Conferred God: Started from Swallowing the Heaven-Repairing Stone

Chapter 241 Persuading the Jade Emperor
Ao Bing deliberately did not mention the relationship between Tongtianze and Da Shang. Instead, he emphasized the importance of Tongtianze, which is one of the nine lakes in the human world and has the important task of nurturing billions of lives.

The purpose of doing so is to let the Jade Emperor focus on the importance of Tongtianze, whose survival is related to the fate of billions of lives, rather than on the fact that Tongtianze is the foundation of the Shang Dynasty.

If he could solve the problem of Tongtian Lake drying up, not only would he gain great merit, but he would also gain the heartfelt gratitude of billions of living beings, greatly enhancing his reputation between heaven and earth.

This is what is meant by exercising benevolent government over heaven and earth.

"Is Tongtian Lake going to dry up?"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor was startled at first, then he seemed to have thought of something and said with a look of sudden realization:
"I see. No wonder I saw that the fortune of the Shang Dynasty was declining drastically recently. I thought it was because the Shang Dynasty had offended the Yuanshi Saint. It turns out that the Tongtian Lake is about to dry up."

Tongtian Lake is the lifeline of the Shang Dynasty. This is not a secret in the prehistoric world, and many powerful people know it. Because, it was not only the Shang Dynasty that had set its sights on Tongtian Lake, but also many quasi-saints.

But unfortunately, Shang Zuqi was the son of Emperor Ku and the emperor of Emperor Yao, and had the backing of the Phoenix clan. This led to the failure of other forces to compete with the Shang Dynasty, and Tongtianze fell into his hands.

As the supreme ruler of heaven and earth, the Jade Emperor must have known about this. In fact, if he had not considered the impact, he would have wanted to take Tongtianze away from the Shang Dynasty to cut off its lifeline.

The Jade Emperor and the Shang Dynasty had a grudge against each other, and the conflict between the two sides was very deep. The main reason was that successive Shang emperors had never respected the Jade Emperor, and had even repeatedly provoked him.

The most serious incident was that of Emperor Xin’s great-grandfather Wu Yi, who dared to shoot an arrow at the Jade Emperor!
This event is known in history as Wu Yi Shooting the Sky!
This was more than just a provocation. The Jade Emperor was furious. From then on, the Shang Dynasty suffered from natural disasters one after another. Wu Yi was even punished by heaven and died from lightning.

Things seemed to be over at this point, but the hatred between the Jade Emperor and the Shang Dynasty had already been formed and was growing deeper and deeper, to the point that both sides were looking for opportunities to suppress the other.

The Jade Emperor took a fancy to Tongtian Lake, the lifeline of the Shang Dynasty, at first sight, and expressed his intention to take it away more than once. However, every time he was about to take action, a great god would come forward to persuade him to stop.

The Great Business has not yet ended. Forcibly seizing Tongtianze will inevitably lead to turmoil in the Three Realms. I hope the Jade Emperor will put the sentient beings of the Three Realms first and temporarily calm his wrath.

The greatest strength of the Jade Emperor is that he listens to advice. In addition, he values ​​his reputation, so he listened to the advice and endured it, and never took any action against Tongtianze.

But his inaction did not mean that Tongtian Lake would not have problems. From Wu Yi to Emperor Xin, within a few hundred thousand years, the situation in Tongtian Lake had deteriorated to the point where it threatened the foundation of the Shang Dynasty.

After hearing this, the Jade Emperor was very happy. But since Ao Bing was in front of him, he was concerned about the impact and could not swear. Otherwise, he would have cursed the Shang Dynasty for what it deserved.

"Jade Emperor, Da Shang is Da Shang, Tong Tian Ze is Tong Tian Ze. These are the nine zes of the human world, and they concern the lives of billions of people. You must not ignore their safety just because of your own grudges."

Seeing that the Jade Emperor seemed to be gloating, Ao Bing couldn't help but emphasize.

When saying this, Ao Bing couldn't help but feel like he was standing on the moral high ground and pointing fingers at the Jade Emperor.

But he was not ashamed of this, but proud of it, because he was fulfilling his duty and admonishing the monarch to be good.

A loyal minister, an honest minister, that's him!
If it were someone else who dared to stand on the moral high ground and point fingers at him, Ao Bing would slap that person in the face and make him face the reality.

But the Jade Emperor cannot. His identity and the responsibilities he shoulders mean that everyone can stand on the moral high ground and point fingers at him.

The wilderness is not peaceful, the world is not at peace, whose fault is it? The answer is: it is all the fault of the Jade Emperor.

The position of the Heavenly Emperor represents not only power, but also responsibilities and obligations. As the Heavenly Emperor, he should bear everything between heaven and earth.

"If you accept the country's filth, you are called the ruler of the country; if you accept the country's misfortune, you are called the king of the world."

"The Jade Emperor is the Emperor of Heaven, so he must bear all the disasters of the prehistoric world. Although the drying up of Tongtian Lake was the fault of the Shang Dynasty, the Jade Emperor is the master of heaven and earth."

"After countless years, when the world has changed dramatically, when people mention Tongtian Lake again, they will only say that the Jade Emperor did nothing, which led to the drying up of Tongtian Lake."

"Instead of putting the blame on the big merchants who have long since become the dust of history."

Seeing that the Jade Emperor was silent, Ao Bing continued.

This is the truth. Although Tongtianze belongs to the Shang Dynasty, the Jade Emperor is the master of heaven and earth. Therefore, no matter what problems occur in the prehistoric world, the Jade Emperor must bear a leadership responsibility.

There is nothing wrong with him. He is the Emperor of Heaven. Since he sits on this position, he must bear the corresponding responsibilities and obligations. No matter what, he cannot escape the leadership responsibility.

"What Long Zun said makes sense. I am the Emperor of Heaven, ruling over the wilderness and ruling over all spirits. I really shouldn't be happy about the drying up of Tongtian Lake."

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor restrained his expression and said seriously, "He was depressed by what Ao Bing said, and he only thought that after Tongtian Lake dried up, the Shang Dynasty would be finished."

However, he forgot that if Tongtian Lake, one of the nine lakes in the world, dried up during his term of office, it would be his fault no matter what the reason was.

Just as Ao Bing said, when future generations mention this matter, they will not say how great the Shang Dynasty was, but will only say that he, the Emperor of Heaven, was incompetent and made the governance of the prehistoric world weaker and weaker.

Thinking of this, the Jade Emperor suddenly wanted to curse. So, how could it be his fault?
Ever since he came back from reincarnation, nothing has gone well for him. Not only did he not get much benefit, but he also took a lot of blame.

To be honest, Tongtian Lake is about to dry up, so what does it have to do with him?
It was not him who felled the towering Jianmu, nor was it him who gave Tongtian Lake to the Shang Dynasty. As a result, Tongtian Lake was about to dry up, and the responsibility was his.

This is really...

The Jade Emperor became angrier and angrier as he thought about it, and he didn't want to deal with this mess anymore. Let Tongtian Lake dry up, so be it. At worst, he could write down all the causes and consequences of the matter in the history book he was compiling.

In this way, future generations, as long as they read history books carefully, will know that even if he was responsible, it was only a secondary responsibility.

As to whether the main responsibility lies with the Shang Dynasty for failing to manage Tongtian Lake well, or with Emperor Zhuanxu for cutting down the Jianmu tree, let future generations discuss it themselves. It has nothing to do with him anyway.

Thinking of this, the Jade Emperor couldn't help but say: "I understand that Long Zun is worried that the drying up of Tongtian Lake will have an impact on the surrounding environment, but in my opinion, this fact is unnecessary."

"It is no longer the ancient times. Whether Tongtian Lake dries up or not will only affect Da Shang, and will not affect other living beings."

“Dragon Lord, you must know that since Tongtian Lake was occupied by the Shang Dynasty, all the creatures around it have been either expelled or killed by the Shang Dynasty.”

"It can be said that nowadays, only people from Da Shang are around Tongtian Lake, and there are no other living beings."

"What you said about Tongtian Lake nourishing billions of lives is already history. What you are worried about, that Tongtian Lake will dry up and affect the vitality of billions of lives, is even more impossible to happen."

“Perhaps this is the retribution for the Shang Dynasty’s monopoly of Tongtian Lake. How can Tongtian Lake, which no longer nourishes billions of lives, still be favored by heaven and earth? It is only a matter of time before it dries up.”

The Jade Emperor didn't even ask Ao Bing how to solve the problem of Tongtian Lake drying up, and directly denied the matter. In short, he would not let the Shang Dynasty take advantage of him, let alone actively help the Shang Dynasty. And the reason he gave was even more reasonable. He attributed the drying up of Tongtian Lake to the retribution of heaven and earth to the Shang Dynasty.

In this way, he put the Shang Dynasty on the pillar of shame, and when future generations mentioned this matter again, they would no longer say that he was poorly managed.

Instead, they would say that karma is the law of nature and retribution will come. They would completely use the Shang Dynasty as a negative example to teach future generations that the blessed land is created by heaven to support all living things and must not be monopolized, otherwise there will be retribution.

"I also know what the Jade Emperor said, but that was before. As long as the Jade Emperor is willing to help, from now on, Da Shang will lift the restrictions on Tongtian Lake and allow it to flow into all corners of the world to nourish more lives."

"That's why I'm willing to come to the Heavenly Palace to be a lobbyist. If solving the problem of Tongtian Lake drying up will only benefit the Shang Dynasty, then how can I face the Jade Emperor and ask for this?"

"It was the Great Shang that promised me that they would lift the restrictions on Tongtianze. I came here to lobby for the sake of billions of lives."

"At the same time, please ask the Jade Emperor to put the lives of the people first, put aside your prejudice against the Shang Dynasty, and help them this time."

"This is not for the sake of the Shang Dynasty, but for the Jade Emperor. If the restrictions on Tongtian Lake are touched, the innate spiritual water contained in it will flow into all corners of the world."

"Then how could the billions of living beings who have received the grace not remember the Jade Emperor's kindness and be grateful to you?"

Faced with the Jade Emperor's rebuttal, Ao Bing was completely unmoved, and even led the people of the world to put pressure on the Jade Emperor in turn.

Before coming, Ao Bing had calculated that the Jade Emperor would not easily agree to this matter, so he made many assumptions in his mind and thought of ways to refute them one by one.

The reason given by the Jade Emperor for his refusal was exactly what he had imagined. Therefore, he directly responded and gave the Jade Emperor a reason that he could not refuse, hoping that he would put the lives of the people first.

Putting life first, this sentence is the biggest killer for the Jade Emperor. Without a reasonable reason, he cannot directly refuse.

"If that's the case, then I really can't refuse."

The Jade Emperor was silent for a long time before he spoke slowly.

He had previously thought that Ao Bing came to see him because of the Tongtianze incident in order to find a way to extend the fate of the Shang Dynasty, but now after hearing what he said, it seemed that this was not the case, and that he was really doing it for the sake of the people.

Of course, the Jade Emperor was just thinking this. He knew very well in his heart that no matter how righteous Ao Bing's words were, it could not change the purpose of his visit, which was to speak for Da Shang.

Jiejiao and Da Shang are one. As the true disciple of Jiejiao, it is only normal for Ao Bing to speak and work for Da Shang. This is his position.

"Say it!"

"If you want to solve the problem of Tongtian Lake drying up, how can you help?"

The Jade Emperor suppressed his thoughts and asked Ao Bing with a serious face. He had already made up his mind that no matter how Ao Bing answered, he would refuse on the grounds that he couldn't do it.

Although it is difficult to refuse a righteous cause, there is a premise, that is, it is difficult to refuse within one's ability. But if it is beyond his ability, then it is okay to refuse.

You can't force him to accomplish something that he can't do. There is no such thing in the world.

"This is easy. All we need is for the Jade Emperor to order the digging of the Heavenly River so that the water from the Heavenly River can flow into the Tongtian Lake."

"In this way, not only can the problem of Tongtian Lake be solved, but the crisis of the increasing accumulation of water in Tianhe can also be alleviated. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

Ao Bing was happy to see that the Jade Emperor's attitude had softened.

"This……"

The Jade Emperor could not help but be stunned. He admitted that he was somewhat moved by what Ao Bing said. Originally, there was nothing wrong with the Tianhe River, but as part of the starry sky was repaired, the ancient galaxy reappeared.

The pressure in the upper reaches of the Tianhe River suddenly increased greatly. More and more star holy water poured into the Tianhe River from the Galaxy, causing the water level of the Tianhe River to increase year by year, and the pressure on the Tiandi became greater and greater.

For this reason, the Heavenly Court had to invest more manpower and material resources to maintain the stability of the Heavenly Dike to prevent the Heavenly River from bursting and endangering the three realms.

In this case, if some of the water from the Tianhe River can be injected into Tongtianze, it will indeed greatly alleviate the pressure on the Tianhe River and solve the problem of Tongtianze drying up.

Normally, the Jade Emperor would have no reason to refuse such a win-win situation.

But when he thought of the conflict between Da Shang and himself, the anger in his heart could not help but rise, making it impossible for him to say the words he agreed to.

"What Long Zun said, I thought about it and it is indeed a good idea. But I cannot agree to it. The water of the Tianhe River is transformed from starlight and is the Nine Elements Heavy Water. Every drop of it contains enormous power."

"When piled together, they can produce treasures such as star sand, divine gold, and divine iron."

"This is a huge source of income for the Heavenly Court, used to support tens of millions of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. If we open a gap and allow the money to flow into the human world, it will certainly help alleviate the worries of the Heavenly Court, but what about our Heavenly Court?"

"If the water in the Heavenly River is insufficient and we are no longer able to support tens of millions of Heavenly Soldiers, what will our Heavenly Court do?"

After thinking about it, the Jade Emperor finally came up with a reasonable reason and refused.

In fact, he didn't really want to refuse, and giving this reason was just a way to delay the matter.

How long would it take? Until the fall of the Shang Dynasty. At that time, Ao Bing would not even need to ask, he would take the initiative to give the order to dig open the Tianhe River and pour the water from the Tianhe River into Tongtian Lake.

Ao Bing's proposal will undoubtedly help the Jade Emperor and greatly enhance his prestige, but it will also help the Shang Dynasty at the same time.

The Jade Emperor was unwilling to give up this benefit, and unwilling to help the Shang Dynasty, so he could only delay it. As long as the Shang Dynasty was destroyed, there would be no obstacles and the matter could proceed smoothly.

"The Jade Emperor is joking. Now that the starry sky is constantly recovering, the water of the Milky Way will only increase. Let alone tens of millions of heavenly soldiers, even hundreds of millions or billions of heavenly soldiers would not be able to use so much water from the Milky Way."

"Even if the Jade Emperor tries his best to expand the army, it will not be able to relieve the pressure on Tianhe if we only rely on the consumption of the heavenly soldiers."

"The only correct thing to do is to lead the water of the Heavenly River to the lower world. This can not only relieve the pressure of the Heavenly Court, but also benefit the human world."

(End of this chapter)