Without Lao Bai's reminder, I had already turned the parchment book over with a short knife. The parchment pages were cut to uniform sizes. At a glance, there were nearly a hundred pages, and they were sewn together with thread, just like the thread-bound books in ancient times. However, the threads had long been rotten. After Lao Bai and I picked and tossed for a long time, they were already overwhelmed and broke with a few "crackling" sounds.
So, I had to pull the scattered parchment apart in order.
The first page looked like a book cover, with three words written on it - Foreign Records!
Putting aside modern scientific knowledge, I think I have read a lot of strange ancient books. Living in such a family, not reading those strange things is like forcing myself into a dead end. However, I have never heard of the name of this book. In addition, the text on it is not printed by woodblocks in the Tang Dynasty, but is completely handwritten. It is easy to draw a conclusion-this is a unique copy, and it is very likely that it is the record of what Guo Xun wrote when he traveled across the ocean.
In this way, it is more valuable!
The font on it is very standard traditional Chinese characters, even Shunzi can recognize many of them. Although they are some obscure ancient texts, it should be much easier than deciphering the strange syllables of the mermaids that are like the roar of beasts. For people like us, it is not a problem at all. We all quieted down and gathered in a circle to pick up the parchment scattered on the ground. Even Lao Bai, a big mouth, rarely said a word.
As I expected, the content at the beginning of this book fully confirmed that this was a travel note written by Guo Xun himself.
However, the more we read, the weirder our expressions became.
How should I put it? The first part of this book does not record any substantial content. A large part of it is similar to Guo Xun's inner monologue.
And this part of the content completely subverts my impression of Guo Xun's image.
Guo Xun is not seen in the history books, but he has left many traces in the Xuanmen and legends. Judging from his behavior alone, he is not a good bird.
As the son of a cruel official, his father Guo Ba grabbed shit and stuffed it into his mouth in order to get promoted, and he tasted it with a sound of tut-tut. From this point of view, Guo Xun completely inherited his father's style. In order to achieve his goal, he jumped up in public, undressed, and castrated himself. Emperor Xuanzong angrily scolded him as a lecher, but finally satisfied his wish. I guess he was also shocked. People in this world who are cruel to themselves should always make others respect them.
With all these things on the table, who would say that this is a good person?
But looking at his inner monologue, he seems like a great pioneer!!
Among them, the most typical translation into modern vernacular is probably like this.
"The so-called prosperous times are only the prosperous times of the rich, but not the prosperous times of the general public. It has always been a prosperous time for the rich and the poor, and there are frozen bones on the road. I have lived in the Middle-earth world for 10 to 20 years, and I have seen the grand occasions of all nations coming to pay tribute, and I have also heard the wailing of the people under the rule.
At the moment my father died, I suddenly realized that this is not my paradise.
I want to leave here, the world is big, and I will find a good way to save the world.
I heard that there is an island belonging to the gods in the vast ocean. Maybe I should go find them and ask them for guidance.
So, I started to prepare early, bid farewell to my family, and embarked on an unknown journey."
After reading this paragraph, Lao Bai looked up and grinned: "How is it? Great or not?"
I shook my head secretly. When Qingzhu told me about this incident, she told me that Guo Xun went to sea to pray for his family. His father Guo Ba died so strangely that people could not help but suspect that it was a ghost who wanted him back. After all, it was reasonable for a cruel official to encounter such a thing. Now it seems that Guo Xun's purpose of going to sea is somewhat different from this statement, but his personal ambition.
"I don't want to watch him brag."
Lao Bai sneered and used a short knife to pull a page of parchment in front of us: "Look, this is the main text, and it mentions an ancient country called Di Renguo."
"One of the thirty-six overseas countries!"
Zhang Xinya exclaimed and said hurriedly: "Legend has it that the people of Di Renguo are fish-tailed people, and they are said to be descendants of the ancient Shennong!"
I was also shocked when I heard it.
Qingzhu once told me that many places in legends have existed, such as the fairy mountains and islands overseas, but they are not as mysterious as the legends say. They are just ancient relics of the past, but they are not recorded in human writing. After all, it has only been two or three thousand years since humans learned to use writing to record things, but humans have existed for millions of years. There is a very long blank period in between. What happened during this blank period? Are humans really just muddleheaded?
I think that millions of years are probably not so peaceful!
The 36 countries overseas happened to be in this blank period. Qingzhu also said that those fairy mountains and islands are actually related to these ancient countries. Several places that Tianmeng has explored in the past have already proved this. Because it is too long ago, only legends are left. The more they are passed on, the more mysterious they are. In the end, they can only be connected with gods. In fact, it is far less exaggerated.
Regarding the 36 countries, I have seen and learned more than once. Before coming here, Qingzhu said that this place is very likely to be the same, and it actually came true in the end.
"The Di people... Is this the paradise that Guo Xun found?"
I whispered to myself, "Legend has it that the Di people have fish tails and human bodies. Could it be that the mermaids we saw before are actually the old and young people of the Di people?"
"That's not the case..."
Lao Bai tapped the parchment with a short knife: "Guo Xun described everything about this ancient country in detail..."
I shook my head and stopped thinking about it. The past time was too long. Even many things in the Qin and Han dynasties are now ambiguous, not to mention tracing back to the past. Tracing back to the source is human nature. This kind of thing has magic. If you really think about it, the imagination space is too large. I may not get the answer even if I sit here like an old monk in meditation for two or three months. I will concentrate and continue to read the contents on the parchment.
In the whole book, nearly half of the content records things related to this ancient country.
From the appearance, this Di people country is no different from the people now! !
However, the remains of the sea under the sea are not the old site of the Di people. The real location of the Di people should be an island in the sea! !
Guo Xun said very clearly that the Di people were very good at taming some strange things and using them to work for them.
The Di people found mermaids in the water and tamed them to defend their sea borders.
In addition, they also tamed a strange ape and let these apes farm for them.
Also, the Di people were not an empire, but like the ancient Rome before Octavian, there was a Senate, whose members came from the people and ultimately decided the direction of the entire country. This system made Guo Xun amazed and admired. He felt that this was the paradise of the people. Little did he know that it was the end of the Senate that led to the empire in ancient Rome, and then ushered in the most glorious moment. Under the circumstances at that time, the so-called Senate system was nonsense.
In addition, this country is also very good at smelting. Because there are monkeys to replace farming, human power is liberated, so other technologies are very good. They vigorously develop technology, and the structure is somewhat similar to modern...
After reading this, I was greatly relieved. This matter is not as mysterious as we imagined. Although the so-called Di people's technology is indeed well developed, it has not reached the level before the industrial revolution. The weapons are still cold weapons. At least the impact on my heart is not so terrifying...
"Hehe, interesting..."
Suddenly, Zhang Xinya pushed a piece of parchment in front of us: "Look at this paragraph, it's a bit interesting. I thought he was a pioneer. It turns out that he is a traitor. After a big circle, he finally said his purpose..."