si-mexico Chapter 548 Bosom friend
Chapter 548 Bosom friend
Bai Wuan was unsure of Shen Changgong's attitude and thoughts, so he continued,
"The Emperor of Sichuan ruled over the land of Shu, which boasted a large population, abundant grain production, and natural defenses. He suppressed the southern barbarians internally and resisted the Qin Empire externally, building the country into an impregnable fortress. He was a king who preserved the status quo and deserved to be called a hero."
Shen Changgong continued to shake his head.
"The Emperor of Sichuan only knows how to live in peace in a corner, without any ambition. He is like a frog in a well, looking at the sky from the bottom of the well. He is not a hero, not at all."
"Then Emperor Qian..."
"Emperor Qian is even more indecisive. He controls the most powerful country in the south, Daqian, but has no ambition to make progress. He allows clowns like Chu and Sichuan to run rampant before his eyes. Apart from relying on the great power of Daqian to show off his power and indulge in the illusion of being the Celestial Empire, he can do nothing.
Even the Five Nations Alliance attacking Yan State took nearly half a year to discuss. Such a person, lacking the decisiveness and vision of a monarch, how can he be called a hero? "
Bai Wuan chuckled and said,
"I have mentioned almost all the heroes I can think of. If none of them can satisfy King Shen, then there is only one person left.
This man came from a humble background and was previously just a street thug. However, he survived a life-and-death battle and rose to fame, becoming the husband of the empress. He was made a king and appointed a general. He expanded the territory of Dayan tenfold, was invincible in battle, and even promulgated a series of military, political, and civilian reforms.
Can this person be a hero?"
Shen Changgong laughed and said,
"Brother Bai has a keen eye for talent. This man must be a true hero."
Bai Wuan smiled softly and cursed inwardly that he was shameless.
Shen Changgong continued,
"It's just that in my opinion, General Bai has missed one person."
"Oh? Who is it that, in the prince's heart, can stand on equal footing with a true hero like him?"
Shen Changgong picked up the warm wine, took a sip, looked into Bai Wuan's eyes, and said seriously,
"The only heroes in the world today are you and Gong Er."
After saying that, Shen Changgong looked up at the sky. What a pity, it was sunny today, there was no thunder, and Bai Wuan didn't have chopsticks in his hand.
Bai Wuan was not surprised at all and said,
"Your Highness, I am unworthy of the title of hero. In the eyes of others, I am nothing but a cold-blooded butcher."
Shen Changgong shook his head and said,
"No, it is precisely because of this that I think General Bai is a true hero.
There is a rumor among the people that there are Black and White Impermanence in this world.
This Bai Wuchang is you, General Bai, and Hei Wuchang is me.
It implies that you and I are cold-blooded butchers who kill people without mercy.
It is precisely because of this that I admire General Bai so much that I even feel like he is my close friend.
As the saying goes, heroes appreciate heroes."
Bai Wuan chuckled and said,
"Your Highness slaughtered foreigners and maintained peace on the northern border of Great Yan for two hundred years.
I massacred the people of Liang. Although they were an enemy country, they were all remnants of Daxia and were of the same ethnic group.
Your Majesty is a righteous man. How can I be compared with Your Majesty?"
"But aren't you killing more people to prevent your own men from dying? If you let them all go, they'll be recruited by the Liang Kingdom and continue the fight.
Although you will win in the end, you will also suffer heavy losses.
It will also delay the destruction of Liang, causing the war to continue and cause more casualties."
Hearing this, Bai Wuan raised his head in shock, looked at Shen Changgong, and said very seriously,
"In your opinion, the best way to minimize casualties between the two countries is to quickly destroy the enemy country and kill their soldiers?
Are you doing this out of concern for other people's lives?"
Shen Changgong smiled and said,
"That's natural. This king doesn't like killing, and even hates killing. I pity those who died in war.
I believe that in this world, except for a few extremely vicious people, no one likes to kill people, and I think Brother Bai is the same.
Everything I do is to minimize casualties."
Bai Wuan looked at Shen Changgong and said word by word,
"The best way to reduce casualties is to eliminate war. The best way to eliminate war is to eliminate all countries and unify the world."
Shen Changgong also raised his head and looked at Bai Wuan.
He has always used this theory to persuade others to surrender.
Because in the eyes of ordinary people, if you care about the soldiers and civilians, then you should just stop fighting. Fighting and killing people while saying that you don't like killing and that you are doing it for peace is really hypocritical.
But others don’t know that as long as there are countries and forces, there will always be wars.
The more chaotic it is, the more people will die.
And this time, Shen Changgong actually heard the same theory from Bai Wuan.
Shen Changgong suddenly felt like he had found a soulmate.
Bai Wuan smiled and said,
"Your Highness, there's no need to be surprised. In fact, I also think about some issues in my spare time.
I am a soldier, and what I think about most is naturally how to fight and how to win.
But beyond that, I also wonder how to avoid war.
Although I am a nobleman, I have been fighting outside for many years, either on the frontier or among the people. I have seen too many tragedies.
There is no land in the world, and the farmer still starves to death.
Farmers work hard to grow crops, but in the end, there is still not enough food to eat.
When a war breaks out, every household has to send someone to serve as a strong man or laborer to help fight.
If you are lucky, you can come back with missing limbs.
Those who are unlucky will be turned into a handful of yellow earth and become wandering ghosts.
The landlords and powerful families annexed land, the countries of the world attacked each other, the landlords lent money and sucked blood, and disasters such as droughts, floods, earthquakes and wars occurred year after year in various places. The people were living in misery and there were starving people everywhere!
So I often wonder how to avoid war and how to let the people live and work in peace.
Even if it is just simple farming, you don’t have to worry about your children turning into dust on the battlefield, and you don’t have to worry about the land you have worked hard to cultivate for a year being trampled by soldiers and turned into mass graves.
I thought about it for a long time before I came to a conclusion.
That is... the unification of the world.
Let all countries become one country.
Let there be only one imperial court in the whole world.
Only if we stop attacking each other and focus on developing people's livelihood can the people live and work in peace and contentment.
However, the difficulty and resistance in unifying the world are extremely enormous.
It is difficult for a country to achieve this even if it has wise rulers for generations.
If I could have three more generations of wise rulers and an invincible commander in chief, perhaps I could do it.
pity……"
Bai Wuan picked up the wine glass, took a sip of wine, and said,
"It's a shame you showed up."
Shen Changgong smiled brightly and said,
"Master Bai is wrong. Why should we leave things that we can do in our generation to our descendants?
Why should we let three generations of descendants live in this dire straits?
Brother Bai and I share the same aspirations and ideas.
In that case, Brother Bai, why don't you help me achieve my great cause? You and I will unify the world and let the people live a good life."