The Central Plains lay at the very center of All Under Heaven. In traditional thinking, every storm sweeping the world arose there, while the four quarters were neglected corners. Yet, just as the saying about the game board went-golden corners, silver edges, and a grassy belly-the world's outer reaches were not dispensable. Yan State's rise in Liaodong was proof enough.
More than a decade earlier, Luo Xing's grandson Luo Wu had returned from Zhao City to the Western Regions. Amid the chaos there, he had restored order in Unshuang City, vowing to hold this land for his clan. For over ten years, he had kept watch on news from the Central Plains and the Grasslands, for the Western Regions' geographical position had always made it a crossroads of conflict between great powers. Developments in the Central Plains and the Grasslands would profoundly affect it.
Luo Wu had died of illness three years earlier. His son Luo Gu succeeded him as High Priest of the Temple and began trying to bring the chaotic Western Regions together, assembling an allied army of the various states around the Temple. Then reports from Wei State began arriving one after another.
At the time, Wei State had conquered Shu. Its aristocratic clans had all surrendered, and their leaders had relocated to Chang'an. Sima Yi's prestige rose by the day. Among the ministers entrusted with the young emperor, he already stood head and shoulders above the rest, far surpassing the imperial relatives. When he returned to Chang'an with his army, countless scholars cheered him. Born during Emperor Ling of Han's reign, he had lived through the reigns of Emperor Min and Emperor Sheng of Han before entering Cao Wei's service. He had been entrusted with important duties under Emperor Wu and served through the reigns of