alright,” Gan Ning waved his hand, “Now tell me about your gains.”
Lu Meng straightened his face and placed a pair of rubber shoes in front of Gan Ning, “Aside from the other food, this rubber is worth mentioning. I initially thought it was some kind of animal hide, but it turns out it’s extracted from plants.”
“The sap that flows after the tree bark is cut open is what you see here; locals make it into water containers, shoe soles, and rubber balls, and using this on clothing provides far better waterproofing than oiled cloth.”
“What’s even more interesting is that there’s a crop here whose root can be eaten, much like yam but shorter…yes, just like the one in your hand.”
Lu Meng pointed to the sweet potato that Gan Ning was holding and said: “There’s a type where the white sap from the vine, when mixed with the sap of the rubber tree, makes it more tough and elastic.”
“This would definitely be quite useful in the hands of the Ministry back home.”
Even before bringing it back to Huang Yueying and the others, Lu Meng was already imagining its applications.
This resilient, waterproof material would surely be of great use on naval vessels.
Its transformability from liquid to solid states ensured it could be utilized for sealing.
The very existence of this material was revolutionary!
It’s not an exaggeration to place it at the forefront of all plants.
Gan Ning cautiously took the shoes from Lu Meng’s hands.
Though he knew that due to its flexibility, even with a little rough handling, it wouldn’t break, he still couldn’t help but show an expression of excitement when realizing the possibilities for this item.
With this material in hand, they had at least a minimal guarantee when they returned to Da Yong to report to the majesty.
Moreover, the items they could present were hardly limited to this one.
Lu Meng continued, “These two types… Let’s call them tubers for the sake of yam. I see General Gan has some here, so I won’t elaborate further.”
Perhaps the distinction between Lu Meng and Gan Ning’s discoveries lies in that the southern group would use a unique variety of sweet potato juice to initiate the earliest vulcanization reaction for the rubber; otherwise, their cultivation and consumption methods were quite similar.
Gan Ning nodded and saw Lu Meng pull out the next item, “I originally thought it was miraculous to get cotton from the Silk Road reopened, brought from the land of the heavenly beings.”
Without cotton clothing, how many people would have frozen to death during the cold winters of the last few years? And without cotton, it would have been nearly impossible for their soldiers to cross the mountain ranges and secure victory over the Kushan Empire.
And recalling last year’s battle in Suizhou, cotton contributed significantly there too.
“What kind of plan is cotton on? It seems like it only grows in scorching places even though the cold regions need it the most.”
The land of the heavenly beings has a hot climate that doesn’t need explaining; the mountain terrain Lu Meng explored was loose and slightly barren, yet it was still a humid and hot place.
What surprised him even more was when Gan Ning opened a chest nearby, and there was cotton inside as well.
Interestingly, the two types of cotton looked different; the cotton brought from the southern route had longer fibers, which were clearly better suited for weaving, while the northern cotton had a fluffier feel. However, when both compared the local yields, they discovered that northern cotton produced more.
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“The flowers here are definitely longer than what they’re growing in Da Yong now.”
“Do you think these two types of cotton can adapt to Da Yong’s climate? Or is there any other type of cotton that combines the advantages of these two?” Gan Ning asked, holding a flower from each type and comparing them.
But as soon as he asked, he shook his head, saying, “Never mind, let’s leave the complexities to the experts. We just need to take back enough seeds and cotton.”
Could he possibly expect himself to learn farming skills along with being a strategist like Jia Xu? Nah, let’s not go there.
Seeing that Gan Ning wasn’t going to ask any further, Lu Meng picked up the next item, “Then there’s this gourd.”
It was a gourd-shaped golden pumpkin.
After Lu Meng finished speaking, he looked at Gan Ning, puzzled. “Why do you have that expression?”
Gan Ning chuckled and grabbed another box from a subordinate. Opening it revealed two types of gourds, which, while different, resembled the one he found in the south. Coincidentally, Lu Meng’s gourd seemed to be a transitional variety.
“I didn’t hear from the locals that this could prevent night blindness; maybe we’ll find out their uses only after bringing them back to Da Yong. As long as it satisfies my cravings and keeps me from dealing with those persimmon leaves, I’ll be content.”
Adding chili to the gourds is one thing, but just thinking about how he first received those potatoes mixed with dirt from those people made Gan Ning’s stomach do a little flip.
Right, potatoes.
Since their edible parts grow underground and aren’t very large, resembling just slightly enlarged beans, Gan Ning went ahead and named them without hesitation.
Thinking about how this stuff was cooked alongside dirt just made the name fit even better.
But what Gan Ning didn’t expect was that while he was pondering whether to bring potatoes back, he saw Lu Meng waving to a subordinate at the back, who dragged up two burlap sacks.
When the first sack was opened, what was inside was clearly potatoes, only several times larger than the ones he found.
And Lu Meng opened his mouth, saying, “When it comes to food gains, nothing surpasses this.”
Gan Ning: “…?”
Lu Meng continued, “The locals living in the mountains can’t change their environment, so they have to make their crops adapt. There are many species of this in the wild, some are toxic and must be eaten with the dirt, while others aren’t very productive and aren’t suitable for cultivation. Who knows how long it took for them to be domesticated?”
Thinking about the yield of these potatoes here, based on the locals’ accounts, could be over a hundred pounds per mu, unlike the yam recorded in the Leping Monthly Report, which requires a strict cultivation process and careful tending. Gan Ning couldn’t help but show a little excitement.
If these things can maintain their adaptability after being moved back to Da Yong, then the glory of having made the people more prosperous would be self-evident!
He lamented, “It’s still a shame this thing has some limitations, like how it’s not very easy to preserve. Once it sprouts, it becomes toxic, so the locals have to trample it, wash it, and then let it dry on the hillside to produce this.”
On Lu Meng’s instruction, the second bag was opened in front of Gan Ning, revealing a bunch of yellowish-white dried lumps, indeed showing that easy drying state.
Only…
Gan Ning raised an eyebrow. “Trampled?”
Lu Meng straightened his face. “With rubber shoes on.”
He shouldn’t have said that; using such a serious tone to explain, while also trying to justify it, made Gan Ning instinctively feel something was off.
He waved his hand behind him, signaling his subordinate to take the wild potatoes back and avoid embarrassing them here, and he decided to let Lu Meng’s explanation slide. There was no need for them to hurt each other over potatoes.
Anyway, even if they had to compare, neither would come out ahead in misery.
Once this stuff was sent back, their majesty would definitely come up with a sensible solution for what they had previously tried to eat.
As for how to bring it back, although it faced storage issues, with the ship’s load, they could surely manage to work it out.
This gathering was actually progressing smoother than they anticipated. They’d already returned to their original departure point before June of the fifth year of Yuan Zhao.
This meant that as long as their return journey went smoothly, they might even make it back in time for the New Year celebration in the sixth year of Yuan Zhao.
This led them to quickly set up a grill after fully detailing their gains, skewering corn and mutton that Gan Ning had brought from the potato exchange.
Gan Ning was munching on the sunflower seeds he brought and the peanuts from Lu Meng, contemplating how their respective gains should be sent back.
The consumption of their fleet coming and the casualties from storms at sea might not change just because they gained more experience sailing.
It was a blessing that both their teams managed to return safely, and they couldn’t assume they wouldn’t face nature’s wrath during the journey.
If any of these items were to be lost due to a capsized boat, even in the face of having them in hand, Gan Ning couldn’t forgive himself.
“Those folks to the north love this and use it as a staple food. It won’t be a problem getting enough, and storing it after drying isn’t too difficult.” Gan Ning indicated towards the corn on the grill.
“Rubber trees take time to grow, just bringing back seeds won’t suffice. Let’s use the gold and silk on our ships to trade for a few barrels more; no need to split them up between us. We can’t risk losing both main ships to a storm.”
Both main ships were the largest of the Funan fleet, designed to withstand tropical voyages, and with thorough inspections by the craftsmen from Xu and Yang States, all potential hazards had been fixed up.
These two ships could carry significantly more than the others, just in time for the transport here.
So, the only thing left was the potatoes.
Since they couldn’t manage to survive a five-month voyage in normal conditions, might as well not treat them like preserved goods!
Gan Ning commanded decisively, “Convert several of the storage rooms on the two ships into fields and plant the potatoes directly.”
After all, as Lu Meng said, one of the biggest advantages of the potatoes as domesticated by the mountain-dwelling people is their hardiness. As long as they ensure proper sunlight and moisture in the storage rooms, they should be able to survive and present them to their majesty.
They couldn’t just bring back these dried potatoes.
That would be quite unacceptable.
The importance of potatoes and rubber warranted such a serious approach.
This trade with the new mainland people quickly unfolded under the command of Gan Ning, the commander.
Yet what baffled Gan Ning was the leader of the northern peninsula tribe trying to use broken Chinese to say “Go” not because he wanted Gan Ning to leave quickly, but because he wanted to accompany him to learn how to make paper.
Even though Gan Ning had clearly explained that their arrival was under the emperor’s protection, they couldn’t guarantee a smooth return, and who knows when they would next arrive, the leader stubbornly held onto the idea.
Unable to refuse the person’s insistence, Gan Ning decided to ask for some stone slabs and tree bark boards, requesting that those accompanying him on the ship needed to know their local writing.
Then once they learn the Central Plains script, they could decipher this foreign writing.
Looking at it this way, bringing a few locals along didn’t seem so bad.
So, after a month of resource exchange, their ships were loaded with provisions and fresh water, along with things vital to Da Yong, ready to set sail again on a perfect-weather afternoon.
Gan Ning and Lu Meng were eager to return, wishing they could be in Da Yong’s coastal towns the next moment.
The tribe leader that could be called a Maya was still moving slowly.
He gazed at the direction the ships had sailed off into until they completely disappeared over the horizon.
“Outsiders…”
The footprints of the outsiders left in this bay would soon be completely washed away with the next tide.
But the iron weapons, paper, and goodwill from overseas powers that these people left would be etched in their stone slabs.
What wouldn’t vanish in a short time either was the large stone erected at this bay.
On the stone was carved a line of text—
【In the spring of the fourth year of Yuan Zhao, the Da Yong ship general Gan Ning and the commander of Huang Hai Wu Lu Meng received the emperor’s decree to voyage here and establish a bond between the two shores.】
The author has something to say:
The Maya culture flourished between AD 250-900 (some say 300-900), and it’s currently the year 200 AD, so Gan Ning is right; it’s still in its bud stage.
So, to summarize the gains this time—
Shared by the north route and the south route: Sweet potatoes, cassava.
North route: Pumpkin, zucchini, land cotton, wild potatoes, corn, chili, sunflower.
South route: Bamboo shoots, island cotton, cultivated potatoes, rubber, peanuts.
Just to add a few notes:
① Corn exists in South America, but it only got massively developed during the Inca culture period; early on, it was still what the Maya people adored.
② The domestication of potatoes mainly occurred in South America because the Andean mountain conditions were relatively harsh, necessitating potato farming to fill the food gap, hence the potatoes’ size matching the south’s yields around AD 200.
③ Tomatoes haven’t been domesticated yet, so they’re still absent.
④ Zucchini, pumpkin, and bamboo shoots are all from the gourd family and have varied skin colors, so no need to elaborate, as they’re quite similar with not much imagined disparity. For instance, one variety of bamboo shoot is even called golden pumpkin.
Other crops can wait until next time to fiddle with.
I’ve wondered, if China had arrived in America first, would the Indian civilizations have been preserved? But that’s just thinking; it’s a novel, after all.
Overall, Qiao Qiao is in for a bumper harvest now. (Suddenly feeling a joy of hoarding food)
There are still 2 chapters left for the sea voyage parts, and I won’t make them too long.
See you tomorrow morning at 9:30!
