Chapter 1460 - 352: Beginning_4

Chapter 1460: Chapter 352: Beginning_4

The Wild King, who has always liked to pursue practicality and doesn’t mind prostrating himself and calling himself "Little Dog" as long as it benefits him, clearly cannot find resonance in such pretentiousness.

Lord Zheng straightforwardly said;

"It pleases me."

......

Chu State, vast in territory.

In fact, over eight hundred years ago, it was not just the Marquis of Yan, Duke of Chu, and Lord Jin who expanded the borders under the Xia emperor’s decree.

The reason these three are mentioned now is firstly due to survivor’s bias, because among the four great states of the present age, Yan, Jin, and Chu are among them.

Secondly, it’s because these three carried the highest official ranks and the greatest expectations at that time.

Since the establishment of the Yan State, it has been in relentless conflict with the barbarian tribes;

After the expulsion of the wild people, the Jin State quickly entered a state of leisurely peace.

In the former heartland of Xia, the region of origin, after the collapse of Xia, it underwent a period of fragmentation, experiencing even northern and southern divisions, and even went through the chaos of six dynasties and twelve states within a century;

Ultimately, it was the Qian State’s Emperor Taizong who took advantage and established the current Qian State.

In the opening Chapter of the Qian History, where Meng Shou wrote about Emperor Taizong, he frankly stated that Emperor Taizong conquered the world.

The Yan people have never made major advances to the south, because it was only in the recent sixty years that they subdued the desert; although a hundred years ago, the first Earl of North Border had a great victory over the Qian State’s Emperor Taizong’s northern expedition, for a long time, their main conflicts were still with the barbarian tribes on the desert.

Though they occasionally engaged in looting, applying pressure, and intimidation to the south, they have never really managed to spare the effort to act towards the south;

Originally, the Yan people thought that after isolating the desert threats, they would have the capacity to look back to the eastern Shenzhou, but they fell into the vortex of the gatehouse governance, causing the national power to be dispersed, and the emperor found it difficult to have centralized control.

After the Jin State resolved the issue with the wild people, they enjoyed a long period of peace because, due to geographical reasons, it was inconvenient for Jin State to attack that area of the Qian Country unless the Yan people were willing to allow passage, which was obviously impossible.

Later, when Jin State split into three, its ambition and capacity for external expansion naturally diminished.

As for the Chu State, it borders Qian State extensively, and though there were occasional frictions, even small-scale wars, there was never a real national war outbreak.

This does not mean that the Chu people prefer peaceful coexistence; in fact, the Chu State has always been aggressive.

After the collapse of Xia, small states in the east emerged for a time, and among those that extinguished nations and annexed lands the most was actually the Chu State.

For eight hundred years, Chu has continuously annexed surrounding lands and small countries.

This system of emperor and great noble fief distribution in Chu State has its pros and cons. The advantage lies in that, whether it’s the royal family or the great nobles below, they all have an instinctive desire to expand their territories.

The rather awkward situation is that when extending to the north, the Jin built the Town South Pass, blocking them; when expanding to the west, they met the same issue as the Yan people did, where the affluent Qian people built military posts in the mountains.

It’s a pity this world doesn’t have a truly rigorous surveyor, someone who, by their own effort, can measure the land of the four states in the way Meng Shou wrote Qian History; but those who have traveled among the four states have often exclaimed, among the four great states, in terms of vast land, Chu should be the greatest.

But the land of the Chu State is not as fertile as that of the Qian State, often branded as "harsh mountains and evil waters" due to the numerous marshes and forests;

The population of the Chu State is also not as large as that of the Qian State, because to this day, the Chu State has not achieved true centralization, and there are still many surface-loyal or troubled Shanyue tribes within the country, as well as great nobles who control vast lands and populations.

However, if we set these factors aside for now, the culture of the Chu State is indeed extremely prosperous and brilliant, unlike the Confucian-ruled Qian State, the Chu State truly embodies a hundred schools of thought contending.

......

"Buzz buzz buzz, whoa whoa..."

"Dong dong dong, ha ha..."

On the dock outside Jing City,

A wandering performance troupe coming from the south was performing diligently.

Wandering performances, as the name implies, are traveling song and dance troupes.

It is said that back when the Duke of Chu was expanding boundaries, they were already present in the army; in the early days, they performed songs and dances passed down from Xia to boost the soldiers’ morale;

Later, after incorporating Shanyue culture, new elements were added in.

The songs incorporated some original syllables, and while the dances maintained the orderly and meticulous elements of ancient Xia, they also included many wild and bold elements.

In the Chu State, smaller wandering performance troupes are active between towns and rural areas, whether it is weddings or funerals, temple fairs or small celebrations, they are indispensable;

Larger troupes travel across various counties to gain fame throughout the country, to make a living nationwide;

The largest ones are in Ing Capital City, used exclusively for royal sacrifices.

The wandering performance troupe currently in Jing City is quite famous in the Chu region, as it is rumored that the troupe leader is a noble’s illegitimate child.

In the Chu State, there is also a clear distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.

But the Chu people love romance, and illegitimate children are often the result of romance.

So, people instinctively disdain illegitimate children, but still love to hear stories about them.

This section of the dance is light in rhythm, and with the attire of the men and women in the troupe being quite revealing, it truly attracts a lot of attention.

The garrison in Jing City is not numerous because it is in a very safe place, and nearby, several military bases are stationed, making it convenient for deployment.