Li Shimin did not comment on his statement, but said: "What does this continent look like now? What happened to the descendants of the Shang Dynasty? Has the Yin and Shang Dynasty been rebuilt?"
Chen Jingke sighed: "No, they disappeared."
Li Shimin was stunned for a moment. The answer was completely beyond his expectation: "Disappeared? How did it disappear? Was it defeated by the locals?"
Chen Jingke shook his head and said: "No, they are self-destructive."
"During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, only a few powerful people could read and write, and only they knew where they came from, who they were, and who their ancestors were."
"But their number was too small, and they died one after another due to diseases, wars and other reasons. The remaining ordinary people knew nothing, and civilization was cut off."
"The first few generations also knew that their ancestors wandered from the other side of the sea. When these old people died one after another, even these legends disappeared."
"They think they are born natives here and have lived here for generations..."
Li Shimin immediately thought of the destruction of civilization he just talked about. Wouldn't this be a different kind of severing civilization... A subconscious feeling of fear arose in his heart.
But it was Tang Taizong after all, and he quickly discovered the loopholes in this passage: "Since they themselves have forgotten their origins, how did you know?"
Chen Jingke pretended to be unnatural and said: "I found a golden book buried with them in a forgotten cemetery, which records their origins."
Li Shimin nodded and did not ask how they obtained the burial gold book. Everyone knew that some things did not require further questioning.
"What's happening to these descendants of the Yin and Shang dynasties now?"
"They intermarried with the local indigenous people and became just like the indigenous people. Later they also established a relatively splendid civilization, but because there were no horses, gold and iron... they took city-states as their unit..."
Li Shimin was surprised again and said: "You said there are no horses, copper or iron on this continent?"
This was another thing that was beyond his expectation. It was unimaginable that there were no horses, copper or iron on such a huge continent.
Chen Jingke said: "There are indeed no horses, so it is very difficult for them to travel far. It's not that there are no copper and iron mines, but that these mines are buried too deep and cannot be dug out with bare hands."
"Because there was no copper and iron, they could only use stone and bone tools, and their production capacity was very low. Fortunately, God gave them fertile land and many high-yielding seeds..."
He talked about the ancient Indian civilization that he didn't know much about.
When he heard about fertile soil and good seeds, Li Shimin showed unabashed greed and said: "You just stopped me from going to this continent, but is there any good way?"
Chen Jingke shook his head and said: "There is no good way, but if you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools. No matter what we want to do, we need to be fully prepared in advance."
"It's too troublesome to go to another continent by land. It's better to go by water. This requires the court to first build ships suitable for ocean voyages and train enough excellent sailors."
"This will not only improve efficiency, but also reduce unnecessary casualties. Once we master a safe waterway, this continent will become His Majesty's possession."
Perhaps thinking of this wonderful future, excitement appeared in Li Shimin's eyes.
However, matters such as developing the navy are internal affairs. He did not say anything more, but pointed to the porcelain bottle and asked: "Where is this place?"
Chen Jingke introduced: "I collectively call this place Southeast Haizhou... This is the legendary Yizhou Island, this is Luzon Island, this is Java..."
"These islands are rich in gold, silver, copper and iron ores, and have inexhaustible supplies of precious wood and spices... Java Island is privately called the Spice Islands by us..."
"Your Majesty, please look here. There is a strait, which is the passage for the entire South China Sea. Whoever controls this place will control the throat of Southeast Haizhou..."
"This is also a continent with hundreds of thousands of indigenous people living on it. Their civilization is so backward that it cannot even be called civilization."
He introduced the situation in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and other places one by one, focusing on the treasures and wealth found in these lands.
Anyway, after listening to this, Li Shimin's eyes almost glowed green.
Looking at it like that, I wanted to hold this porcelain vase in my arms and shout, "Mine, mine, everything is mine."
Chen Jingke stayed until the palace door was about to be locked before leaving. After returning home, he had a simple meal and went to bed early.
After a day of non-stop chatter, my lips are almost swollen, but the harvest is also full. I just wait for Li Shimin to verify the authenticity of the information and then take countermeasures.
He believed that the Tang Taizong in history would not let him down.
Chinese civilization has always had genes for expansion. Otherwise, how could our ancestors have unified the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin, the Sanxingdui Civilization, and even the entire southern civilization?
Archaeologists discovered the ruins of a 5,000-year-old Great Wall near Xiangyang. According to research, it was used by the Yangtze River Civilization to resist the invasion of the Chinese civilization.
However, the greatness of Chinese civilization lies in the fact that it does not simply eliminate and destroy each other, but integrates, digests and absorbs them.
The achievements of those defeated civilizations have not disappeared, but have become part of Chinese civilization.
This kind of inclusiveness is the reason why Chinese civilization can be so brilliant.
Why didn't he directly destroy the Buddha? Instead of writing Journey to the West, why did Laozi transform Hoover into the Tao? It was because of this consideration.
Our ancestors could absorb the advantages of other civilizations, why can't we?
Not only do we have to absorb Buddhism, we even have to swallow and digest the entire Tianzhu civilization. By then, who cares whether it is Tianzhu or Buddhism, they are all part of the Chinese civilization.
…
Li Zheng Palace.
Li Shimin and Changsun Wugao were sitting on chairs, staring closely at the white porcelain vase with a world map on the table.
Changsun Wugou said with surprise: "I didn't expect the world to be like this."
Li Shimin nodded first, and then asked: "Guanyin Maid, do you think what he said is true or false?"
Changsun Wugou said sternly: "I am willing to believe him, but the matter is too important to be based on emotion. Erlang should send someone to investigate."
Li Shimin said: "That's exactly what I meant. Everything else is easy to say. What is difficult to verify is his origins. Do you think it is somewhat credible?"
Changsun Wugou sighed: "I don't know, everything sounds reasonable, but... I always feel like something is wrong. I don't know if it's my misunderstanding or my lack of understanding of the outside world."
Li Shimin also said: "I feel the same way. I thought he might have concealed important information."
Changsun Wugou nodded, and his expression kept changing as if he thought of something. After a while, he asked carefully: "How are Erlang going to deal with him?"
Li Shimin knew her concerns and comforted her: "Don't worry, I'm not that short-sighted. Since the Chen family has discovered the outside world, they must have done in-depth research."
"What I want more than this map is all their research results, and these things are in his hands. As long as he is willing to use them for me, Datang will have a place for him."
The stone in Changsun Wugou's heart fell to the ground, and he asked again: "What about the marriage?"