Chen Zhen first told Su Yonglin everything he knew.
Su Yonglin was convinced that he had arrived on the west coast of North America, and followed the local aboriginal people a little deeper, visiting some tribes and primary towns built by the aboriginal people.
According to Chen Zhenxian, the civilization of the aboriginal people in the New World, including the Inuit who lived on the great ice sheets before, was very primitive. They felt like barbarians who drank blood from their ancestors' mouths and could not see the glory of civilization.
The clothes they wear are very simple, made of animal skins and leaves as the main raw materials. I have not seen them develop the textile industry.
Agriculture is also very rudimentary, similar to slash-and-burn farming, with no level of intensive farming.
There were not even many livestock to be seen. The most common ones were dogs. Other large livestock were almost invisible, especially horses. Chen Zhenxian was surprised to find that there was no horse among the tribes in the New World.
So much so that the aborigines were very curious when they saw the war horse Chen Zhenxian was riding, and did not dare to approach it. They didn't know how such a huge animal was willing to surrender under the crotch of a human being. For this reason, they thought Chen Zhenxian was First there is the super powerful warrior.
The indigenous people were troubled by large animals, especially herds of bison. They hunted bison and were also injured by bison.
As for the handicraft industry, it is even simpler.
They have metallurgical ability, but it is very rough and primitive. They can smelt copper very crudely, and the copper they smelt is very soft. It is not even comparable to the copper of the Chinese during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is difficult to make weapons, so they still use wood. Sticks and stone tools were used as weapons for fighting.
They would polish stone tools very sharply and then use them as weapons. They could use long-range weapons such as bows and arrows for hunting. In addition, they could also make pottery to store some food and items.
They have no vehicles and rely on manpower for all transportation. They have a strange concept of wheels, but they never seem to think of applying wheels to save manpower.
To say they are primitive, they are really primitive, but to say they are uncivilized is not necessarily true.
They have religious beliefs, a certain social order, certain diplomatic capabilities, and the most basic material production capabilities. They can do business and have currency awareness.
And they also have good astronomical abilities. Through simple body language communication, Chen Zhenxian realized that they had a certain amount of astronomical knowledge and arithmetic skills, could calculate dates, and had their own calendar and time awareness.
This is not an ability that a simple slash-and-burn barbarian tribe can possess.
From all aspects, it's weird.
"I feel like I have been practicing martial arts for a long time but have not made any progress, or I am an old student of the old society who only knows how to study without making any connections, and there is no way to make progress. Overall, I am almost a thousand years away from the Ming Dynasty. A gap of many years.”
This is Chen Zhenxian's overall evaluation of the aboriginal people in the New World.
Su Yonglin knew why the aborigines on the American continent had been in such an embarrassing and weird state of civilization for so long that they could not make a breakthrough.
A very important reason is that they lack domesticated animals, especially horses, donkeys and other animals that can be used for transportation.
Horses existed on the North American continent in the early days, but they later became extinct. The indigenous people did not have horses to domesticate, and they were unable to usher in a wave of revolutionary changes in the field of transportation.
In the era without trains, animal power transportation was an important channel to improve transportation efficiency. Without large livestock for riding, transportation efficiency could not be improved, and there was no way to bring about a series of important inventions along with the use of animal power.
They only have human transportation. The distinguished people ride in sedan chairs, while ordinary people can only walk. Therefore, they are greatly inferior in terms of material exchange.
Since the extinction of the wild horses on the North American continent, only the wild and unruly bison are left, and the bison have never been completely domesticated.
Without the animal-powered revolution in transportation, one step would be slow and every step would be slow.
The development of civilization is a very interesting topic. The differences between human races are actually not that big, and the natural environment obviously affects the early, late, fast and slow development of civilization to a great extent.
They continued to exchange some topics about the New World.
(This chapter is not finished yet!)
One thousand six hundred and sixty-four God bless the Ming Dynasty
When it comes to the issue of gold and copper, Chen Zhenxian said that he believed that there should also be a large amount of silver in the New World, but silver smelting required certain skills that the aborigines of the New World did not master.
As for gold, people in the New World took him to visit some mines. He found that there were large amounts of high-quality mineral deposits and the gold veins were quite good. The aborigines obviously realized that he liked gold very much, so they used this as a way to show that they were very rich. symbol of wealth.
In addition, Chen Zhenxian suddenly remembered something else.
"By the way, Chairman, although I don't think it's a very important thing, I think crops and the like are still of some significance, so I brought back some crops grown in the New World that we haven't seen before."
"crop?"
Su Yonglin was a little curious: "Are there any crops we haven't seen before?"
"There are indeed some, but not many. I had people introduce them and bring some back. I don't know if they are of any significance to us."
Chen Zhenxian smiled and said: "You always say that agriculture is the foundation of a country, so no matter where I go, I always focus on crops, and I always want to bring back something new and novel.
And I still admire Zhang Qian. How many things did he bring back from the Western Regions? Grapes, walnuts, pomegranates, broad beans and alfalfa were all brought back by Zhang Qian. I think he is great and want to learn from him. "
"That's true."
Su Yonglin smiled and said, "If you see something you haven't seen before, try to bring it back. It's not a pity if it's useless. If it's useful, that's the best thing. Keep it up."
Su Yonglin asked Chen Zhen to take a good rest first, and then he took his entourage to see the things Chen Zhen brought back.
The large amount of gold and copper is enough to silence all those who are dissatisfied with the Beiyang expedition fleet. The Nanyang expedition fleet did bring back a lot of gold, silver and copper, but what the Beiyang expedition fleet brought back was worse. Nothing less.
Su Yonglin was very happy to see boxes of gold and copper being transported to Zhongdu for further statistics and further refinement.
He felt that this career that spanned too long and took three voyages and spent countless money before finally seeing the light of day could finally continue to be promoted.
But when he saw a box of corn, he was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, he felt that time and space were confused.
corn?
Isn't this something only found in South and Central America?
Chen Zhenxian and others only arrived at the west coast of North America. From a geographical point of view, it shouldn't be too big, right?
Su Yonglin couldn't help but hurried forward and stopped the person carrying the box of corn. He picked up a corn cob and opened the outer shell. He looked at the corn kernels inside and immediately confirmed that it was really corn. He didn't look at it. Blinded.
He broke off a few corn kernels, stuffed them into his mouth regardless of the guards around him, and chewed them. Hey, it really tastes like that.
It seems that this is not the most primitive corn, but corn that has been cultivated and improved to a certain extent. Its appearance is not very different from modern corn, and it is fully worthy of large-scale planting and consumption.
this……
Su Yonglin thought for a while and felt that there was only one suitable explanation.
There is not completely no communication between the Native Americans, and North America, Central America, and South America are not completely separated. Even if there is a lack of transportation, there is not necessarily no communication between people.
They also had exchanges, and there may have been some commercial exchanges between the aboriginal people living in Mexico and Central America and the aboriginal people living in North America, and over the long years, corn was introduced at some point. Arrived in North America.
Judging from the distance, although it is not long, it is not short either. With the thousands of years of corn cultivation history, it is not completely impossible no matter when it spreads to the North American continent.
It’s just that Su Yonglin really didn’t expect that he would already achieve such a significant gain in just his third voyage. He, a person who doesn’t believe in God, had to sigh with emotion——
God bless the Ming Dynasty.
After thinking for a short time, Su Yonglin felt a burst of ecstasy in his heart.
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PS: I worked perfectly during the seven days of National Day.
(This chapter is not finished yet!)
One thousand six hundred and sixty-four God bless the Ming Dynasty
PPS: Keep asking for votes
PPPS: In order to update, I haven’t even explored the desert, I haven’t found the grass prodigy or the treasure chest, and I haven’t even started the main quest yet. I’ve worked really hard.
One thousand six hundred and sixty-four God bless the Ming Dynasty
