Chapter 273: Six Years Flew By—I Entered Grand Master!

At month's end, Han and Chu quietly withdrew their troops from Shizhou.

The Yanbei army, riding the momentum of its northern campaign, returned south in grand procession.

In the same autumn, Qianyuan's iron cavalry withdrew from Jingyang City.

In this retreat, Qianyuan did not merely yield—it gifted Yanbei the fertile lands of Hexi, the rich territory bordering Yanbei.

This act was tantamount to declaring to all under heaven: though Yanbei had not yet formally established a state, its power was firmly entrenched in one corner of the world, and all nations now reverently called it Yan.

By year's end, the four states and Yanbei jointly swore the White Horse Oath and issued a proclamation to all under heaven.

They slaughtered a white horse to swear an oath of ten years' peace.

Any who broke faith would be jointly punished by heroes across the land.

Upon this news spreading, the entire world erupted in celebration; the people sang songs of joy, and the good tidings spread swiftly through streets and alleys, every face lit with happiness.

The five-state chaos finally ended; peace and harmony returned to the land after a long absence.

At year's end, Empress Wu Ying of Qianyuan performed her second Fengshan sacrifice; the next day, she issued a general amnesty.

She appointed Gongsun Pingxi as chancellor, promoted virtuous ministers to reform governance, streamlined government institutions, rigorously evaluated officials, surveyed land and registered households, and cracked down on powerful clans seizing farmland.

During Empress Wu Ying's reign, atop the capital of Qianyuan, she built a high altar, melting down weapons of war into plows for the fields.

She declared boldly: "Qianyuan has endured twenty years of war; now we must forge swords into plows."

Empress Wu Ying herself donned a straw cape and entered the fields to till the soil alongside the people.

Folk songs now sang: "The nine heavens open palace gates; ten thousand nations bow to Qianyuan!"

At year's end, Beifeng's Toba Shu named his son Toba Hongyan crown prince and issued an edict.

Across Beifeng, all land taxes were abolished.

Instantly, the northern people wept, singing praises of the emperor's grace.

By year's end, Beifeng completed its full population census, compiled the Fishscale Registers, and set tax quotas based on household size, eliminating miscellaneous levies.

It established the innovative "Land Title" system, directly linking agricultural productivity to social status and material rewards.

Those who farm well may be granted noble titles!

In the same year!

Han's Emperor Wuyan Yan issued a self-censure edict, disbanded his six concubine courts, redirected resources toward the people's welfare, and pledged to the Han people: "No more wasteful construction; reduce taxes to ease the people's burden; I vow to ensure their peace and prosperity."

This became known as the Pact of Ruler and People—detailed and far-reaching, spanning ten clauses, all rooted in frugality, vowing not to add even the slightest burden upon the people.

Historians called it the "Ten Essential Edicts!"

Han's imperial examination system also underwent major reform: the exam period was drastically shortened to an annual event, and the content evolved beyond the traditional Four Books and Five Classics to include state policy, agriculture, and other practical fields, aiming to cultivate truly capable talent.

In Han's court, an official evaluation system was established, breaking the grip of hereditary privilege; humble scholars could now rise through true merit, transforming the political landscape with a fresh, clear spirit.

Commerce was prioritized; a canal linking the capital to Hexi was vigorously constructed, markets opened, a new currency replaced silver, and Han's "dumpling" banknotes were promoted across neighboring states.

At year's end!

Chu's Gongsun Zhongshu revised Chu's legal code, seeking concision and strict enforcement.

He crushed corruption with iron fists, punishing offenders without mercy, cleansing the bureaucracy and lightening the people's burdens.

He advocated: "Obey the law and govern by non-action!"

Gongsun Zhongshu's Gongsun Confucianism bore the skin of Confucianism, the bones of Legalism, and the heart of Daoism.

His "upholding and obeying the law" stance was grounded in "pacifying and benefiting the people"; he rejected Legalism's harsh punishments for minor offenses.

Huang-Lao thought demanded not only a just ruler, but a just law.

He abolished the "collective punishment and enslavement of families" law—ending the practice of enslaving relatives of criminals—and eliminated corporal punishment, replacing it with cane and rod penalties.

Moreover, Gongsun Zhongshu personally abolished outdated positions within the Gongsun clan, declaring firmly: "Select the worthy and appoint the capable without restriction—neither avoid kinship nor favor it."

His words shook the nation; all praised his impartiality.

Chu remeasured its land and implemented the Equal Field System, striving for fair and rational resource distribution.

At once!

Across the four states, reform winds surged, vast and unstoppable.

Great Qing also underwent a power transition: the young emperor ascended, and Empress Dowager Zhou Jinyu, with her curtain-screened rule, jointly governed with the southern aristocratic clans.

Zhou Cheng nominally submitted Hexi to Great Qing, was granted the title of "Co-equal Prince," and received authority over Jiangbei, including jurisdiction over three prefectures—he could appoint officials and conduct imperial examinations; his power rivaled that of a sovereign state.

Upon returning home, Zhou Cheng enthusiastically began reforming Jiangbei, granting benefits to the people and selecting talent anew; the next day, his maternal uncles and kin urged him to stop, and his mother fiercely opposed him.

Undeterred, Zhou Cheng issued his edict; that night, subordinates and ministers came to plead with him, and one minister even slammed his head against a pillar until he died.

Zhou Cheng persisted; half a month later, peasant uprisings erupted in multiple parts of Jiangbei; he led troops to suppress them and was Buxing shot in the shoulder.

By month's end, Zhou Cheng reluctantly rescinded the edict.

The following month, the Jiangbei uprisings were quelled within three days!

As the Spring Festival neared!

Great Qing ceded the state containing Mount Zhongnan to Yan.

You performed Fengshan atop Mount Zhongnan and were crowned "King of Yan."

On this day, three hundred thousand Yanbei troops encircled Baijing Mountain.

Though you advocated simplicity, on the day of the coronation, the people of northern Yan surged like a tide, gathering spontaneously beneath Mount Zhongnan.

Dressed in the robe of the people, you received your kingship atop Mount Zhongnan.

You renamed the northern capital "Yanjing!"

Virtuous men such as Dou Gu and Liu Wen were entrusted with key posts as Left and Right Pushe; based on the "Zhabei Political Essentials," a series of reforms took root across the land.

The next year, public savings banks were opened, and private academies and martial halls were massively constructed.

As each policy took effect!

You chose to begin cultivation atop Mount Zhongnan; Lu Yu accompanied you.

That year, Liu Jinchan entrusted you with the Three Truths Sect and departed to wander the heavens; you became the Forty-Second Celestial Master of the Three Truths Sect.

In midyear, you declared the Three Truths Sect the state religion of Yanbei.

You entered the Living Dead Tomb to cultivate; with the destiny of "Great Talent Late Bloom" enhancing you, your cultivation accelerated.

You donned your Daoist robes again, climbed the mountain each morning, and practiced fist techniques beneath the waterfall.

Spring passed, autumn came; not a single day was wasted.

Though the Yan Wangfu in Yanjing was grandly built, you never set foot inside.

Each month's end, detailed ledgers of Yan's finances, military budgets, and official appointments were delivered to Mount Zhongnan.

Yet you never opened them—they gathered only dust.

In the third winter, your cultivation finally brushed against the threshold of Grand Master.

In the third year, meanwhile, Qianyuan's Wu Ying launched sweeping reforms in court: implementing the Equal Field System, reviving the Fubing military system, strengthening national military power, and expanding military farmland.

In the fourth year, Beifeng's Fishscale Registers recorded a population of seventy million.

In the fifth year, Han recorded nearly five hundred million mu of cultivated land.

In the sixth year, Chu's original grain reserve granaries—twelve in total, including Liyang, Cangping, and Huiluo—were so full that the grain officials complained: "There's too much grain; the treasuries can't hold it all!"

Gongsun Zhongshu said: "Better to distribute among the people than hoard in the treasury."

Better to give it to the people than keep it locked away.

Thus!

Chu proclaimed again to all under heaven: land tax reduced by one-third, military service halved, and all labor levies abolished.

A folk rhyme in Han went: "Rice flows like grease, millet gleams white; public and private granaries overflow."

Barely six years had passed, and all five states entered a great era of prosperity.

That autumn, you entered Grand Master.

You finally sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

You gazed at the crimson persimmons blanketing Mount Zhongnan, and a smile spread across your face.

PS: Today's update is a bit late!

(End of Chapter)