Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 505 Sun En
Wang Mang sat in the grand hall, devoid of any ministers or servants, displaying an air of unparalleled majesty.

He stared straight ahead, waiting for those rebellious commoners to appear.

result,

His foolish and incompetent cousin, Wang Yi, who had caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of his troops at Kunyang, hurriedly ran into the palace and came before Wang Mang.

"Do you intend to take my head and present it to those traitors?"

Wang Mang questioned him.

Wang Yi's eyes widened in shock as he exclaimed, "How could I possibly have such a thought!"

"I'm here to take you away!"

At the beginning of the siege,
Wang Yi packed his bags, intending to wait for an opportunity to escape.

Who knew that after waiting and waiting, the opportunity would finally arrive—

The Green Forest Army marched directly towards the palace, paying little attention to anyone else.

But why didn't Wang Mang's brother run away?

All the officials and servants have fled, so why doesn't the emperor run away?

Has something gone wrong?

Wang Yi grew worried, and finally gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, turned around, and ran towards the palace.

"move!"

"Those traitors are almost here!"

He stepped forward, grabbed Wang Mang's sleeve, and tried to drag him away.

Wang Mang, however, did not make a move.

He simply watched his brother, who was sweating profusely with anxiety and whose face showed a look of fear.

suddenly,

Wang Mang burst into laughter.

"Stop laughing, or you'll attract the traitors!"

Wang Yi reached out, trying to cover Wang Mang's mouth, and even attempted to pull off the emperor's robes to prevent his identity from being recognized at a glance.

Wang Mang refused him.

"I will sit here and see what those traitors dare to do to a living saint like me!"

Wang Yi pleaded with him, "Don't do this."

"Isn't it good to be alive?"

Wang Mang patted his cousin on the shoulder, then turned around and sat back on the throne.

He thought:
I've been pretending my whole life.

They've fooled so many people.

Who would have thought they could deceive each other? This father and son, however, took what they said as the truth.

Wang Shang gave himself the fiefdom.
Now, Wang Yi has even given up his chance to escape for his own sake...

Ha ha,

How stupid!

Wang Yi had no way to deal with him, so he could only organize the people he brought with him in an attempt to protect the palace and delay Wang Mang's death.

But he achieved nothing.

The Green Forest Army quickly stepped over his body and arrived in front of the main hall, intending to capture Wang Mang and behead him as a warning to the public.

"How could I possibly let you traitors have your way!"

Wang Mang fiercely rebuked them, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth with each word.

He had already taken poison himself.

The poison he once used to kill his two sons has now entered Wang Mang's stomach.

He writhed in pain on the emperor's throne, his crown tumbling off, and after a brief struggle, he died.

One of the generals tested his breathing and then said, "We can't let him off so easily."

"Cut off his head and send it to Wancheng to present to the emperor!"

So Wang Mang's head was cut off, just like the Buddha statue whose neck was broken in front of him years ago.

Empress Xiaoping, who was staying in the palace, heard the commotion outside and knew that the rebel army had broken in.

She then lamented, "With my status, how can I face the Han people? How can I face Emperor Xiaoping?"

Subsequently,

She used candlelight to set fire to the palace, which had already been soaked in wine and oil, and in the ensuing flames, she and the palace turned to ashes.

The Xin Dynasty has fallen.

Fan Chong, who was defeated by the Yellow Turban Army, also fled to Wancheng and declared his loyalty to Emperor Gengshi.

in this way,

The red and green colors then mixed together.
Among the many forces in the world, only the Xuan Han and the Yellow Turban Army remain capable of competing for the final victory.

The others then adopted a wait-and-see attitude, anticipating the ensuing battle between the two sides.

……

In the underworld,

He Bo summoned Wang Mang.

"Actually, I'm a little curious as to why you have that kind of temperament and mannerisms."

The spirits who govern Yin and Yang sat casually in their positions, unlike Wang Mang who always maintained the air of a superior, yet possessed a unique majesty.

He said to the new emperor, "Although you have lost your father, your mother still loves you dearly."

“Wang Feng of Chang’an is not a good person, but he is not too harsh on your diet and daily life.”

The treatment Wang Mang received was certainly inferior to that of Wang Feng's own son, but he could still be considered a "prince".

After all, Wang Mang lived a very poor life, and his uncle Wang Feng's reputation would also be criticized.

"When you grow up, you'll have a bookworm like Kong Guang to enlighten you and become your teacher."

So, why have you become the way you are today?

Wang Mang knelt before him but did not answer.

Because he didn't know how to explain himself.

He lived his whole life inside the shell, and when he died and came before the ghosts and gods, he still couldn't look directly at his own true face.

He had long forgotten what he looked like, and he had also forgotten his original intentions.

Why did he crawl into the case back then?
Why, after gaining enough benefits, would someone still wear a mask and continue to deceive others for even more profit?
When did his mother become silent and turn into a clay or wooden sculpture?
Wang Mang couldn't understand it.

So in the end, he simply said to the ghosts and spirits:
"I forgot."

"Right now, I only have doubts in my mind."

He Bo then let him ask questions.

Wang Mang said, "I heard the ghosts and spirits in the underworld who judged me say that I have committed a sin."

"But I don't know where I've committed any crime?"

For nearly seventy years of his life, he pretended to be a saint.

In the first half of his life before he gained power, he treated people with humility and gentleness.

Even his teacher Kong Guang and Han Chancellor Wang Shang failed to see through his disguise at that time.

In order to better maintain that sacred and solemn appearance, Wang Mang also did some good deeds.

After becoming emperor, he implemented many policies, some of which, on the surface, did indeed benefit the people's livelihood.

After all, he was going to compete with powerful families for profits, which inevitably meant that some ordinary people would benefit as well.

"The reason I failed to reform and achieve the sacredness that is in name only is because of the obstruction of the powerful families."

“Those troublemakers who get their ambitions ignited as soon as they are incited are not worth my protection.”

Wang Mang said, "I have pretended for so long. If we judge by my actions rather than my intentions, am I not a gentleman, not a saint?"

Why must one be shackled, judged, and scorned by ghosts upon arriving in the underworld?
He Bo sighed and said, "If I had died back then, who would know the truth of my life?"

Pretending to be someone else

Imitate others

This is not a problem.

The reason people emphasize "the power of role models" and "the effect of exemplary behavior" is that they hope to inspire others to learn from and emulate them.

If someone can truly pretend to be a good person for their entire life, then even in the underworld, the underworld will acknowledge their merits.

"But a virtuous person is cautious even when alone."

Do you truly believe in your heart that you are without sin?

Wang Mang stubbornly refused to bow his head.

He Bo simply called his mother, Qu, and had her repeat what he had just said to the old woman.

Qu Shi approached the ghosts and spirits tremblingly, her expression more vivid than when she was alive.

But the look in her eyes when she looked at the child was still bitter.

Without saying anything more, Qu only pleaded with the gods and spirits in a mournful voice, "I am willing to atone for his sins, please leave him a glimmer of hope that he will be reborn as a human."

He Bo did not respond to her.

He pointed only at Lady Qu and asked Wang Mang, "You don't admit that you've wronged others, yet you still resent others for wronging you."

"So how do you view your mother?"

Wang Mang stopped speaking, slumped to the ground, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in his own world.

He Bo waved his hand, signaling the underworld officials to take him away.

Wang Mang walked along the main street of Haoli in shackles, and many dead people who knew him gathered around and spat at him.

When the ghostly officials escorted Wang Mang to Fengdu, the "core of law" in the underworld, to await his imprisonment in hell, Liu Yan, who had just settled his affairs there, also managed to find him, his brows furrowed with immense anger. He punched Wang Mang on the head.

"My greatest regret is that I was unable to conquer Chang'an and kill you, you traitor, before I died!"

"Fortunately, the gods and spirits are watching over me, and they have allowed me to fulfill this wish after I die!"

The ghost official beside him said helplessly, "His head was cut off after he died, so his neck is extremely fragile."

"If you had hit him any harder, you would have had to pick his head off!"

Liu Yan glanced at Wang Mang, whose head he had knocked to the side, revealing his back, first apologizing to the ghost official, then mocking him:
"How pathetic."

"You were almost in hell, and the one who came to send you off on your final journey was someone I, your hated adversary, had never seen... Your wife, children, teachers, and friends are all nowhere to be found!"

Wang Mang's neck had not been straightened, so his throat was constricted and he could not speak.

However, he persisted in glaring at Liu Yan to express his dissatisfaction.

The ghost official simply tugged at the other end of the chain, leading Wang Mang to where he was supposed to go.

that's it,
The new dynasty extends from the mortal world to the underworld.

It has come to a complete end.

……

"how about you?"

"How much longer can your body hold out?"

When winter arrived in the second year of Gengshi, He Bo, his long-absent superior, came to visit the oxen and horses he had been diligently spreading the gospel among humankind.

After defeating the Red Eyebrows, purging local tyrants, and managing the waterways under his jurisdiction, the virtuous and wise teacher Sun En, who was already fifty years old, fell ill in the cold wind.

He Bo, posing as a kind-hearted doctor passing by, took Sun En's pulse, prepared the medicine, and then forced it down his throat.

The Great Teacher coughed for quite a while, but once the medicine warmed his body, he felt incredibly comfortable; even his weak lungs, which had tormented him since childhood, became much gentler.

Sun En did not escape his hometown, which was shrouded in the plague, without any problems.

He did indeed contract the disease.

Sun Chong fed him a lot of medicine and treated him for a long time before saving the child's life.

Even though he survived, the aftereffects still plagued Sun En.

His lungs could not breathe properly, and he often experienced symptoms of chest tightness and shortness of breath, which would wake Sun En from his deep sleep at midnight.

When the weather gets cold and the wind blows, Sun En coughs incessantly.

On this basis,
After working long hours, Sun En's body appeared older than others.

This is also a major reason why Sun En knew he might not be able to realize his dream.

just,

Despite God's concern, Sun En still said, "If I try my best, I can hold on for a while longer!"

He Bo then said "Oh" and got up to pour out the dregs from the freshly boiled medicine.

Sun En lay on his sickbed looking at him, and then suddenly remembered that today was the day of heavy snow.

"How's it outside?" he asked directly.

"The snow is falling heavily, as deep as a cat!"

When God came to visit the sick, he saw a fat cat taking a comfortable nap in the still-smoldering stove of a house.

then,

God stretched out a pair of loving hands, pulled the fat cat out of the stove's fire pit, and used the snow outside to rub the cat's fur, which was covered in black ash.

The fat cat has become clean again.

God thus had a new unit of measurement to describe the snowfall.

“I want to go out and see the world,” Sun En pleaded with God.

A timely snowfall promises a bountiful harvest, but excessive snow can also bring disaster.

On the one hand, Sun En was pleasantly surprised by the snowfall and looked forward to next year's planting, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but think about how many people would go hungry and suffer from the cold in this snowfall.

Will the thin roof collapse under the weight of the snow?
Will old, worn-out clothes be torn apart by the cold wind?
"With your temperament, you're even more worrisome than that old man Ximen Bao. No wonder people are always talking about you behind your back!"

God expressed displeasure with his request, but still granted Sun En's wish.

A wisp of his longing was drawn from his body by God and walked lightly through the areas under the rule of the Yellow Turban Army.

“If you drag someone out directly, you might develop new illnesses.”

He Bo, who was standing beside Sun En and observing the world around him, said this.

Sun En was grateful for God's long-lost tenderness, so he looked at the scenery outside with extra care.

After walking for a while, he suddenly spoke, "Will the Yellow Heaven era come?"

"Yes, it will," He Bo told him as he shaped a small snowman from a handful of snow.

"When can you come?"

"I don't know this either."

"How could that be?" Sun En asked. "Even if you are God, can't you be sure?"

He Bo laughed and said, "Even God isn't omnipotent!"

“I’m a very lazy guy, I can’t be like you, wanting to manage everything and controlling everything.”

"Moreover, people's hearts are unpredictable; who can guarantee that people won't change?"

"I don't want to be watching everyone in the world all the time, trying to figure out their thoughts and predict their actions."

Wang Yi was such an incompetent and foolish fellow.

In the end, he actually offered his true heart to his hypocritical and selfish brother, Wang Mang.

In Kunyang, to escape, he would push living people into the river to build a "floating bridge" for himself.

In Chang'an, in order to protect Wang Mang, he even gave up the chance to escape.

This is something even ghosts and gods couldn't have imagined.

"Good things can turn bad, and bad things can turn good, but more often than not, people are like chaos, and you can't see the colors."

As he spoke, He Bo handed the little snowman he had just sculpted to Sun En, "Look, isn't it pretty?"

"So fair-skinned, of course she looks good."

"Do you remember when Sun Chong told you not to eat snow?"

"remember."

His teacher said that snowflakes look white, but there is a lot of dirt inside that is hard to see with the naked eye. If you eat them directly, you might get an upset stomach.

If you are thirsty, filter the liquid through your clothes several times, and if possible, wait until it has been burned and boiled before drinking.

"Many people and things in this world are like this snow."

Sun En held the little snowman and looked it over, staring into the eyes that God had made of fallen leaves from the ground.

He stared for a moment, then his thoughts returned, and he asked, "If people have the ability to distinguish between good and bad, black and white, can they still be deceived?"

"That would make it even more difficult and time-consuming to do."

He Bo told him, "Either teach them to read more books and learn more knowledge, or wait until they've been scammed enough before you start talking."

But people have become harder to fool.
Scams will naturally become more sophisticated.

When scammers stop pretending altogether and become too lazy to even do things like calling a deer a horse, the situation will only get worse.

"Ugh!"

"Why lie to people?" Sun En sighed. "Can't everyone embrace a spirit of unity and enjoy the beauty of this world together?"

God was also puzzled by this.

Even in later generations, Sun En's dream was not realized, and the speed at which carnivores devoured flesh and blood was rapidly increased thanks to technological advancements.

Even in terms of wealth transfer, he was able to transfer it faster, farther, and in greater quantities than those under Sun En who were once loyal to him but later drifted away from him.

"...Will there be people like me in future generations?"

As the wind and snow gradually subsided, the footsteps of both gods and men also gradually came to a halt.

Sun En stopped worrying about the present and let his thoughts drift to the distant future.

"There will be."

He Bo adopted a haughty demeanor, revealing the irritation of a power-hungry person, and pointed at Sun En, saying viciously, "The one who started this, will he have no descendants?"

Sun En burst into laughter at God's amusement.

He returned to his body amidst laughter.

His symptoms have subsided under the influence of the medication.

So Sun En got up and went outside, where he met several children who were squatting in the fields, happily poking at the snow with their fingers.

The little fingers poked holes in the snow, occasionally letting out a joyful cry, talking about the coldness of the snow and the beauty of next year's planting.

"Taoist Priest!"

They saw Sun En and greeted him.

When their adults came looking for them, they also greeted Sun En warmly, saying, "Great and wise teacher."

Where are you going?

“You’ve been sick for a long time, so you should come out for a walk,” Sun En said to them.

"Then we'll keep you company!"

Sun En tried to dissuade them, saying, "There's still wind and snow outside. I've even refused to have guards, how can I let you suffer the cold with me?"

Those people said, "They won't go with you, but we'll go with you!"

"The house that shelters us from the wind and rain was built by people you sent!"

Upon hearing this, Sun En laughed.

He felt much more relaxed and refreshed as he walked through the snow.

(End of this chapter)