[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-simultaneously-transmigrated-i-forge-the-dao-acr":3,"chapter-simultaneously-transmigrated-i-forge-the-dao-acr-simultaneously-transmigrated-i-forge-the-dao-acr-chapter-677":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Simultaneously Transmigrated: I Forge the Dao Across Multiverses",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2346115,4584,"Chapter 677: The Siege of Dynastic Change","simultaneously-transmigrated-i-forge-the-dao-acr-chapter-677",677,"\u003Cp>Besides Jia Lian, Jia She indeed had another illegitimate son, Jia Cong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in Rongguo Mansion, where even Jia Lian, the legitimate heir, was barely valued beyond Jia Baoyu, Jia Cong of the elder branch and Jia Huan of the second branch had long been spoiled and ruined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At their age, their character was already deeply ingrained; there was no time left to reshape them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under these circumstances, Jia She’s collapse was hardly surprising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how insane Jia She had become, Jia Lian was still the son he saw as his hope and future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now this son had not only been castrated but had left no heir whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though fully aware of Jia Lian’s fate, Jia Mu and Jia Zheng were solely focused on sending women from the Jia household to Luo Fu, believing it could not only save them from annihilation but also, through pillow talk, restore the Jia family’s wealth and glory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such attitudes, it was no wonder Jia Mu and Jia Zheng stood so sharply apart from Jia She.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Mu smiled with a hint of pride and said, “Jing’er, don’t worry—our Jia household is now safe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief pause, she added, “In the Zhao Prince’s harem, nearly all the women are from our Jia household; my Yu’er is even his principal consort. Many of our elderly female relatives now hold positions in his harem too. Even if we must remove the imperial plaque bearing ‘Rongguo Mansion,’ our future wealth will surpass what we have now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Zheng put on a pretense of moral rectitude, stroking his long beard. The man who always prided himself on loyalty and patriotism now showed not the slightest sorrow over the impending fall of Beiqing; instead, he seemed impatient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he wished the city gates would collapse at once under Luo Tian’s army, so Luo Fu could complete his grand unification—and so he could become imperial kin as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Jia Mu’s words clearly failed to soothe Jia Jing’s inner unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In theory, Jia Qiang was, through the Ningguo branch, even a legitimate great-great-grandson of Ningguo Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But despite bearing responsibility for both Ning and Rong mansions, after arriving in Jinling, Jia Qiang consistently aligned himself with Rongguo Mansion in all communications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was hardly surprising—after all, the three Jia daughters sent to Luo Fu’s harem all came from Rongguo Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Yuanchun was the legitimate daughter of Rongguo’s second branch; Jia Yingchun was the illegitimate daughter of its elder branch; Jia Tanchun was also an illegitimate daughter of Rongguo’s second branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All three Jia daughters were from Rongguo Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given Jia Qiang’s nature—fawning on the powerful and trampling on the weak, obsessed with status and pedigree—he naturally clung tightly to Rongguo Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blinded by wealth and luxury, Jia Qiang failed to see that Rongguo Mansion was now merely an empty shell, filled with people who had big eyes but empty hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only one who remained sober was Jia Jing of Ningguo Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Jia Jing had long ago, due to the deposed crown prince case, been forced to retreat to Xuanyuan Temple, where he cultivated Dao and brewed elixirs—despite being a Metropolitan Graduate. Jia Qiang’s understanding of Jia Jing was that this former lord of Ningguo Mansion had suddenly lost his mind: holding official rank and noble title, yet voluntarily resigning both to hide in a Daoist temple and brew pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This perception caused Jia Qiang to unconsciously overlook the fact that Jia Jing was the only one in the Jia household with the wisdom to hold up its collapsing structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Jia Jing himself had never imagined that Jia Qiang, a legitimate great-great-grandson of Ningguo Mansion, would after arriving in Jinling devote himself entirely to courting Rongguo Mansion—even neglecting to send messages back to Ningguo Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This forced Jia Jing to keep approaching Rongguo Mansion himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the two months since Luo Fu swore his northern campaign and began besieging the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Jing had not failed to send messengers to Jinling to contact Jia Qiang, but given the current state of transportation and the thousand-li distance, even one round trip per month was a miracle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two attempts, Jia Jing received only Jia Qiang’s evasions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These replies informed Jia Jing not only that Jia Qiang had stubbornly clung to Rongguo Mansion like a turtle clutching a scale, but also that Zhao Prince Luo Fu seemed to possess an inexplicable possessive desire for the Jia women—and more importantly, they filled Jia Jing with an unprecedented sense of crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple: Jia Jing was the only person in both Ning and Rong mansions who had passed the Metropolitan Examination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a genuine Metropolitan Graduate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Daqing imperial examination system, apart from the top three ranks—Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua—second-rank graduates were the norm and most widely regarded as true Metropolitan Graduates; third-rank graduates were merely considered “equivalent” graduates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Genuine second-rank graduates looked down on “equivalent” ones, even composing a mocking couplet specifically for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upper line: “Like a concubine”; lower line: “Equivalent graduate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did “like a concubine” mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A favored concubine, treated as if she were a wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes—“like a concubine” was a euphemism for a concubine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be mocked as equivalent to a concubine revealed just how exalted a true second-rank Metropolitan Graduate was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially since Jia Jing, as a nobleman who inherited his title, had climbed step by step through county, prefectural, provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations to earn his degree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a path was nearly unimaginable today; after a century of peace, the tension between civil and military elites had reached a delicate balance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The imperial examination system had become the civil officials’ exclusive preserve, off-limits to all outsiders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Jing’s journey was almost a final, dying echo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he not been dragged into the deposed crown prince case, Jia Jing would surely have sustained Ningguo Mansion’s prestige for decades more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because of the deposed crown prince case, Jia Jing was forced to resign his office and title—causing everyone in both Ning and Rong mansions to underestimate this former lord of Ningguo Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two missions to Jinling yielded Jia Jing nothing more than the knowledge that Zhao Prince Luo Fu had designs on the Jia women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet precisely because of this, Jia Jing felt an unprecedented threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once, both Ning and Rong mansions held the rank of Duke, their prestige surpassing even that of princes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even so, the deposed crown prince case instantly shattered both mansions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, of the two founding dukes of the empire, the only one still able to attend court was the self-righteous, hypocritical Jia Zheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither mansion could produce a single man capable of speaking up in court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for this, the Jia family’s political connections and patronage networks would never have fallen into Wang Ziteng’s hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having lived through this, Jia Jing truly understood one thing:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serving a sovereign is like serving a tiger—the sovereign’s heart is unfathomable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Jia Jing’s view, Zhao Prince Luo Fu would never easily let the Jia household escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Luo Tian’s army captured the capital, the end of Ning and Rong mansions would come swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even during the era when both mansions held the title of Duke, the Jia family had collapsed within moments after the deposed crown prince case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much more so now, during a dynastic change, when Ning and Rong mansions had been reduced from noble residences to former ministers of a fallen dynasty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Luo Fu had taken the three Jia daughters into his harem and filled his palace with Jia women,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>how could a founding sovereign, about to rule the entire realm, be swayed by beauty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forget other considerations: once Luo Fu captured the capital, extinguished Beiqing, and completed his great renewal, he would become the founding emperor of the new dynasty. At that moment, countless families would eagerly vie to offer their daughters to his court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True, the three Jia daughters were exceptionally beautiful—but so what? The realm was full of stunning beauties. As a founding sovereign, Luo Fu could have any type—slender or voluptuous, all would be at his disposal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that point, the three Jia daughters would become merely obscure concubines among many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the palace, the Jia household, as a fallen noble house, would be lucky not to be purged; inside the palace, the three Jia daughters would lack family support and carried the bitter enmity of a clan destroyed by Luo Fu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such circumstances, anyone with half a brain would realize the Jia household’s fate could not be saved by these few women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the current Ning and Rong mansions were all fools, fixated solely on past wealth, utterly unaware that this so-called wealth would vanish the moment the capital fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only one with sense, Jia Jing, could only receive secondhand information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under these conditions, if the Jia household did not perish, it would defy heaven itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing full well that it was already too late, Jia Jing could only hope that Luo Fu truly held a special affection for the three Jia daughters—and the other Jia women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not, then Ning and Rong mansions had no hope whatsoever of survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the entire court scrambled to secure their own future wealth and glory, Beiqing had lost all chance of recovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Beiqing was now little more than a lone, isolated city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the seventh day of the siege,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>all nine city gates, under cover of night, opened nearly simultaneously, with less than a quarter-hour between each.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Luo Tian’s army surged into the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reigning emperor and his father, the retired emperor, had not disgraced their imperial dignity: the retired emperor swallowed gold outright; the reigning emperor, one step slower, was seized by ministers eager to use him as a token of loyalty before he could even arrange for the palace women to die in loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His plan to kill the palace women failed utterly, and he himself fell into the hands of these traitorous ministers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the emperor was resolute: the moment he realized resistance was impossible, he chose to slit his own throat without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor’s death disappointed several ministers who had hoped to use his head as a trophy to win favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in truth, their forcing him to die served Luo Fu just as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After every dynastic change, the new regime, to preserve its image, would bestow a respectful title upon the former imperial family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they intended to eliminate threats, they would do so later, through covert means—not open violence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Sima’s family had once assassinated an emperor in broad daylight, no subsequent dynasty had dared emulate them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if the former imperial family chose to die for their dynasty, the former rulers escaped the shame of defeat, and the new regime could generously bestow a posthumous honor, further solidifying its mandate from heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Tian’s elite troops, granted by Luo Fu the Seed of Primordial Energy, each possessed bloodline abilities that allowed them to fight a hundred men apiece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Utterly loyal to Luo Fu, they also displayed discipline comparable to that of an intelligent AI.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After storming the capital, Luo Tian’s forces first seized the four gates of the imperial palace and the nine city gates, then immediately began maintaining order throughout the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They understood that in a dynastic-change siege, battlefield destruction caused by soldiers was usually minimal—unless the army deliberately allowed chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In most cases, the greatest damage during a city’s change of hands came from the local ruffians and thugs who took advantage of the chaos to loot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why any army claiming to be a “king’s army” would, upon entering a captured city, prioritize restoring order above all else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Tian’s army was doing exactly that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire capital was placed under strict military control: no one was permitted to walk the streets; anyone caught looting or committing crimes during the chaos faced merciless, thunderous punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Often, they were executed on the spot as a warning to others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within an hour, the chaos caused by Luo Tian’s entry into the capital had been completely quelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the imperial palace, order was restored even faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the emperor, the retired emperor, the nobles, and the palace women—except for a few who chose to die in loyalty to the fallen dynasty—waited in fearful uncertainty for the new regime’s decisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the only person who could decide their fate was one man: Luo Fu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, as Luo Tian’s forces neared completion of the capital’s encirclement, the news had already reached Luo Fu in Jinling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason for the prolonged siege was not that Beiqing could withstand two ten-thousand-strong elite armies, each capable of fighting a hundred men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quite the opposite: the delay was because Luo Tian’s army waited for the arrival of Luo Fu, the Zhao Prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the capital was the symbol of Beiqing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When to attack and who will issue the orders—these are matters of great consideration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, capturing the capital of a nation and declaring the complete fall of the previous dynasty is such a monumental achievement that, within the current Luo Tian army, only Luo Fu, the Prince of Zhao, possesses the requisite stature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the siege had lasted several days, no substantial combat had occurred between the two sides; the Luo Tian army simply waited for Luo Fu’s arrival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the day after Luo Fu arrived, the nine gates of the capital were opened by traitorous officials of the former dynasty, through coordinated efforts from within and without.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Luo Tian army completed the cleansing of the entire capital and imperial palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ceremonial procession symbolizing Prince Luo Fu’s authority finally entered the former capital the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along both sides of the imperial avenue, the former dynasty’s civil and military nobles knelt in submission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jia family was among them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the Ningguo Prefecture: Jia Jing, Jia Zhen, and others; from the Rongguo Prefecture: Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Baoyu—and even the illegitimate sons Jia Cong and Jia Huan—all male members of the eight branches of the Jia household in the capital were present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2364,"2026-06-21T01:08:31.665Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2250b12aa81fa34adbc5a112cc231cd5ddff0214768ae0a14afcab538da1a37c","simultaneously-transmigrated-i-forge-the-dao-acr-chapter-678","simultaneously-transmigrated-i-forge-the-dao-acr-chapter-676",686,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimultaneously-transmigrated-i-forge-the-dao-acr-cover.jpg"]