Chapter 106: Johor Natives
After Song Bai returned to Beijing, Song Yuzhu told him about her plan to have him teach at school.
In the past few years, Song Bai has been idle at home in Beijing. He originally wanted to continue running the clinic, but due to his different status, there were many inconveniences, so he had to give up in the end.
When Song Bai heard that his son asked him to teach, he felt a little nervous, after all, he had never done such a thing before.
Song Bai said: "I have never taught a student. If I fail to teach well, wouldn't it ruin the reputation of the school?"
Song Yuzhu smiled and said, "Don't worry, father. You have taught me so well. You will definitely be able to teach many famous doctors in the future."
Song Bai was amused by his son: "You are different from others. I just helped you get on the right track. The rest is something you learn on your own." His son started learning at the age of five, could recite thousands of prescriptions at the age of eight, and followed him in practicing medicine at the age of ten. There is not even one child like him among ten thousand.
Jiang Rong said: "It's not easy for my son to build a school. Since you have this ability, don't hide it. Go and help other students to lead the way."
The old saying goes that if a doctor teaches his apprentices too much, he will starve to death. Most doctors only passed their skills to their family members, and only passed them down to males, not females. This also led to many prescriptions being lost. This was one of the reasons why Song Yuzhu built a medical school. He was determined to pass on traditional Chinese medicine.
Song Bai hesitated for a while and then nodded, "Okay, I'll do my best."
Song Qiao was similar to his younger brother. When he came to Beijing, he originally planned to expand the scale of his pharmacy and make it the largest pharmacy in Qichao.
As a result, the eldest son joined the Maritime Customs, while the younger son had no interest in business and only wanted to study. He was unable to do the job on his own, so he just opened a pharmacy under the name of the housekeeper.
When he heard that his nephew was going to appoint him as the dean of the medical school, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep well for several days. That was a fourth-rank official position, higher than his son's!
There was a reason why Song Yuzhu let his second uncle be the dean. Song Qiao was eloquent and good at business. He was also very proficient in medicinal materials. The school would definitely not go bankrupt if he was in charge.
Song Bai was not good at this aspect. Several of his medical clinics almost went bankrupt, so he was only suitable to be a teacher.
The medical school in Daqi is being prepared in full swing. Meanwhile, the Hope has also arrived at its first stop - Johor.
*
A red sun slowly rose from the horizon, illuminating the sea with sparkling waves. On the blue sea, the Hope seemed like a small boat, looking particularly small.
The soldiers on the deck were wrestling shirtless, which was a must-do activity for them to pass the time every day. A few Westerners joined in the fun, but the smell of their body odor was so strong that the soldiers were unwilling to wrestle with them.
The Hope has been sailing on the sea for four months. When we first got on board, everyone was quite excited, after all, no one had ever sailed on such a large ship before.
The excitement disappeared after a few days of sailing, because going out to sea is such a boring thing. Every day when I opened my eyes, all I saw was the endless sea, and all I heard were the sounds of seabirds and waves.
Gradually, the soldiers became frustrated and irritable. At this time, the leader's ability depends on the leader. If these soldiers cannot be suppressed, the voyage will probably end in failure.
This is also one of the reasons why Zhao Xiao must come, because no one except him can withstand such great pressure.
When someone on the boat got angry, Zhao Xiao pulled him to the deck to run laps, and he was not allowed to rest until he had run a hundred laps.
If there are a lot of anxious people, let them fight and wrestle each other, and the loser will be responsible for washing clothes, washing dishes and cooking.
They are so tired during the day that they fall asleep as soon as they return to the dormitory at night. They have no time to worry at all.
Over time, everyone gradually adapted to life at sea. Zhao Xiao led them to exercise, fish and grow vegetables every day, and their life was simple and fulfilling.
According to the Daqi calendar, it is already September, but the weather is getting hotter and hotter, almost warmer than summer. The scorching sun makes them look like loaches, with dark and shiny skin.
"General, there is not much fresh water on the ship. It has not rained in the past few days. We have to find a place to restock." The person who spoke was the first mate on the ship, named Yao Qing.
This man was a boatman in Binzhou before. Because he often went out to sea to fish, the farthest he had been by boat was Yingzhou. He was very familiar with the waters around Daqi, so he was chosen to go to sea with the army.
Zhao Xiao picked up the telescope and looked into the distance. He could vaguely see a little green mountain top. "How many days can it last?"
"It will probably last ten days."
"That's enough. We'll be in Johor soon. Send people ashore to resupply fresh water and food."
Johor is the place where those Westerners said they discovered rubber. Song Yuzhu specifically instructed them to bring back some rubber seeds and plant them in the Lingnan area.
Speaking of those barbarians, Zhao Xiao was annoyed with them at first, especially the captain who Song Yuzhu always called into the palace.
After getting along with them for a long time, Zhao Xiao found that these people, apart from having strange looks and a strong smell on their bodies, were not scheming people at all, because their thoughts were written on their faces.
When it comes to scheming, these barbarians are just like children and adults compared to the Central Plains people who have a heritage of thousands of years. Zhao Xiao can often guess what the other person is thinking just by hearing what the other person says. It's really interesting.
As the envoy of this trip, Song Yutang often chatted with them, and took the opportunity to inquire about the situation in their country and see how much the goods could be sold for.
From Antonio, I learned that the currency used by Westerners is the same as that of Daqi, which is copper coins, silver coins and gold coins.
One hundred copper coins were worth one silver coin, called a livre. Two hundred and forty silver coins could be exchanged for one gold coin. However, gold coins were rarely used and were generally circulated among the upper class nobles.
One copper coin could buy a piece of dry bread. Song Yutang estimated that it had about the same purchasing power as one penny from Daqi.
However, the living environment there is much worse than that of Daqi. The current king is called Henry II, but he has little power. Most of the country's resources and military forces are in the hands of the church, and Archbishop Opperon is the invisible emperor of their country.
Secondly, there is a huge difference between the lives of nobles and peasants. Most of the nobles are hereditary and have many fields at home, while most of the peasants serve as followers and slaves of the nobles in exchange for remuneration. This is similar to the period before the Great Qi.
Antonio himself was actually a nobleman, but his family had fallen into decline because his father died early and his mother remarried. The family property was taken over by his stepfather, and after his mother died, his stepfather drove him and his sister out of the manor.
This voyage was sponsored by his uncle, and he hoped that Daqi could sell some goods to his uncle first.
Song Yutang had no say in this matter. He mentioned it to Zhao Xiao, but Zhao Xiao didn't care. It didn't matter who he sold it to, as long as he could make money.
Antonio also said that he had never seen a country as clean as Daqi, especially Shangjing, which was as clean as heaven. Song Yutang thought he was flattering him, but he didn't understand the meaning of this sentence until the ship docked...
But that was a year later, and they had only now reached the Strait of Malacca, having only travelled one-third of the way.
*
Five days later, the Hope sailed to a point five nautical miles off Johor. As the ship was too deep in the water and easily ran aground, it did not dare to approach the shore rashly. It could only drop anchor and lower the small boat, and send people to the shore to collect fresh water and fresh food.
There were dozens of small wooden boats hanging on both sides of the Hope ship, each of which could carry more than ten people. Zhao Xiao asked Song Yutang to stay on the boat, and he led three hundred soldiers and the barbarians to disembark and explore the island.
The boat soon reached the shore. The island was covered with dense trees. There were traces of human life on the shore. Antonio said that there was a group of aboriginal people living on the island. They were dark-skinned and short. Antonio pointed to one of the trees and said, "General Zhao, that is the tree that sheds tears. Just cut a hole with a knife, like this." He pulled out a dagger from his waist and cut the tree. Soon, a milky white liquid slid out.
"Apply this milky substance to your shoes or clothes and they won't get wet."
Zhao Xiao pinched a little with his hands. It was sticky like paste.
"Everyone will be divided into three teams. One team will go to find fresh water and deliver it to the ship. Another team will go to collect food and rubber tree seeds. The rest will follow me to explore the island."
"Yes!" The soldiers automatically divided into three rows and began to work in an orderly manner.
Zhao Xiao led a hundred soldiers and walked towards the depths of the island along the trampled traces on the road.
Soon they came to a place that looked like a village. There were many short people working there. These should be the indigenous people that Antonio mentioned.
They also discovered these uninvited guests, screamed in fear, and ran into the house to hide. There were also several men with spears in their hands, guarding the entrance of the village, trying to stop these people from coming in.
Zhao Xiao looked carefully and found that the spears in their hands were made of stone and had almost no killing power. If he wanted to occupy this place, he could kill everyone in about an hour.
However, he had no interest in killing people to seize territory, so he crossed his arms and said, "Hey, can you guys talk?"
These natives looked confused, but they did not dare to take it lightly. They held their spears tightly in their hands and made "wuwuwawa" sounds with their mouths, as if urging them to leave here quickly.
Soon an elderly man walked out of the village. He was the only person wearing cloth, with white and red powder on his face, a cane in his hand, and a necklace of miscellaneous items on his chest.
He walked up to Zhao Xiao, suddenly knelt down, raised his hands high, and mumbled, "Long live, long live."
Zhao Xiao walked forward in surprise, picked him up and asked, "Are you from Daqi?"
The old man was so scared that he kept shaking his head, saying, "Don't kill me, don't kill me."
The surrounding natives shouted anxiously and wanted to rush over to fight them.
"I won't kill you, but you should stop these people immediately. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."
The old man turned around and said a few words to those people. Then the natives put down their stone spears and slowly retreated.
Zhao Xiao asked: "What's your name and where are you from?"
The old man could no longer speak Mandarin clearly. He gestured as he spoke, and occasionally mixed in a few words of their local indigenous language.
Zhao Xiao guessed and heard out that the man's surname was Chen and his name was Chen Hainiu. He was originally from Lingnan. When he was young, he went fishing with his father and uncles. As a result, he encountered strong winds and waves, and the fishing boat was blown off course, and accidentally drifted here.
Chen Hainiu didn't know that the dynasty had changed long ago. They had lived here for more than 40 years. His father and uncles had long passed away. Only he married the daughter of the local tribal leader. Later, he took over the tribe and became their witch king.
Zhao Xiao asked: "Do you still want to go back to Lingnan?"
When his father was alive, Chen Hainiu wanted to go back, but they were unfamiliar with this sea area and could not find the way home. Later, after his father and uncles passed away one after another, he gradually gave up the idea of going back.
Chen Hainiu shook his head and said, "I already have a wife, children and grandchildren here. What will happen to them if I leave?"
“Do they still speak Chinese?”
"A little bit." Chen Hainiu waved towards the tribe, and several young people who looked obviously different from the locals ran over.
"These are my eldest grandson Chen Jun, my second grandson Chen Mei, and my youngest granddaughter Chen Ya." The three of them knelt beside Chen Dahai, their eyes full of admiration.
Zhao Xiao rolled his eyes and said, "Since you are our compatriot, then this should also be our territory. I am Zhao Xiao, the general who assists the country in the Qi Dynasty. I specially appoint you as the prince of this place. You are required to teach the local people to learn Chinese and accept the jurisdiction of the court. Are you willing?" As he said that, he took out his badge from his arms and handed it to him.
Chen Dahai was originally a commoner. Although he had become the leader of the indigenous people in recent years, he was still an ordinary citizen at heart and could not resist the rewards from the imperial court.
He was so excited that tears came to his eyes, and he kowtowed to express his gratitude: "I am willing, I am willing!"
(End of this chapter)
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