In the Shenlong Second Year, a fleet led by Dr. Gongsun Lin (who was also my late teacher), after sailing the Endless Sea for three months and mistakenly entering a storm, eventually drifted to an island.
In the Academic Palace Supervision Building, Dr. Su Feng was sitting at the edge of the lectern, casually lecturing the students. Follow current novᴇls on No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt
"When the Academic Palace Doctors, Instructors, Disciples, and Yu Country sailors disembarked, a massacre between native inhabitants was taking place on that island. A group of nine hundred brown-skinned Limo people (according to their own language) crossed the sea in canoes, wielding spears, bows, arrows, and obsidian knives and axes. Their opponents were the island’s indigenous Moriao people, totaling one thousand eight hundred. In terms of numbers, the Moriao people had the advantage. Four days earlier, they had detected the Limo people gradually landing on the island, setting up camp along the coast with a belligerent stance.
If the indigenous Moriao people had organized effectively earlier, fortified their town defenses, and mobilized the villagers, they might have been able to repel the invaders. However, the Moriao people had always advocated resolving any dispute peacefully. In their council, they unanimously agreed not to retaliate with hostility. Instead, they decided to send envoys to the Limo camp, intending to share the island’s abundant natural resources peacefully.
While the envoys were on their way to the Limo camp, the Limo people launched an all-out attack. Within days, the nine hundred Limo people stormed the towns, cruelly killing hundreds of Moriao people and turning the remainder into slaves or ’stored food.’"
Dr. Su Feng paused, glanced at the students below, and said, "The main point of this story isn’t solely that ’to forget war is to ensure doom.’ My teacher, Dr. Gongsun Lin, was a scholar with the spirit of Natural Science. He intervened to mediate the warfare—or, one might say, massacre—on the island. Using the martial force of a Cloud Patrol Realm cultivator, he commanded the invading Limo people to release the Moriao people, the original inhabitants of the island. Of course, such things happen often. As you’ve all heard, almost every few years, reports from Lingnan Road tell of the Academic Palace Fleet discovering new islands and their native inhabitants."
Some students below the lectern laughed amiably. The Emperors of Li Yu, over generations, had perfectly inherited their ancestors’ love for grand achievements. Every year, during major celebrations, there was invariably a segment where tribal vassal states presented exotic treasures. There was even an incident where an island king, during the annual tribute at the Great Ming Palace, suffered from being unaccustomed to the local conditions and had an episode of vomiting and diarrhea on the spot. This became a running joke in Nanzhou and West Jing.
"Of course," Dr. Su Feng continued, "what made this war so special was a horrifying truth Dr. Gongsun Lin discovered after his investigation: the Limo and Moriao people shared common ancestors. Five hundred years ago, their ancestors set out from Boli Island in canoes, following the ocean currents to find an archipelago. They then split into several groups and settled on different islands. Later, changes in the wind patterns of the Endless Sea caused fish migrations. Consequently, the waters around the archipelago became occupied by dangerous sea beasts, making it impossible for mortals to sail. Over time, contact between the islands was completely severed.
The island the Limo people settled on was larger, with a milder climate. Due to the dangers of the ocean, they were forced to cultivate crops left by their ancestors. As their population increased, a societal structure of nobles, commoners, and slaves emerged—the nobles seized land, raised private guards, and fought over the limited farmland. In contrast, the Moriao people’s island had a colder climate, unsuitable for the crop seeds their ancestors had left. Thus, they had no choice but to revert to a life of gathering berries and hunting wild animals. As a result, they had no specialized artisans, no army, no prisons, no administrative officials, and no distinction between nobles and commoners."
Someone below the lectern muttered under their breath, "Truly barbarians."
Dr. Su Feng, undisturbed, continued, "A lack of vast farmlands means there are limits on population. Dr. Gongsun Lin, by examining tombs from different periods on the island, determined that the Moriao population never exceeded three thousand and consistently fluctuated between one thousand and two thousand. Such a small population meant they could not withstand significant losses. They were forced to learn to live harmoniously, always resolving disputes through negotiation. To some extent, they achieved a society where lost property was left untouched on roads and houses were not locked at night. To further reduce population and potential conflict, they even resorted to not reproducing or, at times, killing some infants—much as Academic Palace Doctors had previously observed resource-limited rats doing.
Because the writing systems of both the Moriao and Limo people originated from the same ancestor and had not diverged significantly, Dr. Gongsun Lin could deduce what had occurred by studying their textual records. The Moriao people were a hunter-gatherer tribe, while the Limo people were an agricultural tribe. The latter possessed stronger leaders, better organization, more advanced technology, richer combat experience, and a greater desire to plunder. Thus, these two kindred tribes, separated for a mere five hundred years, evolved under the influence of their respective natural environments into societal forms completely incomprehensible to one another within that same period. Furthermore, the disparity in their combat capabilities was immense. So much so that, had the Academic Palace Fleet not arrived in such a dramatic fashion, the Moriao people would have been utterly wiped out."
Dr. Su Feng swept his gaze over the thoughtful students below, cleared his throat, and said, "Back when I was young, after my teacher recounted this story to me, he asked me to write a paper and submit it to him."