Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 47 Encounter (Part )

"Shame on the people of Wei!"

"You, Ye County, and Wucheng of Zhao, are so disrespectful of Zhou etiquette!"

The captured Baidi people cursed in the elegant language of the Xia Dynasty.

Because they have lived together with the other Xia countries for many years, there are many Baidi people in Zhongshan who can speak elegant language.

Even because of the war with the State of Wei a few years ago, some of these people who can speak elegant language can still speak with a bit of Wei accent.

When Ximen Bao heard this, he became furious.

Rongdi beasts,

How dare you say that you don’t follow the Zhou rituals?

This must be done with Confucian benevolence and righteousness to let them know what "Zhou Li" means!
So Ximen Bao ordered his guards to bring forward those Bai Di people who denounced him as "despicable".

"Why do you say that?"

Ximen Bao sat on the chariot, looking down from above, with anger in his eyes and his hand already on the sword at his waist.

However, before using the blood of Rongdi to prove the legitimacy of his Zhou rituals, Ximen Bao was still a little doubtful about their words.

The Bai Di then told their previous speculations and emphasized, "If you hadn't agreed on it, how could it be such a coincidence?"

Ximen Bao's eyes widened. "I have never met Lord Wu of Wucheng. How could he discuss such a conspiracy?"

The situation in Zhao was different from that in Wei.

Since Wei Si came to power, he implemented reforms, which enabled a large number of talented people to serve in the court of Wei.

At this time, the State of Zhao was still basically immersed in the spirit of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Although there were some changes, they were not enough to change the entire face of Zhao State.

Duke Wu of Wucheng was a member of the royal family who was granted fiefdom when the State of Zhao followed the Zhou rites.

After all, the Zhao family has worked hard for so many years, and now they have finally established a country and become marquisates. Why shouldn’t they let their clansmen enjoy themselves?
With such a background, Duke Wu naturally looked down on people like Ximen Bao, who had been promoted from a commoner to an official.

How can a person of lowly descent sit and discuss philosophy with a gentleman like me?

Although Zhao Houji also learned from Wei State to carry out some reforms and promoted many talents of commoner origin into the court, he still kept many nobles from the royal family and established fiefdoms in the local areas.

In Zhao Ji's view, by doing so, he not only promoted talents but also took care of his clansmen, which was really the best of both worlds. However, in the eyes of the nobles, he felt that those common people and lowly people had taken his place.

If they were not there, wouldn't it be wonderful if I could enjoy the fiefdom and hold power in the court?
then,

When Ximen Bao first took office, he wrote a letter to Duke Wu, hoping to meet him at the junction of the two cities to renew his request for friendship between the Three Jins, but he received no reply from Duke Wu.

Duke Wu said to the envoy with disdain, "What good is there for me to talk to him about, he is such a despicable man?"

The other party's arrogance was also one of the reasons why Ximen Bao was worried that Zhao would use Baidi to launch a surprise attack on Ye County.

After all, "those who eat meat are vulgar and cannot plan for the long term"!

"Then how did you know we would come?" Bai Di, who was the most fluent in speaking elegant language, snorted, obviously not believing it.

Ximen Bao pointed at his face and said, "How great is the difference between the Rongdi and the Chinese?"

"Don't you recognize me, Zhu Xia? Can't I, Zhu Xia, recognize you, Rong Di?"

Ye County is also covered by the Taihang Mountains, and some people go into the mountains to hunt in order to obtain resources.

Since these Baidi had already arrived in Wucheng, it was normal for them to be seen by people from Ye County who were running far away if they were not careful.

But how can one recognize Bai Di at a glance?
Let's say,

The ancestors of the Chinese nation have always looked down upon the barbarians around them, so when naming them, they would not think too much or waste their energy, and would just name them whatever they were.

The "Chi" in Chidi comes from the fact that they liked to paint their faces red to show their ferocity, hence the name.

However, after having close contacts with the other Xia states, the Red Di gradually changed this custom.

Without the face paint, the Chidi looked no different from the people of the Xia state.

Therefore, during the reign of Duke Jing of Jin, Ying'er, the leader of the Lu clan among the Red Di, married Duke Jing of Jin's sister.

Among the common people, there are many examples of marriages between the Red Di and the people of Xia as they declined and dispersed.

As long as "barbarians who enter China become Chinese" and do not think about establishing a country or fighting for hegemony, the other Chinese people will not pursue it too much.

But the "bai" in Baidi is somewhat different.

Perhaps because they originally lived in the northwest of the Xia Dynasty, their skin color is much whiter than that of the people of the Xia Dynasty.

And it's not the healthy rosy white, but a surprisingly pale color.

It's not very clear under the sunlight.

But in the dark place, when the Xia and Baidi looked at each other, each other's white skin was somewhat conspicuous.

The hunter who discovered the traces of Baidi at the beginning determined their origins based on this, and then reported to Ximen Bao that a group of unknown Rongdi were roaming around in the area!

Who made Ximen Bao issue the decree before that as long as it was helpful for the Xia people to fight against the Rongdi and increase the slave reserves in Ye County, rewards would be given?

Baidi, oh Baidi,
The people of Ye County have no money and are suffering greatly, so we can only lend you our head.

After hearing Ximen Bao's words, those people were speechless.

Therefore, this meeting between the two parties was a complete coincidence.

Ximen Bao simply guessed Wu Cheng's plan and planned to take the initiative to prevent any accidents.

Even if we cannot meet Baidi, by demonstrating our strength through armed patrols, we can deter the enemy and force them to bypass Ye County.

But because he moved too quickly, he collided with Bai Di who had just taken action.

Even Ximen Bao was confident, "When the Chinese heard the news about Rongdi, they should have been excited to attack. Do they still need to divine an auspicious time?"

I'll hit you if I can.
No matter what time or place!
As long as we hear any trace of Rongdi, it will automatically trigger the attack of the Xia people!
Of course, if they cannot defeat the barbarians, or if they find that the barbarians have some strength, the pragmatism in the bones of the Huaxia people will awaken, and then the moral bottom line will become flexible. However, this is no longer the situation at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty. When facing the Rongdi, the Huaxia people will not give in in many cases.

……

Bai Di was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "Our ancestors said that from Qin State to the west, the people there are whiter than us."

Ximen Bao thought: You are already whiter than other Chinese people. If the barbarians west of Qin were whiter, wouldn’t they really be ghosts wandering the world?

But when he thought of Xi, he felt that it might be even more terrifying than a ghost.

"What does the land of Qinxi have to do with me?"

"Drag them away and deal with them!"

After the explanation, Ximen Bao said to the guards.

If these Rongdi people had not talked nonsense, Ximen Bao would have considered keeping them alive and keeping them as slaves.

But since they have offended the Xia people and said that they "do not abide by the Zhou rites", Ximen Bao will not let them stay!
It's just a pity,

We didn't catch many Baidi this time.

If the population of Ye County was larger, why would he worry about a possible sneak attack from Wucheng?

Thinking of this, Ximen Bao sighed regretfully.

After he led his team back to the city, before he had time to ask Liu Ping about what was happening in the city, ghosts and gods came to visit again.

"Why didn't you cross the border to Wucheng and continue attacking Baidi?"

From this Ximen Bao knew that the ghosts and gods had been secretly observing their actions.

"Because I'm worried about Zhao."

"Ha!" He Bo laughed out loud, and then told Ximen Bao what he saw in Wucheng.

Ximen Bao immediately regretted it.

"It's really inappropriate for me to compete with such a person!"

If Ximen Bao knew this situation and chased Bai Di directly to Wucheng, he might even be able to use justice to force Wu Gong.

At the very least, deliberately driving the Rongdi people to harm neighboring countries was not in line with the "Three Jin Friendships" advocated by the Wei State.

The news could be passed on to the king and used to put pressure on the State of Zhao.

"It's better to be cautious." He Bo said with a smile, "If that Wu Gong had a higher intelligence, maybe you and I would have met in the Zhang River."

Ximen Bao sighed, "I do have a rather impatient temper. When something serious happens, even though I know I should be cautious, I can't help but do it."

Throwing the witch into the water was a manifestation of Ximen Bao's personality.

Such a character,

If controlled properly, it means being decisive and resolute, and can deter some scheming villains.

But if you take it too far, you will easily fall into the trap set by others.

This is also one of the reasons why Ximen Bao said that he was not good at military affairs.

Sun Tzu said: "Warfare is the art of deception."

If you are not careful, you will bring trouble to the country.
Therefore, be extremely cautious.

Guan Hu, the Jin general who was captured by Bai Di, became a disgrace to the State of Jin because of his carelessness.

He Bo nodded and said, "What are you going to do with those people in the city?"

Ximen Bao said, "I originally wanted to use the Baidi incident to test their loyalty to Ye County."

"But they obviously didn't care much, so I had to bear the pain and let it go."

"I ask Lord Liu to keep an eye on their movements while you are in the city."

If they are not only unwilling to pay money but also don't care about defending the city, then in two days, Ximen Bao will write a "Letter to Tu Bo" for them.

Because loyalty is not absolute,
It is absolutely disloyal!
Ximen Bao cannot leave some insects who might collaborate with the enemy and betray the country in such an important place as Ye County!
What's more, the treatment of these people had already been agreed upon with the ghosts and gods.

He Bo only said, "It's been stable for so long that they have forgotten your style of throwing people away."

Remember to eat but not to be beaten.
This is a common problem among too many people.

After Ximen Bao came to Ye County, he did a lot of things. Every time he went out to capture wild people and Rongdi, he asked them to pay some money. This made the rich families in the city overestimate their status.

However, they never expected that Ximen Bao would directly give some of the captured slaves to them as rewards, and the wealth of each family also increased as a result.

of course,

It’s also partly due to He Bo.

The gods and ghosts no longer came after them and punished them in their dreams, which naturally gave these people the illusion that "the matter was covered up". They believed that as long as they performed the sacrifices well and ensured that there were constant incense offerings in front of the temple, the gods and ghosts would still protect them.

Therefore, the danger of Ximen Bao, the "spokesperson for He Bo", was reduced in their eyes.

We are all people who serve ghosts and gods.

How could they attack each other?
"Well, since nothing major has happened in Wucheng and Ye County, I don't have to worry too much."

The reason He Bo came out to observe secretly this time was because of the worry about the State of Zhao that Ximen Bao had mentioned before.

After all, Ye County is the biggest source of his worship so far.

His personal relationship with Ximen Bao is also worthy of the ghosts and gods to take a closer look.

Now that he has nothing to do, he is going to Gaolang again to continue his progress.

(End of this chapter)