Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

Since being sacrificed by his sovereign father, Quan Ming has undergone several sacrifices. However, this autumn sacrifice is different. The autumn harvest is a major event for the country. Even though he is only a first-order immortal god in Chu, the Dao Heaven of Chu bestowed its attention during the sacrifice...

According to his gaze.

We can take advantage of their momentum!

……

"I humbly beseech Heaven!"

Below, Qu Wan holds a tortoise shell in his hands and inscribes on it: "Chu Bu, Wan Zhen, prays for the blessing of the autumn harvest. He asks the immortal Quan: When will the harvest begin? When will the grain be stored? How much should be sacrificed? How much will the yield increase? Will next year be bountiful again?"

Boom!

After the divination inscription was carved, Qu Wan threw the tortoise shell into the fire!

This is the way for humans to communicate with the gods, and it was also the reason why Quan Ming performed a sacrifice for himself in front of the bronze mural in the Quan Di Secret Realm. Only by doing so could he use the sacrifice to interfere in the mortal world without any worries and exercise his authority and divine power.

hum...

The contents of the oracle bone inscriptions emerged like a gentle breeze and light rain in Quan Ming's sea of ​​will.

At the same time, Chu Di Dao Tian's gaze fell upon them.

This attention, silently falling upon the altar amidst the sacrificial dances, music, and prayers, observes the mortals while also scrutinizing the gods.

Apart from Quan Ming, no one else could detect Dao Tian's arrival.

In reality, Dao Tian was helping Quan Ming fulfill his duties in the sacrificial ceremony, that is, relying on his divine status and using his authority as a deity to bestow blessings and assist in the progress of this autumn harvest.

During the process, Daotian will bestow a large amount of Chu land will according to the offerings in the sacrifice, and the immortals and gods will rely on these wills to exert their divine power.

Generally speaking, gods and deities also need to collect their own offerings.

For example, they might accept a portion of the will of the Chu people and enrich themselves.

hum...

-

With full willpower, one can increase by 30% and achieve a bountiful harvest next year.

50% willpower, can increase by 20%, no harvest next year

One-tenth of one's will, neither increasing nor decreasing, no bountiful harvest next year.

-

This is a warning from Daotian, and also a choice for Quanming. He uses a certain percentage of his will to bestow blessings, which represents how much production can be increased locally.

The Daoist Heaven has no seven emotions or six desires, and does not understand human nature, so it uses immortals and gods to govern the human world.

Immortals and gods have seven emotions and six desires. Most of them are nobles who become gods after death. How many of them truly treat people as human beings and would regard the country's harvest as their own?

Choosing to give 50% of one's will already demonstrates "humanity".

Most of the blessings are bestowed by the will of the gods, increasing or decreasing in turn, which only makes the people more earnest in seeking help from the gods and praying.

of course……

This ratio of blessing is not the same in every place.

Good soil and good years, with favorable weather and abundant harvests, naturally require little willpower to bestow blessings, and the gods are happy to do so in exchange for fame. But in years of disaster and inhospitable land... the gods will only be stingy.

—Full Will—

Quan Ming made his move. He used his divine power to create a message that landed on the tortoise shell being scorched by the fire, causing the shell to develop divination patterns that only gods and diviners could understand, thus conveying the divine will.

—On the autumn harvest day, one should harvest in the morning and store the grain in the granary in the evening. A sacrifice of 30,000 shi of millet to the rightful land is offered to the land and then poured into the water. This will be exchanged for a 30% increase in the rightful land's yield, ensuring a bountiful harvest the following year.—

"Um?"

Production increased by 30%!

Next year will be bountiful!

Qu Wan, who was observing the tortoise shell, was greatly surprised!

Thirty thousand shi of millet... This was the ration that the Chu state stipulated to be distributed to thirty thousand adult citizens. This amount of grain, plus the income from digging wild vegetables, fishing, and hunting, was enough to feed thirty thousand people for half a year without worry. Even in wartime, it would be enough to pay the wages of five thousand soldiers...

Of course, Qu Wan was not surprised by the 30,000 shi of millet offered as a sacrifice.

What surprised him was the 30% increase in production, which promised a bumper harvest next year!

As the county magistrate, he knew very well that Quan Di had 100,000 mu of land, which could yield 120,000 shi in the autumn of previous years. Today, thanks to Quan Ming's earlier blessing, the yield had increased by more than 10%, and it could yield approximately 150,000 shi... If the yield increased by another 30%, it could probably reach 200,000 shi!

The increase in grain could be far more than 30,000 shi!

And next year will be bountiful...

This?

As a nobleman of the Chu state, Qu Wan could not see the arrival of the Daotian, but he knew some of the secrets of the sacrifices.

In the ritual, to obtain blessings, it's not enough to simply offer sacrifices to Dao Tian. First, Chu Tian must bestow his will to satisfy the 'needs' of the immortals and gods. Only then can the remaining will be transformed into blessings and bestowed by the immortals and gods...

This is the rule; only when the immortals and gods are powerful can this place be peaceful.

Even the King of Chu could not force the immortals and gods not to take a single drop.

but……

It can increase production by 30%, and next year will be a bumper harvest!

This blessing was something Qu Wan had never heard of before, which shows that Quan Ming really didn't take a single penny, only for the sake of Quan.

At this moment, Qu Wan's mind wavered somewhat.

But he quickly regained his composure, bowed and thanked the immortal, saying, "Thank you for your blessing, Immortal Quan!"

The ceremony is complete!

Quan Ming looked at the vast Chu land will bestowed by Dao Tian, ​​disregarding its quantity, and relied solely on his authority to transform the will into a power of blessing, enriching the golden crops on the land and this entire region.

Boom!

Quan Ming flew into the sky and transformed into a cloud of water vapor, bringing sweet rain to the land of Quan!

Under the blessing of this immense will, the crops seemed to be baptized, radiating divine light. Even those Chu people and Quan people who did not know the divination text and were watching the ceremony were astonished by the miracle.

A bumper harvest?

This was a harvest they had never seen before!

Chu Di’s Will +7653

In reality, everyone knew that this was Quan Ming's doing. Even if Quan Ming did not enrich himself, the people here were moved by what Quan Ming had done. They looked at the clouds and rain that Quan Ming had transformed with respect and expectation, and sincerely admired Quan Ming.

This veneration is a gain beyond the ritual itself.

Quan Ming did not refuse. In fact, he only wanted to take this part of the will of Chu, and he could do so with a clear conscience.

……

"Let's begin!"

After the rain stopped, the crops visibly grew larger, and Qu Wan did not hesitate to immediately order the harvest.

The men, who had been prepared beforehand, wielding stone-bladed wooden sickles, began to flood into the fields, and soon had harvested hundreds of heaps. Meanwhile, the women were beating the stalks and ears of millet against the walls of the granary to loosen the grains...

In this way, stones of millet were bundled together in burlap sacks and loaded onto the cart.

"slow!"

Qu Wan hurriedly stepped forward and said to Dou Lian, the young general in charge of loading the cargo, "First unload nine thousand shi (a unit of dry measure) to be used as sacrificial offerings in the water. This is a covenant with the gods and cannot be disobeyed."

As he spoke, Qu Wan looked at the figure that had already returned to the covered wagon and disappeared into the mist.

Unconsciously, the awkwardness in Qu Wan's eyes faded: "If the offerings are put into the water, Quan Xian can explain to Dao Tian as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the sacrifice is not completed and the offerings are incomplete, Quan Xian will also be punished by Dao Tian."

Dou Lian, unaware of these things, immediately wiped away his smile, which had been beaming with joy at the harvest, upon hearing Qu Wan's words.

He hurriedly ordered that bags of freshly harvested millet be transported to the banks of the Quan River, ready to be thrown into the water at any time!

……

"My lord, what does Daotian need all this millet for?"

Amidst the misty haze, Feng Hua asked Quan Ming, who was sitting upright with his eyes closed, with a curious expression.

Quan Ming did not open his eyes, but said in a soft voice: "Humans are the most spiritually powerful, so during the Shang Dynasty, human sacrifices were used to exchange for blessings from the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao took the human spirituality to maintain its own operation. Later, the practice of human sacrifices ceased. In order to maintain its operation, the Heavenly Dao began to use large quantities of grains and livestock, accumulating little by little to maintain its operation..."

"Dao Tian wanted those tens of thousands of millet grains because he wanted to extract the spiritual essence contained within them."

"The five grains have a spirit, and people live by eating them."

"One can also be born by eating the food of the heavens."

"Although it contains little, it can make up for the quantity... Hah."

Having said that, Quan Ming chuckled lightly, for he thought: if the immortals and gods line their own pockets, then the Dao Heaven must also demand more offerings. The Dao Heaven, in order to maintain its operation, naturally needs its own "granary," just like a national treasury. Both take food from the people of the country; the fuller the national treasury, the poorer the people...