Chapter 199: An unexpected visitor in the desert
Northwest Australia, the ruins of "Song City", the "capital of the old Australian Song Empire"
If you stand here and look around, you will be surrounded by a hot, dry and desolate desert: the hot yellow sand under your feet, the bright and poisonous fireball in the sky, the reddish-brown rock mountains exposed by the scorching sun in the distance, and the rugged rocks covered with gravel. and the undulating blue sea.
——Despite being so close to the ocean, the air is so dry that there is almost no trace of moisture.
The scorching sunlight, which seems to melt metal, is projected on the endless Gobi Desert. The sand is boiling to a terrifying temperature, baking the air into a rolling heat wave. The scenery in the field of vision is shaken and distorted by this, even the distant horizon. , also seems to have become an undulating river.
In the more distant field of vision, strong winds swept through this desolate land from time to time, setting off waves of brilliant golden waves that never stopped. On the horizon, slightly distorted by the hot air, you can vaguely see a lifeless white salt lake, reflecting dazzling light under the scorching sun.
It is clear that this is a harsh world ruled by heat and dryness - desolate, barren, and lacking everything.
Only under the shadow of rocks, sand dunes or building debris can you occasionally see a few tenacious drought-tolerant plants. They are deeply rooted in the sand and gravel, swaying in the wind, and embellishing this monotonous and lifeless desolate world. A touch of precious green.
Against such a harsh natural background, although the ruins of "Song City" located on the edge of the desert are actually less than a year away from completion, it is equivalent to a state of "still paint". But in the eyes of outsiders who don't know the inside story, it is particularly full of historical vicissitudes.
"...An ancient city buried in the desert...Is this the hometown of Australians? It really looks like the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire in North Africa!"
The envoy of the Dutch East India Company, Admiral Anthony van Diemen, wore a light straw hat and a pair of strong and wear-resistant boots, walking slowly on the empty streets of the ruins of "Song City", looking around Although covered with thick gravel, the ruined walls, stone pillars and steps are still majestic, as well as the giant artificially carved statue of Yue Fei on the bare rock mountain in the distance. I couldn't help but sigh with sincerity.
——It is very regrettable that although I was glad to be invited to participate in this trip, and I had the intention of taking the opportunity to peek into more of the real life of Australians during the trip. But Admiral Anthony Van Diemen still failed to achieve his wish. Because the Australians arranged for him to board a steamship at the port of the capital, and then drove directly to the "ruins of the old capital of the Australian Song Empire" located in the desert by the sea, without ever docking along the way. Therefore, apart from the blue sky and sea, Admiral Anthony Van Diemen failed to see any features of this mysterious country.
However, being able to witness such a spectacular "ancient ruins" on the other side of the earth seems to be a worthwhile trip to Admiral Anthony Van Diemen. Not to mention that he also found several interesting souvenirs on this vast ruined street... The admiral rubbed a rusty copper that had just been pulled out from a crack in the wall in his hand. The Transformers doll carefully looked at the streets and rubble piles under his feet, poking it with the scabbard of his sword a few times, as if he wanted to find more gadgets.
"...This place is indeed magnificent, but it is just a ruin that records the glory of the past. It is a pity that although the glory and greatness of this empire have been covered with sand and blown away by the wind, the glory of the Australians But it has just begun..."
A senior merchant from the Dutch East India Company standing not far behind the admiral also wore a big straw hat and imitated the Arabs' practice of wearing a face scarf to protect themselves from sand and dust. Delantron said this while licking his chapped lips, while looking at an exquisite mausoleum in front of him. Let Fan. Delantron was very surprised that this mausoleum clearly had Christian characteristics-marble Christian angels, relief panels of the Virgin Mary with a holy face, bronze crosses and exquisite stone shrines...especially In the center of the cemetery stands a majestic marble statue of a Western European knight in uniform! And on the cloak of the stone statue, there is a very familiar pattern - the octagonal cross badge of the Knights Hospitaller!
"...The most devout Christian, the paladin Levi from France? Is he the member of the Knights Hospitaller who spread the gospel of the Lord to Australia?! This can really be called a saint." Fan. Delantron stroked the inscription on the tombstone and exclaimed, but there was no trace of reverence in his actions. Instead, he immediately started rummaging around the tomb, trying to find some valuable gadgets, but unfortunately found nothing.
"...Ahem, don't bother, this tomb has obviously been stolen! Look at the big hole over there!"
Admiral Anthony Van Diemen deliberately coughed a few times and reminded, "...and please be more decent. Don't forget that we are on Australian territory! If you rashly offend this place, The owner is of no benefit to us or the company!”
"...You are right, General. I was too rash. But...should we go back to rest for a while and have something to drink?"
The senior businessman replied angrily, giving up the plan of knocking off a small relief panel from the mausoleum. At the same time, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked back at the verdant green at the end of the field of vision behind him, "... This damn weather is really too hot..."
"...Okay, I've seen almost everything I need to see." The admiral was silent for a moment, raised his head and squinted at the increasingly fierce sun, and finally nodded in agreement, while reluctantly looking around the place for the last time. This ruins seems to have seen countless ancient people living here, coming and going, and fighting bloody battles... Then all the glory and splendor were gradually buried by the yellow sand, and the endless years began a new cycle.
——Although, all these imaginary prosperous scenes are purely illusions made up by the imagination, and have never appeared in this ancient and desolate desert...
In short, in this era before archeology was born, this "fake historical site" that time-travelers painstakingly created has indeed been very successful in confusing the eyes of foreign visitors, creating a huge historical scam... …
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
Just like most scenic tourist areas, there will be hotels and dining areas to serve tourists. When building this "Song City Ruins", the travelers also considered in advance the need to receive visitors from all walks of life in the future. To this end, we deliberately dug a deep well on the seaside near this man-made ruin to draw out underground spring water, and then planted a large number of drought-resistant plants to create a large desert oasis.
The sweaty Dutch turned around and walked out of the "Ruins of Songcheng". Soon their feet changed from a piece of hot yellow sand mixed with rocks and thorns, to dense grass and clusters of bright green shrubs here and there, and then a tree. A proudly erect, leafy palm tree and a poplar tree.
Behind this dense forest, you can still vaguely see a pool of clear spring water. It looks clear and transparent, full of green eyes, and sparkling waves under the scorching sun, making people feel cold all over. , relaxed and happy... What a paradise in the Gobi desert!
Behind the clear water pool is a colorful checkerboard-shaped field, where drought-tolerant crops such as barley, corn, and alfalfa are planted, as well as fruits and vegetables such as grapes, watermelons, pomegranates, walnuts, and radishes. Next to the neatly planned field ridges, gurgling clear springs from the deep underground flow happily in countless small ditches, nourishing this dry and barren land, allowing various crops here to grow and harvest.
On the other side of this clear spring pool is a mini-European-style palace with white marble floors and Roman-style columns. It is shaded by palm trees. At a glance, it looks like a quiet and intoxicating white jade, exuding Charming.
——This desert oasis and the palace manor in the oasis are the supporting service area of the "Song City Ruins" and were designed and built at the same time as this fake ruins. On the other side of the oasis, there is also a small cement pier for boats to dock directly.
After everything was completed, the Chinese League authorities managed to relocate several families of reliable naturalized people who were veterans from the republics on the east coast of South America, and came all the way to settle in this desert oasis. The government gives them full tax exemption and a small monthly stipend. They are usually responsible for maintaining the palace, maintaining the oasis, and cultivating crops to be self-sufficient. When guests come over, these people can be put in charge of entertaining.
At this time, all the Chinese League officials who came to "visit the relics of their ancestors", as well as the accompanying foreign envoys, all stayed in this small palace. When the Dutch were trekking back from the desert, they saw Xu Xiake happily holding a basket of freshly picked bright red fruits, inviting everyone who was drinking tea and chatting on the lawn in front of the house to try them, "...Everyone! Everyone, The fruits in this desert are really delicious, come and try them!”
"...Hmm...it's really sweet and has a refreshing fragrance."
Upon seeing this, Fang Yizhi, an envoy from the Yonghe court in Shanghai in the Southern Ming Dynasty, curiously took the lead in picking up a fruit. Following Xu Xiake's instructions, he took out a knife to peel off the skin, then dug out a piece with a spoon and put it in his mouth, "...I don't know what this is." What is it? Is it easy to grow? ”
"...This fruit is called dragon fruit. I heard that it is easy to grow tightly. Throw the seeds and take root, and the cuttings will survive." Xu Xiake explained enthusiastically, "...This fruit grows red, has a sweet flavor, and has an auspicious name. The flesh is Having more children is a perfect match for marriage. Hey, you have just come back from the desert. You must be thirsty. Come and have some!" He said the same thing when he saw a group of Dutch people walking into the courtyard. Greeted warmly.
——Dragon fruit, a tropical fruit popular among modern people, is actually a type of cactus, native to the Mexican wilderness in Central America, but it had not been artificially cultivated as a fruit in the seventeenth century. Because this thing is a cactus, it is drought-resistant and easy to live. With the promotion of the time-travelers, some farmers in the coastal desert and dry lands in the Chinese League-controlled areas of this time and space, especially in Western Australia, where the climate is dry and suitable for the growth of cactus, have gradually learned this method. Propagate this dragon fruit by cuttings and use it as your own fence. Although compared with other cacti, the thorns of dragon fruit are not too big, but if you want to pass through the densely planted dragon fruit bushes unscathed, it is still not something that ordinary humans can accomplish.
However, since it has only been less than two years since the promotion of planting, the scale of dragon fruit planting in various places in this time and space is not large, and the output is very limited. So after seeing it in this desert oasis, Xu Xiake and others will feel quite fresh.
On the other side, when I saw Xu Xiake coming out with a basket of dragon fruit, these hot and thirsty Dutch people didn't care about being polite, and crowded over in a chaotic manner. You and I, two of us, snatched them all in the blink of an eye, and then couldn't wait to peel them. Open the skin and use the sweet juice to moisten your throat that is about to smoke.
After they finished eating the fruit, each of them drank several cups of herbal tea, and then lay or sat under the shade of a tree to catch their breath for a long time. Then they stood up lazily, or spoke through an interpreter to the envoys from East Asian countries on the lawn. Chat; or take out the inkwell, quill and notebook, and concentrate on writing. Writing quickly, he recorded what he had seen and heard; someone else set up an easel, trying to paint a distant view of the "Song City Ruins" from this angle... Because Western painting techniques are different from Eastern ink painting, it also attracted attention from various East Asian countries. The envoys looked around curiously and pointed...
In short, the atmosphere of this "visiting ancient times" seems to be harmonious and leisurely.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
"...It seems that the forged ruins in this desert did fool these ancient people."
On the edge of the desert oasis, next to a tall palm tree, Wang Qiu, Li Wei and Wen Desi, wearing sunglasses and sunhats, were sitting around a small round table under a certain sun umbrella, drinking. Chilled drinks and casual chats.
"...That's of course. Didn't you see that I was exposed to the sun and peeled off my skin several times just to do this project in the desert!"
The French Paladin who built himself a tomb of the living dead in the desert, Comrade Li Wei, the "Director of the Songcheng Relics Project" muttered, "...But it is really strange to say that those Jiangnan scholars in the Ming Dynasty mission , in history, they are all celebrities with pretty good reviews. Logically speaking, they won’t be too How could we have fallen into such a situation and seen our strength with our own eyes, yet we still dare to show off the arrogance of a heavenly kingdom? Even those guys in the late Qing Dynasty who had braids and went through the literary prison, We all know that we need to learn from the foreigners and gain skills to defeat the foreigners, right?”
Listening to what Li Wei said, Wang Qiu was also deeply confused. According to the description in modern Chinese history, even Zhuan Yu was as stubborn as the Qing Dynasty. After being beaten by foreigners, he understood that his ancestors' archery and horse riding were outdated. , and also knew that we should engage in the Westernization Movement. However, the Chinese cultural circle in the late Ming Dynasty is said to be active and open in history books, and it is said that there are also the germination of primitive democratic ideas. How come in the actual contact with time travellers, these Ming Dynasty scholar-bureaucrats, let alone reactionary ideas, even continued to accept "Australia" Why is the existence of "Song Dynasty" so difficult?
However, on this issue, Chairman Wen Desi, who has been dealing with the people of the Ming Dynasty for many years, has some unique insights.
"...This... To put it bluntly, it's actually very simple. Their minds are no more stupid than the scholar-bureaucrats in the late Qing Dynasty. The problem is that the world is changing too fast for them, and the time to adapt to the changes is too short. Think about it. It’s just that I can’t turn it around.”
"...The world is changing too fast for them?" Wang Qiu blinked, "...Can you explain it in detail?"
"...It's very simple. Just do the math and ignore the two groups of people who traveled to North and South America. On the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, since we landed on Hainan Island, for the first time there has been a large-scale group of time-travelers and Ming Dynasty people. Only seven years have passed since contact, considering the speed of information circulation in ancient times. And the amount of information that can be disseminated, as well as our previous low-key policy of pretending to be pigs and eating tigers, in this time and space, until three years ago, the vast majority of Ming Dynasty intellectuals had only vaguely heard of the rumors of the "South China Sea Bandits" , our presence is barely felt.”
Wen Desi talked so eloquently, "...our human minds' understanding of society always lags behind the real social reality for a long time. In the modern history of China, from the outbreak of the Opium War, It took twenty or thirty years for the Manchus to launch the Westernization Movement! In this way, when the first batch of Manchu envoys abroad were ordered to go abroad, there were still countless conservatives and Westernizers in the court who obstructed them. All returned It did not involve political reform, but only arranged for some young people to learn foreign languages. It was criticized a lot. If we count the Reform Movement of 1898, half a century had passed since the Opium War, but the Manchu court's view of overseas countries was still full of errors. . Even when the Eight-Nation Allied Forces entered Beijing, there were still many witches in the countryside of North China claiming that foreigners were transformed by monsters, and many people believed it!"
"...Uh...it seems to be true!" After hearing these words, Wang Qiu couldn't help but clapped his hands suddenly, and suddenly realized: He had always felt that he, the time travellers, had already stayed in the late Ming Dynasty. It’s been a long time. But I didn’t expect that it was only a little more than three years ago that the time travelers began to interfere on a large scale in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty and had close contact with the Ming Dynasty scholar-officials!
In comparison, what was the situation of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties three years after the end of the Opium War? I'm afraid there are no deep feelings at all, right?
"...Compared to the modern Manchu and Qing Dynasty, the scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty were willing to leave the country and go on overseas missions after just a few years of contact with us. This can be said to be open-minded! However, there is no egg in this. Use..." At this point, Wen Desi shook his head and took another sip of beer. "...Ahem, it's true that there is sand in the wine!" He frowned and muttered.
When Wang Qiu heard this, he couldn't help but lower his head to observe his cup, and immediately saw many unknown suspended matter in the cup.
——The wind just started to blow in the oasis at this time. But under the scorching desert sun, the wind was like the heat of a stove, unable to reduce the high temperature at all. The sand and dust carried by the wind even coated everything around with a thin layer of orange-yellow sand.
He sighed, pushed away the cup that had fallen into the dust, and looked outside the oasis. It was already setting sun. On the endless desert, there were endless undulating sand dunes. Under the setting sun, Under the last ray of light, a faint golden light is reflected...
Um? Behind the dunes in the distance, something seems to be moving?
A moment later, while Wang Qiu and others were stunned, a large, dusty off-road vehicle roared out from behind the sand dunes, bouncing all the way around the rugged Gobi Desert. Then it honked a few times and went straight. The ground is running towards this oasis.
Then, the off-road vehicle made an emergency stop not far from Wang Qiu and the others. A young girl in sportswear with a cheerful expression jumped out of the passenger seat and greeted with a smile in very standard Mandarin: < br>
"...Sorry, excuse me, we are college students from Beijing who are driving together to Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring for a self-driving trip. We accidentally lost our way just now. Where is this place? How to get to Crescent Spring? By the way, you guys What kind of attractions are there? Are there costume rentals for taking photos?”
She pointed at the "Ruins of Song City" not far away and asked Wang Qiu and others. At the same time, she curiously looked at Xu Xiake and other Ming Dynasty people in the oasis.
Facing this group of unexpected visitors who seemed to fall from the sky, Wang Qiu and the others looked at each other for a moment, and then exchanged meaningful glances.
——Could this be... another new person accidentally traveled through time without the approval of the country? !
Next, they were even more horrified to see a Boeing jet roaring past the sky and eventually crashing into the sea in the distance... Now, the trouble seemed to be getting bigger...