Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 529 After the Fall of Qin
"...I never thought these old, crooked trees would actually come in handy one day."

When Ying Qin lost its mandate of heaven in the Western Sea, and even failed to preserve its ancestral land located in a corner of the Western Sea,
Having heard the news, God arrived outside Epang City, atop the mausoleum of Ying Pijiang, the founding emperor of the Western Qin Dynasty. Gazing at the lush trees, he spoke in a drawn-out tone.

Ying Qin's black bird landed on his shoulder, folded its wings, and used its beak to preen the feathers that had been ruffled by the violent sea wind.

"The way you're saying that makes it sound like Emperor Qin Jing hanged himself up there and turned into a teru teru bozu (a Japanese doll that brings sunshine to the sky)."

"If he really hangs himself, that old devil Ying Pijiang might be even happier!"

He Bo couldn't help but laugh when he thought of the Great Ancestor of Western Qin, who was now sighing and refusing all comfort from his descendants in the underworld, and who was completely withdrawn from the world.

He then pointed to the man carrying an axe up the mountain, intending to cut down trees, and said:
"As the saying goes, 'Those who live near the mountains live off the mountains.' Although the ancestral state has been lost, the blessings that are spread across this mountain are enough for our descendants to enjoy for three generations. They won't starve to death in the mountains like King Jian of Qi!"

The person who had been given the divine touch seemed to sense something. He first looked around in panic, then showed a sad expression, raising and lowering the axe in his hand at a thick old tree.

But in the end,
He still swung it around.

After all, if he didn't cut down trees for firewood and exchange them for money, how would he make a living?

As the last emperor of the Eastern Qin Dynasty

Although he voluntarily abdicated in favor of his ministers
Although the kind and benevolent new king, according to protocol, bestowed upon him the position of "Guest of the State" and granted him the title of Duke...

But how could the "remnants of the previous dynasty" who were driven out possibly receive genuine preferential treatment?
The new ruler, who was enfeoffed as the King of Zhai and established the state of Zhai in the ancestral lands of Western Qin after receiving the abdication, also spoke with concern to his subjects before ascending the throne:
"The Qin dynasty has ruled the Western Sea for over two hundred years. Although there have been incompetent rulers, there has never been a cruel and tyrannical one."

"If I were to show him favor, would the fate of the Later Han dynasty in the Central Plains be similar in the future?"

Although at present,

Rebellions broke out everywhere, and many declared themselves kings or dukes.

But no one can guarantee that it will be their side that brings the West Sea back to unity.

Moreover, once the world is turned into a mess due to the struggle for hegemony among the feudal lords, the people, seeing this, will yearn for the glory of the Qin Dynasty, just like their fellow people in the Central Plains who were ravaged by Wang Mang, and their scattered hearts will be reunited. What should be done then?

It's a contest of who's worse!
Once the bottom line is broken, creating a new low in the rule, the once insignificant Qin dynasty will inevitably show some beauty and gentleness.

When a subject is advising a monarch, he proposes:
“They may be shown superficial favors, but without money, making it difficult for them to travel far.”

No money,

Going hungry every day

Where would they find the strength to run away?
then,

After receiving the abdication, King Zhai, citing the need to preserve the ancestral temples of the Qin dynasty and ensure their continuation, left the deposed Emperor of Eastern Qin here, ordering him to personally guard the tombs and gardens of his ancestors.

just,

The Qin emperor could only move around near the mausoleum and could not leave at will.

otherwise,

Who will maintain this ancestral temple?
Who will carry on this filial piety?
To better demonstrate the respect of descendants and to allow ancestors in the afterlife to enjoy the offerings,
King Zhai would not interfere with the items needed for the sacrifices, leaving everything to the other party to handle themselves.

The Emperor of Eastern Qin knew that such an order was merely a relocation of his imprisonment from the palace to that small mausoleum town, so he requested the King of Zhai:
"How can I face my ancestors? I only wish to take the old and the young to the eastern valley to graze the livestock, and to train the steeds that can gallop across the world for the monarch."

King Zhai was furious and said:
"The Qin dynasty raised horses for the Zhou emperor, but in the end, they seized the Zhou emperor's Nine Tripods!"

"Do you want to repeat this kind of thing on me?"

The Emperor of Eastern Qin dared not speak further and could only cower and accept the arrangements made by the King of Zhai.

quickly,

Because this was not much better than exile, he fell into a predicament where he had no rice in the jar and no clothes at home.

However, King Zhai would frequently send people over to inspect the condition of the Qin ancestral temple.

If they saw that there wasn't even a candle, they would rebuke the Emperor of Eastern Qin for being "unfilial."

in this way,

This Qin emperor, who was not yet dead but had lost his throne and was given the posthumous title "Jing" in advance, was forced to cultivate the land himself and exchange his labor for money.

However, the grain in the fields did not grow quickly enough to sustain him until harvest time.

thinking about it,

Emperor Jing could only turn his attention to the trees on the ancestral mausoleum mountain, resorting to the practice of living off the land.

bad news,
Logging is a very hard job. The insects, snakes, rats, birds, and various wild animals in the mountains often make people tremble with fear.

good news,
King Zhai did not forbid him from doing so, and there were enough trees on Lingshan Mountain to allow him to cut them down for decades and support several generations.

"From this perspective, although Emperor Gong of Western Qin was also kept as a pet, his life was still better than his."

Having experienced numerous upheavals,
The city of Yubi, which had supported the Qin state for a long time, finally welcomed a new master.

And that former monarch, like a relative across the Western Sea, was given a posthumous title while he was still alive to signify the end of his imperial career.

then,

Emperor Gong of Western Qin was exiled to a small island in the Mediterranean, where he had to rely on boats for everything, from food and clothing to shelter and transportation.

Although there was no hunger or cold,

But the island is small.
Even if Emperor Gong walked slowly with his hands behind his back, he could complete a full circle in less than half a day.

He hid in the house and wept to his wife:
"The birds in the sky and the fish in the water are probably freer than I am!"

His wife replied angrily:
"If that's the case, why didn't His Majesty protest loudly when Prince Ning sent people to demand the Imperial Seal?"

"If I had followed the example of the Second Emperor and died for my country when I was forced to abdicate, I wouldn't be suffering like I am today!"

Emperor Gong stammered and dared not reply, only lowering his head to wipe away his tears.

His wife, the last empress of Western Qin, snorted coldly upon seeing this and went to the kitchen to cook today's meal.

It wasn't exactly a delicacy; it was just edible.

After eating too much, Emperor Gong began to dislike these things. He found the official sent by Prince Ning to supervise him and said, "I want fine food to satisfy my appetite and invigorate my spirit."

The official refused and even ridiculed him.

Emperor Gong returned home in a huff and, mustering his courage, said to his wife, "I can no longer endure such humiliation. I will do as you wish and drown myself in the sea to preserve my honor and comfort our ancestors!"

His wife happily agreed.

She is not afraid of death.
Compared to fleeting death,

The thought of spending the rest of her life imprisoned on this island filled her with even greater fear.

Moreover, she came from the powerful Hei clan of the Qin state, and had established close ties with the Qin dynasty during the reign of the First Emperor.

Now that the Qin dynasty has been destroyed, the Hei clan should also perish.

then,

The couple went to the beach hand in hand late at night.

The wife removed her excess jewelry, walked into the sea, letting the water reach her waist, and turned to wave to Emperor Gong, who was lingering on the shore:
"Why haven't you kept your promise?"

Emperor Gong then said, "I remembered that the fire in the stove at home has not yet gone out."

“You’re already thinking of dying, why bother with anything else!” His wife glared at him.

"...I remembered that the clothes that were hanging out to dry hadn't been brought in yet."

"What use are clothes if you fall into the water?"

At last,
Emperor Gong could only say, "The seawater is too cold; I'm worried it might harm my health."

His wife then realized his intentions and sneered in anger.

"You're spineless! What do you mean by saying the water's too cold!" Emperor Gong was so humiliated by her scolding that he didn't dare to raise his head, appearing completely weak and incompetent.

His wife had originally intended to die on her own, but upon seeing this, she stood in the sea and wept for a while before returning to Emperor Gong's side.

She said to this useless man:
"I do not wish to live a life of ignominy, but if only something like you is left in the world, you will suffer even more torment."

"Go back now. Let's pretend that today's events never happened. Don't nitpick about it in the future."

Emperor Gong was still muttering to himself. He ran over and picked up the jewelry his wife had taken off earlier, and followed her back to their simple dwelling in the center of the island.

Witnessing this scene, the King of the Mediterranean, the Roman White Dove who stood alongside the Ying Qin Black Bird, smiled as he forwarded it to his old friend next door:
"When Emperor Gong was emperor, he was controlled by powerful ministers. Now that he is no longer emperor, he is still controlled by his wife."

"They can be considered lucky people."

How could a monarch who lost his country still find his wife's true companionship not make people envious in the past and sigh with emotion in the future?
"However, the fates of these two Qin emperors are a replica of the stories of Jiang Qi and Tian Qi... I wonder what classic scenes will be replicated in the future."

Duke Kang of Qi was exiled to an island.

King Jian of Qi was imprisoned in the mountains.

How similar they are to Emperor Jing and Emperor Gong of today?
……

"The people of Qi are more focused on running away, unlike the people of Ying and Qin, who wander around everywhere."

After admiring the sight of Ying Pijiang's descendants sweating profusely and illegally cutting down trees on their ancestor's grave,

He Bo ran to the vicinity of the West Sea Strait, with a black bird perched on his left shoulder and a white dove on his right shoulder, enjoying the sea breeze.

When God heard two fat birds talking about the similarities between Qi Qin and himself, he also recalled the story from back then:
"However, the states of Qi and Qin were very friendly in the past, and now we are following in their footsteps, which can be considered a kind of fate."

Before Qin unified the world, it adopted the strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, and frequently sent envoys to Qi to express condolences and present gifts.

When King Zhaoxiang of Qin wanted to become emperor, he always dragged the State of Qi into it.

Look at it again carefully.

After losing their original homeland, the Qi people fled to Japan, where they bullied the Japanese and Emishi.
After losing their land in the Western Sea, the Qin people fled to the western regions, where they clashed with the local barbarians...

They seemed even more similar.

"I wonder how many years the destiny of the Western Sea will remain vacant, and who will eventually obtain it?"

As they floated along the strait, two divine birds each occupied God's left and right ears, chattering away about the Western Sea and the Western Regions.

When God's footprints landed on a desolate island in the Aegean Sea, the divine birds grew tired of speaking, and God slowly opened his mouth, gazing at the calm sea under the night sky.

The new Xia dynasty rose and fell twice, but the period of chaos in between was not too long.

When the flood came, a great ruler emerged to take on the responsibility of pacifying the country, and spent a generation's efforts to achieve it.

But the West Sea has never had such an experience.

The soil and water of the Western Sea are not as good as those of the Central Plains and the Xinxia, ​​which can be easily connected into a whole.

not to mention,
Beside the Western Sea, Rome was also eyeing the land shattered after the collapse of the Qin Dynasty.

The ghosts in the underworld who came from the Western Sea often sighed, not optimistic about the future of their hometown.

"If Ningguo can develop a strong navy, occupy the north and control Longxi, then there is still hope of obtaining the Mandate of Heaven."

The black bird yawned with its wings.

In terms of the geographical environment of the West Sea,

Mesopotamia has always been easy to attack but difficult to defend. To make up for its weakness, it must quickly expand its territory to the eastern plateau and the western mountains...

unfortunately,

These areas are truly vast.

Hundreds of years ago, the land was vast and sparsely populated, so it could be accomplished at a leisurely pace.

But right now,
The seeds of the Qin people have spread even to the west; how could they not take root in various parts of the Western Sea?
A local power that controls its own territory would never simply give it away to someone else!
As for the Di Kingdom, although it could be described as easy to defend and difficult to attack, its land was small and the route south to the two rivers was blocked by mountains.

Dominating one region is possible, but unifying the Western Sea is difficult.

Only by taking the northern Beidi Commandery, a granary located between the two seas, and the southern Longxi Commandery, which, though winding, is traversable and has sufficient population and farmland, can one pursue destiny and recreate the world in the Western Sea.

unfortunately,

Thanks to the legacy of the Qin ruler who restored the dynasty, Ningguo obtained these two territories, but because he was busy with the usurpation, he neglected the development of his navy.

The large ships that were once built still drift on the Mediterranean Sea, their planks not yet corroded to the point of decay and ruin.

But the new dynasty needs to use new people.

In order to eliminate the influence of Ying Qin as soon as possible and establish the rule of Ningguo, the new ruler carried out a large-scale reshuffle of civil and military officials.

He doesn't ask for talent, ability, or virtue; he only asks that the person be loyal enough to him.

This allowed his rule to be consolidated quickly, and also allowed many opportunistic mediocre fools to occupy high positions of power.

For the navy,

The person in charge of steering the oars has changed, and the tool being used will naturally change as well.

After all, the captain is the soul of the fleet.

His commands determined whether the ships sailed to victory or to ruin.

Therefore,
Under Ningguo's "new dynasty's elegant policies," the outcome is predictable.

"All I can say is that a captain must know how to sail and be able to tell which way to go!"

"To find a guy who can't even see properly and can't distinguish colors, who has never shed blood since taking office, yet has a heart full of ambition to achieve great things, to be a naval commander... He deserved to be thoroughly outmaneuvered by Rome during the battle."

Just before God descended here,
While the new emperor of the Han Dynasty was busy consolidating power and securing his throne, various regions in the Western Seas celebrated the fall of the Qin Dynasty and engaged in separatist conquests.
The Romans, who had a love-hate relationship with the Qin state for two hundred years, also came, adding fuel to the fire of the chaotic situation.

They longed for the Northern Prefecture, which originally belonged to the Thracians but was later developed into a paradise by the Qin people.

Rome's gaze upon the city of Jade Wall, built within it, was like that of a man who had suffered a painful unrequited love for many years, gazing upon the beautiful young man he longed for.

Why not take advantage of our old rival's weakness in the east?

Why not take the beautiful and alluring jade disc into your own arms?

Subsequently,

The Roman fleet then sailed straight towards the waters off Ningguo.

Having only recently ascended the throne and barely having warmed the imperial seal, the monarch was forced to confront the enemy.

Those naval commanders who had little experience with ship rudders and couldn't tell the wind direction became the main figures in this war.

Of course,
As the Romans maneuvered their ships skillfully across the sea,

It is not surprising that a strange scene would occur where "several generals, eager to make a name for themselves, commanded their own fleets to chase the enemy, only to have their own ships collide with each other."

Even more shameful is that

After its defeat, Ningguo ceded territory and paid reparations to Rome. It ceded Crete, originally belonging to Greece and later occupied and renamed by the Qin people, to Rome. In return, Ningguo allowed Roman fleets to freely enter and exit the island south of Longxi County, originally named Cyprus and later called "Penglai" by the Qin people.

Obviously,
The newly established Ningguo had no power to resist the Roman naval blockade.

"If the navy is not strong, then no matter how solid and powerful Jade Wall City is, it will be impossible to defend it."

"I just hope we won't be taken over by Rome in the future!"

"Otherwise, those dead ghosts in Western Qin would probably be crying their hearts out underground."

(End of this chapter)