Chapter 416 The Overall Situation Will Be Decided
Zhao State.
In recent days, the people of the entire Zhao State have been celebrating a major event.
The wedding of King Zhao and Princess Zhaorong will be held on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. This is a truly major event that will be celebrated by the whole country. It is not only the wedding of King Zhao and Princess Zhaorong, but is also closely related to the ordinary people of the State of Zhao.
Taking advantage of this wedding, the court promulgated a series of new laws covering a very wide range of areas.
The first was land reform. The imperial court made strict regulations on the upper limit of land that individuals and families could own. Any land exceeding the limit would be nationalized and distributed to people without land or with little land.
Correspondingly, the imperial court adjusted the land rent policy. The rent of land was directly related to the amount of land owned. The less land owned, the smaller the proportion of rent paid, and the more land owned, the larger the proportion of rent paid.
The medical reform previously proposed by the imperial court has, after two years of development, been thoroughly implemented in every state and county of Zhao State, making it truly possible for everyone to afford medical treatment and medicine.
The imperial court also introduced many detailed rules for educational reforms.
The Imperial College planned to establish more public schools in various states so that all children could receive an education. At the same time, it would launch a literacy campaign to improve the literacy rate of the people of Zhao in a planned and step-by-step manner.
Illiterate people can only do manual labor, but if they can read and do arithmetic, they will not only have more jobs to choose from, but will also generally receive more wages.
This was the first time since the founding of the State of Zhao that the imperial court carried out drastic reforms to the imperial examination system.
Of the original six arts, the imperial examination, music examination, and archery examination were officially cancelled, and calligraphy and painting were also removed from the book examination. The new imperial examination retained part of the Confucian classics, adjusted the weights of mathematics, law, and etiquette, and added an additional subject of extremely heavy weight, political commentary.
The political commentary course requires students to analyze specific events, summarize their main problems, and propose correct countermeasures. It examines their real abilities in governing the country.
In general, this reform made it easier for children from common people to stand out in the imperial examinations.
The imperial examinations, music examinations, archery examinations, calligraphy, and painting are all subjects that require a large investment of money and are simply not accessible to ordinary people.
However, in mathematics, law, etiquette, and political discussion, the children of the gentry have no more advantages than the children of the common people.
Of course, the imperial court also left a way for the gentry. They had easier access to the Six Arts. If they studied Confucianism, they did not need to pass the imperial examination and could directly enter the court as officials. However, if the righteous spirit of those who entered the officialdom through Confucianism disappeared one day, their official positions would be deprived.
Some subsequent social welfare laws, minimum wage laws, and holiday laws are all beneficial to ordinary people.
The people of Zhao will probably always remember that their lives underwent earth-shaking changes before and after this wedding.
Of course, reforms and changes cannot satisfy everyone.
In this reform, the interests of the aristocratic families, landlords and gentry were greatly damaged, but they dared not speak out.
This reform was jointly promoted by Your Majesty and King Zhao.
Nominally they are King Zhao and His Majesty, but in Zhao, even a three-year-old child knows that it is His Majesty and her royal husband.
Her Majesty adopted Prince Sheng's child. People had only speculated whether the child was hers and Prince Zhao's, but no one had ever confirmed it. But now, there is no need to confirm it at all.
Prince Sheng's child looks more like Prince Zhao than Prince Zhao's child does. Considering how good Your Majesty is to him, even a fool can guess that he is the flesh and blood of Your Majesty and Prince Zhao.
Your Majesty and Prince Zhao and his wife are no match for you, even if all the noble families of Zhao State unite together.
In today's continent, there were more than 20 countries, but now there are only four countries left. Only Zhao is temporarily unaffected by the war. Even a powerful family with a semi-saint is as fragile as glass in the face of war.
The noble families of Zhao State were all very clear that no matter which country between Chu and Xia would win in the end, their final target must be Zhao State.
The country still depends on Your Majesty and King Zhao to protect it. Even if it means losing some interests, they have no choice but to bow their heads.
There were still a few days until the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, but in all states of Zhao, especially in the capital, every household had already hung up red lanterns in advance as if it were Chinese New Year, and posted the word "囍" on their doors. This was to celebrate the wedding of King Zhao and Princess Zhaorong, as well as to celebrate their own new life.
Unlike the Zhao State which was celebrating with singing and dancing, it was an extremely difficult New Year for the Qi State and the Chu State.
On the Chu side, Emperor Xia, who was already the number one man on the continent, led the Xia army in person and swept across the country. The Chu State was unable to resist at all. All the semi-saint warriors could only hide in the army formation to defend and did not dare to go out to meet the enemy.
Under the personal leadership of Emperor Xia, all the territory of Wei that had been annexed by Chu some time ago was spit out.
Not only that, they also lost a lot of their own territory.
As more and more lands were annexed and the country's territory grew larger, Emperor Xia's power was already infinitely close to that of a saint. The emperors of the five dynasties were several times more powerful than the semi-saints of other families. It was likely that even if a saint came in person, he would not be able to do anything to Emperor Xia.
Chu State, inside the imperial palace.
The King of Chu looked ashen, looked at an old man, and asked, "Teacher, what should I do?"
When he was plotting against Xia with Wei, he would never have thought that things would develop to this point today.
If time could go back, he would absolutely, absolutely not think of watching Wei and Xia fighting each other while he sits back and reaps the benefits. If he had known that Xia would become as powerful as it is today, he would have defeated Xia together with Wei in the shortest possible time!
But now, it's too late.
The old man looked at the battle report in front of him and fell into silence for a long time.
A plan that was absolutely certain to succeed turned out like this. There is nothing to complain about. I can only say that I am not as skilled as others. The struggle between strategists has always been like this...
Emperor Chu did not give up and said, "Teacher, can we defeat Emperor Xia together?"
The State Master of Chu shook his head and said, "We have missed the best opportunity. Even if you and I join forces, we can't stop him..."
The King of Chu said with great reluctance: "Are we just going to sit there and wait for death?"
At this time, another old man beside the Chu State Master spoke in a deep voice: "In fact, there is one last way, Junior Brother..."
The Chu State Master seemed to know what he was going to say, and immediately said, "No, you can't do this until the last moment!"
The old man shook his head and asked, "Now that things have come to this, do you have any other solutions?"
The State Master of Chu thought for a long time and said, "In Qi, my eldest brother should still have a chance..."
Xia-Qi border.
Facing both Xia States, Qi was under less pressure than Chu.
Of the seven semi-saints from the Xia family, four died and three were seriously injured. On the front line, there was only the right prime minister who was a semi-saint of Confucianism and three semi-saints of the Wei Kingdom who surrendered.
As for the other semi-saints and many powerful men of Wei, most of them defected to Qi before the demise of Wei. This greatly increased the strength of Qi's army, and in recent days, it has even pushed the front line back a little.
Outside a certain city, the Qi army was on full alert.
As long as they can capture enough land of Xia before it annexes Chu, the cultivation level of their Majesty of Qi will be raised to the same level as that of Emperor Xia. At that time, the situation will be reversed again.
The advancement on the front line boosted the morale of the Qi army, and they took over several cities, causing a lot of casualties to the Xia army.
On the city wall, Zhou Ting, who was now the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of Daxia, looked at the Qi army in the distance and waved his hand gently.
At the same time, in front of the Qi army, a scout suddenly put down the telescope in his hand, looked at the clouds in the distance, and said in shock: "What is that!"
There is no need for a telescope, you can see with your naked eyes a few black spots looming in the distant clouds.
Even at such a distance, we can still see such a clear outline, which is enough to imagine what kind of huge monster it is.
"Enemy attack!"
"Form a formation!"
"Prepare to meet the enemy!"
He immediately blew the horn of defense, and a moment later, a huge military force was formed instantly. In the military camp, several semi-saints looked at the unidentified objects that were approaching rapidly in the sky, which looked like several giant birds, and suppressed the urge to go forward to investigate.
There was a Confucian semi-saint on the other side, so they did not dare to leave the barracks.
Confucianism is the most gentle, but it possesses the most cruel means. Once the arrow of righteousness is shot, it will not stop until no one is killed.
They could only watch as the giant birds flew over their heads, and it seemed as if something... fell from the birds.
boom!
A huge mushroom cloud rose, and the military barrier formed by hundreds of thousands of troops immediately shook violently.
puff!
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Although the barrier still existed, countless soldiers with low cultivation levels in the army vomited blood and fainted instantly.
The semi-saints opened their eyes wide with extreme fear in their eyes.
The thing that just fell from the giant bird was no weaker than a blow from a peak semi-saint!
And there is more than one such thing!
boom!
boom!
boom!
Mushroom clouds rose from all over the barrier. The protective barrier formed by hundreds of thousands of soldiers only lasted for a few breaths before it completely collapsed. Then, mushroom clouds rose in the crowd, leaving only a huge charred pit and broken limbs all over the ground...
Then, a buzzing sound suddenly came from the city.
Countless mechanical birds flew out of the city in an overwhelming manner, hovering in the sky, spitting out some kind of iron ball-shaped hidden weapons from their mouths. These hidden weapons were extremely fast and powerful. The power of each one was not weaker than the attack of a warrior at the level of controlling objects. The elite forces above the fourth level in the army could barely defend themselves, and those below the fourth level could not even defend themselves. For a while, wailing sounds were heard everywhere...
"Where is the Mohist mechanical master? Quickly control the mechanical men to attack the city!"
As a military order was issued, the semi-saints and masters protected the low-level soldiers from the attacks of the mechanical birds. At the same time, countless mechanical men walked out of the army. The iron ball-shaped hidden weapons had no effect on them. They made a clanging sound when they hit their bodies, but it did not affect their movements...
The robot has no sense of pain and is a walking killing weapon on the battlefield.
But at this moment, a figure slowly flew out from the opposite city wall.
Li Yun looked at her and said in surprise: "Qingqing..."
The woman's body was suspended in the air and she gently raised her right hand.
The 10,000 mechanical army on the opposite side trembled as they were running, then turned around and rushed towards the Qi army.
From the Qi army, there were voices of panic from a group of Mohist mechanical engineers.
"Oh no, I can't sense those mechanical men!"
"Someone has seized control of our warbands!"
"careful!"
…
The Qi army finally managed to gather its strength to prevent the giant birds from returning, but they did not expect that their own soldiers would massacre them from within...
Several semi-saints of Wei State who had just surrendered to Qi State were now extremely regretful.
Everyone underestimated the Xia Kingdom. Even the Wei Kingdom at its peak could not withstand such a violent attack from the Xia Kingdom. It turned out that they were not serious at all when resisting the Wei Kingdom!
The country was destroyed, and even surrendering was a wrong decision. After looking at each other, several people had already made a decision in their hearts. They flew out of the formation at the same time and spoke loudly.
"We are willing to surrender!"
"Master Confucian, please don't be impulsive!"
…
Qi State.
The Qingluan Society, a holy place for spies, had its hostages rescued right in front of their eyes. Before this huge shame could be washed away, another piece of bombshell news came from the border.
The Qi army of hundreds of thousands suffered heavy losses and was captured by the Xia army.
After the surrendered semi-saints of Wei State rebelled and their army was captured, the semi-saints of Qi State also surrendered to Xia State.
All this happened so fast that the Qi court and the people could not accept it, but they had to accept it.
Soon, there was no more Qi State on the continent.
Inside the Qi Palace, the Emperor of Qi looked at a figure and said in a deep voice, "National Master, are you going to abandon me too? You are at the peak of the semi-saint level. If you join hands with me, we may be able to fight!"
The old man with a long beard looked back at him and sighed, "When the strategists need to take action themselves, they have already completely lost. Your Majesty has lost, and so have I. If you lose, you have to admit it. Qi has run out of luck. Your Majesty, take care of yourself..."
Emperor Qi sat back on the dragon throne and watched the figure of the old man with a long beard go away without stopping him.
He sat on the dragon chair in a daze for a long time, looking at the magnificent palace, only to feel that it was dilapidated and desolate...
…
Chu State.
The Imperial Palace.
The old man with a long beard looked at the two figures opposite him. The State Master of Chu and the State Master of Wei bowed to him at the same time and said respectfully, "Senior Brother."
The old man stroked his long beard and said with a sigh: "It has been a hundred years since we three brothers have met..."
The State Master of Chu said: "One hundred and three years..."
The Wei State Master lowered his head and said, "I didn't expect that we all failed..."
The Chu State Master looked at the long-bearded old man and asked, "Brother, who is that strategist from the Xia State? Could he be a disciple that Master accepted later?"
The old man with a long beard shook his head and said, "After I separated from you a hundred years ago, I never looked for you again. I'm afraid you're the only one who knows about this matter..."
He looked at the two of them, took a deep breath, and said, "Now that things have come to this, we can only go see the teacher."
…
The southernmost land.
The State of Chu was located in the south of the continent. The southernmost tip of the State of Chu was an uninhabited area stretching for thousands of miles.
This place is covered with ice and snow all year round, with fierce winds and bone-chilling cold. Ordinary people exposed outside will be frozen to death within an incense stick of time. Even martial artists of high levels cannot live here for long.
Three cloaked figures flew to the foot of a snowy mountain.
As semi-saints of the Zongheng family, the three of them have reached the pinnacle of cultivation in the world. This little bit of wind and snow is nothing to them.
Even though they could fly to the top of the mountain in an instant, they still walked step by step from the foot of the mountain to the top in the wind and snow, and came to an ice cave.
The three strongest men of the time stood in front of the ice cave for a long time, but still did not dare to step in.
Finally, it was the State Master of Wei who clasped his fists to the old man with a long beard and said, "You are the eldest brother, please go first."
A trace of helplessness appeared on the face of the old man with a long beard. After taking a few deep breaths, he was the first to walk into the ice cave. The other two old men immediately followed him.
This ice cave is not deep. You can see the bottom after a few dozen steps from the entrance.
At the deepest part of the ice cave, there is a circular stone platform.
On the stone platform, there is an ice coffin.
A young man, his body covered with frost, lay in an ice coffin with his hands folded on his abdomen.
The moment they saw the young man, the three old men showed respect on their faces at the same time. They knelt in front of the ice coffin, kowtowed three times respectfully, and said in unison: "Disciple greets the teacher..."
As they finished speaking, the frost and snow inside the ice cave began to melt rapidly.
The frost on the young man in the ice coffin quickly disappeared, and his face became visibly rosy. His eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of double pupils.
As he opened his eyes, an aura that would make even a peak semi-saint tremble filled the ice cave.
The coffin lid slowly floated up, and the young man's body also floated out of the ice coffin. He stood in front of the three people, his dull and blank eyes gradually regained consciousness. After gently exhaling a breath of cold air, he asked, "How long have you slept, Master?"
The old man with a long beard said, "Teacher, if you hadn't woken up halfway, it would have been one hundred and three years."
The young man looked outside the cave and whispered, "A hundred years is almost enough. Who among you three wins? Which country has unified the world today? Wei, Qi, or Chu?"
After a moment.
The young man looked at the three people in disbelief and muttered, "Wei, Chu, and Qi have all been defeated, and Xia is about to be unified... Are you three pigs? What on earth have you been doing for the past hundred years?"
(End of this chapter)
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