Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 528 The Fall of Qin
In the thirty-second year of Jianwu of the Han Dynasty,
The emperor, who was restoring the Han dynasty, approved his ministers' proposal to perform the "Fengshan" ceremony, following his eastern tour three years prior.
He boarded the carriage again, headed east, climbed Mount Tai, and conversed with the gods of heaven and earth.

Before leaving,

Empress Yin Lihua said with some concern, "The emperor's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai is a very important event, and I am naturally happy for His Majesty."

"But your body..."

Could the aging emperor withstand the long journey and the hardship of climbing the mountain?
But the emperor told her, "I have completely taken control of the world, and my achievements as an emperor have reached their peak."

"Now, I want to make this achievement known to heaven and earth, and to all people, so that they may know the cause for which I have dedicated my life!"

Last autumn and winter,
Two good things happened to the emperor—

former,
Envoys from various Xia states, including Sui, Qi, Qi, Yue, and Wu, along with leaders of barbarian tribes from all directions, came to the Central Plains to pay homage to the emperor. In Luoyang, they presented a magnificent scene known as "All Nations Paying Homage," and proved the truth of the saying "Wherever the sun and moon shine, all is Han territory."

This made the emperor very proud, feeling that the entire Central Plains and the vast wilderness were now under his control.

the latter,
These were the Great Wall guards of the Han Dynasty who defeated the Yan army that attempted to invade southward, and launched a counterattack against Yan through the narrow Liaoxi Corridor and Lelang County on the Haidong Peninsula.

This forced the State of Yan to express its willingness to sue for peace and submit to the Han Dynasty.

Although on the surface,

The Yan state, which had been entangled with the Han dynasty for a long time, still hadn't abandoned its ridiculous ideology or corrected its pathetic national structure.
However, the act of the Duke of Yan sending envoys to deliver state letters and gifts has, in effect, recognized the emperor of the Central Plains as the "Son of Heaven" and has resulted in the payment of tribute.

This pleased the emperor, who said to the crown prince:
"I have no worries about the affairs of the country, except for the Yan Kingdom in Liaodong, which made me a little uneasy before."

"But the current situation is clear: the Yan state probably won't be able to enjoy a hundred years of rule!"

"In the future, the descendants of my great Han will not have to suffer from the harassment of those absurd people!"

remote areas of Liaodong

What could they possibly use to fight against the incredibly wealthy Central Plains?

Moreover, the greater and brighter the ideal,
As reality erodes the environment, the speed of collapse becomes increasingly alarming.

The emperor was very pleased to have gleaned information about the internal situation of the Yan Kingdom through that war.

"You must remember—"

"We should not be fixated on whether things in this world are good or bad, black or white, but rather we should clearly distinguish: what you need and what you can get."

"Only by being grounded in reality can we have a bright future."

A beautiful dream floating in the air, no matter how alluring, is ultimately an illusion.

Only profit and desire are truly eternal!
As another key figure in the matter of deposing and establishing the crown prince, Liu Zhuang naturally understood the deeper meaning behind his father's words.

He raised his glass, expressing his agreement and his unwavering commitment to "reality."

in this way,

Domestically and internationally, there was nothing that would cause the emperor any worry about for his descendants and the state.

So in this spring, when his body was growing old and his vitality was fading, he wanted to ring the final bell of his life.

"Would you like to come with me?"

The emperor, holding the empress's hand, suddenly asked her a question.

Yin Lihua paused for a moment, then smiled and replied, "When Emperor Wu performed the Fengshan ceremony, he did not bring any of the women from his harem with him."

"Now that Your Majesty has ascended Mount Tai because of your achievements, I have gained my current wealth and status only because of Your Majesty's grace... How dare I, with such a humble and insignificant figure, scatter the glory bestowed upon you by the gods of heaven and earth?"

The emperor was pleased with her gentleness and thoughtfulness, and stroked her still soft hands, saying with emotion, "With a wife like you, what could I possibly be unhappy about?"

"I truly hope that even in the afterlife, we can continue to be a loving couple!"

Yin Lihua could only smile in response.

When the emperor finally reached the top of Mount Tai,

He Bo, this so-called God, naturally focused his attention on the emperor who was using the sacred event of the Fengshan ceremony as the culmination of his glorious life.

The sacrificial documents that the other party had personally burned for Heaven were also presented to him on the wisps of smoke.

The above recounts Liu Xiu's actions as a monarch, and concludes by posing a question to Heaven, his "father," in the name of the Son of Heaven:
"Having done so much, can I be considered an excellent emperor?"

"What do you think?"

He Bo posed this question to the dead man beside him, asking his ancestors like Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, his adversaries like Sun En and Wang Feng, and his ministers like Kong Guang and Ximen Bao to give their own evaluations of Liu Xiu.

A fellow emperor once said, "Of course he can be called excellent."

Rebuilding an ancestral temple is far more difficult than inheriting it.

in this aspect,

Even the First Emperor had no choice but to acknowledge it.

His enemies also said, "We lost to this guy when we were alive, and now that our bodies are rotting away, what else can we say?"

May the world be at peace!

Those who served as advisors to the monarch also lamented, "Governing a country requires careful consideration of both sides, and one must be careful not to mix personal desires with public interest."

"Liu Xiu did a very good job in this regard."

Even though he sacrificed his wife and his children for the sake of the country, he did not do so.

But with the precedents of Emperors Cheng and Ai, who valued true love, and with the chaos under their rule, they couldn't really criticize anything.

Even Guo Shengtong, who had long since become a ghost, was familiar with the customs of the underworld, and knew many of his ancestors, said:
Throughout history, how many of those who vie for power have managed to escape unscathed and preserve their lives?

"Although my children and I were deposed, we lived out our lives in wealth and comfort. Compared to ordinary people who huddle in thatched huts and struggle to make a living, we are much better off!"

Even the most destitute and powerful are still powerful.

Until death,

Their clothes were never covered in mud.
Their palms have never developed calluses.

Those anxieties and fears that linger in one's heart and brow because of power and wealth...

For farmers who work every day and are always bent over, it's nothing more than a trivial matter that would only invite ridicule from their neighbors and friends if they talked about it.

Therefore,
Guo Shengtong did not harbor any unnecessary resentment because of her eldest son Liu Jiang's fear and anxiety in the mortal world.

She simply followed the order of the underworld, enjoying the peace after death and awaiting the arrival of her child.

she thinks,

Perhaps after Yin Lihua dies, she will make the same choice as her.

"To receive such high praise from you, he is indeed a very competent emperor."

God listened to the answers of the dead men around him one by one, and then laughed.

He tossed the sacrificial text in his hand out; the thin silk scroll, which was originally formed from blue smoke, returned to its previous shape in the air.

"He won't be rewarded with anything openly."

"The merits and demerits in secret will be judged by the world."

"I'll give him a gentle breeze in return!"

then,

When the emperor, exhausted from climbing to the summit of Mount Tai, persevered through the ceremony, wrote the inscription on paper with bold ink, and affixed his imperial seal at the end, he prepared to leave this majestic sacred place where he could survey the entire Shandong mountain range.

A breeze blew.

The leaves rustled as they spoke.
The jewels that hung from his crown and obscured his eyes swayed with it.

In a daze, the emperor felt as if his energy and spirit had returned to that of his youth.

He looked around in surprise and doubt, but could not see any other people or things through the fluttering banners and the officials standing by.

"It must be that the energy and blood that were previously consumed have been restored, and the feng shui on the mountain is much fresher than that on the ground."

The monarch, who presented himself as a believer in prophecies and divination in front of outsiders, and emphasized the "Mandate of Heaven" of the Liu family in his sacred position as "Emperor," did not show excessive emotion because of this mysterious and uncanny surprise.

After all, in essence,

He was a rational and clear-headed monarch.

He doesn't believe in certain things.
He just needs people to believe in those things.

"Let's go!"

"My business is done!"

In this regard,

He returned to Luoyang and, in the early spring of the following year, peacefully passed away at the age of sixty-two. His carefully groomed crown prince, Liu Zhuang, inherited the throne, determined to build upon his father's legacy and create new glories.

However, some people who were dissatisfied with the new emperor were unwilling to cooperate with his policies.

They conspired in secret, attempting to instigate a rebellion in the name of the former Crown Prince, Liu Jiang, the Prince of Donghai.

In order to realize his ambitions,
These people also wrote to Liu Jiang, urging him to follow the "will of the people" and raise the banner.

Upon receiving the letter, Liu Jiang was terrified and immediately reported it to the authorities in Luoyang.

His subordinates said:
"The people's hearts are with us, so why not follow them?"

"And wouldn't doing this harm the King of Shanyang?"

Liu Jing, the Prince of Shanyang
The person who wrote this secret letter,

He is also the current emperor's brother.

The fact that such a person was willing to stand behind Liu Jiang, support him in seizing the throne, and avenge the "injustice" the late emperor had done to him, is enough to show his sincerity and his preparedness.

Liu Jiang, his face flushed, told him, "This is not the will of the people! This is clearly a selfish desire to seize the world and make the people uneasy!"

"I did this precisely to save the people!"

Do you think the newly enthroned emperor is a dull and slow-witted person?

After all,

Liu Jiang ordered his men to bind the officials who had made disrespectful remarks and escort them to Luoyang as well.

The new emperor, upon receiving the report, was very satisfied with Liu Jiang's understanding.

Therefore,
He did not unleash his thunderous power upon his elder brother.

He simply arrested and punished those with malicious intentions with extreme speed and force, and many were executed, regardless of their status or social standing.

The ministers were thus intimidated.

Compared to the late emperor, who, as long as his bottom line wasn't crossed, still considered his public image and used gentle methods,

This young monarch needs to be more direct and serious.

Moreover, judging from their reactions, it seemed as if everything had been anticipated.

With such an heir,
No wonder the late emperor, after subduing Hebei, once again governed the country with gentleness, pardoning criminals many times, extending favors to his ministers, and appearing carefree.

It turns out that they knew the new emperor could grasp that thorny bush, which, though some of its large thorns had been removed, was still sharp and difficult to handle!

It seems,

The submissive and humble demeanor displayed by Liu Jiang, the King of Donghai, was not due to inherent weakness, but merely a means to secure his own survival.

"But what's coming will still come."

Even if the emperor is merciful and does not hold my mistakes against me, I cannot let it go.

Upon learning of Luoyang's reaction,
And then there are the princes, high-ranking officials, and relatives of the emperor who were involved in treason, and were killed or exiled.

Liu Jiang soon fell ill and refused to take any medicine, instead asking a famous doctor to treat him.

He said to his son at his bedside:
"I have read Buddhist and Taoist scriptures and heard about the principles of transcending the mundane world, but unfortunately, my temperament is not strong enough to face the ups and downs around me with a calm attitude."

“The new emperor had been on the throne for less than a year, and the reign title he had chosen had not yet been promulgated, when that happened… I often worry that similar situations will entangle me again in the future.”

"After much thought, I realized that compared to this unsettling world of the living, the world after death is not worth fearing."

His two sons were still very young and did not understand their father's thoughts. They wept because of the impending separation.

Liu Jiang stroked their faces one by one, offered a few words of comfort, and then released the pent-up frustration that had been building up in his chest for many years. With a sense of detachment, he bid farewell to this mortal world.

He came to the underworld.

First, some time was spent going through the procedures for the deceased, allowing the grudges from their previous life to dissipate.

He then took the "certificate of pardon" issued by the underworld and the new "identity and household registration" and found his mother.

The mother and son, separated for many years, reunite in the underworld, both radiating pure joy.

then,

Liu Jiangcai realized what was happening and nervously looked around, "...Is Father here too?"

Guo Shengtong just smiled and patted his son's hand, saying, "On such a wonderful day, let's not mention him."

Liu Jiang was stunned for a moment, then remembered that he was just a dead man, so he laughed along with his mother.

The spirits who govern Yin and Yang witnessed this scene of maternal love and filial piety, and curiously inquired of the well-informed Madam Ximen:
What's Xiuer's reaction?

Because he was responsible for giving the dead ghosts who were lining up to be reincarnated the potion of forgetfulness, he was often grabbed by the ghosts to confide their last troubles and experiences before forgetting everything. He was forced to know a lot of gossip, and Mrs. Ximen, who was extremely popular with the female ghosts, told him:
"have nothing to say."

"He remained very calm."

He Bo said, "No wonder he's a descendant of the Liu family, always so rational and easygoing."

unfortunately,

The scene that God originally expected—"Xiu'er intended to enjoy the blessings of two women, but they ran away hand in hand, leaving him alone to cry"—will not be seen.

Fortunately,

We can't see any fun from Xiuer, the founding emperor.

There are always other dead souls willing to offer this scene for God.

There are so many dead ghosts in the underworld.

There will always be some people who can't let go of what happened in life, and whose entanglements continue even after death.

Having read too many grand stories about the various Xia dynasties, I've come across many.
Turning to look at these everyday family matters,
You can also taste many different flavors in it.

After all, even the largest country is made up of ordinary people and small families.

If those in high positions only think about their own great achievements and are unwilling to spare even a glance for the common people struggling to survive below.
It's like a tree that originally grew from the soil, but has now broken free from its roots that are firmly planted in the ground.

Out of touch with reality
I wonder how the root system painstakingly absorbs nutrients to supply the trees above ground.

It was foreseeable that the branches and leaves would wither and the trunk would collapse.

……

"Ugh!"

"In the blink of an eye, the world has changed once again."

After chatting and laughing with Madam Ximen, playing a few games of chess, and sharing some gossip about how even behind closed doors, no one could escape the prying eyes of ghosts and spirits, they finally got to know each other.

God, holding the melon, suddenly sighed.

His gaze crossed the boundary between Yin and Yang, and overcame the barriers of mountains and rivers, landing on the shore of the Western Sea.

over there,
The two Qin emperors, who had been manipulated by powerful ministers and imperial relatives for so long, were finally free from the humiliation of being puppets.

Because before they restored the Qin dynasty...
The thrones they sat on had already been abandoned.

That person who was prominent during the Shang Dynasty but fell into poverty at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty,
He regained his fiefdom during the reign of King Xiao of Zhou, and was listed as a vassal lord during the reign of King Ping of Zhou.

The Qin dynasty, which once dominated the Central Plains and the West, swept across the land and unified the world, lost its ancestral temples and state during the reign of the Second Emperor. It fled to the Western Sea, rebuilt its glory, and brought unprecedented unity, prosperity, and stability to the Western Sea.

It finally ended its nearly thousand-year life.

Although the descendants of the Qin dynasty still rule the peninsula in central and southern China;

In the eastern part of Taixi, descendants of the Qin dynasty were still developing the area.
But the core of the Qin dynasty was ultimately cut down.

Perhaps those scattered branches and leaves can grow back and become new trees.

But how much similarity do they still have with their predecessors?

"I do not care!"

"Eastern Qin and Western Qin are both Qin!"

"I'll appear in that brat Ying Feng's dream later and tell him to change the name of his country to Qin, and make the whole of Southern Qin come out!"

"Besides, isn't there still the Northern Qin Kingdom in the West?"

"There are still several Qin states in the world; it's impossible for it to just disappear like this!"

Upon receiving news of the fall of his kingdom, Emperor Taizu of Western Qin crossed his arms and retorted defiantly to Emperor Taizu of Han, who mocked his descendants for being less capable than his own.

(End of this chapter)