The letters Shen Zhiyi's father had left behind revealed more than all the stories and crimes that had taken place in this village.
What shocked us even more was that all of this was actually connected to the Mohist School.
As for why it was connected to the Mohist School, that went all the way back to the early days of its decline.
The Mohist School's decline probably began with the death of its leader, Mo Di.
Mo Di was Mozi, the founder of Mohist thought.
After Mozi died, even the Mohist School could not escape the rule that "all under heaven, long united, must divide; long divided, must unite." Its leader's death caused the entire school to splinter internally, eventually forming three major factions: the Qin Mohists, Chu Mohists, and Qi Mohists.
The Qin Mohists were represented by a man named Xiangli Qin. This faction placed great emphasis on technological research and once helped the state of Qin unify the six states.
In their view, ending war required unifying all under heaven. After extensive investigation, they ultimately decided that Qin's system at the time came closer to the Mohist School's ultimate vision-the world of Great Unity envisioned by the Mohist School-so they were willing to help Qin achieve unification.
Thus, during Qin's campaigns against the six states, the Qin Mohists built countless siege engines ahead of their time, helping Qin shorten the process of destroying the six states.
The second faction, the Qi Mohists, was represented by Master Xiang. This faction focused primarily on scholarly debate. They traveled through the various states teaching Mohist thought, hoping to achieve peace through gentler means. Their thinking was relatively fanciful.
The third faction, the Chu Mohists, was represented by Deng Lingzi. The Mohists of this faction more often acted as wandering knights,