Primordial Era: A God-Level Choice, Possessing Zhao Gongming at the Start.

Chapter 290 The Supreme Scheme: Wen Zhong Returns to Court

Emperor Xin originally planned to let Wen Zhong return after he quelled Yuan Futong's rebellion, but Wen Zhong insisted on staying in Beihai for a few more years.

Although Yuan Futong had been pacified, Beihai was geographically remote and far from the capital, and the seventy-two warlords were still eager to make a move.

Individual feudal lords may not be that powerful, but if they are united by people with ulterior motives, they can become an extremely powerful force.

If any further unforeseen events occur, it will only continue to deplete the strength of the Shang Dynasty.

On the contrary, it was not a good thing, so Wen Zhong wanted to eliminate future troubles and make Beihai completely submit to the Shang Dynasty.

During his three years in Beihai, Wen Zhong made outstanding achievements, greatly reducing the power of the seventy-two vassal lords and firmly controlling Beihai.

In addition, they also controlled dozens of iron mountains, copper mountains, and mines within Beihai, continuously supplying massive amounts of resources to Dashang.

At the gates of Chaoge, Emperor Xin led his civil and military officials to welcome Grand Tutor Wen Zhong. Through the wide city gates, a steady stream of elite Shang troops entered Chaoge.

After waiting for a full quarter of an hour, Emperor Xin finally saw Grand Tutor Wen Zhong's personal mount, the Black Qilin.

The black Qilin seemed to sense the strong humanistic aura emanating from Di Xin, and it strode over to him with great joy.

When Wen Zhong saw that Emperor Xin had led all the civil and military officials to greet him, he was so surprised that he could not close his mouth. He quickly dismounted from his black unicorn and paid his respects to Emperor Xin.

"Your humble servant Wen Zhong greets Your Majesty. What virtue or ability do I possess that Your Majesty would personally come out of the city to welcome me? This is truly an honor for this old minister."

Di Xin smiled and helped Wen Zhong up. "Grand Tutor, you have worked tirelessly to conquer the North Sea and defeat the rebel Yuan Futong. After that, you have spent three years painstakingly managing the region, bringing immense wealth to our Great Shang. It is only natural that I come out of the city to welcome you."

Emperor Xin led his civil and military officials into Chaoge City, and then immediately summoned Wen Zhong to the Longde Hall for a meeting.

Although the Longde Hall was empty, the candlelight illuminating the entire hall made it as bright as day.

After washing up, Grand Tutor Wen changed from his military uniform into his court attire, carrying several thick books. He slowly walked in through the gate, bowed to Emperor Xin, and said, "Your subject Wen Zhong greets Your Majesty."

"Grand Tutor, please rise quickly."

Di Xin smiled and said, then his expression turned serious as he looked behind the screen, "Someone, quickly offer the Grand Tutor a seat."

A royal attendant hurriedly emerged from behind the screen, brought over a grand chair, and then quickly retreated to serve Emperor Xin.

"Your Majesty, these are the iron mountains, copper mountains, and mines that your old minister discovered during his expedition to the North Sea. The total number, annual output, and amount that can be transported to the Great Shang each year are all clearly recorded. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

The attendant took the account books from Wen Zhong and handed them to Di Xin. Di Xin casually flipped through them. In fact, Wen Zhong had reported these things to him many times over the past three years.

This is a summary, but even so, when Di Xin saw these numbers, he couldn't help but feel excited.

With so many mineral resources, it was enough for all of his Shang soldiers to be fully armored.

This is enough to give him a great business and build an invincible team.

Setting the account book aside, Di Xin smiled and got to the point, "Actually, the reason I was in such a hurry to summon the Grand Tutor this time, besides wanting to see what the Grand Tutor had accomplished in Beihai, is that there is another important matter I want to discuss with the Grand Tutor."

"This old minister is all ears."

Wen Zhong seemed to have anticipated this as well, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, appearing ready to listen attentively.

Di Xin said earnestly, "Since the founding of our Great Shang by our ancestor Cheng Tang, every Shang king has enfeoffed many vassal lords. By the time of the late King Di Yi, there were already eight hundred vassal lords in the world. They were strong and powerful, posing a serious threat to the rule of our Great Shang. After the Grand Tutor's three-year expedition to the North Sea, I came up with a solution that can perfectly solve the problem of the vassal lords becoming too powerful to control."

"Oh? May I ask, Your Majesty, what method is it?"

Wen Zhong became interested and quickly asked, "The trend of the feudal lords becoming too powerful to control was already evident during the time of the previous king."

The previous emperor, Emperor Yi, took this situation of uncontrollable power to its extreme.

The four great marquises of the east, west, south, and north each governed two hundred vassal states, and their power had reached its peak, making them the kings among the vassal states.

Even towards the end of Emperor Yi's reign, he was no longer able to fully control the political situation.

That is, after Emperor Xin ascended the throne, he was a man of great talent and ambition. He invented the curved plow, and developed methods for refining white sugar, salt, and iron ore. Only then did the Shang Dynasty gradually suppress the four major vassal states.

Over the years, Wen Zhong has tried many methods, but without exception, none of them have been very effective.

Di Xin gave a slight nod, and a servant beside him brought a piece of white paper to Wen Zhong and handed it to him.

Wen Zhong took the white paper, glanced at it briefly, and his expression instantly became extremely serious.

His eyes were fixed on the screen, and nothing else could distract him.

A full quarter of an hour passed before Wen Zhong finally came to his senses. He was holding a light piece of paper in his hand, but it felt as if he were holding a mountain of immense weight, and his entire arm was trembling.

The Edict of Grace, as the name suggests, concerned the issue of succession among the feudal lords, starting from the time when the ancestor Cheng Tang established the Shang Dynasty.

The entire Shang Dynasty practiced the primogeniture system, where the eldest son had a natural advantage in inheriting the family business.

After the death of the late king, the eldest son of the late king succeeded to the throne, while the other sons of the late king were enfeoffed as feudal lords.

When a feudal lord dies, his eldest son inherits the feudal state and the title of king, while the other sons can only inherit some property, houses, shops, etc. It is naturally not a problem for them to become very rich and powerful.

But to obtain the same rights as a feudal lord is simply out of the question.

For example, the late King Yi had three sons. Although Di Xin was the youngest son, he was Di Yi's legitimate son, while Wei Zi Qi and Wei Zi Yan were his illegitimate sons. Unless Di Xin also passed away, the throne of the human king could not possibly fall to them.

The brilliance of this decree of grace lies in the fact that it broke the rules established by the ancestors of the Tang dynasty. In addition to the eldest son of the legitimate wife inheriting the title and fiefdom, the sons of the feudal kings who were not legitimate wives could also divide up a portion of the land and property and were called marquises.

Even the most powerful feudal lords, after the reforms of this Edict of Grace, were no longer effective.

Within three or four generations, it will fall apart and no longer be able to pose a threat to the Shang Dynasty.

Of course, what amazed Wen Zhong was not this, but the fact that this decree of grace directly pushed all the sons of the feudal lords, except for the eldest son of the legitimate wife, into the camp of the Shang Dynasty.

Human nature is inherently evil. Once the Edict of Grace is announced, even if the four great vassal kings do not want to implement it, their sons will do everything in their power to fight for their own interests.

Thus, they stood on the opposite side of their father and constantly caused trouble.

Why should you inherit all of your father's property, even though you are his son with two arms and two legs?

No matter how powerful a feudal lord is, he cannot suppress internal strife; brothers will fight amongst themselves, and eventually, even the most powerful feudal lord will not be able to withstand it.

Such a cunning strategy is rarely seen in the world, leaving Wen Zhong in awe.

(End of this chapter)