Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 488 Yuancheng
"Truly a hero."

"If I could have met this virtuous woman in her lifetime, I might have been able to bring her into my Taiping Dao..."

After seeing off the passionate Lü Jiao, Sun Chong reminisced about their previous encounter and couldn't help but say something.

He Bo said, "That's not necessarily true!"

"The banquet will certainly not lack food and drink, but what about letting her join the Way of Peace?"

"Humph!"

"I think you should bring along Zhou Jian when he was young, or a handsome man from the Daoist community!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chong stroked his beard and frowned.

He was naturally able to understand the deeper meaning of God's words.

So he said regretfully, "What a pity!"

"Seeing how eager she was to you, I thought she had been enlightened by you and had submitted to your wisdom."

"I never imagined it was because I like you."

Ugh,
Thinking about it that way...

The Taiping Dao (a Taoist sect) needed God himself to sell his body in order to win over a local tycoon in a small county town...

The future looks bleak!

Fortunately, he is already dead, so there is no need to worry about it anymore.

He Bo, unaware of what his wise and virtuous teacher was pondering, remained lost in his own world, condemning Lü Jiao's vulgarity.
"She doesn't actually like me."

"She just lusts after my body, she's despicable!"

When I first met Lü Jiao,
He Bo had experienced her enthusiasm.

Moved by her good deeds, God smiled and accepted her invitation, going to her home for a sumptuous meal.

He wasn't annoyed by the other person's behavior of glancing at him, taking a bite of food, and then glancing at him again.

After all, beauty is food for the eyes!

He Bo had gotten used to it many years ago.

If a few laughs and a few public appearances could make all the world's nouveau riche as willing to give alms as Lü Jiao, then what would become of Bo Ye...?

Do not,
I still mind!

He is God,
How could they have fallen to such a low level!

Lü Jiao's son, Lü Yu, also came out to entertain his mother's distinguished guests. During the meal, his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Finally, taking advantage of Lü Jiao having drunk quite a bit, he went to the back room to change clothes and quietly approached He Bo, asking him:
"Junzi, are you going to be my father?"

Lü Yu,

You can tell from their surname.

Like the Wei clan a hundred years ago, the Haiqulu clan was a matrilineal clan lurking in the Xia world that practiced the patriarchal clan system.

Unlike the latter,
The Lü clan held a higher status than the original Wei clan and enjoyed better living conditions. They did not need to go to the residence of the Marquis of Pingyang to have illicit affairs in order to produce new bloodlines.

Loved by her parents, Lü Jiao inherited the family business as a woman. She directly carried on the orthodox style of the Qi people, using money to pave the way and relying on her beauty to connect with many handsome gentlemen.

This child, Lü Yu,

It was caused by her accidentally during a collision.

He didn't know who his father was. When he was young, he was curious about it for a while. Whenever he saw the gentleman his mother brought home, he would ask Lü Jiao in private, "Could that person be my father?"

"No, you don't have a father."

“How could I exist without a father?” Lü Yucai wasn’t stupid; he wouldn’t be fooled by his mother. “I’ve seen the family hunting dogs give birth!”

As a result, Lü Jiao told him, "How could such a small thing have resulted in a child as big as you?"

"You stayed in your mother's belly for a full ten months!"

Lü Yu was fooled. He squinted and thought for a long time, realizing that a child this big couldn't be created all at once.

Ok?
Could he really have been born from his mother's mitosis?
It wasn't until he took his hunting dog out for a walk and noticed that something was missing from the back of the magnificent yellow dog, and after finding a servant and receiving the reply that "the mistress sent someone over and castrated it in the middle of the night," that Lü Yucai burst into tears.

He found his mother again and questioned her about why she had lied to him.

Lu Jiao could only tell him the truth, "This is all for the sake of consolidating the Lu family's business!"

"Then you can marry a man and make him your 'wife'!"

Little Lü Yu just wanted a father.

As for how he came to be that "father" and what public property he served in the family, he didn't care at all.

But Lü Jiao said, "Men you can easily play with outside are unclean and cannot enter the Lü family!"

So the upright and kind-hearted Lü Yu cried even more bitterly, “It was already unclean, and you still want to use money, such an unclean thing, to further destroy it.”

Lü Jiao had no choice but to agree, "Then I won't give them money anymore."

"We don't take them home, they just play outside."

Lü Yu then fell silent, feeling that although he had not been able to obtain a father, he had made a small contribution to the world of men.

Ah!
With his intelligence, he might even be recommended for the civil service exam when he grows up!

As he grew older, his mother, after a long absence, invited a handsome gentleman to visit.

Having become more sensible than when he was a child, Lü Yu realized something and his mind began to waver.

However, having learned of these things, He Bo rejected Lü Yu's expectations and told the boy in front of him:
"Such behavior makes it impossible to build a healthy family!"

Lü Yu said, "How can you calculate it if you're not paying me?"

He Bo stared at him for a while, some past memories echoing in his mind.

Lu Jiao then returned, kicked her son, who had always been prone to overthinking, away, and apologized to He Bo, who had been harassed by Lu Yu, saying, "He only has me as his mother. He wasn't very healthy when he was young, so it's inevitable that he was spoiled and developed some temper."

"If he makes you angry, I can hang him up and give him a good beating for you!"

He Bo quickly replied, "That's not necessary."

"We were just talking about some trivial things."

"I was worried that you, as the host, would be angry with me, an outsider, for prying into the Lü family's secrets!"

Lü Jiao said nonchalantly, "What privacy?"

"Who in Haiqu doesn't know I'm a lecherous man?"

She then added with emotion, "When I was studying, I wasn't interested in those moral principles, but when I read about handsome men in ancient times, I couldn't help but feel a longing for them."

"Alas... Three hundred years ago, when the Grand Master of Chu visited the State of Qi, Linzi was deserted. I wonder what kind of beauty he was."

He Bo recalled his experiences in the State of Qi and became even more convinced of Lü Jiao's status as a true native of Qi.

I never expected this.
Three hundred years later, Tian Qi fled to Japan, while Jiang Qi was successfully reincarnated as a sea charioteer.

On this land of Qilu, there are still people who continue the customs of their ancestors.

He Bo couldn't even imagine it.
If Confucianism had not been exclusively promoted and its doctrines had not been more widely disseminated and followed in the Qi-Lu region, what kind of dissolute behavior would Lü Jiao have become?

"...So, would you like to be with me?"

Finally,

Suddenly, Lü Jiao extended a helping hand to He Bo, expressing that she was now tired of playing around and genuinely wanted to build a complete family and live a peaceful life.

He Bo glanced at her, then turned and ran out of the house.

Lü Jiao could only bid him farewell with regret.

In any case, Lady Lü would not be like the Qi princess who took a fancy to He Bo back then, sending a group of strong soldiers to forcibly seize men.

Upon learning of God's experience, Sun Chong showed no particular emotion; he even smiled and praised Lü Jiao's elegance. The Way of Peace (Taiping Dao) embodies the principles of following nature and balancing Yin and Yang.

Therefore, matters between men and women are not a major concern for them.

Not to mention that the Han Dynasty was known for its open-mindedness.

"Unfortunately, it will only last a few years."

After laughing, Sun Chong remembered what had happened in Chang'an, and his expression turned wistful again.

After finishing their banquet with He Bo, he walked along the streets of Haiqu, feeling the tranquility and peace of the place. In his eyes, a hint of sadness and sympathy appeared as he looked at the noisy children running past him.

He Bo said, "Some things are bound to happen eventually."

"How can you remove a boil and clean out a lesion without experiencing pain?"

sometimes,
Even the healthy flesh and blood near the wound must be discarded to prevent the root cause of the disease from being incompletely removed.

"And it is your son, Sun En, who will have to face all of that. What are you still clinging to?"

Sun En,

He was one of the children Sun Chong adopted when he was in Sichuan.

Since most of those children were orphans, they all took the surname of the Great Teacher and were called "Sun".

As for Sun En...
He was the most gifted of all these children.
This led him to become one of the many virtuous teachers of the Way of Peace when he grew up, and before Sun Chong died, he took over the nine-section staff and put on the yellow robe.

Based on his age and the current situation, He Bo knew that under Sun En's leadership, the Taiping Dao would definitely do something big.

Actually,
The fact that the Way of Great Peace was able to spread steadily in Shandong, to some extent, shows that the world at that time could still maintain a fragile peace.

However, the effect of pasting and mounting cannot last too long.

Wang Mang, who ascended the throne with lofty ambitions and wanted to change the world into the shape he desired, would not tolerate the existence of the old Han dynasty.

He couldn't help but think about demolishing, repairing, and even reshaping it.

He will definitely find a way to prove it.
They possess an undeniable destiny.
I will definitely make this country a better place!

When drastic changes occur,

Problems that have been accumulating for two hundred years will naturally erupt.

Wang Mang, the Taiping Dao, and other forces will all be drawn into this turmoil.

Just like the crumbling Yellow River dike.

Someday
The river, which was restrained by it, would overflow, carrying mud, sand, and rocks, and submerge countless lands and living beings.

……

"God, God!"

Is the Yellow River going to breach its banks at Yuancheng in Weijun?

When He Bo forced Sun Chong to leave the county town and come to the seaside in Haiqu, to embrace the sea breeze and prepare for beachcombing...

A fish leaped out of the stream flowing into the ocean.

The narrow stream could not conceal the plump carp, and the mudflats by the sea prevented it from happily wagging its tail and swimming.

So the carp could only stick out its belly, its fins on both sides supporting it on the ground, in a resolute posture like that of an ancient ancestor who leaped out of the water and climbed onto land in a time when no one could trace its origins, as it pushed itself in front of He Bo.

God pointed at it and said, "Wang Yanshi, have you eaten your fill of the sand in your great river?"

"If you feel tired of exploring the Great River, I will help you turn back into human form and go to the underworld to enjoy a happy life."

Wang Yanshi, with his gills flared, replied, "Not enough! Not enough!"

“If the dike were to break, it would definitely be more difficult to repair than it was when I was in charge.”

"I'll wait until the river breaches its banks and I get a clear picture of the new riverbed before I go to rest!"

He was a man known by the people as "Little Yu the Great".

Many cities built along the great river also erected temples in his memory after Wang Yanshi's death.

If he can't restore the river to calm afterward, how can he calmly accept all of this?

"Is it Yuancheng?"

"Is what I've noticed correct?"

After Wang Yanshi transformed into a genuine Yellow River carp, he swam around in the water, searching for gaps in the dikes and exploring new methods for managing the Yellow River through a perspective completely different from that of humans.

Through his efforts over the years
Wang Yanshi deduced that a river would eventually gush out from a place where silt had accumulated severely, the dikes had fallen into disrepair, and the local government had done nothing.

And that city
Yuancheng, which originated from Wang Mang and was nominally part of the Han Dynasty, was actually owned by the Wang family.

The officials there never had to worry about building water conservancy projects.
Because most of the people of Yuancheng had been enclosed in the Wang family's manor, they would not obey the imperial court's orders.
Because the land in Yuancheng has been completely occupied by the Wang family, the few people who still retain their freedom have to worry about whether the mountain belongs to the Wang family, whether the water will flow into the Wang family's estate, and whether their actions will infringe on the Wang family's assets.

Furthermore, due to the Wang family of Yuancheng's long-standing arrogance and domineering nature, any local official who dared to stand up straight or crane their neck in front of them would be suppressed and tortured.

The one with the best ending.

He couldn't even be transferred to another post, so he had no choice but to resentfully discard his official hat, hand over his ribbon and seal, and return to his hometown to live as an ordinary person.

Decades of hard work climbing the ladder, recommending the virtuous and talented for the civil service, all in the end couldn't withstand two words from the Wang family!

Against this backdrop,

The officials in Yuancheng now are all henchmen of the Wang family.

After Wang Mang became regent, he devoted all his energy to pleasing the Wang family.

Even though they were near a big river,

Knowing full well that the dam needed repair,
However, these officials would rather spend a large sum of money and personally carry timber and dig soil to build a more luxurious and magnificent ancestral temple for the Wang family than spare a penny for maintaining the dike.

When Wang Yanshi swam past this point and saw the shadows of officials on the embankment, he harbored some delusions, intending to rejoice that even under the tyranny of the Wang family, there were still people of conscience who refused to submit. However, he overheard them discussing:
"The dam is magnificent and wide, and it used an unknown amount of fine stone."

"Why not take some of it and use it to lay the foundation for the Wang family's ancestral temple!"

In this regard,

Wang Yanshi let go of his excess emotions, knowing where the disaster he had been worried about would first occur.

"It all depends on man!"

"I can't say for sure!"

He Bo spoke to the carp king Yanse, who was using the fine sand of the mudflats to prop up its two fins and circling around his feet.

"What if something even more outrageous happens after what happened in Yuancheng?"

Human initiative,
They can be free from external constraints.

Once one outrageous thing happens, something even more outrageous won't be far behind.

Wang Yanshi could only lament, "They have so easily destroyed the results of my more than ten years of river management and dike repair."

He Bo simply smiled and said, "That's how many things are in this world!"

Our ancestors worked hard to lay the foundation for their businesses.
When later generations overthrow the dynasty, it's only a matter of turning their hands over.

After all, wouldn't it hurt to sell one's grandfather's land?

"You should just look forward to the wisdom of future generations!"

Wang Yanshi angrily puffed up his gills, "If the Han Dynasty were to perish and a new dynasty were to be established, I could still look forward to it."

"If it continues, nothing has changed, so what can I expect?"

As for Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty?
They can't even govern their own hometown properly, yet they think they're a role model for the world.
Let's not even mention that!
Having said that,

Wang Yanshi cursed and swam towards the sea, looking like a freshwater fish bravely venturing into the ocean to seek death.

(End of this chapter)