Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 492 Shandong
The floodwaters continued to flow.

It surged from Ye City, gained freedom in Yuan City, and then flew across several counties to the east, submerging countless fertile fields and causing the deaths of countless people.

But Wang Mang still insisted, "Let it gush forth!"

"We must not block the breach on the south bank, lest the river flood our Wang family's tombs!"

"We're just suffering from the disaster right now!"

"As long as the reform is successful, everything will be alright!"

He Bo shook his head at this, pointing to the new emperor who was high above, whose face was no longer as calm and humble as before, but instead showed undisguised impatience and anxiety, and said, "Look, he's in a hurry."

Kong Guang also became melancholy.

Although he had expected it, he was still somewhat saddened to see his disciple's attitude.

of course,

It wasn't for Wang Mang.

He was simply saddened by his own slowness and limited vision.

The greatest sorrow is that countless lives across the land were ravaged by Wang Mang's selfishness.

He had no face to ask God to show mercy to mankind again, because the rampant disasters nowadays were more due to man than to heaven and earth.

How long will the floods last?

Kong Guang followed God and traveled thousands of miles in an instant, from Chang'an to Shandong.

He gazed at the river's original course leading to the sea, and asked with a sorrowful tone—

over there,
The mud, pebbles, and countless tiny fish and shrimp that couldn't flow freely with the river are now exposed nakedly to the world.

The sunlight shone on them.
Waves crashed against the river, surging back into the old riverbed abandoned by the great river.

Perhaps the seawater in this area is also waiting for the river to return.

But obviously,

The Yellow River, which has changed its course many times, is a relentless drain on water.

At the beginning of the flood,

It was captivated by the beauty of the Ji River, striving to fill it to overflowing and transform it into its own form.

The floodwaters were not controlled and became even more severe, so the Yellow River flowed further south, filling the Ji River to the brim, and then flowed into the Huai River through the Si River and other rivers.

Just as He Bo, the River God, said, "They are all my wings. Now that they are full of energy and have enough water, I naturally want to shower them with love."

"Let them accept the muddy river water flowing from me, mix it into the color of the great river, and then use that muddy water to nurture new land where life can grow."

Yellow River flood irrigation

It's not without its advantages.

A typical example is that it carries a large amount of silt into the sea, pushing the estuary further and further away, creating new land.

"Ugh!"

"If it weren't for me, I wouldn't know how long Yandu would have to remain a coastal city."

When the Yellow River flows through the Si River, it forces the Huai River to change its color.
Standing downstream of the Huai River, He Bo watched the surging waters rush in and then quickly recede, leaving behind only a large amount of sediment, which helped Yancheng in later generations to stay a little further away from the ocean floods. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

And when he stood beside the riverbank where he had once strolled, and heard Kong Guang's question, he simply put his hands behind his back and said:
"It's man-made."

"What does this have to do with me?"

Anyway, it's not God who refuses to plug the breach.

"What's done is done. What can we do but look forward?"

"Let's go back to your hometown first."

Under this massive flood,
Even Shandong, with Mount Tai as its stronghold, is not immune to the impact.

However, compared to the people on and around Mount Tai who faced the flood head-on, the areas behind Mount Tai were still much better off.

Therefore,
The powerful figures had barely uttered a few words of lamentation for their own losses when they turned around with genuine smiles and rushed to the disaster-stricken areas to seize the land there.

How could the Confucius family, who lived in Qufu, not keep up with the trend?
They are the facade erected by the dynasty, vines clinging to the prestige and favor of their ancestors.

If one does not follow the crowd, or even "take the lead" and become a "role model" for those in power, then the praise from the powerful and wealthy would not be as fervent as it is today.

"And if we don't do this, how can we continue the ancestral worship?"

Some elders of the Kong family privately told their descendants, "The blessings of a virtuous person last only five generations. How long can the blessings of our ancestors from five hundred years ago extend to our family?"

"We must recognize our own position and role, and do what the emperor and his ministers expect of us, so that we can maintain our wealth and status in the long run!"

In this way, when the ancestors in the underworld receive the continuous offerings from their descendants, they will surely understand their difficulties!

Upholding high moral standards,

If the living can't even get food, the dead can only eat dirt!

For this,

Kong Guang simply covered his face, standing ashamed at the entrance of the Kong family mansion, refusing to go in no matter how much He Bo tried to pull him away.

He struggled to say:
This is not my home!

"My family isn't inside!"

"Even if I starve to death and disappear into hell, or even if I jump off Mount Tai, I will never accept any sacrifices from them!"

He Bo had no choice but to let him go and took him away from Qufu, which was gradually becoming murky, just like the waters of the Ji and Huai rivers.

They arrived in Haiqu and visited Lü Jiao, who was still helping the poor.

"You still look so handsome, I really don't know how you maintain your looks."

As she gets older, no matter how carefully she takes care of herself, wrinkles are inevitable. Lü Jiao said this to He Bo with a hint of envy in her voice.

He Bo proudly said, "I have no worries, so time can't hurt me."

Lü Jiao then said, "This is truly enviable. In this day and age, there are still people like you!"

She then inquired about Kong Guang's background, asking, "Who is this elder?"

"He is a book editor."

"He wanted to record the deeds of some extraordinary women to encourage future generations, so he came here with me."

"So daring to think and act?" Lü Jiao looked Kong Guang up and down, thinking that the old man in front of her looked like a bookish Confucian scholar who had gone mad from reading too much, but she did not expect him to be so open-minded and not at all rigid.

Kong Guang just smiled awkwardly to the side, not daring to offer any further explanation.

first,
How could he refute the word of God?

Secondly,

Having witnessed the corruption within his family, he felt somewhat intimidated and apprehensive upon seeing someone like Lü Jiao, and couldn't help but feel admiration for this woman.

"Where is that kid Lü Yu?"

He Bo didn't care about the old man's inner thoughts; he just looked left and right, searching for the precious son that Lü Jiao had bred.

The other party said, "He's been arrested and is now leading a group to catch troublemakers and hooligans!"

The world is in chaos.

As a result, the number of people who do evil will also increase; this is a natural principle.

"Aren't you going to continue your studies?"

He Bo said, "With your accumulated reputation and family assets, it's possible to find a way for him to study at the Imperial Academy and then seek a proper official position."

Lü Jiao replied, "That kid's ideas are all over the place. He can recite the texts, but he has a hard time understanding the underlying principles."

“Besides, living in Chang’an is not easy. He’ll probably suffer there!” He Bo thought it made sense and decided to respect the choice of the mother and son.

Under the current circumstances,
Staying in my hometown, within my own little corner of the world, might actually be safer.

Lu Jiao's family had been rooted in Haiqu for generations and had gained the recognition and support of the local people. No official would dare to oppose such a nouveau riche.

"Then I'll take my leave."

After strolling around Haiqu, He Bo, along with Kong Guang, said goodbye to Lü Jiao.

The old man said with some reluctance, "Having seen the chaos in other places, I'm a little reluctant to leave the peace here."

"There's no such thing as true peace. Things will get chaotic in a few years," He Bo said, pursing his lips.

Under the nest, have the eggs finished?
Although Haiqu is somewhat remote, it is not quite a paradise.

"Didn't you notice the weapons stockpiled in the Lü family's home, and those strong, young guards?"

Kong Guang's eyes widened. "Ah, is that so?"

When a gentleman visits someone else's home,

One must not let one's gaze wander, lest one try to uncover the master's secrets.

This is the etiquette that Kong Guang adheres to.

So he didn't see the warehouse in the corner.

As for those young and strong guards?
"I thought they were that lady..."

He recalled what God had said about the behavior of that nouveau riche woman, and began to speak hesitantly, expressing his utter contempt for his own filthy thoughts.

He Bo was somewhat shocked, feeling that after the old man Kong Guang died, he no longer had to face all sorts of troublesome things in the world, and had been taught by predecessors such as Xunzi and Mengzi, so he might have shown signs of becoming wild and unruly.

"Her son is already an adult, and at that age, how can he support a house full of men?"

"Do you think she's Empress Dowager Xuan?"

Empress Dowager Xuan
She was a concubine of King Huiwen of Qin and the mother of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

She was also a woman so wild that she could recount her loving moments with her husband in the imperial court, in front of foreign envoys.

After his death,

She still lived a very carefree life, happily living with the male lovers she had in life, the male concubines she kept after her death, and her deceased husband.

He Bo would occasionally peek into her daily life, because even God was very curious about how she managed to get a whole courtyard of men to live together peacefully.

more importantly,
The other party involved, King Huiwen of Qin, did not find this problematic at all, and even sat down with Wei Choufu and others to enjoy delicious food and wine with a smile.

"These are all minor matters; they're all dead now. The most important thing is to be happy!"

When He Bo quietly inquired about King Huiwen's inner thoughts, the latter replied as follows.

Kong Guang had also heard of this famous empress dowager.

After being forced to accept God's whim, Kong Guang did put in a lot of effort to complete it, visiting many women in the underworld.

Empress Dowager Xuan was among them.

Upon hearing God say this, Kong Guang blushed and admitted that he had made a mistake by having preconceived notions.

He then said, "Did she arrange so many guards in preparation for the unrest that is about to begin?"

"Is there even a need to think about this?"

He Bo looked at Kong Guang and once again comforted his friend, "It seems the teachings of the sages are not enough; we must continue to eat lotus root!"

"Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist manually opening a few wounds in your heart to teach you a lesson."

Anyway, the dead guy isn't afraid of being demolished.
He Bo is also very skilled in this area, so there's no need to worry about poking the wrong spot.

While God mocked the dead spirits attending him, he continued to observe the world after the flood.
A wisp of yellow smoke, invisible to the naked eye, drifted over.

He Bo waved to it, and the indifferent smoke and clouds fell down, entered God's hand, and turned into a memorial to the throne.

This is a request made by the Taiping Dao (Way of Great Peace) to God after performing a ceremony to worship Heaven and Earth:
"Oh, God the Supreme! His reign is awe-inspiring. He watches over all corners of the land, seeking the well-being of his people!"

"O Most High and Most Beloved God!"

"The people of the Central Plains are now suffering because of some people who have disobeyed your command to shepherd the creatures and forgotten their responsibilities in their high positions."

"They cried out for God's mercy, hoping to find a way to survive in the face of disaster."

"The Way of Peace upholds your principles and has accepted the mission you entrusted to us. We have the obligation to speak out against injustice and seek a way to survive for all people!"

"Now, I, Sun En, the current Grand Master of the Way of Great Peace, carrying the hearts of the people, petition you and make a promise—"

We must use impartiality to eradicate selfishness in the world, and use integrity to eliminate evil. We must restore peace to the world and restrain the rampant tides of evil!

"Oh, mighty God, may you witness our determination and bless our endeavors!"

"They even informed me before they started preparing a rebellion. The Central Kingdom is indeed quite sophisticated."

After reading the "Proclamation of the Way of Peace Against Injustice" in his hand, He Bo couldn't help but chuckle, recalling the old story of the Taiping Dao rebellion in Xinxia.

We had no experience back then.
The rituals and procedures of the Way of Peace were not perfected.
Those people didn't report to He Bo, this "God," before they did their big deeds.

However, considering that the leaders of the army back then were Zou Yan and King Wen of Xia, appointed by God, there's no need to dwell on whether the New Xia or the Central Plains was more polite.

The Western Pacification Way, which is used to unleashing its fists and spreading its doctrines by force against the barbarians of the Western Sea and the Western Regions, will not talk about civilization and politeness with God.

Just take the nine-section staff and give it a good whack, and make your nemesis open up and speak frankly, fellow Daoists!

He Bo turned his gaze toward the headquarters of the Taiping Dao in the Central Plains—

There,

Having just finished burning paper money and offering incense, Sun En brushed the dust off his knees, calmly stood up, and announced the end of the worship ceremony.

"Should we not consult the oracle a few more times and ask for God's opinion?"

Issuing a notice and then doing it on your own—isn't that a bit too much of a display of strong and self-centered execution?
Knowing that the Way of Peace was indeed something special, unlike other sects that relied solely on clever words and mysterious scriptures to deceive believers and earn money from incense offerings, Zhou Jian quietly inquired about the Great Virtuous Teacher Sun En, whom he had inherited from his father.

"What if God is angry and sends down thunder?"

"But we have to take down Chang'an first!"

Sun En replied confidently.

He then waved his hand again, directing Zhou Jian to look down at the people below, their heads adorned with yellow turbans, their faces filled with anguish, waiting to burn the source of their suffering with a single flame.

"And we can wait, but can these people keep waiting?"

"Since you've made up your mind to do great things, how can you rely on divination?"

Could the divination result be unfavorable?

Must Taiping Dao betray the very foundation upon which it founded, forget its mission, ignore the suffering gazes of countless people, and allow the "flood" to ravage the world?

“If you don’t want to suffer excessive turmoil at this age, then I’m willing to let you return to your hometown.”

Sun En told Zhou Jian.

The latter let out a sigh.

"After wandering around for so many years, I'm no longer familiar with many things in my hometown."

"Moreover, judging from the direction the floodwaters are spreading, perhaps other areas have also suffered from the disaster, and people have been displaced..."

He sighed heavily again, "Never mind!"

"I'd better go and prepare some medical supplies!"

Warfare inevitably results in heavy casualties.
Zhou Jian is now just an old man; he can't kill anyone with a stick anymore, so he can only stay in the back and do what he can.

(End of this chapter)