Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 88 Merchants

Shuliang He, surnamed Zi and clan Kong, was named He and styled Shuliang. His ancestors lived in the State of Song, and he was a descendant of Wei Zhong. His sixth-generation ancestor, Kong Fujia, fled to the State of Lu to avoid disaster and settled in the city of Yin, becoming a Lu citizen. He was known as one of the "Three Tiger Generals of Lu" along with Di Feimi and Qin Jinfu.

Of course, if we only talk about Shuliang He, many people may not know who he is, but if we mention his second son, Confucius, then everyone knows him. After all, the world talks about the Three Religions, namely Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and Confucianism has disciples all over the world.

In the 88th chapter of "Journey to the West", when the monkey angrily scolded the King of Nanshan, he said that Li Laojun was the ancestor of the creation of the world, and he also sat on the right of Taiqing; Buddha Tathagata was the ruler of the world, and he also sat under Dapeng; Confucius was the master of Confucianism, and he was also called Master.

At that time, the monkey placed Confucius on the same level as Li Laojun and Buddha Tathagata. It can be seen that in the monkey's view, Confucius was a great master with supernatural powers who could be compared with the two ancestors of Buddhism and Taoism.

"It really has a great origin. If it belonged to Shu Lianghe, why did it end up in the northern border?"

Lü Shang was also amazed by the one-legged bronze spear in Boluhun's arms. Even the most ordinary items passed down by Confucius' father held extraordinary significance in Confucianism. Furthermore, this five-foot-long, one-legged bronze spear was incredibly magical, making it something truly extraordinary in its own right.

Facing the surprised looks of those around him, Boluhun calmly held the one-legged bronze spear, raised his chin slightly, and said, "General, you are from the Central Plains. You should know who Shulianghe is. You should also know that although Shulianghe is a powerful general of Lu, his ancestors are from Song."

"His ancestors lived in Song and were descendants of Wei Zhong, the monarch of the State of Song. Wei Zhong of Song, also known as Wei Zi Yan, was the second monarch of the State of Song, while his elder brother Wei Zi Qi was the first monarch of the State of Song. They were both brothers of Yin Shou, the last monarch of the Shang Dynasty."

"The Shang Dynasty established a religion based on witchcraft, which was the heyday of witchcraft. The prosperity of witchcraft is far beyond what we can compare to today. And Shuliang He is of Shang bloodline, and even a Shang nobleman. Part of his family tradition is the inheritance of Shang witchcraft."

"Shu Lianghe had a deep connection with Wu Cult. Wu Cult is now declining in the Central Plains, while the Turkic people are flourishing. Although this one-legged bronze spear belongs to Shu Lianghe, it is itself a treasure of Wu Cult. My ancestor found it and brought it to the Northern Frontier, where it has been passed down through generations until it came into my hands."

After listening to Boluhun's story, Shang Silang was surprised and said, "I didn't expect Confucius to be a descendant of the Shang Dynasty."

Xin Yongfeng shook his head and said, "What's so strange about this? Confucius never shied away from mentioning his origins. The Book of Rites, Tan Gong Shang, says, 'And I am a man of Yin,' and the Analects of Confucius says, 'I can speak of the rites of Yin.' These both reveal his identity."

"You, don't just read military books, but also read more about the Nine Confucian Classics. If you want to go further in your official career, you must be familiar with the Nine Confucian Classics."

Xin Yongfeng was different from Wei Cheng and Shang Silang in that he came from a humble background. He was a true descendant of a famous family and was born into a family of officials. He was the legitimate son of Xin Deqing, the former prime minister of the Southern Chen Dynasty. The education he received since childhood was not comparable to that of Wei Cheng and Shang Silang, and he was well aware of the standards of officialdom.

Shang Silang listened to Xin Yongfeng's words and nodded slightly, a hint of embarrassment on his face. He said, "Brother Xin, you are absolutely right. I have been so focused on studying military books and battle formations that I have neglected the Confucian classics. I will definitely make time to study them carefully in the future."

The so-called Nine Classics of Confucianism are "The Book of Changes", "The Book of History", "The Book of Songs", "The Book of Zhou Rites", "The Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial", "The Book of Rites", "The Zuo Zhuan", "The Gongyang Zhuan", and "The Guliang Zhuan".

"alright,"

Lu Shang raised his hand to interrupt the discussion about Confucius' family background and forced the topic back to beheading and capturing the king. He said, "What do you think? Can we persuade Datou's followers to rebel?"

"If we can win over a group of them and strike back at a critical moment, throwing Datou into disarray, our chances of storming the camp will greatly increase."

If the battle had been fought in the Central Plains, Lü Shang would never have considered co-opting the enemy's generals before a battle. However, this was the grasslands, and Datou's 600,000-man army wasn't entirely his own. Many were mercenaries and coalition forces from other tribes, creating the potential for division. After Datou's falling out with Shabolue, he resorted to constantly dividing and co-opting Shabolue's forces, causing many of his generals to defect, severely weakening his strength and forcing him to migrate south.

"Apo and Tan Khan are both staunch allies of Datou. When Shaboluo Khan deposed Apo and Tan Khan and annexed their tribes, it was Datou who lent them troops and helped them recruit their old subordinates. With this favor, they will never betray Datou."

"Some small and medium-sized tribes dare not rebel against Datou, as Datou is currently at the peak of his power. If they rebel, they are afraid that Datou will immediately send his troops to exterminate them. They dare not take such a risk.

"But there's still a chance." Wei Cheng frowned and thought, "Datou has quite a few mercenaries under his command. These people are only interested in profit. As long as we can offer them enough benefits, we might be able to get them to switch sides in the middle of a battle."

Boritechi said in a deep voice: "That's what we say, but what can we give them? Whatever we can give, Datou can also give. There is no way to win them over."

Just as everyone was pondering how to divide Datou, Boluhun suddenly made a startling statement, saying, "I know of a powerful tribe that has a deep vendetta against Datou and deeply hates him. They are now Datou's vassal army, so perhaps we can get their support."

"Who?" Lu Shang asked.

Boluhun said directly: "The Hephthalites,"

"The Hephthalites?"

Everyone in the tent looked at each other in bewilderment. They were obviously unfamiliar with the name. Even Boriti, a Turk, was a little confused.

Boluhun explained, "The Hephthalites are called the Hua Kingdom by the people of the Central Plains, and the White Xiongnu in the Western Regions."

Seeing everyone's expressions straighten after hearing about the White Xiongnu, Boluhun continued, "The Hephthalites were once prosperous, with a vast territory and great power. But then the Turkic invasion of the west led to the destruction of their country and the people's escape."

"Datou's father, Shidianmi, was extremely cruel to the Hephthalites. In order to survive, the remaining Hephthalites had no choice but to submit to Shidianmi and become his vassal army."

Hearing this, Lu Shang's eyes gleamed, and he pressed on, "Do you have any connection with them? How can we make them work for us?"

Boluhun nodded slightly and said, "When I was learning from my master, I once met an elder of the Hephthalites. These Hephthalites deeply hate Shidami. We can promise them a piece of land, and perhaps we can persuade them to turn against us."

"White Huns, Hephthalites,"

After Lu Shang thought about it, he said, "This is indeed an opportunity. If we can persuade them to cooperate, we will have an additional surprise force."

The significance of a surprise attack lies in its "surprise", which is to catch the enemy off guard, turn against them, and win with one strike.

(End of this chapter)