Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 5 Initial Chaos

"It's hard to say,"

Wu Wenhe obviously knew what Lu Shang was referring to. Because he knew it, he also had some doubts about the relationship behind it. Perhaps there really was the shadow of some big family behind the Beihai.

Wu Wenhe knew all too well the tactics of the great clans. They viewed the Nine Provinces as a chessboard, the myriad nations as pawns. To rule the world, they would do anything. The Gao Xin clan, the Tao Tang clan, the You Yu clan, and the Xia Hou clan were all like this, and the other clans would be like this in the future.

"Regardless of whether there is someone behind Beihai, this muddy water is not something I, Xu Guo, can wade into."

This is the helplessness of a small country. Although Xu State, a small country, ranks among the kings, has six brigades of armor, and enjoys thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, compared with those big countries, Xu State is still slightly weak in national strength.

After all, the Xu State lasted only fifteen generations, during which four generations were plagued by chaotic rule, national instability, and internal conflicts between officials. This chaos was not brought to an end until the fourteenth generation, Xu Bochu. However, the legacy of these four generations of chaotic rule still worries the people of the country.

Those with insight knew that the state of Xu could no longer withstand any further turmoil. Before the Four Dynasties of Chaos, Xu had ten brigades of elite soldiers; today, it has only six. The weakened state of Xu urgently needed to recuperate and recover, rather than participate in the competition between major powers.

"I'm afraid that if the Xia Dynasty issues another imperial decree, there will be no room for maneuver."

Wu Wenhe said worriedly, "The Mandate of Heaven has ultimately been given to the Xia Dynasty. Even if our states are willing to delay, we must still publicly respect the wise emperor. Unless we disregard the Mandate of Heaven and raise the banner of rebellion, becoming enemies of all nations, we will not be able to disobey the imperial decree."

"Then we'll wait until he issues another imperial decree."

Lu Shang said, "If Emperor Qiu issues another imperial decree, it means the situation in the North Sea is ten or a hundred times worse than we imagined. Perhaps the chaos in the North Sea is just the beginning, and the world will become increasingly chaotic from now on!"

After Emperor Yu took over the empire, the Xia dynasty passed through seven generations, including Emperor Qi, Emperor Taikang, Emperor Zhongkang, Emperor Xiang, Emperor Shaokang, and Emperor Zhuxia.

Not all of these seven emperors were wise and benevolent rulers. Taikang lost his kingdom during the reign of the third emperor of the Xia dynasty. Although the dynasty was restored, the Xia dynasty lost the respect of the feudal lords during the reigns of Emperors Taikang and Zhongkang, and its foundation began to falter. Later, Shaokang restored the dynasty, re-establishing the Xia dynasty's authority and extending its Mandate of Heaven.

After Emperor Shaokang came the current emperor, Emperor Zhuxia. After Emperor Zhuxia succeeded the Xia Dynasty, he personally led expeditions to various barbarians, subdued the Jingyi, Yuyi, Fangyi, Huangyi, Baiyi, Chiyi, Xuanyi, Fengyi and Yangyi, and intimidated all nations. He was called the Emperor of the Proud Sun by the nine barbarians.

When he was young, Emperor Zhuxia was indeed worthy of the title of Emperor of the Sun. He was truly like the sun, illuminating the nine provinces and billions of people.

When our ancestor Xu Bochu was alive, he loved telling his sons stories about Emperor Zhuxia. He both respected and feared Emperor Zhuxia, the son of the Xiahou clan, his entire life. If Xu Bochu had lived, it's hard to say how much courage he would have had to say no to the Xiahou clan's imperial edict. Emperor Zhuxia held a formidable intimidation for Xu Bochu's generation.

Even though Emperor Zhuxia is now in his twilight years, with only a tenth of his imperial power remaining, the princes of the world dare not disrespect him and cannot help but fear him. Lü Shang had previously said that Emperor Zhuxia could no longer command the princes as he did in his youth, and while this was certainly true, Emperor Zhuxia's name still shone as brightly as a golden crow, dazzling and resplendent.

As long as Emperor Zhuxia lives, no one dares to defy the will of the Xia Dynasty!

Wu Wenhe hesitated for a moment and said, "I, an old minister, also think this is a sign of chaos."

"Back when our ancestors were alive, there was the Nine Barbarian Rebellion. Emperor Zhuxia was already old and waning, unable to personally lead the expedition against the barbarians. So, he appointed Baikui Ziqi to quell the rebellion. The Nine Barbarian Rebellion lasted for seven years, greatly shaking the foundation of the Xia Dynasty. To quell the Nine Barbarian Rebellion, the Xia Dynasty mobilized troops from all over the world several times, suffering heavy casualties and causing resentment among the nations."

The Minister of Hundreds of Officials is in charge of all government officials and is the prime minister of the world!

"The Nine Barbarians Rebellion has just ended, and now there's the North Sea Demon Rebellion. Given the recent precedent, how many years will it take to quell this North Sea Demon Rebellion? Even if the North Sea Demon Rebellion is quelled quickly, who knows if there will be another rebellion in the future?"

Lu Shang said, "I don't care if the world is in chaos, but my country, Xu, must remain in turmoil. From now on, the national treasury will allocate 60% of its money and grain each year for strengthening our military preparations. We need to build passes, store food, and train our troops. Six brigades is still too few. It would be best if we could return to the original ten-brigades system."

"Tenth Brigade,"

Wu Wenhe whispered, "Is it too strenuous?"

In the mountains, seas and wilderness, those who can be called warriors are all those who have tempered their bones and are equipped with armor and wield sharp weapons.

These people are extremely powerful and wear heavy armor. They are almost killing machines. Hundreds of non-armored soldiers cannot hurt them at all.

The money and food consumed by such a brave and strong man is simply like a mountain and a sea.

Lu Shang wanted to train four brigades of armored soldiers in a short period of time. It was not impossible for Xu State to do so with its national strength, but it would cost Xu State a huge price.

"Time is running out for me. I always feel that the North Sea is just the beginning. The world in the future may be even more chaotic than it is now."

Lu Shang seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "If we don't take advantage of the energy we still have to prepare our troops now, when war breaks out and the world is in chaos, even if we want to train and expand our army in peace, we have to see if our friendly neighbors will give us the opportunity."

Lu Shang understood what Wu Wenhe meant. If the army suddenly added four brigades of soldiers, it would be very difficult for the national treasury to support them.

But Lu Shang was not worried at all about not being able to support him. He firmly believed in one thing: in troubled times, the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses will be the winner, and the winner takes all.

A more pointed statement is that if a neighboring country stores grain, I will store troops there, and the neighboring country is my granary!
After a long conversation with Lu Shang all night, Wu Wenhe walked out of the palace with a nervous heart.

Sitting on the bamboo mat, Lu Shang watched Wu Wenhe's back gradually disappear into the distance. He did not look away until the figure of this old minister gradually became blurred.

"The Emperor's edict,"

Lü Shang slowly extended his hand, and in his palm rested a beast-head seal. Holding Xu Bo's seal, Lü Shang felt immensely powerful, as the vast essence of heaven and earth poured into his body from all directions.

A single thought can make mountains and rivers move. This is not just an adjective, but with Xu Boyin, Lu Shang can really change the geographical features of Xu State with a single thought.

The way of cultivation in the Great Wilderness Mountains and Seas is mainly to polish the essence and blood, and to sharpen the divine body. The initial strengthening of tendons and bones, and the exchange of blood and training of marrow are only the stages of refining the foundation. Only when one is reborn and attains the body of a real person, and understands the nature of the Dharma, can one truly enter the door, and every move he makes will have great power.

To understand the Dharma nature is to understand the Dharma nature, and supernatural powers will arise naturally, and one will no longer be human.

Lu Shang himself is a real person level being, and he knows very well how terrifying the power that can be unleashed by this level is.

However, no matter how powerful a real person is, he has his limits. Compared with the power of heaven and earth contained in Xu Boyin, Lu Shang's real person level of cultivation is somewhat insignificant.

With Xu Boyin in hand, unless one is a transcendent saint, an ordinary person would die if he knocks against him, or be injured if he touches him.

And this is just a Bo seal, there are also higher-ranking imperial seals on it.

Whenever he played with the Xu Bo Seal, Lu Shang would marvel at the power of the ancient Emperor Fuxi.

What a tremendous power this was, capable of constraining the laws of heaven and earth within a small seal. The significance of this was far more terrifying than one could imagine.

The world is in his hands, like a toy in his palm. It is hard to imagine what kind of state that is.

Awe!

The more Lu Shang studied Xu Boyin, the more he awed the Heavenly Emperor.

The ignorant are fearless. The more you know, the more you will respect others.

What follows is the yearning for the future path.

The Taiyi Divine Way is obviously a smooth and open road. There are pioneers such as the Five Heavenly Emperors who have demonstrated the feasibility of this road.

Lu Shang only needs to continue along this path, and the day will come when he will catch up with the Five Heavenly Emperors.

Although this requires long years of practice and the baptism of countless disasters, there is only a chance to walk side by side with the Five Emperors.

But after all, there is a goal ahead, waiting for Lu Shang to achieve it step by step.

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Beihai, Youdu,
The Classic of Mountains and Seas states: "Within the North Sea lies a mountain called Youdu Mountain, from which flows the Black Water. On it dwell the black bird, the black snake, the black leopard, the black tiger, and the black fox. There is the Great Black Mountain, and the people of Xuanqiu. There is the Great You Country, and the people of Chishan."

The palace of You State was brightly lit. Marquis You felt a little sad as he looked at the monsters reveling and drinking in the palace, and finally sighed silently.

Youguo is a country belonging to demons. Its system is similar to Jiuzhou. Since the founding of the country by the first generation of Youhou, it has been passed down for thirty generations. Each generation has worked hard and accumulated. By his generation, Youguo has almost become the leader of the demons in the North Sea.

However, being just a nominal leader obviously cannot satisfy You Hou.

He has greater ambitions. Being the monarch of a demon country is far from enough to satisfy his appetite. He wants to be the demon king, he wants to be the demon emperor.

Driven by huge ambitions and instigated by certain people with ulterior motives, the North Sea Rebellion was a natural outcome.

Marquis You said to the Prime Minister, "I believe I have some skills in identifying demons. I can tell at a glance whether a person is capable or not. With their limited abilities, it is difficult for me to entrust them with important tasks."

As one of the instigators of the North Sea Rebellion, You Hou knew he had no way out and could only persevere. Therefore, after raising the banner of rebellion, he spared no effort to recruit wild monsters, train monster armies, and select capable generals, striving to expand his influence in the North Sea.

There are seventy-two demon kingdoms in the North Sea. If they can be unified, great things can be expected.

However, while it is easy to raise troops, it is difficult to find a trustworthy general to lead the troops!

Marquis You was so worried about this that he couldn't sleep for days and nights. Without a strong general to lead the troops, his demon army could not reach its full potential.

It is true that it is easy to get thousands of soldiers but difficult to get a good general. Marquis You has been searching repeatedly but still hasn't found a general that satisfies him.

The Prime Minister of You was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled, "Your Majesty is being a bit arbitrary this time. I guarantee with my own head that there must be someone with great power among these wild monsters."

"Oh?"

You Hou looked at the Prime Minister in surprise. He knew that the Prime Minister never spoke nonsense. If he dared to say such a thing, he must have a reason. He asked, "What do you mean?"

(End of this chapter)