Chapter 524 267: Supreme

The wheels of history roll forward, the tides of the era surge forward, heading toward a future that is both unpredictable and clearly visible.

After a hundred years, the southern and northern balance was finally broken.

The Great Zhou army advanced and launched a northern expedition against Huo Wei, fighting at the Qinhuai River.

This era was called: the Celestial Mandate Calendar.

In the first year of the Celestial Mandate, the south and north waged war, the Zhou Army broke through Baisha Pass, and the initial defeat of the Wei Army became apparent.

In the same year, in July, the Zhou Army's offensive was swift, continuously breaking through several strategic passes and towns, causing a great collapse of the Wei Army's defense line, pushing the Qinhuai front line northward comprehensively.

In the third year of the Celestial Mandate, news of victory spread rapidly, the Zhou Army was unstoppable, major cities of the Wei Army fell, the war at the Qinhuai River concluded, turning towards the northern heartlands.

In the fifth year of the Celestial Mandate, the Wei Army levied exorbitant taxes, and the people suffered immensely, joyfully welcoming the royal army with food and drinks, offering several major prefecture cities, and Jizhou and the Two States surrendered without resistance, as did Bingzhou through proclamations.

In the sixth year of the Celestial Mandate, the Zhou Army advanced to Jizhou, Emperor Wei retreated north to Youzhou, taking the imperial consorts, royal family, and over ten thousand civil and military officials away from the capital.

In the seventh year of the Celestial Mandate, the major passes of Jizhou were broken, the Zhou Army advanced unimpeded, not committing the slightest offense along the way, with the people lining the roads to welcome them.

In the ninth year of the Celestial Mandate, the court situation in Youzhou was unstable, Emperor Wei retreated north out of the pass, and Youzhou immediately surrendered, the five northern states fully fell, the world returned to unification.

In the tenth year of the Celestial Mandate, the Emperor of Zhou, Ye Jing, held a court assembly to reward those with merits from the northern expedition: Song Yu was conferred as Celestial Martial General and King Wu, Li Ji as Divine Martial General and King Qii, Ye Huan as Mighty Admiral and King Zhao...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth year of the Celestial Mandate.

The Emperor of Zhou, Ye Jing, grew older, and there were rumors among the people that he intended to abdicate, and the successor was among the three kings.

The three kings and three families, like pillars, stood in the court and wilds, seemingly harmonious, but there was hidden competition.

...

Jizhou, Northern Capital, Wu Royal Mansion.

Inside the study, the scent of incense lingered, refreshing the mind.

Song Yu stood before the desk, holding brush and ink, wielding it like a sword.

Fifteen years had passed, and the young general had become today's King Wu. Fifteen years of a war-torn career of arms and horses had made him steady and mature, his face having grown a beard, his stature trained and hardened to be imposing, his entire being exuding heroic spirit, combined with kingly authority, making him awe-inspiring.

Soon, a letter was completed, and brush and ink paused.

From outside came a gentle knocking: "Your Highness, the double hour is near."

Song Yu said nothing, just glanced at the letter, then put down the brush and ink, and went to bathe and change.

After bathing and changing, he left the royal mansion, took a carriage to the imperial palace.

In the tenth year of the Celestial Mandate, although the Northern Lands were conquered by Great Zhou, the time was still short, unlike the long-established Southern Lands, with instability and even latent dangers in various aspects.

To meet governance needs and stabilize the situation in the Northern Lands, Great Zhou adopted a dual-capital strategy, temporarily moving the central government to the Northern Capital, and the three major royal families, including the Song Clan, also focused their development there, establishing residences and settling without returning to the Southern Lands.

Song Yu arrived at the palace, where a crowd had gathered inside, and many officials dressed in purple and red robes stood waiting.

This was a scene of a court assembly.

"General!"

"Your Highness!"

"Your Grace!"

Seeing his arrival, the ministers all paid their respects, regardless of civil or military rank, and a group of subordinates came to his side, surrounding him like stars around the moon.

Among them were not only people from the Song Clan but many outside lieges, with the majority being people from the Northern Lands.

This was very normal; although Great Zhou moved the central government north for governance needs, the Southern Lands as the foundation could not be abandoned. The three major royal families led by the Song Clan left most of their power in the Southern Lands, only transferring part to develop in the Northern Lands.

It was the same for the three families of the Song Clan, and other noble families from the Southern Lands were no exception, so now there were not many southerners in the Northern Capital, but instead, northerners accounted for the majority.

Because during the northern expedition, the power of Great Zhou knew no bounds. After breaking through the Qinhuai front line, the situation developed almost one-sidedly, with the states and prefectures in the Northern Lands either surrendering without resistance or being subdued through proclamations. Even those who resisted were defeated through inside and outside collusion, presenting a true "the people offer food and drink, joyfully welcoming the heavenly army of the king" phenomenon.

But this was only on the surface, seemingly the people, in fact, were noble families, opportunistic and shifting allegiances.

These great noble families, local forces, and the Three Teachings Sects decisively abandoned the failing pseudo-dynasty, turned to Great Zhou, and cooperated in governance, with some even offering cities and passes.

Although such actions were somewhat despised by people, Great Zhou still accepted these people from the Northern Noble Families for governance needs to quickly quell the chaos, even rewarding them, allowing them to serve as officials.

Thus, in the Northern Capital now, the number of northerners exceeds that of southerners.

As the foremost of the three kings and the most meritorious Celestial Martial General in the northern expedition, Song Yu had many subordinates from the Northern Lands flocking to his cause.

Although logic told him, as the leader of the Song Clan, he should not get too close to these Northern Noble Families, as these people were completely opportunistic, and the Song Clan was inherently opposed to the noble families. Back in Jinyang, they even angered many by invoking the Orthodox Technique, causing joint resistance from the major noble families in Jinyang and Yangzhou.

Though times have changed and the Song Clan has become the largest noble family in the world, habits die hard, let alone changing the Song Clan's mindset. Therefore, both emotionally and rationally, he should keep his distance from these Northern Noble Families to avoid criticism.

But...

Facing the respectful and enthusiastic gazes of the crowd, Song Yu still suppressed that inner voice and conversed with them amiably.

"These Northern Noble Families, though opportunistic, it's human nature, nothing to blame for!"

"As a king, one should have the heart to embrace the world, accommodating everyone."