[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-peace-decree":3,"chapter-the-peace-decree-the-peace-decree-chapter-64":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Peace Decree",{"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},2328239,4553,"Chapter 64: Regent Prince","the-peace-decree-chapter-64",64,"\u003Cp>After writing this sentence, Changsun Wuchou paused his brush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, to mobilize some of the Duke Prefecture’s covert agents, he had written a letter outlining the general situation, but he never expected Li Guanyi to return so quickly—alive, and not just alive, but having made a tremendous name for himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no choice but to write another letter after nightfall to explain the circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He meticulously described how the young man had slain seven bandits and returned on horseback.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end, he set down his brush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued writing the poem—simple and unadorned, yet brimming with the spirit of youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He summoned Jin Yu the falcon and sent the letter off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Guanyi lowered his battle bow, his face was pale; the technique Rolling Tide had drained every ounce of his strength—it could only be unleashed by concentrating all his being and embracing the mindset of summoning a storm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shen’s Rolling Tide, Chen Duke’s Shattering Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In pure technique, they were identical in style and had reached the pinnacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their power, strength, depended entirely on the user.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having learned both techniques, Li Guanyi felt his spirit drained, a faint ache throbbing through him; each time he reached his limit, he heard the lute’s melody, and his shen restored at an unimaginable speed to roughly thirty percent—the safety threshold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Daoyong looked at Li Guanyi and asked, “What did you just see?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I glimpsed a trace of battlefield miasma on you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yao Guang was still in the secret realm; Li Guanyi concealed the secret realm and directly answered regarding today’s transmission: “It was the battle spear technique of Xue Shen, five hundred years ago. If Master Xue needs it, I can write it down and give it to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man fell silent, then replied, “No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Daoyong said, “If you write down the spear technique, I will inevitably be tempted to have Xue family disciples learn it. But the Xue household is vast, and there are bound to be disloyal elements; if word spreads that the ancestral spear technique has returned, it will bring great disaster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One of these—archery or spear—is enough to make one a warlord in chaotic times.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if you possess both, you hold the power to vie for the throne.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did my good brother send assassins to kill me with the Emperor’s tacit approval? At this moment, if we Xue family don’t conceal our blades but instead flaunt the spear technique, aren’t we handing our enemies the very weapon to destroy us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is a curse, the old man doesn't want it—but it is our ancestor's martial art.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man smiled, looked at Li Guanyi, and changed the subject casually:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Guanyi, pass the spear technique to Shuangtao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It takes years just to enter the realm of the spear technique.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For the next few years, her martial arts will be taught to her by your own hands.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, by the way, if you have spare time, give a little guidance to Changqing as well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi agreed. Seeing his pale face, the old man made him drink a cup of ginseng Qi-restoring brew before letting him leave; as Li Guanyi rose to go, the old man warned: “You’ve just entered the realm; your internal arts are still based on your pre-entry body-strengthening methods, clearly insufficient for offense and Qi recovery.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your martial path follows the lineage of my Xue ancestors—brutal techniques, exhausting immense power. Your pre-entry internal arts can’t sustain even a few uses. The post-entry internal arts require spiritual transmission, which I cannot give you now. Wait a few days until you’ve recovered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come together with Shuangtao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll take you both to the Xue ancestral grounds to choose a post-entry internal art.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the faint expression of “only one?” in Li Guanyi’s eyes, the old man lightly kicked the youth and scolded with a chuckle:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha, don’t look at me like that—greed leads to indigestion. First, perfect your internal art; the rest—body conditioning, fists, weapons, footwork—I, the Xue household, won’t lack for anything you need.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Learn one, burn one—it’s more than enough for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before today, Xue Daoyong had treated Li Guanyi kindly, as an elder who valued a promising junior. But today, seeing him ride forward without regard for his life, his attitude had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, the old man would see Li Guanyi to the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, he merely waved his hand, signaling him to leave on his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know the way—don’t trouble me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old bastard is going to sleep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man holds grudges—clearly a hero who treats the world as a chessboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grand in spirit, petty in heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, the usually cold-faced steward broke character, smiling as he bowed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, take care on your way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi was uncomfortable with this address.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not return directly to his quarters but went to the Xue family’s library to borrow many books; previously, as a guest minister, he could read freely but not take or copy them. This time, he took them all away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Retainers carried them back on a shoulder pole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auntie had already slept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi moved quietly, returned to his room, and opened all the scrolls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These books contained miscellaneous records, idle chatter, essays, and records of annual events by literati; official histories compiled by the court were forbidden to commoners—these writings by scholars across the land would, centuries later, become known as unofficial histories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Regent Prince…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a mighty, domineering title—he had never heard it before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assassin called him the Regent Prince—was the Regent Prince the one who killed his parents? Or were his parents killed because of the Regent Prince? Or was the Regent Prince his own kin? Li Guanyi now even regretted pressing the assassin too hard, forcing too many questions to prevent lies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi recalled that Xue Daoyong had once mentioned Xiao Wuliang, saying he had fought at thirteen against the Regent Prince’s rebellion. Li Guanyi found Xiao Wuliang’s records and searched until he found the description.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Taiqing Year 3, Prince of Puyang disrespected the throne, failed to attend the state sacrifice; the Emperor grew furious and launched an expedition. Prince of Puyang raised troops to resist. At thirteen, Wuliang rode out alone; none in the army could stand against him.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prince of Puyang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi found the key name and quickly searched: the incident began when the Prince of Puyang refused to come to the capital for Chen Guo’s grand sacrifice, instead drinking and reveling privately; the Emperor, enraged and fearful of his martial prowess, dispatched troops to bring him back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fundamentally, it was a conflict between a regional prince and the capital’s Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It also revealed the Emperor’s weak authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Wuliang was a fierce general under the Prince of Puyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi found records on the Prince of Puyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Commandery Prince abolished market taxes, land rents, and head taxes at city gates; the people rejoiced. He arranged marriages between commoners’ children and his soldiers, and permitted civilians to live near military camps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also demanded funds from the court. The Emperor, having suffered a previous defeat and facing threats from Yiguo, could not deploy large armies and reluctantly permitted these acts—perhaps believing the Prince greedy and lustful, thus easier to control—and sent him lavish gifts of gold, silver, and men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So abundant, the unofficial histories described it with four characters: 【Messengers in constant sight.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi grinned; from Xue Shen’s teachings, he understood what would happen next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, five years after the grand sacrifice, the Prince of Puyang claimed he was out hunting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, he led his army straight toward Jiangzhou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His forces discarded the era’s heaviest armor; eight thousand light cavalry rode through the night, feigning intent to attack the Jiangnan left flank, but headed straight for the capital. Historical records described the Prince of Puyang as a nobleman skilled in martial arts—though short in stature, he possessed first-rate strategy and mounted combat prowess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guo boasted over a hundred thousand armored soldiers; its night-riding cavalry was famed across the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the Prince of Puyang, at the perfect moment, under the banner of “purifying the court,” drove eight thousand light cavalry into the capital. That day’s siege saw nearly all eight thousand cavalry die—but Jiangzhou City was shattered. Finally, the eighteen-year-old Xiao Wuliang shattered the city’s defenses with his heavy spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guo’s capital officials were steeped in literary power, capable of repelling enemies and weakening their fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But faced with such a surprise assault, they were no match for these crude, armored warriors. The eighteen-year-old Xiao Wuliang, through this 【nation-destroying battle】, rose to the ranks of the world’s greatest generals; Jiangzhou City burned in roaring flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prince of Puyang rode into the capital, and officials kneeling on either side cried “Ten Thousand Years!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, the Southern Dynasty Emperor devoutly worshipped Fomen; southern Jiangnan had countless temples, said to number four hundred and eighty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prince of Puyang locked the Emperor in his palace and let his devout brother starve to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the door was finally opened, the Emperor was skeletal, eyes wide open, pounding the door, fingers like bone, clawing the ground, nails shattered; the red lacquered pillars bore bite marks, exposing white wood pulp. The Emperor died, his abdomen filled with indigestible matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had eaten candles, cloth—and died in utter starvation and agonizing abdominal pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your beloved Buddha never came to save you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, the Prince of Puyang sat before his brother’s corpse, his armored hand pressing over the dead man’s unblinking eyes, voice cold and hard:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a chaotic age. Iron and fire are all that matter, brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the unofficial histories, the Prince of Puyang dropped his sword, stared at his brother, and felt nothing but boredom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young general Xiao Wuliang stood beside him, watching that back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not become Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he supported the Crown Prince as Emperor, pacified civil and military officials and powerful clans, and took the titles of Grand Tutor, Minister of Works, and Minister of War; he eradicated all temples, forcing monks into the vanguard, giving them sticks and ragged robes to clash head-on with Turkic Iron Cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seized the land; in the next three years, Chen Guo changed emperors twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prince of Puyang declared himself Regent, wore sword and sandals in court, and did not bow upon entering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each time he installed a new Emperor, he proclaimed a general amnesty, while simultaneously sending his troops to conquer the rest of Jiangnan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His military methods were brutal; during the conquest of Jiangnan, he permitted the slaughter of civilians—after a city fell, troops were allowed to pillage for three days. That year, the Empress gave birth to a child; then the Emperor abdicated, the Regent Prince ascended the throne, and the former Emperor died in his palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also in that year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Peaceful Duke, who ruled the Western Regions, rode eight hundred iron cavalry back to the capital—just as the Prince of Puyang had breached the city gate. This Chen Guo general shattered the gate, spear in hand, wearing a dark-gold mask, and killed the Regent Prince before the Taihe Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tyrant who starved his brother to death died beneath the very red lacquered pillar his brother’s fingers had gouged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once a bold conqueror who slew the Emperor, shattered the empire, and turned the pinnacle of power into his plaything, he too ended with his head pierced by a spear, becoming merely a stepping stone for another general’s legendary fame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Pengwu, a captain under the Peaceful Duke, aged twenty, was first to scale the walls, slew the general, and seized the banner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, the unofficial histories grew abruptly sparse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed part had been torn out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Regent Prince died in the Taihe Hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prince Jing was refined, virtuous, and ascended the throne; he proclaimed a general amnesty; the Peaceful Duke was granted a ducal title.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it ended. Everything after concerned the current Emperor—as if the general who had ridden across the Western Regions had never existed. Li Guanyi searched long and hard, and at last found the Peaceful Duke’s end:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Taihe Year 3, the Peaceful Duke died violently.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, there was no further record of the Peaceful Duke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even for the Regent Prince, who committed countless atrocities, these scholars’ records clearly depict both his extraordinary talent and his cold, insane nature—but of the Duke of Peace, why he was called the Duke of Peace, how he rose to power, and how he became the empire’s most famed general, there is not a single word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No records exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It only states that in that year, the Duke of Peace returned from the Western Regions, spear in hand, and pierced through the shadow hanging over Chen Guo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if everyone held deep taboos against this famed general.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi exhaled slowly. The accounts of these warlords' pasts—even in unofficial histories—moved him deeply: the cold, tyrannical, insane Regent Prince; the grim and silent Xiao Wuliang; the fleeting Duke of Peace; and Yue Pengwu, who had just begun to rise in this chaotic age of white bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Regent Prince…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi frowned. If the Regent Prince had ordered it, the timing did not match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time he fled, the Regent Prince was already dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless… it was connected to the Regent Prince?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden insight struck Li Guanyi. He pulled out all the scrolls, laid out the chronology, and began calculating one by one—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the third year of Taiqing, the Regent Prince first stirred unrest; Xiao Wuliang became famous at thirteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the eighth year of Taiqing, the Regent Prince killed the Emperor; Xiao Wuliang was eighteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the following two to three years, the Regent Prince replaced two emperors, forcing them to abdicate in his favor; Xiao Wuliang was twenty; the Duke of Peace arrived from the Western Regions; Yue Pengwu became famous at twenty; Prince Jing ascended the throne; Chen Guo’s state name became Taihe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the third year of Taihe, the Duke of Peace died violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the Central Plains’ Great Emperor’s calendar, this is now the tenth year of Tianqi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guo is now the thirteenth year of Taihe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi put down his brush. The timeline now lay before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The son of the last emperor who abdicated to the Regent Prince was born thirteen years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke of Peace arrived from the Western Regions and slew the Regent Prince—also thirteen years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke of Peace died violently—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Ten years ago】.\u003C\u002Fp>",2433,"2026-06-20T19:20:33.127Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f8e176daa2675a56e178dfe505cc2633c45c8156fa5ffacb732da743a43d11a1","the-peace-decree-chapter-65","the-peace-decree-chapter-63",593,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-peace-decree-cover.jpg"]