Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 467 Let the Chinese Civilization Burn!
The fourth year of the Jian Shi era of the Han Dynasty.

He Bo was rooted on the plateau, his feet soaking in the water, while his hands pushed away the antelopes and yaks that kept coming closer, trying to urge the nimble-fingered two-legged beasts to scratch his itch.

unfortunately,

Two fists can't beat four legs.

He Bo cried out and pushed for a long time, but was still knocked to the ground by a yak, which then calmly subdued him with its heavy body.

The wild yak's long hair, along with its majestic chest, blocked He Bo's view, preventing him from even gazing sadly at the sky.

So He Bo could only silently wipe away his tears and learn what Changjiang felt and how he felt when he was invaded, persecuted, and forcibly embraced.

just,

Many of the Yangtze River's tributaries have already fallen into He Bo's embrace; it cannot resist and can only accept the dictates of fate.

However, He Bo could contract out the "scratching cattle and sheep" business by summoning ghosts, thereby reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Therefore,
When he was pinned to the ground by a yak as tall as a small mountain
A silent decree reached the Ghost Kingdom in the Central Plains.

Shortly thereafter,

Ximen Bao personally delivered a human-shaped back scratcher to the ghost, whose hair had been disheveled and whose appearance had been trampled by a group of livestock.

"How could it be him?"

Upon seeing the newcomer, He Bo asked Ximen Bao, that old man, with a puzzled expression.

"Would his ancestors really let him off the hook?"

Hearing this,

Standing behind Ximen Bao, Emperor Yuan of Han, Liu Shi, immediately lowered his head in shame and raised his sleeve to cover his face.

After this emperor died,

At first, he was happy to see his parents again, but what happened next was so painful that he didn't want to recall it.

After all, no matter how kind and gentle Liu Shi was,

When he faced his ancestor who was shouting, "For the sake of the Han Dynasty, I will use the Flaming Fist on you!" while surrounding and beating him, he could not help but feel grief and pain.

As a result of such punishment and beatings

Not at its peak yet!
Because Emperor Taizu Gao and Emperor Wu went to the Western Sea to watch their old rival have some fun and haven't returned yet!
His parents, however, possessed a rare genuine affection for Liu Shi, speaking up for him and preventing his ancestors from opening his skull and witnessing what was inside.

but,

Having endured this ordeal after death,
Emperor Yuan finally realized the profound impact his supposedly benevolent and gentle governance had had on the Han Dynasty.

He could hardly be called a wise and powerful emperor; in the later years of his reign, he made quite a few foolish moves.

But having been deeply influenced by Confucian teachings, how could they not feel a sense of shame?

Therefore,
Liu Shi then secluded himself in the underworld. Even when he saw his parents visiting him, he would shed tears of sadness and lament his unfilial behavior.

Seeing this, Emperor Xuan could not bear to see him continue like this, so he sought out Physician Ximen, hoping that he could lend a helping hand and allow Liu Shi to temporarily leave this place of sorrow and go out to relax.

"So this is ah!"

After hearing the whole story, He Bo laughed and said, "If we're talking about a broad and open mind, this high plateau is indeed a great place!"

The current plateau,
It was even more remote than in later times, with human habitation only found in places like river valleys.

most of the time,
Only wild animals roam this vast and open land, searching for the meager sustenance they find.

Not to mention that magical palace that, once a spell is cast to summon a soul, exorcise a corpse, or banish a ghost, can make you stand up and tremble three times!

"Besides, the more you spend with people, the more you can't help but do things out of cunning, trying to guess what the other person is thinking... It's much better to play tricks on the animals!"

After successfully capturing the body double
He Bo also said this to Liu Shi, who was staying on the plateau and looking at the yaks and antelopes with a puzzled expression, not knowing where to start.

Liu Shi was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "That makes sense."

"In my lifetime, I governed the world with the attitude of a gentleman, but I forgot that not everyone in the world is a gentleman, and most people have their own selfish motives..."

"Looking back now, such naive thoughts and behavior were related to my laziness and unwillingness to think deeply and consider various personnel situations."

To be a good emperor,

Shoulder your responsibilities and let all people live a peaceful and tranquil life.
This is not an easy task.

There are too many things to consider.

There are just too many things to consider.

Liu Shi still remembers his childhood.
Many times, I was held in my mother's arms as she greeted my father, who looked exhausted, as he returned from court.

When the parents met, they snuggled together, while the child was left aside.

The mother massaged the father's shoulders, combed his hair, and comforted him, saying that he didn't have to be so tense all the time and could think about himself and relax.

But my father said:
"I am the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, the Son of Heaven of all the Chinese people!"

"If I relax a little here, the whole country will have to relax!"

"Within the nine provinces, hundreds of millions of people depend on me. How can I not constantly remind myself of my responsibilities?"

Little Liu Shi, who was standing nearby, did not understand the profound meaning behind these words. He only thought that being an emperor like his father must be very hard.

same,
Serving as a subject under one's father is truly not easy.

then,

Deep down, without Liu Shi even realizing it, he had relaxed a bit towards himself and others.

He didn't want to be bogged down in state affairs like his father.

I don't want to be like my father, constantly fighting and arguing with people.
I don't want to die young like my father and grandfather!
"As a result, I only lived to be forty-two."

"The world has become like this, and apart from Ao'er's neglect of governance, I am also partly to blame!"

What does it mean that "if Heaven has not sent down punishments or warnings, the world will be well-governed"?
After dying and witnessing ghosts and gods firsthand, and understanding the workings of heaven and earth,
Liu Shi knew that the true "interaction between heaven and man" was nothing more than memorizing a little bit here and a little bit there, and then when the time came, once the red line was stepped on, he would take out a big stick and bring it down straight, beating people until their heads were broken and blood flowed.

Where would you find a situation where, upon making a mistake, the gods would react by exhaling and punching the emperor twice, telling him "you've done something wrong"?

Do you think ghosts and gods are like yellow dogs that bark when kicked on the roadside?

Seeing his dejected look, He Bo comforted him, saying, "It's alright."

"Look how happy your son is now!"

"With my uncle helping me with state affairs, I only need to toil in the harem. I'll be living a life of luxury sooner or later!"

Hearing him say that,

Liu Shi became even more depressed, and his fingers involuntarily tightened their grip, pulling a handful of hair from the yak.

The yak was immediately enraged, nudged him with its long face, and pushed Emperor Yuan of Han into the Yellow River next to it.

Liu Shi sat up in the shallow water, and after a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly remembered his son, who had been on the throne for several years and was gradually becoming unrestrained. He then angrily began to slap the surface of the water.
"That kid doesn't know what's good for him!"

"If I had known this would happen, I should have crippled him back then!"

He Bo watched Liu Shi's belated, impotent rage, raised an eyebrow, silently immersed himself in the icy river water, and then secretly instructed the cattle and sheep around him, who had a strong need to "stop the itch," to move towards Liu Shi.

Emperor Yuan of Han was gradually overwhelmed by their majestic bodies, and he no longer even had the energy to scold his son.

Seeing this, He Bo laughed, then flipped over and lay face down in the water like a turtle, stretching out his arms to hook the current of the Lancang River on the other side.

quickly,

He was driven back by the aloof and unassailable Lancang River.

But that's okay,
He Bo likes this kind of pure and unpretentious river.

Because his many past experiences told him...

Even the most indifferent and resistant river,

After being tamed, they are kept in plenty of water.

Not to mention that He Bo has already planted spies in Zhongnan, preparing to take over the Lancang River in the future.

"Humph!"

"You've caught my attention!"

"There's no escaping it!"

Sitting in the Yangtze River, the Yellow River God looked at the Lancang River beside him and said to himself.

……

When the spring breeze blows across the land again
Unaware that his father had repeatedly berated him, Emperor Liu Ao issued an order to change the era name.

He changed "Jianshi" to "Heping" in the hope that the floods in the world could be controlled and brought to an end.

last year,
The prolonged flooding in various regions eventually triggered even greater unrest.

During the rainy summer and autumn seasons, the Yellow River breached its dikes at Guantao, flooding four prefectures and thirty-two counties. Those sent to provide disaster relief were exhausted. This naturally caused the emperor great distress.

After all, the Yellow River held extraordinary significance for the Chinese people.

then,

He could only first offer sacrifices to Yin Zhong, one of the Three Dukes and Imperial Censor, ordering him to take the blame and commit suicide, before sending capable ministers from the court to control the flood.

Finally, he even took the rare opportunity to reflect during the court assembly:
"With natural disasters occurring so frequently, is it truly because my virtue is insufficient and my governance is flawed?"

Kong Guang immediately stepped forward, acknowledged the emperor's words, and sincerely requested the emperor to make amends for the mistake.

Therefore, he was naturally demoted by the emperor.

Seeing this, Wang Shang had no choice but to keep quiet and decided to first bring his friend back to court before offering any further advice.

Who told Yin Zhong, that unlucky fellow, to be forced to commit suicide?

The person who succeeded Wang Feng as the Grand Censor was Wang Yin, Wang Feng's cousin.
So far,

Two of the three dukes belonged to the Wang family, the emperor's maternal relatives, which further expanded Wang Feng's power in the court.

If Prime Minister Wang Shang cannot secure his position, then there's no point in talking about "making the ruler like Yao and Shun, and restoring the purity of the people's customs."

As for Wang Feng...
He originally intended to use the Yellow River flooding as an opportunity to bring down Wang Shang in one fell swoop.
However, because the officials sent to control the flood were too capable, they blocked the breach in just thirty-six days using the "bamboo cage with stone method," thus losing the opportunity to launch a political attack against Wang Shang.

This made Wang Feng resent the official named Wang Yanshi, who also shared the surname Wang but did not belong to his own Yuancheng Wang clan, and he added him to his list of people to be suppressed.

but,

Thanks to their contribution in stopping the Yellow River breach,

Wang Yanshi was successfully promoted and received a raise, becoming the Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Han Dynasty, with a rank equivalent to two thousand shi (a unit of grain).

The emperor was very pleased to receive him and asked Wang Aiqing how to prevent the river from ever falling ill again, so that he, the emperor, wouldn't be able to offer so many gifts that even the Three Dukes couldn't keep up.

To know,
Of the current three high-ranking officials, two are his maternal uncles and one is his confidant.

Both hands are my flesh and blood.

They are nothing like Kuang Heng and Yin Zhong, who are irrelevant people.

Wang Yanshi told the emperor:
"If we want to quell the disaster, we must repair the water conservancy facilities in various places and fulfill our responsibilities for disaster prevention and relief."

"In that case, even if Heaven is unjust, it cannot be considered His Majesty's fault."

The emperor was somewhat displeased upon hearing his words, feeling that they were just old clichés.

"If Heaven intends for floods to occur, what can I do?"

This emperor on earth will suffer the elbow strikes of the Mother River.
Even those in heaven cannot change the will of God.

Why go against heaven and earth?

Wang Yanshi caught a glimpse of the emperor's expression and couldn't help but sigh. He then kowtowed to him several times and began to recount his experience in flood control.

“When I was repairing the dike in Guantao, I saw the people suffering and losing all their fertile fields. I couldn’t help but go to the nearby River God Temple to question the gods and spirits about why they treated the innocent people this way.”

Again:
The beliefs of the Chinese gentry were very pragmatic.

Even though the legends of ghosts and gods appearing in various places increased as He Bo bestowed titles upon mountain gods and water gods, it did not stop gentlemen from beating and insulting any useless ghost or god.

of course,

Wang Yanshi's actions were also intended to demonstrate his determination to manage the river.

As a result, that evening,

He then had a strange dream.

In his dream, a divine being whose face he couldn't see stood before him, rebuking him with great displeasure:
"What business is it of mine if personnel matters are not handled properly?"

"River water flows into the sea, evaporates and turns into clouds and rain, and finally falls back to the ground... This is the natural order of heaven and earth, which even ghosts and gods cannot stop. They can only try to drive away the clouds and rain as much as possible to make the land have favorable weather!"

"Isn't this loving enough?"

"This year's rainfall wasn't much more than in previous years, so why did it lead to the disaster of the river bursting its banks?"

"This is because too many trees were cut down and too many palaces and mansions were built upstream, causing silt to accumulate in the river and raising the water level!"

"This is because the water conservancy facilities in various places have not been repaired and can no longer handle the extra rainwater as before!"

"This is because the benefactor intentionally takes advantage of the natural disaster for his own benefit!"

"If even those who depend on the river for their livelihood are like this, why blame the ghosts and gods?"

"When people are weary and only consider the gains and losses of their own interests, without reflecting on their own mistakes, then in the end, the river will only overflow even more severely!"

"Hmph! This unfilial son is truly a case of 'if you don't discipline him for three days, he'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles'!"

"You'll all get elbowed!"

After uttering these words in one breath, the divine being vanished, and Wang Yanshi awoke with a start.

He realized the profound meaning behind the other person's words.
Therefore, on the way back after completing the flood control work, he prepared to advise the emperor.

Wang Yanshi hoped that the emperor would also be "awakened" to prevent any potential disasters.

unfortunately,

The emperor did not believe him.

Faced with the choice between "pulling yourself up and becoming a wise ruler" and "continuing to slack off and pretending nothing happened,"

The emperor took a different approach and made a third choice.

then,

This led to the change of reign title.

After all, the emperor had specifically used the reign title "Heping" (河平).
Isn't this enough sincerity?
If the Yellow River breaches its banks again
That doesn't mean the emperor is the problem!

"Anyway, the river breaching its banks later definitely won't be my problem!"

On the plateau,

He Bo, who was listening to Ximen Bao's report on the recent situation of the river, said the same thing.

"I have done my best. Now it's up to those people to do what they want."

It's unacceptable that the riverbanks would collapse due to disrepair, causing river water to flood into ordinary people's homes; surely that would be considered "unjust" by Heaven!

"However, it was quite an eye-opener for me that those powerful and wealthy people took advantage of the natural disaster to hide the refugees in their own manors, making it impossible for officials who wanted to carry out corvée labor to build water conservancy projects to find enough labor to carry out the work."

"I really want to know what other outrageous things they'll do next."

Ever since Emperor Yuan loosened his control over the powerful and wealthy,
This group of guys always manages to bring He Bo, this knowledgeable and experienced ghost, some unprecedented surprises.

After all, the Xia Kingdom, which also faced turmoil due to floods, only took the opportunity to annex land, and did not do what the Central Plains did, taking both people and land.

of course,

The fact that nobles in the Xia Kingdom did not seize people to be serfs may also be related to their accustomed practice of capturing slaves from the south to serve as cattle and horses.

Those Sindhu slaves were always docile and would not choose to rebel against their masters over such a minor issue as not being able to survive.

"But in this way, the reign titles of the Qin and Han dynasties perfectly match the circumstances of the Qin and Han dynasties!"

The Han Dynasty's era of peace was definitely not peaceful.
The peaceful period that the Qin Dynasty has just entered will definitely not be peaceful.

Furthermore, the newly restored Xia-Sui Kingdom, now enjoying a period of peace and prosperity, decided to launch a southern expedition against India to avenge the barbarians' aggression during the late period of the previous dynasty...

"If we cannot save the world from the decline of the powerful and wealthy!"

"Then let all of China burn!"

He Bo stood on the plateau with his old friend, hands behind his back, facing the wind, and said these words in a calm voice.

As the divine mandate held in God's mouth fell...
Another branch of the Taiping Dao emerged from Yangguan in the new Xia dynasty, crossed the land of Hezhong, and entered Yumenguan in the Han dynasty.

In the Egyptian region that was refined by the Western Qin Dynasty
The Qin prince, who was known as "Horus" by the barbarians, also raised the banner of rebellion after accumulating power for many years.

"Good good!"

"You left the Central Plains for this godforsaken place just to see this!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Bang immediately clapped his hands vigorously.

Liu Xin, the nephew who had been dead for many years but was still fussy, couldn't help but remind his third uncle from the side:
"But the Han Dynasty isn't peaceful either."

"I've heard that the current emperor, Liu Ao, he..."

"Don't say anything that will upset the ghost!"

Don't force me to slap you when I'm happy!

Liu Bang interrupted him directly.

(End of this chapter)