Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 302 Han Fu of the Ancestral Land

When chaos begins, people are meant to be abused.

Just like at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when heroes rose up, everyone was frantically engaging in group-based robbery. Only in this way could they accumulate the most wealth in the shortest time, and only in this way could they have enough wealth to expand their territory significantly.

The turmoil in our ancestral homeland at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was fundamentally different from the turmoil of the Han Dynasty.

The warlords in the ancestral land were fighting over land, because in the ancestral land, land was the real wealth. Killing was to establish authority, so the early warlords basically did nothing human.

After the world was divided into three and things had basically stabilized, these murderers began to save the people. But by then, the population of the world was less than five million.

This is almost a predictable pattern. Whenever a dynasty reaches its end, this scenario will reappear. Once the population has been largely depleted and the conflict between population and land has been resolved, the world will begin to enjoy great order.

The most important wealth in the Han Dynasty was not land, but cities. The Han people relied on gathering, hunting, and raising livestock for their main livelihood, and cities were distribution centers for goods. Only by controlling these distribution centers could one obtain real wealth.

After everyone has won the battle for the distribution center, the first thing they do is kill the original owner of the market and replace him with their own people. Sometimes they even need to replace him with the people who work in their own distribution center.

The killings were large-scale, the expulsions were large-scale, and the suffering of the people was no different from that of the late dynasties in their ancestral homeland.

For warlords, refugees were simply ownerless property.

Yun Ce's carriage stood out among the refugees, after all, anyone who could use a Thunder Smoke Beast to pull a carriage must be a martial artist, which was almost a consensus in the Han Dynasty.

Seeing that Yun Ce, the martial artist, neither robbed them of their belongings nor bullied their women, the refugees quickly regarded Yun Ce as the leader of their small group.

This characteristic is actually a characteristic of nomadic peoples: you provide me with protection, and I will offer you cattle and sheep, grain, and be at your beck and call.

This custom has never been explicitly stipulated by anyone, but this behavior has long been a part of the lives of the Han people, especially the migrant population.

Seeing that Yun Ce did not refuse their approach, they stopped whenever Yun Ce's carriage stopped and started moving forward whenever Yun Ce's carriage started moving forward.

These naturally formed small tribes quickly attracted contenders.

"Although the world is in chaos today, heroes will surely emerge to restore order to this chaotic world. As the saying goes, one in ten people becomes a hero, one in a hundred becomes a great man, one in a thousand becomes a paragon, and one in ten thousand becomes an outstanding individual."

The reason why the world is in chaos is that heroes and great men are no longer content with obscurity, and even more so because the current court has blocked the path for these heroes and great men to rise.

You must understand that heroes and great men are all ambitious people. How can they remain subservient to others for long? A peaceful world is a prison for heroes and great men. Only in times of chaos can heroes and great men have their stage.

Therefore, if we want peace and tranquility in the world, all heroes and great men should die.

Wu Tong stared wide-eyed at Yun Ce, who was speaking eloquently, and shifted his position, saying, "As long as sages exist, great thieves will never cease to exist?"

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "You understand it wrong. The eight words you mentioned represent the opposition between order and chaos. What I meant by what I said above is to tell you that only when the people themselves rule this land can lasting peace be achieved."

Wu Tong frowned, then casually pointed to the refugees outside and said, "You don't mean these people when you say 'people,' do you?"

Yun Ce glanced outside and shook his head, saying, "They can be called the masses, but not the people."

Wu Tong asked again, "Are you referring to the Chinese people and slaves?"

Yun Ce laughed and said, "You know about the Zhou Dynasty too?"

Wu Tong sighed and said, "The Han Dynasty's system of knowledge was brought from the ancestral land by King Huo. Before King Huo, the Han Dynasty was a barbarian state."

Yun Ce laughed loudly, "You have taken too much advantage of the Ancestral Fire, so you live too well. Therefore, you have made a name for yourselves because of the Ancestral Fire, and you will also be ruined by the Ancestral Fire."

Just as the two were talking, the carriage shook, and the two men swayed slightly. Lei Ming, who was sitting on the carriage shaft, said, "My lord, someone is blocking my way. He said something about us having to submit to him, but he was bitten to death by a chestnut horse."

Yun Ce lifted the curtain and glanced ahead. He saw the chestnut horse spitting out red saliva and scolded, "You're a horse, a vegetarian. Why are you biting people for no reason? Can't you just kick it to death?"

The chestnut horse's ears immediately drooped after being scolded. It was already very uncomfortable being harnessed to the cart, and now, after killing a fool, it was being scolded. It couldn't stand it anymore.

With a neigh, it broke free of its girth and charged into the crowd blocking its path. This time, it didn't bite; instead, it unleashed its four hooves, each the size of a bronze hammer, and wreaked havoc through the crowd. Lei Ming, holding the fallen carriage shaft of the chestnut horse in one hand, felt somewhat annoyed by its meddling. His lord had already instructed them not to make a great disturbance on this trip, but simply to return home quietly. If they encountered anyone trying to annex this small tribe, they should just drive them away. Now, thanks to the chestnut horse's interference, those people were lying on the ground, their intestines ruptured and unable to escape. He would also have the trouble of taking in a group of new people—truly a hassle.

After watching the chestnut horse rumble and knock down the last fleeing man, trampling him, Wu Tong said to Yun Ce, who was also watching the chestnut horse go berserk, "Your livestock is rather special."

Yun Ce said, "Yun Family Manor is even more special. You'll gradually understand once you get back."

The chestnut horse killed seventeen or eighteen people blocking its way in one go, finally venting its pent-up anger. After wiping the blood off its hooves on the corpses, it returned to the middle of the carriage shaft and had Lei Ming put the horse harness back on.

The carriage continued on its way, bypassing the corpses. The subordinates, who had initially worried that their lord would be no match for the vicious men, became even more composed after witnessing the ferocity of the chestnut horse.

Wu Tong asked, "Do you want him to be a great general in the future?"

Yun Ce shrugged and said, "There are many ferocious beasts north of the Great Wall. It depends on its own abilities."

Wu Tong laughed and said, "You want to build a beast army?"

Yun Ce gave the chestnut horse's rump a playful kick and said, "You see, this is a temperamental horse. I think it's become a spirit. It just won't acknowledge me. I guess it will only pay attention to its master when I lift it up high."

Since it's so ambitious, I'll give it a chance. Whether it can seize it or not is up to it.

Upon hearing this, the chestnut horse turned to look at Yun Ce and snorted loudly once again.

The chestnut horse killed someone, but it was Lei Ming who was busy. This child seemed to have a high aptitude for organizing and deploying troops. The merging of the two groups was completed after advancing less than a hundred miles.

Wu Tong asked, "Does your Yun Family Manor have many children like this?"

Yun Ce said, "The Yun Clan Manor now has more than 80,000 people. Newborns are born every day, and children mature every day. When I left the Yun Clan Manor, there were already more than 50 children with Qi Sensing. When we go back, I think there should be more than 100 children who can be trained into martial artists."

The educational system of these hundred people is different from that of the Han Dynasty. From the moment they learn their first character, they are exposed to the knowledge of their ancestral land. I want these children to break out of the shallow circle of Han culture, to have a longer-term vision, and to broaden their minds.

Wu Tong said, "You look down on Han culture?"

Yun Ce said, "The most admired thing in the Han Dynasty today is the Han Fu. I will read you a Han Fu, and you can choose another Han Fu written by the people of the Han Dynasty that can rival it, and then tell me how wonderful the culture of the Han Dynasty is."

Wu Tong smiled and said, "Mr. Liang Zhizi's Han Fu is unparalleled in the world. Please read aloud the Han Fu from our ancestral land so that I can hear it."

Yun Ce pondered for a moment and then said, "This poem is called 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River'."

Wu Tong asked, "Who is the author?"

"Cao Zhi, a prince of Wei."

"Speak for yourself."

Yun Ce sat up straight, gazing at the river beside the road, and said, "In the third year of Huangchu, I went to the capital and returned by crossing the Luo River. The ancients said that the goddess of this river was named Mi Fei. Inspired by Song Yu's tale of the goddess and the King of Chu, I composed this poem. Its words are as follows..."

I told her: "Her form is like a startled swan, graceful as a swimming dragon. She shines like autumn chrysanthemums, flourishes like spring pines. She seems like light clouds veiling the moon, drifting like swirling snow in a gentle breeze. From afar, she shines like the rising sun at dawn; up close, she glows like a lotus emerging from clear water. Her figure is perfectly proportioned, neither too slender nor too plump. Her shoulders are like those of a sculpted figure, her waist as slender as a silken thread. Her neck is long and elegant, her skin fair and radiant. She needs no adornment, no makeup. Her hair is piled high like clouds, her eyebrows are long and delicate. Her lips are bright red, her teeth are white and gleaming, her eyes are bright and expressive, her dimples are charming. Her beauty is exquisite, her demeanor serene and composed. Her gentle charm is captivating, her words enchanting. Her attire is unique and unparalleled, her features perfectly matching the description. She wears a shimmering silk robe, adorned with jade and precious stones. She wears a headdress of gold and kingfisher feathers, her body embellished with pearls." I tread the embroidered shoes of a distant journey, my light skirt trailing behind me like mist. Amidst the faint fragrance of orchids, I linger at the mountain's edge.

...So I turned my back on the high hill, my feet went but my spirit lingered, leaving behind only memories and imagination, gazing back with sorrow. I hoped my spirit would return to form, and I would ride a light boat upstream. I floated on the long river, forgetting to return, my thoughts endlessly lingering. The night was long and I couldn't sleep, until dawn when the heavy frost fell. I ordered my servants to prepare the carriage, for I would return to the eastern road. I grasped the reins and raised the whip, but lingered there, unable to leave.

Yun Ce had a deep understanding of the poem "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River." When he first read it, he didn't recognize many of the unfamiliar characters and naturally couldn't appreciate the beauty it contained.

When I reread it the second time, I only focused on the beautiful words and phrases, and couldn't appreciate the author's yearning for beauty.

When I reread it for the third time, I felt that this Han Fu was as ethereal as a flying bird, and I wanted to reach out and catch it, but I could never catch it.

When I reread it for the fourth time, I felt that beauty had become very concrete, but I could never quite put it into words.

On my fifth reading, the entire piece was filled with regret, and I wished I could throw myself into the Luo River.

(End of this chapter)