Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 303 Qin and Xia

In the 33rd year of Qin,
The envoys of Xinxia came to the West Sea to pay a visit to the new overlord who was gaining fame here.

When Ying Duan led the delegation back and told his father what he had seen and heard in Rome, Macedonia and other countries,

Ying Pijiang sent envoys south to make friends with Persia, and then contacted Macedonia to encourage the "ambitious and far-sighted" monarch Perseus to advance eastward to Seleucus.

after all,

When Seleucus was powerful, he bullied Macedonia a lot.

How could Macedonia not feel aggrieved by the policy of "making up for the loss in the east and the loss in the west"?
Under the eloquence of the special envoy from Qin Dynasty, Perseus was completely confused and disoriented.

To know,
When the gentlemen of Zhuxia sincerely try to coax people,
It is enough to make the other person become a fool!
The barbarians who once existed around the Xia Dynasty had long been "educated" by the Xia Dynasty's gentlemen and had forgotten their ancestors and customs. They only believed:
Only the ones from Zhuxia are the best!

I have long wanted to be a Chinese and recognize Yanhuang as my ancestors!

Even the princes of the other states, despite the advice of their ministers and the warnings of history books, could not avoid being deceived by the strategists.

Typical example,
It was the Prince of Yan who lost his mother due to carelessness.

There was also King Huai of Chu, who was deceived again and again by Zhang Yi.

Who is Perseus?

Naturally, you can only be provoked and fooled.

then,

Macedonia began to expand eastward, determined to regain its former territory.

After the death of Antiochus III, the Seleucid Empire's successors were incompetent and weak. They could not even hold on to the land of Babylon that their ancestors had fought so hard to seize, and they were repeatedly fought with Persia there.

Once attacked from the front and back, he was at a loss.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ying Qin went out of the mountain pass and moved south, pushing the territory to Armenia, successfully covering the entire southeast corner of the West Sea, and going east to the Caspian Sea and its land, thus finding another granary for Ying Qin.

A few years later,

Ying Pijiang patiently began to digest these results.

It was not until last year when his education had yielded results that he once again led his troops south with the intention of destroying Persia and seizing the Mesopotamian region.

When those black-clad, bun-haired soldiers who called themselves "Da Qin" sang the murderous song of Wu Yi and rushed towards them with sharp bows, crossbows and swords in their hands, the Persian king was frightened to death.

He even wanted to seek peace and alliance with Seleucus to fight against Qin.

But where did Seleucus get the strength to fight against the Qin Dynasty, which had developed for thirty years?

These barbarians from outside the territory have no ability to resist the benevolence, righteousness and morality of the gentlemen of the Xia Dynasty.

When Qin conquered Armenia, Seleucus was beaten!

then,

The Seleucid Kingdom rejected the Persian king's request and even sent people to emphasize to the Qin people:
"If you kill it and eat it, you can't come and hit me again!"

The Persian king stamped his feet in anger, then walked around the palace with his head down.

Fortunately, under heavy pressure, there will always be flashes of inspiration:
A Persian official suddenly suggested, "I heard that the Qin people and the Xia people are of the same blood, and the relationship between the two countries is very good."

"Your Majesty's bloodline contains the noble bloodline of the Xia royal family. Why don't you ask the Xia people to negotiate with the Qin people and ask them to give up attacking our country for the sake of their distant relatives?"

The Persian king thought his words made sense, so he waved his hand and sent an envoy -

"Go and invite the new king of Xia from the East!"

Under Persia's earnest pleading, and because the two countries happened to be visiting each other and exchanging important information to show their intimacy, the Xia envoy came to Qin.

After hearing the envoy's purpose, Ying Pijiang directly rejected him.

But the messenger said, "Qin and Xia are close, how can there be a rift because of barbarians?"

"The reason why I advised the King of Qin not to aggressively annex these lands is really for the sake of Qin."

He asked someone to bring a map of Persia, and then explained it to Ying Pijiang:
"The country of Persia has existed for a long time. Even though the order established by the barbarians is not as complete as that of the Chinese, it has still lasted for quite some time."

"Sudden death, doesn't the King of Qin worry about the trouble of suppressing the rebellion?"

"Moreover, the population of the two rivers is different from that of the Western Sea. It is not possible to educate and convert the barbarians into Chinese people overnight."

"Otherwise, why did Xinxia stop at the Ganges River instead of destroying the Sindhu kingdoms in the south?"

in short,
The land is full of temptations.

The barbarians here are very disgusting.

But if we swallow up the land here whole, how can we not accept the people here?

Land needs people to manage it.
Even if Qin Ying had the idea and determination to promote the architectural art of the Xia Dynasty in the two rivers and stain the two river ports with blood,
It would be impossible to defend the empty two rivers afterwards, and it would leave a reputation of extreme cruelty, attracting the surrounding barbarians to attack together.

"When the Xia people were first enfeoffed, they also longed for vast territories, but there were few noble men and many barbarians. They could only endure, keep their original intentions, and wait for the opportunity to convert the barbarians into Xia people."

"It took Xinxia a hundred years of hard work to have the territory it has today."

"It has only been more than 30 years since the Qin Dynasty was revived. As the founder, why should you be so anxious as to damage your own foundation?"

Ying Pijiang knew this truth.
The twenty years of his life when he had the most energy were wasted because of this. Moreover, he had personally experienced the fall of the Qin Dynasty and knew the truth that "eating more is not as good as eating well".

But he stroked his gray beard and suddenly asked the messenger, "I heard that the throne of Xia has been passed down to the third generation."

"May I ask what the late king's temple name was?"

The system of temple names,

It originated in the Shang Dynasty, was abandoned during the Zhou Dynasty, and was not mentioned during the Qin Dynasty.

However, because both Ying Qin and Xin Xia were developing outside the territory, they paid more attention to things like ancestral temples that could unite people and clans, so this system was restored.

coincidentally,

The thinking circuits of Zhuxia and their fellow tribes outside the region reached a consensus across time and space on this matter:
The Han Dynasty also restored the temple name system!

In Xinxia,

Zhao Chao, the first monarch who founded the Xia dynasty, was revered as the ancestor of the Xia dynasty, and King Wen of Xia was revered as Taizu.

just,

Temple names are precious and it is impossible to grant them to every monarch.

The Three Kingdoms all adhered to the principle of "ancestors have merits and ancestors have virtues" and were picky about their ancestors. Those who did not have great merits were not worthy of having a temple name and enjoying the most sincere and solemn sacrifices provided by later generations.

The messenger didn't know why the King of Qin suddenly brought up such a matter, so he just obediently told him, "King Cheng has no temple name."

Although King Cheng of Xia inherited the good virtues of King Wen, the founder of the Xia Dynasty, and had achievements in nurturing the people's livelihood, improving laws, restraining religion, and strengthening royal power, he did not make much contribution to foreign affairs, and therefore did not receive his own ancestral temple.

King Cheng of Xia was placed on a throne in his father's temple, where the white jar that Ying Pijiang had given to King Wen many years ago was also placed.

The rulers and ministers of Xinxia did not know its function.
It was simply treated as a relic of King Wen and enshrined in the ancestral temple for normal sacrifices.

After hearing this, Ying Pijiang told the messenger, "I want to posthumously honor my father, Emperor Qin II."

There are many seats for the ancestors in the temples of Qin Dynasty.

However, only a few people such as Fei Zi, Duke Mu, and the First Emperor had luxurious single rooms without having to squeeze together with their fathers, grandfathers, and descendants.

After Ying Pijiang died, he would definitely have his own independent room and would not have to sleep in a shared dormitory with his ancestors.

So he was only worried about his father and hoped that Qin II, who died for his country, would be treated favorably.

Although Ying Pijiang knew that his father must be living happily with his ancestors in the underworld.

But it is a very far away place after all, and we cannot stop decorating the world of the living just because we are dead.

"What's more, I heard that Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty had a temple name and a beautiful posthumous title..."

“It’s something that makes me sad.”

Although the Qin Dynasty was far away from home, it did not mean that it had completely severed its connection with the ancestral land of the Xia people.

The envoys of Xinxia would still find a way to go there, even though the Hexi Corridor was currently occupied by the Huns.

Over the years,
The Xinxia envoys successfully took advantage of loopholes and sneaked in twice, and went to Chang'an, the capital built by the Han Dynasty, to meet the Han Emperor.

then,

Xinxia brought back what he had seen and heard in the Han Dynasty and shared it with Ying Qin.

Ying Pijiang therefore knew that Liu Bang had passed away, and even his son was getting old and would soon pass on the country and ancestral temple to a new generation of monarchs.

At that time, Ying Pijiang was silent for a long time, and he once again felt that time flies.

The enemy who destroyed his country is dead.
The country established by the other party is still thriving and is welcoming a prosperous era.

And he was still outside the territory, enduring the endless disgusting barbarians around him.

This made Ying Pijiang, who had been calm for many years, anxious for a long time. He then missed his father who was buried in Yongcheng, as well as his ancestors.

then,

The elderly Ying Pijiang began to act willfully, wanting to gain a good reputation for his father after his death.

The ministers opposed his proposal, believing that the Second Emperor had lost the ancestral land of Qin, so how could he have a temple name?

Ying Pijiang had a quarrel with his ministers because of this.

After all the trouble, the old and wise King Qin suddenly had an idea. He wanted to elevate his father's status by relying on his own achievements.

Anyway, why should we make such a clear distinction between father and son?
The son’s achievements can also be counted as the father’s and regarded as his glorious achievements!
otherwise,

How did Liu Yan become the emperor emeritus?

Could it be that his farming skills have surpassed those of ancient and modern times and are catching up with Shennong?
Driven by this magical idea,
Ying Pijiang attempted to silence his ministers by destroying Persia and vigorously expanding the territory of Qin.

When the Xinxia envoy heard his words, he couldn't help but remain silent.

He didn't even dare to think about it.
If the King of Persia knew that the crisis of national destruction he faced was only due to the King of Qin's "unbearable filial piety", how desperate would his expression be?

(End of this chapter)