Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 334: Han Envoys in Xinxia (Part )
At last,
Zhang Qian left Dayuezhi cursing.

Because the prince he had high hopes for also rejected his request.

In addition to the reasons that "Dayuezhi was too far away from Xiongnu" and "the country was safe and the people were not interested in fighting",
The prince also curiously asked Zhang Qian, "Who is stronger, the Han or the Xia?"

Zhang Qian naturally said proudly and firmly, "The Han Dynasty is far superior to Daxia."

But the prince said, "If it is true, then why did the emperor of Han send you here?"

"It turns out that you lied to me!"

In the eyes of the prince who went to Xia Kingdom as a teenager and grew up there for more than ten years,
The power of the Han State only existed in Zhang Qian's mouth.

He could indeed see, hear and feel the power of the Xia Kingdom.

then,

Zhang Qian left angrily.

Damn it,
If it weren't for the fact that Dayuezhi was one of the targets of his mission,

If it weren't for the fact that the Great Yuezhi was much stronger than the small countries in the Western Regions,

I should have overturned the table long ago, and let the old king and the prince feel what "the caress of an angel" means!

of course,

The most important of these is
It has to be Xinxia!
"I never thought that the rulers and ministers of Xinxia would use such treacherous and cunning means to discipline the barbarians around them!"

on the way,
Zhang Qian said with a sigh.

Tang Yifu looked at him and said in confusion, "How can it be considered a cunning discipline to teach the people of Dayuezhi to read and understand those profound principles and wisdom?"

"I also want to be treated like that and wear beautiful silk clothes!"

For this,

Zhang Qian just glanced at him and said nothing.

He got angry again:
Damn it!

The methods used by the Xinxia rulers and ministers on the Great Yuezhi,

It should have been used by the Han people on the Huns!
How could they do it earlier and better than the Han people!

Thinking like this,

Zhang Qian couldn't help but whip his horse and gallop across the vast grassland.

He hoped to leave this uncomfortable place faster.

Zhang Qian left behind the Yuezhi people's tents and their grazing cattle and horses.

A groundhog that was just poking its head out of the soil and was about to lie down to enjoy the beautiful sunshine was ruthlessly stepped on by the horse driven by Zhang Qian.

The groundhog cried out, "Ah!"
Then he fell back into the hole he had dug himself.

But it doesn't matter.

This magical groundhog has a very strong vitality.

He poked his head out of the pit again unharmed, squinted his eyes at Zhang Qian's receding back, and uttered a sound that contained a curse.

“Hehehe…Ah!”

"Angel, don't run too fast, wait for me!"

Tang Yifu rode his horse to catch up and interrupted the groundhog's dark psychological activities.

Because he also rode his horse and stepped on it.

After Tang Yifu caught up with Zhang Qian,

He smiled and said to the angel, "I think I stepped on something just now?"

"It's yellow and quite big, but it feels a bit soft when you step on it."

After listening to his description, Zhang Qian looked at the tiny figures of cattle and sheep in the distance and said, "What could there be in a place like this?"

Tang Yifu laughed out loud, "That's right, I guess it was caused by these beasts!"

finished,

The group continued on their journey.

Heading towards the new summer.

……

When the Han angel arrived at Zhuxia's first branch outside the territory,

Just in time for the hot summer.

When Zhang Qian entered Yangguan and passed by the banks of the Xindu River, the origin of the new Xia Dynasty,
We saw local people making various adjustments to water storage facilities such as lakes, ponds and dams under the scorching sun.

If it's a cooler day with a strong wind,
The people also had to go to the fields and carefully take care of the food they grew.

Many people have a dark skin and their faces are wrinkled due to the overly hot sun.

Maybe,

Because of different environments and climates,
Some people even have some naturalized Sindhu blood in their bodies...so much so that their appearance looks slightly different from that of the people in the Central Plains.

But Zhang Qian had to admit:
These people speak the elegant language of the Xia Dynasty.

Using the Chinese characters,

People who do the same things as the people of Zhuxia,
They are indeed fellow tribesmen who share a common ancestor with themselves.

After all, after so many years,

The distance between the two places is so long and dangerous.

The systems of Han and Xia have considerable similarities.

Doesn't this prove that

In addition to continuing the bloodline and customs of the Xia people,

Is the wisdom of our ancestors in governing the world still being continued?
I think there is no country in the world that is closer than Han and Xia!

When he saw officials coming to the countryside to tell the people about the latest national affairs and the court's plans for possible floods and droughts,
Zhang Qian sighed in his heart again.

Just a little deeper,

Zhang Qian also noticed the difference between Xinxia and the Central Plains——

Some temples were built here to worship the local "Buddha".

Around these temples,
There will be some bald monks called "Bhikkhus" appearing.

They usually dress simply and hold empty bowls to beg for food from others.

The people whose lives were relatively stable did not mind taking some rice from their homes and pouring it into the monks' bowls.

Zhang Qian said, "Isn't this begging?"

"I see that these monks are young and strong, so why don't they go out to work in the fields instead of asking for alms?"

Tang Yifu said, "But I see people like this in the temples in the Central Plains, who can beg for money and food without working!"

"How can this be the same?"

Zhang Qian said angrily, "The gods of the Central Plains are recognized by the emperor and worshipped by the people."

"I have never met the Buddha here. He is the god worshipped by the Sindhu people..."

"How can the people of Zhuxia bow down to the gods of a foreign race and a foreign land?"

Tang Yifu, as a Hun who naturalized into the Han Dynasty, did not react as violently as Zhang Qian, who would not breathe out at the monks.

He just scratched his head and continued to look curiously at the scene that he had never seen in the Central Plains.

A passerby heard Zhang Qian's words and couldn't help but say to him, "The reason why people are willing to offer sacrifices to these monks is just to pray for blessings for their ancestors and descendants and accumulate merits."

"Only by doing more good deeds can one accumulate blessings and longevity, and benefit future generations."

Zhang Qian's expression relaxed only after hearing this.

He said, "If the monks preach this, then it is in accordance with the etiquette of my country."

At first, he thought that this "Buddhism" was similar to some of the obscene witchcraft in the Central Plains, which used mysterious ghosts and gods to scare the ignorant local people and use these to seek benefits for themselves.

But if it encourages people to do good and does not abandon their "ancestors", then the gentlemen of the Chinese nation would not mind tolerating it.

To know,
The Chinese have been able to grow to be so strong and powerful today.
I also absorbed a lot of things from the outside.

King Wuling of Zhao wore Hu clothing and rode and shot.

This is a vivid example!

“It’s just that this Buddha…”

Zhang Qian came to a temple and looked at the sculptures there, which were quite different from those in the Central Plains, and there was still dissatisfaction in his tone.

"It's okay, you can change it to Zhu Xia's image!"

The passerby was still talking in Zhang Qian's ear.

"Humph, if I change into Zhu Xia's image, can I become Zhu Xia's?"

"sure!"

"Why?"

"Because I can approve this matter on behalf of Habaek!"

The voice suddenly became extremely complacent, "As Hebaek, my power is unlimited!"

"Ok?"

Zhang Qian turned around and wanted to glare at the man, accusing him of daring to offend the mother river of the Xia Dynasty.

result,

But he didn't see anyone.

The Tangyifu who was closest to him was harassing the monks who were chanting in the temple five steps away.

The naturalized Hun pointed at the Buddha of the new Xia and said to his followers, "You worship and praise him every day. In your opinion, who is more powerful and more worthy of worship, the Buddha or the King of Xia?"

When the bhikkhu heard the words "King Xia", his body paused noticeably.

His expression was no longer as calm and peaceful as before, and he showed some confusion. Finally, he carefully answered Tang Yifu:
"The deity is a Buddha from the past, and the king is a Buddha from the present."

Tang Yifu didn't understand the deeper meaning of his words and just smiled as if he pretended to understand.

The monk also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his answer should be able to satisfy the special envoy in front of him, who was suspected to be sent by the imperial court to investigate whether the nearby monks were behaving well.

Zhang Qian then went out and found a man who was coming to worship Buddha and asked, "Is there also a legend about the Great River Water Lord in Xia country?"

"Of course!"

The man confidently told him, "Although Xia is far away from our ancestral land, our ancestors were all nurtured by the great river, so how could there not be legends about it?"

"Does the Xia Kingdom have a similar temple dedicated to He Bo?"

"Yes, I have!"

The man said, "The Water Lord of Anhe was given a fief by the River Lord!"

"When the temple was built for Him, the king personally wrote an inscription praising Him, praying for the blessings from the ancestral land to bless our country of Xia with good weather and good harvests!"

Hearing this,

Zhang Qian sighed in surprise at first, then became very alert:
"If there really are ghosts and gods in the world, and if they recognize the status of Xia Kingdom!"

"Then can it really compete with my Han Dynasty for the status of the orthodox state of the Chinese nation?"

"hateful!"

"That kind of thing is absolutely not allowed!"

(End of this chapter)