webnovelfull Chapter 507 The Curse of No Offspring
Chapter 507 The Curse of No Offspring
"Is such that."
Shen Changgong nodded.
The old man continued,
"On the battlefield, a head was chopped off. You say it's yours, he says it's his. Who makes the final decision? Isn't it those petty officials?
Young people, as long as people are in charge of this kind of thing, bad things are bound to happen.
As a human being, you have greed.
Where there is greed, there will always be people who go astray.
Young people, there is no perfect system in this world, only a relatively good, balanced system that everyone can accept."
Shen Changgong was deeply touched by the old man's words.
Although the old man is uneducated and illiterate, he has lived a lifetime and has rich life experience, wisdom, and a clear mind.
The old man sighed and said,
"I don't know if my son can come back alive."
Shen Changgong smiled and said,
"I understand your feelings of worrying about your child, but a good man has ambitions. Right now, wars are frequent and the Yan army is invincible. This is a good time to make achievements.
Maybe when he comes back, he will already be a general."
"I don't expect him to achieve much, I just hope he comes back safely."
"That's right. A general's success is built on the sacrifices of thousands of soldiers. No one can guarantee that they will come back alive after going to the battlefield."
"I'm not worried about that, I'm just worried that he's made too much of a contribution. This kid is smart, he's been climbing up and down since he was a kid, and he's got good skills. With some training, he can be a good fighter too."
But I'm worried he's killed too many people."
"He killed only enemy soldiers. The more he killed, the greater his merit and the greater his reward. Isn't that a good thing?"
Hearing this, the old man took another deep drag of raw tobacco, then knocked his pipe on the stone, puffing out smoke and saying,
"Bullshit! The more people you kill, the more sins you commit. The more sins you carry, not only will your life be shortened, but you will also end up with no descendants.
I only have one granddaughter, I can't live without a grandson, I'm counting on him to come back and give me a grandson."
Shen Changgong was surprised.
"Ah? There is such a saying?"
"Of course, this is all passed down from our ancestors. He killed so many people, and the ghosts of those who died are haunting him.
When he is about to have a son, those wronged souls will block the souls that come to reincarnate as his sons and strangle them to death, leaving this person without children or grandchildren.
Old man, when I went to Linzi years ago, I heard that there was a Bai Wuan in the west who killed two million people from Liang State.
And there was Lanling Wang of Yan, who slaughtered every city he conquered, killing millions of Kun people and millions of grassland people."
Shen Changgong: ???
Bai Wuan killed 400,000 able-bodied men from Liang State, but how did it become 2 million?
And how come someone like me has been spread like this?
Shen Changgong explained,
"Old man, that Bai Wuan killed 400,000 people. Lanling Wang never massacred a city, he only killed tens of thousands of grassland people."
The old man lit another pipe and said leisurely,
"What's the difference between tens of thousands and millions? They're both heinous crimes of murder.
Let me tell you, we all call Bai Wuan and Lanling Wang the Black and White Impermanence.
Bai Wuan is the White Impermanence, and Lanling Wang is the Black Impermanence.
These two people's blessings have long been gone, and they can't give birth to a son."
As soon as the old man said this, everyone around him immediately became murderous, and Shen Changgong quietly raised his hand to stop them.
The old man shuddered in fear from the invisible murderous intent, and then his face suddenly turned pale.
Damn, I was so excited chatting that I forgot this person was the emperor of Yan State. He might even know Lanling Wang.
He immediately explained,
"Your Excellency, I just made a slip of the tongue. I'm just talking nonsense. Please don't take it to heart. I'm just an ordinary person and I don't know anything..."
"Haha, don't worry, I won't tell on you. I don't get along with Lanling Wang, so why would I tell on him? I'm so happy!"
Shen Changgong almost gritted his teeth and said this.
"That's all right, that's all right. I'm an old man who spoke without thinking. Your Excellency, I'll take my leave now."
"Hey, wait a minute."
Shen Changgong called him.
The old man turned around, swallowed hard, and asked,
"What's wrong, official?"
Shen Changgong smiled brightly and asked,
"Where is your home? Point me in the direction."
"Officials, spare my life..."
"What did you say?"
Shen Changgong laughed loudly and said,
"These pears and candied dates taste delicious and can be used as imperial tribute. I will have the government purchase them from you every year and send them to the palace for the emperor and the dignitaries to enjoy."
"Oh, so that's how it is. I was so scared. My home is in Liujia Village, west of the mountain. My name is Liu Laosan."
"Okay, I understand. You can go ahead and do your work. In a few days, officials will come to you to sign the contract."
"Thank you so much, thank you, sir. You are such a good person."
Liu Laosan left with a smile.
After he left, Tu Que Ling said to Shen Chang Gong,
"Your Majesty, should I send someone to exterminate his entire family?"
Shen Changgong asked in surprise,
"He's fine, he didn't break any law, why did you kill his whole family?"
"He cursed you to never have a son."
"Hahahaha, whether I can give birth to a son or not is not something that an ordinary person can decide. It depends on my own efforts.
If it is destined for you, you will eventually get it; if it is not destined for you, don’t force it.”
Shen Changgong stood up and said to Tu Que Ling seriously,
"Que Ling, whether you have a son or a daughter is never determined by the woman's genes, but by the man's genes.
Besides, my family has been composed entirely of men since my grandfather’s generation, with no women.
My grandfather had three brothers, and my father was an only child. In my generation, there are only two brothers.
In our family, the probability of having a son is higher."
Shen Changgong couldn't explain the XY chromosomes to her, so he could only explain it in a way that she could understand.
Tu Que Ling nodded in surprise.
"So that's how it is. Then...what about those women who were sold, beaten to death, or abused because they couldn't give birth to sons?"
"It's feudal and ignorant. This matter should be regulated by law."
The sedan chair bearers came up from below, and Shen Changgong sat on it directly, saying leisurely,
"These tribute pears and candied dates taste great. Pick out the rest for His Majesty and the others to try. Also, after we return, have Xinyi send someone from the palace to contact the government to have these two items made into imperial offerings."
Tu Que Ling was surprised.
"Ah? Aren't you trying to coax that old man?"
"Why would I try to coax him? Not only will I not lie to him, I won't kill him either. I want him to live well.
One day, when I give birth to a bunch of sons, I will bring them to him and let him see that I can give birth to sons, hahahaha."
Tu Queling rolled his eyes at him. Really? He still had to fight for such a thing.
They continued to climb up, and Shen Changgong sat back on a recliner to look at the scenery, because if he sat upright he would fall backwards.