Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 165 Nations (Part 1)

"Meng Jiang, Meng Jiangnu,"

Watching Wu Wenhe and Lü Chong leave the hall, Lü Shang seemed lost in thought and murmured softly.

hum!
He lightly plucked the strings, and the music, like the evening drum and morning bell, echoed leisurely in the palace.

"The Zhurong clan, let's go with the Zhurong clan,"

Lu Shang's eyes gleamed with a dark light as he said, "The beauties of the world, stripped of their skin, are nothing more than two hundred and six bones; dressed, they have eighteen thousand forms. To see a beauty as a skeleton makes me devoid of desire; to see a skeleton as a beauty makes me fearless. Without desire and without fear, great things will be accomplished."

"As long as it benefits our nation, the world, and the state, what's wrong with a marriage alliance with the Zhurong clan, or even with the Mumu clan!"

The Mo Mu clan originated from Mo Mu, the daughter of Fang Lei, a descendant of Emperor Yan. They were quite famous in the Great Wilderness and the Sea. Women from the Mo Mu clan were all outwardly clumsy but inwardly beautiful.

The progenitor of the Mo Mu clan, Mo Mu, was a famous ugly woman in the Great Wilderness. The "Biographies of Exemplary Women" describes her as extremely ugly but most virtuous. She was the first to make clothes and hats, and to grind stones into mirrors. She was gentle and virtuous, and the gods and spirits all admired her. Emperor Huangdi praised her virtue and took her as his second wife. Her honor was second only to Leizu, the primary wife of Emperor Huangdi.

"In this life, I vow to break free from the shackles of life and death to prove the ultimate truth of the nameless. All the worldly splendor is but a mirage, and beautiful women are but fleeting clouds. Without proving the Great Dao, they are all just illusions."

"I want to climb step by step to the highest point, I want to see the highest view."

Lü Shang's desire to seek the Dao was extremely firm. Whether he was Lü Shang in the Great Wilderness or Lü Shang in Jambudvipa, whether he was governing the country and the people or even becoming a general or prime minister, all of these were means for him to seek the Great Dao. He had no other thoughts besides the Dao.

It was because of this desire to seek the Dao that Lü Shang of the Jambudvipa world has always maintained his virginity.

It should be noted that Lü Shang of the Yama world was born into a noble family and was the only son of the main branch of the Lü clan of Qi County. Others with his illustrious family background would have indulged in sensual pleasures and had their maids accompany them at a young age, instead of being like him, who is still a pure virgin.

Because a virgin body is a precious treasure for cultivation, the Yellow Court Classic says: "Close the three gates and hold firmly, rinse your mouth with golden wine and swallow jade essence."

Before a child's body is broken, his innate Qi is abundant, like a surging river without any risk of leakage. When this Qi is sufficient, his spirit is vigorous; when his spirit is vigorous, his essence is solid; when his essence is solid, his form is complete. The three are interconnected, forming a wondrous state.

Although Lü Shang did not attain the true Dharma in his previous life, he still knew the value of this virginity from the writings of those sages and eminent Taoists.

Furthermore, they knew that not everyone possessed the immortal bones of the Pure Yang Immortal Lü Dongbin, who entered the Dao without being a virgin, and could diligently cultivate and refine himself to return to the state of childlike innocence and attain the realm of a Great Luo Immortal.

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Xuchang, the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence
"His Majesty has agreed to the marriage alliance with the Zhurong clan!"

Upon returning to the Prime Minister's residence, Wu Wenhe was sitting in the main seat of the hall, while Lü Chong sat in the right seat. The two men in the left seats looked up upon hearing the sound.

Bai Liming and Feng Boling had been waiting for Wu Wenhe and Lü Chong in the Prime Minister's residence for quite some time.

Baili Ming's aged face flushed with excitement as he asked, "Your Majesty has actually agreed?"

Feng Boling, who was standing to the side, said softly, "It's good that they agreed. If the foundation of the country is not solid and the people's hearts are not at peace, it is not a long-term solution."

"I wonder, whose envoy has His Majesty sent to Jiao Kingdom to seek the noblewoman?"

As he spoke, Feng Boling's gaze swept past Lü Chong and finally landed on Wu Wenhe.

Baili Ming and Feng Boling were high-ranking officials in the State of Xu, second only to Wu Wenhe and Lü Chong, and leaders of the noble clans of Xu. Both the Baili and Feng clans they belonged to were of the Jiang surname and held a pivotal position in the State of Xu.

This is why they, along with Wu Wenhe and Lü Chong, were appointed as the "Four Assistants" by the previous ruler to assist the young king in governing the State of Xu. The so-called "Four Assistants" was an official system established after the Xia Dynasty came to power. Unlike the previous rulers who used dragons, birds, clouds, and fire as their official titles, the Xia Dynasty used "Assistant" as its official system, hence the name "Four Assistants".

They also referred to the state as having four neighbors: the one in front was called Yi, the one behind was called Cheng, the one on the left was called Fu, and the one on the right was called Bi.

This is what is meant by having no answer to a question, blaming the doubter; having ambition but not having ambition, blaming the assistant; being able to correct but not correcting, blaming the advisor; being able to praise but not praising, blaming the assistant.

Wu Wenhe chuckled and said, "His Majesty has appointed me as his envoy to prepare the jade, silk, carriages, and horses. I will set off for Jiao Kingdom in a few days."

Baili Ming nodded and said, "Since Your Majesty has sent Minister Wu on this mission, and Minister Wu himself is going to do it, I think the State of Jiao should be able to see the sincerity of our State of Xu."

Wu Wenhe said softly, "A marriage alliance between the Xu and Jiao kingdoms would be mutually beneficial, and Jiao Bo has no reason to refuse."

"Among the nine states of Henan, my Xu and Jiao are vassal states of the Jiang clan, while Nan Yan, E, Qi, and Yin are vassal states of the Ji clan, and Dong Liang, Xia, and Xi are vassal states of the Ying clan. If the world changes and the nine provinces are in turmoil, and the states wage war against each other, without the intervention of foreign states, Xu and Jiao will inevitably become allies."

"Jiao Bo couldn't possibly be unaware of the principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."

“Yes, he couldn’t possibly not understand,” Feng Boling frowned, and after a long while, nodded.

The term "Nine Governors of Henan" was used by the various states of Henan to refer to nine states of the rank of regional governor.

Since the time of Fuxi, when he ruled the world, numerous kingdoms were established, and a hierarchical system gradually emerged.

Besides the emperor and the Four Mountains, the states below him were of four ranks: duke, marquis, earl, and lord. Dukes and marquises were large states, while earls and lords were small states.
Among the nine states, there were few large states and many small states. Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty, there was a grand occasion where all states came to pay tribute.

The four of them sat around the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence, talking as they sat. The bronze animal-head lamps flickered with light.

"Since it is a betrothal, the gifts must not be meager,"

Wu Wenhe pondered for a moment and said, "In my opinion, we should use 'three silks and six jades' as the base, and then add 'seven pieces of red jade and one hundred bolts of black and red silk'."

He glanced at everyone in the hall and said, "Zhu Rong cultivated the virtue of fire, and the red jade tablet is named after the color 'red' to correspond to the virtue of fire, while the black and crimson colors correspond to the colors of heaven and earth."

"What do you all think of my gesture?"

"Three silks and six jades" refers to three types of silk: black silk, crimson silk, and dark red silk.

Xuanxun refers to black and light red silk, often used as gifts in important ceremonial activities such as sacrifices and court visits by the emperor or feudal lords. Xun is a light black silk, and Jiang is a bright red silk.

The "Six Jade" refers to six different types of jade artifacts, which were made of jade to worship heaven, earth, and the four directions.

These six jades are a blue-green bi (disc), a yellow cong (jade tube), a green gui (jade tablet), a red zhang (jade tablet), a white hu (jade tiger), and a black huang (jade pendant). Among them, the blue-green bi was used to worship Heaven, the yellow cong was used to worship Earth, the green gui was used to worship the East, the red zhang was used to worship the South, the white hu was used to worship the West, and the black huang was used to worship the North.

Baili Ming clapped his hands in approval, but then stroked his beard and pondered, saying, "Three silks and six jades are already the top-tier betrothal gifts for a regional governor. Adding red jade and black silk would show sincerity, but it would be a bit too extravagant."

Wu Wenhe brushed the bamboo slips on the table with his sleeve and said, “Brother Baili, although these three bolts of silk and six pieces of jade are expensive, they can be exchanged for the Jiao Kingdom’s assistance. The red jade and black silk can be used to make the fire virtue of the Zhu Rong clan stand alongside the noble Jiang clan of my Xu Kingdom. This is a deal that exchanges a penny for the peace of the nation.”

"How can you only look at the present and ignore the important matters of diplomatic relations?"

(End of this chapter)