If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1011 Benevolence and Righteousness, the Way of the Sage King

"When I was born, the sand dunes were just small hills, and there were fewer than a hundred people in the entire area."

The small tribe could disappear from the vast northern wilderness at any time.

For the tribe, and for the sand barbarians within the tribe—for example, for me—one of the greatest dangers is actually the wild sand barbarians outside the tribe.

Of course, the term "wild sand barbarians" only applies to my tribe.

To outsiders, the Sand Barbarians of the Sand Dune Tribe are also known as Wild Sand Barbarians.

Hunting wild sand barbarians was a major food source for the sand barbarian tribes.

Xiaoyu looked around and saw some people with disdain on their faces, some looking at her with pity, and others still puzzled, not understanding what she was talking about.

"If the Qin Dynasty truly unified the nine provinces by force, and the late emperor became the first emperor of all time with his unparalleled achievements, possessing the greatest power in human history."

So, if we apply the Qin Dynasty's "principles" to Shaqiu, does that mean that once the tribe gains power, it can conquer surrounding smaller tribes, plunder their people and resources, and allow the Shaqiu tribe to grow and prosper?

"Isn't that what you did?" Feng Jie asked doubtfully.

Xiao Yu asked, "Doctor, you are the son of Prime Minister Feng. Do you respect or love the Prime Minister?"

"Of course." Feng Jie said without hesitation, then looked completely bewildered.

Xiaoyu sighed, "Barbarians are human too. Fathers love their sons, and sons respect their fathers; these are human nature."

If the Sand Dune tribe kills the 'Prime Minister Feng' of another tribe and abducts the young and strong 'Doctor Feng' to the Sand Dune tribe.

Can sand dunes really grow and thrive?

When I was born, the Sand Dune tribe numbered only a few dozen.

When I started to transform the Sand Dune tribe, I was six or seven years old, and the Sand Dune tribe still only had a few dozen people.

When the envoys of the alliance of thirty-six kingdoms arrived at the northern desert dunes, the dunes had a population of over fifty thousand, with five thousand soldiers capable of fighting.

Five thousand elite soldiers, all loyal and brave, not one of them was cowardly, and not one betrayed his lord.

Even though they had died in battle, they transformed into ghost soldiers, following Sha Tou in their vow to destroy Tianmen Town.

Feng Jie's expression changed several times, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "How did Sha Tou manage to do that?"

"What can we expect him to do? That idiot treats other tribes of the Sand Barbarians with only one attitude—he slaughters all the men, regardless of age, and kidnaps and humiliates the women in every way."

They don't even want young children.

Could such a person win over tens of thousands of barbarian tribes in just a few years?

Xiao Yu had a faint air of arrogance on her face.

"In the Guaizi Mountain, there are thousands of Sha Man Yin soldiers. Before they saw me, they were loyal to Sha Tou, but once they saw me, they were all great people and certainly not lacking in knowledge."

"You've lived your whole lives, have you ever heard of ghost soldiers betraying their ghost generals?"

Wei Liaozi looked at her with admiration and said, "I know the whole story of the calamity of the Yin soldiers at Guaizi Mountain in Western Shu."

With just a single sentence, Grand Tutor Yu caused tens of thousands of Yin soldiers to betray the Ghost Generals and Ghost Kings, and instead bow down to you, a living person.

Feng Quji had also read Qingsong Daotong's "Shamanyu Report" and knew that the true creator of the Sand Dune Kingdom was actually Shamanyu.

Shatou was not even the "hidden dragon" chosen by the sand dune dragon vein.

Qianlong is Shatou's son, nicknamed "Shadan".

"In less than ten years, he has expanded a tribe of a few dozen people to tens of thousands of people and thousands of warriors. No other wise ruler in the entire land of China has been able to achieve this. Master Yu truly deserves to be called the 'Sage Descended from the Northern Wilderness'," the Right Chancellor exclaimed.

Xiaoyu said, "Fifty thousand people is far from the limit. If the sand dunes were two sizes larger, they could support even more people."

When the envoys from the thirty-six kingdoms come knocking, perhaps we will be able to see a true Northern Wilderness Kingdom.

The shifting sands are too barren, the dunes too desolate, and the foundation too weak.

Li Si said calmly, "Master Yu, let's get straight to the point!"

Xiao Yu looked at the group of important Qin officials and said with a strange expression, "Sha Tou thinks that force is only for conquering 'enemies'."

Their own growth can only be achieved through plunder. Fortunately, that fool wasn't wise or powerful enough.

—And your King Ying Zheng is far too wise and powerful.

"What I did was actually the definition of the First Emperor that I just gave."

The First Dragon was not a dragon vein and should not have been defined as one by the imperial court.

The Sand Dune tribe were not conquerors, nor were they victors.

The Sand Dune Tribe is not unique to the original few dozen Sand Barbarians; it is the 'mother' of all the Sand Barbarians in the Northern Wilderness.

Back in our mother's embrace, we are all brothers and sisters, how could we have any disloyalty?

The dune tribe became the dune kingdom, and everyone's life became better.

The only purpose for the continued existence and development of the Dune Kingdom is to protect everything that everyone has now and to make everyone's life better.

They all saw and felt it; how could they not be united, work together, and be loyal and fearless?

Wei Liaozi stared at her in shock, his emotions so complex and intense that they were beyond words.

Li Si was also deeply shaken. He pursed his lips and looked at her with extremely complicated emotions.

Feng Quji and the other Qin officials were not fools, and they all understood her meaning.

Some people were not entirely accepting of her veiled denigration of the Qin state's policies, but they were shocked and frightened by her awareness and magnanimity at such a young age.

—The destiny of "Xisha destroying Shu" back then was indeed true!
As long as Sha Manyu remains in the sand dunes, the Xisha barbarians will surely be able to establish a powerful empire that will terrify all the kingdoms of the Xisha region.

But she was not even ten years old at that time, and the Northern Wilderness was still so barren and dangerous.

If the "Xisha Kingdom" were allowed to expand southward and come into contact with Xianwu and even more prosperous lands, it's unimaginable how terrifying the development of the "Xisha" would be.

The young Taoist priest Qingsong was not exaggerating back then; this Yu Fengxian is definitely a born saint!

Xiaoyu could see the complex emotions on their faces and guess what they were thinking.

But when she talked about the past, she no longer showed much emotional fluctuation.

She's doing well now.

She remained on the dunes, burning herself out, dedicating herself to the desert tribes, which was a great blessing to the Xisha tribes.

Leaving the dunes would be most beneficial for her personal development.

Xiao Yu remained calm, and her tone was equally calm: "Just now, Prime Minister Feng remarked that in the entire land of China, no wise ruler could achieve what the Kingdom of Sand Dunes did."

I disagree with that statement.

Countless millennia ago, in ancient times, even in the primordial era, Shenzhou was not yet Shenzhou. There were no kingdoms, and it was like the northern desert dunes, with tribes of varying sizes scattered across the land.

The people of the tribe have survived today, but they don't know if they will have a tomorrow.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were originally just tribal leaders. How did they rise from tribal chiefs to become emperors or great emperors revered by the people of the world?
'Benevolence and righteousness' is by no means just a slogan.

You will only be treated like a brother or sister if you treat others like brothers and sisters.

If you treat someone with the same closeness and care as you would your own child, they will treat you like their own parent.

vice versa.

If the First Dragon only sees itself as 'one dragon vein,' then all other potential dragon veins are also 'one dragon vein.'

We all share the same dragon vein, so why should I submit to you?
The struggle between dragon veins is therefore a matter of course.

If the First Emperor did not see himself as 'a dragon vein,' but rather as the soul of the mountains and rivers of China.

A dragon vein born within a certain mountain range is its child.

The First Emperor treated his dragon children like a loving mother.

How could a child fight with his mother?

Li Si glanced at her and said, "It seems that Master Yu belongs to the Confucian school."

However, your Confucian principles of benevolence may move people, but they cannot change reality. The reality is that the First Emperor has passed away, and the dragon vein of my Great Qin Dynasty is dead and gone.

That's why only those who rebel can nurture a dragon vein.

Now that you treat those pythons with benevolence, they will not feel any gratitude towards you or the Qin Dynasty.

When the time comes to act, there will be no mercy whatsoever.

The Qin Dynasty's Heavenly Master and a high-ranking official, who had already accepted that "Sha Manyu is a born sage," were shocked and moved by Yu Taishi's long and eloquent discourse.

Upon hearing the term "Confucianism," it was as if I had been given a "brain-awakening injection," instantly dispelling my mystique of Grand Tutor Yu and restoring my "sharp mind."

"Yes, the way of benevolence can be used to govern the people, but it does nothing to change reality."

They won't be grateful for our kindness towards rebellion; they'll only laugh at our cowardice.

"Even though ancient sages valued benevolence and righteousness, these virtues could win people's hearts and allow tribes and nations to grow and prosper."

But now the Qin Dynasty is facing a life-or-death crisis.

Showing benevolence will not deter rebels from their ambitions of domination.

Xiaoyu sighed, “I do have some knowledge of Confucianism, but do I look like a pedantic Confucian scholar who spouts nothing but benevolence and morality?”

"Great Tooth True Lord and Great Immortal Huang'an, if they heard your evaluation of me, they would surely die with their eyes wide open in disbelief, and their corpses would leap out of their bodies."

“Well, that makes sense. But why does Grand Tutor Yu treat the dragon veins of the various rebel armies with such benevolence?” Ying Ziying asked, puzzled.

Xiao Yu said, "The ancient sage rulers, sensing the weight of the earth, came to understand the principles of being tolerant and generous in life."

I dare not call myself a saint, but recently I have been helping to clear the earth's energy in the Qinling Mountains and have gained some insights.

I understood the essence of the First Dragon's maternal instincts, which reminded me of my past experiences managing the sand dunes.

It wasn't that I first held the belief in benevolent governance, and then projected my feelings onto things, subjectively believing that the First Emperor should also be as benevolent as a sage ruler, loving the land's veins and dragon veins.

"The principles of the world are all interconnected!" she exclaimed.

Li Si frowned and said, "The Qinling Ancestral Dragon is also a dragon vein. A dragon vein is just a dragon vein. How can it have maternal instincts? Where do these maternal instincts come from?"

“You’re not a Taoist priest, you wouldn’t understand,” Xiaoyu said.

Li Si looked around at the Great Qin Celestial Master in the hall and said, "Before you, I have seen countless Celestial Masters, but I have never heard of the Ancestral Dragon's motherhood."

Xiao Yu said calmly, "Before the birth of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, there was no Celestial Master sect in the world."

Does the 'principle' of the Celestial Masters not exist without the Celestial Masters sect?

It is not that people create principles, but that they discover and realize principles that already exist.

The world is changing, and both the human way and the immortal way are constantly evolving.

Without innovation, and by relying on past achievements, where will development come from?

Li Si said, "If you created other Celestial Masters methods, that would be fine, but the Dragon Vein has been studied for so many years."
The Dao Ancestor was researching it, and so were the Great Luo Golden Immortals.

The late emperor studied it in great depth.

"You organized dozens of Golden Immortals and thousands of True Immortals to study the Qinling Ancestral Dragon together, and they are all inferior to you?"

"Could they have developed the 'Heavenly Eye to Discern Order and Reversal'? This is also a Taoist technique related to dragon energy," Xiaoyu said.

Li Si's expression froze, and he was speechless.

Tai Chang Jiu Quan said, "But now the ancestral dragon vein of the Great Qin has indeed collapsed and died."

Xiaoyu said, "Death just means not living anymore, it doesn't mean you can't continue to fulfill the duties of 'Mother Earth'."

Being dead just means you're no longer alive. Isn't that obvious?

Tai Chang Jiu Quan's expression twisted as he said, "Master Yu, the dragon vein of my Great Qin has collapsed. Now it's time to make the dragon vein of the traitor collapse as well. We'll all be in the same boat."

Xiaoyu's eyes were full of disdain and impatience. "You idiot, all that I said to you was a waste of time."

Jiu Quan's face flushed red, and he angrily said, "Master Yu, mind your manners in court!"

After listening for a long time, Master Guan had finally grasped some of the key points.

He stepped forward and smoothed things over, saying, "Lord Taichang, please don't be angry, and Master Yu, please don't be anxious either!"
The nature of the Ancestral Dragon Earth Mother as described by Master Yu is very novel and profound.

Let alone you gentlemen, even we Celestial Masters would find it difficult to understand.

Just because you don't understand doesn't mean Master Yu is wrong.

Li Si asked, "Did Master Guan understand and believe it?"

Master Guan said, "The Qinling Ancestral Dragon is a combination of the human energy of the Nine Provinces and the earth's vein energy of the Nine Provinces."

Although it was born in Guanzhong, once the Qin Dynasty unified China, it became the ancestral dragon of China.

It connects to the earth veins of Kyushu and can directly or indirectly affect the earth veins of various parts of Kyushu, just like the human emperor in the earth veins.

When a benevolent emperor loves his people, all people will be loyal to him, and the country will prosper.

The emperor is a human being, but he is not a commoner; he is the ruler and father of the people.

The First Emperor should also be like the Human Emperor, shouldering the responsibility of stabilizing the land veins of the Nine Provinces and suppressing the evil spirits within them.

The earth veins in various places are like the children of the Ancestral Dragon, and the Ancestral Dragon should protect them.

The Celestial Master who controls the First Emperor should have a benevolent heart and a broad mind.

This is why Master Yu told the story of the Sand Dune Kingdom.

In just a few years, the Sand Dunes have grown from a small tribe of a few dozen people into a small kingdom with an army of five thousand, mainly because Master Yu practiced the benevolent way of the ancient sage rulers.

In the past, we went against the grain and kept severing the dragon veins. What was the result?
The Qin Dynasty lost its Mandate of Heaven, and the First Emperor collapsed.

The Qin Dynasty is about to perish. Compared to the glory of Shaqiu, what else do you ministers have to doubt?
Following Master Yu's methods will at least prevent things from getting worse than what we've done in the past.

He was, after all, a Celestial Master, and a seasoned one at that.

I really benefited a lot from what Master Yu just said.

Wei Liaozi looked desolate and said, "We probably really made a mistake in the past. The Qin Dynasty unified the world not because of its military might, but because of its benevolence and righteousness."

"Alas, we never noticed the benevolence and righteousness of the Qin Dynasty in the past. Perhaps we did, but we didn't pay attention; we were more concerned with martial prowess."

Feng Jie frowned and said, "What you're saying, sir, is hard to understand."

Wei Liaozi looked at Xiaoyu with a complicated expression and said, "Grand Tutor Yu, what do you think is the benevolence and righteousness of the Great Qin?"

Xiao Yu said, "Unify the six kingdoms."

Wei Liaozi's eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly. "It's a pity, a shame, that none of the civil and military officials in the court are as good as Grand Tutor Yu."

Feng Jie said impatiently, "My lord, don't play riddles with Master Yu Tai."

Wei Liaozi said, "Before the Qin Dynasty unified China, the states in the Central Plains fought each other every year. This year you attacked me, next year I attacked him. If we won, the people suffered; if we lost, the people suffered even more."

The people of the world have suffered for too long during the chaotic Spring and Autumn Period!
The Qin Dynasty emerged out of nowhere, ending the chaos and unifying China; this was the epitome of benevolence.

The Mandate of Heaven for the Great Qin Dynasty also originated from this great benevolence.

Unfortunately, we didn't cherish it.

Ending chaos is a great act of benevolence; this was said many years ago.

This was said by a Confucian master to Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng also said this to the people of the world.

However, it's hard to say how much of it is genuine.

Judging from Qin Shi Huang's subsequent exploitation of the people, his attitude towards this "great benevolence" was not serious.

Master Yu was clearly very serious and took it very seriously.

Li Si said calmly, "Master Yu, I only care about one thing: you have bestowed your benevolent heart upon the Qin dragon veins, not only not destroying the rebellious dragon veins, but also protecting them. What benefit does this bring to the Qin?"
If there's no benefit to it, what's the point?

(End of this chapter)