Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 545 The First Year of Yuanhe
"How come the monarch there suddenly died after three years in Rome?"

"Was she cursed to death by him?"

When the reign title of the Han Dynasty was changed from Jianchu to Yuanhe, it signified the beginning of a new era in the governance of the empire.
The God in the Central Plains heard the news of the death of Augustus of Rome.

The newly built temple emitted a resounding bell, announcing the king's death to the surrounding empire and reaching the ears of God.

God, therefore, expressed his own sentiments.

Several deceased great teachers who served God at His side, upon hearing these words, could not help but reply:
"How could it be Yege'er's problem?"

"That king clearly died with a smile on his face!"

Alexius
He was the sixth monarch of the Julian-Claudian dynasty founded by Octavian. According to his lineage, he was a descendant of Tiberius' brother, who was suspected to be Octavian's illegitimate son.

The lineage can be traced back to Octavian.

It can be described as the purest imperial bloodline.

He came to power in a coup.

The previous Augustus was not capable enough and was manipulated by his wife, which caused much dissatisfaction and ultimately allowed Alexius to seize power.

After he took office,

He then propelled Rome forward through reforms.

Perhaps it was because of the war in the Western Sea at that time that Qin people who fled to Rome continued to pour in and settle down, bringing a lot of Chinese culture to Rome.
Perhaps it was because Alexius possessed an unconventional talent for governance and did not mind adapting to the specific circumstances of his country and emulating the systems of the Chinese states.

all in all,
During his decades-long reign, Rome's centralization of power was further strengthened, and the local provinces acquired more functions in addition to military garrisons and tax collection by force.

This led to an initial unification between the top and bottom levels.

On the central side,

Even though the succession of a new emperor nominally requires the approval of the Senate, the wise senators always follow the wishes of the great Augustus.

The "Secretariat," which was formed by emulating his ancestor Octavian and recruiting talents from other ethnic groups, held a low-ranking but powerful position, which also helped to consolidate his rule.

Militarily, he also did not forget to expand his territory, seizing the Lixuan land, which originally belonged to the Liang state that separated from the Western Qin, which is the land of ancient Egypt.

He ordered his legions to cross the sea, seize the Celtic island of Britain, and build a Great Wall on the northern frontier of the empire to defend against the barbarians and the various Chinese states beyond.

The only two things that worried him were
One reason is that the states and ethnic groups under its rule are numerous and difficult to unify;
Another reason is that the Roman Empire, having reached this point, has yet to seize the Jade Wall City, which has long been coveted by the Romans, from the weak and powerless Ning Kingdom, which borders Rome.

On the peninsula plains that were once inhabited by many Thracians, the Qin people had cultivated boundless fertile fields and built fortified cities.

Those Qin people who were accepted by Augustus and made able to serve him often advised him:
"Although Rome's territory was vast, its capital was confined to a valley."

"If we want long-term peace and stability and a secure nation, we must either move the capital to the Po River Plain in the north or conquer Yu Bi and make it our new capital!"

Augustus listened and felt that what the other party said made sense.

Although he was used to living in Rome, and given the current situation, there was no urgent need to move the capital,
But that doesn’t mean his descendants don’t need it.

The Chinese rulers can expand outwards and seize land for the sake of their descendants' prosperity and stability, so surely the Romans can't do the same?

Rome is something that the Qin people have certified as "similar to us"!

When they return from their gilded journey in the Central Plains,
Holding the document presented by the emperor to symbolize friendship between the two countries, why couldn't Rome make a declaration regarding the jade disc?
It really does n’t work.

They could also try to win over the Northern Qin, which occupied the northwest of the Western Sea and was launching an attack westward along the Danube River, by indirectly making a declaration.

then,

After welcoming a sage from the north and establishing a policy of supporting the Way of Great Peace...
Knowing that taking the "religious victory route" would help solve the first problem, Augustus of Rome dispatched a large army to launch an attack eastward, attempting to resolve the second hidden worry.

He first defeated the Northern Qin, captured the prince who had rushed to the front lines to lead the resistance, forced the prince to marry his daughter, and then launched another attack on Yu Bi City in the name of the Northern Qin.

This time,
The Ningguo rulers and ministers who occupied this fortified city were unable to repel the invaders.

Since usurping the throne, Prince Ning has not shown the talent of a wise and virtuous ruler; instead, he has a carefree attitude of "living for the moment."

His father was like that,

His son was the same.

The latter even disregarded the advice of his ministers and the threats from foreign enemies, devoting all his wisdom to court intrigue.

The political situation thus descended into further chaos.

So much so that when the soldiers guarding the city saw the banners of the Northern Qin outside, they couldn't help but shed tears, reminiscing about the rule of the Qin state.

It can only be said that by comparing who is worse,

It is true that the situation under the rule of the Xin Dynasty was temporarily replicated in the Western Sea.

How can this not be considered a new entanglement between the Qin and Han dynasties?
Therefore,

Unable to see the exact appearance of the visitors clearly at night, the city guards, who only recognized the black bird embroidered with gold patterns, chose to open the city gates to welcome the "royal army" amidst the uproar outside and inside the city.

Although the moment the gaiter with the thick eyebrows and deep-set eyes saw the figure under the Xuan Bird banner, the gaiter, who was full of illusions, burst into a tirade of curses and then fainted, it did not stop Jade Wall City from welcoming new residents.

After that,
The Roman navy landed in Longnan County, formerly part of the Qin state, and incorporated the homeland of the Great Teacher of the West, the former Phoenician lands, into its territory. It also connected the Egyptian provinces through the coastal valley oases.

that's it,
After enduring two hundred years of obstruction from the Qin dynasty, Rome finally acquired its own inland sea.

Upon hearing this good news, Augustus burst into laughter in the palace, then, leading his heir, gazed eastward and patted the latter on the shoulder, saying:
"This is the empire I conquered for you!"

"Never forget the responsibility that blood has given you, and never let down the hard work and dedication of your father!"

The young man, who had been designated as the heir apparent to the Roman throne and was known as "Caesar," nodded, his features bearing a resemblance to his father's.

Thinking about it this way,

Thanks to their efforts, the Roman Empire was able to embrace Jade Wall City for many years.

After the father and son laughed,

Augustus declared that he would not keep this glory to himself.

The Great Teacher Jehovah, who was staying at the new temple in Rome, also had to be brought in to celebrate.

Augustus stroked his beard and asked the other man, "Having accomplished such a feat, will I receive a reward from the gods?"

After thinking for a moment, Yege'er took out a pure white feather from his bosom.

"what is this?"

"I picked it off when I was feeding the pigeons at the dock."

Augustus refused, saying, “I have heard that you performed the miracle of giving five loaves and two fish to the starving people in Guangye, and I would like to see it for myself.”

As Guangye grew and expanded...
They must have suffered from famine.

At that time, Yacob resolutely took out the great shield that has been preserved to this day without mold or decay... no, it was God's handmade food reserve.

A piece of bread, a piece of dried fish, mixed with hot water, were quickly simmered into several vats of salted fish and mixed grain porridge, which saved many lives.

People at the time were amazed by this, and those with some knowledge were even more impressed:
"If Yu the Great had this during his flood control efforts, what would have been the point of the Breath of Earth!"

"Are you sure you want it?"

Yorgias stared at Augustus with his old eyes to confirm.

The monarch, in a good mood, nodded again.

So the Great Teacher could only take out a small piece of the divine gift, bring hot water, and put it in a bowl.

Although the old man repeatedly emphasized that it must be completely dissolved before eating, Augustus stirred it with a spoon, and after feeling that there were no particles in the bowl, he ate it in one gulp.

"rest assured!"

"Nothing will happen!" the king said with a smile.

The Great Teacher ignored him and instead stroked his beard as he told his servant a few methods to induce vomiting.

That night, Augustus clutched his stomach, feeling uncomfortably full.

I had to manually treat my stomach and aid digestion several times before I finally felt a little better.

However, the elderly are inherently more vulnerable to illness, and after such an ordeal, this monarch, who had ruled Rome for nearly forty years and was renowned for both his civil and military achievements, closed his eyes.

……

"I told you, he was cursed to death by Yege'er!"

After the Mediterranean pigeons explained the whole story to God, the latter, shameless and brazen, said...

He pointed at the pigeon and said, "Don't try to blame me!"

Then God asked again:
"Did that guy say anything bad about me in the underworld?"

"No, not at all." The pigeon scratched its feet with its claws. "After all, I've lived long enough. In the last few years of my life, I was able to do all the things I wanted to do in one go. What could I possibly complain about?"

"Moreover, thanks to his connection with Yege'er, he got a big house in the underworld as soon as he died, and he doesn't have to sell his labor to pay off the mortgage. He's much more carefree than his ancestors."

The construction of the underworld in the entire Western continent is far inferior to that in other places that have received God's blessings.

Fortunately, pigeons may have small brains, but they have big ideas.

With a single flap of his wings, he bestowed upon several of Rome's former rulers a blessing that would not be enjoyed for two thousand years.

He Bo nodded and said, "I see. Then I won't target him."

God has always been wary of scoundrels, not virtuous ones.

of course,

In general, when classifying social classes, those who have spoken ill of God are considered villains.

In order to prevent certain dead souls from being punished for their words, God said that he could only take precautions in advance to avoid damaging the relationship between the two parties.

"But now Rome has arrived like lightning, and the conflict in the Western Seas is still not over."

"Are we really going to wait for that Northern Qin prince, who was forced to marry into the Roman royal family, to achieve his goal through a roundabout way?"

God picked up a passing cat and used its paw to scratch his chin.

The raccoon looked at him with a puzzled expression, then punched God twice and ran away.

This became the reason why the Yue Kingdom in the south wanted to make some changes to the twelve zodiac animal rotation system in the Central Plains calendar, and to add the raccoon dog, which the Yue royal family had always loved, but was forbidden by the spirits in a dream.

Humph,
Beating up God and then wanting to join the Chinese zodiac?

Unless you become God's slave!

"I'm afraid that won't work!"

The pigeon, thinking of that unfortunate descendant of the Qin dynasty, replied, "Several Augustas of Rome had some understanding of the culture of the Chinese people, and were even more familiar with the character of the Qin people."

"So after we captured him, besides pressing the Northern Qin with our troops and making him submit a document for the prince's marriage, we let him stay at home and serve the princess, be a good wife and mother."

Even if you don't want to be a kept man, you'll still be forced into it.

Fortunately, that prince, for some reason, possessed a similar open-mindedness to the Liu family.

At first, he was very resentful, but after sleeping with the princess many times and being cared for by Rome as a precious bloodline for two years, he came to terms with it.

how?

What else can we do but leave!
This life of lying still and setting an example is going to continue.

Anyway, whether in Northern Qin or Rome,
He wasn't even qualified to succeed to the throne.

Otherwise, how could he have been assigned to the dangerous front lines, captured, and become a royal son-in-law?
"This might be something Zhao Sheng can talk about."

Mentioning the prince's death reminded He Bo of a descendant of someone from the past who was in a similar situation.

However, Zhao Sheng was completely willing to be played.

This person was being played with in a state of feigned reluctance.

But overall, both sides seemed to enjoy it.

The First Emperor and his contemporaries were not as open-minded as King Wen of Xia, who believed that it was truly shameful for their descendants to have stooped to the level of "using their beauty to serve others."

Unfortunately, Rome is far away, and it's not an immediate opportunity to play animal chess with its former ruler, so the anger can only be directed at the Zhao family for now.

so,

Meal replacement culture is a bad culture!

These days, whenever the old Ying family runs into someone surnamed Zhao, they have to glare at them.

King Wuling of Zhao and his son were unfortunately caught in the crossfire several times. They wanted to say something, but before they could open their mouths, the former ruler of Western Qin would stuff two bird eggs into their mouths.

That's really bad.

Nothing happened to the Zhao family in Xinxia.
The Zhao family in the Central Plains, however, once again became a model of paternal love and filial piety.

"Once Zhao Sheng moves to the Western Sea, he might actually have a chance to meet this like-minded person!"

The business of the Zhao family of Qi State has grown bigger and bigger in recent years.

Rome's audacious advance into the Western Sea and its destruction of the Ning Kingdom, which had replaced the Western Qin, shocked the other feudal lords.

For a while,
His eyes became clear.
The brain calmed down.
They've stopped playing ARAM.
The weak and neighboring groups banded together to resist the Roman legions, who were at their peak.

The strong, on the other hand, preserve their strength, crane their necks to guess how the situation will change, and are unwilling to be the first to act, ultimately letting others reap the benefits.

Although the fighting in the Western Sea did not cease, it did diminish somewhat as a result.

but,

This is only a temporary thing.

Realizing that Rome's rapid expansion would prevent it from easily reaching the heart of the Western Sea,
The battles that need to be fought will still be fought.

Only the Zhao family saw this rare opportunity and wanted to open up trade routes to Rome, selling the spices produced in the new summer and the silk that flowed from the Western Regions to Rome to make a fortune.

And such a heavy responsibility

Naturally, the responsibility fell to Zhao Sheng.

"It can only be said that the various Xia people are running around everywhere, and sooner or later they will make a mess of everything!"

"The Qin dynasty's rule over the Western Sea is over, but it still has plenty of territory in other places!"

The "Grand Commander of Rongzhou," who had been lying in the Nile enjoying the caress of this gentle river, suddenly opened his mouth and joined the group chat.

"How to say?"

The God who respects the freedom of leaders in each region, and who neither interferes in major nor minor matters, casts a questioning glance at this.

The Nile crocodile grunted and said, "Wasn't the Liang Kingdom destroyed by Rome before?"

"Now it has moved to the Dongrong Plateau to rebuild."

"Instead of staring at the Northern Qin prince with his stomach problems, you should pray that this Rongzhou Qin doesn't turn into a pitch-black mess in the future!"

"what?"

How come there is a seed of the Qin Dynasty in Rongzhou, south of the Great Desert?
(End of this chapter)