Qin Official

In June of the thirty-sixth year of Qin Shihuang, although the flood season in Lingnan was not yet over, the river tide that threatened Panyu City finally receded. This was the first time in thousands of years that Yu Shui failed to enter the hinterland of Panyu.

The Yue people who were inland and didn't know that the Qin army built the Sea-shaking Stone Pond were all surprised. At this time in previous years, there would have been floods everywhere, and they had to move to Baiyun Mountain in the north of Panyu.

Afterwards, the Qin army sent Yue witches who had surrendered to preach: "The floods will not flood Panyu this year, and this is all the result of the Dragon King of the South China Sea!"

When this word came to the Vietnamese people, it became: "Hainan King Dragon". Because the Vietnamese word order was reversed, even two thousand years later, the locals still called roosters "Chicken" and chickens "Chicken".

On June 15th, near the shipbuilding workshop, ten "ships" were being launched on trial, and a unique event to worship the Dragon King was being held...

There were many people watching the excitement. On the outside were local Yue people, on the inside were thousands of soldiers, and on the inside were Heifu's staff, including Lu Jia, Li Cang, Azhong, Wu Chen and others, who were lining up. A line of people witnessed the incident.

The weather was fine today. Li Cang wiped the sweat from his forehead. Seeing that the ceremony had not yet begun, he turned his head and asked the Mohist next to him: "Azhong, do you, the Mohist, believe in ghosts and gods?"

Azhong has spent the past few days trying to figure out the "technology tree" taught to him by the Marquis of Changnan. He was fascinated by how to make a car that could move forward on land by pedaling. Li Cang shouted twice before he realized what he was doing. .

"Of course I believe it."

Azhong said firmly: "It is said in the chapter "Ming Gui" that essence is the source of life. From the stars to the valleys and even to people and animals, they are all made up of essence. After death, these essences Chi can become ghosts and gods.”

Li Cang said: "So you also believe in this 'Dragon King of the South China Sea'?"

Azhong was noncommittal: "There are many kinds of ghosts and gods. From the stars in the sky to the mountains, rivers, rocks and valleys underground, there are ghosts and gods born in them. The sea embraces all rivers. It is so big that there are dragons born in it as gods. How can it be strange for you? You know, these ghosts and gods are so powerful that even in the deep sea and old forests, the bad things people do cannot escape their eyes."

He gradually became excited and said indignantly: "No matter how powerful the evildoers are, ghosts and gods will punish them, even kings. For example, Jie and Zhou used cannons to burn saints, kill admonishers, and kill soldiers. People plunged the world into chaos, so Jie was eventually beheaded on Mount Li, and Zhou burned himself to death. He could not enjoy his long life in peace and was laughed at by the world..."

This is the Mohist view of rewards and punishments unique to ghosts and gods. The original intention is to use the power of ghosts and gods to warn rulers so that they will pay attention to their words and deeds out of fear and not dare to act recklessly.

But Li Cang heard that Azhong was already far off topic, and the innuendo in his words was full of meaning!

He then remembered that Heifu had warned him not to talk to Azhong about state affairs...

"Ahem, you are such a person. No matter what you say, you will always criticize the imperial court in the end? Forget it, why don't I not ask?"

Li Cang moved to the other side angrily, but asked another person.

"Where's Mr. Lu? Do you believe in ghosts and gods?"

Unlike Azhong, the Mohist who was wearing short clothes, the Confucian scholar Lu Jia still wore a wide robe and long sleeves on a hot day, maintaining the dignity of Chinese clothes. He glanced at this boring young man and said lightly: "You are silent, strange, powerful,... Chaos, God.”

Li Cang smiled and said: "So, sir, you don't believe in the Dragon King of the South China Sea that the prince wants to sacrifice?"

Lu Jia shook his head: "It's not that I don't believe it, it's not that I don't think it exists, it's that I'm silent, it's not that I don't want to say it, it's that I can't say it."

He told Li Cang a story: "In the past, Confucius went to Chengzhou to visit Lao Tzu. After returning, he commented on Lao Tzu like this..."

"Confucius said, I know a bird can fly; a fish, I know it can swim; and an animal, I know it can walk. Those who walk can be tied with nets, those who swim can be caught with hooks, those who fly can be caught with arrows, and as for dragons , I don’t know why? A dragon rides on the wind and clouds and ascends to the nine heavens! When I see Lao Tzu, does it look like a dragon?"

As he spoke, Lu Jia looked at Changnan Hou standing on the beach and smiled:

"The Dragon King of the South China Sea is the same. His knowledge is profound and unpredictable, his ambitions are advanced and difficult to understand. He is like a snake that bends and stretches at any time, and like a dragon that changes at the right time..."

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this so-called "Dragon King of the South China Sea" was made up to deceive the South Vietnamese.

It turned out that when the Shakehai Stone Pond blocked the river tide from invading Panyu, the Qin army also rescued some Yue people who were washed away by the flood. Li Cang suggested making a fuss about this and promoting the "Qin Yue family" among the South Vietnamese people. .

But Hei Fu sneered: "The Qin army killed ten times more Yue people than those who were drowned in the water. Why do they forget their hatred and thank us for a small favor?"

If it were in the mainland, Heifu would definitely let his soldiers go everywhere to spread the word, "There is no mercy in the floods, but true love will be seen in times of crisis!"

But for the Yue people, Heifu always insisted that only feudal superstition could deceive them.

So, this farce of worshiping the Dragon King of the South China Sea came about. Hei Fu asked Lu Jia to come up with a set of etiquette, combine it with the South Vietnamese dance, and set up the Dragon King Temple. He said that it was the incarnation of the Great Qin, not only in charge of wind and rain, but also in charge of the peace and harmony of the South China Sea. All aquatic tribes in the tributaries of Yushui.

He also asked people to publicize: "The reason why the Qin army's navy was able to raid Panyu from the sea and why the Yushui, which had been raging for thousands of years, stopped on the shore, was because the Dragon King of the South China Sea was protecting it."

Heifu hoped to take the opportunity to establish the worship of dragons in Panyu, and integrated the twelve tribes of Lingnan into his idea of ​​"a body like a snake, scales like a fish, claws like a bird, palms like a tiger, ears like an ox, and a voice like a frog." The totem dragon holds the altar and subdues the people in faith.

However, in the eyes of the Qin army officials, the Dragon King of the South China Sea was actually the incarnation of the Marquis of Changnan. The water was cured. Wasn't it because the Marquis was foresighted and prepared for a rainy day?

Therefore, Lu Jia's extremely high praise just now seemed to be talking about Long, but in fact, it was talking about his impression of Changnan Hou.

After saying this, Lu Jia asked Li Cang: "What about you? Do you believe in his god?"

Li Cang smiled and said: "If the prince says it is, then it is!"

At this time, after the Yue wizards wearing long feathers finished dancing and singing, they heard the beating of bronze drums, the long blast of the conch horn, and the ten "ships" in the shipyard officially entered the water.

But they saw ten boats on trial in Yushui. People outside could not see the pedaling machinery installed inside. They did not know that there were people walking and pedaling inside. They only knew that several paddle wheels behind the boats were spinning, and with the wood pulp on both sides, the water was flowing rapidly. In the flood season, you can also swim upstream!

"It's done!"

Seeing the successful trial of the paddle steamer, Azhong and the craftsmen cheered excitedly, while the Yue people looked fearful and confused, because from their perspective, those ships seemed to be helped by some mysterious power...

An even more magical thing was yet to come. When the ten boats came back from a circle, everyone discovered that at some point, there was a small boat among them. The bow of the boat was carved into the shape of a dragon's head, cutting through the waves.

"Welcome the Dragon King!"

Lu Jia quickly stepped forward to sing the ceremony. It turned out that on the dragon boat, there was a wooden sculpture of the "Dragon King of the South China Sea", with teeth and claws spread, lifelike.

According to the script, Heifu personally entered the water, carried the wooden sculpture with a group of soldiers, and returned to the shore through the water.

"This is the appearance of the Dragon King of the South China Sea, why don't you worship him!?"

The Qin soldiers bowed down as ordered, while the Yue people outside looked at each other. Not many people worshiped. Their current faith is still the five sheep.

Although the script was clumsy and the audience response was mediocre except for the support of the navy, Heifu still acted very seriously.

They carried the wooden dragon into the newly built temple, placed it properly, burned incense, offered sacrifices, chanted rituals, played sacrificial music, performed dances, faced the mighty waves, and prayed for flags and flags to rise together with the sun...

Heifu worshiped again devoutly and announced after the ceremony:

"From now on, no matter whether the people of Qin or Yue, whether they launch new boats, go out to sea, plant rice and visit every house, they must worship the Dragon King!"

For a time, the people of Qin cheered and sang along with the performance, while the people of Yue were doubtful.

Heifu hopes that the Dragon King of the South China Sea can play the role of "Mazu" on the southern coast for future generations and become the protector of sailors.

He thought: "It's best to have one on every ship. After a few generations, even the most stubborn Yue people will believe it!"

Of course, because of the strange setting Heifu added to it, the dragon roars of the Dragon King of the Four Seas and the three brothers of the East China Sea, the West Sea, and the North Sea are all powerful roars that shake the heavens and the earth.

Only the Dragon King of the South China Sea said: "Quagua guagua?"

Moreover, Heifu never expected that the evolution of local beliefs would be strange. The indigenous people in certain places would often regard the conquerors as gods, or add their images to them.

The Dragon King of the South China Sea enshrined in Panyu can not only croak, but after thousands of years of evolution, his image has slowly changed from a dragon shape to a dragon head and body. If you look closer, the dragon's face is actually black...

…

Just when the incense was first burning at the Dragon King Temple in Panyu, ten paddle steamers were carrying soldiers of the Qin army, intending to support the Qin army's earthen fortress, which was isolated and helpless due to the interruption of supplies during the flood season. Located in Yulin (Guiping, Guangxi) on the upper reaches of Yushui River, outside a village in the forest, young and strong Xiou warriors are hiding in the tree canopy and in the grass, watching vigilantly at the movements of the Qin people's earthen buildings below the mountain.

Those round, huge and solid buildings were guarded by Qin soldiers with strong bows and crossbows, controlling the main route to the low-lying plains by the river. Seeing that the rice planted in the spring gradually turned yellow, the Ou people could not harvest it with peace of mind. , can only hide in the mountain and swallow.

In the village, the elders of Xiou also discussed future plans with their leader Jie Jun after offering sacrifices to the frog god.

After a heated discussion, Jie Jun knocked on the tree trunk with his sword and made a decision.

His words were in Ouyue language, and translated into the vernacular of later generations:

"During the flood season, the water is heavy and the downstream ships cannot sail backwards to this point. We gathered our troops and went to pick up those watchtowers belonging to the Qin soldiers!"