Six States Vie for Supremacy

Three years have passed since the first Heavenly Emperor's Eye was created.

However, the Heavenly Emperor's Eye, traveling at the speed of light, has only traveled one light-year since leaving Tai Heng Star.

After all, photons don't travel in a straight line; they have to make turns along the way to explore things like stars and ruins they encounter.

At the edge of the Tai Heng Star, he saw a huge Teleportation Formation led to two worlds: one called the Radiance World and the other called the Heaven Reaching World.

This Teleportation Formation is still usable, but when Yang Ning Absolute Earth Heavenly Connection, he also disabled the Teleportation Formation.

Therefore, if the people from the Radiance World and the Heaven Reaching World want to return, they can only fly back on their own.

Now, the photon is stuck again, but this time because it has encountered a star system.

The star in this star system is called Nan Dou, so the galaxy is naturally named Nandou Star System.

It's the Southern Dipper of the Great Emperor of the Southern Dipper, because this star is so close to Taiheng that the people of Taiheng can see it with the naked eye.

This is an aging star, its color having changed from orange to red, and it is on its way to becoming a red dwarf.

There is another life-bearing planet next to this star system, which is Yang Heng Star.

There are people on this planet!

"Yang Heng Sect, the Peerless Divine Abilities Yang Heng Great Art?" After Yang Ning sent the Heavenly Emperor's Eye to circle around this planet, it was as if he had suddenly traveled from the capital to the countryside.

Taiheng inherited six or seven Peerless Divine Abilities and more than four hundred Peerless Divine Abilities, and there are countless others buried underground that have not yet been unearthed. Even so, Yang Ning still felt that it was a bit too little.

However, this Yang Heng Star only inherited one Peerless Divine Abilities.

Although this Divine Ability power is quite effective, absorbing the Solar True Force allows one to refine a Yang Heng Power within the body.

The Yang Heng Power can amplify the power of all Heavenly, Earthly, and Human-grade Divine Abilities, and can multiply a person's strength.

As for whether it can enhance the power of Peerless Divine Abilities, I don't know.

Because there is no other unparalleled Peerless Divine Abilities in the world; no one has ever tried it.

"This Divine Ability is impressive, but I can't create clones by casting spells across a light-year!" Yang Ning tried it out, but this Heavenly Emperor's Eye was an old version and couldn't manipulate atoms to create clones.

However, it's not a big problem. We can just launch a new Heavenly Emperor's Eye, and the old one can continue forward and scout ahead.

Let's return our attention to Taiheng.

After a brief period of war lasting several years, Eastern Victory, Northern Plains, and Western Splendor have also quieted down. Although fighting is still going on above, it doesn't seem to have had much impact on the common people.

Alternatively, using cloning technology to wage war might actually be beneficial to the civilian population, because war requires the consumption of resources and equipment, and the production of resources and equipment requires a large number of factory workers.

Yang Ning doesn't run sweatshops; his workers work three shifts and their wages are quite good, enough to provide a decent life for his family.

Therefore, the longer the war lasted, the wealthier the people became.

When people become wealthy, they will naturally be able to send their children to school and to practice spiritual cultivation.

With more people going to school and cultivating their skills, geniuses are more likely to emerge. The emergence of geniuses not only represents the growth of the rebel army's strength, but also represents more support from Hengming.

But the emergence of geniuses also brought another problem.

That is, the Ming Dynasty has been established for 10 years now, and the local geniuses who started cultivating 10 years ago have now generally entered the Qi Refining Stage.

They grew up in the Ming Dynasty, benefiting from the local militia and receiving their education, so naturally they were wholeheartedly devoted to the local forces.

Therefore, once they have the strength, these people are eager to make some contributions to their country.

Is there any better way to contribute to the country than by joining the army and fighting?

So these young people desperately tried to get into the military, applying to military academies during the college entrance examination and joining the army directly after graduation.

The ceasefire in the Ming Dynasty was due to two main reasons: firstly, the severing of the Absolute Earth Heavenly Connection had diminished Taiheng's deterrent power over the Ming Dynasty; and secondly, it was also forced upon them by these local geniuses.

We can't really send these passionate young people to the battlefield.

It's fine if there's no war for three to five years, but if it goes on for too long, the resentment among the people will naturally grow.

Moreover, if a country is divided for too long, lasting for one or two generations, this situation may become the norm, making reunification difficult!

Fortunately, Yang Ning and his staff had a contingency plan in place. Since it involves a country's strategy, it's impossible to plan for three to five years each time.

As early as the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the strategy for the next thirty years had already been formulated.

However, the implementation of some strategies requires certain necessary conditions.

The three regions of Eastern Victory, Western Splendor, and Northern Plains have entered a state of war. Because there is no Hengming ban, high-level cultivators from Taiheng can also participate in the battles there. As a result, the attention that Daming receives has decreased, and fewer Aristocratic Clan scions are coming to this region.

This is the first condition.

The severing of the connection Absolute Earth Heavenly Connection resulted in the confinement of cultivators at the Spiritual Law Realm. Yang Ning, who was still outside, also had ways to deal with the situation. Therefore, Yang Ning did not need to fear encountering a situation like Emperor Jiang Yun, who was directly beheaded by an enemy power.

This is the second condition.

With all the states established within the Great Ming Kingdom, the household registration and official system were stabilized. The selection system shifted from the original grassroots period where ability was the only criterion for advancement to a merit-based system with multiple layers of selection. As a result, even if scions of the Aristocratic Clan wanted to participate, they would be blocked by numerous institutional barriers and could no longer obtain high positions simply by coming in as before.

This is the third condition.

Yang Ning fully acquired the Great Supreme Art, and Yang Ning also refined the Fortune Purple Dragon, the Imperial Dragon Seal, and the Heaven-Assisting Crown.

This is the fourth condition.

There are also some minor conditions, such as the complete connection of roads between countries and the opening of fourteen railways (seven horizontal and seven vertical) running through the Ming Dynasty.

The fulfillment of all these conditions ultimately leads to only one result.

The Ming Dynasty, unified!

In April of the 30236th year of the Taiheng Calendar, which is the 27th year of the Great Xia Calendar, Wei Yan, the Prefect of Linyang and a general of Shu Han, led his troops westward on the grounds that a general in the field may disobey orders, thus launching the first battle for unification!

He had assumed that since there had been no major battles on the Linyang battlefield for several months, the Great Xia side would become complacent.

However, the army of Great Xia was a modern army, and there was no possibility of them relaxing their vigilance.

Wei Yan's night raid failed, and he was surrounded by the garrison of Linyang. He then pretended to be a defeated general and fled towards Linyang.

There should have been Qi Refining Stage cultivators stationed on the walls of Linyang City. With their eyesight and visual Divine Ability, they could see the battle situation in Linyang Valley even at night.

However, this Qi Refining Stage cultivator was imprisoned by Wei Yan for opposing Wei Yan orders.

The people of Daxia have changed their appearance and, having cultivated the Heavenly Dragon World Ending Sound, can now imitate even the most lifelike sounds.

The defenders of Linyang failed to notice the weakness of this remnant force and opened the city gates. However, once these remnants entered the city, they immediately formed ranks and guarded the gates, allowing the main force to swarm in.

This city, which had blocked the Great Xia for nearly three years, fell overnight!

Because of the fortification of Linyang, the Shu Han side believed that as long as Linyang Pass was in place, they could rest easy, leaving the rear cities in a state of near vulnerability with little to no defense.

The Great Xia army conquered twenty-seven cities in a single day, reaching the capital of Shu Han and surrounding it completely. Not only were the troops below unable to escape, but the airspace was also locked down by array formations.

Liu Bei urgently summoned troops from all directions to come to his aid, but the Xia forces surrounded and attacked the reinforcements. They not only defeated the more than 400,000 troops that came to their aid, but also captured the generals Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong who led the troops.

To save his brothers' lives, Liu Bei disregarded the advice of his subjects and decided to surrender to the Xia dynasty.

The Emperor of Xia readily agreed and bestowed upon Liu Bei the Zhaolie Wang.

Liu Bei was not the first emperor to lose his kingdom; Zhang Shicheng did so even earlier.

But Zhang Shicheng's state only lasted a few months, and hardly anyone recognized it.

However, the Shu Han state was highly regarded by its rulers, officials, and people. It was a great pity that it was destroyed because of Wei Yan's questionable actions.

Fortunately, the Xia Dynasty treated its people in exactly the same way as the Shu Han, and even the functions of their respective administrative departments were 90% similar. The Shu Han was simply renamed and was able to be incorporated into the Xia Dynasty without any hindrance.

Apart from Shu Han, there were no other decent states in the west.

After the Great Xia conquered Shu Han, the two armies merged into one. The civil and military officials had a deep understanding of each other after fighting for so many years, and their cooperation was seamless.

From then on, the Great Xia Dynasty conquered all directions with the might of a tiger crouching and a dragon coiling, and all places it went to submit. All small countries, sects, factions, Mountain Stronghold, river bandits, sea pirates, and ninjas were wiped out.

Four months later, the Great Xia unified western Ming Dynasty, becoming the only country in this region.

In the northern part of the Ming Dynasty, the Great Peace Way, whose national name was Taiping, was finally able to expand its territory without the pressure from Taiheng.

Zhang Jiao believed that since he had held out against Taiheng for so long, the four countries surrounding him were nothing but weaklings and no match for him. So he launched a fierce attack on all four sides, fighting against four enemies at once!

These four states were respectively called Great Qin, Great Han, Great Chu, and Great Wei.

The generals who led the troops were named Bai Qi, Han Xin, Xiang Yu, and Wu Qi.

Then, Taiping was gone, divided up by four parties.

The Great Peace Way is extremely famous throughout the world, and Zhang Jiao has countless fans. His four-year struggle against Taiheng has made him an idol for countless commoners and even disciples of small sects.

Not only do people within Taiheng worship him, but also the noble Aristocratic Clan, sects, and even commoner disciples outside Taiheng, who are the targets of Taiheng's oppression, worship him even more.

This is reflected online; his Deep Blue Weibo, boasts a staggering 11.7 billion followers!

The Great Peace Way has no shortage of funds or resources; plenty of people are willing to contribute their own money and bring their own food to support Great Peace Way.

How could such a powerful force be wiped out by four nobodys?

Soon, bloggers analyzed the causes and consequences of the four factions dividing Taiping, as well as the reasons for Great Peace Way's failure.

Great Peace Way was extremely dazzling, and it was precisely because it was the most dazzling that it attracted the most attention from Taiheng.

After four years of war, countless geniuses and prodigies have died in the Great Peace Way, and its high-ranking and core members have been wiped out time and again.

However, the countries surrounding him have been in a state of recuperation and development.

You must understand that this is a world of cultivation, which emphasizes meditation and refining Qi Refining. Except for a very few Divine Ability that require battle to sustain them, most Divine Ability require quiet cultivation.

Constant warfare will not make the Great Peace Way stronger; on the contrary, it will only make it weaker!

However, the Great Peace Army did not realize this problem. They still thought that the Heavenly King was the most powerful and they were second only to him, and they did not take the enemy seriously at all.

Not only were they careless during marches, but they also set up camp haphazardly, completely disregarding rules and regulations.

Just like those years when they fought against the Taiheng Sect, the clash of weaklings lowered their own skill level.

In contrast, the Qin, Han, Chu, and Wei dynasties all regarded the Way of Peace as an extremely powerful opponent. They not only began to collect intelligence during the preceding wars, but also exercised great caution during the battles.

The differing attitudes of the two sides led to the outcome of the war completely tilting in the favor of the four countries.

Moreover, these four countries are not weak either.

After the four kingdoms divided Taiping, they naturally could not live in peace because they were adjacent to each other, so they started fighting.

The Great Qin, which could implement a system of universal farming and warfare, clearly had a greater advantage. It first destroyed the Great Chu and then the Great Han, and within half a year, it had reached the doorstep of the Great Wei.

The State of Wei was the strongest among the four states, yet it insisted on playing the gentleman and refused to attack its allies. Now, facing the Great Qin, it was too late for regrets.

Bai Qi's ability to lead troops is beyond question, but Wu Qi was even more extraordinary. He excelled in both literary and military affairs, politics and military strategy, and even invention.

The Zhuge Liang in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" may have been based on him.

However, his character was not as good as Zhuge Liang's.

The two sides faced off for two months in a valley called Changping, with each side experiencing victories and defeats.

Unfortunately, while the King of Qin trusted Bai Qi implicitly, the King of Wei did not trust Wu Qi and even listened to slanderous words that Wu Qi was using his military power for personal gain.

He had his reasons. In normal battles, Wu Qi usually won in no time, but this time he fought Bai Qi to a standstill. Wasn't this just using his military power to his advantage?

Then he issued twelve golden orders in succession, commanding Wu Qi to attack.

Unfortunately, Wu Qi wasn't Yue Fei. He felt that having such a king in the Great Wei might not be a good thing. Besides, this wasn't the true Spring and Autumn and Warring States or Warring States period. "I died for you in my past life, how could I possibly die for you again in this one?"

He simply led his 400,000-strong army to surrender to the Great Qin.

The Qin army seized the opportunity to attack the Wei capital. Because Wu Qi had surrendered to the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, fearing that Wu Qi would be embarrassed, simply sent the King of Wei away with a white silk ribbon.

From then on, the Great Qin Dynasty unified northern China and became the second superpower.

While the Great Qin and Xia dynasties were busy waging war, the east and south were not idle either.

In the south of the Ming Dynasty, there was a smaller Ming Dynasty, ruled by Emperor Zhu Di.

However, he was only in name; in reality, it was his father, Zhu Yuanzhang, who controlled the regime.

Because he killed too many generals in his later years, no one was willing to follow him after he arrived in Taiheng.

However, it's not a big problem. Zhu Yuanzhang himself, his nephew Zhu Wenzheng, his son Zhu Di, and even Zhu Houzhao, were all potential generals or even marshals.

Moreover, if the founding generals were unwilling to follow, what about the generals from the middle and late stages of the dynasty?

Wang Yangming Qi Jiguang were both men who could fight ten men at once, as were Yu Qian, Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong, Li Chengliang, Mu Ying, all of whom were very famous.

Furthermore, since many novels are set in the Ming Dynasty, there was a powerful martial arts force in the Ming Dynasty.

Led by Zhang Sanfeng, there were the Wudang Sect, Shaolin Sect, Ming Cult, Sun Moon Holy Cult, Emei Sect, Huashan Sect, Kunlun Sect, Kongdong Sect, and so on.

There's also the Sword God Xie Xiaofeng, the Sword Saint Ximen Chuixue, and the Sword Immortal Ye Gucheng.

On one side of the imperial court, there were eunuchs such as Cao Zhengchun, Yu Huatian, Zhang Tingyu; on the Six Doors, there was Zhuge Zhengwo.

There's also Zhu Wushi of the Dragon Guard Manor.

There are also the Four Great Constables, the Four Great Secret Agents, the Four Great Imperial Secret Agents, and so on.

Although the southern territory of the Ming Dynasty was not large, it possessed considerable power. The main rivals of the Ming Dynasty were the Great Song, the Yuan Dynasty, the Dali Kingdom, the Western Xia, the Great Jin, and the Liao State.

Although the Great Song here still bears the name Song, it was actually a state established by Yue Fei, and its leadership was equally rich in talented individuals.

Militarily, there were the Liangshan Army, Di Qing Army, and the Western Army.

In the martial arts world, the Five Greats of the Central Plains, not to mention Guo Jing Huang Rong, there are even the Three Elders of Xiaoyao, the Four Greats of Heavenly Dragon, and the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai. Their high-end combat strength is no less than that of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the Song Dynasty was in direct conflict with the Western Xia Great Song, Great Jin, and Liao State, and had no time to worry about Xiao Ming.

Zhu Yuanzhang formulated a strategy of tackling the easy tasks first and then the difficult ones, and of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones. He first attacked Dali to stabilize his rear, then established peaceful relations with the Great Song, and then attacked the Western Xia and the Great Liao.

After the Great Song conquered the Great Jin, only the Great Song and the Ming Dynasty remained as the two major powers in southern China.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang admired Yue Fei, Yue Fei also admired Zhu Yuanzhang for completing his unfinished work of expelling the Tartars and restoring China, two tigers cannot share one mountain, and the two still had to fight.

However, neither side was determined to win, so they could only accumulate strength and wait for the right opportunity.

In the east of the Ming Dynasty, the war gradually subsided.

The states that once existed in the East included Cao Wei, ruled by Emperor Cao Cao.

The Great Qi Dynasty, Emperor Yuan Shao.

Emperor Sima Yi of the Great Jin.

The Great Tang, Li Shimin.

The number of participants is small, but their quality is high.

The first to be eliminated was naturally Yuan Shao, who was afraid to risk his life for great things but forgot Yuan Shao for small gains. Even without Li Shimin and Cao Cao's intervention, Sima Yi dealt with him.

However, Sima Yi did not gain much advantage; he fought the hardest battle, but his territory was divided equally among the three families.

Then Sima Yi was eliminated.

After all, he had a grudge against Cao Cao.

Moreover, Li Shimin also looked down on Sima Yi.

If you praise someone as being like Zhuge Liang, the emperor might not necessarily give him an important position.

But if you say someone is like Sima Yi, well, the emperor will definitely get rid of him, or at the very least, never employ him again.

No matter how capable Sima Yi was, he couldn't withstand Li Shimin and Cao Cao, and was directly defeated.

Sima Yi wanted to surrender, but even Cao Cao Li Shimin Sima Yi lacked the confidence to truly convince him, so they had no choice but to eliminate him.

From then on, the northern part of the Ming Dynasty was occupied by the Great Qin, the western part by the Xia Dynasty, the southern part by the Ming and Great Song, and the eastern part by the Cao Wei and Great Tang.

The Ming Dynasty entered a period of contention among six warring states!