Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 546 The Current Situation of the Yan State

Chapter 546 The Current Situation of the Yan State
The Qin dynasty had actually been exploring Rongzhou for many years.

At its peak,
Once the Qin ships entered the sea, they could glide along the edge of the land all the way to the eastern part of Rongzhou, where they could do business with the strangely-looking people.

Specifically refers to the buying and selling of slaves from West Kunlun.

After gaining a deeper understanding of the highlands in the eastern part of Rongzhou, the Qin people even considered incorporating them into their territory to demonstrate the divine mandate that the Zhou emperor had sworn an oath by pointing to the Luo River, declaring that "the land west of Qishan belongs to Ying Qin."

unfortunately,

Before we could even implement this plan,

The vast Western Qin Dynasty was set ablaze by the combined efforts of a loving father and filial son, burning down all its past prosperity and stability, leaving countless descendants to look back at the peaceful days of the past amidst the ruins.

When the general, reminiscing about the past glory, was tricked into opening the city gates by the banners of Northern Qin, and the Jade Wall City, representing the glory of Ying Qin, was given a new name by its new master in the name of his own son,
The remnants of the Liang Kingdom, who had originally occupied Lixuan but had lost their territory, fled all the way to the Dongrong Plateau under the pursuit of the Roman legions, and declared that they would revive there and continue the rule of the Xuan Niao.

Humph,
Anyway, the Black Bird is black!
Furthermore,

Although the local people are dark-skinned, they are still more docile and manageable compared to the coal miners further south.

In addition, it was relatively close to the land of Lixuan in ancient times, and was later influenced by the Qin Dynasty, so it was more civilized and open-minded than other places in Rongzhou.

Furthermore, in the glorious past of the Qin people, there were also those who were curious about the coal spirits of Rongzhou and did some strange things.

Therefore, the ruler and his ministers of Liang knew that

The firm infusion of Chinese culture into this area can indeed dilute the local characteristics.

If you find it too time-consuming,

At worst, we can try to capture some pale-skinned, ghost-like Bai Di people to neutralize the color. Who knows, after a generation or two, we might be able to create a color that the gentlemen of the Xia people can accept.

When God heard of the Liang Kingdom's ruler and his ministers' plan to bully the savages on the plateau, he sighed to the dead ghost beside him and said:
"I thought that a certain wise man named Meng was already invincible in playing with peas, but I never expected that there was someone even more skilled than him."

Is Liang playing with a color palette in Rongzhou?

Mencius, who was passing by, heard this and turned his gaze toward them.

He Bo pretended not to see him and continued to marvel at the expansion of the Liang state of the Ying clan in Rongzhou.

Even with constant disasters, life will find a way to make its way out.

"Everyone has a bright future!"

Finally, he issued a decree to the Nile Crocodile, who was in charge of the Rongzhou region, ordering him to climb to a high place as soon as possible and bring that vast highland under the glory of God.

"Hurry up, I want to see the Black Pearl Beauty in the underworld!"

"Stop just lying in the Nile fishing!"

"I think you've been ruined by the Nile River!"

The latter retorted, "Who is more lazy and indolent?"

"Can't you learn from the Nile and be a little gentler and kinder?"

God was furious upon hearing this, so he seized the source of all evil, King Sheng, who had sacrificed himself to develop Egypt, and reprimanded him.

Wang Sheng let him do as he pleased, his brain automatically ignoring what he didn't want to hear, and then went to walk his dog and fight cocks with his relatives and friends.

In the mortal world,

The current emperor, who has ruled the country for many years, also followed the example of his father and grandfather and began his eastern tour.

He remembered his father's dying words, understood the importance of the fertile land of Northeast China to the nation, and also understood that beautiful things always attract greedy wolves.

If we don't keep a close eye on things, all the hard work we put in back then will inevitably be wasted, like the water from the great river that irrigates that land, bringing it both pain and joy.

then,

The emperor rode in a carriage all the way to Qi and Lu to inspect the implementation of his decrees.

While not as strict as Emperor Ming, who would punish officials at all levels for every single case discovered, he did punish many corrupt officials and reward several honest and dedicated subordinates.

Because the emperor at this time had become the most powerful Confucian scholar of his time.

So he also took the opportunity to offer sacrifices to Confucius, to show the country's emphasis on Confucianism.

After all, a peaceful world always needs Confucian scholars.

The explanation of characters in classical Chinese texts aligns with the Confucian theory of "human needs" and indeed resonates with the mindset of ordinary people during a prosperous era.

……

"It is still very good to have a theory that conforms to the world and can be used to govern the country legitimately."

"It's better than having your backside and your brain separated, and then making a complete mess of things!"

When the emperor's carriage stopped at the seaside and he received the envoys from the states of Qi and Xinxiang who happened to be docked,
The western foothills of the Great Xianbei Mountains are also entering a season of abundant water and lush vegetation.

The Xianbei herdsmen let out long shouts, driving their horses and cattle.

After a moment of joy at seeing his liquid assets, the leader couldn't help but talk about the plans for this year's tribute to the emperor.

Compared to the Wuhuan and the Southern Xiongnu,

The Xianbei were much farther from the Central Kingdom, so when receiving the emperor's favors, they inevitably ranked behind the two, and were frequently harassed by the other side, with large numbers of cattle and horses being plundered.

The Xianbei leaders were very frustrated by this, but they dared not directly confront the two sides, fearing that they would be outnumbered. So they could only try to get justice from the emperor.

Meanwhile, the doctor who was instructing the herdsmen to move their strong fingers and weave sweaters and towels with two simple long sticks couldn't help but sigh with admiration.

The shepherd beside him didn't understand the deeper meaning in his words, but he could see the worry on the doctor's face.

They immediately stopped knitting, surrounded the doctor, and spoke words of concern.

On the vast yet resource-scarce grasslands, a doctor skilled in treating livestock is more respected and welcomed than one skilled in treating people.

The herders are like the grass on the plains, fragile and swaying, born in spring and dying in winter.

But cattle, sheep, and horses are the foundation.

As long as they exist, the community can have hope.

therefore,

When this physician, who had traveled from the Yan Kingdom across mountains and valleys, appeared, the leader of this Xianbei tribe immediately began to pester him relentlessly. With his broad and sultry chest, he kept the physician in the tribe and made him the Xianbei god in charge of cattle and horses.

Although the land of the Xianbei was far less prosperous than the Yan state or the Central Plains, the physicians were still used to it.

He would only occasionally look towards his homeland in the east, uttering words that left the Xianbei people bewildered and feeling inexplicably powerful and profound.

The spirits and deities who govern this place also took notice of him.

When the doctor, who was actually not yet fifty but whose face was weathered by wind and snow, uttered the above words, He Bo, dressed in a fur coat and wearing a glittering gold necklace, exuding an air of nouveau riche, floated in.

He asked the doctor in his distinctive Liaodong accent, "Why would you have such a thought?"

What are you trying to say?

Are you implying something?

"And what is your motivation?"

Although according to the lineage of inheritance,
The veterinarian in front of me should be a disciple or grand-disciple of the old physician Zhong, and could also be considered a disciple or grand-disciple of He Bo.

But ghosts and gods are not people who show favoritism or bias!

Hearing the aggressive tone of this suddenly appearing man, the herdsmen tried to drive him away.

But the doctor stopped them, and was instead happy to see fellow countrymen from their homeland in such a remote place as the Xianbei.

He spread a fur on the ground and invited He Bo to sit down so they could reminisce about their hometown.

He Bo did not refuse, and in return, he took out several vegetable packets wrapped in oil paper and soybean paste wrapped in oil paper from his bulging arms.

Ignoring the sounds of people swallowing their saliva, he handed the doctor a vegetable bun, then proudly showed off the juicy slices of meat and sweet vegetables inside, dipped them in soybean paste, and asked the herders:
"Have you eaten?"

"You're watching me eat if you haven't eaten yet!" The herdsman was so angry that he wanted to hit him, but the doctor stopped him.

He took a bite of his share, savoring the taste of his hometown, and then shared it with those around him, asking them to leave so he could have a place to talk.

Then he answered He Bo's earlier question.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just couldn't help but think of some things about the Yan Kingdom when I saw how powerful the Central Kingdom was."

To know,
The Yellow Turban Army, which established the Yan state, was initially capable of rivaling Emperor Guangwu, the founder of the Han dynasty, in the Central Plains.

After establishing itself in Liaodong, it also had an indomitable spirit and actively carried out education and civilization activities for the surrounding barbarians, which enabled it to develop rapidly in the first thirty years.

Unfortunately,

The State of Yan developed rapidly, but it also declined just as rapidly.

So much so that when the generation that has not yet died recalls their stories from their youth and sees the current situation around them, they feel as if they have lived through another world.

The doctor was one of them.

When he was a boy,
The legacy of the previous two generations of Yan rulers has not yet faded, so we can still hear about the early days of the state and read the books written by those people.

But as he grew up, after resolving to follow the teachings of the sages and become a person who would benefit the country, he sadly discovered that his deeds had been downplayed and even the words in the article had been deleted.

The things I experienced were different from what I had imagined when I was young.

"So why do you think this is?"

He Bo munched on a vegetable bun, his gaze falling on this disheartened man who had left his hometown.

"I think it might be due to a mismatch between the name and the reality."

The other person looked up and sighed, "Things in the mirror may be good, but they lack a foundation and are difficult to realize."

"If ideas and doctrines cannot be integrated with facts, they will clash and fight each other, leading to sudden rise and sudden fall."

"What do you mean by that?" He Bo asked, not ashamed to ask.

The other person then shared their thoughts, which they had drawn from witnessing the strange phenomena over the past twenty years:
"Public institutions are naturally for the public good, but those who govern them will inevitably protect their own power."

"With such a stark contrast between name and reality, and without a righteous and authoritative title to uphold, even those in high positions of power will constantly feel uneasy."

To know,
Humans are amazing creatures.
Their gaze is fixed on the things before them, and their thoughts are always boundless, sketching out concepts that transcend the things around them, concepts that are invisible and intangible yet can bind people together.

For example, "home".
For example, "country".

For example, "the emperor".

Therefore, smart people can easily realize just how effective it is to present an idea that can persuade others and gain their approval.

This is why rulers often treated scholars, who were refined and cultured but possessed only sharp tongues, with respect and courtesy.

This is also why the various Xia states became known as the various Xia states, and why the emperor ruled the world.

otherwise,
Why would the emperor give money and titles to maintain the reputation of the "Confucian School"?
But the state of Yan was different.

therefore,

Driven by this unease, many strange things happened throughout the Yan state.

People who are dissatisfied, oppressed, or simply want to be well-off will try to cross the Great Wall and run to the Central Kingdom to feel the warmth of the emperor.

Those who hold high positions of power and enjoy wealth and luxury in the country will also try to send their children, or even cross the Great Wall themselves, to the central country to experience the emperor's warmth.

The reason is,

It's simply that the emperor can give them a proper title, so they won't be stuck in a predicament in the State of Yan.

Furthermore,
Since it is a public instrument,
If it gets damaged, it has nothing to do with me!

Those things that are superficial are not good; only what you have in your hands is real!

"...I'm truly afraid that before I die, I'll see the Han army cross the Great Wall and destroy the Yan Kingdom!"

What he feared even more was...

When that scene occurred, there was no one in the country who resisted, and even the powerful and nobles put on an act of "welcoming the king's army with food and drink".

At this point, the doctor, who felt a strange fear of his birth country and thus exiled himself to the other side of the mountain, raised his sleeves and silently wept.

He Bo comforted him, "It's okay, you can die quickly."

He Bo comforted the other person, and suddenly she couldn't shed any more tears.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke again:
"I am useless. I am unwilling to accept reality and powerless to change it, so I can only exile myself to this desolate place and live out my days in solitude."

He Bo recalled how he had just been surrounded by herdsmen, "This doesn't look like someone who is alone."

"Moreover, on my way here, I heard that the leaders at headquarters were talking to someone and were planning to introduce their widowed sister to you."

"Hey, that's a strong woman who's had children!"

On the desolate grassland,
Supplies were scarce, and so were the people.

Therefore, in order to reproduce, they often cannot be as particular about etiquette and law as the gentlemen of the Central Plains, and cannot treat people as human beings. Instead, they can only try to "make the best use of things and people's talents".

A typical example is the practice of "the father dies and the wife is inherited" among many tribes of the steppes, including the Xiongnu.

Apart from those who give birth to themselves or their own children, no one is allowed to remain a widow or single; they must be taken out and matched with someone else.

As for those elderly women who have lost both their husbands and children?
Such figures are still very rare on the grasslands.

In general, women who have given birth and are of suitable age are extremely popular on the grasslands.

The fact that the Lord of the Headquarters was willing to marry his sister, who was only in her thirties, had lost two husbands, and had three healthy children, to the doctor in front of him was no ordinary act of righteousness.

Of course,
Introducing advanced Han Chinese bloodlines to improve their own backward physique has always been a tradition among the surrounding barbarian tribes.

Although the doctor was a bit old, he was still very healthy and had the skills to treat horses and sheep. There were quite a few women in the tribe who wanted to marry him.

After calculating,

The leader still made a profit.

“Isn’t this bad?”

After being teased by He Bo, the doctor lost all interest in being sad and subconsciously continued along with him.

He Bo told him, "The commander said he'll get the girls into the habit of taking a bath every two days so you can sleep more soundly."

"That's something we can discuss." Hearing this, the doctor relented.

He Bo burst into laughter.

……

Midnight,

The moon and stars are scarce,

The doctor lay down on the blanket and fell asleep. In his dream, he saw Yan Gongsun En, whom he had always wanted to see but had never actually met.

In his dream, he said somewhat dazedly, "Why would I dream of you?"