Chapter 3512: Extra Chapter 44
The emperor didn't know that Zhou Man and his friends were visiting a brothel in Silla at that time.
The people, clothing, and architecture of Silla were very different from those of the Great Jin, but after arriving in Jincheng, they saw the shadow of the Great Jin.
Many people here dress like the people of Jin Dynasty and speak Chinese, so Bai Shan and his friends don't look out of place here.
But as long as they go out on the streets, you can still tell they are from Jin.
I heard that the new queen of Silla ordered the people to learn the clothing and language of the Jin people after she ascended the throne. She had studied abroad in Jin and hoped that the relationship between Silla and Jin could be further improved.
Bai Shan, the former Left Prime Minister of the Great Jin, knew more. He explained to the others, "In the past, Goguryeo oppressed Baekje and Silla in the north, blocking their communication with the Great Jin. Furthermore, Goguryeo repeatedly disrespected the late emperor and sent troops to invade the border, so the late emperor established the Jian'an Prefecture, Liaocheng Prefecture Commandery, and the Andong Protectorate. However, within a few years of stabilizing the border, Baekje, relying on its proximity to the Great Jin, repeatedly intervened between Silla and the two, preventing Silla from paying homage. Consequently, the Queen of Silla repeatedly petitioned the court to send troops to jointly attack Baekje."
Bai Shan spoke for so long, but then changed the subject, “But this is all appearance.”
Zhou Man and the others: "...What's the truth?"
"The truth is, there's no room for two tigers on the same mountain. Silla has always wanted to swallow up Baekje, and Baekje has always wanted to swallow up Silla. This year you attack me, and next year I'll attack you," Bai Shan said. "Originally, this is nothing. His Majesty told us years ago that this is an internal affair between the two countries, and the Great Jin will not interfere."
Silla was a vassal state of the Jin Dynasty, and so was Baekje. It was like two adopted sons fighting each other. It would not be good for the adoptive father to help either of them, so he might as well turn a blind eye. If the fighting got fierce, the father would act as a peacemaker and try to persuade them for the sake of the people of both countries. Whether he could persuade them or not depended on themselves.
"However, Baekje has been very rampant in recent years, much to His Majesty's displeasure," Bai Shan said. "The Great Jin Dynasty had a prosperous maritime trade. When it first began, Baekje and Japan seized our merchant ships. At that time, Governor Guo joined forces with the Andong Protectorate to wipe them out. They were relatively peaceful for a few years, but recently became unruly again, which is why His Majesty is very unhappy."
When two adopted sons fought, it was unclear who was in the wrong and who was in the right, and the emperor didn't care. But when one adopted son turned around and snatched things from his biological son, cutting off the other adopted son's way to pay tribute to his old father, that was very infuriating.
"Your Majesty's temper has improved a lot in recent years, but I think if Baekje continues like this, I'm afraid his temper will be uncontrollable."
The implication is that the emperor is likely to agree to the Silla queen's proposal and send troops to pacify Baekje together.
Zhou Man: "Then are we still going to Baekje?"
"Go ahead, just take a stroll on the way back and leave," Bai Shan said with a smile, "They haven't started fighting yet, and there are many merchant ships traveling between Dajin and Baekje. It will be fine for us to go."
Yin Huo then smiled and said, "Since you want to visit the brothels in Japan, why not visit all the brothels in the Three Kingdoms and see the differences between them?"
Zhou Man and his friends went there excitedly, but returned disappointed in the end. There was not much difference, as there was still dancing and singing. The only difference was that the brothel in the Three Kingdoms also added storytelling, but most of the stories talked about were about the Jin Dynasty, and they used the book written by Bai Erlang as a reference. There was nothing new about it.
They had listened to Bai Erlang's books many times in restaurants and teahouses along the way.
Bai Erlang was very happy, and said excitedly along the way: "I didn't expect that I have so many fans overseas."
Bai Shan and Zhou Manyin nodded, "I didn't expect it."
Mingda urged Bai Erlang, "Write more?"
Bai Erlang rolled his eyes and said, "How about I write down the places we visited?"
Bai Shan and the others had no objection. "Write whatever you want, just a little bit, and don't slander us."
Bai Jilang muttered, "When have I ever slandered you?"
Zhou Man was unconvinced. "Is that not enough? When you wrote about Taibai Jinxing under orders, why did you specifically write that she was a dwarf?"
Bai Erlang glanced up and down at Zhou Man, his meaning was obvious.
Zhou Man's feet were a little itchy, and she tried to control herself mentally. She was grown up now, a well-mannered old woman, and she couldn't move her feet, she couldn't move her feet...
Taking advantage of Zhou Man's travels around the vassal states, Koko gained a lot. Although it was difficult to visit all of Silla and Baekje, they passed through the main places.
If Zhou Man wasn't afraid of the inconvenience caused by revealing his identity, he would have wanted to pay the locals to dig some rare flowers and plants and send them to him. It would definitely be more convenient if everyone worked together.
But she finally suppressed the thought, especially when she found Bai Shan drawing the hilly town they passed by.
It is not easy to make a map, especially such a detailed map. Among their group, only Bai Shan and Yin Huo can draw it. Zhou Man and others assist them and provide some reference for their data.
By the time they went to Japan for a tour and returned to Jin, it was already the summer of the following year.
Zhou Silang was looking forward to it so much that when he saw them, he couldn't help but rush forward and grab Zhou Man's hand and cry, "You guys are really good at shopping! Do you know that I didn't dare to go home this whole year, for fear of being beaten by my eldest brother and his wife? Why don't you think about me, your poor fourth brother..."
Zhou Liwei stood aside with a smile and said to Zhou Man, "Aunt, Uncle and Auntie often ask Big Brother to write to scold Fourth Uncle, saying that we shouldn't find a boat for you to go out to sea because it's too dangerous out there."
Zhou Man walked around in front of them and asked, "Do I look like I'm in danger?"
Bai Erlang said, "We've had a great time outside this year, so don't worry, Brother Zhou Si."
"You guys are doing well, but we're not," Zhou Silang said after crying and looked at Bai Erlang, "Your Majesty, the people sent by His Majesty to pick up the princess have been waiting at Longchi Wharf."
The five of them looked at each other and went to meet the person together.
They had been away from Beijing for more than three years, and they were finally preparing to return to Beijing as the emperor expected.
Zhou Silang stayed in Qingzhou for the whole year. Now that he had met his master, he followed them back.
Zhou Liwei's career has always been in Qingzhou. Since he is not from an imperial examination background, his official rank is limited and he has always stopped at the sixth rank. Qingzhou is the best place for him to develop. After all, the largest salt field in Dajin is in Qingzhou.
Over the years, he would occasionally return to Beijing to visit relatives and occasionally bring his parents over to take care of them.
Unfortunately, compared to Qingzhou and the capital, Zhou Erlang prefers Qili Village, so he comes here to see his son, stays there for a year or two, and then goes back home. He is not willing to live away for a long time.
Old Zhou was open-minded and simply let Zhou Liwei establish his own branch here. After all, the Zhou family had split up long ago, and no matter where they were, these were all his grandsons and his bloodline, right?
It's quite a proud thing to say. He just needs to think that a few hundred years later, when relatives from Qingzhou come to visit him, they will all be his descendants. How proud he will be.
Of course, he would only talk about this little thought with his wife and little daughter, and would not tell anyone else.
So Zhou Man, who knew what Old Zhou was thinking, patted Zhou Liwei's shoulder with satisfaction after seeing his descendants. "Well done, teach your children well and don't let them bring disgrace to our Zhou family."
Zhou Liwei, who had completely failed to grasp Zhou Manyi's thoughts, thought he did. He nodded vigorously and said, "Don't worry, aunt. I will definitely teach them well. Even though they may not be good at studying, their character is fine. They will definitely not bring shame to our Zhou family."
Although he didn't understand it correctly, Zhou Man was very satisfied with the answer.
(End of this chapter)
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