History of Xia, Chapter 5
Andre was confused.
The Chinese who saved them threw them on an island, let them take a bath there, put on new clothes, and pushed them into a small wooden house. Through gestures, it seemed that they were allowed to live there temporarily. They
didn't need to be slaves to live here?
The people on Andre's ship looked at each other, almost suspecting that they were dreaming.
Then, they lived on the island and learned the Chinese language and writing. They didn't ask them to be proficient, and they were not allowed to leave the island until they could communicate with the Chinese by speaking and gestures.
That place seems to be called...Old Wa Island?
During the time he was on the island, Andre knew that this island was specially used by China to temporarily house slaves like them who were brought back. Because they didn't know if they had any problems, they couldn't go to the mainland immediately.
"Now you can choose whether to stay in Daxia or leave. If you leave, Daxia will not be responsible for helping you return home. You need to find a way on your own."
Andre nodded in the crowd to show his agreement.
They were already their benefactors for saving them. If they still asked them to send them back, it would be called "taking advantage of others" in China!
Andre didn't know whether he should go home or stay.
He missed home very much, but he was afraid that he would be taken as a slave again after returning. This time, he might not meet kind Chinese people.
The people who were guarding them took them to the capital of Daxia and told them: "I'll give you three days to think it over. If you don't give an answer after three days, you will be expelled from China."
Andre was really confused.
He wandered around the capital of China and saw people from many countries. He even saw someone who looked similar to the one who caught him, so they should be from the same country. When he saw this person, his whole body stiffened and he touched his neck uncontrollably - when he was a slave, there would be a heavy wooden fork here.
However, after seeing him, the other party did not show any greedy eyes looking at the goods, but nodded very friendly and walked past him.
This is a very friendly country. There are no slave traders, no slave fences, and no slave auctions.
Andre turned around and returned to the government office: "I want to register, I want to stay in Daxia."
The clerk nodded and brought paper and pen -
"What's your surname?"
"An."
"What's your name?"
Andre thought for a while and decided to give himself a Chinese name: "Da Pao!"
The clerk looked at him strangely: "Are you sure?"
Andre nodded seriously: "I'm sure!"
So soon, An Da Pao left the government office with a "verification" that recorded his head, name, gender, age, height, and native place, and two mu of paddy fields distributed by the court.
- In the south, in a normal year, two mu of paddy fields plus some extra work are enough for one person.
The clerk chased after him and said, "You must remember this. You are new here. You will pay taxes differently from others in the first three years. You will be charged more! The summer tax is 4 dou 6 he 5 shao per mu, and the autumn tax is 3 dou 6 he 5 shao per mu! But after paying for three years, you will be able to pay only 4 liters in summer tax and 3 liters in autumn tax, just like the people of Daxia. Don't forget, the consequences of tax evasion are very serious."
Andre said loudly, "Okay! I will remember this!"
"Remember to collect the subsidy! You have no money when you first come here, so you can get half a liter of grain every day until the first harvest!"
"Remember!"
"Don't borrow farm tools from those lenders! Borrow them from the government office!"
"Okay!"
"Your Majesty, thinking that it is difficult to live in the capital, provided cheap houses for the people to live in some time ago, with a monthly rent of only 500 wen. Now that you have no house, you can apply for one. Since it is a house of the court, you can take the "verification" and say that you have just moved to Daxia, and you can owe the money first."
Andre clenched his fists, and he could not believe his ears.
The king was willing to provide cheap houses for the people! God! Are the people of Daxia living in heaven?
Soon, Andre's house and farmland were quickly approved. During the spring plowing season, he happily carried a hoe to plant the land. The neighbors around him were very friendly and soon became familiar with each other. Seeing that he lived alone at home and was not very good at making a fire, they often came to bring him food.
Days passed by, and Andre counted on his fingers: "In a few years, I can rent a few strong men to go back with me and bring my family here. And Anna... Anna... hehe..." ... "
How
are the sweet potatoes growing this year?"
After seeing how the foreigners were treated, Xu Yanmiao came to the field and asked the old farmer.
The old farmer seemed to have just drunk a bellyful of honey water, with a smile on his face: "It's fine! Last year, I tried planting and stepped on a lot of pitfalls. This year, I learned a lot and it's much better! Just like this potato vine, last year I didn't know to turn it over and prune it, so other small sweet potatoes grew on one vine, and the harvest was not good. This year, I understand this principle, and the sweet potatoes will surely grow more and more prosperous."
Xu Yanmiao nodded and felt relieved.
- Although he didn't know whether this was right or wrong, he had never planted land.
As expected, every profession has its own specialty, and farming should be left to those who know how to farm. Time travelers should not think that they can do everything.
"Rich and noble-rich and noble-" Suddenly, an old woman's voice was called from a distance.
The old farmer hurriedly said, "It's my wife!" He also responded loudly, "Here-"
The old woman hurried over with a clay pot in her hand.
It turned out that it was time to eat.
"I forgot to bring chopsticks, you can make do with it."
The old farmer waved his hands: "What do you mean by make do with it." He opened the clay pot, took out the big white steamed bun inside, took a bite, and used his fingers covered with mud and sweat to pinch a handful of pickled vegetables to put into the gap, and ate it in big mouthfuls.
Xu Yanmiao subconsciously opened his eyes. When he heard someone talking to him, he quickly turned his eyes back.
The old farmer said while eating the steamed bun: "Young man, I won't treat you to this steamed bun, it's so rude! If you come in another month, that will be the best time. I'll pick the tender leaves on the potato vines. Whether you steam the steamed bun with garlic or stir-fry it with oil, it will be so delicious!"
Xu Yanmiao smiled and said, "Yes, it smells good! I've also eaten cold sweet potato leaves. After boiling, mix them with garlic juice and sesame oil. They are especially delicious! Adding chili oil is even better! I have a friend who likes to mix them with ginger juice!"
The old farmer gave a thumbs up: "Young man, you know how to eat!"
He added, "There's more! Young man, let me tell you, the sweet potato vines on this ground can be tied into bunches and hung all over the eaves. After drying in the shade, pigs can eat them until the next year! My family didn't dare to raise pigs before. People couldn't eat enough, so how could we dare to raise pigs? Now it's good. The pigs eat the sweet potato vines and grow meat! We all care about them now. This thing is called pig grass! If pigs can't finish it, they can give it to people. Sweet potato vines are also good when cooked into porridge. "
Xu Yanmiao asked curiously: "Are sweet potato vines delicious?"
The old farmer said: "How can they be delicious! They are for pigs. People usually don't eat them unless they are very hungry. There was a weak person in our village before. He ate too much sweet potato vines and got sick with diarrhea. He almost died."
Xu Yanmiao sighed: "It's good that the person is fine."
After the old farmer finished his meal, he continued to work in the fields. Xu Yanmiao squatted beside him and watched. After watching for a while, he couldn't help but said: "Can I try it!"
...
The Imperial Palace, the Ministry of Personnel.
A group of officials looked at Xu Yanmiao staggering in with his hands on his waist, and their expressions were shocked: "Xu Lang, what happened to you?!"
Xu Yanmiao coughed and said, "Nothing."
[No one should be able to tell that I twisted my waist while farming.]
[Farming is not something that just anyone can do.]
The officials of the Ministry of Personnel immediately lowered their heads, turned around, took documents...
Hold it in, don't laugh!
Xu Yanmiao cried out in his heart twice, rubbed his waist twice, limped to his desk to get the official documents, and sent them to the East Palace.
On the way.
In the academy where the princes and grandchildren of the emperor began to study, the fifth grandson Gao Jian wiped his dry eyes with the sleeve of his coat, blinked, and was about to continue listening to the class. When he glanced at the corner of his eye, he saw a very good-looking young man standing outside the back window, holding a stack of official documents, curiously watching them in class.
... Could it be Xu Yanmiao that my father often mentioned? The number one favorite minister beside my grandfather?
——At that time, his body shuddered.
Gao Jian sat up straighter, his eyes rolling.
Suddenly, he stood up, bowed, and said, "Teacher, I have been studying for the past two days, and I have a question that I would like to ask you to answer."
The Hanlin who was teaching this group of princes and grandchildren of the emperor felt a pang in his heart, fearing that these little ancestors would cause trouble for him: "Your Highness, please tell me."
Gao Yao bowed again and said, "I studied the Analects and found that the sentence 'Attack heterodoxy, this harm is already' has three different interpretations."
Gao Yao: "A great scholar said that Confucius interpreted this sentence as: learning heterodox and heretical teachings is harmful."
Gao Yao: "However, there are great scholars who say that such an interpretation is too narrow-minded of Confucius. The original meaning of this sentence should be: Criticize those incorrect arguments, and the harm can be eliminated." Gao Yao
: "There are also great scholars who say that this sentence means: deliberately attacking ideas and theories that are inconsistent with your own views is extremely harmful."
Gao Yao deliberately showed a puzzled look: "How can one sentence have three meanings? Which meaning is correct?"
The Hanlin who taught them had a wooden face.
The little ancestor really gave him trouble. These three interpretations have been debated for thousands of years, and even the court could not unify them. Each family held their own views.
- After all, since ancient times, there has been no first in literature and no second in martial arts. Moreover, there are countless people who annotate Confucius' words, and each school and faction argues endlessly. If there are a thousand people studying Confucius' words, Confucius' words will have a thousand meanings.
If he publicly supports one of them, and in the classroom of the princes and grandsons, he will be targeted by the other two.
But if he keeps silent, he will be targeted by His Majesty.
Hanlin chuckled, anxious in his heart, and a little melancholy in his eyes: "These three..."
Well, stick your head out and you'll get a knife, and your head will be cut off, this life will pass quickly!
Hanlin gritted his teeth and was about to say the comment he liked, but he saw the grandson holding the pen, raised his voice and asked another question, as if he was born without knowing when to stop: "No matter which of the three is correct, the student wants to ask, what is the heresy among them?"
Hanlin's throat itched, and he even wanted to take a snuff on the spot.
What else can it mean? As everyone knows, everything outside of Confucianism is heresy.
It was fine to say this before, but now many of the various schools of thought have gone overseas to spread their own doctrines. If you force them too far, they will simply not come back, and your majesty can kill them.
Why did the Fifth Emperor's grandson ask this? !
Before he could say anything, the Emperor's grandson asked again, like a string of cannonballs: "Students know that in the past, heresy referred to the various schools of thought other than Confucianism, but now China is not only focusing on the mainland, but also trying to spread its culture overseas, and still regards the Hundred Schools of Thought as heresy, isn't it a joke for outsiders? This heresy, should it be the various schools of thought that are heresy, or overseas, other countries' religious sects that are heresy?"
These words made the teacher sweat profusely, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
After asking Xu Yanmiao for a while, he continued to deliver official documents to the East Palace.
The old emperor seemed surprised when he knew about this: "Are you telling the truth?"
Ever since Prince Shou skipped classes, the Jinyiwei had been stationed near the school to keep an eye on the studies of these princes and grandchildren. At this moment, he described the scene in detail, and Xu Shizhong, who had been standing outside the window for a while, seemed to have just mentioned a few sentences casually in this scene. The
old emperor was calm and speechless.
The next day, Emperor Tiantong issued an imperial decree: "Today, the fifth son of Crown Prince Xian, the grandson Jian, is appointed as the crown prince." The whole court was shocked
.
The crown prince was shocked: Wait, my biological father just found out which of his sons is the crown prince, is this normal?
Xu Yanmiao was also shocked: [When did the old emperor make the decision? How come I didn't hear anything? Is my political sensitivity so low? ]
Gao Jian's pupils were even more shocked.
He was indeed trying to please Xu Yanmiao and deliberately revealed his political inclinations when she appeared, but wasn't the effect too obvious? He just wanted to make the grandfather like him more!
＊
...The emperor, Chen Jian, was the fifth son of Emperor Taizong, and his mother was Concubine Wu. When the (Tai) (Zu) learned that Xu Yanmiao was standing in front of the window and listened to the emperor's three questions, he ordered him to be made the emperor's grandson...
——"History of Xia·Book of Records Chapter 5"