Chapter 222 - 222 How Overseas Looked
222 How Overseas Looked
When He Chuan heard Fang Yuanqing’s description, he immediately came to a conclusion. These overseas barbarians were from other countries of the Great Zhou.
They came to the Zhou Dynasty from the sea and engaged in a large scale battle with the Zhou Dynasty Navy.
The Zhou Dynasty’s Navy suffered heavy losses.
“I don’t think there’s a need to panic. The overseas barbarians are just using strange weapons. They don’t have many masters there. As long as the Imperial court sends a team of Grandmaster Masters, they can deal with this group of overseas barbarians.” The Minister of War said.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. Do you think I’m an idiot?” Empress Changning grabbed a cup of tea and threw it at the Minister of War’s face.
The Quanzhou Army had been completely defeated, but the Minister of War didn’t know how to improve. On the contrary, he felt that it didn’t matter. How could Empress Changning not be angry?
Moreover, it was said that the weapon of the overseas Army called the cannon was very powerful. If a ninth-rank Xiantian cultivator was hit by it, he would either die or be injured.
If this Army was the vanguard, how would the Zhou Dynasty resist later on?
The Minister of War didn’t dare to say anything.
Under such circumstances, everyone was cursing the Minister of War in their hearts for “serves him right”. Instead of quickly admitting his mistake, he acted as if he could win. It was already good enough that they didn’t punish him.
“The enemy is strong, and our coastal Navy has already neglected training. I think that we must make full use these time to train the various armies.” Qin Yuntian stood out and felt that strengthening the Army was the most important thing.
The ministers began to discuss how to deal with this matter.
He Chuan closed his eyes to rest. He felt that although these ministers were familiar with Sun Tzu’s Arts of War, they were still not good enough.
If they fell behind, they would be beaten. Now that the foreign countries had already developed tactics of using warships with cannons, if the Zhou Dynasty didn’t develop in this direction, they would definitely suffer a great loss.
“What does state Duke He think?” Fang Yuanqing looked at He Chuan, who was at ease, and suddenly asked.
He felt that He Chuan had a well-thought-out plan and that there was no harm in asking.
Empress Changning and the other ministers also turned their heads to see if He Chuan had any good suggestions.
“I’m not better than any of you in terms of politics, but I know that the Zhou Dynasty will fall behind if we remain conservative. Cannons must be studied, and we must vigorously develop the Navy. At the same time, we must reduce the Army and improve the treatment of the Army.” He Chuan said.
“Isn’t it a waste of military expenses for the Zhou Dynasty to develop its Navy so much?” The Minister of War jumped out again and said,
The local garrisons had to consume a lot of military pay every year, so where would they find the spare money to support the Navy?
The others also did not agree with increasing the strength of the Navy. After all, the coastal areas were still relatively safe.
At the very least, it seemed very safe to them.
“A teacher once told me that the world is bigger than you can imagine. The Zhou Dynasty is just a small place, and the money earned from sea trade is far beyond your imagination. There are also islands full of gold. Perhaps the foreign barbarian Army you mentioned is about to attack.” He Chuan knew that the ancient people’s vision was limited, so he had to explain more about the outside world to them.
Gold everywhere?
The Zhou Dynasty was only a very small part? They couldn’t believe it.
It was simply a burden on their knowledge.
“Is state Duke He’s words true?” Even Fang Yuanqing was in disbelief.
Because they felt that the Zhou Dynasty was the center of the world, they called it the Central Plains.
“Do I need to joke around with you?” They didn’t want to listen, and He Chuan didn’t want to continue. Anyway, they would remember it after they suffered a loss.
“Husband, can you tell us what the outer realms look like?” Empress Changning believed that He Chuan would not speak nonsense. She knew this man well enough.
Since Empress Changning wanted to hear it, He Chuan would naturally tell her everything he knew.
The natives of Nanyang were like a bunch of barbarians. They had no idea what etiquette was. If they walked West along Jinzhou, they would enter the Indian Ocean after passing through a long and narrow channel. The Strait of Malacca was an important passage connecting Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. After crossing the Malacca Strait, they would reach the Indian continent, which was the origin of Buddhism.
However, the Indian continent was now divided into countless small countries, and they were at war with each other. What was more interesting was that Buddhism was not very popular there. Only the southernmost lion kingdom had always believed in Buddhism, and the lion kingdom also worshipped a piece of Buddha’s finger bone sariras. The Srilangka was rich in gems… Starting from the South Asia subcontinent, then the African continent, and the ancient Egypt civilization. Finally, he talked about the brilliance of the Mediterranean civilization, especially the Roman Empire, which was closer. These were things that Empress Changning and the ministers had never heard of before. At first, they had interrupted and asked a few questions, but later, they were fascinated by what they heard. They had always thought that they had traveled far and wide, and had seen many things. They did not expect that there were so many places in the world that they had not reached. Even if Grand Tutor Liu were to come back to life, he would have to listen to He Chuan’s explanation because they had never been so far away. After he finished talking about the situation in Europe, he finally crossed the Atlantic Ocean and began to talk about the situation in North and South America.
From the Japanese’s mainland island, they could find an ocean current that headed east. If everything went well, they would only need a month to reach the American continent!
They were famous ancient civilizations in ancient Egypt, the two river basins, ancient India, ancient Greece ancient Rome.
The first batch of countries appeared in Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and the India Valley. City-state systems rose at this time, and the Romans began to expand their territory by means of invasion and colonization since the 3rd century BC.
During Augustus’s reign, Rome controlled most of the Mediterranean coast. After the Roman Empire, Europe had the famous Middle Ages, which brought about frequent wars.
In the early days of Europe and the United States, it was commonly known as the Dark Age. Traditionally, it was considered a relatively slow development period in the history of European civilization. Africa and the Americas still maintained a relatively primitive tribal form until the discovery of the great voyage.
If the Zhou Dynasty could be one step ahead of the others, they would become even stronger!
“Therefore, if you want the Zhou Dynasty to continue to be strong, you must not focus on the land in front of you. You must look further.” If the Zhou Dynasty’s ambition was not limited to the Central Plains, but to the entire world, they might be able to create a real Empire that never sets.
However, he had no interest in participating in such matters. It was a matter between the Empress and the ministers.
Whether they chose to be conservative or to vigorously develop the coastal areas and open up sea trade, it was all up to them to make the choice.
“This Minister feel that Duke He’s words make sense. If the Zhou Dynasty is complacent because of a small achievement, it will fall behind other countries. We must also put in a lot of effort into researching this weapon called a cannon.” Fang Yuanqing firmly supported He Chuan’s suggestion.