Chapter 416: A Detailed Account of the Past of Between Beijia

"Hmm. Both within the vassal states and between them, wars of all sizes have broken out, not to mention the conflicts, frictions, and disputes. Look, when the country was founded, there were only twelve vassal states; at one point, it reached seventeen, which means there were both splits and annexations. Now, it has returned to twelve."

"Twelve?" He He Lingchuan's heart stirred. It is currently the seventeenth year of the Panlong Era, and the Between Beijia Kingdom has only twelve Demon Kings. Yet in his own time—that is, over a hundred years later—there were thirteen; one more.

"With such internal chaos, why hasn't Between Beijia disintegrated?" He He Lingchuan sighed. "Our motherland, Xiluo, has recently been left in a state of exhaustion by the separatist vassal kings."

Sun Sun Fuling smiled. "It's been chaotic for hundreds of years; you must be quite experienced by now, right?"

"..." To be chaotic but not fall apart is also a kind of skill.

"Alright, no more jokes. The authority of the Between Beijia Demon Emperor is unshakable. This point is very different from other feudal systems, including our Xiluo." Sun Sun Fuling coughed lightly. "No matter how chaotic Between Beijia is internally, or how the various Demon Kings fight to the death, when the Demon Emperor issues an order, none of the others dare to disobey."

"I remember 120 years ago, the Xuluo Kingdom and the Baixiang Kingdom were in the middle of a fierce war, when the Between Beijia Kingdom suddenly sent troops to conquer the Yu Kingdom. Xuluo and Baixiang immediately ceased hostilities, each dispatching seven thousand men to follow the Demon Emperor on the campaign. The Xuluo Demon King even sent his own son. The funniest part is that these two units were actually organized together; a month prior they were still killing each other with red eyes, both sides suffering casualties, yet later they had to eat, live, and sleep together."

He He Lingchuan couldn't help but say, "That works? Did nothing really go wrong?"

"It did, actually. History records that a hundred people died in internal strife, but those were all private brawls and duels. On the surface, these two units still had to defend against the enemy together." Sun Sun Fuling said leisurely, "After that war ended, the Demon Emperor returned to the capital in triumph, and the various Demon Kings took their troops back. Xuluo and Baixiang then continued the fight they hadn't finished last time."

"That is indeed mind-boggling." Generally speaking, when vassal kings grow too powerful or rebellions arise everywhere, it is mostly because the central royal power has weakened; it can be seen as the ebb and flow of power. Yet the Between Beijia Demon Emperor keeps the supreme power firmly in his hands, letting the Demon Kings below him squabble while he sits securely on the fishing platform, and no one can escape his grasp.

"If other countries can't do it, is it because the Demon Emperor's authority is derived from the gods?"

"Of course." Sun Sun Fuling nodded without hesitation. "Although the founding emperor of Between Beijia was also a heaven-sent genius who could take a tiny country and make it big and strong, ruling tens of millions of humans with a demon body, in the end, it was the gods who forged the greatest centripetal force for him. Otherwise, these dozen or so Demon Kings under his command, all of them unruly and rebellious, how could he command them as easily as moving his own arms?"

Over the past two thousand years, demons have been in decline, and there is a reason they were driven into the deep mountains and forests by the human race. In terms of individual combat power alone, how could humans be stronger than demons? What they lacked was centripetal force.

"So Between Beijia promotes the gods so highly, and the whole country worships them." What they worship is precisely the foundation of their country.

Of course, it could also be the gods' requirement. Otherwise, why would the gods help the Demon Emperor rule Between Beijia? Could it be out of kindness?

"Then other countries could worship the gods too; why couldn't they become a second Between Beijia?"

"This question was raised long ago, and there has never been a definitive answer. The fact laid out in the human world is that no matter if it is a person or a country, those who worship the gods seem to have hope of victory in the process, but in the end, almost none of them have a good outcome, except for Between Beijia." Sun Sun Fuling said softly, "My personal guess is that the problem likely lies with the gods. They probably aren't a monolith either; we know nothing about their organizational structure or their methods of communication."

"Just like the hypothesis you mentioned earlier, that the formation of the Emperor's Dew is related to the fall of the gods." She smiled lightly. "I think they aren't of one mind internally, either."

"Then, what can the gods get from Between Beijia?"

Hearing this question, Sun Sun Fuling was slightly startled, gently swirling the wine in her cup: "For two or three thousand years, the shadow of the gods has run through the evolution of the human world from beginning to end. Tell me, what are they after?"

He He Lingchuan thought about it seriously and shook his head: "I don't know."

The gods left the human world after the cataclysm of heaven and earth, and logically, they should no longer have any intersection with this world. Yet He He Lingchuan can always feel their existence. From Sun Sun Fuping and Hong Hong Xiangqian, all the way to the Between Beijia Empire he just walked into.

The influence of the gods is everywhere.

"If we find the answer, perhaps we can explain why they want to help the Demon Emperor, right?"

At this moment, a fluttering sound of wings came from the sky, and a figure descended, landing on the low wall.

This was also an old acquaintance of He He Lingchuan: the Sparrowhawk.

"What are you here for?"

"To rest." The Sparrowhawk stared straight at the spiced beef on the table. "So hungry."

He He Lingchuan said irritably, "Aren't the magpies in this city enough for you to eat?"

"Tired of them." Having to pluck feathers before every meal is quite tiring; occasionally, I want to get some ready-made food. "I often fly near your house; otherwise, the fish in the tank would have been gone long ago."

Now it had come to claim credit.

Sun Sun Fuling flicked a small piece of beef and threw it to it; the Sparrowhawk caught it precisely and swallowed it with its neck tilted back.

It ate too fast and didn't taste anything. It opened its mouth slightly: A little more?

He He Lingchuan held a piece of roast chicken and waved it in front of it: "Tell me first, what big news is there in the city recently?"

"None in the city, but there is outside the city." The Sparrowhawk hopped to the ground and shuffled step by step toward the roast chicken.

After a bird of prey lands, it waddles when it walks, no different from a goose strolling down the street.

Sun Sun Fuling saw it panting with its mouth open, realizing it was actually very tired, so she poured a bowl of water for it: "You've been flying for a long time, drink some water first."

Sure enough, the Sparrowhawk drank the water in large gulps, letting Sun Sun Fuling stroke its back feathers.

"The monarch of the Xiji Kingdom passed away three days ago. I just returned from the Xiji Kingdom and have already reported this news to Commander Zhong."

"Xiji Kingdom?" He He Lingchuan frowned. "Isn't that the country blocking the eastern end of the Panlong Wasteland?"

"Yes." Sun Sun Fuling interjected, "Ten years ago, the Xiji Kingdom was still Xiluo territory, but it was occupied by the Changhou people, who established the Xiji Kingdom. The leader of the Changhou people, who is the Xiji monarch, did have some means. But it looks like his life wasn't long enough, and his descendants aren't outstanding."

Whether a hero or an overlord, one must have the life to hold onto the territory one has conquered.

"How can you tell his descendants aren't outstanding?" Actually, as someone from the future, He He Lingchuan knew the final fate of the Xiji Kingdom very well.

"The surroundings of the Xiji Kingdom are not peaceful; such a major event as the monarch's passing is very easy to trigger turmoil. If his son were smart and alert, he should have kept the death secret to buy time for a quick handover. Now that even this situation has been scouted out immediately, I see trouble ahead for the Xiji Kingdom." Sun Sun Fuling asked the Sparrowhawk, "Who will inherit the throne?"

"The third son, Huyan Zhao."

He He Lingchuan asked Sun Sun Fuling: "Do you guess the Panlong City will seize this opportunity?"

"Why ask me?" Sun Sun Fuling smiled. "You should go ask Commander Zhong."

The Sparrowhawk chiseled at his pant leg with its sharp beak, and thus received a piece of roast chicken, savoring it with its eyes half-closed.

Hmm, the taste is not bad.

"By the way, I have something for you." He He Lingchuan washed his hands clean before taking a booklet from his bosom and handing it to her. "Take a look, is it to your liking?"

"Record of... Worshipping the Gods?" Sun Sun Fuling's eyes lit up; she took it and flipped through a few pages, flipping faster and faster. "This is the personal notes written by the Between Beijia Demon Emperor Wuchen in his later years. Where did you find this?"

"Bought it from an out-of-town merchant." He He Lingchuan coughed lightly. "A gift for you."

This was something he had entrusted the Second Master Shi to scour the city for after he arrived in Fufeng City. The Demon Emperor's notes were widely copied and collected by the upper-class nobility of the Between Beijia Kingdom, so he guessed Fufeng City might have them.

Last time, Sun Sun Fuling said on Yunlingdao that she wanted this set of notes.

Sun Sun Fuling was full of joy and couldn't wait to read it. But after flipping a few more pages, she let out an "eh": "This handwriting looks just like yours?"

"Uh, I copied it." The copy in reality couldn't be brought into the dream, so he could only memorize the full text and copy it after entering the dream. Fortunately, his spiritual sense was growing stronger by the day, and memorizing a small essay of three thousand words was nothing. "The ancient copy was tattered and falling apart; it was easier for me to copy it for you... is the writing too ugly?"

"Not ugly." Sun Sun Fuling smiled. "I like it very much, thank you!"

The two looked at each other in silence, yet it was as if everything was understood without words.

The Sparrowhawk carefully stretched its head out and snatched a piece of beef from the plate, fearing to make a sound.

But the meat slice accidentally knocked over an empty wine cup, making a "clink" sound that was quite abrupt.

Sun Sun Fuling lowered her eyes to look at it; the Sparrowhawk shrank its neck, the piece of beef still in its beak, not knowing whether to swallow it or not.

He He Lingchuan coughed to change the subject: "Between Beijia has been using this set of tactics for over four hundred years; has no other demon kingdom ever resisted it?"

"Over the past four hundred years, at least seventeen or eighteen regicides have taken the throne themselves. Because the gods did not recognize or enfeoff them, they tried to break away from Between Beijia and establish their own country." Sun Sun Fuling raised her cup and took a small sip. "Without exception, they all failed."

"The army of Lingxu City is too powerful, and there are more than ten demon kingdoms following them to send troops. Ten against one, these regicides had no chance of winning. For the next two or three hundred years, everyone obediently submitted, not daring to challenge the authority of the Heavenly Gods and the Demon Emperor at will." She narrated slowly, "It wasn't until more than twenty years ago that another exception appeared."

"Oh?" He loved hearing about exceptions.

"The Yuan Kingdom, one of the twelve demon kingdoms, had a new monarch who refused to accept the gods' enfeoffment and wanted to become independent from Between Beijia. It just so happened that at that time, three demon kingdoms in Between Beijia were already in a chaotic war and couldn't respond to Lingxu City in time. The latter dispatched troops three times, but they were actually defeated by the Yuan Kingdom. The Demon Emperor was furious and attacked with the strength of the whole country, yet the Yuan Kingdom stubbornly resisted for more than three years before it finally fell."

"This Yuan Kingdom was quite tough." He He Lingchuan was curious. "Are there any relevant books in the Literary Pavilion about the battles that happened in those years?"

"Too few. After all, Between Beijia is too far from us, and this happened more than twenty years ago." Sun Sun Fuling sighed. "The Panlong Wasteland has been under siege for over ten years now, too."

(End of chapter)