Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 426 Chaotic Battle (Part 2)

"Are there still descendants of Yan and Huang in such a remote place as Yinzhou?"

In Chang'an City,

Emperor Liu Xun of the Han Dynasty, the ruler of the Central Kingdom, and the supreme emperor of the Xia world, was examining the small cauldron in his hand and asking some questions to Su Guang, whose travels were considered the most extensive among the Xia people.

"Yes!"

Su Guang replied with certainty.

“But according to you, the Qi people who crossed the sea to Yinzhou a hundred years ago are almost forgetting their traditions and disobeying the teachings of their ancestors.”

"Can those descendants of the Shang Dynasty, who lived more than a thousand years ago, still understand their own origins?"

It was probably the first time that the emperor had heard of something so distant and ancient, and even the usually composed emperor couldn't help but feel a great deal of curiosity.

Anyway, since we're separated by the Japanese Ocean, there won't be any conflict.
Asking a few more questions is fine.

"We will help these descendants of the Yin-Shang dynasty to rediscover their ancient identity and tell them about their ancestral origins!"

Su Guang said this with such determination.

As for those "compatriots" who follow Shang customs and still live in the jungles and wilderness, with their hair flowing, feathers adorning their hair, and faces painted and tattooed, what do they think?

That doesn't matter!
Those guys have been living on the other side of the river for so long that they no longer care about traditional ancestral worship, and only know how to "offer their hearts to the gods".
The gentlemen of the Xia people traveled thousands of miles to Yinzhou.
It is definitely not a continuation of the Zhou people's pursuit of the Shang people more than a thousand years ago.

Instead, it is out of a sense of justice and a sense of responsibility to our ancestors that we guide them in the right direction!
"so good!"

The emperor also sighed with admiration for the gentlemanly conduct displayed by Su Guang.

"Unfortunately, the Great Han cannot help you much in this matter."

The territory of the Han Dynasty was already very vast.
The islands they occupied overseas were enough for the Han people to establish a foothold.

The wealth of the Central Kingdom allowed the Han Dynasty to stay at home in peace, unlike the Qi Kingdom, which would have fallen into isolation and poverty if it had left the sea.

Therefore,
Although the emperor was curious about the situation on the other side of the ocean, he did not have any intention of possessing it.

That should be a thousand or more years from now.

The descendants of the Han Dynasty must consider this!
However, after hearing about Su Guang's ambitions, he still bestowed upon him a considerable amount of gold and silver treasures.

after all,

He was not only the emperor of the Han Dynasty, but also the Son of Heaven of all the Chinese peoples.

Since some people in the various states of China intend to expand their territory, why should they not support them?
"The world is so vast."

"It is difficult for the Han army to even reach the Xia Kingdom, let alone overseas."

In previous years,
An envoy from the Xia state traveled to Chang'an, requesting the Han dynasty to send troops to help them quell the rebellion.

Therefore, the emperor of Xia was willing to turn eastward to serve Han and recognize the status of the Han emperor as the Son of Heaven among the Xia.

The emperor was quite tempted at the time.

After all, the Qin, Han, and Xia dynasties had coexisted for many years.

However, the question of "who is the supreme ruler of the Chinese nation" has never been clearly resolved.

Leaving aside the Qin people, who had always been at odds with the Han Dynasty, let's set aside the matter for now.

Despite their weak fighting strength, the Xia people refused to back down, relying on their geographical advantage.

This greatly displeased the Han Dynasty's emperor and his officials.

During Emperor Wu's reign, he even considered launching a distant expedition against Qin and Xia.
However, due to the Xiongnu, the Western Regions, the long distance, and the fact that all three kingdoms were peaceful and prosperous at the time, the journey did not take place.

If I were in power.
Such a title can be established.
Those who come after them will surely praise them highly in the annals of history, proclaiming that the Han Dynasty has fully entered its golden age.

But unfortunately,
During those years, the Han Dynasty was extremely busy establishing the Anxi Protectorate, transforming this vast region into a legally recognized, indivisible land of the Central Kingdom that would be passed down to future generations.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, the emperor did not immediately grant the Xia envoy's request.

But he still made a promise:
"Since I am the Son of Heaven, I should only protect and bless the subjects under my rule, as well as the countries of my kinship."

"Once the matter of the Protectorate of the Western Regions is settled, the Han Dynasty can mobilize troops from the Western Regions, cross the Yellow River, and go to support the Xia Kingdom."

Xia was somewhat disappointed.

He feared that the Han Dynasty's promises would never be fulfilled, so he settled in Chang'an, keeping a close watch on the situation in the Western Regions. Whenever news arrived, he would inquire of the emperor.
"What is the situation in the Western Regions?"

"Is it time to send troops to help the Xia Kingdom?"

Until a few days ago,

That is, when Su Guang crossed the sea and returned to the State of Qi,
Another envoy from the Xia Kingdom arrived.

Unlike the previous envoy who was sent by the Western Xia emperor,
He came from Dongxia, and naturally he was following the orders of that monarch.

The two envoys, one old and one new, almost clashed when they met, and ended up fighting in the street.

Although they were stopped by kind-hearted passersby, neither side backed down verbally, accusing the other of being a "traitor" and a "false dynasty"!
The bystander who had pulled them apart was caught in the middle, listened to their argument, and finally said helplessly:
"What's the point of all this talk?"

"Anyway, the lords you two acknowledge are just puppets in someone else's hands!"

"Why waste time on this kind of thing now? Who knows, by the time we get back to Xia Kingdom, the person sitting on the throne might have changed!"

Ever since the emperors of the Eastern and Western Xia dynasties, one "died of illness" and the other "died of illness,"
The throne of the Xia Kingdom then entered a period of rapid turnover.

One after another, young emperors appeared.

Once the major supplies are exhausted, people are brought in from the side branches.

The sacredness of the title "Emperor"
Naturally, this faded away quickly as each puppet appeared.

Even if the aristocratic families had previously introduced the "caste" system, a divine art of taming people into submission, making them kneel on the ground and unable to rise,

There was no way to suppress the inherent unruliness of the Chinese people.

On the Western Xia side.

Due to the mutual restraint among powerful clans, no one had yet entertained the idea of ​​changing the dynasty, but the slogan "sharing the world with the Zhao family" was chanted again and again.

But Dongxia,
The generals who had experienced the "Three Punches of the Emperor" were finding it hard to stop.

The two Xia envoys, upon hearing the passerby's words, did not ponder deeply why the other party knew so much about the Xia Kingdom's situation; instead, they could not suppress their worry.

Their faces were ashen, and they no longer had the strength to fight or argue.

thus,

The two sides were finally able to sit down and exchange views on the current situation of Xia Kingdom.

The former Xia envoy had resided in the Han Dynasty for several years.

Before leaving the country, the Yuezhi people had no disrespectful thoughts towards Bactria. When he passed through Hezhong, he was warmly received by the Yuezhi king.

The old Xia envoy was so moved that he burst into tears at the banquet and cried out to the Yuezhi king.

"No noble family in the country is respectful to His Majesty, yet you are so courteous!"

"Truly a loyal subject of the Great Xia!"

Upon hearing this, the Yuezhi king slammed his fist on the table and said sternly, "How can you say such a thing?"

"I have been living in the river for a long time and do not know much about the situation in the Xia Kingdom. Please explain it to me."

then,

The envoy from the former Xia dynasty then carefully recounted the chaotic situation in the Yuezhi kingdom to the Yuezhi king, explaining that his purpose was to seek assistance from the Han dynasty on the private orders of the young emperor, who was unwilling to be a puppet.

The Yuezhi king did nothing else but declare with righteous indignation, "My family has married princesses of the Xia Kingdom for generations, and we are half-sons of the Xia Emperor. How can we stand idly by when our country is in peril!"

"I will lead my army south to defend the emperor!"

The old Xia envoy had no suspicions, and continued to wipe away his tears with emotion before leaving Hezhong and arriving in Chang'an in the Central Plains.

The reason they were able to stay peacefully in Chang'an for several years was...

It was precisely because, in the eyes of the old Xia envoys,

With checks and balances among the powerful clans and the Yuezhi king's unwavering loyalty, the country is unlikely to face major problems in the short term.

His most important mission was to lead the Han army back to the Xia Kingdom, turn the tide, and save the collapsing empire!
But the new envoy said to him:
"You're dreaming!"

"The Western Xia dynasty, a puppet regime, has been destroyed by the Yuezhi people!"

"The young emperor you serve has been imprisoned in a temple by those barbarians and forced to become a monk!"

"I imagine that I will soon die suddenly from an illness and go to serve Buddha!"

"The common people and nobles in Xijing were also slaughtered by the Yuezhi!" At this point, the Xinxia envoy also raised his sleeves and cried, "The population that my ancestors have multiplied to this day and has finally prospered is being slaughtered by the Yuezhi as if they were pigs and dogs... What a humiliation this is!"

"The reason I came here is because the Yuezhi people, after occupying the land along the Xindu River, were not satisfied. They crossed the desert and Gobi in between to attack our dynasty, intending to completely destroy the Xia Kingdom!"

Only ghosts and gods know.

How much effort did it take for him to manage to get through the Yuezhi people's capture and reach Chang'an?
It seems our ancestors have already visited all our connections from the afterlife!

"what!"

The old Xia envoy initially refused to believe it, but was then punched three times by the furious new Xia envoy before finally accepting this heartbreaking truth.

"His Majesty!"

"Ancestors of the Xia Kingdom!"

"Why is it happening like that!"

He knelt down in the direction of the Xia Kingdom, cried twice, then clutched his chest and fainted.

the next day,
Driven by national and personal grievances, the two Xia envoys, one old and one new, abandoned their opposition and joined forces to kneel and weep before the Weiyang Palace, vowing to emulate Shen Baoxu, who had cried out to the Qin court years before, and ultimately begged the Qin ruler to send troops to help the State of Chu restore its kingdom, thus securing the emperor's support.

This time, the emperor did not refuse them.

Because internal strife among the Xia people was tolerable.

The invasion and destruction of the Chinese kingdoms by barbarian invasions is absolutely unacceptable!

He quickly set up an altar on the outskirts of Chang'an, and respectfully informed Heaven, Earth, and his ancestors:
"The Xia state was a branch of the various Xia states located outside the territory, and it was a state that was enfeoffed by the emperor during the Zhou dynasty."

"Now that it has been invaded by foreign enemies, I, as the current emperor, cannot allow the barbarians to harm the Chinese people!"

"I am willing to follow the example of Duke Huan of Qi in restoring the states of Xing and Wei, and expel those fierce and unruly barbarians!"

Subsequently,

The Han Dynasty mustered its troops and generals, ready to launch an attack.

When Su Guang arrived with the Yin Zhou Ding, the emperor had just seen off the general who led the army, and there were still two distraught Xia envoys.

Having handled affairs in the Western Regions and the Xia Kingdom, he was deeply impressed by the vastness of the Xia world.

therefore,

The emperor did not pay much attention to Qi's maritime expansion.

At most, he would speak up to stop the State of Qi from bullying the State of Wu, thus playing the role of an "emperor".

Su Guang also admired the footsteps of the ancestors of the Xia people. He felt that his descendants should work harder to protect the land that their ancestors had explored with great effort!
Yinzhou is too far away.

There is a risk of assimilating barbarians into Chinese culture. If we abandon that land, wouldn't all the efforts of our ancestors be in vain?
With such aspirations,

Using the gold and silver bestowed by the emperor, Su Guang began purchasing supplies throughout Chang'an, hoping to gather enough resources to take to Yinzhou.

but,

This is not something that can be resolved in a short time.

The new large ferry is still under construction.
He Bo has not yet prepared enough "gifts" from the Old World for Su Guang to take to the New World.

……

"Rye is cold-resistant, we definitely need to pack some!"

"Beets are delicious and cold-resistant, add them to the list!"

"The zombie slayer pea? How can we let that go!"

Qin State

He Bo kept rambling on, using the pen and paper in his hand to write down the names of one crop after another.

And these,
These were all agricultural products produced outside the region, and at that time they were not easy to collect in the Central Plains.

In He Bo's memory,
The Yinzhou region, which Su Guang reached, was relatively cold.

Even with towering mountains on their side, which can somewhat block the massive cold air waves blowing from the north, preventing them from facing the same problem as the tribes located on the central plains, where they might be forced to refresh and start a new level every year, their situation remains unchanged.

But those mountain ranges are ultimately oriented north-south, unlike the Qinling Mountains, which can stably and enduringly protect the creatures that thrive within them.

Fortunately, ocean currents from the nearby sea give the area a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean coast.

Although it lacks the richness of the Central Plains and the distinct seasons, with Rome as a "beacon of excellence," its future development can still be planned.

Therefore,
Many of the gifts He Bo prepared for Su Guang were specialties from Rome.

"Once we have collected these, we will conduct a period of selective breeding to improve their traits so that they can better adapt to the soil and water of Beiyinzhou."

He handed the completed list to the Qin officials and gave them these instructions.

Seeing this, Ying Pijiang, who was standing nearby, felt a dark jealousy.

He said with a bittersweet tone:
"You've never made such meticulous preparations for me before!"

"Didn't I show you the map?"

"Otherwise, do you really think you were able to reach the Western Sea and find a place to stay through your own efforts?"

Ying Pijiang snorted, "A map and a few bottles are nothing compared to the effort you put into asking people everywhere to collect these agricultural products!"

"Back then, when I led my people to explore the Western Sea, we suffered a lot and endured countless setbacks before we were able to rebuild our country!"

Upon hearing this, Fusu sighed with guilt and wanted to comfort his youngest son.

He Bo interrupted him.

The ghost frowned and said, "You're an old ghost who's lost all your teeth and has lost all the youthful good looks you had. Can you please stop pretending to disgust me?"

If Ying Pijiang were still that naive child he was back then, He Bo might still feel some pity for him.

But he was already Emperor Taizu of Qin!
He Bocai wouldn't accept an old man vying for his favor!

"If you are worried about the future of Qin but don't know how to express it, then you can talk to your grandfather about the art of being stubborn."

"If all else fails, you can seek comfort from your parents!"

Why are you bothering me?

As the Han army, having traversed thousands of miles, reached the Western Regions and was advancing towards Transoxiana,
A rather dramatic migration also occurred on the eastern border of the Qin state—

The Qin vassals, who had been enfeoffed in that desolate and barren land, raised the banner of "close ties with the Xia" after hearing news of the internal strife in Xia.

Without reporting to the emperor, he led his army directly along the long Xingshan Mountains and marched into the Xia Kingdom.

On the way,

The prince, who was of royal lineage, confidently declared:
"The Zhao family and I share the same ancestry and have sworn an oath of friendship many times!"

"Now that the Xia Kingdom is in such a crisis, how can I sit idly by and do nothing!"

"Unfortunately, I arrived too late, allowing the Yuezhi to trample on the western capital of the Xia Kingdom and overthrow its state!"

Gazing at the distant Xia Kingdom,
The lords of the Ying clan were so moved that they shed tears, as if mourning the past friendship between Qin and Xia.

Although in his words,

The emperor, who was still a monk in the temple, had become an absolute dead man.
The Eastern Xia, still resisting the Yuezhi, seemed to have never existed.
The person who previously prevented the Xia Kingdom's letter requesting aid from being sent to Andu City was not himself...

But he shed tears for the Xia Kingdom!
How could this feeling not be genuine?

His ministers were also deeply impressed and admired him.

"Your Majesty raised an army for another country and was even willing to risk the Emperor's wrath. This is truly moving!"

"I imagine that when the Xia people hear of Your Majesty's noble character, they will be moved to tears and beg Your Majesty to help them rebuild their land."

"At that time, the former ruler of Xia will surely be grateful for this favor and bestow the Mandate of Heaven upon Your Majesty!"

The feudal lord's expression turned serious. "I have been acting righteously for the sake of the Xia people. How could I possibly covet the land of my own kin!"

"You scoundrel, how dare you slander my innocence! I'm temporarily withholding three months' worth of your salary as punishment!"

The minister immediately reflected on his sins, and then launched into a tirade praising the feudal lords' benevolence.

Only the Qin emperor and Ying Pijiang, upon hearing of this, did not have pleasant expressions.

(End of this chapter)