Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 536 Zhao Sheng
"This question is a bit profound for me."

"So I can't answer."

Zhao Sheng, entrusted with an important mission by his father for the first time—to lead a group of merchants to trade in the Western Regions with the assistance of other elders—was stopped by a group of inexplicable people after leaving Yangguan Pass and asked strange questions.

Fortunately,

He wasn't angry; he simply gave a sincere answer.

"Then could you tell me your impressions of the governance of the State of Qi?"

The person blocking the way looked at Zhao Sheng with kind and gentle eyes. His handsome face was a "beautiful sight" in the narrow and boring Yangguan Valley.

Although Zhao Sheng grew up in a merchant family, he possessed a refined air unlike that of his father and grandfather.

He felt only warmth towards the stranger who spoke and acted with such gentlemanly manners, and he didn't find it strange at all to meet such a person in this desolate place.

The rivalry between the states of Sui and Qi
This was difficult for Zhao Sheng, who was in business, to figure out.

He didn't stand at that level, nor did he have the inclination to understand, so how could he possibly have the answer?
But he still has some things to say about his own experiences.

So he began to answer the other person's new question:
"The State of Qi has gone through three generations. Even if it is not a descendant of the Xia dynasty, it has long since achieved the goal of assimilating the barbarians into the Xia through governance and reform."

"The difference between the robes worn by ordinary people and the traditional robes of the various Xia states is a minor matter."

"As long as the desire to admire and integrate into the Chinese civilization remains unchanged, and as long as we are willing to honor our common ancestors, use the same script, and continue the same traditions, that is enough."

Regardless of who wins in the future and annexes the other's territory,
As long as the above things remain unchanged.
In spring, people can still sing folk songs as they work in the fields and countryside.

In winter, they are still willing to light firecrackers and set out offerings for their ancestors.

For civilization, that means nothing has changed.

of course,

Such a humble and friendly attitude,
It is inextricably linked to the bloodline of the various Chinese peoples in this world, which extends to all corners of the earth.

Win all the way!

They rarely experience painful failures.
Naturally, one can adopt a gentle and humble gentlemanly demeanor, and hold a beautiful vision of universal harmony.

In any case, the gentlemen of the various Xia states have even traveled to Yinzhou.
Many Qin people who fled to Rome due to the turmoil also lived there.
Thinking back another hundred years,
People from all corners of the world can become relatives.

"Well!"

Upon receiving Zhao Sheng's reply, the other party did not say anything more, but simply stepped aside and continued chatting with his companion.

just,

When Zhao Sheng left
The gentleman's gaze remained silently fixed on him.

He Bo stroked his chin and said with some emotion:
"alike……"

"What does it resemble?" the historian asked him.

He Bo then burst into laughter, “Like a friend of mine.”

"Are you a descendant of an old friend?"

"I can't say for sure yet. Let me check the records in the underworld first!"

The Zhao clan of Xinxia are mostly descendants of Prince Chao.

However, there is a small group of people who are descendants of his ancestors who followed him out of the State of Zhao and came to explore beyond the borders.

In such a situation,
He Bo wouldn't just catch someone surnamed Zhao and give Gongzi Chao a grandson.

He would definitely check the other party's family tree first!
after that,

God indeed went to the underworld and searched through the vast archives, which contained countless records of human affairs. Then, holding the book recording Zhao Sheng's family lineage, he smiled at King Wen of Xia:
"They look so alike, there must be some connection!"

"He's still your descendant!"

King Wen of Xia took the document and saw that Zhao Sheng was indeed a descendant of one of his sons.

He laughed and said, "It's his blessing to resemble our ancestors to some extent."

He Bo waved his hand and said, "You can't say things like that."

"Zhao Sheng seems to be doing well; let's not let his ancestral traits drag him down."

Even if the features are similar,

But one's expression can also reveal the differences between people.

Zhao Sheng, this descendant, is clearly an educated man, much smarter than his ancestors.

In matters concerning his ancestors' private affairs, King Wen of Xia dared not agree with the word of God.

He simply said, "Since I have received such a high evaluation from you, I'm afraid he is somewhat lacking in business acumen."

No merchant is honest.

Especially for merchants traveling between the Western Regions and Xinjiang, they not only had to be more cunning than other people they passed through, but they also had to be good fighters!
Otherwise, it would be very difficult to protect one's own property when passing through the territory of barbarians.

Given Zhao Shengwen's refined and gentle appearance, it's already quite remarkable that he was able to travel back and forth safely.

"They all need to be practiced."

"Now that you are so refined and cultured, if you learn from your mistakes and become wiser in the future, you might just be able to carry on the family business and make it even greater!"

Because Zhao Sheng had the air of an old friend, He Bo couldn't help but say a few words on his behalf.

And after that,
He did indeed glance at Zhao Sheng a few more times.

He watched Zhao Sheng riding a horse, leading a group of people, traversing a long journey and braving countless sandstorms, and silently thought to himself:
Having a long life is still a good thing.

This is not,

Living a long time

Things I've never seen before, things I've always regretted, can all be replicated.

It's just that the direction was completely opposite to when my old friend left.
Moreover, the roads that have been continuously developed by later generations are far more accessible and convenient than they were hundreds of years ago, and the scenery on both sides is much more lively and abundant than in the past.

Ugh,
Things have changed, and people are no longer the same.

He Bo took two sips of mare's milk wine, a recent invention of the Xiongnu people who occupied the land of Hezhong. He found the taste rather strange, so he ran to the ancestral mausoleum mountain of Xinxia and poured water on the old crooked-necked tree on the mountaintop, whose branches had been taken from the Qin state and sprouted on someone else's grave.

Ah!
Even bad things need to be shared!

That's what true brothers are all about!

……

"Ok?"

When God, mistaking the crooked-necked tree on Zuling Mountain—the source of the new summer, currently occupied by the State of Qi—for an enemy's money tree, maliciously watered it, successfully causing it to lose a few leaves,

Zhao Sheng, whom he had been silently watching, suddenly did something big in the Western Regions.

Upon receiving the news, God quickly teleported Emperor Wu to his side and asked him, "If the princess of the royal family you sent out for a marriage alliance ran away with someone else, what measures would you take?"

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Xiaozhu, said without any hesitation, "Get rid of them all!"

marriage alliance

It is a very good means for the Han Dynasty to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries.

After all, once a princess who is sent to marry a foreign ruler gives birth to a child, it is only right that the Han emperor, as her maternal grandfather or maternal uncle, should offer her some assistance!

The Emperor of Han would never allow his hand, which reached out to other countries, to be driven back because of so-called true love.

He Bo said "Oh," and then summoned several rulers from the Western Regions who had previously married into the Han Dynasty:
"What if the princess you marry from the Han Dynasty runs away with someone else?"

They said, "It depends on the specific circumstances!"

The person who could make the princess elope with him must be no ordinary person.

Having suffered enough at the hands of Han envoys, the rulers of the Western Regions dared not take any drastic measures.

To know,
In order to find a seemingly plausible reason to march into the Western Regions,

The wisdom, morality, and even lives of the Han envoys could have been used to their advantage.

What if they feel that flipping the table and turning away from the king is too violent, and they decide to try a more refined way of fishing?

Moreover, among the Han princesses sent for marriage alliances, there were some who were ruthless and cunning.

Princess Jieyou of Wusun, who dared to lead her troops to kill her third husband at a banquet, directly causing the internal division of Wusun to this day, was one of the best examples of this.

Who knows if the princess, who is head over heels in love, will be brought back and, in a fit of anger, unleash her mischievous nature and stir up trouble in their kingdom?

Seeing their reaction, He Bo remained silent, only smiling as the rulers, who had trembled before the gentry of the Xia Dynasty in life and were now surrounded by them in death, withdrew.

King Wen of Xia, who was also grabbed, asked God curiously, "Why did you suddenly think of this question?"

He Bo then told him, "That Zhao Sheng has kidnapped the princess that the Han Dynasty just sent to Jiaonan for a marriage alliance."

"They are currently fleeing to the State of Qi!"

"Huh?" King Xia Wen's eyes widened, unable to imagine that Zhao Sheng, who appeared so gentle and refined, would have the audacity to do something that transgressed etiquette and angered both countries.

Fortunately, He Bo explained to him in time, "What can you do if you meet the wrong person and are forced into something?"

"That princess's temper is so bad that even her uncle is speechless!"

Jiaonan

It is now the overlord of the Western Regions.

After Wang Mang usurped power from the Former Han Dynasty, Jiaonan took advantage of the weakness of the Central Plains to replace the Protectorate of the Western Regions and rule over this vast area interspersed with oases in the Gobi Desert.

After the establishment of the new Han Dynasty

Since the nation's strength had not yet recovered, Emperor Guangwu did not choose to launch an attack on Jiaonan and take back the Western Regions from its hands.

but now,
Decades of recuperation and development have allowed the Han Dynasty to accumulate sufficient strength.

The current emperor doesn't mind using this accumulated knowledge to solve the problems he should and can solve.

Just like managing the Yellow River,

Just like the reconquest of the Western Regions.

It's a coincidence,

In the same year that Wang Jing, a talented but unsung hero in water management, was captured by the imperial court and forced to commit suicide, his life was cut short.

The emperor's younger brother, Liu Jing, the Prince of Guangling, committed suicide.

This is a feudal lord with a peculiar thought process.

Despite possessing blood ties extremely close to the emperor and never losing the love of his parents, he inexplicably always seemed to oppose his elder brother.

In the first year of the emperor's reign
He wrote a letter to the former crown prince Liu Jiang, urging him to rebel.

After being resolutely reported by Liu Jiang, Liu Jing, who escaped death thanks to blood ties, turned to observe the celestial phenomena at night and exclaimed, "The celestial phenomena are strange; it must be that Heaven is favoring me and will make me the emperor!"

then,

He used this as a pretext to plot a rebellion.

From the perspective of a normal person,

Liu Jing should have been cautious and looked for an opportunity to do something big.

However, he believed that he was "destined by Heaven" and had no need to be coy or secretive. He openly discussed rebellion and seizing the throne while entertaining his guests.

The guests present were stunned by what he said.

The emperor held back for a long time, but finally, remembering that this was his own younger brother, he changed the title to Prince of Guangling and sent him to a place far away from him to take up his fief.

As a result, Liu Jing was still jumping around.

He molded a miniature of the emperor in his palace, attempting to curse him to death from afar, and then triumphantly told his subjects:
"The late emperor gained the throne at the age of thirty, and I am now exactly thirty, so I should become the emperor!"

The officials looked at each other for a while, and then quickly reported it to the emperor.

no way,
They only have so much rice to give him for a year, and they wouldn't dare risk their whole family's lives to indulge his childish tantrums.

The emperor, having reached his limit, sent officials to Guangling to hold Liu Jing accountable.

Upon learning this, Liu Jing stubbornly declared, "I will not give him the opportunity to humiliate me!"

Subsequently,

He then committed suicide, leaving behind four sons and one daughter.

The eldest daughter was very much like her father in personality and temperament, and often expressed her dissatisfaction and complaints to the emperor because of her father's death.

The emperor no longer wanted to do anything to his brother's children, but he also could not tolerate her remarks.

Thinking of the matter in the Western Regions, he issued an imperial edict ordering her to torment the King of Jiaonan.

If the latter can tolerate it, it means that he acknowledges the fact that "Han is strong and we are weak" in his heart, and Han can lure him with benefits and make him submit.

If they cannot tolerate it, that would be even better—

He picked up a knife and killed someone.
This was the most common practice during the Former Han Dynasty in the Western Regions.
The emperor did not mind reviving this craft to demonstrate the close connection between the two Han dynasties.

result,

Before the King of Jiaonan breached the defenses

Having inherited his father's rebellious streak, Liu Zhi declared that he would not let the emperor have his way.

She arrived in Jiaonan and met Zhao Sheng, who had come to congratulate the king on his wedding. She immediately expressed her congratulations.

This man is younger and better looking than the King of Jiaonan, and his hometown is far from the Han Dynasty, making him an ideal target for me!

At last,
No one knows how many methods she used, but she actually managed to persuade Zhao Sheng.

On a moonlit night,
The princess, who was to be sent to marry a foreign ruler, scaled the wall with her bare hands and hurriedly left Jiaonan with the people who were there to meet her.

Many years ago

The deeds that Jiaonan's ancestors did to the ruler of Gushi were replicated by their descendants.

How can I put it?

"The world is truly wondrous!"

"Fortunately, everyone except the Prince of Jiaonan got a satisfactory result."

The current Prince of Jiaonan
He was a ruler with a volatile temper and ruthless methods.

His people, and other states in the Western Regions that submitted to him, harbored resentment towards him.

Therefore, as Zhao Sheng's army galloped westward, the rulers of the states they passed through all extended a helping hand and opened doors of convenience for them.

As for the Han Dynasty...

The purpose of sending this princess to a marriage alliance was to cause trouble.

She was no different from those Han envoys of the Former Han Dynasty who deliberately provoked the rulers of other countries, sacrificing their lives to secure the dispatch of the royal army.

Therefore,
When the enraged King of Jiaonan questioned the other envoys, demanding they find the princess and compensate him for his emotional distress...
A member of the delegation named Ban Gu persuaded his companions and retorted in a firm tone:
"How can you say the princess is missing?"

"They must have been killed by you!"

"You're the one who should explain this to us!"

King Jiaonan was stunned by his words, and after he recovered, he became even more furious.

Of course,
A firefight broke out between the two sides.

The King of Jiaonan, who had sent out summons to other states but received no response, was defeated by Ban Gu with a dozen men.

If he hadn't been a descendant of the Xia people, he might have been turned away by Ban Gu, who came from a literary family but inexplicably possessed extraordinary martial prowess, becoming one of the Han envoys' achievements.

After this incident
The Western Regions, which were already difficult to achieve stability and unity due to their terrain and climate, directly reverted to the fragmented state they had been in a century ago.

Some countries bypassed Jiaonan City, which was located on a strategic route, and entered the Hexi Corridor along the southern route of the Western Regions, submitting to the Han emperor and paying tribute.

The emperor was very pleased and mobilized his army to the Western Regions, wanting to have in-depth exchanges with Jiaonan on the matter of "punishing the disobedient".

"But what about Princess Xinping?"

Inside the palace,

Empress Ma suddenly asked the emperor, who was lying beside her, half asleep, a question.

The emperor said, "Let her be!"

"With her temperament, you should be worried about that merchant!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Ma rolled over and lay on top of the emperor, laughing as she said, "I heard that the man is quite young and looks rather frail, but I never imagined he would have the audacity to do something like this."

"There are countless men and women in the world who cross the wall to meet because of love, so one more couple won't make a difference," the emperor said, his eyes closed, as he answered the empress's question.

"Just like you like me?"

"I am twelve years younger than the emperor," asked Ma in her youthful and sweet voice.

The emperor didn't speak, but simply touched her hair, indicating that it was late at night and she should go to sleep.

Ma was not angry about this.

She was a wise woman who knew the emperor's bottom line and how much preferential treatment she had received within the limits of his tolerance.

This is enough.

"I hope they can always hold onto their passionate feelings and not end up like the people in 'The Peasant'!"

Mrs. Ma muttered this sentence to herself before finally falling asleep peacefully.

(End of this chapter)