Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

"We've finally won!"

At this moment, after the emperor withdrew his troops and issued the decree of the Great Mu, the whole of Chu was jubilant. They were not worried about the emperor's strategy of driving away one tiger to devour another, but were proud of it.

They returned victorious from the battle against the emperor!

Rumble...

The heavens roared, and the immortals and gods of Chu appeared in the sky, displaying their divine might in their respective territories and receiving the worship of the people of Chu.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

……

The eight voices rang out in unison, shaking heaven and earth.

Above Yingdu, the capital of Chu, the eye of Taiyi appeared, merciless and impartial, gazing upon the King of Chu on the magnificent altar in the city, receiving the King's sacrifice. Below the altar, the many Chu officials who were preparing to reward their merits bowed their heads and prostrated themselves upon seeing Taiyi's gaze, calling out Taiyi's name in a resounding and measured voice. Not one of them dared to neglect this incarnation of the Dao of Chu.

Behind the King of Chu, a statue of the God of Fire hangs high on his back.

At this moment, he was equal to the heavens, only paying homage without bowing, until the ancestral gods appeared one by one. Only then did he, according to ritual, hold the sacrificial vessels and worship the heavens, calling out to his ancestors and recounting the victory of the Chu state in this battle...

Around the altar, countless Chu people knelt on the ground, listening intently with their heads bowed, their eyes filled with excitement. The resentment and anger that Chu people had felt because of the "barbarians" finally eased. At this moment, their obeisance to the King of Chu had reached its peak, and the King of Chu's prestige was deeply imprinted on the land of Chu with this battle. Only then was his self-proclaimed throne truly secured.

I will tell my ancestors about the victory.

Looking back, the King of Chu's eyes welled up with tears, but he rose up and laughed heartily on the altar.

……

……

The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

"Warlords in a chaotic era."

Quan Ming was guarding the Luo River at this moment, and Dao Xiang appeared in the sky. He rode in a covered carriage and watched as Dao Tian presented the altar scene for the various immortals and gods, while listening to the laughter of the King of Chu.

He murmured, "The path of Chu to hegemony was officially raised because of its 'refusal to submit to Zhou' and its 'establishment of itself as king'."

Watching Xiong Tong, full of vigor and riding the momentum of defeating the emperor, as fortune gathered and surged into the Dao Heaven...

click!

It sounded as if the sky was splitting open.

But that was actually the sound of the Chu King's divine mandate for advancement, a celestial phenomenon that bestowed upon him blooming red lotuses and carried the fragrance of orchids in the breeze...

To establish oneself as king is to be a false nine-life king.

This pseudo-Nine-Lives is all name and no substance. Not only is it inferior to the Nine-Lives Grand Shepherd, but it is also at the bottom among the Eight-Lives Grand Dukes. It even greatly diminishes the power of the Eight-Lives Grand Dukes to restrain the feudal lords.

How can there be feudal lords under a false king?

Even if a title like the Right Commander was granted to a six-rank viscount or baron, it was merely a facade, easily defeated by a real feudal lord or mediocre ruler.

Moreover, Zhou Tian is above.

The false king will inevitably fight the true king and become an enemy of all the feudal lords of the Zhou Dynasty.

But now... Xiong Tongsheng has won.

If the false character is removed, one can call oneself the King of Chu.

Of course, at this time, humanity still takes Zhou Tian as its ruler. No matter what, the King of Chu could not surpass the Zhou emperor. His upper limit was locked at nine lives. Moreover, with the support of the Chu state's national strength, his own strength had not yet reached its limit. It could only be said that he had broken through the original six-life ritual of a baron and officially reached seven lives.

It can freely utilize the Seven Life Ritual and the power to shape the territory.

The Chu Kingdom's Daotian was the one who reaped the lion's share of the victory in this battle... After all, humans have a time to die, but the Daotian is eternal. Even if the King of Chu coveted that fortune, he couldn't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

At this moment, supported by a powerful force of destiny!

Dao Tian has also begun to advance!

——Eighth Level of Daotian——

With the help of the Dao and Heaven, the King of Chu can exercise the power to restrain the feudal lords!

This power will have a certain degree of restraint, even when facing the feudal lords of Zhou!

The upper limit of Dao Tian has also been pushed to the ninth level. As long as Donghuang Taiyi, who is the incarnation of Dao Tian and is currently at the eighth level of Dao Tian, ​​can advance to the ninth level of Dao Tian in the future, Dao Tian will reach the peak that Chu Kingdom can currently achieve.

At that time...

Even if the King of Chu were a mere child, he could still use the combination of royal decree and divine decree to wield the power to conquer the nine provinces and dominate the land!

At that time...

It is only natural that the mandate of heaven has fallen to Chu, and there is nothing wrong with that.

"Democratic enfeoffment!"

Quan Ming's expression hardened.

From the altar came the voice of the King of Chu, announcing the arrival of the post-war enfeoffment. Upon hearing this, the ministers trembled and looked at the King of Chu on the altar with burning eyes.

The King of Chu looked down with arrogance and laughed as he accepted the list of rewards that Qu Xia and he had prepared on their way back to the city. The main reward was the division of the newly occupied lands of Luo State. Because Quan Ming, this "friend," was not present this time, and Luo City of Luo State was a key ferry crossing between Jingchu and the Han River Basin, the King of Chu did not allocate it to the Luo people as he had done with Quan's land.

He settled the Luo people on the west side of Luoshan Mountain, near the Jingshan mountain range.

Through arduous pioneering efforts, Luoyi was rebuilt.

Previously, Luo City was personally managed by Qu Xia, who, in his capacity as Mo Ao, was always ready to defend against invasions from other countries.

As for the Right Commander of Trust, he was actually a commander of the Qu clan!

……

"The Qu family?"

Upon hearing the King of Chu's words, Quan Ming's eyes flickered, but he couldn't help but chuckle.

Qu Xia did indeed make great contributions in the war against the emperor, but it was not enough to enfeoff Mo'ao and the Right Commander under the Qu clan. This was a combination of sacrifice, politics, and military power.

Then Xiong Tong continued, "I hereby appoint Dou Bo as the Prime Minister."

The position of Ling Yin was newly established, and he assisted the King of Chu in Yingdu, taking charge of the government of the country!

This is?

Quan Ming's smile deepened as he revealed the truth: "This is to divide Mo Ao's power, leaving him with only the power to perform sacrifices and the political power to govern Luo City."

Qu Xia's expression remained unchanged.

It seems that losing political power was not unacceptable to Qu Xia in order to gain military power in the Right Army, or rather... Qu Xia also understood how all three powers could be brought under the control of the Qu family.

Compared to political power, military power clearly held more sway in the Chu state.

What is the overall trend?

Of course, it's a trend of outward expansion and consolidation!

With military power, the Qu family could continue to follow the King of Chu on his campaigns, gain the greatest merit, and maintain their position second only to the King.

Otherwise, while the right leader of his clan followed the King of Chu in battle, the Qu clan would remain in Yingdu and engage in politics.

The Qu family will fall behind sooner or later.

His talent, Qu Xia, will also be buried.

This is……

"It seems that Qu Xia believed he could defeat Quan Ming in the war, so he withdrew from Yingdu to enter politics, to avoid the frustration of his previous policy of 'controlling power through counties' failing to take effect."

"...Do you think you can defeat me in battle?"

"This preserves the authority of divine sacrifices in order to better communicate with the Dao Heaven and command the immortals and gods... Let's continue to suppress the immortals and gods."

Quan Ming rubbed the corners of his eyes, which were still smiling, and remained noncommittal.

Anyway, he only knew one thing—

Mo'ao held both political and divine authority.

The Mo'ao, who held divine authority, and the Right Commander, who held military power.

Who poses a greater threat to the King of Chu?

Don't forget...

The previous Right Commander was Wei, so who will be the next Right Commander?

When Qu's prestige was high, he could hold the two high positions of Mo'ao and Right Commander, but what about when his power was weak?

Is it possible to reunite political and divine authority within the Mo'ao?

Let alone the King of Chu's refusal.

Even the Chu ministers wouldn't agree!

Qu Xia's move was truly a terrible one...

After Quan Ming finished laughing, he lost interest in listening to the subsequent arrangements for the mortal vassals. Instead, he looked towards Dao Tian, ​​awaiting Dao Tian's bestowal of titles upon them as immortals and gods. Of course, this ceremony was also part of the sacrificial ritual, and the investiture was still presided over by the King of Chu.

hum!

Dao Tian summoned me!

A beam of brilliant light descended from the sky, enveloping all the immortals and gods of the Chu region.

Quan Ming nodded, saying that the investiture should not be done so hastily, and that it would be more formal to go to Daotian at this moment.

"You are entrusted with guarding the land of Luoshui. Beware of spies from the Yong Kingdom."

Quan Ming instructed his headless corpse, which was now a Nuo general wearing a Nuo mask and given a name, "Also, send out a Yin soldier to inform the spirits downstream to guard the ships going downstream. The battle is over, and there have been many casualties. The wounded need to be sent downstream for treatment as soon as possible, and the remains of the Chu people should be returned to Chu territory for burial. This should not be neglected."

The Nuo performer bowed in response.

After arranging the matters, Quan Ming boarded a covered carriage, accompanied by a vast array of Daoist figures, their divine power radiating, and entered the Dao Heaven.

……

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