Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 130 The Prince Dies (Part )

Two days after He Bo watched the quarrel,
The ceremony of Wei's enthronement was officially held.

Wei Houying evolved into Wei Wangying.

Then the princes were shocked and fled to Qi instead of Wei.

Shang Yang returned to Qin and continued his reforms.

But his worries could not help but be noticed by Qin Jun.

So the King of Qin asked, "Shang Jun, the world is pointing its spearhead at Wei. You should be happy about your success. Why are you so worried?"

Shang Yang said, "The decline of Wei and its annexation by Qin are predictable."

"I'm just worried about what will happen after a hundred years when the Qin State unifies the world!"

"I have advised you before that the law of tyranny is suitable for chaotic times, but not for peaceful times."

"If the Qin State wants to enjoy hundreds of years of rule like the emperor of the Western Zhou Dynasty, it must give up its hegemony after unifying the world."

"But what if he doesn't want to change?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Jun also fell into deep thought.

He was not angry at Shang Yang's concern that Qin's Mandate of Heaven would not last long.

After all, he once said to Shang Yang, "Trust you as you trust me."

Moreover, even if the Mandate of Heaven was obtained and then lost, that would be a hundred years later. What does it have to do with him, the ancestor?
The Zhou emperor only established seven temples to worship his ancestors. After more than a hundred years, he might not necessarily occupy the position of seniority in the ancestral temple.

But he was the successor of the Qin Dynasty after all. Even if the King of Qin was more open-minded, he could not bear to see the ancestral temple and the country destroyed.

"Then what do you think?"

Give up the reform.

This is naturally impossible.

The State of Qin was like a huge ship. Having just turned around once, it could not change its course again in such a short period of time.

Changing orders every day,

This will only cause chaos in the country and waste a lot of national strength.

Shang Yang said, "So I have thought about it for a long time and I think the Western Regions can be used as a backup for Qin."

Once the Central Plains lost its destiny,
It is also possible for some members of the Ying Qin clan to move to the Western Regions and settle down.

After all, it has come to that point.
If you don't run, there will be only one outcome.

"Besides, the news about the young master Chao from the year before last has also been reported back. I heard that there is a new land of Xia further west in the Western Regions, isn't it?"

"Xinxia..."

Qin Jun thought of the news sent back from the Western Regions and pondered.

Since the trade route to the Western Regions was opened up, in order to gain more benefits, the nobles of the Qin State would gather people and head there every year.

Not to mention, there is also a team sent by Qin Jun to look for people.

At the turn of summer and autumn the year before last, someone returned from the Western Regions and said that he had met the leader of the first team to the Western Regions - Qin You.

He was surprised that there were so many people from the Xia Dynasty in the Western Regions, so he recruited people there and wanted to bring them back to Xin Xia.

Then he contacted the caravan sent by Qin Jun.

Because of his old age and fatigue, Qin You did not return to Qin with the caravan, but he also reported the affairs of the new Xia to other Xia countries.

But the King of Qin did not take a distant small country seriously.

He was just happy that the search operation that had started from his predecessor Duke Xian and continued until now had finally come to a successful conclusion.

then,

Qin Jun spent all the money he had sent to find people on the caravan, and thought:
I can finally focus on making money!
Now when Shang Yang mentioned New Xia, he naturally did not mean to go to the distant West and replace it.

Just an example -

Since Gongzi Chao brings 200 people with him, he can acquire a piece of land and establish a new country.

Isn't it possible for the Qin State to fight for the Central Plains while going to the Western Regions to build up a property for itself in case of emergency?
Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows.

What about the Qin people?
Anyway, the profits from the Western Trade Route are increasing.
The nobles who benefited from the situation within the Qin State were all demanding the launch of a "westward movement" to further expel the Qiang and Yiqiu people on the border and prevent these barbarians from delaying their money-making efforts.

Normally these barbarians are like weeds.
They grew on the wasteland nearby, and the nobles were too lazy to pull them out.

But now the wasteland is to be used to grow crops, how can we tolerate the existence of weeds?

We must use the slash-and-burn farming technique passed down by our ancestors to weed out the weeds!

When Qin Jun thought of this, he couldn't help but nodded.

"We really need to pay more attention to the affairs of the Western Region."

"It just so happens that Wei declared itself king, causing chaos among the princes of the Central Plains, so they have no time to attack Qin."

"And today, some ministers are very dissatisfied with you and me. Why don't we use the excuse of helping them open up trade routes and send troops to attack the barbarians?"

First make the road unobstructed to ensure that it will not be invaded or blocked by barbarians.

From now on, whether it is making money or running away,
Everything will become more convenient!

then,

While Wei was immersed in its "kingly cause" and Qi was taking the opportunity to expand its influence in the Central Plains, Qin decided to eliminate the barbarian country of Yiqiu earlier in order to better monopolize the interests of the Western Region trade routes.

...In the twenty-sixth year of the Emperor's reign,
New summer.

Gongzi Chao was very old and was lying on the mat, talking to the equally old Qin You, recalling the major events that had taken place in the country over the years.

As he was talking, he found that he couldn't see clearly, so he said to Qin You, "Did you close the window?"

Qin You looked at the window that was still open, filling the room with light, and then looked at Gongzi Chao's squinting eyes and wrinkled face.

He said, "Yes, the window was blown shut."

"Then go open it!"

"No, I'm too lazy to move!"

As Qin You spoke, he coughed a few times, making thick phlegm sounds.

So, Gongzi Chao stopped using him.

This guy is younger than me, but lazier than me.

Every time he was asked to lead a team to the place that had been named "Western Regions" by the Chinese, he had to ask and urge him many times before he would set off slowly.

Before leaving, Qin You even pretended to write a suicide note, saying what would happen if he never returned home...

But obviously,
I am almost dying.

The other party was still alive and well, and was safe and sound every time he went back and forth. His ability to survive in the wild was only slightly worse than that of Baili Xi, the Doctor of the Five Goats.

No wonder he became the team leader appointed by Qin Jun.

"It's been many years..."

In the dim vision, Gongzi Chao raised his dry hands and calculated the time.

"Fifty-four years..."

It has been fifty-four years since he left home.

It has been thirty-four years since the establishment of Xinxia.

Now I am seventy-four years old, which has exceeded Suichao's life expectancy. I can finally die.

"Tell me, am I doing well?"

Gongzi Chao suddenly asked Qin You.

Qin You said, "That's great. Now Xinxia has tens of thousands of people and has built several cities. If it is placed in the Xia Dynasty, it is more powerful than the Zhou emperor!"

After all, in the beginning,
There are only about one hundred people in Xinxia who have the ancestry of all Xia people.

Through the continuous sowing of seeds, as well as the integration of education and subsequent migration, the Xia people have completely taken root in this land.

Not to mention,
Qin You has not yet counted those barbarian slaves.

If the number of slaves were taken into account, Xinxia might even be able to compete with Song, Wei, Lu and other countries in the Central Plains.

“But I’m still worried.”

Gongzi Chao panted and said, "Zhu Xia's seeds are still too few."

"I'm worried that many years from now, millet will still be mixed with weeds and it will be impossible to separate them."

"Especially in the north and east, there are several powerful barbarian countries..."

At the beginning of the new summer,

Because they are too small and too weak,
Gongzi Chao and Sui Chao and others were busy consolidating their foundation, which took several years.

The place where the new Xia was first established was not very prosperous, with only some weak barbarian tribes around it.

Therefore, Xinxia's initial expansion was very smooth.

Gongzi Chao did take advantage of his smooth foreign relations to establish the concept of "the nobility of the Chinese people" in the minds of future generations.

After making it clear that future generations would identify with the ancestors of the Xia Dynasty, Gongzi Chao stopped attacking the barbarians.

Because the blood of Zhu Xia is still too little.

Expanding territory and occupying population is wonderful,
But how could Gongzi Chao tolerate so many weeds in the fields he had reclaimed?

If something happens to rebel against Tiangang someday, he will be the sinner of Xinxia!
But as Xinxia became stronger and stronger, it got to know this land better and better. Even though Gongzi Chao wanted to thrive steadily, he also learned from the merchants traveling around and the envoys sent by Xinxia that—

In the northeast of Xinxia, there is actually a country called "Gandhara".

That country has been established for hundreds of years, has a large population, and has its own unique and diverse culture.

The land occupied by Xinxia originally belonged to Gandhara.

However, the other party's national strength was weak at this time, and it was simply unable to manage the local area. Just like the force that once came here to demand wealth and tribute, it had not sent anyone here for a long time.

Therefore, the foreign gentlemen from various parts of China took advantage of the situation and invaded.

After the Gandhara Kingdom learned that someone had stolen their property, it also fought with Xinxia.

Just a fading
One is still growing,
Neither side could do anything to the other.

So the days went on in a muddle.

In addition to Gandhara, there are many barbarian countries.

Gongzi Chao's heart, which had originally become proud and arrogant because of Xinxia's stability, calmed down again and he began to worry about it.

(End of this chapter)