Chapter 44 Tribute
Xuan country.

Not long after the end of the year, Han Wu could not wait to take Han Ren and many tribute gifts and set off for Zhen'e.

As for the affairs of Xuan State, big or small, he handed them over to Prime Minister Baojie.

This is the usual practice!
"The show is about to begin!"

Watching Han Wu and his party leave the capital of Xuan State, Han Yi could not help but sigh: "The laws of nature are constant. They do not exist for the sake of Yao or die for the sake of Jie! However, history is written by the victors! Lugui became Xia Jie, this is a trend that no one can change! I just wonder if Lugui will have any regrets?"

According to subsequent history, Yi Yin would actively seek to see Lu Gui, make arrangements to welcome back Cheng Tang, and give gifts to many of Lu Gui's favorite ministers and concubines.

In the hope that these people could say a few good words for Cheng Tang in front of Lu Gui.

The result!
Of course it was successful!

Under the dual attack of advice from many ministers and the persuasion of Mei Xi, Lu Gui finally had to issue an order to let Cheng Tang return to the Shang Kingdom.

Cheng Tang's departure was like a dragon returning to the sea or a tiger roaring in the mountains; it was out of control.

In less than three years, Cheng Tang, with the help of Zhao Gongming, Kong Xuan and others, raised the banner of anti-Xia and launched a ten-year war against Xia.

Afterwards, he advanced with unstoppable force, first using his absolute advantage to wipe out the vassal states such as Ge, Gu, Wei, and Kunwu that obeyed Lugui, and then called on the princes of the world to attack Xia, gathered the strength of many princes, and destroyed the main force of the Xia Dynasty in one fell swoop at Mingtiao.

So far...

The Xia Dynasty is doomed!

Cheng Tang's army advanced triumphantly all the way and attacked the Xia Dynasty's capital, Zhen'e. Lugui displayed the luck of the Human King and his powerful cultivation of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, intending to turn the tide of the war. However, he never expected that the Great Master Xuandu of the Human Religion, following the order of the Sage Taiqing, holding the Kongtong Seal, the most precious treasure of the human race's luck, directly abolished his position as the Human King.

Without the blessing of the Human King's destiny, Lugui was just an ordinary Golden Immortal. Under the siege of five great masters including Duobao Taoist of Jiejiao, Xuandu Master of Renjiao, Nan Ji Xianweng of Chanjiao, Lu Ya Taoist, and Xuanniao of Phoenix Clan, his true body was destroyed and he fell into the calamity of losing himself.

arrogant!

Xia Jie's weakness is his arrogance!

He thought he could be on par with the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, that he could turn himself into the sun, illuminating the sky, shining forever, and that he could control everything in his hands.

but……

But he forgot that in this world, the saints have the final say!

Without the support of a saint, he dared to violate the heavenly rule that "human kings cannot practice cultivation" and dared to touch the cause and effect between Di Jun and Zhu Rong.

He is not dead...

Who dies?

Saints are the makers and maintainers of the rules of this world, and are also the ones who benefit the most.

How could they possibly allow a variable like Lugui to exist?

In fact, Han Yi still admires Lugui very much!
The other party could think of using blood transfusion to circumvent the shackles of the Heavenly Dao that the Human King could not practice, and over the past few decades, with the help of the human race's luck and the Shinto's sacrificial methods, he forcibly combined the Great Witch bloodline and the Golden Crow's origin to enter the realm of Daluo Jinxian. This shows his talent and ability!

Unfortunately……

Success is due to the king, and failure is also due to the king!
If he had retired bravely after achieving the status of Golden Immortal and passed on the throne of the Human King to his descendants, perhaps he could have become a free and easy Daluo Immortal!

But, greed is insatiable!
How could Lugui, who has already tasted the benefits of the Human King's luck, be willing to be an ordinary Daluo Immortal?
He wants to go one step further and become the Human Emperor, the Ancestral Witch, and the Emperor of Heaven!

even……

To become a saint who dominates the heavens, looks down upon the universe, and controls the fate of countless lives!

"When luck comes, heaven and earth are on your side; when luck is gone, heroes are helpless!" Han Yi shook his head and sighed, "No matter how great an emperor is, there will be a day when he falls. No matter how glorious an era is, there will be a day when it ends. No one in the world can stay forever. No matter how glorious you are, no matter how powerful you are, if you don't become a saint... you will end up being an ant!"

Afterwards, Han Yi withdrew his gaze and went straight back to Xuanbo Hou's Mansion.

He planned to improve his strength as much as possible before the unrest occurred, to ensure that he could participate in the next disaster and gain enough benefits.

after all……

He still had a few pieces of Geng gold in his hand, enough to refine two protective magic weapons!
But it can't be wasted!

……

The destiny of the Nine Provinces was full of twists and turns, and the tributes from the various vassal states brought together many people with different aspirations to the place of suppression of the Nine Cauldrons in Zhen'e.

All the princes with ambitions in their hearts, after seeing the extremely sacred Nine Cauldrons, could not help but think of the heroic feat of Dayu who established the world and divided the country into nine states.

I wish I could take his place!
but……

After Dayu, no one among his descendants could match his achievements. So they were given the title of "Emperor of Man" and could only call themselves the King of Man.

Being a Golden Immortal, it was easy for Lugui to cover Zhen'e with his spiritual consciousness.

Therefore, he has been secretly observing the movements of these princes!
“You don’t know your own limits!” Seeing those princes looking at the Nine Cauldrons enshrined in the ancestral temple with greedy eyes, Lugui couldn’t help but sneer and said, “The world of my Xia Dynasty, is it something that people like you can covet?”

Then, he summoned Xia Geng, Zhao Liang, Guan Long Pang, and Zhong Gu, and asked, "I have seen that many of these princes who came to pay tribute have ulterior motives! You are all my great Xia's loyal ministers. What do you think... how should I deal with them?"

These four people are important officials of the Xia Dynasty, and their every word and action may affect the situation in Kyushu.

Xia Geng was one of Lu Gui's most trusted generals, and was brave enough to defeat any ten thousand men.

As for Zhao Liang, he was highly valued by Lugui because of his good speaking skills.

I don't have much talent myself.

As for Guan Longpan, he was the prime minister of the Xia Dynasty. He was a loyal and courageous man, extremely upright, and in charge of all officials. He was a capable assistant to Lu Gui in handling government affairs.

Zhonggu is a rigid person. He serves as a historian and is responsible for recording Lugui's every word and action.

Hearing Lugui's words, Guan Longpan spoke first: "Your Majesty, I have heard that the ancient sages ruled the world with benevolence. Your Majesty just issued an order not long ago to destroy the Youshi clan and the Youmin clan one after another, which inevitably made the princes afraid! In my opinion, Your Majesty should host a banquet to entertain the princes and eliminate their grudges!"

Hearing this, Lugui was a little unhappy, so he looked at Zhao Liang and asked, "Zhao Liang, what do you think?"

Zhao Liang heard this and immediately smiled flatteringly: "Your Majesty's virtue is equal to that of the Three Sovereigns, and your achievements are equal to those of the Five Emperors. The nine provinces of the world are all in Your Majesty's hands!"

"If those princes really have the intention of being disloyal, the Youshi and Youmin families will serve as a warning to them!"

"I think the king can find a few princes and kill a chicken to scare the monkeys!"

After hearing what Zhao Liang said, Lugui immediately revealed a satisfied smile and praised: "Zhao Qing's words are more in line with my wishes!"

"Your Majesty!" Guan Long Pang saw this and quickly advised, "No! If you act rashly against the princes, it will only cause the princes to be alienated from your majesty! Moreover, if you rashly launch a conquest, it will be the people who will suffer! Your Majesty! Do not listen to Zhao Liang's slander!"

Zhong Gu also hurriedly echoed, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is right. It is not the behavior of a sage king to rashly attack the princes. It is a loss of the king's benevolence!"

"Xia Geng, what do you think?"

Seeing that Guan Longpan and Zhonggu were against him, Lugui turned his attention to Xia Geng.

Upon hearing this, Xia Geng immediately replied respectfully: "I will obey the king! If the king wants to take action against the princes, I am willing to lead the troops for the king!"

"No, Your Majesty!" Seeing that Lugui was interested, Guan Long Pang said hastily, "The treasury is empty now, this is really not the time to raise an army!"

The successive attacks on You Shi and You Min consumed a large amount of money and food. Without a few years of accumulation, the Xia Dynasty was simply unable to deal with the princes of the world.

Therefore, in order to cover up the current empty treasury situation, in the past two years, Lu Gui asked the princes to pay tribute in advance and increased the mark of the tribute gifts.

Hearing Guan Longpang's words, Lugui's face suddenly darkened and he said, "It's really a bargain for them!"

Obviously, considering the situation of the national treasury, he temporarily gave up the plan of taking action against the princes.

Guan Longpan and Zhonggu both breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this.

They are just afraid that Lugui will insist on his own way!
Seeing that he could not take action against the princes for the time being, Lugui looked at Zhao Liang again and asked, "Mr. Zhao, have you completed the counting of the gifts prepared by the princes for paying tribute this year?"

"Return to the king!"

Zhao Liang cupped his hands and responded, "The tribute gifts prepared by the princes are the same as in previous years, except that the gifts from Shang and Xuan are several times more than in previous years!"

"Oh?"

Lugui chuckled and said with interest: "These princes have always lacked respect for me, but now... why did they suddenly change their ways? Could it be... that they have something to ask of me?"

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(End of this chapter)