The Hearts of the Nations, an Unsolvable Deadlock

Gongsun Pingxi and Gongsun Zhongshu were distant cousins.

The Gongsun Clan was Great Chu's most renowned lineage of great scholars.

Whenever White Deer Academy—the most famous institution under heaven—was mentioned, students could not help but feel reverence. Its three consecutive leaders

had all come from the illustrious Gongsun family, a testament to the flourishing of its literary tradition and the depth of its scholarship.

Seeing this, Yu Ke suddenly thought of this world torn apart by the struggle of five kingdoms.

In the countryside, those who could read and write were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

The great aristocratic clans all possessed collections of books; conversely, anyone with books at home was a great aristocratic clan.

Knowledge was monopolized by those at the top!

The Gongsun family had effectively placed its bets on both Qianyuan and Great Chu.

That reminded Yu Ke of another lineage that had placed its bets on three kingdoms.

This was an age where clans and noble houses stood thick as forests; imperial authority was merely the strongest aristocratic family!

Family ruled all under heaven, and everything was bound to the rise and fall of lineages.

Yu Ke continued flipping through Han Kingdom's dossier.

The first person who caught his eye was Han Kingdom's current sovereign.

Yuwen Yan!

This youthful Son of Heaven had reigned for eight years. At last, he had shattered the eunuchs' shackles, reclaimed imperial power, and transformed from a puppet into a true dragon emperor.

Han Kingdom had suffered two centuries of eunuch tyranny, with the Divine Strategy Army's authority held by the chief eunuch.

In court, eunuchs could even draft decrees and dismiss the hundred officials.

Even the Son of Heaven had to watch the eunuchs' expressions.

Thus, court affairs sank into darkness. The chief eunuch called himself