Seeing your disbelief, Chen Jing explained to you the ins and outs of this dispute over the orthodox rule of the Central Plains.
To clarify this issue, one must first understand one thing.
In fact, the Five Domains are legally unified.
The two capitals and eighteen provinces of the Central Plains are directly governed by the imperial court.
The tribes of the Northern Frontier, the hundred kingdoms of the Southern Borders, the three nations of Western Liang, and even the desolate Eastern Wastelands are theoretically vassal states or loosely controlled territories of the Central Plains imperial court.
During certain dynasties, these non-Central Plains regions were even incorporated into the court's directly governed territory.
However, by the Yongcheng era, due to the decline of imperial power and the court being controlled by powerful ministers, the dynasty basically lost its ability to rule the regions beyond the Central Plains borders.
After Emperor Yongcheng passed away, the newly enthroned Emperor Longzhi was immediately reduced to a puppet emperor, completely unable to intervene in state affairs.
The dynasty's deterrence over the surrounding regions became even weaker.
This led to consequences such as Western Liang refusing to pay tribute and the Southern Borders rebelling.
Over the years, our Northern Frontier has continued to pay tribute annually. The half a million cattle and sheep needed by the royal family for ancestral worship every year have been delivered without a single one missing. Therefore, Fourth Brother, our Northern Frontier is loyal to the Great Qian Dynasty!
Then why did you, Big Brother, dispatch troops to attack the Central Plains?
To clear away the Emperor's corrupt ministers!
After saying these words, both you and your big brother could not help but chuckle.
But the truth is always unexpected; the Northern Frontier was genuinely clearing the Emperor's side.
The treacherous Prime Minister Qin Rong monopolized the court affairs, piling on exorbitant taxes and levies, while military service and forced labor were endless.
He forged government decrees, and all the policies he issued were aimed at helping the scholar-officials and local gentry amass wealth and resources.
He did not care at all about national defense, state security, or the development of the society. He completely ignored the people's destitution and the rampant monster plagues.
If this group of sycophants led by Qin Rong is not eliminated, how can our Great Qian ever see a bright and clear sky?
The Emperor's power has been stripped away; His Majesty cannot even command a single foot soldier.
If we subjects do not lend a helping hand, who else can His Majesty rely on?
You looked thoughtful.
So the Empress is also trying to clear the Emperor's side...
Ah no, she is purely rebelling.
She does possess the royal bloodline. If her rebellion succeeds and she ascends the throne as the Emperor of the Five Domains, the Li royal family would theoretically support her.
I cannot do that. If I overthrow the court, I would have to directly face the deep foundations of the Li royal family.
The premise of Martial King realm experts not going to the front lines is that the Great Qian suppresses the Five Domains. Whoever breaks the agreement will be punished by the royal family using their foundation.
But if the fundamental roots of the royal family are shaken, no one will follow any agreements with you anymore.
The top martial artists of our Northern Frontier are still quite lacking compared to the royal family.
You frowned and pondered for a moment.
The Emperor has been stripped of power, so will not the royal family help? If they just send out any Martial King realm expert, would not they be able to easily kill that dog official Qin Rong?
Fourth Brother, you underestimate these treacherous ministers. Every single one of them is incredibly shrewd...
In this military tent, Chen Jing told you that Qin Rong was a treacherous minister.
But a treacherous minister would not carve the word treacherous on his face. Everything he does looks glamorous on the surface, leaving no room for criticism.
He cultivated his own factions and engaged in cronyism, with his disciples and former subordinates spread all over the court and the public.
Although the royal family has a deep foundation, there are actually very few of them actively in officialdom.
As long as Qin Rong does not touch the royal family's interests, the royal family will not bother to worry about whether the person sitting on the throne at the moment holds real power or is just a figurehead.
Qin Rong has no interest in being the emperor either. He simply enjoys wielding power and using it to seek benefits for himself.
As for what you said about finding a Martial King to kill him, that really will not work.
This guy is in the Martial Saint realm!
The treacherous ministers of a dynasty in the martial arts world embezzle not only gold, silver, and jewels, but mostly martial arts resources!
Not just Qin Rong, but the high-ranking officials in the court are basically all martial artists with profound cultivation realms.
Strictly speaking, these high officials are even more formidable than military generals.
They not only have to be well-read in the books of sages and proficient in state affairs, busy with daily political intrigues, but they also have to balance their martial arts cultivation.
If these people were allowed to focus solely on practicing martial arts, every one of them would only be stronger.
But everyone has their own ambitions.
Some people just find endless joy in struggling against others.
Of course, not every civil official is like this.
There are still many civil officials who are truly just ordinary civil officials.
This type of person cannot climb to very high positions because they will end up committing suicide by getting shot in the back with an arrow during their ascent.
Big Brother, you are in the Northern Frontier. How are you so clear about the court situation, and how do you dare to dispatch troops to clear the Emperor's side?
I received a secret edict hidden in a belt.
Holy shit! Classic!
Five years ago, when Chen Jing accompanied the late Khan to the Central Plains to pay tribute with half a million cattle and sheep, he was personally received by Emperor Longzhi.
After the banquet, taking the opportunity of going to the restroom, Emperor Longzhi gave a belt to the late Khan to bring back to the Northern Frontier.
In this blood-written secret edict hidden in the belt, it clearly laid out every single crime of Qin Rong stripping the imperial power and poisoning the state.
The Emperor commanded that the Northern Frontier, obeying the imperial order, dispatch troops to rescue the Emperor and clear away the corrupt ministers!
I always thought this emperor was a foolish ruler. It seems he is not...
Our Emperor Longzhi is actually a very intelligent man.
When he ascended the throne, his martial arts realm was too low, so he could only let Qin Rong manipulate him.
He pretended to be addicted to playing and ignored court affairs, but in reality, he secretly cultivated trusted aides to contact the royal family for him, obtaining many martial arts resources from them.
Qin Rong forbade him from leaving the palace, so he built a Courtyard of Beauties inside the palace. On the surface, it was a golden house to keep his mistresses, but in reality, he was secretly cultivating inside.
Over the decades, His Majesty, relying on his Heaven-tier bone structure and the abundant resource supply from the royal family, has unknowingly reached the Martial King realm!
Holy shit, that is quite something... It is just that this operation sounds a bit familiar...
You inexplicably thought of a person, so you asked about the Emperor's name.
Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian?!
You were so surprised that you jumped straight up.
Fourth Brother, what is wrong?
No, no, it must be someone with the same first and last name. The Li Chengqian I know is a prince's son. How could he become the emperor? How could the royal family pass the throne like this?
His Majesty was indeed a prince's son at first. This is another twisting story...
Over forty years ago, when Emperor Yongzhi passed away, he failed to leave behind an heir.
The royal family decided to choose a successor from the princes of the main branch.
Qin Rong secretly mediated and fixed the candidate as the Prince of Qianzhou.
The Prince of Qianzhou was far from the central authority and had absolutely no factions in the court, making him easy to control.
This old prince probably never expected such overwhelming wealth and status to fall on his head, and he got too excited.
Too excited.
Before the throne could even get warm, he passed away within a month.
Qin Rong began his micromanagement again.
Since the lineage of the Prince of Qianzhou had become emperor, the subsequent successor should naturally be chosen from among the children of the Prince of Qianzhou.
Qin Rong intended to become a powerful minister and dominate the royal court. Therefore, he wanted an emperor who was weak, easy to manipulate, and completely lacking in trusted aides and supporters.
Thus, a son of the Prince of Qianzhou caught his eye. He was the most unfavored son, spending all his days sightseeing and neglecting his cultivation.
Li Chengqian!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
