Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

Quanshui Pass returned to tranquility with the arrival of Quanming. Quan County in the middle reaches was almost unaffected by this battle between gods and immortals, and continued its busy business preparations, brewing wine, raising silkworms, making lacquer... offering sacrifices to Quanming in exchange for blessings.

However, under the blessing, Quan Ren discovered that the blessing bestowed by Quan Ming had become stronger.

"Could it be that Prince Quan is once again using the will of Chu to benefit us, the people of Quan!"

"This...Young Master Quan..."

"..."

Quan Ming's gaze fell upon the Quan people who were worshipping before the statues, through the forty-nine divine statues in his sea of ​​will that had been transformed by Feng Hua with river pearls and jade. He listened to their prayers and their exclamations of surprise.

He offered no explanation.

He merely gazed at the water flowing around the forty-nine statues of the gods in the Sea of ​​Will.

And the book of clouds and mist that are lifted up by the convergence of water.

The seal script on the booklet flowed downstream, conveying to each person in charge of the sacrifice—what they wished for, and how to perform the sacrifice!

By following the rules of these sacrifices, one can obtain even greater blessings.

In this way, the effect of bestowing blessings is enhanced.

At the same time, this [Returning to the Elder Brother's Artifact - Cloud Register Booklet] also gradually strengthens its power through sacrifices, using the Dao of Quanming to solidify the first restriction. Once it becomes a physical entity, the second restriction can be applied!

……

Quan Ming's will did not leave his sea of ​​will. After sensing the fierce battle between the giant python's soul and Luo Xian for control of the body, and the giant python's soul's plea for help, he looked into the eyes of the black crows and used the Quan Ren Dao Tian Xia command in the Xuan Niao Seal to go to Luo Shui and help the giant python seize Luo Xian's will!

promise!

A flock of black crows flew from all directions to Luoshui.

Quan Ming has completed most of the mission of sending the giant python's soul to Luo Shui. Now he has the opportunity to take over the position of Luo Shui Shui Xian, which is an unexpected bonus.

Quan Ming was generous and immediately dispatched all the Black Crows to help.

As for the rest, that depends on the giant python's methods.

All of this was done on the second day. Quan Ming stayed in the Quan River and did not come out. He was only secretly guarding against Yong Niu Bo of Yong Kingdom, and at the same time watching over the 30,000 shi of sacrificial rice hidden in the water not far from the pass. This was related to his next plan and could not be taken lightly.

Of course, he did not forget to continue his plans for Quan County.

He had already sent Feng Hua along the Luo River to find out where the Yong army was stationed. With the Jing Mountains blocking their way, and the fact that the Yong ruler was able to send Yong Niu Bo to the Quanshui Pass, it was clear that the army was wild and had not gone to the main battlefield between the emperor and the Chu state, but instead chose to ambush from the flank.

This flank naturally refers to the Luo River basin north of Quandi.

Once he finds the location of the Yong army, he can spread the word about the "wealth" of Quan County, and then let one or two Yong spies successfully enter Quan County to investigate. After learning that Quan County has the property of major clans and is truly "wealthy", and that the King of Chu is at war with the Emperor, the defense of this place is relatively weak... then he can lure the Yong ruler into a trap!

That will be the time when those in power truly gain a foothold.

Quan Ming's eyes flickered slightly.

At the same time, a divine decree was issued: appeal—

Spring has arrived, and the Zhou emperor and the king of Chu have agreed to go to war. From this moment on, all the immortals and gods must not fight against the immortals and gods of other countries without orders. They must adhere to their duties, guard the borders, and prevent the invasion of foreign armies...

The words of the divine decree were all in Qu Xia's tone.

Moreover, there were only punishments for disobeying military orders, with no rewards or specific clerical duties.

It is evident that this was a divine decree issued by Qu Xia.

Quan Ming had no objection to this. At this moment, with the beginning of spring, the emperor had already started a war with the King of Chu at Jingmen. The war had just begun and the situation was still uncertain. It was best to observe and wait for an opportunity.

He wouldn't leave the game so early to become a scapegoat for Qu Xia.

Thinking this, Dou Lian's voice came from the water, accompanied by Qu Wan... and the sounds of ranks.

Quan Ming rose to the surface in a boat.

The immortals and gods inside the Quanshui Pass also rode out in vehicles and carriages or on beasts to pay their respects to Qu Wan, the magistrate of Quandi County, and Dou Lian, the commander of the Quandi army.

However, Dou Lian clearly lacked the patience for this. He strode forward and said, "Gentlemen, please skip these formalities. The royal decree is imminent, and I need to speak with Quan Xian."

And so, Dou Lian came to Quan Ming's side.

Quan Ming looked at the military order in Dou Lian's hand and gave a slight bow, which was to give the King of Chu enough face.

Upon seeing this, the young general Dou Lian also bowed in respect, showing his reverence for the immortal.

Dou Lian hurriedly said, "The king has ordered that half of the soldiers from Quan County be sent to the pass to guard it and prevent an attack from the Yong Kingdom. If the pass is in danger, another two thousand soldiers from Quan County can be sent to help... As for more, we need to wait until the first battle at Jingmen is over and then discuss it with Mo Ao and the Right Commander before we can deploy troops."

Upon hearing this, Quan Ming looked at the three thousand well-equipped Chu soldiers.

He nodded slightly.

I neither agree nor disagree; after all, he is a deity, not a general or minister in the mortal world.

He has no right to participate in the wars between nations in this world.

He only needs to worry about the intrusion of immortals and gods from other countries, and ensure that when the armies of the two countries fight each other under the Dao Heaven, they will not be subjected to the underhanded tricks of the immortals and gods of the enemy country.

The principle that God is not close to people applies to people of other nations as well.

Seeing that Quan Ming had no objections, Dou Lian breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that Quan Ming would be dissatisfied with this arrangement, after all, even he was not absolutely certain that he could defend the Quanshui Pass, which already had cracks in the city wall, with three thousand armored soldiers.

Who told them that this checkpoint was just for show?

Because there had been no war for many years, the Quan state did not pay much attention to it, and the repair and management were perfunctory. If a large army were to attack, it would not be able to withstand the attack for long. If that were the case, it would probably have to fight to the death, otherwise it would not be able to wait for the Chu army to come to its aid.

But he had just breathed a sigh of relief.

Quan Ming then asked, "With these three thousand armored soldiers transferred from Quan County, has Your Majesty made any arrangements for the safety of the people of Quan...? If an emergency arises later, and another two thousand are transferred, what will be the arrangement for the remaining one thousand Chu soldiers in Quan County?"

The two questions in a row made Dou Lian's heart tighten.

Even if the king has not issued a censorship order, how can this matter be spoken out?

Dou Lian looked at Quan Ming cautiously, slightly at a loss.

"Quan Xian".

At this moment, Qu Wan stepped forward. Seeing that Dou Lian was hesitant to speak the truth, he quickly bowed and said, "Immortal Quan, His Majesty has made arrangements for Quan Ren's safety. You can rest assured that Quan Ren will not be harmed in the slightest because of the war."

"Oh?"

Quan Ming nodded slowly, but said, "Well... since that's the case, now that the King's reinforcements have arrived, and there are still many immortals and gods guarding this place, then I... this Water Fairy who was personally ordered by Mo Ao to be in charge of the Quan River shipping should also return to the lower reaches of the Quan River to assist in shipping, so as to avoid the situation in Jingmen becoming critical, and the supply of food, medicine and other necessities being insufficient, and the transportation of the wounded becoming troublesome."

This!

Qu Wan panicked.

Did they know that yesterday it was Quan Ming who, with the power of Quan Shui Shui Xian and the help of that Dao Xiang, managed to hold off the immortals and gods of Luo Kingdom? If Quan Ming were to leave now, the immortals and gods here would not be able to hold them off, and these soldiers of Chu Kingdom, without the protection of Dao Tian, ​​would be no match for the opposing army. This pass would probably collapse in an instant!

Qu Wanqiang tried to remain calm.

He said, "Mo Ao has already communicated with me. Quan Xian should prioritize defending the border. As for the Quan Shui shipping, I will take care of it for now and work with Quan Xian's subordinates to protect it."

Qu Wan bowed to Quan Ming again as he spoke, saying, "Uncle was busy with the Battle of Jingmen and made some oversights. Please forgive me, Immortal Quan."

An oversight?

Was it a missed divine decree to dispatch Quanming to guard the Quanshui Pass, or a reward for his previous merits?

Quan Ming looked at Qu Wan, who had a sincere expression on his face.

"Fine, considering how diligently you've worked for the Quan people's business and how well you've managed Quan County, I'll trust you this once. But... don't let me hear anything about the Quan people suffering in Quan County."

"...How could that be? Immortal Quan, please rest assured, once Qu Wan returns, he will surely take care of you."

"Um."

Quan Ming agreed to the matter, and that concluded the matter.

Dou Lian breathed a heavy sigh of relief and began to arrange his troops, setting up traps, watchtowers, ambushes, and other traps at the pass.

Qu Wan also returned to Quan County, not daring to be negligent.

……

As the sun set, a secret report came from the Yong army camp. The general commanding the Yong army received the letter and was shocked: "This Quan region is so wealthy, with fertile land stretching endlessly. In the autumn, it harvested 200,000 shi of grain from 100,000 mu of land... Now the Chu clan has all gathered in Quan County to set up businesses... So much wealth... Hiss..."

"Great place!"

"What a great place... haha!"

……

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