Chapter 668: Such as Ao Bing

At the vassal assembly in Chao Ge City, Dong Bo Hou Jiang Huan Chu, Xi Bo Hou Ji Chang, Bei Bo Hou Chong Hou Hu, and Nan Bo Hou E Chong Yu each led two hundred vassals to pay homage to Emperor Di Xin.

Emperor Di Xin was greatly pleased and granted various rewards. He centralized the authority to mobilize vassals against external enemies under the four Bo Hous, meaning that any vassal wishing to deploy troops externally must first report to and gain approval from the four Bo Hous.

Among the four Bo Hous, Ji Chang was renowned for his virtuous character, and E Chong Yu was highly respected, so they were appointed as the three dukes of the court, holding the highest ministerial positions.

"Is this strategy Emperor Di Xin's idea, or Wen Zhong's?"

In the backyard of the Li residence in Chen Tang Guan, Li Changshou sat in the shade, sipping his specially prepared iced tea and enjoying the fanning service of two young attendants, while pondering the recent events at the Shang court.

Overall, Emperor Di Xin's move was clever, yet quite insidious.

Among the eight hundred vassals, the strongest was undoubtedly Jiang Huan Chu, who was also the most senior and had the closest ties to the Shang state.

After all, he was Emperor Di Xin's father-in-law.

However, the title of the three dukes was given to Ji Chang and E Chong Yu, which carried a hint of "two peaches killing three warriors."

By dividing the eight hundred vassals into four regional groups and strengthening the power of the four Bo Hous, while also creating divisions among them to prevent alliances,

If any minor vassal rebelled, the major vassals would suppress them, allowing the Shang state to save on military costs and letting the vassals' strengths wear each other down.

Furthermore, Bei Bo Hou Chong Hou Hu was a general personally elevated by Emperor Di Xin, so the risk of rebellion from the northern two hundred vassals was the lowest. This could also restrain the eastern and western vassals, achieving the goal of controlling them all.

Based on this reasoning, Emperor Di Xin would likely target Nan Bo Hou E Chong Yu first.

Li Changshou carefully recalled memories from his past life and thought that E Chong Yu had met a tragic end... and was quite insignificant in the grand scheme.

Why was this move also quite dangerous for Emperor Di Xin?

The reason was simple: raising tigers as a threat.

The four Bo Hous would become four massive crocodiles, endangering the stability of the Shang state. If any one of them rebelled, it would surely be well-prepared, with the two hundred vassals behind them rising up simultaneously.

Emperor Di Xin's willingness to use this strategy highlighted his youthful arrogance and extreme confidence.

It was unclear whether Emperor Di Xin and Wen Zhong realized that the focus of the Shang state's struggle with the vassals would be to stir up divisions between the major and minor vassals, causing internal chaos and preventing them from uniting;

Then, to win over the smaller ones while suppressing the larger ones, while improving the quality of the Shang people and strengthening their armies, to achieve further centralization.

To pacify the interior and pressure the exterior—this was the only path for the Shang state to resolve its current dilemmas.

Of course, these were just his speculations.

Perhaps Emperor Di Xin's plan was simpler—just set up four targets for the world to see, and watch as he toppled them one by one, thereby killing the monkey to scare the chickens.

Uh, surely not...

That emperor who defied heavenly fate couldn't possibly lack even this level of political cunning, could he?

Li Changshou smiled, listening to the melodious music from the nearby pavilion, watching the spring breeze gently blow and the courtyard flowers fall, and he fell into a slight daze.

Why not help Emperor Di Xin?

The answer lies in the reverse: why help Emperor Di Xin?

The affairs of mortal emperors are unclear to anyone, and he had no need to get involved—just observe from the sidelines.

Li Changshou yawned and said,

"Make the musician play with more heart—something lively. Is this for the madam? No, it's for the third young master!

Such half-hearted playing—deduct her reward later."

"Yes," the attendant behind him replied promptly, like he had received an imperial edict, and strutted off to the pavilion.

Just then, two maidservants arrived with two bowls of soup, one large and one small. Li Changshou naturally picked up the smaller one, tasted it, and nodded for them to take it inside.

As for nurturing the fetus,

Li Jing was busy with his duties, so as the senior attendant and steward, he had to take full responsibility.

Moreover, these soups for nurturing and stabilizing the pregnancy tasted quite good, which was almost torment for him, a paper daoist.

Li Changshou handed the empty bowl to the maidservant behind him and said casually,

"Notify the kitchen to prepare a few more portions and add extra ice."

"Yes," the maidservant responded softly and hurried away with her head bowed.

Li Changshou relaxed, propping his feet on a nearby wooden chair, feeling a bit like the bored old Dragon King.

Just yesterday, an elderly servant from the Li residence stopped Li Jing upon his return and tearfully described how this senior attendant had been acting tyrannically in daily life. The result was...

That elderly servant received ten years' wages today and was expelled from the Li residence.

Things were different now. To conveniently care for Yin Shi and the reincarnation of Ling Zhu Zi, Li Changshou had already revealed his identity to Li Jing and instructed him to keep it secret.

In private, Li Jing addressed the senior attendant as "righteous father" or "star lord" with great respect.

Why did Li Changshou reveal himself voluntarily?

The secret lay beneath that pavilion.

Li Changshou had spent considerable precious materials and spirit stones to set up a "nurturing the fetus" array, also known as the "Reverse Yin-Yang Purifying Heart and Clearing Evil Array," which continuously cleansed the evil energy from the spiritual fetus.

In addition, Li Changshou had to keep stabilizing the spiritual fetus.

Earlier, he had told Li Jing to inform Yin Shi to prepare for a pregnancy lasting over three years, precisely to allow time for deep suppression of the evil energy and minimize its impact on the fetus.

A saint's actions bring endless troubles.

For Li Changshou, it was better to stand back and observe rather than help Emperor Di Xin prolong the Shang state's fate. Instead, he would focus his efforts on nurturing future heavenly generals like Yang Jian, Nezha, Lei Zhenzi, Wen Zhong, and Li Jing.

—Wen Zhong's name was already on the Feng Shen Bang, and heaven's arrangement for him was set.

Heaven's way.

To contend with heaven's way, one must not be greedy; learn to adapt and be flexible.

About a year later, a message came from Chao Ge City.

Emperor Di Xin took the daughter of Jiu Hou as his consort, kept her in the deep palace, and favored her greatly. He appointed Jiu Hou as one of the three dukes, which discontented many major vassals.

Here it comes—the script for Emperor Di Xin to kill Jiu Hou was unfolding; it was just a matter of when he would act.

Li Changshou tried to make himself more cold-blooded, not caring about a few lives, and just watched the subsequent events.

This move was an opportunity for the Shang state and a gamble for Emperor Di Xin, using Jiu Hou to establish the emperor's majesty and intimidate the vassals.

Although Jiu Hou was a major vassal, he was clearly a step below the four Bo Hous. Appointing him as a duke because of his daughter was hard to convince people.

In a sense, the Great Shang was already at a crossroads of rise and fall.

Emperor Di Xin's subsequent choices were crucial.

Would he, as Li Changshou remembered, casually find an excuse—like Jiu Hou's daughter not serving him well—and vent his anger on Jiu Hou, thereby taking the chance to execute Nan Bo Hou?

Or would he find a more clever solution, making Nan Bo Hou suffer without daring to speak out?

Li Changshou waited to see.

In times like these, precise maneuvers were even more important. He hoped Emperor Di Xin and Wen Zhong would understand this principle and not let heaven's way win too easily.

As for the Li residence,

Yin Shi had been pregnant for a year and a half, causing a huge stir in Chen Tang Guan.

Some rumor—origin unknown—claimed that Li Jing's wife's third child was a demon, as only demons showed such anomalies.

Li Changshou smiled calmly and began to manage public opinion in Chen Tang Guan himself. He secretly spread a few rumors, crafting a fable about an "immortal descending to the mortal world."

For this, he even transferred several divine messengers from the South Sea coast to popularize the art of bamboo clapper storytelling along the East Sea coast.

Combined with the occasional flashes of immortal light and swirling immortal clouds in the Li residence's backyard, the Li family home temporarily became a sacred site, with many mortals coming to pay their respects.

Gradually, demon soldiers appeared outside Chen Tang Guan, harassing villages.

Li Jing responded swiftly, leading troops to search and engaging in battles with the demon soldiers in the mountains for several months, driving them away.

But the fact remained that the long-dormant demon forces had spread near Chen Tang Guan.

Li Jing grew even busier.

But that was fine—Li Changshou had anticipated this and had his paper daoist guarding within a hundred zhang of the spiritual fetus at all times to prevent any schemes.

And so, Yin Shi's pregnancy exceeded three years.

During this time, Chao Ge City had already seen a bloody storm. Emperor Di Xin, after Jiu Hou's daughter attempted to assassinate him, convicted Jiu Hou of treason and executed him.

Nan Bo Hou E Chong Yu pleaded for Jiu Hou and was sentenced to an extreme punishment in Emperor Di Xin's rage.

The Shang state had many cruel punishments to intimidate slaves and consolidate rule, with these extreme executions being varied and unique.

The two hundred southern vassals were thrown into panic, and the prepared Shang army marched to the southern border. A new Nan Bo Hou was quickly appointed by Emperor Di Xin.

Bei Bo Hou Chong Hou Hu secretly reported that Xi Bo Hou Ji Chang had privately lamented the affairs of Jiu Hou and E Chong Yu.

The lowborn senior official Fei Zhong, taking advantage of the Shang state's surging power, urged Emperor Di Xin to kill Xi Bo Hou Ji Chang.

Emperor Di Xin hesitated briefly, as Ji Chang held great influence among the vassals, and killing him might provoke widespread rebellion. Instead, he imprisoned Ji Chang in You Li and ordered Chong Hou Hu to secretly attack Zhou state's forces, weakening the leaderless Zhou.

Because of this, many of the eight hundred vassals harbored thoughts of rebellion. Emperor Di Xin appointed Grand Tutor Wen Zhong as commander-in-chief, leading the Shang army to suppress revolts in the east and west, and for a time, the Great Shang's fortunes flourished even more.

These were the major events of the Shang state that anyone could see.

Amid these events,

Emperor Di Xin often hosted banquets for elderly Shang scholars, shared meals and joys with the people during sacrifices, encouraged marriages and childbirth among the Shang people, and sent trusted elders to promote agriculture and sericulture across the state.

He also personally oversaw the dances and rituals of the Shang state's female shrine groups, breaking their monopoly on interpreting divine will.

Due to state affairs, Emperor Di Xin's harem consisted only of Queen Jiang, a few consorts, and they had two sons, Yin Hong and Yin Jiao.

Occasionally, when Li Jing and Yin Shi talked at night, they would express some emotion about Emperor Di Xin.

If Emperor Di Xin could suppress the threat of the eight hundred vassals, he might become a heroic ruler for a second revival of the Shang state; if he couldn't withstand the subsequent vassal uprisings, he was likely to meet a bad end.

Yin Shi asked Li Jing,

"Do you, my husband, have any disloyal thoughts toward the king?"

"I receive the king's salary, so I serve by guarding the border for Great Shang."

Li Jing smiled and added, "What we guard is the boundary between humans and demons; the power struggles behind us have nothing to do with you and me."

Li Changshou was quite surprised by Li Jing's awareness.

He had thought Li Jing might be foolishly loyal.

Clearly, his earlier guidance had been effective.

Recently, Yin Shi had felt she could barely hold on, as the fetus in her womb was ready to be born, but she didn't speak up, only enduring it silently each day.

Li Changshou secretly used spells to alleviate some of her pressure and had made full preparations for Nezha's birth.

While Li Changshou was busy with this, a shocking message arrived from Chao Ge City.

In half a month, Emperor Di Xin would pay homage at the Niang Niang Temple.

This day had finally come.

Li Changshou had made some preparations for this, but he wouldn't interfere; he would just watch from the side, activate a few recording orbs, and capture some precious moments.

He wanted to see whether it was the current emperor's destined calamity or someone scheming behind the scenes to accelerate the Feng Shen calamity.

As long as someone made a move, no matter who it was, Li Changshou would seize their leverage.

Scheming against the emperor could be a big or small matter, giving him an opportunity to make something of it.

But just as Li Changshou was about to shift his attention to the Niang Niang Temple, a unique aura suddenly appeared in the Qing Shui River outside Chen Tang Guan.

In the night sky, one of Li Changshou's paper daoists flashed into the air and focused his gaze.

There, on the riverbank, a small green dragon quietly swam ashore, curiously surveying the area. It transformed into a young man, dressed in white robes and spotless cloud boots, holding a folding fan.

He had striking sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, vaguely resembling Ao Yi, though his face was a bit pale.

Sensing carefully...

Ah, the old dragon clan habit—unstable foundation and damaged essence; clearly, this young one hadn't learned well and had been fooling around with servant girls or dragonesses.

This small dragon gazed at the distant farmhouse, shook his head, recited a poem, and strolled forward with his hands behind his back.

Passing a village hut, he stopped and called out softly,

"Traveling at night under the stars is difficult; I wonder if this household could offer shelter for the night? I will surely reward you with money and silk."

The wooden door opened, revealing the graceful figure of a fisherman's daughter. She curiously eyed the handsome young man outside, her face flushing red, and she quickly turned to call for her parents.

Li Changshou had several question marks on his forehead, unsure what this small dragon was up to.

Since there were still half a month until the events at the Niang Niang Temple, he decided to keep an eye on it for a few days.

What followed gave Li Changshou quite a headache.

The small dragon and the fisherman's daughter flirted back and forth that night, and by morning, they had become intimate, even planning to elope. The next day, they sneaked away together, leaving behind some gold and silver.

Then came some indescribable, not-for-children scenes.

What happened next was very "fairy tale"-like.

The handsome young man and the fisherman's daughter enjoyed a few nights of pleasure. One starry night, while she slept, the young man quietly left her side, leaving only a large pearl.

When the woman woke, she cried for half a day, clutching the pearl and searching everywhere, but in the end, she returned home despondent, only to be scolded by her parents and gain a bad reputation.

This...

Li Changshou felt a bit overwhelmed.

What was this?

The East Sea Dragon King's third prince on a romantic adventure?

Could those gold and silver coins buy a good woman's feelings and reputation?

Although the customs of the time were somewhat open, and many men and women had experiences before marriage, this... ah, this!

He felt like giving this small dragon a beating.

Fortunately, the woman wasn't pregnant, which was a small mercy in misfortune, but her heart was utterly confused, haunted by thoughts of that heartless man, and she grew thinner by the day, losing her appetite.

This was truly hard to judge.

It was consensual between them, and the dragon prince hadn't used any spells—just some gentle words and his outstanding appearance to win her heart.

Forget it; he'd ignore this playboy small green dragon for now and have Ao Yi discipline him properly later.

In Chao Ge City, Emperor Di Xin's procession was already setting out in grand fashion; the critical scheme of the Feng Shen calamity was about to play out, so he should focus more on that...

Whoosh—

Li Changshou's paper daoist's ears twitched at a strange water disturbance carried by the wind spell.

He looked intently and saw, several hundred li away on a beach, the small green dragon emerging from the sea, transforming into human form again, still in that debonair outfit. He straightened his posture, put on a humble expression, and headed toward a nearby village.

Soon, he deliberately stood in front of a hut and said warmly,

"Traveling at night under the stars is difficult; I wonder if this household could offer shelter for the night? I will surely reward you with money and silk."

The wooden door opened, revealing another beautiful fisherman's daughter.

Li Changshou: ...

This small dragon!

Only half a day had passed!

Were the sea clan's sisters not appealing anymore, or the dragon clan's ladies not beautiful enough? Why run to the human realm every day!

And compared to last time, his tactics were even more polished now, with sweet words flowing effortlessly, quickly bewildering the woman.

This wasn't the woman's fault; if the roles were reversed, with those stunning dragon ladies in immortal skirts coming to a fisherman's home for shelter and complaining of loneliness, even the fisherman couldn't resist.

That's how the fables go, right?

An old human tradition.

Li Changshou suddenly thought of writing a book called "Dragon Clan Anatomy Guide," to go along with "Don't Get Angry," "Love in the Human World," and "On Goodness," as enlightenment reading for little Nezha.

He'd go watch the drama at the Niang Niang Temple first, and deal with this later.