Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 374 The Current Situation of Xia Kingdom

"Chanting scriptures, chanting scriptures..."

"Sooner or later they'll really make them recite the Six Paths of Reincarnation."

new summer,

Two He Bos are taking a walk.

They arrived at a temple where monks were chanting scriptures translated into Chinese in a very distinctive accent.

The Water God of Xia Kingdom strolled over.
A gust of wind randomly turned a few pages of the scriptures beside it, revealing the freshly written characters.

This was written by a certain newly appointed nobleman.
This Dharma assembly,

He also sponsored the child, with the aim of praying to the gods that his poor child, who had recently died, would be reborn into a new wealthy family and enjoy a long and carefree life.

"How did it suddenly become so rampant?"

He Bo recalled that when Zhang Qian was sent on his mission, the monks were still under the control of the Xia emperor, and the construction of temples was strictly managed.

"Because his wife had already passed away before him."

Shuibo told him, "Back then, the elderly Xia Emperor took his empress and crown prince to the summer palace at the foot of the mountain to escape the heat. Because the journey was quite arduous, and the sun was scorching that year... First the empress went, and then the crown prince went too."

Emperor Xia and his empress could be described as "childhood sweethearts".

After they grew up and got married, their relationship was very good. Even though there were still beauties in the harem, they never diminished the Empress's favor.

Their children were made crown princes before they were even a year old, and when they were teenagers, they were taken in by the Xia emperor to learn how to handle state affairs.

This shows that

Emperor Xia cares deeply about his family.

But fate is cruel.

They all passed away before the Xia Emperor, and because the Empress died in the palace near the towering mountain, and the Crown Prince died while inspecting the southern border,

The Water God was unable to collect their souls.

After all, without the support of the original body,

His clone can't run too far.

The main body clearly values ​​matters in the Central Plains more and does not constantly use its clones to spy on the outside world.

"Suffering such pain in his later years, Emperor Xia was deeply distressed and began to seek solace from gods and Buddhas."

Don't say anything else,

When faced with pain,
Religion is indeed a drug that can numb the spirit.

What the superiors do, the subordinates follow.

After the emperor took the lead in pursuing the ethereal gods and Buddhas, the entire Xia Kingdom quickly followed suit.

Regardless of whether it is true or false,

We must not fall behind the trend.

He Bo could understand this behavior.

He leaned closer to look at the scripture and found that the sentences were written in the elegant language of China, adhering to the principles of faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance. Unlike later versions, it was not simply a collection of obscure and incomprehensible transliterations.

Knowing his thoughts, the clone added, "This is a necessary show of sincerity."

“If they couldn’t even do translation well, the monks wouldn’t be able to live such a comfortable life.”

Based on the experience of later generations
The reason why Buddhism was able to become widely popular in the Central Plains was that it met with the right timing, geographical advantage, and popular support.

That terrifying chaotic world made even high-ranking officials and nobles worry about protecting themselves, let alone ordinary people.

in this way,

Since there's little to look forward to in life, it's better to look forward to death or the afterlife.

Therefore, the monks at that time could simply speak eloquently to their followers; as for the scriptures... the more profound and mysterious they were written, the more convincing they became!
However, the Xia Kingdom could not provide the monks with such a historical context.

When you haven't lost hope in life
Wherever the descendants of the Xia people go, they value practicality.

Even if one has the delusion of becoming an immortal, it is still the pursuit of ascension in this life, not waiting for the next life.

Therefore, if the monks are unwilling to humble themselves, carefully study the wisdom of the Xia people, and actively integrate into it, then the people of Xia will not bother with them.

If this group of bald men came to beg for food...
If you don't even say a couple of auspicious words that gentlemen can understand, you'll probably be driven away.

"That's certainly possible!"

He Bo read the book for a while, then looked at the monks whose expressions and demeanor had gradually become more gentle and refined due to the infiltration of the Chinese culture, and couldn't help but agree with the words of the clone in front of him.

"I'm less involved in matters of rewarding and punishing in Hell back in the Central Plains."

Besides the fact that the Han Dynasty was unified and stable, making people's hearts much more peaceful than in times of chaos, it was also because the systems of sacrifice and funerals in the Han Dynasty were somewhat different from those of the previous few centuries.
There will still be mourning and wakes.
However, when the person is buried, there will be descendants who will carry a banner to guide the way; seven days after the burial, the descendants will take the banner and climb onto the roof to wave it, to show that "do not go astray when returning home".

The "Letter to the Earth God" will still be buried with the deceased.
However, after specifying the amount of the person's burial goods in his book, he would emphasize that the sins he committed in his lifetime had already been punished in the mortal world. As for the underworld, he hoped that the spirits would treat him as an ordinary person and not discuss his sins again.

This shows that the deeds of the underworld spirits in punishing evil and promoting good over the past few hundred years have been heard by the living.

And the change in people's hearts
The laws of the underworld also changed accordingly.

"Anyway, it keeps up with the times."

"It all depends on when someone keeps bringing up new developments on your end!"

The obscure and difficult-to-understand Buddhist scriptures have been translated into content that is acceptable and understandable to the Chinese people.

The monks, influenced by the customs of the Xia people and subjected to the heavy blows of previous Xia kings, had been molded into the Xia people's image and were no longer regarded as "barbarian religions" by the Xia people.

The fact that the Xia envoy presented Buddhist scriptures as a state gift to the Han emperor is enough to show that Buddhism was about to flourish.

Perhaps decades,
Perhaps hundreds of years,
Change is inevitable.

"So, what makes a person human?"

"Where did he come from, and where is he going?"

The two He Bos suddenly appeared above an execution ground and looked down at the criminals being executed below.

That was deserved.

So when he was punished, even the gods and spirits were too lazy to intervene, so they took his soul and brought him to the underworld in Xinxia.

After all, the person managing this side was just a small part of He Bo's persona.
The mountains and rivers he now controls are no more than a handful.

There's really no need to capture every ghost you see, which only exacerbates the "ghost-land conflict" in this underworld.

then,

The sinner's soul could only dissipate painfully under the scorching sun.

He Bo kept staring at him, wanting to know what the ghost would become after it dissipated—

Such an idea,
He's had it for a long time.

But the result is obvious.
Even though He Bo had already refined two-thirds of the land of Zhuxia, the eyes of the ghosts and gods were still wide open like copper bells.
He didn't even see the sudden change clearly.

After He Bo went to another place and witnessed a woman giving birth,
He also failed to discern the origin of the soul from the newborn infant, whose tender flesh was wriggling.

He Bo suddenly became philosophical, revealing an expression that said, "I don't understand, but I'm deeply shocked."

Shui Bo then comforted him, "This is clearly because the authority has not been properly delegated!"

"If the monks' chanting isn't efficient enough, I'll find a way to get those guys from the Yin-Yang School and the School of Names to join in!"

The Central Plains Ghost Kingdom exported its geniuses to the New Xia, many of whom were figures from various schools of thought.

Farming naturally requires attention.
However, the biggest problem in Xinxia is the heat and water, not the fertility of the soil.

As long as the water conservancy system is repaired and the "mental confusion" of nature during droughts and floods is corrected, the farmland cultivated by the people of Xia can even achieve three harvests a year.

food,

The Xia people were not lacking.

This is also a major reason why the Xia people, having nothing better to do than to chant scriptures with the monks.

In India, the strong atmosphere of worshipping gods and ghosts, and the popularity of chanting scriptures and debating, attracted many disciples of Yin-Yang School and famous families.

The Yin-Yang school likes to talk about gods and ghosts, and manipulate the Five Elements.

The Daoist practice of immortality popular during the Qin and Han dynasties, as well as the alchemists who refined elixirs for nobles, were largely the result of a mixture of Yin-Yang philosophy and shamanism.

The School of Names, on the other hand, enjoyed arguing with people and was once ranked alongside Confucianism and Mohism as one of the three most talkative schools of thought.

These characteristics allowed them to live very well in the Xia Kingdom.

Furthermore, being in a foreign land, the spirits and deities were much less controlling of him and them.

These people often operated in the mortal world and had a lot of contact with the monks.

The Water God's clone said, "Zou Yan and the others see that the Buddhist monks are highly regarded and feel that this religion, in the end, still retains some barbarian air. There are also people from India who also believe in the Buddha... Our Xia nation should not serve them with the whole country."

"So, these guys have recently been thinking of imitating the sect and forming an entire sect to show that our Chinese nation is no less capable than others in this regard!"

He Bo asked in confusion, "What new tricks are they trying to pull?"

Shui Bo's expression turned strange.

He narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth, and told the original body, who was good at free-range breeding and disdained sharing a brain with its clone:
"I heard that Zou Yan and his group have already decided on the name of the sect, calling it 'Taiping Dao'!"

"Wearing yellow clothes?" He Bo asked immediately and seriously.

"do not know."

"If they wear yellow, remember to export it and then re-import it domestically—bring this thing back to the Central Plains!"

He Bo rubbed his hands together, revealing an expectant smile.

(End of this chapter)