Chapter 780: Why is the storm rising in the Western Regions?
The Central Plains is the center of the world. In traditional concepts, all the ups and downs of the world come from the Central Plains, while the four sides are neglected corners. However, just as there is a gold corner, silver edge and grass belly on the chessboard, the four sides of the world are not dispensable. The fact that the State of Yan originated in Liaodong is enough to prove this.
More than a decade ago, Luo Xing's grandson Luo Wu returned to the Western Regions from Zhaocheng, and then he reorganized Wushuang City in the chaotic Western Regions and vowed to protect this land for his family. For more than a decade, he has been paying attention to the news from the Central Plains and the grasslands. Due to the geographical location of the Western Regions, it has always been the hub of conflicts among many major forces. The general situation of the Central Plains and the grasslands will greatly affect the Western Regions.
Luo Wu died of illness three years ago, and his son Luo Gu inherited the position of high priest of the temple. He began to try to gather the chaotic Western Regions and form a coalition of countries around the temple. Then, news from Wei State was transmitted to the Western Regions one by one.
When Wei conquered Shu, all the gentry surrendered and their leaders moved to Chang'an. Sima Yi's prestige grew day by day, and he had already become the top ministers entrusted with the care of the emperor's young son, far surpassing the royal relatives. When he led the army back to Chang'an, countless scholars cheered for him. He was born during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, and served in the reigns of Emperor Min of Han and Emperor Sheng of Han. He entered the service of Cao Wei and was highly valued during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He served in the reigns of Emperor Wu, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Ming. He was entrusted with the care of the emperor's young son by the previous emperor, and was a veteran minister of four dynasties. He was a pillar of the clean stream and a leader of the gentry. He almost reached the pinnacle of his reputation as a minister.
Despite the great victory of capturing Chengdu, the Wei State was not stable. Instead, the political struggle became more intense, and the contradictions between the gentry and the clans became more profound. The success of the Jiangdong gentry gave great inspiration to the Wei State and others. The policy of emphasizing the royal family adopted since the time of Cao Cao brought about a huge backlash when the royal family was incompetent. The Wei gentry was unwilling to be inferior to the clans, and Sima Yi was praised more and more in this wave.
Sima Yi naturally felt the danger of his situation, so he decided to retreat while the going was good. This puzzled his sons. The ultimate goal of any aristocratic family was to become a powerful official who controlled everything. Why would their father give up this opportunity?
Sima Yi explained in a cold voice: "How many ministers in the pre-Han and post-Han dynasties relied on their temporary power to occupy a position more honorable than the royal family, but who had a happy ending in the end?
Only the Luo family could escape unscathed. If it weren't for the Luo family, Huo Guang, Marquis of Bowang Wulie, would not have ended well as regent. How many kings were as benevolent as King Yi of Zhou and Emperor Renzong Xiaohui of Han? Either he would be closer to Emperor Wu, or his three clans would be killed without a burial place.
The nobles want me to be a sword fighter for power, but it's just a dream. Even if I am powerful for a while, since the Qin and Han dynasties, have any ministers been able to fight with the royal family? Now it is not the Zhou Dynasty where the nobles are hereditary. Only the emperor remains in power for thousands of years. Even if your father is powerful, can you still inherit this power? Can your grandchildren still support your wealth and honor?
On that day, the reckoning of the royal family will come, and the destruction of the family will come. This is what is meant by "those who do not plan for eternity are not worthy of planning for the moment. The position below the emperor is poisonous, so do not get involved."
Sima Yi's words were like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heart, but it was not easy to retreat at the height of one's career. His contributions were too great and he had to be rewarded. The titles of Three Dukes, the nobility and land, as well as the Nine Gifts and other honors all hit Sima Yi terrified. He was stripped of his military power as soon as he returned to Chang'an, but now he was being praised to a very high level. Later, someone instigated Cao Shuang to attack Hedong or Nanyang. If he could conquer these two places for the Wei State, his contribution would be no less than Sima Yi's.
Today's Jin State in Bingzhou is in a state of disarray. The Han State once tried to bring it under its rule, but ultimately failed. Now the princes, big and small, are scattered among themselves, but they can unite in the face of foreign enemies. Therefore, Wei State and Yan State have never launched a large-scale attack here. As for the Han State, it is even more impossible. Once it attacks Bingzhou, its food supply will certainly be cut off by the whistling cavalry of the Yan State.
After obtaining the Xianbei troops from Liaodong, Murong Chengguang finally made up his mind to conquer Bingzhou. Among all the princes in the world, it should be the easiest to attack the State of Yan in Bingzhou. This was because Wei and Han had to go through natural mountains and rivers to attack a place with beautiful mountains and rivers like Bingzhou. Only Yan was above them and Yan and Dai were integrated. Whether through the Great Wall in the north or through the roads in the mountains, they could march straight into several major basins in Bingzhou.
The news of the turmoil in the Central Plains was intercepted by Yan Hui, the Chanyu of the Xianbei who had been paying attention to the news in the Central Plains. He immediately realized that the opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived. The Golden Tent of the Royal Court issued a call to the entire grassland, "The Chanyu of all Xianbei people, obeying the command of heaven, all the tribes with tens of thousands of households must lead their armies to follow the royal court to fight. After the war, the number of households and cattle and sheep of each tribe will be redistributed. For those who have made contributions, even if their tribes are destroyed, I will rebuild them for you. For those who have not made contributions, I will deprive you of your glory and tribe. Only the most heroic men can stand on the grassland and be loved by heaven."
The entire Xianbei Xia Kingdom actively responded to the call of the royal court. This was not only because Yan Hui had extremely high prestige, but also related to the highly integrated system of the Xianbei. The people who drew bows gathered on the grassland again since the Xiongnu. Yan Hui announced to the outside world that 30,000 cavalrymen were hunting in the west, but in fact, the cavalrymen gathered exceeded 100,000, all of them were powerful men.
When the various tribes on the grasslands gathered their elite troops at the royal court to reorganize the army, the envoys of the Xianbei Xia Kingdom appeared in Chang'an, Wei. Murong Xiang, who had been to Liaodong, respectfully kowtowed three times and bowed nine times to the young emperor Cao Fang. This was Yan Hui's strong request, and he dared not disobey. "Your Majesty, the Great Wei Emperor, the Chanyu asked me to pay you the highest respects. You are truly loved by the heavens, surrounded by the sun and the moon, and the mountains and rivers all obey your will."
This naked flattery made the ministers in the palace feel very uncomfortable. After all, they were all prestigious scholars and could not say such disgusting words. They hurriedly asked the Chanyu what important matter had caused him to send an envoy. Murong Xiang said in a clear voice: "Your Majesty, the rulers of the Western Regions have slandered the Chanyu of Daxia. The people of the grassland are angry at their rudeness and request the Chanyu to attack the Western Regions, chop off their heads and offer sacrifices to the heavens. However, the Western Regions have vast lands, numerous people and strong strength. The Chanyu heard that the Western Regions and your Wei Dynasty have been enemies for generations and that Emperor Wu fought against the Western Regions. Therefore, he solemnly requests you to send troops to assist the Chanyu in attacking the Western Regions. If you can avenge the Chanyu, the hundreds of thousands of people who submit to the Chanyu will praise your title and pray for you, the Most High Heavenly Saint Emperor of Wei!"
So that's how it is. Such a well-behaved Hu people are rare. Especially when Wei tried to attack Hedong, Xianbei also started a war, which naturally made Wei overjoyed. However, Wei's target was not the Western Regions, but Hedong. Wei could not fight on two fronts, so it refused and said: "Messenger, please report to the Chanyu that the Emperor of Wei suffered the same humiliation as the Chanyu. Our country will use troops against Hedong and cannot attack the Western Regions with the nobles. The two countries have friendly diplomatic relations. Wei is willing to increase the scale of mutual trade and exchange more grain for your country's supplies."
Murong Xiang had not expected such a good thing to happen. After being well treated, he excitedly went out of the customs and returned to the grassland. To the State of Wei, the little grain sold to the Xianbei was nothing. As for the Xianbei's desire to attack the Western Regions, the State of Wei did not care. It did not care whether the Western Regions would live or die. It also felt that although the Western Regions were weak, the Xianbei were not strong either. The envoy just said that the civilians were only a few hundred thousand, and the elite were probably only tens of thousands. They should be dragged into the Western Regions, and then the northern border of the State of Wei would be safer.
After testing the State of Wei, Yan Hui determined that the State of Wei really did not care, so he immediately continued with the previous plan and began to arrange the next phase of the battle plan.
The Wei State did not pay attention to the affairs of the grassland, but the Western Regions, which had learned about the prosperity of the Hu people more than ten years ago, had been paying close attention to the changes in the grassland. Although they could not know everything, they still understood the general situation. Today, the grassland was superficially divided into many tribes, but in fact they all obeyed the orders of the Xianbei royal court. As soon as the Xianbei royal court issued a call, the Western Regions, which had spies on the grassland, got the news.
Verdant grasslands cover this magnificent land. At the intersection of river valleys, Wushuang City stands in it, the most fertile land in the entire Western Regions. Herdsmen graze at the branches of Tianshan Mountain and Kunlun Mountain. Melodious pastoral songs rise with the wind, mixed with Buddhist and Taoist words. Every day, countless people from the Western Regions come to the Temple of Suwang to worship. This land has a magical power. Buddhism and Taoism have changed greatly here, which is very different from the Central Plains. Even the belief in Suwang has gradually changed in a strange direction here.
Luo Gu looked at the believers of various sects filling Wushuang City and felt a headache. After the collapse of the Xia Kingdom in the Western Regions, it was not only fragmented politically, but also in faith. Almost every day in Wushuang City, believers of different sects quarreled and accused each other of wrong doctrines. In fact, there were only minor differences. Buddhism and Taoism were both polytheistic religions, and the gods worshipped by various sects were different. If they were not in the Temple of Suwang, they would not just quarrel, but fight with knives.
The theory that the Su Wang has millions of incarnations is one of the root causes of the current problem. As time goes by, the theory that was created in order to swallow up Buddhism and Taoism as well as various sects in the Western Regions has become an obstacle to the unified thinking of the Luo family in the Western Regions. Coupled with the instigation of many rulers in the Western Regions, in the minds of the people in the Western Regions, the Su Wang is always in heaven, but will be reincarnated as various great kings. Previously, the King Xia of the Western Regions wanted Luo Xing to recognize him as the only reincarnated king.
Since Luo Xing succeeded the high priest, all the high priests have been military generals holding divine staffs, rather than cultural leaders like Luo Minggong who are good at academic theories. A knife is useful, but sometimes no matter how sharp the knife is, it cannot change deep-rooted ideas. As long as the ideas do not change, the unrest can only be quelled temporarily.
Luo understood this truth deeply. Why was it so easy for Wei to conquer Shu? Because the people and gentry in Shu believed that there was no difference between living under Chu and under Wei, and there was almost no resistance among the people. This is why after the great unification, the difficulty of unifying the world for all subsequent monarchs was greatly reduced. What is the great unification? First, the land must be unified, and then the ideology must be unified. This is the great achievement of the Qin and Han dynasties.
Does the Western Region have the idea of unification now?
If you say there aren't any, even the humblest herdsmen would chant the Su Wang's name and bless him with great light upon hearing it. But if you say there are, the numerous types of Su Wang who have reincarnated as Golden Wheel Kings and Dharma protectors indicate that they are not of the same kind.
Luo Gu couldn't even arbitrarily point out that one of the doctrines was correct. If he did so, it would trigger a great debate. If that faction lost, the consequences would be disastrous. Even if they won, the only outcome would be a complete war in the Western Regions.
Those leaders who believe in other factions will never give up. The weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons. The premise of integrating ideas is to unify the body. Anyone who is unwilling to accept new ideas must die.
As the high priest of the Suwang Temple, he has to sit high on the platform and cannot walk down casually to take action against the Suwang's people. This requires a strong secular leader to work with him, but there is no such strong man in the Western Regions today, which makes Luo Gu feel desperate. With the decline of talents in the Central Plains and the passing of outstanding kings, the Western Regions also ushered in such a result. Since the assassination of the previous King Xia, there has been no hero who can unify the Western Regions. Facing this situation, one can only say that God's will is like a knife, which inadvertently cuts off all life.
The Western Regions had neither a unified territory nor the birth of an ideology that could unify everything. Luo Gu was facing this complex situation. He now wished that he was not a warrior who could only wield swords and guns, but rather the sages of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period who could create a way to unify the entire Western Regions' ideology.
But Luo Gu knew that the army of the Xianbei Xia Kingdom might arrive in the Western Regions at any time. It would be difficult to resist relying solely on the temple army of Wushuang City. If they couldn't even stop the first wave of attacks from the grassland, how could they protect the Xia Kingdom?
At this time, there was no time for him to do those things that could not be completed in the first place. The only thing he could do now was to use the lofty status of the Suwang Temple in the Western Regions to call on the rulers of various countries in the Western Regions and all the people, merchants, monks, and Taoists to resist the invasion of the Xianbei people.
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By the grace of the Emperor Su Wang, the high priest of the temple obeyed the oracle: The Western Region is the land where the Emperor Su lowered his eyes, the place where the Chinese are bright, where all races are happy together, and where all nations are in harmony. Now there are jackals from the Western Region, the kind of demons from outside the region, carrying darkness from the abyss, and want to trample on the sacred land of the Western Region, so that the gods will be covered in dust and the kingly way will fall. The rulers of the Western Region have all received the grace of God and should follow the way of heaven. The temple is here to summon all the subordinates, each holding a sharp blade, commanding the divine soldiers, gathering together in unparalleled numbers, and overcoming the difficulties together. On the day when the Emperor Su wakes up, he will grant the rulers of the countries the treasures of heaven and earth, and they will ascend to bliss and have great blessings. All the people will be at the top of the reincarnation, and call the king their ancestor. It is boundless and vast. This is announced to the 5,000-mile sacred land of the Western Region and the 1.2 million people. Respect it. - "The Temple's Edict to the People of the Western Region"
(End of this chapter)
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