Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 39 The Black Death and Wang Dayuan (Seeking follow-up reading)
In the eleventh year of Zhizheng, 1351 AD, it was the ninth day of the ninth month, the Double Ninth Festival.

Lu Jin brought a group of guards, prepared offerings, incense, candles, and paper money, pulled two coffins, two tombstones custom-made from the stonemason shop in the city, and some craftsmen, and came to Zhujiagang to repair the tombs of Zhu Shou's father and brother.

Zhang Wen and Zhu Shou are his most loyal descendants, and Lu Jin must maintain a good relationship with them. He was able to gain a foothold in the Chaohu Navy as a thousand households and quickly rise to power, all thanks to the support of these two brothers.

"Dad, big brother, I have avenged you and found your heads for you. You can go on your journey with peace of mind. I will raise Sijiu to adulthood."

On the slope of the hill, two new tombs were built in the village cemetery. Zhu Shou and his younger brother Zhu Sijiu were burning paper there in mourning clothes.

Other people would use pig heads, sheep heads, etc. when visiting the graves. Although Lu Jin also sent these, Zhu Shou also placed two human heads, which were those of Zuo Junfu and Jia Chou. Both were killed by Zhu Shou himself, so it could be considered revenge.

There was also a young woman standing next to her, carrying a bamboo basket.

After Lu Jin and Zhang Wen paid their respects, they both stood under a tree at the bottom of the slope and chatted.

"Who is that woman? She is so brave that she is not afraid of seeing a human head?" Lu Jin asked curiously.

Zhang Wen immediately said proudly, "That's my sister, Zhang Yunxiu, she's 17 this year."

"Your sister? You have a sister? Why did your sister follow Zhu Shou to worship his father and brother?" Lu Jin asked puzzledly.

Zhang Wen's face suddenly turned bitter, "It's because we don't have many people at home."

Zhang Wen's father died early, and the brother and sister were raised by their mother. A few years ago, there were successive disasters in Huaixi, and Zhang Wen's mother also died of illness, leaving the brother and sister to depend on each other.

Zhu Shou's situation was relatively simple. Zhu Shou also lost his mother, but he had a father, an elder brother, and a younger brother, a family of four. However, because Zuo Junbi had allowed his soldiers to do evil and kill innocent people for credit some time ago, his father and elder brother died again, leaving only his seven-year-old younger brother Zhu Sijiu.

Now, Zhang Wen and Zhu Shou have both followed Lu Jin and joined the Red Turbans. So, what should these two brothers do, one of them has a 17-year-old sister left at home without anyone to take care of her, and the other has a 7-year-old brother left at home without anyone to take care of him. The two brothers also have to follow Lu Jin to fight everywhere.
After the two brothers discussed it, they decided to let Zhang Wen's sister take care of Zhu Sijiu temporarily.

Lu Jin has been taking them to fight everywhere for more than half a month, and this is how he has been staying at home. Today, Zhu Shou is coming to pay homage to his father and brother and repair their tombs. It was Zhang Yunxiu who brought Zhu Sijiu here, and she is now Zhu Sijiu's guardian.

"So that's how it is." Lu Jin suddenly realized and then said.

"We have just conquered Luzhou City, so let's bring your sister and Zhu Sijiu to live in the city. I think Zuo Junbi's house is quite good and big. You and Zhu Shou don't have many people in your family now, so why don't you two live in Zuo Junbi's house first.

"Xiao Sijiu is already 7 years old, and it is time for him to start learning. How can he not study? And you can't let your sister take care of him all the time.

"Come back and live in Luzhou City, and see if any of the generals have children at home. I remember that Brother Liao has a nephew named Liao Sheng. Let's find a teacher for him and let them study together."

Zhang Wen nodded. It would be good to move to the city.

In the past half month, Lu Jin led them to fight everywhere. Every time they went out in full force, leaving a group of the elderly, the weak, women and children to live in shacks on the island in the middle of Chaohu Lake. Some boat fishermen even lived on their boats. They all lived a hard life. Who wouldn't like to live in a big house in the city and enjoy a good life?

But Zhang Wen then said.

"Who said Sijiu is uneducated? My sister can read and write, and she has been teaching Sijiu to read these days."

Lu Jin was even more surprised, "Your sister can read?"

"That's nothing." Zhang Wen said proudly.

"My sister is better at studying than me. When I was a kid, I couldn't concentrate on studying, but my sister loves to learn and can learn to write faster than me. She can even use an abacus to keep accounts.

"My father died early, and there was a plague a few years ago, and my mother is also gone. I have to farm and find work to support the family. My sister is the one who runs the household. She is very good at managing the household and business. Whoever marries her will be blessed, but I don't know who will get the advantage."

At this point, Zhang Wen suddenly looked at the tall and handsome Lu Jin beside him, "Brother Lu, you haven't married yet, right?"

"No." Lu Jin shook his head.

"What about your father and mother?"

“It’s already the case that the test comes first and the mother comes first.”

Lu Jin was thinking about another time and space, his father who might still be busy at a bridge and tunnel project site in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, or his mother who was teaching chemistry in a high school. He wondered if they would say the famous saying that the two elders used to scare him, "Dip the belt in iodine and disinfect while hitting."

Just at this moment, Zhang Wen's sister Zhang Yunxiu also came over with a basket.

Seeing her brother and Lu Jin together, Zhang Yunxiu bowed politely and said, "Brother, I greet the Marshal."

Lu Jin nodded and secretly observed that the girl was not short. Even his brother Zhang Wen was not short. Even if she was not 1.80 meters tall, she must be 1.79 meters tall. Otherwise, how could she be a military general or a marquis and how could she convince the soldiers.

It should be because of genes. Zhang Yunxiu, born to the same parents, naturally wouldn't be too short. This girl must be at least 1.65 meters tall, which is considered tall among ancient women.

She has big eyes and a slightly square face. Who does she look like? Maybe Zhao Min in Deng Chao's version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. The actor's name seems to be An Xuan.

She is not ugly, but very thin. Her cheeks are a little sunken and her skin is sickly pale. Her frame is not small, and she looks like a malnourished high school girl.

This is because of hunger. This is what happens when you don't eat well. The first time Lu Jin went to Zhang Wen and Zhu Shou's house, he could only drink thin porridge and eat pickles. He never had a full meal.

"Since you are Zhang Wen's sister, Zhang Wen calls me Brother Lu, so you should call me Brother Lu too. Marshal is a title for outsiders, and it would be awkward for us brothers and sisters to call each other like that."

Lu Jin said this deliberately in a flattering way.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yunxiu was not afraid of strangers. After hearing what Lu Jin said, she immediately climbed up the pole.

"Then I will call you Brother Lu from now on. Brother Lu, I heard from my brother that you are the direct descendant of Gongshu Ban's family, and you came back from overseas. Is overseas a big place? I have heard the merchants in the city talk about overseas goods and many Semu people."

Lu Jin didn't expect that the girl was so curious, so he nodded and explained immediately.

"Of course it is big. If you go around the earth, it will take more than 80,000 miles. If you go around in a curve, it will take more than 100,000 miles.

"There are not only colored people overseas, but also black people whose skin is as black as ink, and whose hair and beards are yellow or red, like the demons of Rakshasas. Of course, there are also many savages who eat raw meat and drink blood and can't even make a fire."

Zhang Yunxiu blinked her eyes and was very surprised when she heard that. She didn't expect that there were so many kinds of people in the world. Her curiosity was immediately piqued.

"Where did Brother Lu live before? The world is in chaos now, why did you come back at this time?" Zhang Yunxiu asked again.

Lu Jin sighed and asked, "Is China in chaos? Do you think life overseas is easier? Do you know the Western Regions?"

Zhang Yunxiu nodded, "I've read in a book that Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang during the Han Dynasty, opened up the Western Regions."

Lu Jin continued, "Further west of the Western Regions, there are the Karakoram Mountains and the westernmost part of the former Han Dynasty territory, the Pamir Mountains. Foreign people call it the Pamir Plateau.

"After crossing the Pamir Mountains and heading northwest, you will reach the Aral Sea, which was conquered by General Su Lie of the Tang Dynasty. Further west of the Aral Sea is the Black Sea. To the north of the Black Sea is the Liangjie Mountain, which is the boundary mountain between the Chinese Divine Land and the Western Land.

"The local Belarusians, Kievan Rus, and Orusians also call that place the Ural Mountains. My family has lived in seclusion in the western part of the Two Worlds Mountains."

Zhang Wen and Zhang Yunxiu were both dumbfounded. First, they were surprised at Lu Jin's familiarity with geography and his wide knowledge. Second, they didn't expect that Lu Jin's previous residence was so far away.

"It's so far. It must be difficult for Brother Lu to come back."

"Far? The Tartars don't think it's far." Lu Jin couldn't help but complain.

"Ever since Genghis Khan Temujin of the Tartars founded the Mongol Empire, they have marched westward several times. They established the Chagatai Khanate, the Golden Horde, and the Ilkhanate, and they are still marching westward.

"Just five or six years ago, the Ilkhanate had already reached Taixi. There was a city that was too strong for them to break through, so they used fennel cannons to throw sick and dead bodies into the city, causing a plague to spread in Taixi. One third of the 80 million people died, and there were dead bodies everywhere."

"How could my family escape such a disaster? We had no choice but to rush back home by boat. Unfortunately, my parents died on the way. After returning home, I never expected that the land of China would be occupied by these barbarians. That's why I had to join your brother in the uprising against the Yuan Dynasty."

The brother and sister were dumbfounded. They had thought that China was already chaotic enough with the continuous natural disasters and rebellions everywhere, but they did not expect that even the western land tens of thousands of miles away was also being plagued by the Tartars!
The lie that Lu Jin made up suddenly reminded him of someone. It seemed that there was a man named Wang Dayuan from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. There seemed to be a statue of him in a square in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.

This guy went to sea at the age of 19 at his own expense, and went to Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, the holy city of Mecca, and even Egypt. He may have been to Morocco in North Africa.

This man went out to sea for business and travel at his own expense twice, and when he came back he wrote a book called "A Brief Account of the Island Barbarians". It was from this book that Westerners first learned about the Angkor Dynasty and Angkor Wat in Southeast Asia.

When Wang Dayuan went to sea for the second time, he might even have visited the port of Darwin in northern Australia. He could be considered half a teacher of Zheng He, because when Zheng He sailed to the West, he used his book as a navigation guide.

This person may be only in his 30s at this time, still very young. I don’t know if I can find him. If I find him, it will not be difficult to find potatoes and corn overseas.

(End of this chapter)