District 23, Dormitory 013
While Li Ge and An De observed East Africa, the accompanying team of doctors had not been idle either. What they had seen and heard in Dar es Salaam city today had truly opened their eyes.
As Li Ji spread out his bedding, he said, "The Imperial Court truly did not deceive us. This so-called Kingdom of East Africa is indeed much as they described it, quite like Tao Yuanming's orderly houses and crisscrossing paths. The city's construction in particular is truly eye-opening and most pleasing."
"Not so, not so! Brother An, if you ask me, most people in this Kingdom of East Africa are still uncivilized. Their clothes are all strange and bizarre. Did you notice during the day that there were quite a few Chinese people in the streets and alleys? They had even cut off their braids, leaving hair less than an inch long. They were no different from monks! Aren't they afraid of going down to the Yellow Springs and facing their ancestors in shame?"
"Yuan Ye! It is not that I wish to criticize you, but this is not the Far East. This is an overseas land, a place of Western barbarians. Their races differ greatly from our Celestial Dynasty. We have simply seen too little and do not know what overseas peoples look like. Today, I finally saw for myself. Just as the rumors said, there were blond-haired, blue-eyed people shaped like rakshasas, and people black from head to toe, like the Kunlun slaves of old. There were also those who resembled our Chinese people, as you said, but they may not necessarily be people of the Central Plains! We saw quite a few barbarians with similar appearances in the Strait of Malacca and Annam as well."
"Brother An, I