Even Lin Feng was shaken by Xia Jie's ideas and the course of his thinking.
There was absolutely a reason Xia Jie was called the Mad King: he did not care about the foundation of his rule at all.
He himself had benefited from his bloodline.
Once rule became hereditary, his ancestors' thrones had in fact all been passed down through their bloodline.
He was king of the Xia Dynasty because he was Di Fa's son.
His ancestors had succeeded to the throne smoothly because they were descendants of Yu the Great. Even later, in the Pre-Qin era, it still came down to the nobility reciting their pedigrees.
In the early Spring and Autumn period, the people below fought to the death, but the nobles above did not have to worry about dying on the battlefield.
Those on the losing side would be sent back.
Arranged battles, notices refusing combat, declarations of war—the two sides would only fight once both were ready.
That was ritual propriety.
One sign of the collapse of rites and music was that people stopped observing the rules. They deceived, stole, and launched sneak attacks. You overstepped my authority, I overstepped yours, and someone had the gall to ask the top dog to his face, "How much does that cauldron of yours weigh?"
Was that what good manners looked like?
Even Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng—what sort of rumors had people spread about him?
You are not your father King Zhuangxiang of Qin's son.
Your father is Lu Buwei.
Your bloodline is impure.
Later, Zhao Ji gave him two younger brothers. That was the worst part of all.
In the Pre-Qin era, it was nothing unusual for a queen dowager to take a male lover after the former king died.
What of it?
He was just