Chapter 124: The Xia Dynasty

Li Tian paid slight attention to the matter of Qi, but he did not expend much mental energy on it. In his view, reaping the rewards of someone else’s success was fine, but if it failed, it was of no consequence. Regardless, the status of the Heavenly Court was as stable as Mount Tai, and it did not lack such nominal recognition.

...

Not long after, Qi led the vast and mighty armies of Jizhou into motion. Sweeping across the land, he conquered Yuzhou in less than a month and captured Boyi alive. Subsequently, with lightning speed, Qi announced the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, set his capital in Yangdi, and formally transformed the system of "Public Ownership of the World" into "Hereditary Rule."

When this news spread, the entire human race was shaken. Powerful human figures who had long been in seclusion, as well as the Holy Lands of the human race, became aware of the situation. Most were opposed to this, and some radicals proposed forming an army to march against Qi. However, at the critical moment, Qi produced an imperial edict personally bestowed by the Heavenly Emperor to demonstrate the legitimacy of his position. "I am mandated by the Heavenly Emperor; who dares to disobey?"

Though countless powerful humans were extremely dissatisfied with Qi's actions, for a time, not a single one dared to speak out in opposition. While ordinary humans might not understand what the Heavenly Court represented, these top-tier human powerhouses certainly did. When the news reached the Holy Lands of the human race, the ancestral Human Emperors and the ancestors of humanity consulted and ultimately decided not to intervene.

The Three Ancestors, as the first generation of humans created, were subconsciously inclined toward the Heavenly Court. As for the Three Sovereigns, Fuxi and Shennong were already figures of the Heavenly Court, and Xuanyuan held a deep affinity for it, having been aided by the Heavenly Emperor many times; thus, he did not wish to defy the Heavenly Court's will unless necessary. As for the Five Emperors, although they had no direct connection to the Heavenly Court, they had grown up listening to the legends of the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Queen. Seeing that the Three Ancestors and Three Sovereigns had no objections, they naturally did not oppose it either. Moreover, from their perspective, there was no substantial difference between "Public Ownership" and "Hereditary Rule"; as long as the people could live in peace and contentment, it mattered little to them who served as the Human Emperor.

The stance of the Holy Lands soon spread throughout the human race. Countless powerful figures, hearing this, fell silent. After all, if the Holy Lands said not to intervene, there was no need for them to worry. Most human elites held the Heavenly Court in awe. However, the lack of dissent among the highest echelon did not mean the entire human race was in agreement.

Shortly after Qi announced the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, Shaohao, the King of the Dongyi, was the first to lose his composure. He immediately sharpened his weapons and horses, declared his opposition to Xia, and with lightning speed, marched south to conquer Yangzhou. At the same time, apart from the Jizhou and Yuzhou regions under Qi’s control, countless lords of various sizes emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain in the other six provinces. They conscripted vast armies and united to form a massive coalition of lords, marching menacingly toward the territories held by Qi.

Upon receiving the news, Qi panicked and hurriedly summoned his ministers to discuss strategies for repelling the enemy. "My King," a minister stepped forward and spoke eloquently, "most of the coalition lords are dissatisfied because of the 'hereditary succession.' However, people are inherently selfish. You might as well issue a decree granting titles to all the lords... in this way, the coalition will collapse without a fight."

"Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!" Qi’s eyes brightened as he heard this. If they were dissatisfied because of hereditary succession, he would simply grant each of them a piece of land and allow them to inherit it as well. Would they still be dissatisfied? By then, the lords would likely not only cease their opposition but become his most steadfast supporters.

Qi immediately ordered the collection of information on all the lords and began bestowing titles upon them one by one. He enfeoffed over 13,600 lords of varying sizes, with their respective fiefs being the lands they already controlled. Jizhou and Yuzhou, being the foundation of Qi's power, were naturally not shared with others.

Soon, a decree from Yangdi reached the hands of the various lords. Upon seeing the contents, many initially resisted. But by nightfall, most could no longer sleep. They could not help but pull out their maps to examine the lands the Xia Dynasty had granted them. Should they accept, or not? Every lord hesitated, weighing their gains and losses. If they attacked the Xia Dynasty and succeeded, what would they truly gain? Furthermore, blades in battle have no eyes; who knew if the coalition would win, or if they would return home unscathed? Now, however, with a single nod, they could obtain a territory to pass down to their descendants—the land would be theirs forever. Even if they had to submit to Xia, as long as the people were prosperous, did it really matter who the Emperor was?

People are selfish, especially now that the human race had long since lost its original simplicity. After weighing the options, many chose to accept the terms that very day and withdrew their troops. Of course, many others remained wavering. However, as the first group of lords departed, the unity of the coalition shattered. Following the trend, within ten days, nearly ninety-nine percent of the lords had accepted their fiefs and retreated. Thus, the massive coalition collapsed due to a single decree.

Countless top-tier human powerhouses, upon hearing this, felt sorrow and lament for the degeneration of the human race. Many, feeling disillusioned, retreated into seclusion, deciding never to intervene again unless the survival of the human race was at stake. Gradually, the number of top-tier cultivators among humans dwindled. A few who were combative eventually perished as time passed. Later generations learned their lesson and refrained from interfering in human affairs, fearing that becoming too entangled in cause and effect would lead to their own demise.

From this time on, top-tier human cultivators became increasingly scarce, and even advanced cultivation techniques began to fade. As a result, many ordinary humans in later generations had no path to seek immortality.

Not long after, Qi commanded the lords of the world to hold a great assembly, cementing the Xia Dynasty’s ruling status over the human race. As for the few lords who refused to submit and came to cause trouble, they did not even require Qi to act; a single imperial order was enough for the other lords—who had just received their titles and were eager to prove their loyalty—to swarm and overwhelm them.

Of course, some chose to remain silent, such as Shaohao. Being a son of the Yellow Emperor, he could not accept Qi's enfeoffment and thus relied on Yangzhou to stand against Xia. Others, like the Youhu clan, were smaller factions. It is also worth mentioning the Jingzhou region, where a currently unremarkable but later famous faction resided, led by Xie. Xie was a son of Emperor Ku and a half-brother of Yao; he came from a noble line. Although not prominent now, he had a descendant of great renown—Shang Tang.