"Your Majesty, this barbaric land doesn't even have a written language. I'm afraid... it's not worth the effort."
Pei Xiang stood to the side, stroking his goatee, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. His eyes conveyed a sense of "it's not worth it," and he even lowered his voice.
“Sending craftsmen and agricultural experts there will cost a lot of money; we'll need to transport seeds and tools. What if they don't appreciate it and even turn around and attack our people…”
I chuckled as I held the portrait, pointing my fingertips at the dark yet bright eyes in the painting.
There was a will to survive in those eyes, like a spark in the dark night; given a little wind, it could ignite.
With curious eyes, they would get very close to watch the painter paint, their eyes wide open.
I said, "So what if they are barbarians? Didn't primitive people also have hands and feet? Didn't they also farm and weave cloth?"
They just haven't seen good things or learned good methods.
We teach them, and they learn; once they learn, they remember our kindness.
An imperial decree was immediately issued: to establish the "Anxi Embassy" in the Amu Darya Valley, a region inhabited by tribes.
It should be built sturdily, with walls made of blue bricks and a roof of tiles, and a courtyard should be left for the craftsmen and farmers to live in.
Thirty of the most experienced craftsmen from the Ministry of Works were dispatched—all veterans who had worked with the Regent on the canal years ago, their calluses thicker than copper coins.
They can carve stones into flowers, and assemble wood into mortise and tenon joints, and teach them to build stone houses, fire bricks and tiles, and weave hemp cloth.
Twenty agricultural engineers were dispatched, carrying millet and wheat seeds and waterwheel designs. The seeds were newly harvested this year, plump and dried.
The waterwheel design was drawn by Zhou Shu himself, clearly showing how to assemble the mortise and tenon joints and how to channel the water, so that he could teach them how to turn the soil, fertilize, and store grain.
Even the Imperial Medical Academy selected two physicians who were skilled in treating injuries and plagues, and they brought with them a full load of medicinal herbs.
There is ephedra for treating colds, notoginseng for treating external injuries, and coptis for treating diarrhea; let's go together.
Haoyue jumped onto the imperial desk at some point and nuzzled my wrist with her little head.
Its tail swept across the word "West" on the map, smudging the ink and leaving a snow-white fur mark.
I stroked its furry back and said in a soft but deep voice, "Why not use it?"
They should remember for the rest of their lives who taught them to move out of their drafty mud huts and into a warm stone house that is cool in summer and warm in winter.
Who transformed them from eating wild fruits and digging up grass roots to having steaming millet rice in the pot?
Who made it possible for their children to no longer run barefoot on the prickly beach, to wear soft linen clothes, and to hold wooden pens and learn to write the character "宁" (Ning)?
I also had the scribe copy some simple versions of the "Thousand Character Classic" so that the physician could teach the children in the tribe to read.
No need for much, just let them learn the characters "heaven, earth, man, and peace" first, so they know that there is a Ning Dynasty in this world, and a group of people who teach them to live well.
Before Li Qian left, I added another instruction: "Teach them the methods, but don't put on airs. If they don't want to learn, don't force them; if they want to learn, teach them everything you know."
When he nodded in agreement, his eyes shone brightly. He said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will make sure they know that the Central Plains are not here to rob, but to deliver a way out."
When the delegation, along with artisans and agricultural experts, continued westward, I specifically asked the imperial kitchen to prepare some non-perishable cakes for them to take and eat on the road.
He also had the eunuchs select two docile mares for the women of the tribe to ride—he had heard that the women there had to gather wild fruits and take care of their children, which was very tiring.
Haoyue squatted at the palace gate that day, watching the delegation's carriages and horses depart into the distance, her tail drooping as if she was reluctant to leave.
I stroked its head and said, "They will come back with good news next year."
Sure enough, the following spring, the letter from the Anxi embassy was sent back.
The letter was written by Liu Laoshuan, the foreman of the craftsmen. His handwriting was crooked but densely packed: "Your Majesty, the stone house has been built!"
The tribespeople were initially hesitant to live in the stone houses, saying they were cold. However, when winter came, the mud sheds leaked air, while the stone houses were warm.
They moved in overnight and even started dancing around the house!
The agricultural expert also reported that the millet and wheat had been planted. At first, the tribe did not believe that these "small grains" could provide enough to eat, so they secretly buried half of the seeds to keep as snacks.
It wasn't until summer, when the wheat ears grew longer than their stone axes and bent the stalks with their weight, that they panicked and grabbed the farmer's hand, asking, "Is this stuff really edible?"
The agricultural teacher taught them how to harvest and thresh wheat, and cooked a pot of wheat porridge, the aroma of which wafted across half the valley.
The tribespeople gathered around the pot, each taking a spoonful of porridge, their faces covered in it, yet their smiles were brighter than the sun.
An old tribal chief, holding a bowl of porridge, knelt down facing east and kowtowed three times, saying, "His Majesty Zhaoning is sent by the gods!"
The doctor also mentioned in the letter that the children in the tribe had begun to learn to read.
There was a five-year-old boy named Amu who learned the character "Ning" the fastest. He wrote the character "Ning" on a piece of wood and hung it at the entrance of the stone house. He would point it out to everyone he met and say, "This is the Ning from Zhaoning!"
There was also a woman who had just given birth to a baby and specifically came to ask the physician, "Could we name the child 'Ning Sheng'?"
The physician smiled and agreed, saying that the name was good, as it was a lifeline given by Ning Chao.
I read these letters to Haoyue. It tilted its head, understood, patted the letter with its paw, and snored even louder.
This is also our agreement: it won't speak in front of people, it will only communicate in our minds.
I gazed at the starry sky outside the window; the Milky Way was still dazzlingly bright, and the Regent's figure seemed even clearer.
She held the map in her hand, pointing her finger in the direction of the Amu Darya River, her smile widening as if to say, "Your Majesty has done well."
Two years have passed, and more and more news has come from the Anxi Embassy: twenty stone houses have been built in the tribe, all with the character "Ning" carved on the roof tiles.
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