Through the window of the light screen, Kongming and the others gained a glimpse of another neighbor that existed on the same Earth.
After watching it through, however, Jian Yong found himself rather uninterested.
"The histories of East and West are so alike. When facing climatic change, we all seem like lame donkeys."
This attitude drew laughter from Kongming.
"Is Shiyuan a lame donkey, then?"
The term lame donkey was used in Qin and Han times either as an insult or as self mockery, roughly meaning a crippled, foolish beast.
Pang Tong laughed and shook his head.
"When facing century scale climatic change, we may look like lame donkeys. Yet I would say we are more like birds that know to block their windows against wind, or dried fish taught to be cautious when leaving the water."
Jian Yong fell into thought.
Fa Zheng was already nodding.
"From the Spring and Autumn period to now, our ancestors have built irrigation works, reclaimed and protected farmland, mined ore and smelted iron, felled timber and built homes. All of it was preparation against the future."
Kongming agreed.
"Just like the Sui construction of the great canal running north to south. Was that not also preparation, having seen the chaos of Wei, Jin, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties?"
These words convinced Jian Yong. He cupped his hands in acknowledgment.
Seeing that the discussion he barely understood had ended, Zhang Fei immediately jumped in.
"Then what exactly is this volcanic eruption?"
Everyone tried their best to imagine it.
First, there had to be a mountain.
Then, that mountain should probably be full of fire.
Then, with a loud boom, the mountain explodes?
Watching Zhang Fei vividly act out his imagined scene, Jian Yong found it hard to picture.
"Then why does the mountain collapse?"
Zhang Fei did not know, but retorted confidently.
"Then tell me, Xianhe, why does the earth dragon turn over?"
Jian Yong was left speechless. It felt wrong, but he could not immediately argue back. He frowned and thought slowly.
Zhang Fei looked around smugly. Beside him, Kongming's brows slowly furrowed.
Yide's careless words reminded Kongming that the later generation had avoided discussing earthquakes. Now there was also volcanic eruption. From the name alone, it was clearly a natural disaster, likely tied to mountains. It was probably similar to earthquakes.
This led Kongming to recall something he had long overlooked.
If it was known that beyond Earth lay boundless emptiness, then what lay within the Earth itself? What kind of structure did it have? Did later generations know?
Did later generations avoid earthquakes because they were unrelated to climate, or because they were impossible to predict?
Shaking his head, Kongming felt Zhuangzi was indeed right. Life is finite, knowledge infinite.
...
"Rome is Byzantium?"
As the future protector of the Sassanian Persian royal house, Li Shimin paid close attention to such matters.
After comparing regions and timelines, he frowned and tentatively reached this conclusion.
Du Ruhui agreed. He remembered quite clearly the notes he had written himself.
"I recall that the Dashi empire later split into the Umayyad dynasty in black robes and the Abbasid dynasty in white robes."
These purely transliterated names were awkward on Du Ruhui's tongue.
"These two are later collectively called the Arab Empire."
"Rome is probably similar. Like the Antonine dynasty of Rome mentioned last year. This Byzantium…"
Li Shimin tapped his temple and understood.
"Like the Eastern and Western Han."
The Eastern and Western Han were already rare in Chinese history. The West, by contrast, seemed utterly unconcerned with such divisions.
And thinking of the thirty tyrants contemporaneous with Wei and Jin, did that mean the imperial house changed thirty times?
This state of families perishing while the state endured intrigued Li Shimin greatly. He decided at once.
"If opening the seas goes smoothly, we must collect Western histories, translate their originals, read their records, and understand their gains and losses."
Everyone in Ganlu Hall nodded together. Not just His Majesty, they were all deeply curious.
After abolishing all faiths except Christianity, what did common society look like?
With four emperors at once, what was the state of Roman officials?
Between Christian priests and Roman magistrates, who listened to whom?
Administratively, with two emperors in the same domain, who commanded whom?
And Li Shimin, as a proper and standard emperor, sensed something especially interesting in Rome's evolution.
In the early Han, there was a powerful senate. Later, it was never mentioned again.
From senate to tetrarchy, Rome's institutional experimentation seemed far bolder than China's.
To not learn from it would be a waste.
As Li Shimin pondered his own questions, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui whispered again.
"This massive volcanic eruption must be an unparalleled natural disaster, capable even of altering climate."
Du Ruhui rubbed his wrist and glanced back at the brief mention of the Mediterranean.
"I suspect it is a disaster unique to that region."
"Ban Dingyuan once said, if you do not enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the cub?"
"That Mediterranean, with all the convenience of an inland sea, must also hide unmatched calamities."
This was pure inference, but Fang Xuanling nodded for now and set the matter aside.
"But compared to volcanic eruptions," Du Ruhui smiled softly, "the Arabs driven by climate were Rome's true great enemy."
Natural disasters, however severe, eventually end. A powerful people is different, especially when you roughly know their historical trajectory.
Fang Xuanling nodded and summarized.
"The Arabs left their homeland, destroyed Sassanian Persia, defeated Rome, built a vast empire, controlled the crossroads of East and West, and absorbed both Eastern and Western cultures."
This was a rough outline drawn from the later generation's brief words.
Fang Xuanling planned that after finishing the Book of Jin, his next step would be to categorize and organize the chaotic information from the light screen. Otherwise, it was too difficult to read smoothly.
And faintly, an idea arose in his mind.
"If I could read Roman history and translate its meaning, it would be the fortune of my life."
Then another thought jumped out.
Would Rome, like China, compile official histories?
Thinking of that utterly different state where dynasties fell but the state endured, Fang Xuanling hesitated.
Probably… they would?
[Some say that in the agricultural age, civilization was merely a puppet manipulated by climate.
That statement is not wrong, but it is also not entirely correct.
Agrarian civilizations' helplessness before climate change is well known, yet from ancient times to now, we in Huaxia have never waited passively for death. Chinese history has always been a history of struggle between humanity and nature.
Suiren took fire, Cangjie created writing, separating our ancestors from the beasts.
Thereafter, from antiquity to the present, the First Emperor who unified Huaxia, Emperor Wu of Han who forged national spirit, and Emperor Taizong of Tang who opened a brilliant age, step by step tempered the spiritual character of ancient Huaxia.]
Inside Ganlu Hall, everyone's gaze converged at once.
Li Shimin stood with hands behind his back. In his heart he was already laughing with delight, but his expression remained calm and composed, chin slightly raised, saying nothing.
Sun Simiao saw clearly that the emperor's hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched tightly, excitement barely contained.
...
In the Han Chang'an General's Residence, Liu Bei also stood with hands behind his back, eyes deep.
Ten years ago, he only wanted to establish himself in one place. Five years ago, he only wanted to resist Cao and restore Han. Now, he wanted…
Beside him, Kongming and Pang Tong exchanged glances, then smiled and turned their eyes toward their lord.
[Chinese history is like a brilliant galaxy. From childhood to adulthood, those familiar names have forged today's Huaxia step by step.
Cai Lun invented paper and advanced culture.
Zu Chongzhi devoted his life to mathematics.
Zhang Heng laid the foundations of science.
Li Taibai carved the splendor of the High Tang.
Such names could be spoken for three days and nights without end.]
As these familiar names were spoken, a clear, resonant chant rose from the light screen, immediately capturing the attention of the Han Chang'an General's Residence and the ministers of Ganlu Hall alike.
In the warm pavilion of Bianliang, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi also listened intently. Zhao Pu's expression shifted. He pulled over a sheet of paper and began copying down the rhythmic verses he heard.
At the same time, Kongming and Du Ruhui both pricked up their ears, hands moving without pause, fearing to miss even a single word.
It was still the clear, powerful chorus of youthful voices, full of vigor. These voices flowed from the light screen into Kongming's ears, then streamed neatly from his brush tip.
"Have you not seen Han Zhongjun,
At twenty, binding captives, begging for a long tassel."
"Have you not seen Ban Dingyuan,
Riding light cavalry beyond the frontiers, urging the clouds of war."
"Song of the Knowledge Youths Going to War," published in 1945 in Spirit of the Times magazine, volume eleven, combined issues five and six, special issue on knowledge youths going to war, page 105. Author Bai Lei.
Several military songs were published at the time, but this is the most complete one known today.