"What kind of story is this?"
Lama Wang said this seriously, leaving Guo Kang speechless.
"Maybe this record is relatively unpopular." Lama Wang didn't show much surprise at his performance: "Many people's impression of the north is just the line between Mobei and Jurchen. In fact, there are still many places further north. of."
"In the northern part of Liaoyang Province, there are many mountains and rivers, undeveloped barren mountains and swamps everywhere. Especially in winter, the climate is extremely cold, so there are very few people there. There are only some native villages there, and some cold-resistant plants are planted in summer. crops, and then hunt around to make a living. These places are basically tribes and villages that speak the Jurchen language, and we collectively call them Jurchens."
"The place farther north than the land where the Jurchens were born is called Nuergan. In this place, the planting industry can no longer operate at all, but the local water network is developed and there are many fish, so people make a living by fishing. But here it is still In the territories once governed by the Tang Dynasty, guides and merchants can be found there, and there are also roads to move around."
"The Yuan Dynasty set up a management agency here, and the Ming Dynasty also wanted to control this place. In this way, the control area can be extended to the northeast, near the ocean, and cut off the road to Mobei for merchants and envoys from the eastern provinces."
"But this is still not the northernmost one." Lama Wang tapped the map with a whisk: "It's just that there isn't much information about the further north, so I don't know how to draw it."
"Before, all dynasties basically waited for tribes from far away to pay tribute, but later, the Liao court was not satisfied with waiting for others to come, and decided to send people to explore."
"The Liao expedition went all the way north, passing through more than 40 small countries and tribes, and arrived at a place called the 'Dog Country'. It was extremely cold here. The urine of the horses brought by the Liao people could freeze directly into ice lumps. .The locals wear animal skins and live in houses made of ice and snow.”
"The expedition recorded that the locals did not raise horses, but a kind of large dogs that were abundant there. They would make wooden boards six inches wide and several feet long for the dogs to pull on the ice. These dogs are very useful. It was so widespread that the people of Liao simply called them Dog Country.”
"But the Dog Country is further north, and you can't understand the local people's language at all. You can't even find a translator. You don't know the name of their country or tribe."
"Later, the expedition team met a man who could speak some Tiele language. The man told them that further north, there are places where dragons, snakes, beasts and demons are raging, and they should not go any further. The expedition team believed that they had arrived The end of the Northern Wilderness mentioned in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is back."
"This sounds like a magical realm in mythology." Li Xuanying expressed doubts: "In the earliest times, people in the Central Plains thought that the desert in the Western Regions was the end of the world. In fact, there was a much larger area beyond the 'end of the world'. , even we ourselves are outside this original 'world'."
"The man who knows the local language and Tiele language is probably a businessman who travels back and forth. Is it because he wants to monopolize the business and does not want the Khitans to explore trade routes, just like the Persian profiteers who threatened Gan Ying and refused to let him come to the Qin Kingdom? ?" He guessed: "Or is it that the Khitans simply didn't want to leave anymore, made up a story, and went back to report to the court?"
"The story of the dog country is true, because there were similar records in the Tang Dynasty." Wang Da Lama explained: "It is said that during the Zhenguan period, there was a country of wandering ghosts in the north. Princes were sent to pay tribute, and Taizong made him a knight. Captain. According to the records left at that time, the situation in this dog country is similar. Even if it is not a country, it is a group of people with a similar lifestyle. So this place is actually the boundary of the Tang Dynasty. It is not too far away or too exaggerated. .”
"How big is the Tang Realm of yours?" Otrifus looked like he was dizzy: "How come the Tang Dynasty Realm is everywhere."
"Geographically, that's how he is." Lama Wang said speechlessly: "What can I do? How can I stop others from becoming vassals to the Tang Dynasty?"
"Mainly, these stories sound too mythical." Borjan said: "It feels like a prehistoric superpower, with its territory everywhere. Beyond the border, there are monsters and unknown chaos. It’s a magical realm. This world… feels more suitable for a magical story.”
"There's nothing we can do about it. Those distant places with little information are inherently semi-mythical." Guo Kang smoothed things over: "Let's just take a look and use it as a reference. Anyway, if we really take action, we will definitely have to send people." I investigated carefully. At least, I think the Khitan people are not lying about the situation in the Dog Country."
"I have selected more reliable information. I haven't mentioned the farther and more magical ones yet." Wang Dalai Lama said: "Actually, according to the data from the Song and Liao Dynasties, in the Dog Kingdom, there may be farther There is a real 'dog country' here."
"It is said that the local men have human bodies but have the heads of dogs. They wear no clothes and rely on the fur on their bodies to keep out the cold. They speak like barking dogs and eat raw food. But the local women look like humans and can speak Chinese. You can eat human cooked food and communicate with Chinese people who come from afar. These people marry each other, and the boys born are all kobolds and the girls are human. This is how the family line continues."
"We can't be sure whether there is really such a tribe of kobolds, or whether traders and explorers have spread rumors and turned the dog country into a demon." Lama Wang shook his fly whisk and said helplessly: "But what is certain is that , local residents can indeed communicate and win over.”
"During the Yuan Dynasty, Kaiyuan Road once built a hundred ships for the garrison of the Dog Kingdom. This is recorded in history books. The specific details are not clear from the second-hand information on my side. But regardless of whether this was sent by the Yuan Dynasty The garrison, as well as the chieftain army organized by the Dog Kingdom, are all in a cooperative relationship with the local officials of the Yuan Dynasty and can mobilize ordnance and supplies."
"Why do they need so many ships? And they organized an army? Where are they going?" Guo Kang didn't know there was such a thing before, and he became curious.
"I really don't know about this." Wang Dalai Lama shook his head: "Anyway, I know that they can be regarded as the armed forces of the Yuan Dynasty. Since such a thing has happened before, let's go and fight with them It should be possible to contact us, right?"
Li Xuanying, Cao Jian and others looked at each other. They had never heard of such unpopular news before, and this statement was indeed unexpected.
"In that case... maybe we can give it a try?" Li Xuanying was shaken.
