Chapter 70, the final chapter.

In the fourth year of Zhaowu's reign, in winter.

The retired Emperor Jinghe quietly returned to the capital with fourteen-year-old Ling Chen.

The little girl has grown quite a bit taller, her skin is slightly dark, and she threw herself into Ling Wei's arms with great force.

Thanks to the continuous correspondence between mother and daughter over the years, Ling Chen and Ling Wei were not at all estranged, chattering about their experiences on the road.

At night, Ling Chen squeezed into Ling Wei's bedroom with a pillow in his arms, saying he wanted to sleep with his mother.

Lying in bed, the little girl looked up at the top of the tent and suddenly said, "Mother, I've discovered that it's really difficult to study in the countryside."

Ling Wei turned to look at her: "Oh? How is it difficult?"

"Many families have to pool all their resources to send a child to a private school in town for a few days, and even fewer can afford the books."

When my grandmother punished corrupt officials, I saw many cases where local gentry and officials colluded. They would also select poor students who were likely to pass the imperial examinations and provide them with education to prepare for the exams.

Once these people pass the imperial examinations and become officials, they will naturally become their people.

Ling Wei asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Ling Chen frowned and thought seriously for a long time: "I want to make reading easier, so that everyone who wants to read has the opportunity to do so."

At this point, she became somewhat troubled: "But Grandmother also mentioned on the way that people with too much intelligence are difficult to manage, and that they might develop inappropriate thoughts. Mother, is that true?"

Ling Wei did not answer directly, but instead stroked her daughter's soft hair and said gently, "How to make the people wise and orderly is a very complex question. You can think about it slowly, there's no need to rush."

Ling Chen seemed to understand, but her eyes hardened. She snuggled into her mother's arms and, as she was falling asleep, mumbled something indistinctly: "I will study hard. If I can't figure it out in one year, I'll do it in two. If I can't figure it out in two years, I'll do it in ten... I will make the world feel that being a citizen of my Great Chen is a good thing."

Ling Wei's heart softened, and she kissed her forehead: "Yes, Mother believes you can do it."

Soon after, Ling Wei issued an imperial decree, officially establishing Ling Chen as the Crown Princess.

In the seventh year of Zhaowu's reign, troubles broke out again on the northern border, and Lingwei once again personally led an expedition.

Over the next decade, she relied on her powerful military force to pacify the east and west, and to subdue the south and intimidate the north, either completely conquering the surrounding forces or incorporating them into a stable tributary system, thus establishing the unprecedentedly vast territory and unshakeable hegemonic status of the Great Chen Empire.

In the winter of the thirty-eighth year of Zhaowu.

Zhengjun Yishao passed away peacefully on a snowy night. This man, who devoted all his fervent love to Lingwei, left this world before Lingwei.

Ling Wei suspended court for three days and was buried with the rites due to an empress dowager, and was given the posthumous title "Jingmin".

The 40th year of Zhaowu.

Ling Wei issued an edict to elevate Chen Jun Shen Zhilan, who had been her companion for many years, had two children with her, and was always calm and composed, to the position of Empress, placing her in the central palace.

Both the government and the public viewed this as a logical step, and it was also an affirmation of Shen's many years of quiet and dedicated assistance.

In the autumn of the forty-fifth year of Zhaowu (1566).

Emperor Zhaowu, who had spent half his life on the battlefield and whose power extended throughout the land, passed away suddenly in his sleep, plunging the entire nation into mourning and causing all people to wear white mourning clothes.

His posthumous title was "Wulie" and his temple name was "Xuanzong".

On the seventh day after Ling Wei entered the imperial mausoleum, Empress Shen Zhilan calmly drank the poisoned wine that had been prepared beforehand and followed her in death.

The note he left contained only eight characters: "The Milky Way is desolate, and my lonely shadow cannot wait."

His life began with restraint and forbearance, was deeply hidden in the silence of time, and ultimately ended in such a resolute and quiet way.

Emperor Jinghe (the retired emperor) was still alive when he heard this. He sighed for a long time and finally nodded in approval.

Thus, in the underground palace of Emperor Xuanzong Wulie, Lingwei, Empress Jingmin Jun Yishao was on the left, and Empress Shen Zhilan was on the right, always accompanying the emperor from behind.

In later generations, the Star Calendar New Era Classroom.

"Class, today we're going to discuss the topic—who was the monarch who made the most crucial contributions in the history of the Great Chen Empire?" The history teacher pushed up his glasses, looking at the eager students below.

The class immediately became lively.

"I think it's Emperor Jinghe! The performance evaluation system and the imperial censor's inspection system she promoted in the later years of her reign greatly curbed official corruption and factional strife, laying the foundation for the later prosperous era of enlightenment. Moreover, in her later years, she traveled incognito to rectify local malpractices and improve the social atmosphere, earning her an excellent reputation."

"I vote for Empress Ling Chen! Since her time as Crown Princess, she has promoted policies to broaden education and enlighten the people, established a three-tiered system of official schools at the prefecture, county, and township levels, and promoted cheap paper and printing technology, truly ensuring that knowledge is no longer monopolized by a minority of classes."

She also encouraged the pursuit of knowledge through investigation, and the new agricultural tools, nautical instruments, and even early machinery that emerged at that time put Dachen at the forefront of the world during the First Industrial Revolution.

A student stood up and said clearly, "I think it was Emperor Zhaowu."

Soon someone retorted: "Emperor Zhaowu? It's more like she ascended the throne by chance. The outstanding Crown Princess died young, and the Second and Third Princesses were both involved in major cases. The Sixth Princess had no interest in this."

During her many years on the throne, she spent most of her time on military campaigns, either relying on Emperor Jinghe in her early years or Empress Qihui in her later years—it was somewhat like she was living off her parents and children.

"That's wrong!" a student immediately retorted excitedly. "Without Emperor Zhaowu's early selfless investigation into the Crown Princess case and his efforts to puncture the festering sore, how could the administration have been so clean and efficient later on?"

Without her conquests and expansions, which created a vast territory and acquired immense resources, where would Empress Qihui's reforms have found such a stable environment and abundant material foundation?

Another student stood up and added, "Don't forget the group of capable ministers and generals under her command. Qing Shu, the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guards, has guarded the palace for forty years without incident, remaining loyal and unwavering."

Admiral Zhao Ying, a native of Fuling, later took command of the East China Sea Fleet, where he quelled pirates and patrolled vassal states, making significant contributions to maritime routes.

There is also Xuan Ying, the leader of the Listening Hall, who oversees the entire world and is the emperor's sharpest hidden blade.

Even Jiang Yingxue, who exposed the Haining case, rose to the position of Minister of Justice after being exonerated. He was the chief editor of the "Jinghe Law Commentary" and was known as the "Iron-Faced Minister" for his uprightness throughout his life.

The fates and achievements of these people are clear evidence of Emperor Zhaowu's ability to recognize and appoint capable individuals and to gather talented people together.

"Her wars were not militaristic and wasteful; they won the empire at least two hundred years of peaceful development, not to mention the 'Royal Admonitions' she left behind!"

When the royal precepts were mentioned, many students nodded.

That was an ironclad rule that Emperor Zhaowu, in his later years, summarized the lessons of past dynasties and left to his descendants, engraved deep within the Imperial Ancestral Temple:

"May future generations remember this:"

First, when encountering new and exotic techniques or objects from overseas, one should humbly study and learn from them, extracting their essence, and should not be arrogant as a superior nation and close oneself off from the world.

Second, unless seriously ill, he must attend court every day to listen to government affairs and personally handle all matters.

Third, members of the royal family must learn both literature and martial arts, and be aware of the hardships of the common people. When princes and princesses reach the age of twelve, they must travel to various prefectures and counties incognito for one year and then serve in the army for three years.

...(The remaining items are omitted)

It was these seemingly harsh and even inhumane ancestral precepts, combined with the enlightened policies of Empress Qi Hui, that ensured the Great Chen Empire maintained its vitality and ambition for hundreds of years.

When Western technology explodes, Da Chen is able to quickly learn, absorb, and surpass it.

When the world faced an environmental crisis, Dachen took the lead in completing the new energy transformation.

Even later, when the interstellar federation's exploration fleet first came into contact with the solar system and Earth encountered a threat from a malicious alien civilization, it was the Earth's forces, united around the original Great Chen territory, that relied on their long-standing martial spirit and their desperate fight at the crucial moment.

They defended their home and ultimately helped Earth civilization smoothly navigate the initial growing pains of joining the Interstellar Federation, earning respect and status.

"Alright, alright," the history teacher clapped his hands with a smile, stopping the increasingly heated debate. "Every outstanding monarch is a product of a specific era and profoundly influences that era. Their merits and demerits are precisely where the charm of history lies. Today's discussion has been very interesting. Now, let's pack up and head to the mental training ground."

The students cheered immediately, forgetting the historical debate, and excitedly poured out of the classroom.

"Starting next week, you can officially try connecting to the basic mech simulator. Do your best!"

Amid the noise, the history teacher organized her lesson plan, her gaze sweeping over the frozen images of emperors on the screen, finally settling on the face of Emperor Zhaowu, Ling Wei, a face that combined heroism and majesty, and she smiled slightly.

Merits and demerits, right and wrong, will be judged by history, and the flame of civilization has been passed down endlessly in this sea of ​​stars.

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(The Fifth World Ends~)

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A note from the author:

Thank you all for joining us!

There are no side stories in this world. To be honest, I felt like crying when I was writing this.

Some babies have already figured out what I'm writing, I'm so happy!!

(However, I should mention that this article is for entertainment purposes only. No feudal dynasty can compare to our new China today!!)

I check the data from time to time when I'm writing. This world has seen the biggest drop in the number of readers, almost half of them, but the readership rate is highest starting from chapter nine.

I just can't stand watching things I don't like, but I really like things I do like. Then I realized: Damn, I've gone off-topic.

So I'm really grateful. I thought I'd get some negative reviews halfway through, but surprisingly, not a single one!!! Hahaha!!!

(Please don't scold me later, okay? Please, for the sake of the joy I brought you in the previous worlds~)

However, the main responsibility still lies with me, but since it was my decision, I still choose to elbow the tomato.

Damn it, couldn't you have given me one more book title to choose from?! You made me miss out on so many readers! So many people who like this kind of book won't even click on it just because of the title! Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes > Eating elbow strikes >

Because the author's brain isn't quite up to par, some of the political intrigue inspiration in this story comes from "Da Ming Dynasty 1566," a very nice political drama. If you enjoy conflicts where both the protagonists and antagonists are intelligent and their characters clash, you should enjoy watching it.

In addition, I would like to respond to the views expressed by some individuals regarding the idea that "a matriarchal world is simply a gender reversal."

I understand this kind of thinking, so in my article, I preserved the biological characteristics of men and women.

However, in terms of personality and behavioral logic, if women have long held a dominant position in social structures and production relations, and they need to make decisions and take risks, then resilience, decisiveness, and even assertiveness are inevitable personality traits.

Just like the female lead in my favorite TV series, "Lurking," said:

Have you ever seen a woman living in the mountains?

Does your mom cry and whine?

In an environment where women must shoulder the burdens of life, strength is not an anomaly, but a norm.

So I don't know about other stories, please don't say that my story is just a simple gender swap!