How to Cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Mile Empire for the Young Emperor Qin?

Chapter 94: Offerings to the mountain gods

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Zhu Xiang had no idea that his clingy, fat nephew was about to take a boat ride on the Yangtze River for the first time.

Ying Xiaozheng was extremely excited.

Ying Xiaozheng had a feeling that before he became the King of Qin, he might have been to more places than the one in his dream. It was a pity that the one in his dream couldn't speak, otherwise he would have boasted to the other one.

Zhu Xiang also didn't know that a good friend was heading south with a signed contract and a sad face.

When Crown Prince Zhu learned that Zichu and Lin Zhi had asked Meng Wu to sign a contract, he took out his crown prince's seal and stamped it on the contract, turning the contract into a crown prince's edict.

The old King of Qin found it very interesting, so he took out his own seal and stamped it, turning the Prince's edict into the King of Qin's edict.

Meng Wu was completely stunned.

His old father, who had built up a family business in the State of Qin, sighed deeply.

My son, is this considered a case of a fool having good fortune

The old King of Qin had originally put aside the matter of sending his two grandsons to be study companions for Young Master Zheng, but now he brought up the old matter again.

Now the old King of Qin ordered both of his grandsons to go to Xianyang Academy for instruction, and they could only go to Prince Zheng after they had completed their studies. Although it had given them some training, it was already a recognition of the wealth of the Meng family for generations to come.

The entire family was tied to Gongzi Zheng.

I hope Master Zheng can grow up safely, otherwise the Meng family may be in danger.

Duke Zhu Xiang was not in great danger. Even if Prince Zheng died young, the other heirs to the throne of Qin would certainly shamelessly call Duke Zhu Xiang uncle.

Although Zhao Ji had been recuperating in seclusion since arriving in Xianyang, the King of Qin and Crown Prince Zhu both recognized her as the principal wife of Prince Zichu. Therefore, all future heirs of Zichu could indeed call Zhu Xianggong their uncle.

Ying Xiaozheng went down the Yangtze River and Meng Wu came from the Han River. They each escorted supplies from Qin to support Li Mu. They wanted to build a new city at the intersection of the two rivers as a bridgehead for Qin to attack Chu.

After Zhu Xiang finished his work at Dongting Lake, he also wanted to go to the new city to help.

After taking a look at the map, Zhu Xiang was delighted. Isn't this the place where Qin State stationed its troops the Wuhan of later generations

Eyi is the ancient Wuchang. Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang were combined into Wuhan during the Republic of China period, so it can indeed be considered one place.

Zhu Xiang quickened the pace of his work, looking forward to taking a boat to a farther place to farm as soon as possible.

Although Qianzhong County was "just conquered" by Qin State, it had actually been conquered for more than ten years and had a relatively solid foundation, so Zhu Xiang's help in military farming was carried out smoothly.

In addition, the current governor of Qianzhong County is Zhang Ruo, the governor of Shu County who took over from Li Bing on that day.

Although Li Bing and Zhu Xiang felt sorry for the suffering of the common people in Shu County due to the flood under Zhang Ruo's rule, this does not mean that Zhang Ruo was an incompetent official.

On the contrary, Zhang Ruo was in charge of Shu County for more than 30 years. Together with Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi, the generals who led the attack on Shu, he presided over the construction of Chengdu City. He also moved people from Guanzhong to Shu for reclamation, laying the foundation for Qin's rule over Shu.

The Shu region experienced several rebellions, the Shu Marquis changed several times but the Shu County Governor remained the same, which shows how capable Zhang Ruo was.

Zhang Ruo was also a very powerful general.

When Qin conquered Bashu, Chu took the opportunity to send troops to seize many salt springs in Xichuan. The people of Shu County were extremely short of salt.

Zhang Ruo followed Bai Qi in the attack on Chu and took back all the salt springs. Later, he joined Bai Qi and Sima Cuo to seize the land south of the Yangtze River (south of the Jinsha River, around Lijiang and Yao'an) and invaded Qianzhong County.

Afterwards, Bai Qi and Sima Cuo returned to Guanzhong, and Zhang Ruo stayed in Qianzhong County.

Therefore, Zhang Ruo not only served as the governor of Shu County for decades, but also guarded Qianzhong County across Ba County. He had to drift back and forth along the Yangtze River every now and then. It can be said that the more capable you are, the more work you have to do. The King of Qin trusted (oppressed) and relied (exploited) him deeply.

Therefore, neither Zhu Xiang nor Li Bing could have any personal prejudice against Zhang Ruo of Qian Shu. Although Zhang Ruo was not a man who loved the people, he was definitely a capable official and general who was loyal to the King of Qin and the Qin State.

Zhang Ruo originally thought that Li Bing had come to Shu County, and he could finally return to Guanzhong to retire. Before he could finish his journey back to Xianyang, he received a transfer order to be the governor of Qianzhong County.

Zhang Ruo thought that Li Bing could take over his duty of guarding Qianzhong County, but the King of Qin only cut off half of his work.

The miserable Zhang Ruo went back to visit his relatives and returned to his job in Qianzhong County.

"I didn't expect to meet Lord Changping again." Zhang Ruo smiled bitterly. He thought he would die of old age in Qianzhong County and would never have the chance to see Zhu Xiang again.

"Mr. Zhang, just call me Zhu Xiang." Zhu Xiang said, "I'm not used to people calling me Lord Changping yet. Maybe Mr. Zhang called me several times and I didn't respond, thinking he was calling someone else."

Zhang Ruo laughed: "You call me Mr. Zhang, so I should at least call you Mr. Zhu."

Zhu Xiang touched his nose and said, "Actually, I am a commoner and don't have a surname. Zhu Xiang is the name I gave myself. To be precise, I should be called 'Zhu Xiang'."

Zhang Ruo said: "No wonder people call you Duke Zhu Xiang."

Zhu Xiang said, "So just call me Zhu Xiang. I still have a lot to rely on Lord Zhang. Besides, General Sima Jin and I are friends. Lord Zhang and General Sima Jin's grandfather, General Sima Cuo, are friends of the same generation, and of course, he is also my elder."

Zhang Ruo was not only good friends with Sima Cuo, but his family was also related to the Sima family. When he mentioned Sima Jin, his expression became very gentle.

He even picked up Sima Cuo's grandson and tossed him around for fun.

"How is Jin'er now?" Zhang Ruo asked, "He has become very successful following Wu Anjun, right?"

Zhu Xiang nodded: "Very promising. When he and I were planting potatoes in Changping, he took off his clothes and ran around in front of the emperor, and was kicked into the field by General Wang He."

Zhang Ruo's kind smile froze.

Zhu Xiang began to list Sima Jin's unreliability, from running naked in front of the old King of Qin, to dragging Wang He on stage to play musical instruments, to visiting him in Xianyang and stealing the steamed pigeon with wolfberry and red dates that he made specially for Bai Qi.

If Sima Jin didn't have a good grandfather, he would have probably been beaten to death.

Zhang Ruo raised his shaking hands, held his forehead, took a deep breath and said, "How come this child is no different from before?"

Zhu Xiang leaned over and asked: "Was he so naughty when he was a child?"

Zhang Ruo said: "Brother Sima dotes on this grandson too much."

Zhu Xiang leaned closer: "Mr. Zhang, tell me in detail."

Zhang Ruo said unhappily, "What are you going to do after hearing this?"

Zhu Xiang said: "Of course I will laugh at him in front of him when I return to Xianyang, and share his ugly deeds with other friends."

Zhang Ruo didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Okay, I'll tell you."

After Zhu Xiang's disturbance, Zhang Ruo became much more casual towards Zhu Xiang.

In his eyes, Zhu Xiang changed from a sage with many magical halos to an interesting junior who was knowledgeable but overly lively.

Zhu Xiang is not only interesting, but also very caring, especially good at taking care of the elderly and children.

After tasting the dishes cooked by Zhu Xiang, Zhang Ruo understood why Ying Hou and Wu An Jun did not even go back home and wanted to live in Zhu Xiang's house in their old age.

Zhang Ruo jokingly wondered, if he was more powerful, could he also ask the emperor to let him live in Zhu Xiang's house in his old age

Alas, he was still not strong enough and could only spend the rest of his life in Qianzhong County.

"I really envy the reputation that Ying Hou and Wu An Jun will have after their death." Zhang Ruo drank the red date and wolfberry tea brewed by Zhu Xiang and sighed, "The new Shu County Governor Li Bing is also a formidable man. I can't compare to my predecessors, and I was easily surpassed by my successors."

Zhu Xiang looked at his favorability list and saw Zhang Ruo's avatar with a heart. He said, "Mr. Zhang, there is no need to envy others. Mr. Zhang is also a person who will go down in history."

Zhang Ruo laughed: "As for me, it's so different."

Zhu Xiang shook his head: "Even if future generations do not know Mr. Zhang's name, what he did will leave ripples in history and affect the development of future generations. Mr. Zhang, you are the founder of the development of Shu County, and history will not forget you."

Even though Xu Ming and Xiang He did not leave their names in history, the system still recognizes that they are people who have influenced the long course of history.

So Zhang Ruo, who has an avatar on the favorability list, must be one of them.

Although most people in later generations only know that Chengdu City, which imitated Xianyang City during the Qin Dynasty, was built by Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi, few people know Zhang Ruo. However, his name should be recorded in historical materials.

Even if his name does not appear in historical records, his contributions to future generations are engraved in the long river of history and will never disappear.

Zhang Ruo was silent for a long time, then he smiled and sighed, "Zhu Xiang, your words are inexplicably trustworthy."

Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "I am very good at judging people. If I say someone is a great talent, he is definitely a great talent. Mr. Zhang, believe me."

"Okay, okay, I believe you." Zhang Ruo felt much better after being comforted by Zhu Xiang.

He had worked in Shu and Qianzhong counties for most of his life, and he thought he had made great achievements. But he was hit when he learned about what Li Bing had done, and the terrifying talent of Li Mu, a young general who had just arrived in Qianzhong county, hit him again, making the old man feel that he had lived in vain.

Zhu Xiang's words brought him out of this mood.

Others are others, and you are yourself. If others do well, it doesn't mean you do badly.

Since it is said that Duke Xiang of Zhu was guided by gods and acknowledged that he was a wise man who would be remembered by future generations, what was there for him to feel sorry for himself

After complaining once, Zhang Ruo became closer to Zhu Xiang again. Not only did his favorability towards Zhu Xiang increase by half a heart, but he also cooperated with and indulged Zhu Xiang more in his actions.

For example, when Zhu Xiang said he wanted to eradicate the snails, he sent the remaining troops to directly follow Zhu Xiang's instructions, avoiding the cumbersome procedures.

As the governor of Qianzhong County, he still has this autonomy, but he has always been cautious and will not take the initiative to take this responsibility.

But facing Zhu Xiang, Zhang Ruo thought it was okay to take a little responsibility. He would not be wrong to trust Zhu Xiang.

Zhu Xiang's reputation had not spread to Qianzhong County. However, his appearance was so extraordinary, and coupled with the exaggerated introduction of the Qin soldiers who came with Zhu Xiang, the news that Zhu Xiang was a living immortal spread throughout Qianzhong County. When Zhu Xiang debated with the alchemists in the Xianyang Academy, he also became a disciple of the immortal.

Hearing that Duke Zhu Xiang was stepping on auspicious clouds and flying high into the sky, he pointed with his jade-like hand, and flames immediately emerged from the ground, red, yellow, and purple, like blooming flowers. The alchemists who wanted to challenge him immediately rolled over with their heads in their hands, revealing their horrible true forms.

Duke Zhu Xiang raised his hands, and the alchemists, who had revealed their original forms, were blown into the air by the breeze. Their ferocious expressions became peaceful, the evil spirits on their bodies were washed away, and they turned into human beings again.

Those people knelt on the ground one by one, expressing their gratitude for Duke Zhu Xiang's kindness and expressing their willingness to become his disciples and serve him.

Duke Zhu Xiang waved his hand and said, "If you rely on a mountain, the mountain will fall; if you rely on water, the water will flow. People should rely on themselves and not expect rewards from the gods."

"Is it true?" Zhang Ruo asked in surprise.

Zhu Xiang slammed his face on the table: "Fake! All fake! Who is talking nonsense!"

Zhang Ruo stroked his beard and suppressed a smile as he said, "It is said that he is a novelist."

Zhu Xiang: “…”

He thought for a while before remembering that this "novelist" was not the "Novelist" he had read, but a school of thought that was regarded as inferior among the Hundred Schools of Thought.

After he came to this era, he learned a lot of knowledge and had a more thorough understanding of various schools of thought. For example, the "novelists" who rarely appear in film and television works were something he learned about only after he came to this era.

The Zhou Dynasty attached great importance to the opinions of the people living in the city, so there were officials who were specifically responsible for collecting folk rumors and unofficial history and presenting them to the King of Zhou as popular opinion.

The novelist's idea is not to teach people how to write novels, but to attach importance to rumors in the streets and alleys. He hopes that the king will pay attention to these ballads and stories formed by the fantasies of the common people and open up channels for communication.

They would compile and organize folk songs and legends, and occasionally draw inspiration from them to write their own stories that criticize current social ills.

Because the novelist focused on the public's opinions and did not have many systematic political propositions, his works soon became unpopular. However, the novelist's ideas have been passed down to later generations.

Whether it is the legendary stories of the Tang and Song dynasties, the opera stories of the Yuan Dynasty, or the vernacular stories of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there are outstanding writers who use imaginary stories to describe the social conditions of the time and satirize the reality.

So, like the Mohist School, the Agricultural School and other schools of thought, although the complete academic group structure has disappeared, their ideas have been passed down to later generations.

"I hope they won't exaggerate too much when collecting stories." Zhu Xiang held his forehead with his hand. "I did this just to break the superstition, but I ended up becoming the new superstition?"

Zhang Ruo smiled and said, "I understand your frustration. But there are many stupid people among the common people. They have to choose a god to believe in, so they might as well believe in you."

Zhu Xiang's mouth twitched: "I don't want to be made into a clay statue and placed in a temple to be burned by smoke and fire."

Zhang Ruo laughed.

Zhu Xiang originally thought that these were just some embarrassing rumors, not a big deal, and at most would make some of his actions more convenient.

Unexpectedly, this rumor actually brought him a big event.

After Li Mu recovered Yunmengze, a vassal state of the distant Chu State around Dongting Lake, Zhu Xiang, after finishing the construction of terraces in the west of Qianzhong County, set out for Yunmengze to survey the water and soil conditions of Yunmengze and see how to drain the water and build fields.

When Zhu Xiang arrived at Yunmengze and was observing the snails by the water, a child suddenly emerged from the water, scaring the guards so much that they almost shot an arrow.

The child spoke in a gibberish Chu language and kowtowed to Zhu Xiang repeatedly, until his head bled.

Zhu Xiang had learned some simple Chu dialect in Xianyang, and he said in his not-so-fluent Chu dialect: "Speak slower, what happened to you?"

Zhang Ruo stopped him and said, "Zhu Xiang, you should punish him first. If you don't punish him, you will run into a lot of trouble in the future. Whenever they have something they can't solve, they will come to you."

Zhu Xiang sighed, "I know. Fine, I'll send him to the military camp as a slave, but I also want to hear why he dared to stop me. Common people are afraid of officials and soldiers, and children of his age should be even more so. He doesn't even want his life, I'm afraid something really bad has happened."

Zhang Ruo stared at Zhu Xiang in silence for a long time, then asked Zhu Xiang to step aside and interrogated the child who suddenly emerged from the water.

Zhu Xiang walked aside awkwardly and said to himself, "Mr. Zhang has only known me for a short time, and he already dislikes me?"

The personal guard sent by the King of Qin who was ordered to protect Zhu Xiang wanted to speak, but he was afraid of rebellion, so he had to endure it.

Duke Zhu Xiang, please reflect on yourself!

Zhang Ruo was impatient at first, thinking it was just another trivial matter of someone dying of illness or starvation. But as the child explained further, Zhang Ruo's expression gradually became serious.

Zhu Xiang waited under the shade of the tree for a long time before Zhang Ruo came over.

"What a hassle." Zhang Ruo sighed. "Although Qin attaches great importance to witchcraft, Chu is really... worthy of being called a barbarian."

Zhang Ruo said, "Zhu Xiang, you should go back to the nearest city to rest. I need to lead the troops away for a while."

Zhu Xiang was surprised: "Leading troops? Did the young man say that there was a bandit problem somewhere?"

Zhang Ruo frowned and said, "It's more troublesome than banditry. You know that the Chu Kingdom values gods, right?"

Zhu Xiang nodded.

Zhang Ruo said: "The Chu State not only values ancestors and ancient gods, but also regards mountains, rivers, trees and animals as gods. Towns are not so bad, but villages are even worse."

Zhu Xiang frowned. What Zhang Ruo said should be that the people of Chu still have a lot of primitive worship.

Most primitive worships are bloody and involve blood sacrifices. Could it be that a large-scale blood sacrifice took place somewhere

This is not a horror story, but something that really happens in this era.

Due to frequent wars and the constant entanglement between the feudal system and the slavery system, blood sacrifices used to mostly use slaves. Now there are not enough slaves in many places, so prisoners of war or even civilians may be used.

When the religious power of folk primitive worship became strong enough, when they encountered a village with plague or gathering of outsiders, they would slaughter them as sacrifices.

Zhu Xiang looked at the child.

He realized one thing. Although the area around Yunmengze belonged to Chu, it was the place where Chu exiled the remnants of its exterminated nation and established many tribal small states, so the common people here did not necessarily speak the official language of Chu.

Zhu Xiang could speak the official language of Chu, but he still relied on body language to deal with the common people here.

However, this child can speak fluent Chu Mandarin, so he is most likely not a native of this place.

Zhu Xiang asked, "Is he a foreigner who came from the heartland of Chu to escape the war?"

Zhang Ruo's eyebrows twitched slightly. Could it be that Zhu Xiang had already guessed it? He felt that Zhu Xiang's talent was indeed well-deserved.

This matter was not a secret that needed to be hidden from Zhu Xiang. Since Zhu Xiang had already guessed it, Zhang Ruo would not keep it a secret any longer.

"They are indeed outsiders. The State of Chu once wanted to consolidate its rule here, so it moved many civilians from the capital and Eyi to open up wasteland here. When Wu'an Jun drove the State of Chu away from here, the hinterland of Chu moved from the Yangtze River to the Huai River, and officials and soldiers also evacuated."

Simply put, after the capital of Chu was relocated, these people who reclaimed the wasteland were abandoned. So when the indigenous residents here wanted to offer sacrifices to the gods, the villages of these outsiders were chosen as sacrifices.

In addition, the surviving people of the Chu State who were about to be destroyed already had hatred towards the Chu State, so it was natural that they would attack each other endlessly.

The survivors had support, but the pioneers became isolated and helpless after the Chu power shifted. They were almost reduced to slaves, and they had to send living people as sacrifices during local festivals every year.

The people have a high tolerance for suffering. Every year, they only select a few people, and basically the entire village will oppress the most isolated and helpless people in the village to serve as sacrifices in exchange for peace for the entire village.

But this time the other party wanted the entire village as a sacrifice, leaving no one alive, so the child escaped with the hopes of the whole village, hoping to find Zhu Xiang for help.

Despite all the hardships they had suffered, they had no intention of looking for Qin soldiers because they truly believed that the person they were offering a blood sacrifice to was a god who could control the wind and rain.

When Zhu Xiang's reputation reached their ears, they thought he was a living god on earth, so they came to Zhu Xiang for help.

These villagers who asked for help were not only willing to donate most of the village’s property, they were even willing to offer young men and women as sacrifices to Zhu Xiang every year, just praying that Zhu Xiang could destroy the evil god and protect them.

Zhang Ruo didn't want to tell Zhu Xiang. He knew that Zhu Xiang would be in a complicated mood after hearing the other party's request. But since Zhu Xiang had already guessed it, he couldn't hide it.

Zhu Xiang's face kept twitching and he didn't know what expression to make on his face.

Thank you so much for giving me boys and girls as food reserves. This world is getting more and more absurd, so absurd that I don’t know what to say.

He held his forehead and tried to smile bitterly, but the corners of his eyes couldn't help but turn red and hot. It felt like a huge rock was pressing on his heart, and even breathing became difficult.

"Is blood sacrifice a common thing here?" Zhu Xiang asked, "Do they often do this to please the so-called immortals and gods?"

Zhang Ruo did not answer.

Zhu Xiang walked to the kneeling child, squatted in front of him, and asked in Chu dialect, "Is blood sacrifice a very common thing? Do you often use living people to please the gods?"

The child was terrified but said as a matter of course: "Yes, we respect the gods very much, so don't kill us, we will offer sacrifices on our own initiative."

Zhu Xiang asked: "If they use you as a sacrifice, will you be willing?"

The child became even more uneasy, and he stammered, "I, I..."

He gritted his teeth, kowtowed and said, "I am willing to be a sacrifice, please ask the gods to save our village!"

Zhu Xiang was silent.

Zhang Ruo walked up to Zhu Xiang and said, "He still has a desire to live. I have met more people who worship the so-called gods and immortals. They are even very happy when they or their family members are used as sacrifices. They believe that the sacrifices will become messengers of the gods and immortals, and follow the gods and immortals to enjoy wealth and prosperity forever."

Zhu Xiang's throat moved and his teeth clenched tightly.

After a while, he took a deep breath, stood up and said, "It is impossible for the common people to completely stop worshipping the gods. As long as they have something they cannot solve themselves, they will definitely place their hopes on the gods."

Zhang Ruo said: "Yes. So I will only take action when I encounter such a situation where too many civilians will be slaughtered. If I take action when they are offering sacrifices, I am afraid it will cause a lot of civil unrest."

Zhang Ruo smiled bitterly.

Although he was not a person who showed sympathy to the common people, he was not ignorant and could not accept the idea of offering people as sacrifices to the gods.

But even if he couldn't accept it, he couldn't stop these people from foolishly "offering" themselves and their loved ones to the so-called immortals and gods.

"Worshipping gods is inevitable, but we can stipulate what kind of gods we worship." Zhu Xiang clenched his fists. "This is already Qin's territory. How can we worship the gods of Chu? That is an obscene and evil sacrifice and should be banned. Only the gods recognized and conferred by the King of Qin are the true gods who can control the mountains and rivers."

Zhang Ruo was dumbfounded: "Ah?!"

He really wanted to clean his ears, suspecting that there was something wrong with his ears due to his old age and frailty.

The surrounding Qin soldiers also looked at Zhu Xiang in shock for his arrogant words.

What was Duke Zhu Xiang talking about? Conferring an imperial deity?! A mortal conferring an imperial deity?! Was he kidding?!

"Only those who protect a region are called gods, and those who bring disaster to a region are just demons. Since whether they are gods or not is determined by whether they benefit the people of a region, then isn't it right for them to be conferred by people?" Zhu Xiang took a deep breath and suppressed the heavy anger in his heart. "If it is the righteous gods such as Haotian Shangdi that have been worshipped in various places, when have they ever asked the people for sacrifices? Don't people also say that only those minor gods who don't have enough power need tributes?"

Zhang Ruo stroked his beard and accidentally broke a few of them. "That's true. Only the small gods in the mountains and wilds require sacrifices. It is said that only with sacrifices can they have enough divine power."

Zhu Xiang said: "The divine power they want can also be obtained from other sources, right? For example, incense, faith; or the recognition of the court, which would include them in the country's destiny."

"Ah, this..." Zhang Ruo suddenly felt a little flustered. He asked carefully, "Zhu Xiang... Lord Zhu Xiang, are you joking or are you serious about this?"

Zhu Xiang was silent for a long time, and then said, "Of course what I said was false. But this world needs gods, so we should create a god system suitable for this world and bring it under the jurisdiction of the court."

Zhang Ruo's mouth was dry and he was speechless.

Although he did not believe in those little mountain gods, he had never thought of bringing all of them under government management in the future.

This is too... too arrogant!

Zhu Xiang clenched his fists, straightened his back and raised his head. In fact, he didn't look good. He even looked a little ugly because of his distorted expression.

The wind was strong by the lake, and Zhu Xiang's white hair was messy. Coupled with his weird and ugly posture and expression, he looked like a madman.

A completely crazy person.

Zhang Ruo suddenly had an idea.

Perhaps Zhu Xiang is not really a god. Zhu Xiang is really a human being, a mortal.

Only a mortal could utter such blasphemous things.

"What is a spirit?"

"The one who benefits the people and performs his duties is a god."

"The Dragon King should be in charge of rain or shine, the River God should be in charge of floods, and the Land God should be in charge of the harvest."

"All gods should be kind to people. If they can't do that, find another god."

"There are countless non-human creatures in this world who want to be gods, just like there are countless people in this world who want to be officials. If they can't do it, there will always be gods who can do it."

Zhu Xiang loosened his fist, leaving bright red marks on his palms from his fingernails.

"I will ask the king to confer an order on the gods." Zhu Xiang gritted his teeth, "Cut down the mountains and destroy the temples!"

When Zhu Xiang said those four words, Zhang Ruo's tense body suddenly relaxed.

He looked at Zhu Xiang carefully, as if he was seeing Zhu Xiang for the first time.

He remembered the rumors about Zhu Xiang that he had heard before.

It is said that when Zhu Xiang was just a commoner and a guest at Lin Xiangru's house, he was willing to die in order to save the Zhao prisoners of war in Changping.

It is said that after Zhu Xiang arrived in Xianyang, he contradicted the King of Qin many times for his nephew.

It is said that after Zhu Xiang arrived in Shu County, he also went deep into the plague area for the common people.

It is said that Zhu Xiang often said he was afraid of death, but he often did arrogant things and did not act like a person who was afraid of death at all.

The Zhu Xiang he met was just a very talented young man who respected his elders very much, and he didn't have the "madman spirit" at all. He thought it was a misunderstanding, a joke played by his old friend Sima Cuo.

Now it seems that Zhu Xiang is indeed a madman, a charismatic one who will lead everyone around him to follow the heresy.

He finally understood why the reputations of Zhu Xiang's friends were so strange.

Zhu Xiang really did a lot of harm to people.

"Zhu Xiang, there is no need to report to the king about cutting down mountains and destroying temples. I can make the decision." Zhang Ruo smiled, a smile that did not suit his current age.

He followed Sima Cuo into Shu and followed Bai Qi to attack Chu, and he was also a young man who was afraid of nothing.

After just a few decades of service as a county governor and garrison commander, as well as several rebellions in Shu County, he gradually became the calm and composed person he is today.

But looking at Zhu Xiang's arrogance in challenging the gods, Zhang Ruo suddenly felt that he was not old yet.

Zhu Xiang looked at Zhang Ruo.

On Zhang Ruo's old face, a pair of eyes were as bright as stars, not at all like the cloudy eyes of an old man.

"Mr. Zhang, please." Zhu Xiang bowed, "I will accompany you this time."

Zhang Ruo said: "If you encounter someone who uses evil magic, you will really need to take action."

Zhang Ruo looked down at the child who was kneeling at their feet, willing to be a sacrifice.

"Qin State does not have gods that require human sacrifices. Such gods are not gods of the Qin people." Zhang Ruo said, "This is Qin State now, and you are a Qin citizen. From now on, there will be no more blood sacrifices in this place."

The child understood what Zhang Ruo said in Chu language. He looked at Zhang Ruo in disbelief.

Zhu Xiang said gently, "Since you believe that I am also a god, a more powerful god than the local mountain gods, then I should have the final say on what kind of sacrifices this area needs, right?"

The child nodded ignorantly.

Of course, they all believed that Duke Zhu Xiang must be a powerful god who had descended to earth, so they came to him for help.

So, can Duke Zhu Xiang really stipulate what kind of sacrifices will be required in this area in the future

If Duke Zhu Xiang said that blood sacrifices would no longer be allowed to the gods here, would they really not become sacrifices anymore

Really

The child didn't know whether what Zhu Xiang said was true or false, and Zhu Xiang and Zhang Ruo would not convince him.

The two men mobilized the army, and Zhu Xiang drafted a declaration of war, mobilizing the generals and soldiers to go out and cut down the mountains and destroy the temples.

The Qin soldiers were surprised when they heard the words "cut down mountains and destroy temples", but their long-standing habits made them obey orders.

And when they heard that this was the order of Duke Xiang of Zhu, they were even less afraid.

Isn't this just like when Duke Xiang of Zhu fought against the alchemists, just going to beat up a few disobedient little gods? Duke Xiang of Zhu will accompany them, so what do they have to be afraid of

Is there any other little god in the mountains who is so rude as to act rashly in front of Duke Zhu Xiang

Duke Zhu Xiang said that he would be in charge of the sacrifices in this area in the future, so it was Duke Zhu Xiang who should be in charge. They were only responsible for charging into battle.

Whether their troops were directed at the other six countries or at the gods, the Qin soldiers were fearless.

So the first thing Zhu Xiang did when he arrived in Yunmengze was not to kill snails on a large scale, nor to teach others about farming knowledge, but to cut down mountains and destroy temples in a bloody manner.

According to historical records, the local people’s resistance was so fierce that the Qin army’s flames burned several mountains black, and the forest fires lasted for a month.

This was the first time in history books that the act of cutting down mountains and destroying temples was recorded, and many kings later followed suit.

This is also a rare confusion in Zhu Xiang's records. Some people praised him, while others scolded him for being too cruel and hurting many innocent people.

Zhu Xiang could not hear what later generations would say about him, but he could guess what later generations would say about him.

Because he personally participated in the felling of mountains and the destruction of temples, he saw with his own eyes how many deceived civilians regarded him as an enemy and cursed him constantly.

Among them were the elderly, children, and victims who had been tied up to be brides of the gods.

They all cursed Zhu Xiang, and were all defending their own gods and their own traditions of worshiping gods.

These people all fell under the attack of the Qin army.

(End of this chapter)