Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 455 The World in the Second Year of Yongguang

"I only stayed on the plateau for two years, right?"

"Why do I feel like I've been through a different world after coming down from here?"

After caressing the Yangtze River and enjoying its lubrication, He Bo lifted his robe, now soaked with the river water, and let the water flow down his body with a relaxed and happy expression.

According to convention,

He toured the area he ruled to show that he, as the true self, was still capable of doing something and was not merely a decoration or a slacker.

result,

In Chang'an, He Bo met Kong Guang, who still exuded the air of a bookworm. Through this friend, whose "saintly qualities remained unchanged," he met Wang Mang, who could now walk steadily and even run and jump.

He Bo was initially surprised by their pairing, but after inquiring, he learned that it was because Kong Guang pitied Wang Mang, who had lost his father at a young age and was living under someone else's roof, and had taken care of him.

Seeing this, Wang Feng, the head of the Wang family, seized the opportunity and requested that Kong Guang serve as Wang Mang's tutor.

For the Wang family, which prospered as maternal relatives, gaining greater prestige was essential to solidify their position.

In today's world, when it comes to "enhancing one's reputation and prestige," who can compare to Confucius after him?
Although Marquis Baocheng, the emperor's teacher, and Grand Master of Ceremonies Kong Ba rejected Wang Feng because of his close ties with powerful eunuchs, he had already returned to his hometown in Qilu last year on the grounds of "old age and poor health".

Kong Guang, having just been recommended as a court official, was unable to return with his father and was therefore easily deceived by Wang Feng.

“Wang Mang is just my nephew. His background is so pitiful. How can a gentleman not lend a helping hand?”

The Marquis of Yangping, who held a high position and was already admired by the officials, put on the appearance of an "elder who cares about the younger generation," which made it impossible for Kong Guang to refuse.

“Wang Mang was also very talented. He learned to read very quickly. At the age of three, he could speak fluently.”

When Kong Guang met He Bo, the friend who had pursued him so earnestly in the past, he did not put on an arrogant attitude, even though he was now an official of the Han Dynasty and about to inherit the favor left by his father in the court.

He still treated He Bo very warmly and introduced him to his disciple, whose background was pitiful.

He Bo then squatted down in front of Wang Mang, staring at the child intently, which made Wang Mang a little nervous.

He stared at the gentleman before him, his large eyes flashing with doubt.

then,

He was patted on the head by He Bo:
"What a perfectly round head!"

He Bo pinched his cheek again:
"Great, this face looks so soft and smooth!"

"He's a very cute little kid!"

Wang Mang heard this man say such things to his teacher.

Kong Guang smiled proudly, "It's alright!"

"After all, a gentleman cannot be judged solely on his appearance; his inner qualities are still very important!"

He Bo gave a meaningful "oh" and nodded in agreement with his words.

When they decided to end their brief reunion and leave Kong Guang's residence,

He Bo said to the adults seeing him off, "Be smart. If you believe in the principle of 'you are what you eat,' I recommend you eat more lotus root."

Kong Guang looked at him with a puzzled expression, wondering why He Bo had suddenly brought this up.

He could only recall what happened back then, and waving his hand, he said to He Bo, "You've already told me this!"

He Bo thought to himself:
I told you, but you didn't listen!
If one's holy nature remains unchanged, what can ghosts and spirits do?

Turn around,
He then stroked Wang Mang's head, where, according to the custom of the time, a small bun was specially tied up for children, and said, "Don't be too clever. It's good to learn from your teacher!"

Wang Mang was equally puzzled, and because the man's words were incoherent, he quietly moved closer to Kong Guang's back, as if to protect Kong Guang.

He Bo smiled slightly upon seeing this, then turned and left.

immediately,

He then went to the east and south to inspect the situation in Japan and Lingnan.

The salted fish from Qi State remained the same, lying face up, looking dull and worth only five zhu coins. Only Lü Peng looked increasingly haggard.

When He Bo arrived,
He also heard the salted fish complaining to him:
When will the cattle and horses you arranged arrive by sea?

"Lu Ziqiao is practically summoning his own son's spirit, trying to drag him down with him."

He Bo told him, "The city god, water god, and mountain god who are enfeoffed will definitely have to take care of the Central Plains first!"

"How can you ignore the central government and prioritize the local governments?"

The salted fish slapped its tail, splashing water onto its own face, and said with its mouth open, "The lords of the Central Plains are the real lords, aren't they?"

"Does Japan need fully automated oxen and horses to do things even more than China does?"

Storms and earthquakes here,

It desperately needs the supervision of various guardians of wind and rain, and gods of mountains and rivers.

No wonder the Japanese in the original historical records claimed that they had "eight million gods".

Life is so hard, and people are unreliable, so all we can do is pray for divine protection.

Now that the virtuous men of the Xia state have developed this land and dispelled much of the ignorance, the Qi state, influenced by the environment, still has the most frequent worship of the gods of mountains and rivers among the Xia states.

In response, He Bo simply crossed his arms and said matter-of-factly, "The Central Plains are right under my feet, the Heavenly Emperor. Shouldn't they enjoy the highest priority treatment?"

Upon hearing this, the salted fish rolled its eyes so hard they almost reached the sky, no longer able to reflect any eerie light.

Lu Peng, standing next to him, looked so bitter it was almost as if he were being squeezed for juice, as if he was soaked in the pain of his work.

He Bo was amused by their expressions.

"Alright, once those guys get used to wielding power, I'll send them to Japan."

"The feng shui here is not as mild as in the Central Plains. If your movement skills are not refined enough, your burden will increase even more!"

The salted fish then withdrew its eye-rolling and gave up the idea of ​​spitting at its own body.

As for Lingnan...

Riding his flying cockroach, Xiao Hebo was surveying the landscape under his jurisdiction with great pride. He stood with his hands on his hips near the Panyu harbor, watching the bustling scene of people coming and going and the billowing sails of ships.

After the Qin people opened up maritime trade routes from west to east, the Han people, not to be outdone, also ventured overseas in search of wealth.

Panyu, the southernmost port of the Central Kingdom, has thus received ample development and nurturing.

Natives from the Central and Southern regions would regularly come here to receive education and engage in trade.

Occasionally, people from the Qin and Sui dynasties would come with slaves from other ethnic groups, as well as local products, which they would sell as specialties.

When He Bo saw some dark-skinned barbarians landing in Panyu, he scratched his head, worried that if the soy sauce fell into the water, it might cause serious staining.

Fortunately, the Grand Commander of Lingnan immediately replied, "Don't worry!"

"She has already been sterilized!"

"The master craftsman was specially invited from Japan; his skills are clean and efficient!"

The State of Qi exported Japanese slaves to the Central Plains.

This practice originated during Lü Peng's reign, and now, with the increasing indulgence of the powerful and wealthy in song, dance, wine, and meat among the Han dynasty's elite, it has not only not declined but has also ushered in a new era of development.

therefore,

For certain services, preparations are naturally more thorough.

Knowing this, He Bo was relieved.

He asked the Grand Commander of Lingnan, "Has anything happened here lately?"

The other party said, "Wu ships are coming more often than before, which suggests that the country's strength has indeed improved. Qi and Wu may go to war again in the future."

“That’s for the future, there’s no need to worry about it now,” He Bo replied. “In the Central and Southern regions, the Xia and Han people have joined forces to establish some states, but they are not yet able to pay tribute to Chang’an. They can only come to Panyu to seek sustenance in order to consolidate their foundations.”

The Central and Southern regions, within the known scope of the Chinese gentry, were not a suitable place for development.

Its mountains are too numerous, its water and heat are too intense, its jungles are dense, and its miasma is constant, making it difficult to conquer and govern.

The Han army, who cherished the fertile land, could only leave it undeveloped, waiting for future generations with greater wisdom to cultivate it.

But the Xia people who fled here to escape internal strife, and the Han Chinese tycoons who traded along the southwest trade routes and had the ambition of "better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix," didn't care about any of that.

They met in the Central and Southern regions, hit it off immediately, raised the banner of "All land under heaven belongs to the king," and seized several territories to establish themselves as rulers.

Perhaps its power couldn't even compare to that of the Wu Kingdom in Southeast Asia.
No matter how things develop, the question of whether to submit to the Sui Dynasty in the west or pay tribute to the Han Dynasty in the east will remain unresolved...

But in the end, it opened up new territories for the various Xia states.

"If you travel along the Pearl River and reach Central and Southern China, remember to take good care of the seeds there."

"You still need to tell me?"

Xiao Hebo pouted and said, "But by the time I finally manage to get to Central and Southern China, you'll probably have already traveled all the way from the plateau along the Lancang River to get there!"

As long as we take the Yangtze River

With the combined power of the great rivers and the addition of mountains and rivers from beyond the borders, the surging Lancang River could only be forced to submit to He Bo.

snort!
When I think of this,

Xiao Hebo was filled with jealousy.

To know,
As his exploration of the Pearl River intensified and his techniques improved, the relationship between the two became increasingly smooth.
This far-sighted Grand Commander set his sights on several major rivers in the Central and Southern regions.

They are equally moisturizing.

However, their waterways are different from the Pearl River in that they are winding and narrow.

This makes the river flow so turbulent and captivating as it comes down.

Moreover, the deltas they create when they flow into the sea are what captivate Xiao Hebo so much that he can't help but dream about them.

Can't you just relax a little?

"We haven't even completely taken over the Pearl River yet!"

After learning of his ambition, He Bo, the original body, rebuked him mercilessly.

"Homegrown flowers never smell as sweet as wildflowers!"

"It's right next to me, can't I even think about it a little longer?"

The spirits and deities who governed Lingnan grumbled and mumbled for a while, then said:
"However, since we're on the topic of the Delta... have you ever been to Egypt?"

"That tilapia should be a good anchor point to get you over there, right?"

Tilapia,
It's a local specialty from the Nile River.

It is also the form that He Bo transformed into after releasing his clone there.

After all, according to that tradition that formed at some unknown time,

The spirits and deities who govern a region will use local specialties as their facial features—

Who knows, this method might allow them to get past the local mountains and rivers and be more readily accepted by their new master from the distant East?

just,

The thought of the tilapia swimming everywhere in the rivers of Panyu in later generations filled He Bo with a strange feeling.

He couldn't help but glance at the clone in front of him, and then launched into a series of inexplicable accusations:
"The other clones all have animal faces, so why are you still keeping a human form?"

He Bo, who was wiping his mount's back to make it shine even brighter, heard this and angrily replied:
"Then be careful when you sleep tonight!"

"I'm going to bring all the darlings of the group and take a stroll on your face!"

When He Bo thought of the various pets the other person kept, he immediately cowered and stammered, not daring to speak.

He turned and left Lingnan, heading towards Xinxia and Xihai to begin a new patrol.

The Sui Dynasty, which was in the early Xia Dynasty, was still busy restoring production, and nothing major happened.

However, the Qin state was deeply embroiled in its war with the Xiongnu and unable to extricate itself from the conflict.

For nearly two hundred years, the Qin people had been domineering and arrogant in the Western Sea, looking down on the local barbarians. Like the Xia Kingdom, they had become complacent due to a lack of worthy opponents. Finally, they clashed once again with their old enemies from their hometown.

Although the Xiongnu people came here from the northern desert as defeated warriors, they had been entangled with the Han Dynasty for a century, and had developed a formidable inner strength.

They were not ordinary barbarians.

They were the Huns who had suffered defeats at the hands of the strongest in the world, whose royal courts had been trampled, whose sacred mountains had been destroyed, and who had fled south in panic!

Even the Qin people in the Central Plains had to build the Great Wall to fight off invading enemies from the south.
What means can the Western Qin now use to resist the westward advance of the Xiongnu?
Moreover, the eastern part of Western Qin has always been sparsely populated and home to many Hu people.

They were thoroughly conquered by the Xiongnu, a new kind of people they had hardly heard of, yet who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Countless nomadic people, with bows drawn and horses at their backs, roared and followed behind the Xiongnu, eager to catch up with them and establish a great enterprise on the vast grasslands beyond their borders.

As a result, some Qin people living in the east suffered and migrated to the central region.

The Qin rulers and their ministers were also deeply troubled by the Xiongnu.

In order to better defend against the Xiongnu's offensive,

The emperor was forced to issue an order granting more power to the local warlords.

It could not only levy customs duties on caravans passing through its garrisoned passes and cities,

They were also allowed to retain a portion of the local taxes after reporting to the central government, to fund the army's march.

This excited many generals.

After all, once such a breach is opened, given the terrain and centralized power of Western Qin, it will be extremely difficult to bring it back under control.

Moreover, the costs of war are always difficult to calculate.

Who can guarantee that there will be plans everywhere and that nothing will go wrong during a military campaign?
in this way,

It's perfectly normal to collect more taxes!
When the country is in trouble, it is necessary to resist foreign enemies and levy additional taxes. This is what these loyal ministers of Qin should do!
Only the exploited common people lament in corners unseen and unheard by the powerful.

The Way of Peace had no way to deal with this.

Because the eastern border of the Great Qin was so barren, they had very little medicine to treat the people and livestock, let alone relief and disaster relief.

The Taoist priests once attempted to emulate their experience during the New Summer Festival by leading starving people to seize a county's granary.

It turned out that after only a little inquiry, they learned that the grain in the granary had already been taken away by the generals of the regional military governors.

On the surface, the other party's actions were indeed intended to defend against the enemy.

If the Xiongnu are allowed to invade deeper into the territory, the problem will only become more serious.

Therefore,

This branch of the Taiping Dao in the Qin state could only painfully discover, amidst the wailing and toiling masses, that there was nothing they could do.

They could only follow wave after wave of people to the heartland of Qin, the Hebei Plain, hoping to receive relief from the imperial court and enjoy the long-awaited peace there.

"But once war breaks out, how can it be quelled so easily?"

The virtuous teacher of Taiping Dao in Xiqin held and led several children he had picked up on the road who had lost their parents. Listening to the words of self-consolation from those around him, he sighed in his heart.

The political situation of Western Qin was different from that of the Central Plains and Xin Xia. The fact that it has been able to operate stably and for so long is proof of the blessings of its ancestors and the efforts of its descendants.

Given the current state of Qin Emperor's indolence and arrogance, can he control this wild horse that has started to run wild and neigh due to external harm?
(End of this chapter)