Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 605 The Way of Peace in Huainan
"The imperial college student has been arrested."

"The last piece of pure land of the Han Dynasty has been lost just like that."

As spring goes and autumn comes...
When the emperor came of age, established an empress, sold off ancestral assets extensively, and amassed a large harem of beauties, achieving double success in both his career and his love life...
In the second year of Xiping,

The newly appointed Great Master of the Way of Peace, who was preaching in the Huainan region, received the latest news from Luoyang from God He Bo, who came to visit him.

He expressed his feelings about this.

His two younger brothers were also very curious, "Weren't all the imperial students released?"

"Why did the emperor suddenly order the arrest of those guys?"

He Bo said, "I'm young and hot-blooded, and I can't stand the darkness of society!"

In the first two years, there was still the protection and restraint of teachers and elders.
However, since the emperor changed the era name to Xiping...

The elderly people who remained from the Shun Emperor's era gradually passed away.

Moreover, researching gunpowder is an extremely dangerous undertaking.

When grinding components of gunpowder such as saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur, a slight mistake could cause sparks to be generated, leading to an explosion.

Limited by the power of gunpowder, they wouldn't be blown to death instantly.
However, the aftereffects of the wound can eventually take a person's life.

Those older, more mature senior students gradually graduated, left the Imperial Academy and Luoyang, and went to other places to seek their future development.

For students from ordinary backgrounds, life in the capital city of Luoyang was extremely difficult.

Leaving aside the high cost,

As the nation declined, the behavior of the sons of the powerful and wealthy became increasingly unrestrained.

Every day, people on horseback or in vehicles deliberately ram into pedestrians on the streets of Luoyang, making fun of their reactions.

The emperor was very angry about this behavior and repeatedly imposed high fines on offenders.

then……

They took the money and didn't punish me. I'll have to keep it up next time!

Having witnessed all this, how could those young students who had followed their teachers and upheld the purity of the Imperial Academy accept it calmly?

They can't help but voice their criticisms of reality.

"Young people are always like that."

He Bo took the "tea" made from some grains that Zhang Jiao handed him and drank it gently.

"Always feeling excited, always moved to tears."

Therefore,
When a student from the Imperial Academy, unable to vent his anger, went to the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Luoyang Imperial Palace and wrote the words, "The world is in chaos, Cao Jie and Wang Fu are treacherous, the officials are all holding office without merit, and there is no one to speak the truth,"
This brought extraordinary enthusiasm to the Imperial Academy, both for itself and for the long-dormant institution.

Two powerful eunuchs, whose names were mentioned, ran to the emperor and tearfully recounted the slander they had suffered. In the end, they persuaded the emperor to order the arrest of the perpetrators by appealing to their emotions and offering them treasures.

However, the official who initially received the order believed that what the other party said was true and was unwilling to arrest him. He even submitted a memorial requesting the emperor to be close to virtuous ministers and keep away from sycophants, and not to be misled by eunuchs again.

He was thus dismissed from his post and imprisoned, and replaced by another official who was willing to do the job and help the powerful eunuch vent his anger.

that's it,
All the teachers and students of the Imperial Academy, along with those implicated on trumped-up charges, totaling a thousand people, were arrested and imprisoned.

“When you are surrounded by praise, the voices that point out your mistakes will sound harsh.”

"But the ancient sages also pointed out: 'He who bears the disgrace of the country is called the master of the state. He who bears the misfortune of the country is called the king of the world.'"

"If a country can't even tolerate criticism, what will become of it?"

Unlike those scholars of today who enjoy the bounty of the Han dynasty but also try to cover up its shortcomings and only criticize treacherous officials and eunuchs for "bewitching the emperor,"

The Taoist priests of the Way of Peace have always been very straightforward in their speech.

They possessed a confidence beyond that of ordinary people.
Some transcendent qualities, untouched by the mainstream of the world.
Some even connect the perspectives of Yin and Yang.

Therefore they knew,

Eunuchs were not the real scourge.

They were merely derivatives of imperial power, tools used by the emperor to deal with his subjects.

Emperor He once privately discussed with his Empress Deng Sui the advantages of employing eunuchs:
This would allow the emperor, who resided deep within the palace, to have more eyes and ears in the world.

It could allow emperors, who were far removed from the common people, to gain a better understanding of the lower classes.
This kind of balancing act can also be used to curb the ever-expanding power of aristocratic families.

However, he repeatedly emphasized that such methods are only a temporary measure and cannot be used for a long time.

The emperor is the sovereign and father of all people, the role model for all, and must always be cautious and self-disciplined.

He cannot neglect his duties and allow those around him to seize power;

He cannot become obsessed with power struggles, turning the upright and just court into a place of unpredictable people and shrouded in gloom.

therefore,

Like Emperor Huan,
He was unwilling to relinquish the power of being emperor, yet also unwilling to shoulder the responsibilities of the emperor, thus allowing the eunuchs and the upright officials to engage in factional strife.
It was something his predecessors found shameful.

When eunuchs, the royal servants, participate in court affairs and stir up trouble...
Ultimately, isn't it the emperor's fault?
Leading beasts to devour people,

Who will be the "leader" of these beasts?
"I've disliked that kid Liu Hong ever since!"

"As expected, he was never a good person to begin with!"

Zhang Liang grumbled angrily from the side and couldn't help but glance at his older brother.

Zhang Jiao didn't speak, but just sighed silently.

Compared to his two more intense brothers, he, the eldest brother, was more composed and gentle.

can only say,
Ideals are a good thing.

It helps people set goals, strengthen their resolve, and inevitably soften their hearts.

Because ideals are beautiful,

People with ideals can't help but hope that everything and everyone in the world will become better.

Sun En was like this back then.

Zhang Jiao is the same now.

It just goes to show how powerful the legacy of intergenerational inheritance is.

"...How is the construction of your base going?"

After finishing a bowl of something that was hard to tell whether it was tea or soup,
He Bo then inquired about Zhang Jiao and the others.

After making the vow to "unite the people of the nine provinces and shake the royal court of one family,"
Zhang Jiao then preached the gospel while searching for a suitable place to start his uprising and establish a foothold.

He wanted to lead those who were willing to follow him to a peaceful and idyllic paradise.

Instead of letting them wander like locusts, unable to find a place to settle down, only able to roam around, causing chaos, and ultimately gaining nothing and losing everything.

The experiences and lessons that Zhang Jiao needed to learn from the previous Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, and the Red Eyebrows and Green Forest bandits were all lessons he needed to learn.

Coincidentally,

Wang Feng, one of the founders of the Green Forest Army, joined the Taoist sect in his later years. He was fully capable of telling Zhang Jiao, a younger generation, about the past as a teacher.

He had personally witnessed the sudden rise and fall of peasant uprisings.

In addition,

Over the years, the dead ghost Wang Feng disguised himself and lived in the Xinxia Sui Kingdom, where he once again experienced the earth-shattering anti-Sui uprising that took place.

“The Sui court had already lost the support of the people, so overthrowing its rule would not have been difficult.”

"Unfortunately, those who rose up were unable to fill the void left by their own shortcomings..."

In life, we will always grow.

Aside from a very few exceptions, those who could be described as "superhumans fallen from the sky,"

The gap between most people is not as huge as imagined.

The reason why people appear to behave, speak, and act differently is that, in addition to talent, there are also differences in social status between people.

The more noble a person is, the more different their upbringing and education will be from that of ordinary people.

In addition, the meat-eaters have always looked down on the common people and often instilled in them the concept of "being born with a special kind of bloodline." This is why commoners, when they see noble scholars, cannot help but bow their backs and lower their bodies.

At that time, times changed.
The original rules became ineffective, the world was in flux, and the rule of dynasties was about to change.
History books, stained with the scent of gunpowder and dripping with the blood and tears of a chaotic era, will tell future generations:
The brocade piled up in the treasury will be burned to ashes by the firewood in the kitchens of ordinary people.

The nobles living in the Heavenly Street would be dragged out of their magnificent mansions by angry farmers and craftsmen, exposing their true faces beneath their noble decorations.

Therefore, during a banquet with an old friend from Fengpei, Emperor Taizu of Han, Liu Bang, reminisced about his youth and exclaimed:
"Ha! With the talent of one county, one can govern the whole country!"

This is enough to show that,
Given enough opportunity and a willingness to learn, even someone of humble origin can have the chance to enter the central government and rise to a high position in the court.

Unfortunately,

The rebels who rose up in the Sui Dynasty did not take advantage of the upheaval and upheaval to try to create a better system than the Sui Dynasty.

Most of them were like bandits, robbing wherever they went.

One of the few with a long-term vision,
After initially establishing his regime, he became addicted to the allure of power.

This gave the Sui army, which had been suppressing the rebellion, a chance to regroup.
This also gave the Song Dynasty's royal advisors, who arrived later, an opportunity.

"We cannot follow the same old path."

"No matter what, it can't be worse than the Former Yan, can it?"

When Zhang Jiao consulted Wang Feng, he said the following.

He wanted his efforts to bear fruit and to endure, and not to be swayed by the parasitic vines that later attached themselves to the trees and spread false propaganda.

to this end,

He did not heed his two brothers' requests, and hastily launched his rebellion while the Han court still held some power and some people still harbored illusions about him.

Zhang Jiao chose to turn around and go to Huainan.

Arriving in this land belonging to Yangzhou of the Han Dynasty, which encompassed several large prefectures,

In a remote and deserted corner, they built a small base.

"Yangzhou has a special situation, with sufficient water and soil to support some of my ideas for the future."

While leading He Bo to appreciate the scenery of the Taoist temples along the Taiping Road,
Zhang Jiao revealed a slight smile.

Yangzhou

Compared to the several states that the Han Dynasty occupied on both sides of the Yellow River and which are still the core of its rule today, the territory was much larger and sparser.

After all, from an overall perspective,

The entire Central Plains region is lacking in population.
Even at its peak, with a population of 60 million during the peaceful era, it was impossible to fill the land of the core counties.
Even in Sili, a region directly under the central government, there was still a considerable amount of undeveloped land.

In that case,

Why would the virtuous men of the Central Plains, who were so attached to their homeland, leave their homes and come to Huainan and Jiangnan, places so different from their native land?

Unless there is a natural disaster,

Unless there is a man-made disaster.

The merciless destruction of nature and the blood-sucking of predators,

That's why ordinary people who can't bear to part with their pots and pans at home will scatter to other places.

It's always better to be alive than dead!

This was the main reason why a large number of people were able to be relocated to Yangzhou and Jingzhou during the reign of Empress Dowager Deng, thus promoting the development of these areas.

Just like when the Qin dynasty fled to the Western Sea, where they multiplied into a large number of descendants.

but,

Despite some development, Yangzhou is still significantly weaker than established cities like Yuzhou, Jizhou, and Xuzhou.

The mountain tribes here are still running around everywhere.
The hills here are also covered with shrubs and forests.

The water conservancy facilities here are still very inadequate.

Every summer, when the strong winds bring heavy rain, they flood the river channels, causing the water levels to rise dramatically and causing many problems for the locals.

The dense water flow cuts out lines and grooves here, forming a grid.

The undulating hills here become giant "chess pieces".

They were placed in the middle of the grid, blocking communication between different areas.

Developing this place would be extremely difficult given the insufficient population.

Therefore, the Han court

They didn't pay much attention to the land south of the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River.

Just look at the map of the prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty and you'll know.
The division of counties and prefectures along the banks of the Yellow River is so detailed and rich, while the division south of the Huai River is so simple and crude.

Of the thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty
This southern land was divided into only four regions: Yizhou, Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou.

“I remember that many of the party members who were exiled earlier also came here.”

After viewing this simple fortress built by the Taiping Dao (a Taoist sect),
I also paid special attention to the offensive and defensive weapons created by the multi-talented Taoist priest, who utilized traditional Mohist skills.

There were also the fertile farmlands cultivated by organized manpower, and even a few small and exquisite craft workshops.

He Bo first praised the strength of the base, then asked Zhang Jiao, "Didn't they notice your actions?"

No matter how much the party members suffered at the hands of the court,
However, their social status still differs significantly from that of ordinary people.

This incident even boosted his reputation, making him seem poised to become a great sage of his time.

Therefore, even after they were driven to Yangzhou by the emperor, they were still treated with courtesy by the local officials.

Bearing the label of "criminal",

Yet, he still conversed with learned scholars, and had no dealings with uncultured people.

They lived in a sturdy and spacious mansion, were accompanied by servants, and never lacked food or clothing...

This kind of people,

How could they possibly allow the lowly to grow stronger?

“Yangzhou is too vast; it will take them time to come here.”

"And we didn't do anything!"

Is it wrong to respond to the imperial court's call to reclaim wasteland?
The good reputation that Taiping Dao had accumulated among the people was enough for local officials to turn a blind eye to the rise of this fortified town.

Tsk,
Those bandits who ruled the mountains, and the barbarian tribes of the Yue people who harassed the virtuous men of the Xia dynasty—

Local officials did not address the issue.

Why are you coming here to cause trouble for Taipingdao?
This group of Taoist priests was like a herd of hardworking, dutiful oxen.
They went wherever there was suffering.
Over the years, I don't know how much trouble I've helped the local area and how much money I've saved in disaster relief.

of course,

When reporting to the imperial court, the expenses that should be listed must still be listed.

Once the imperial court's disaster relief grain arrived,

The disaster victims were then cared for by the Taoist priests.

Wouldn't they be able to keep even more profits for themselves?
That's how all officials are.
The exiled party members were even less inclined to care.

They knew it in their hearts.

Exile is only a temporary matter. Once the family has made its moves, they can return to the court with an even more dazzling aura and sit in a higher and better position.

Why waste energy on a remote place like Yangzhou?
What if you stumble and fall, cause a huge commotion, and find yourself unable to recover?
The more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; if you do nothing, you make no mistakes

This is how one should conduct oneself in society!
"Therefore, any dynasty that gets old will have all the problems it is destined to have."

"Slow movements, sluggish thinking, and energy not being used effectively..."

"At that time, this old thing, this old object, will fall apart with just a light touch!"

At last,
He Bo said this.

(End of this chapter)