The setting sun is like blood, shining on the vast land, the red light is dim.
On the ancient city wall, stood a man in white fur.
He was thin and his clothes were not luxurious. Only the jade ornaments around his waist showed his noble status.
The emperor wears white jade and a black ribbon.
He is the Emperor of Zhou.
Lord of the world.
It's just that this man who was supposed to be the most powerful man in the world was alone, looking south, like a statue, silent for a long time.
"Since the news of Chu State came back, His Majesty has been here for a day. Who is going to persuade him?"
"Your Majesty, the bones in your body cannot withstand the cold wind in winter. If your body is frozen, what will happen?"
Several officials and their palace servants were standing on the steps, discussing anxiously.
If you look down from a high altitude, you can see that this palace is extremely old, in disrepair, and has long been dimmed.
A handful of palace maids and eunuchs walked along the desolate road, their steps slow and gloomy, revealing that the Zhou Dynasty was in ruins in name only.
The officials who serve the emperor here are either old-fashioned old men who value courtesy and seek fame, or they are losers who have been squeezed out by the vassal states and have to come here to make a living.
The most miserable thing was the Emperor. As the most respected person in the world, he could not even enjoy a single spiritual meal. He often ate grains just like ordinary people. In addition, due to the root causes of diseases brought out in his mother's womb, he was actually frail and weak.
We have already reached this point, and now that barbarian Chu Zi dares to claim to be the leader of the alliance and even deprive His Majesty of his last power!
It's no wonder that when this bad news came, His Majesty would stand on the city wall and say nothing for a long time.
"hehe!"
However, at this moment, a hoarse and sad laughter suddenly sounded.
The ministers looked over and saw Emperor Zhou laughing loudly and walking down the stairs step by step.
"His Majesty!"
All the ministers hurriedly gathered around him, asking for help.
"Back off!"
Emperor Zhou waved his hand and was too lazy to say anything. He returned to the main hall, sat in front of the only brazier, and stretched out his hands to warm himself.
"Ying, what's going on with the Jin Kingdom?"
After a while, Emperor Zhou slowly exhaled and asked.
"The six ministers returned in disastrous defeat. The Duke of Jin tried to take back his power and is now under house arrest."
A black shadow came silently behind him and reported.
"Urgent!"
Emperor Zhou sighed leisurely.
Ever since Quan Rong attacked Haojing, King Zhou You was killed, and King Ping moved his capital to Luoyi, the princes have been above the emperor.
Chu State was good at claiming the title of king and despised the rule of Emperor Zhou. King Zhuang of Chu even asked Emperor Zhou about Jiuding, and his ambition was clearly revealed.
Although the Jin State wanted to dominate, as a prince surnamed Ji, it could still maintain the orthodoxy of the Zhou Dynasty on the surface.
At the same time, due to regional discrimination and conflicts of interest, they took up the banner of safeguarding royal power and regarded themselves as the guardians of the Zhou Dynasty.
It is a pity that for more than a hundred years, the king of Jin himself has been ignored by his ministers, and the emperor of Zhou has also been implicated, and life has become more and more difficult.
"Where is Chu State?"
Of course, the king of Chu despised the authority of the emperor and established himself as king, which also set the worst example for the princes in the world. The emperor of Zhou asked immediately.
"The Prince of Chu ascended the throne and hired Confucius as the chief disciple because of the vast territory of the bookstore!"
The black shadow replied, and added: "The position of Ling Yin is temporarily vacant."
Emperor Zhou's eyes turned cold: "That was reserved for Confucius. This man traveled around the world and peddled his theories, and finally he was taken seriously."
Da Situ governed civil affairs, took charge of household registration, and managed land taxes and civil services. He was extremely powerful and was only under his command.
Now that Confucius holds this position, Ling Yin is vacant. Obviously, as long as he has meritorious qualifications, he will become Ling Yin.
Emperor Zhou asked again: "When Confucius went to Chu, how did Prince Jiang react?"
The black shadow said: "I don't want to see you off."
"Compared to Chu, Jiang is still a small country. Naturally, Confucius wanted to go to Chu to show what he had learned, so he couldn't stop him."
The black shadow said: "Confucius was very grateful to him and said that if there is any need, he will lead his seventy-two disciples back to Jiang!"
"The King of Chu will not let me go!"
Emperor Zhou said coldly: "What about Qi?"
The black shadow said: "Three thousand times have been destroyed, and Qi's vitality has been damaged. There are four major families fighting for power inside, and various tribes of Dongyi have raised armies outside. There are internal and external troubles, and there is no peace."
Although the Qi State is not like the Jin State, where all the power of the king is evaded by the ministers, there are also four major families in the country. On the one hand, they are fighting openly and secretly to gain favor in front of the Qi King, and on the other hand, they are working together to compete with Yan Ying for power and profit.
In the past, Yan Ying had steadily suppressed him, but after experiencing a disastrous defeat this time, he was inevitably at a disadvantage.
As for the external world, the Yan State in the north and the Lu State in the west are not much of a threat, but the Dongyi tribes in the south are a worry.
Similar to the Jin State, the Qi State also used the banner of respecting the king and repelling the foreigners, but it annexed the territory of the Dongyi people.
Since Duke Huan of Qi, the territory of Qi has more than doubled, and more than forty small countries have been destroyed. Most of them were small tribal countries like Dongyi. The two sides naturally became feuds. Now taking advantage of Qi's defeat and returning, Dongyi
The tribe immediately raised troops and marched directly to the border of Qi State.
Emperor Zhou raised his lips: "Where is the Kingdom of Wu?"
"After Qing Ji regained the throne and destroyed the Yue Kingdom in the south, he was no longer able to make further progress."
The black shadow said: "Helu is still in exile in the Chu land. Sun Wu used his troops wisely and wreaked havoc in the Chu land. The Chu people couldn't do anything about them."
"According to this, there are no winners among the princes and countries in this great chaos?"
Emperor Zhou was secretly puzzled.
This battle is so strange.
The three most powerful countries in the world, Jin, Qi and Chu, all suffered varying degrees of damage, especially Chu. The Flame God Formation was broken, the Fire Spirit Orb was lost, and the main army suffered heavy losses. If it hadn't still occupied such a huge territory, it would have fallen.
Great power level.
As for the newly emerged Wu Kingdom, its king had changed again. Although Qing Ji was the legitimate heir, being the king of a country was nothing more than child's play, and the momentum of its rise was also curbed.
Jiang State lost Confucianism, and its army returned to the country to recuperate, continue to engage in business, and continue to open up trade routes.
Logically speaking, the Emperor of Zhou should be happiest just sitting back and watching the internal conflicts among the princes, but for some reason, he always felt that something was wrong this time.
Heiying was his most powerful confidant. Seeing the emperor's uncertain expression, he speculated: "Your Majesty, Confucius' Confucianism and Taoism have grown stronger. Could it be that they were behind it?"
"Chu and Confucianism are both great enemies!"
Emperor Zhou's eyes were stern: "I will never let them have an easy time!"
Confucius' Confucianism and Taoism preached the restoration of Zhou rites, but he was never seen in person as the Emperor of Zhou. What does this mean?
This shows that Confucius believed that the Zhou Dynasty was over and only the princes could implement Confucian learning.
Now the most hated King of Chu and the extremely hated Confucius came together and called themselves the leader of the alliance. When other big countries are in trouble, this is a thorn in the flesh.
"I will issue an edict in the near future and tell it to the world. You continue to explore the intelligence of various countries!"
"yes!"
The black shadow retreated silently and disappeared into the palace. Emperor Zhou looked at the empty hall and suddenly raised his head to look up to the sky. There seemed to be a floating mountain in his eyes, with a divine sword inserted diagonally in it.
His lips trembled and he spoke two words, full of expectation: