Chapter 186 Grand River

Lin Zhao shook his head and said, "I still feel like something's not right!"

"Min River, Dadu River, the locations are too far apart."

I waved my hand and said, "You've misunderstood me! I'm saying that the ancestral home of the Gui Guan Men (Coffin Demon Sect) is definitely not at the mouth of the Min River. However, Zhu Zining doesn't know that, so I need her to go to the mouth of the Min River."

"This matter can be left to Ling to handle."

"We're going to the Dadu River!"

Lin Zhao said, "You mean, the ancestral home of the Gui Guan Men is on the Dadu River?"

I analyzed, "That's the reason I mentioned that song."

"Historically speaking: Shi Dakai wanted to enter Sichuan in his later years to establish a new heavenly kingdom."

"Suppose Shi Dakai hadn't been defeated at the Dadu River, but had successfully entered Sichuan, could he have gained a foothold in Shu?"

"I don't think so."

"At that time, Shi Dakai had suffered repeated defeats. Not only could he not guarantee the supply of food and grass, but he only had thirty to forty thousand soldiers left, and less than half of those remaining troops were elite."

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had no foundation in Shu, and the Sichuan army was known for its bravery and strength. The possibility of the Taiping army, having lost its elite troops, defeating the Sichuan army was almost non-existent."

"Shi Dakai's defeat was only a matter of time."

"Let's go back to the process of Shi Dakai's defeat at Zi Da Di (Purple Earth) on the Dadu River."

"When Shi Dakai arrived at Zi Da Di, there were no Qing troops deployed on the opposite bank, and the river was not very turbulent. He had every possibility of crossing the river by force."

"However, Shi Dakai stayed on the bank of the Dadu River for three days. When he wanted to cross the river, the river suddenly swelled, making it impossible for him to cross."

"Why did Shi Dakai stay by the river for three days?"

Lin Zhao blinked and said, "Didn't they say it was because Shi Dakai's Wang Niang (royal concubine) gave birth to a child, and he wanted the whole army to celebrate for three days? Another theory is that Shi Dakai didn't understand astronomy and couldn't understand the climate. The local natives were also unwilling to be his guides."

I asked back, "Do you think that reason is credible?"

Lin Zhao said, "What else could it be?"

I explained, "Later generations have commented that Shi Dakai's military talent was insufficient and that he was arrogant and conceited. That's why he stayed by the river for three days."

"I don't think so!"

"Shi Dakai, as the foremost general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, had a brilliant record throughout his life. He couldn't possibly not know the principle of striking quickly. The idea of celebrating the birth of a young son and delaying for three days, I don't find credible."

"To say that Shi Dakai didn't understand astronomy and couldn't predict the weather? Shi Dakai had been fighting for many years. If he couldn't even predict the weather, how could he have been undefeated? Moreover, in ancient times, there were also special people who predicted changes in the weather when marching. Could it be that no one in the Taiping army knew how to predict the weather?"

I paused slightly here and said, "I think Shi Dakai was looking for something."

Lin Zhao was stunned. "You don't mean to say that Shi Dakai was looking for the ancestral home of the Gui Guan Men, do you?"

"Are you also going to say that Shi Dakai wanted to open the ancestral home at that time, subdue the sealed demons for his own use, and conquer Shu? This... this is too outrageous, isn't it?"

I said, "From a normal person's point of view, they would never think that way, but from a sorcerer's point of view, it makes sense."

"Impossible!" Lin Zhao denied. "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was a regime with religious overtones. They worshiped God, so how could they believe in demons? Unreliable!"

I laughed and said, "Think for yourself, how many of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's leaders believed in God?"

"Were they very clear about whether they could communicate with God?"

"If the Heavenly Father possessing you happened in the West, and you said you were possessed by the Heavenly Father, people wouldn't even perform an exorcism; they'd just slap you in the face. Do you believe that?"

"Shi Dakai might not really have believed in these things!"

Lin Zhao said, "What you're saying seems to make some sense!"

Ye Yang spoke up at this moment, "He shouldn't have chosen to enter Zi Da Di!"

I nodded and said, "Zi Da Di is a valley terrain, with a large river in the middle, and mountains on the north and south sides, with towering cliffs and steep mountain slopes."

"The two valley entrances, east and west, are just small, winding paths, narrow and winding, extending for dozens of miles inside the valley, with dense weeds and shrubs. No one farms there, so there are no crops."

"This place is called a death ground in military terms. Once surrounded, it's like catching a turtle in a jar. Yet Shi Dakai insisted on bringing his troops into such a place where it was difficult to deploy large-scale combat formations. That's also unreasonable!"

I said, "You got one thing right! That is, Shi Dakai didn't find a local guide, so he couldn't find the location of the Gui Guan Men ancestral home."

I stood up and said, "Let's imagine this!"

"Shi Dakai initially led his troops into Zi Da Di to find treasure. However, he originally thought he could find the place in three to five days, but he never did."

"He may have even moved the wrong thing, triggering the formation left by the Gui Guan Men, causing days of heavy rain and rising river waters, trapping him in Zi Da Di."

"Before his defeat, he was still obsessed with opening the secret realm, unconsciously muttering: 'Stone Dragon faces Stone Tiger, gold and silver gather in the mountains.'"

"He was reciting the mantra to find the Gui Guan Men ancestral home, but his close guards or those who heard him mistook it for a treasure-hiding mantra, and that's how it was passed down."

"As for the later stuff about buying Chengdu Prefecture, those were things added in the mis传 (mistransmission)."