January 1, Year 54 of the Xia Era.
Chiyou's son Chi Long officially announced that the four provinces of Yong, Liang, Yang, and Xu had established a kingdom named the Chu Kingdom, with its capital in Yong Province.
Chi Long became king of the Chu Kingdom and posthumously honored Chiyou as the Supreme Human King.
Not long after arriving in Yong Province, Chiyou had ridden the crane west into the afterlife, shocking the world.
January 3.
The Yan Emperor's son Yan Hui announced that Qing Province had officially established a kingdom named the Han Kingdom, with its capital in Qing Province. As the Han Kingdom was weak and had no desire to contend for supremacy, he also declared it a permanently neutral kingdom.
January 7.
Three of the four provinces under the Xia Kingdom's rule made announcements at the same time:
Ji Province declared its independence from Yu Province's jurisdiction, asserting that the greatest cause of the Xia Dynasty's fragmentation was Zhuanxu's incompetence as king, which had plunged the world into chaos.
The Yellow Emperor's eldest son, Ji, declared independence, naming his kingdom the Wei Kingdom and establishing its capital in Ji Province.
The Yellow Emperor's third son, Qi, declared independence, naming his kingdom the Yan Kingdom and establishing its capital in Jing Province.
The Yellow Emperor's seventh son, Ren, declared independence, naming his kingdom the Zhao Kingdom and establishing its capital in Yan Province.
Thus, the human race's nation on Blue Star split into six kingdoms. The Chu Kingdom was the strongest and held the most territory, but its four provinces lay far apart, and peace did not reign within its borders either.
Everyone knew that war would come sooner or later, and whoever was weakest would be swallowed up. They all began pouring their efforts into developing their national strength.
Another five years passed like this. Although friction was constant throughout those five years, no war broke out. The people lived and worked in peace, each kingdom's strength rose markedly, populations multiplied, and new technologies emerged in an endless stream.
Everyone knew that population and technology were the foremost productive forces. To remain independent, they needed technology that outstripped the other kingdoms, especially weapons of war. Those were the highest priority.
March, Year 59 of the Xia Era.
Another event shook the continent.
In Yang Province, Chiyou's fifth son, Chi Cheng, dissatisfied with the Chu king's actions, proclaimed himself king and named his kingdom the Qi Kingdom.
In Xu Province, Shang, one of Chiyou's veteran followers, was deeply dissatisfied with the provincial governor. It had been Shang who led the conquest of Xu Province.
Yet Chi Long had bestowed Xu Province upon his son Chi Zhou. Had he been a fine young man, that would have been one thing, but he was a lecher who spent every day eating, drinking, and amusing himself, surrounded by wine and meat beside the pool, while Shang handled everything.
Even that could have been tolerated, but he actually wanted to marry Shang's most beloved daughter.
He ought to have pissed on the ground and looked at his own reflection to see what sort of wretch he was. Shang flatly refused.
Then Chi Zhou actually tried to force himself on her, and Shang shot him dead in a fury.
With his followers' support, Shang wiped out all of Chi Zhou's forces, proclaimed himself king, and announced that his kingdom would be named Shang, with its capital in Xu Province.
The continent's peace was shattered once more.
The Chu Kingdom's royal court.
Clang!
"If I do not avenge this, I, Chi Long, swear I am unworthy of being human! Pass down my command: declare war on Shang! I will avenge my son!" In his fury, Chi Long shattered the vase before him with a slash of his sword and roared at his guards.
Chi Zhou had been his favorite son. Otherwise, he would never have bestowed Xu Province upon him. Since Shang was an old subordinate of his father's, he had assigned him to assist his son.
He had never imagined this.
"Your Majesty, please think this through! The shortest route to attack Xu Province runs through Yu Province, where the Xia Kingdom lies. They hate our Chu Kingdom to the marrow of their bones. This will surely unleash war and leave the people unable to sustain their lives!" A trusted pillar of the Chu court knelt and urged him to reconsider.
"Indeed, Your Majesty. Our Chu Kingdom has vast territory and a great population, and the seven other kingdoms already eye us like tigers watching their prey. A failure to endure a small grievance will ruin a grand plan!"
"Our Chu Kingdom has abundant soldiers and capable generals, and our muskets have already reached their third generation. Once our kingdom develops further, we will surely sweep through the seven kingdoms and unite the world!"
Listening to his ministers' counsel, the king of Chu finally calmed down. He knew they were right.
Now eight kingdoms stood across the land, and tugging a single hair would move the whole body. Any kingdom that sought war would face suppression by at least three others.
His Chu Kingdom already had the most territory and the largest population, making it a thorn in many kingdoms' eyes. If he made the wrong decision now, he would never have a chance to rise again.
"Technology! Technology! Technology! Issue another call for talent throughout the continent. Anyone capable of developing a major technological breakthrough will be richly rewarded!" The king of Chu rose and commanded his ministers.
"Your Majesty is wise!" The ministers clasped their hands and withdrew. They had to leave quickly, lest they draw the fire onto themselves.
And so the continent grew peaceful once more.
Yet all eight kingdoms of Blue Star were sitting on a powder keg. A single shot would be enough to spark a war unlike any before.
Zhang Yang saw it all clearly from the sky. He no longer interfered with the development of the human race as a whole. He would let nature take its course.
Without competition, there was no pressure.
Without pressure, there was no drive.
This might be Blue Star's last stretch of quiet time. He had a premonition about what would happen once he advanced to a level-two civilization.
Blue Star would know no more peace. The future was shrouded in uncertainty, and even he did not know how far Blue Star could go.
Watching the dwarf race living on Blue Star, Zhang Yang remembered the lord of Bo'er Star whom he had devoured. He gazed into the dazzling universe and fell into a daze, as though drawn in by it.
The future is so uncertain!
After a while, his gaze grew resolute, and he silently made up his mind. Two hundred years!
He would give the human race another two hundred years to develop, then advance to a level-two civilization.
Zhang Yang looked toward the continent and was instantly dumbfounded.
Holy shit!
It turned out that during that "little while" he had spent staring into the universe in a daze, more than 120 years had passed on Blue Star.
Blue Star. Year 180 of the Xia Era.
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