From Chief to Ball

With anticipation and an inexplicable emotion, Chen Jian stepped into the huge valley. A path stepped on by people meanders in the valley. The two sides of the war fought in life, but they were buried together according to the same custom after death.

A small village is located in the valley. They are all the people who were sent here by China to guard the cemetery, or their descendants. The war that happened here has been passed down in their hearts from generation to generation, because there is no history of paper and pen, and only Only in this way will history not be lost.

Chen Jian was shocked when he heard an old man tell about the scene at that time: the clan that learned how to grow had enough population and food, dozens of clans held different flags and patterns of birds and animals with surnames, tens of thousands of people fought In the end, the shout made dozens of clans succumb to the charm of the hero, harnessed water and dug mountains, appointed officials to their posts, and conquered the barbarians... What a spirit and pride.

There are not many places worthy of nostalgia in this world for the time being, but Quangu is undoubtedly one of the few. What Chen Jian sighs is not the scene of the war, but the meaning of the war itself.

The battle of Quangu was not too big, and the two sides combined had no more than ten thousand people, but Chen Jian felt that everyone who participated was a hero in this cultural circle.

A hero does not necessarily have to participate in the battle of millions of people, nor does it have to be known all over the world, but he must be involved in the rolling tide of the times intentionally or unintentionally, and have his own figure at the node of history.

It can be said that the Battle of Quangu was a battle that changed the pattern of the entire cultural circle, a battle that established the dawn of the unity of the cultural circle, and a battle at this historical node of the world.

Those clans that learned how to plant gradually started family and family production. Units such as clans that were only connected by kinship gradually disintegrated, forming primitive cities or country prototypes, and began to attack each other.

This is an inevitable trend, and every civilization that has come this far will do so.If it's just like this, it won't be so brilliant.

The biggest difference in the great war decades ago was that the victors did not choose to slaughter and exterminate the losers or degrade them into slaves, but chose union and marriage, turning the twilight of blood clans into the dawn of cultural kinship.

The small clan alliance in the same cultural circle but connected by blood ties disappeared, and a clan alliance based on the same or similar habits, language, and customs appeared.

At the same time, it also pointed out a way for future generations: it turns out that trust does not need to be based on clan kinship;

Chapter 14 Situation

"Probably, this is the feeling of judging a person's historical achievements after the coffin is finalized... If one day, I will be judged by others, and I may still hear this evaluation, what kind of feeling will it be?" Woolen cloth?"

"For the same thing, is the evaluation after death based on the three views of the times? Or should we discard the three views and judge purely based on the promotion of the historical process? History is pure, but evaluation is value-oriented... "

Nostalgia for the past did not hurt the present, what Chen Jian thought of was his evaluation after death, which related to his identity in the next life.

Standing alone on the top of the mountain, looking at the battlefield where no bones and blood can be seen, I didn't speak for a long time, until it was getting dark, and then I sighed, and my slightly hesitant heart finally became firm... Ideal, stick to it, don't be fooled by the butt.

It’s just that the time is too long, there may be many eras experienced, and the memory carries a person’s emotions. Can I really be a person who can appreciate the scenery on the road and not forget the destination?Going forward alone for the ideal, it will take at least a thousand years to meet like-minded people and times, can you really stick to your original intention?

Under the setting sun, many people saw Chen Jian stretching out his hands. These old hands, which were used to open up the world, did not raise their voices to the sky or worship the sky with both hands. They just muttered a few words and clenched their fists. Humming a weird song, the faintly transmitted tune made people's blood rush in the cold wind.

The wind in late autumn and early winter blew away Chen Jian's words, no one heard what he said, even after coming down from the mountain, there was not much difference.

What he said to himself and the song he sang on the top of the mountain finally became a mystery. People guessed but couldn't guess. They only saw the back of Chen Jian riding away on horseback, but no one dared to ask after him.

After leaving the Spring Valley, everything was as usual. On the way, Chen Jian continued to deal with the kind and fresh Yuemei, but finally there was some fatigue in his tone. Yuemei only thought that he was tired from the long journey and didn't think much about it.

The first snow in early winter has not yet fallen, but the exhaled breath has brought out the white mist, especially when a group of people walk together, the white mist can be seen rising from a distance.

The rising mist increased as it got closer to Sucheng. When Chen Jian finally saw Sucheng, he smiled and beat his numb legs, which were covered with leather cut by red fish, but they still couldn't stand the cold winter. .

Raising his head, he looked at the tall city wall and the tamped loess stones under the city wall. In comparison, the city wall less than two meters high in Xiacheng looked like a child's toy.

The outer circle of the city is still a moat, and there are constant people coming and going on the small roads leading to the surrounding areas, carrying bundles of firewood or grain in and out with poles.

After Chen Jian and others appeared, many people stopped to look at these horses they had never seen before, wondering why these donkeys were so big.

Or because they knew that the leaders of various cities were coming to the party, the people in Sucheng maintained the demeanor that a big city should have, did not give too many pointers, and respected the leaders and guests accordingly.

"It's finally here. Sucheng is really big. I can't complain that it was one of the best cities on both sides of the river a few decades ago. It's far from being comparable to Xiacheng."

Chen Jian raised his whip and pointed at the top of the city. Su He smiled and said, "Although Xia City is still small for now, it will eventually grow bigger in the future. Not to mention anything else, the birch bark boat I learned from Xia City has been taken by Su Cheng People spread the word, saying that the city that can come up with such a method must be a very big city.”

Chen Jian did not expect that it was not the wheel but the bark boat that had the greatest impact among ordinary people, and he was slightly surprised.

Su He guessed what Chen Jian was thinking, and said: "Wheels are expensive, and they are not something ordinary people can make. Bark boats are simple and convenient. Not to mention fishing and casting nets, every household here needs a boat. There is a big river nearby. , There are often floods in summer. In the past, wooden boards were used, which are far less convenient than bark boats. Every family has pulled out a lot of bark, and made boats in advance and put them in the house. Once the water hits, they have to escape.”

"It seems that the clans on both sides of the river have suffered from floods and droughts for a long time."

"Yes, but I can't bear to leave. Although there was a flood, once the water passed, the ground was covered with mud, and the seeds could be equivalent to the output of other clans for three to five years. Even Xiacheng's ridge farming was similar. This big river is Mom, the overflowing water is milk. I really love and hate, and when I hate, I curse the God of Heaven, Earth and River every sentence in the ballad, but even if I curse, I don’t allow other clans to say anything bad.”

Su He closed her eyes slightly, and seemed to be listening to the rushing river that was still far away. She was intoxicated by it, and said after a long time: "Ji Xia, this time the leader invites you, in addition to making an oath, I also hope that you can see the water potential of the big river... I don’t want to be able to let people be free from floods and droughts like the Xiaqu, but I just hope that there will be no more floods.”

He sighed and said again: "Although the silt production after the flood is extremely high, it can't bear it once every few years. Now I will tell what I have seen and heard in Xiacheng. Everyone knows the method of ridge farming in Xiacheng. I don’t want to ride on a log to escape the flood every year.”

Chen Jian shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that the big river is far from what the Caohe River can match. It's extremely wide and turbulent. Although Sucheng has a large population and a large population, it may not be able to hold the river."

"Yeah, long after I came back, the leader heard about what I had seen in Xiacheng, and he had already discussed it with several nearby clans. Is Sucheng the only one suffering from floods and droughts for a long time? It's just...it's just that many leaders just It’s hard to believe I’ve never seen it before…”

Su He was a little bit discouraged, and Chen Jian didn't make any promises. The things inside were very complicated, not just that simple. He couldn't agree directly, so he had to wait and see the situation.

After entering Sucheng, the leader of Sucheng came to greet him with people. The more than 20 leaders who had already arrived had already heard of Chen Jian's name, and they were also somewhat appreciative in curiosity.

Clan leaders are still coming one after another, E Yue, Wei He and others have also arrived, and they live very close to Yuemei's clansman who accompanied Chen Jian. The few days are banquets, and the leaders discuss important matters or reminisce with each other. decades ago.

At this time, Chen Jian was embarrassed, because Xiacheng came out of the wilderness suddenly, and it was far from such a historical background.

The parents of E Yueshujiu and the rest of the clan leaders were either acquaintances, or they were sisters and brothers for several generations.

The Xiacheng people were inadvertently isolated by these leaders, not intentionally, but they had no relationship with Chen Jian. If it weren't for Xiacheng's various inventions, Chen Jian felt that he had been forgotten by everyone.

This is the result that Chen Jian had expected. For the first time, the people of Xiacheng felt alienated and lonely. Listening to a group of people talking about the past decades ago based on their kinship, the people of Xiacheng could only secretly regret it for decades. The former own clan was not on both sides of the river, otherwise today would be wonderful.

All kinds of tones are spoken in Sucheng. Because of the geographical environment and living habits, although the languages ​​are almost similar, the tones are quite different.Because of the humid climate on the south bank of the Great River, the voice will not be distorted by the cold and dryness, so the intonation is more delicate and the vocabulary changes more; the clans seven or eight hundred miles away to the north have a strong nasal tone and tone due to the dry climate and other factors. The accent is closed, and some vocabulary is not very clear, but it is easy to understand in cold and dry weather.

No matter how it changes, the inner nature of the language is similar, which makes Chen Jian very happy. This is the most basic foundation, but it also requires the efforts of heroes.

For example, in the previous life, there was both unity under the same language foundation and division under the same language foundation.Shaanxi, Cantonese, Shandong, and Henan have become dialects in the province; things with the same origin, such as Switzerland, Holland, and German, have become several languages ​​and nations independently. The same... The Shaanxi people did not become the Qin family, and the Shandong people did not become the Qi family. They merged into one without having time to form an imagined community. I have to say that this is a great fortune. The contribution of the ancestors and dragons is comparable to that of the sun and the moon.

The similar language and the clan alliance that once existed temporarily made Chen Jian full of confidence in the future of this ethnic group.

With the language that can be communicated, Chen Jian has a general understanding of the entire cultural circle.

The Caohe River is the most northwestern tributary of a large river known in the entire cultural circle. The distance from Caohe River to Sucheng is about [-] to [-] miles.

There are seven or eight hundred miles to the north of the river, and there are cities and villages in the same cultural circle. Because there are tools such as sheepskin rafts and wood, there are also many clans on the south bank, but the scope is not large, controlling about four hundred miles. The distance between them and the clans in the south had a certain degree of communication, which was manifested in the appearance of rice and the name of millet.

About [-] miles to the east of Sucheng is the so-called Dongyi. The language is similar but different, and the primitive religion and worship are not the same, but it is nothing more than the difference between the three-legged pottery pot and the four-legged pottery.

The scope of the entire clan cultural circle is about 50 miles long and [-] miles wide. is the size of two provinces.

Hundreds of clans and nearly a hundred cities are scattered all over the place, and their development is also different. There are small city-states in the rudiment of the country, and small clans that are still in the process of slash-and-burn farming or even drinking blood. This kind of uneven development is normal. In the previous life Even after liberation, there are still matrilineal clan communes and slash-and-burn ethnic groups in the mountains.

The use of pottery has been quite common, and some clans have also produced primitive porcelain. Primitive exchange has become popular due to the surplus of grain, but overall there is no currency.

The main crops are corn, rice, soybeans, big yellow rice, and hempseeds. Commonly raised animals include cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, geese, etc. Cats are still in a semi-domesticated state, and rats and humans in granaries form a symbiotic relationship.

The general yield of these crops is less than [-] catties per mu, which is about three to four harvests. However, due to the vast land, sparsely populated land, wasteland, silt, etc., occasionally there will be a bumper harvest to ensure the development of animal husbandry.

The food is mainly roasted, boiled, and porridge. The wine-making technology has gradually matured, and fermented foods such as vinegar and sauce have appeared. Meat sauce is still a very high-end and high-grade food.

Before this, the dispute between custom and worship has been carried out several times: because animal blood often contains parasites and germs, many clans did not eat animal blood before, and passed it down as a kind of knowledge, and then passed it down as knowledge. Turned into a myth and taboo.