Chapter 1242 - 306: Wolf Smoke (Part 2)

Chapter 1242: Chapter 306: Wolf Smoke (Part 2)

"Lord Zheng, we must part ways here."

"Yes." Lord Zheng nodded.

They had traveled quite quickly, so the news from Yanjing had not yet reached them.

Therefore, they were unaware that an avenging fire against the Chu State was already spreading from the heart of Yan, Yanjing, and was about to engulf the entire Yan State.

The assassination of a prince by an enemy country’s assassin was an immense disgrace for the Yan people.

If the Third Prince had died on the battlefield rather than at a banquet, perhaps the Yan people would not have been so enraged, for in the simple worldview of the Yan people, dying in battle was an honor, and if one was outmatched in skill, soldiers, and might, then dying in battle was acceptable.

After all, a hundred years ago, several emperors from the Ji family had perished in desert warfare.

But such despicable means only ignited the deep-seated fury of the Yan people.

Moreover,

The Yan Emperor’s horse trampling on the privilege of the nobility undoubtedly destroyed vested interests for many, but after the court absorbed what were once aristocratic lands, it redistributed them to local commoners for cultivation, effectively reassigning the land.

This system, akin to the royal Great Imperial Manor, would inevitably breed issues like corruption and land consolidation, but those were problems for decades later; as the blind man once said, when the Ming Taizu established the Wei-so system, it was highly effective initially, only declining in the mid to late Ming period.

Nonetheless, this approach garnered enormous grassroots support among the populace, as after a period of peace in a country, like the former Yan State, the common people were better off being tenant farmers for noble families than cultivating their land. The noble families controlled extensive land and people, reducing the state’s holdings and naturally increasing taxes and labor burdens. The common people, however, only paid rent to the nobles, which, though heavy, was less than the state’s harsh taxes, and exempted them from labor duties.

But the newly redistributed lands had only been assigned for a few years, and at its start, any new initiative is relatively "pure." Besides, Chengjue wasn’t stupid enough to fleece the commoners, so the lower-level populace genuinely benefited, hence the trampling on aristocratic privilege angered one class but earned the support of a broader base. The father, whom the princes saw as terrifyingly cruel, was deemed a benevolent ruler by the people.

At the same time, consecutive victories abroad over the years had not only diverted a series of internal Yan conflicts but also significantly elevated the personal prestige of the Yan Emperor.

In court, the Yan Emperor’s decrees were absolute, embodying supreme royal power;

among the people, he was practically a totem.

Was the assassin targeting the Third Prince?

Who was the Third Prince?

The Third Prince, imprisoned at the pavilion in the lake for years, was like an actor who had withdrawn from the stage, long forgotten by the populace. They only knew that the despicable Chu Slaves dared to send an assassin to harm their wise emperor.

How could this be tolerated?

With the help of demons like the blind man, Lord Zheng had been carrying out "god-making movements" in Shengle and now at Snow Sea Pass with significant success. However, the emperor was the master of this art.

Son of Heaven, Son of Heaven,

Son of Heaven,

Mandated by Heaven to shepherd the people,

From a certain perspective, the Son of Heaven is essentially a "divine office."

Here,

Lord Zheng and Ji Chengmin were still chatting by the Wang River,

Meanwhile,

The anger of Yan State, from top to bottom and vice versa, began to stir under the decrees of the Yan Emperor.

Within Yan, armies began to mobilize.

Simultaneously,

Larger scale conscription and civilian corvée labor recruitment were underway.

The Yan people, since ancient times, have held the tradition of fighting at the forefront for the king, battling alongside Ji family’s Son of Heaven against the Barbarians.

Even with the nobility gone, and the private soldiers belonging to them long dispersed, this civilian tradition had not been abandoned. Any household with five generations of men surely had some ancestral weapon or armor?

Even if the weapons were rusted or broken and the armor unwearable, this signified that in ancient Yan, it was truly a society where everyone was a soldier.

Eight hundred years ago, the three marquises opened the frontier under Xia emperor’s command, but the wild people and Shanyue weren’t on the same level as the Barbarians; thus, Jin and Chu States settled early, and though the Shanyue occasionally rebel in the Chu region, it posed no significant threat.

It wasn’t until the founding of the Earl of North Border’s estate a hundred years ago that this formidable neighbor was finally subdued.

In other words, throughout the long years, Yan State’s situation differed from Jin, Chu, and Qian States, which were stabilized state systems, whereas Yan resembled a war tribe akin to a Barbarian royal court.

However, a century of peace hadn’t yet fully eroded their inherent warrior spirit from ancestral battles with the Barbarians.

The court’s decrees flowed smoothly, and under the emperor’s will, the central and bureaucratic systems of the entire empire began to operate wildly.

Simultaneously,

Countless respectable families purchased armor, weapons, and horses, actively joining the military. Traditionally, they have been the highest quality soldiers, with vast numbers assembling at local county offices to register, subsequently converging at various prefectures and commanderies, resembling streams merging into a great river, flowing toward places that needed them.

They would become supplementary troops in the grand army, also serving as auxiliary troops. Training and integration began on the march, with officers starting preparations en route.