Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 411 The New and the Old Voyages (Combined)

When the ships of Qi set sail towards the stars and the sea...
When the Wu state, a disgrace to the Chinese civilization, unconsciously attracted many natives to submit to its rule by virtue of its far more advanced civilization compared to the native state of Luzon,

As the Qin and Han dynasties, each occupying the eastern and western ends of the continent, gradually entered their golden ages...

The situation in the Xia Kingdom is getting worse.

I think you should be happier!

He Bo addressed Xia Chengzong, who was concerned about his own country and unable to be as carefree as his father:
"The situation could worsen further, with all sorts of humanoid creatures emerging... This just goes to show that Xia Kingdom still has a lot of room for decline!"

"Once you've completely hit rock bottom, the only way forward is upward!"

At that time, whatever you do will be a win!
Xia Chengzong cupped his face in his hands, glanced blankly at the ghost, then stood up, intending to walk away dejectedly.

He Bo advised him, "Don't always look like your whole family is about to die."

"And don't get caught up in domestic violence."

"Emperor Xuanzong has already admitted his mistake."

Emperor Xuanzong of Xia
He was the first monarch to declare himself emperor in the Xia Dynasty and the creator of the Xia Dynasty's golden age.

If he had died twenty years earlier, he could have had a wonderful posthumous title and temple name, so that future generations would praise him and remember him.

But unfortunately,

He lived too long, and his later years were filled with misfortune. He lost the composure and diligence of his youth, became obsessed with Buddhism, neglected state affairs, and made a mess of the succession, directly causing the Xia Kingdom to fall into internal strife.

So after he died
He was subjected to a combined beating by his ancestors.

And even after he crawled out of the ancestral mound, bruised and battered, he didn't forget to consult the spirits:
"Are my empress and crown prince, who died decades ago, here?"

He Bo didn't answer him, but privately told his turtle clone, "It's really rare for a member of the royal family to have such a devoted lover."

The latter said, "It's good to be sentimental, but it's unacceptable to let feelings affect the country."

When the former crown prince passed away,
Emperor Xuanzong of Xia was so grief-stricken that he fainted several times in the court.
He intended to make the son of the former crown prince, who was also his eldest grandson, the heir apparent.
Unfortunately, the children were too young to shoulder such a great responsibility. His second son, who was also the legitimate son of the late empress, had some flaws in his character and actions, but he had also made contributions to the country and was valued by Emperor Xuanzong.

Therefore,
After much deliberation and consultation with his ministers, Emperor Xuanzong ultimately chose his second son, who was already of age.

But therefore,

Emperor Xuanzong felt indebted to his eldest son, so he doted on his grandson, who had lost his father at a young age, to an extreme degree, allowing him to enjoy the treatment of the crown prince.

In Xuanzong's view,
He was a very fair father and grandfather.
However, the uncle and nephew did not think so.

"...This is my fault."

"I have failed my ancestors and my descendants!"

When news of the civil war in the Xia Dynasty reached the underworld, and the ancestors launched a new attack on Emperor Xuanzong, he lowered his head in despair.

then,

He then shut himself off and continued chanting scriptures.

Occasionally, when the ancestor Cheng Zong was still angry about the turmoil in the Xia Kingdom, he would drag him out and use him as a punching bag to vent his anger.

King Seongjong was perfectly justified in this matter.

Facing the ghosts and gods, he glared and twitched his mustache, saying, "Does that old man's admission of wrongdoing somehow undo the country's losses?"

"The world is practically a river of blood now!"

The two self-proclaimed legitimate regimes in the east and west are constantly attacking each other.

Although the southern kingdoms of Sindhu were unable to find the body of the Xia emperor, they were able to conclude that he had lost his life because of them.

This is absolutely great news for the people of India, just like Brahma recreating the world and Vishnu manifesting himself!

After all, when the gentlemen from the East passed through that narrow mountain pass and arrived on the continent of India,
The people of Sindhu then began their own long nightmare.

The Xia people valued practical matters and disliked the Buddhist chanting of scriptures by the Sindhu people.

The Xia people were extremely cruel and liked to capture people from the Sindhu region to use as building materials or fertilizer for farmland.
The Xia people were extremely arrogant, directly expelling the people of Shendu from the list of human beings, and only recognizing those who had fully embraced the Xia culture as part of it...

so various,

Even the "supreme winning philosophy" constructed by the Sindhu people using various theories and geographical isolation can no longer bring them comfort.

Some Sindhu people, who were still full of passion and courage but had not yet internalized the concept of winning, felt extremely distressed by this situation.

They hope to change the fact that they have been suppressed by a major northern power.

But unfortunately,

The last internal strife in the Xia Kingdom did not bring them the counterattack opportunity they longed for.

The result of the struggle for power among numerous heroes unexpectedly brought forth a King Wen of Xia, who could be described as a "master of self-inflicted humiliation."

Therefore,
When the Xia emperor launched his southern campaign with great momentum, many rulers of Sindhu fled in fear, not daring to fight him at all.

Fortunately,

The Xia emperor, with his extraordinary wisdom, gave the people of Sindhu a glimmer of hope for resistance.

Moreover, due to their flamboyant personality, the news that the Xia emperor had been besieged and killed by them further fueled the belief among the Sindhu people that:
Turn the tide

The opportunity to put the world back on the right path has arrived!

I'm from India, and I'm incredibly brave!
"How ironic that even barbarians from India dare to cross the border and invade our territory!"

At this point, Xia Chengzong's face turned ashen.

Seeing him like this, He Bo stopped trying to persuade him.

In any case, after King Wen returned from his business trip, he would naturally try to ease his son's mind and mediate the relationship between his descendants.

He turned and left, inspecting the situation of the Xia Kingdom's underworld with his clone.

The black sun streaked across the gloomy sky of the underworld, making the dead below appear even more wretched.

Among them are many with physical disabilities and dazed expressions.

If no other sane ghosts were to restrain them and lead them to the various government offices and palaces where the gods and spirits exercise their powers, they would be in danger.
These creatures could only drift silently and aimlessly with the ceaseless, eerie winds of the underworld.

"Looking at it this way, it does seem to be quite similar to the hell that various sects of monks have been preaching about."

He Bo looked down at everything below and then uttered this remark.

The Chinese people's imagination of the underworld is generally quite gentle.

Because the Chinese people valued their ancestors, unlike the Chinese who had to endure additional grievances in another world.

On this basis,
The descendants of the Xia people developed many methods of ancestor worship to express their mourning and care for the deceased.

It's cold; the living need to wear more clothes, and the ancestors shouldn't be exposed to the cold either.
When people are hungry, the living need to eat, and ancestors also need to enjoy offerings.

This is the romance that belongs to the Chinese people.

However, outside the realm, influenced by various religions, the underworld is used not only to house the dead but also to intimidate and frighten its believers.

Only by proclaiming the terror of "descent into hell" can people yearn for "ascending to heaven."

In the Xia Kingdom, which has been chanting scriptures for decades and is now in chaos, even Brahmanism has been introduced as an "advanced experience in governing the country." This "popular support" makes it stand out from the ghost kingdoms of the Central Plains.

Although the latter had periods like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the tug-of-war between the seven states lasted for a long time, making it more stable than the Xia state at that time.

During the Xia Dynasty's century of peace, its population swelled to a staggering 30 million, yet its territory was not as vast as that of the Qin and Han dynasties. Thus, when turmoil broke out, countless lives were lost.

"The ghosts that have come down recently are also very different from those before."

The ghostly avatar in charge of the mountains, rivers, yin and yang of Xia Kingdom pointed to several dead ghosts who had gotten separated from the main group and were bewilderedly acting as wild spirits in the wilderness, saying, "Most of them suffered before they died, so much so that they could not recover after death, which led to this situation."

Even living people can go mad or become foolish when stimulated, let alone the dead who can only live on by clinging to people's thoughts and feelings.
He Bo said, "No wonder some people say, 'Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos.'"

"Whether in life or in death, they cannot escape the shadow of chaotic times; it's enough to make even ghosts feel uneasy."

During this period of time,

Many old ghosts who died during peaceful times saw their descendants among the piles of new ghosts arriving in the underworld.

They were quite shocked by the latter's situation.

If the newly deceased ghost is still fully conscious, it can still cry to its ancestors about the grievances it suffered.

on the contrary,

Then all that can be done is for our ancestors to weep bitterly.

"The methods of salvation in the Way of Peace are not yet perfected."

"I suppose once the cycle of reincarnation is fully established, we can let them use this method to alleviate the suffering of the dead."

To deliver the souls of the dead,

In the midst of chaos, the Taiping Dao (Taiping Dao) developed a new business in addition to using talismanic water to cure diseases and leading refugees in rebellion.

After all, there are too many scenes that make people sad and allow them to imagine the suffering endured by the deceased.

The bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no cock crowing for thousands of miles.

Of the people, only one in a hundred survived; the thought of it breaks one's heart. Therefore,

The people desperately need something to comfort their souls.

They feared both the turmoil of the mortal world and the inability to find release after death.

The jade artifact that He Bo recently created, capable of transmitting the power of ghosts and gods, was permitted to be used by the Taiping Dao people, allowing them to use it, along with the thoughts and desires of the people, to bring peace to the ghosts and restore tranquility.

Unfortunately, the six realms are incomplete.

Even with the "Spirit Jade," Zou Yan and his companions couldn't achieve perfection; it only worked occasionally.

The only good news,

Perhaps it was because, with the collapse of the situation, the Buddhism and Taoism that had already spread in the Xia Kingdom became even more prevalent, making the void that had existed in the sky above the underworld for many years more concrete.

After all, the people had lost hope in life, so they became obsessed with chanting scriptures and longed to rise above the world.

This will inevitably promote the formation of "reincarnation".

Faced with this life-and-death struggle affecting millions, He Bo's understanding of the "cycle of life and death" was greatly enhanced.

but,

He was not happy about it.

Ultimately, we must end the chaos and restore peace.

"What's the use of chanting scriptures, burning paper money, meditating, and worshipping gods?"

People's hearts are in turmoil.

Even the most powerful ghosts and gods are powerless to stop them.

Not to mention that He Bo is a laissez-faire type who doesn't like to get involved in other people's affairs.

If you force him to do it...

It seems that He Bo will only allow the states of Qi and Qin, which are branches of the Xia dynasty, to enjoy the long-lost love of the mother river of the Xia people.

"Is Zou Yan almost done with his work?"

Since the Way of Peace has been mentioned, He Bo naturally thought of its Great Teacher.

"almost."

His alter ego said, "They joined forces with the dead ghosts of Qin, planning to take advantage of their last chance to attack the Gao family's hometown and capture those associated with them, especially the Brahman master they invited, to be used as ornaments on the city gate."

Gao Shi,

It is one of the most prominent families in the Xia Kingdom.

The young emperor of Western Xia now possesses the bloodline of the Gao family.

Empress Dowager Gao ruled from behind the curtain.
Her family members, through nepotism, flooded into the court in large numbers to suppress the aristocratic factions that opposed her.

The emperor's brother-in-law, Gao, treated the palace as his own residence, entering and leaving at will, and privately declared that his nephew was the "sitting emperor" while he himself was the "standing emperor."

In order to further consolidate the family's position and maintain its noble bloodline,
Gao also went to great lengths to praise the "Brahmin" holy monk.

They need to use the Brahmins' mouths to shut the minds of the common people, so that the latter will no longer "think wildly" and develop the ambition of "I can take their place".

Therefore, a saying has recently become popular in the Western Xia Kingdom: "Gao and Zhao share the world."

This was something that the Way of Peace, which incorporated the Mohist principles of "kinship and meritocracy," found utterly unacceptable.

Zou Yan said to his followers, "Although other aristocratic families have engaged in corrupt practices that harm the people, they have not fundamentally deviated from the Chinese ways."

"I cannot tolerate Gao's actions of using barbarians to disrupt China and fool the people!"

then,

Ping'an County in the Xia Kingdom, where the Gao family was from, became the target of the Taiping Dao's attack.

Zou Yan and King Wen of Xia had already reached an agreement:
Once they capture Ping'an County, it will be time for them to "retire successfully".

After all, the Yellow Turban Army of the Taiping Dao had already become a force to be reckoned with and was strong enough to resist the imperial court's suppression.

But how far they can go, and where they end up, is not something that Zou Yan and his dead bodies can interfere with.

Our ancestors only need to guide us.

The younger generation still has many hardships to endure!
"With the Gao family entrenched in Ping'an County, it can hardly be called a peaceful place!"

Upon hearing this, He Bo couldn't help but scoff, "Tell Zou Yan and his men not to just fight and leave, but to change the name of that place!"

……

Just as the Taiping Dao launched the "Battle of Ping'an County," hanging up the nobles and "holy monks" inside to dry in the wind...
The Qi fleet finally found an island where they could land on the vast sea.

Su Guang, the Qi envoy who once served as an envoy to the Qin, Han, and Xia dynasties and whose number of steps was comparable to that of Zhang Qian, left the first footprint of the Qi state on this small island.

A happy smile appeared on his weathered, dry face, weathered by the sea breeze.

Looking at the mark with deep emotion, he said, "This is one small step for me, but one giant leap for all of China!"

Qin and Xia have already explored the lands west of the Central Plains.

The State of Qi, on the other hand, wanted to bring the spirit of the Xia people to the more distant and mysterious east of the Xia people!

History will remember this moment.

Upon hearing this, one of the accompanying people suggested, "How about we have something engraved on it as a souvenir?"

"If our descendants come here along the sea route we traveled and see the words carved here, they will be pleasantly surprised, won't they?"

Su Guang strongly agreed with this.

But he added, "Sea breezes and rain will erode the traces of the past, so we should carve the words on the stone so that they can be preserved for longer."

He rolled up his sleeves, pointed out a few strong men, picked up tools, and set off to the island to find suitable stones.

Hammering and banging,
The navigators from the State of Qi took a large stone they had found and turned it into a proper stone tablet.

The strong man smoothed out the sharp edges of the stone and leveled its uneven surface.

then,

Su Guang personally picked up a chisel and a small hammer and deeply engraved his experiences and feelings on it.

"...Will future generations, the gentlemen who see this inscription, be pleasantly surprised by these things?"

At last,
The group carried the stone tablet, hoping to find another place to shelter it from the wind, rain, and seawater erosion, and then erect it.

Su Guang pointed to a small hill not far away and said, "Let's put it there!"

"That's the highest point on the island, so that anyone who comes later will notice it immediately."

then,

Everyone struggled to carry the stone tablet up the hill.

Su Guang added, "We need to dig a pit and bury the stone tablet so that it can stand here stably."

He took a shovel and a spade, and began digging in the soil with his head down.

The soil was somewhat loose.

The excavation process went very smoothly.

However, when Su Guang swung his shovel down with all his might for the last time, he clearly felt that there was a hard object below.

He pulled out the shovel and found that there was indeed a small nick on it.

Su Guang was somewhat curious.

So they dug the pit bigger so that what was underneath could be exposed.

"It looks like a stone tablet too?"

But this island is very desolate. Apart from birds that stop here, who would have the time to come here and leave a stone tablet?

Su Guang became even more curious.

He ran his hand over the stone tablet that had been buried underground for many years, carefully scraping away the dust with a small chisel, revealing the ancient inscription to everyone.

That is the script of the Chinese people.
It was a trace left by a person named "Tian Zhongzhou"—

"The gentleman who came later!"

"Have you kept up with me?"

"Please continue sailing eastward, I will be waiting for you at the end of the sea!"

Upon seeing this, Su Guang couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"So, some seniors have already set foot here!"

"What a wonderful coincidence!"

(End of this chapter)