Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 506 Xinxiang
In the third year of the Gengshi era of the Xuan Han dynasty,

The Red Eyebrow Army and the Green Forest Army, which had originally merged, had a fierce conflict in Chang'an, and the two sides fought each other.

At last,
The Red Eyebrows Army drove out the Green Forest faction, briefly occupied Chang'an, and killed Emperor Xuan Han, Liu Xuan. They then installed a member of the imperial family, who had fallen so low as to herd cattle, as emperor.

At the same time,
Liu Xiu, who was consolidating local power in Hebei, also clashed with the Yellow Turban Army, which was gradually advancing westward.

The two sides then engaged in a fierce battle.

Dissatisfied with Sun En's various actions, the powerful clans of Hebei, along with some of his generals, flocked to Liu Xiu's command.

This caused the Yellow Turban Army considerable trouble in the early stages, resulting in several defeats.

But soon,
The Yellow Turban Army was reorganized.

Those who possessed sufficient courage and strength and were willing to follow Sun En stepped forward and prevented several generals from defecting to the enemy.

When they were forced before the Great Teacher by their own soldiers, they still shouted:
"Didn't I have that same passion back then?"

"Have I not followed the Great Teacher of Wisdom and wished to restore peace to the world?"

"When you reach my level and have my power, you will become just like me!"

"The only reason you can still stand on the shore now, hypocritically accusing me of depravity, is that you don't possess the wealth and power I have!"

Subsequently,

They also said to Sun En, "I still respect you in my heart."

"But your excessive kindness and tolerance will not make people submit."

"How much of the so-called 'universal harmony' and 'equality of all beings' can actually be achieved?"

"There are millions of people in the world; you can't possibly make them all accept your ideas and follow the 'Taiping Jing' to do things!"

"The Taiping Jing says that gathering the strength of many people is like piling sand to build a tower... But have you never seen what a 'tower' looks like?"

"It's inherently sharper, narrower, and sparser the higher you go!"

Therefore,
Their choice is truly in accordance with the will of Heaven!

Sun En didn't argue with them. He just rubbed his chest, which was a little short of breath, and ordered his men to drag him away and execute him.

He stood up and said to those around him, "I am not ignorant of the ways of the world."

"But some things always need a beginning in order to attract successors and let them carry them forward."

"Before me, the Prince of Chen in the Central Plains had risen up in rebellion against the rule of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty, but he quickly became addicted to wealth and power, lost his way, and lost his life."

“I emulate King Chen in speaking out for the people, but I do not wish to become a second King Chen.”

"I just want to be a pioneer and pave a new path for those who follow."

Sun En quickly reorganized his military affairs and fought against Liu Xiu again, achieving a great victory.

Unfortunately,

Liu Xiu's good fortune continued to protect him.

While in Kunyang,

That luck gave Liu Xiu the aura of being "sent by heaven";

In the battles against the Yellow Turban Rebellion,

That luck allowed Liu Xiu to escape with his wounds despite a crushing defeat.

"Luck is also a part of strength."

"I just need to keep going."

When someone complained about the chaos on the battlefield, which allowed Liu Xiu, the enemy general, to escape in disguise, Sun En simply smiled calmly.

He spurred his horse and headed towards a new battlefield.

While the flames of war raged fiercely in the Central Plains,

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Kingdom of Qi, several unexpected guests also arrived.

"You've returned from the new country across the ocean?"

"Was it an envoy sent there by the new emperor to read the imperial edict and bestow upon him the new name of the dynasty?"

King Qi asked the two disheveled men standing below the hall.

His eyes widened as he looked him up and down, revealing pure curiosity and surprise.

The two kept nodding, initially trying to maintain the air of "angels going to court," but as they drifted at sea, their stomachs, which had been empty for a long time, growled, and they couldn't help but pick up their chopsticks, grab the food on the table in front of them, and stuff it into their mouths.

King Qi did not rebuke their rudeness, but simply raised his hand to brush aside the tassels of his crown hanging before his eyes, and whispered to the ministers standing beside him:
"After all these years, they're still alive?"

The minister whispered back, "Some people are so lucky that they can float from Japan to the Central Plains while carrying a plank!"

Not to mention that at the end of the Shang Dynasty, a group of remnants of the Shang people crossed the sea to Yinzhou.

No matter how disappointing their descendants may be, over the course of a thousand years, shipbuilding was still more stable and wind-resistant than that of merchants.

Therefore, what is happening before us is not surprising.

But to the King of Qi's surprise, "They actually went to Yinzhou!"

When the new dynasty was established,

The Central Plains once sent an envoy to the State of Qi to read the edict of the new emperor.

Therefore, the King of Qi, who was already over forty years old, had met these two envoys and knew that they had been given the order by the new emperor to "go to Xinxiang and order them to change their names".

just,

King Qi never expected that, across the vast ocean, these two envoys not only did not find a reason to refuse this extremely dangerous mission, but actually found a ship and headed to Yinzhou.

"Moreover, the people of Xinxiang didn't kill them, which shows their kindness!"

Judging others by oneself

The King of Qi felt that after many years of establishing his country, someone had suddenly appeared and forced him to change the name of his kingdom, while also demanding that he be grateful to them.

The King of Qi would definitely use the excuse that "one should step into the palace with the left foot first" to send him to the underworld and tell this story to the previous kings of Qi.

After all, they are separated by the sea.

Whether the messenger can reach his destination alive or return alive is not a very important matter.

Seeing the angels wolfing down their food in the hall, clearly having suffered greatly, King Qi couldn't help but say to his ministers:
"Should we just tell them that the new dynasty has already fallen?"

The ships of Qi never cease their journeys.
The sails of the Qi people were always billowing.

Therefore,
While the Central Plains were engulfed in chaotic battles,
The diligent seafarers continue to traverse the oceans belonging to the Chinese people, gaining relatively timely knowledge of the situation in various regions.

Although it is still impossible to determine who among the heroes who have already declared themselves emperors in the Central Plains is the true Son of Heaven.

However, the King of Qi was aware that Wang Mang's head had been preserved and listed as a "national treasure" by order of the Xuan Han Emperor.

Fortunately, the ministers stopped King Qi.

"That's not right!"

"Wouldn't it be a pity if they choked to death from the stress?"

anyway,

The stubbornness and loyalty of these two envoys deserve their respect.

So let them learn about that terrible news when they return to the Central Plains.

……

"These are the history books and maps of the Xinxiang Kingdom in Yinzhou."

“The magpies over there copied it by hand and sent it back.”

Underworld

The salted fish from Japan pulled out scroll after scroll of documents from its belly and handed them to its original body.

He Bo took it, his eyes still fixed on the man's pale, greasy belly.

"...The way you're doing this, I always feel like you're going to pull out another piece of paper with 'Chen Sheng Wang' written on it."

Xianyu replied, "If I really created a 'Chen King,' wouldn't the State of Qi be thrown into civil war?"

The descendants of Tian Qi are still multiplying in Japan.
Some of those guys had many children, and some even separated from the family and went out to make their way in the world with the "Chen" family name from their ancestors.

Considering what Tian Qi had done in the past, if a Japanese version of the "hidden book in the belly of a fish" were to appear, King Qi would most likely choose to kill him.

"Not always!"

He Bo opened a book and started reading, muttering, "There are plenty of eccentric monarchs out there."

Salty Fish was too lazy to argue with him and didn't take up the topic, instead listing some monarchs with amazing abilities.

He simply floated in the air, staring with his lifeless fish eyes, appreciating the absolutely "pioneering" national history of Xinxiang along with his original body.

"Tsk!" "They're really farming in Yinzhou, playing Stardew Valley?"

When He Bo saw the valley name marked in red on the unfolded map, he burst into laughter.

Although based on the situation in Yinzhou,
He Bo had long known that Xinxiang, as a member of the various Xia states, had to remain a humble and silent farmer until it could gather enough people, livestock, and produce enough grain, and mine and smelt enough minerals, while other compatriots' nations were in turmoil.
But when the words "Stardew Valley" popped out of Xinxiang, he couldn't help but feel excited.

"Was it that magpie that did this?" Salty Fish said.

"That's not true!"

He Bo pointed to the annotation in the corner and said, "He said that when the fifth monarch of Xinxiang was exploring the territory, he saw that the valley was full of starlight and that it was covered with dew after one night, so he combined the two to get the name."

So Xianyu asked again, "Did the fifth ruler still have to lead his people out to do the work himself?"

"Life in Yinzhou is too miserable!"

Five generations' worth of time can easily add up to a century.

Can anyone think of,

A century later, Xinxiang Kingdom is still in such a miserable state.

"Now Sun En's dream has come true in Xinxiang."

Although it was due to environmental and population constraints that forced them to be frugal, do things personally, and share joy with the people...

Judging solely from his actions, the ruler of Xinxiang Kingdom did indeed possess the qualities of an "ancient sage king" as advocated by Confucianism.

After all, according to records,

Even during the reigns of Yao and Shun, they had to farm the land themselves.

"Hey, it also says here that they sailed south and established contact with the remnants of the Yin-Shang dynasty."

"Following the ancient precedents of Wu and Yue, let us continue the bond of our kinship..."

Decades after the founding of the People's Republic of China,
Having accumulated a certain level of national strength, Xinxiang began exploring not only on land but also at sea.

They had not forgotten the story their ancestors had told them: "Going south along the coast, you can find the Yin people."

Its ruler then dispatched envoys to explore the south across the sea, hoping to introduce some of the bloodline of the Yan and Huang Emperors from there.

There is no way,

The population of Yinzhou is far too small. Even without war, there are still problems such as premature death and disease.

This meant that the number of registered households in Xinxiang could never satisfy its ruler.

However, the vast ocean presented numerous obstacles, making it extremely difficult to introduce the seeds of the Chinese people.

In that case,

Following Confucius's teaching, "If rites are lost, seek them in the countryside," is also perfectly acceptable.

Although the descendants of the Yin-Shang dynasty did not follow the Zhou rites and had even forgotten their ancestors' language and writing, their civilization had degenerated to the point that they were not even as civilized as the savages of the Central Plains during the Spring and Autumn period...

But he is, after all, an "overseas orphan" of our Chinese nation!

As long as they are willing to submit

Xinxiang can gradually teach them etiquette and culture, helping them rediscover "the pride of their ancestors".

"A new problem—"

The salted fish turned its dead fish eyes toward its true form, "Are those guys in the south really descendants of the Yin Shang dynasty?"

He Bo said confidently, "Su Guang, the founding emperor of Xinxiang, has already appointed him as the emperor, and he has even reported this news to all the emperors of the Xia Dynasty!"

"You ask me what I can do?"

He Bo closed the book, put away the complicated farming records of Xinxiang, and casually released the salted fish back into the river in Japan.

In any case, I wish Xinxiang a prosperous future!

Once they've cultivated enough land, they can go out to sea and bring some surprises to their old home in the East.

Anyway, according to the records in the book,

Despite such difficult circumstances, the descendants of Xinxiang have never forgotten their ancestors' culture and have been assimilated into the culture of Yinzhou.

He Bo naturally understood the resilience of those people and had high hopes for their future.

"What about those guys who went to explore the western regions?"

Even as the salted fish was released back into the wild, it didn't forget to ask a new question.

this year,

Yege'er has already gained the recognition of the Taiping Dao of Western Qin through force.

His innate and exceptional ability to debate scriptures was an unshakeable peak for the combat-savvy Taoist priests of Western Qin.

then,

An extremely rare "divine oracle" descended, selecting him as the official Great Teacher of the West and bestowing upon him a new nine-section staff.

at the moment,

Yacob is gathering his companions, planning to travel to the West to sow the seeds of civilization from the East for the Chinese and for God.

"Of course I wish them good luck!"

"There are so many primitive wild men in Taixi!"

He Bo waved to Xianyu and told him, "I'll go to the West Sea later to see them off!"

……

West Sea

The summer sun shines on the Mediterranean Sea, making the islands and coastal mountains shimmer with a dazzling light.

Birds occasionally skim across the sea, stirring the surface, before joyfully flying away.

Obviously,
This is the perfect day to set sail.

Meanwhile, the followers of the Taiping Dao in Western Qin gathered at the port of Longxi County to see off their fellow Daoists who were about to travel to Taixi.

The now fully grown, tall and strong enough to run a horse, stood in the crowd. After saying goodbye to his friends and parents, he was somewhat disappointed that his grandmaster had not been able to come and see him off.

“The teacher is too old, you shouldn’t bother him,” his mother told him.

Today,

Zhao Shen is still alive.

But even the longest lifespan will eventually come to an end.

Just as people always experience gatherings and separations, nations also experience periods of prosperity and decline.

Therefore,
When Yegor had assembled the team to head to Ctesi, and purchased ships and supplies,

Old and emaciated, Zhao Shen, no longer possessing the formidable martial prowess of his youth, lay in bed, unable to even open his eyes. Each day, he could only be fed rice porridge by his disciples to sustain his meager life. Only after hearing that his grand-disciple was about to depart did he manage to squeeze out a single word, "Good."

Just like the Qin state right now.

The entanglements between the Qin and Han dynasties are always so fascinating.
While the flames of war raged in the Central Plains, the Western Qin, which had been able to maintain its "Western Zhou state" and retain the counties along the western coast as its "royal domain," also faced new turmoil.

Some warlords in the south, after years of obeying orders but not orders, officially raised the banner of rebellion.

In Yu Bi City, the western capital, a series of political upheavals broke out, reminiscent of the "four generations of chaotic rule" before Duke Xian of Qin ascended the throne.

in this way,

This made the already turbulent Qin state even worse.

Meanwhile, the Taiping Dao of Qin also sprang into action, preparing for an uprising.

"Anyway, in the future, you will be busy preaching in the West, and we will be busy bringing peace to the Qin State... I don't know when we will meet again."

A friend said this to Yageer.

Yege'er also sighed, unsure how to respond.

As parting approaches, there are always some things I don't know how to express from my heart.

His mother, who was middle-aged, with an increasingly full figure and a more irritable temper, was the same.

While packing, he kept nagging. When Yege stood at the harbor with ships preparing to set sail behind him, he opened and closed his mouth, but ultimately couldn't say more than a few words.

"...I'm leaving!"

They remained silent, only after a moment of tears.
Yorgias turned and boarded the ship.

He stood to the side waving to his relatives and friends, while Liu Ruyi next to him loudly called out to the sailors, urging them to prepare to set sail.

Not long after the ship sailed away...
A plump pigeon suddenly flew over, braked sharply in mid-air, and successfully landed on Yorgon's head.

(End of this chapter)