Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7270 Extra Chapter: Four Years of Hardship, Part 4: The Wang Family's Domineering Inten

Chapter 7270 Extra Chapter: Four Hundred Years of Wind and Frost, Part 1: The Wang Family's Domineering Ambition

"Isn't there anyone who can control the three kings? This is practically a rebellion!" The current head of the Longxi Li clan couldn't stand it anymore after receiving news that the central Wang clan had risen up again. Damn it, the older generation like Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou are all dead, why is the Wang clan still not giving up!

"You say they're rebelling? They don't think they're rebelling at all." Marquis Wude Hua Xiong is still struggling to live on this land that has been unified for over 130 years, but he is already incredibly old. The Hua family has now formed a huge clan, standing proudly in Turan.

"Ancestor, what should we do? The Wang family is here again, and this time, the Cui and Yang families have also joined the coalition led by the Wang family." Wan Ning said to Hua Xiong with a look of fear. There was nothing they could do, because Hua Xiong was now truly the ancestor of the six major families of Congling.

"What good is it? Can I withstand so many large army commanders on the other side?" Hua Xiong cursed. "The more I think about it, the more I feel that Liu Ye, that bastard, tricked me. He said he was worried about the Wang family, so he wanted me to help him guard the Pamir Mountains. I believed him. In the past hundred years, how many large army commanders has the Wang family produced?"

“Seven already, and there are two more who are roughly the same generation as you, Ancestor.” Fan Rui said cautiously to Hua Xiong. Wang Jun, the waiting king, is a member of the Martial Temple who lived to be over eighty years old in the official history. He is still waiting. Wang Menni, the son-in-law of the Wang family, is ranked first among the Persian kings in the official history. He is also still waiting.

"Play dead for now, get an imperial edict from Chang'an, stall for time, you guys better step up!" Hua Xiong cursed angrily. They had made so many sacrifices, stolen so much equipment and supplies, and even taken shares in the country. They had taken everything they were entitled to, and their innate conditions were far superior to the three kings. Yet, they still couldn't defeat the three kings, and the longer it dragged on, the less they could defeat them!

Meanwhile, the armed parade intimidated Central Asia, and the old Wang family, who were on a hunting expedition, also received an imperial edict from Chang'an.

"Grandfather, they're not letting us take action in Chang'an." Wang Tanzhi had only briefly reviewed the imperial edict from Chang'an before he had a pretty good grasp of the conflicting sentiments there.

“That’s normal. It’s been so many years. The only pillar left for Congling is Marquis Wude. But as long as Marquis Wude is alive, we can at most defeat those people from Congling on the battlefield. We can’t possibly take over there.” Sitting in the carriage, Wang Jun, who was still vigorous despite his old age, said with a sneer. He was only a little over 130 years old. His foundation in internal energy leaving his body and his innate qualities allowed him to live for another 70 or 80 years.

"Then what about us?" Wang Tanzhi asked in a deep voice.

“Talk to the Zheng family. We don’t need to annex them, but they need to cooperate with all our actions,” Wang Jun said.

“This may be a bit difficult. The Zheng family has a very good foundation. If a war really breaks out, the Cui, Yang, and Yuan families will not just stand by and watch. We will inevitably incur public wrath,” Wang Tanzhi said in a deep voice. As someone who could serve in the same court as Xie An and fight against Huan Wen together, his military ability was not outstanding, but when it came to analyzing the political situation and interpersonal relationships, he was absolutely top-notch.

“The Yuan family…” Wang Jun remained silent for a while, “In that case, we can wait a little longer.”

“But our Wang family is now surrounded by wolves,” Wang Tanzhi said with great concern. “Therefore, three years after the death of Marquis Wude, we must seize the opportunity to establish a firm foundation.”

"At that time, allies will probably be enemies." Wang Tanzhi said with deep concern. The more he understood the situation of the Wang family, the more he could understand the fear that the major families in Central Asia had of the Wang family. They were too strong. They were so strong that they did not seem like a dynasty established by a family. They were more like an empire. What does it mean to have a commander of a large army? They had a stable supply of people of that level from generation to generation. There was no shortage of people of the level of the Martial Temple. They had top strategists who could make long-term plans based on the empire. Every generation had them!

Even someone of Wang Tanzhi's stature isn't considered top-tier in the current Wang family. To be honest, the Wang family itself is terrified, fearing a situation of extreme chaos and corruption.

"Let's wait and see. The Wang family is actually forcing everyone to choose sides. The most tense moment hasn't arrived yet. Marquis Wude is still alive, and there's still time." Yang Qu felt somewhat relieved upon receiving news that the main force of the three kings had retreated under the imperial edict. As long as Hua Xiong is alive, the Pamir Mountains will not fall. This is the consensus of all the aristocratic families in Central Asia. It's just that the three kings are too strong now, so strong that it's almost abstract.

"Things haven't reached that point yet. The older generation hasn't all passed away, and the emperor's authority hasn't faded. We can still delay things a bit longer." Cui Yue was also trying to calm the emotions of her own family. There was nothing they could do. They had developed very well over the past hundred years, but they couldn't withstand the Wang family's complete madness.

"If this situation drags on any longer, I'm afraid the Chen family won't fare well either. Shouldn't we take some precautions in advance?" Chen Zhen received the imperial edict from Chang'an, but instead of being overjoyed, he felt only exhaustion, as if Chang'an was already giving up on him.

The Yuan, Xiao, Xie, Pei, Zhang, and many others breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if the Wang family continued to cause trouble like this, they might really have to move to Africa. It's not that they didn't build anything in Africa, but if the Wang family really took over their easy-to-defend stronghold here, then the Persian Wang family might be born!

Many people still remember the era when the four great empires stood proudly in the world. If Central Asia were unified, an empire might actually be born. But seeing that the three kings could create an empire, other noble families would rather kill them!

In Chang'an, the emperor, sitting high on his throne, exuded a profound coldness.

"Is it confirmed that Marquis Chen has passed away?" Liu Zhe asked the eunuch in a deep voice.

"It's confirmed, Marquis Chen has passed away," the eunuch said in a low voice.

Liu Zhe slapped the dragon throne, unable to hide his joy. The mountain that had been weighing on his head was finally gone. Judging by the time, these old fogies should all be worn down by his reign. A new emperor every twenty years? What a joke! How could you possibly control my throne?

"Alas, I wonder what will happen to me after I die?" Chen Xi sighed as he lay dying. After much hesitation, he finally chose to end it all. What good would it do to be reborn? No dynasty has ever lasted forever. He had to let go. Too many people were interfering, and others probably wouldn't be happy about it.

With Chen Xi's death, the last vestiges of Yuanfeng's glory completely faded, and a new era finally began. Even though Chen Xi rarely interfered in world affairs after twenty years of Yuanfeng, some people are like pillars of stability or mountains pressing down on others. Now that the pillars of stability have been removed and the mountains have been moved, there are no more obstacles!

In the fourteenth year of Anyuan, a severe drought struck. After Marquis Chen's death, the biggest problem was exposed. There was no more favorable weather and peace year after year. Heaven always caused droughts and floods. With the death of Chen Xi, it was as if Heaven was in a rage, severely punishing the Han Dynasty and making countless people miss the era when Marquis Chen was still alive.

In the fifteenth year of the Anyuan era, a locust plague arose from the northern grasslands, affecting approximately a hundred billion people. This caused a great famine in the north, and disaster relief efforts were launched in various regions, leaving many people displaced.

In the sixteenth year of the Anyuan era, after a severe drought and locust plague, a plague broke out in the north. Due to the century of prosperity, the stored medicinal herbs were not properly "managed," and the north was thrown into chaos in the face of the plague.

In the seventeenth year of Anyuan, a great famine struck, and people resorted to cannibalism...

After four years of disasters, the grain stored by ordinary people was finally exhausted, and the grain in the official granaries was also almost gone due to various losses. Local people began to storm the government offices, but the Han Dynasty was still at its peak and suppressed them one by one.

"What?! A tax on cloud formations?!" After Chen Xi and Zhuge Liang, the position of prime minister was once again dismissed. The current Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Yu Liang, was dumbfounded. How could such a thing possibly pass?

However, the world is currently in turmoil, and the best way Liu Zhe can think of to stabilize the world is to use the supermodel cloud to completely suppress the people.

After all, Rome has proven that this is the right path. Although it has greatly depleted the strength of the Roman Empire, to the point that it cannot even defeat the Yuan family of Eastern Europe at this stage, and has been repeatedly controlled by the Yuan family of Eastern Europe to invade the European barbarians into the homeland, the core area of ​​Rome is really stable under this operation.

Back in the day, when Yuan Shikai's famous general Deng Ai was at the height of his power, he almost changed the name of the Yuan family in Eastern Europe to the Deng family in Eastern Europe, thanks to the foundation of the Deng family. In order to completely solidify the foundation of the Deng family, Deng Ai attacked his childhood friend Auden. When Auden retreated, Deng Ai even detoured from the north, broke through the Central European Plain, and went directly south to sneak across the Alps and parachute into Rome.

At the time, Deng Ai was almost a military genius, but when faced with the supermodel aura that Rome had accumulated over a century, his own aura was inferior, and he died on the spot. From then on, there was no more Deng family in Eastern Europe, only the Yuan family in Eastern Europe.

It can be said that the battle truly shocked the great clans of the Han Dynasty. The use and storage of supermodel cloud energy was truly astonishing to these people. Many members of the Liu royal family also kept this matter in mind. However, since Chen Xi was still alive at that time, these people had no way to deal with it even if they had ideas.

Now that Marquis Chen is dead, the Han Dynasty needs this power to stabilize the world. Moreover, for so many years, the Han Dynasty has been erasing Chen Xi's traces and gradually removing the influence of the supermodel cloud from the history books. Admittedly, the major families must have relevant knowledge, but how many ordinary people remember it?

Relying on those scattered sixth and seventh level cultivators who have survived since the founding of the nation? What a joke! They are already beneficiaries. Admittedly, they still remember their origins. Their descendants, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren have long since donned the guise of a powerful clan and become local residents.

Under these circumstances, apart from a few conscientious civil and military officials, most of the powerful families accepted Liu Zhe's bribery, and the cloud tax was successfully implemented without any major incidents.

"Your subject begs to retire." Yu Liang, only fifty years old, bowed to Liu Zhe. Liu Zhe accepted the resignation of his minister without expression. A year later, unable to bear the fact that the Han Dynasty had come to this point in less than five years under Chen Xi, the degenerate Yu Liang fell ill with worry while holding a pile of secret mirrors that recorded the prosperous era. He then passed away, and was buried in the tomb with hundreds of secret mirrors.

From this point on, the golden age came to a complete end.

In the twenty-second year of Anyuan, after a wave of purges and turmoil, Liu Zhe, who had consolidated his throne, once again increased the cloud tax. If it was still within a reasonable range before, this time, ordinary families could no longer afford to have elderly people. The saying "life expectancy of seventy years is rare" once again became the norm.

As an emperor who disregarded ancestral rules and violated numerous regulations, Liu Zhe compromised with the emerging powerful clans entrenched in various regions, allowing these clans to occupy key nodes in the supermodel cloud. From then on, the alternative Nine-Rank System was introduced into the Han Dynasty.

Chen Xi's spirit in heaven watched this scene helplessly and could only lower his gaze to Central Asia. Compared to the Central Plains, which had already gone astray, and the Ganges River region, which was intoxicated with prosperity and had no intention of causing any trouble, Central Asia had a bit of the glory of the Han Dynasty.

In the 48th year of the Anyuan era, Liu Zhe passed away. As someone who had forcibly raised his internal energy to leave his body through various means and possessed multiple methods to prolong his life, Liu Zhe should theoretically have been able to live to be over 190 years old. However, the throne of the emperor was not so easy to hold. If one stayed in this position for too long, naturally his brothers, sons, uncles, and other relatives would have designs on him. Moreover, Liu Zhe had done many illegal things, so settling accounts with him was also a viable option.

However, this move led to a great deal of turmoil, and for the next twenty years, the Liu family royal family was in constant turmoil, and its ability to control various regions was greatly reduced. If it were not for the existence of the supermodel cloud, the repeated turmoil of the Liu family royal family would have been enough to plunge the world into chaos, leading to the chaotic state of the late Qin Dynasty.

Fortunately, the Liu family still had some luck. The turmoil of the past twenty years finally ended in the hands of the new emperor Liu Yu. After that, the cloud tax was greatly reduced, and the people were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Two of the top-ranking aristocratic families were wiped out by Liu Yu, and the new emperor's ambition to dominate was put into practice.

However, at this time, Central Asia had entered a new era. Wang Meng, a young member of the Beihai Wang clan (also known as the Tianchen Wang clan) absorbed by the Wang family, surpassed all the existing Wang family elders and even defeated Wang Mengni, the Wang family's son-in-law, to become the leader of the new era.

The Wang family of Central Asia has launched a full-scale war. With three powerful warriors from the Martial Temple, seven commanders of the large army, and teammates from the Zheng and Zhang families who were impressed by their strength, as well as the Guo family who had long realized that something seemed amiss with the Wang family, the Wang family of Central Asia unleashed a devastating force that swept through the entire battlefield as soon as they made their move.

Dealing with the Pamir Mountains, capturing the entire Li, Guo, and Fan families and making them kneel and kowtow in the Wang family ancestral hall, and sacrificing the direct descendants of those three families—none of that matters. The Wang family now possesses the ability to defeat all the Central Asian aristocratic families single-handedly.

The great war began. The two Cuis, the Yang family of Hongnong, and the Yuan family of Chenjun were all crushed by the iron fist of the three kings. Some retreated to Africa and gave up their struggle for hegemony in Central Asia, while others retreated back to Eastern Europe and became lackeys of the Yuan family of Runan. Some were forcibly tied to the Wang family's war chariot. In short, Central Asia in the fourth century belonged to the Wang family. The dogs of the Pamir Mountains were so frightened by the Wang family's terrifying fighting power that they could only rely on the terrain for defense.

In the second year of Yongchu, Liu Yu, who ascended the throne twenty years earlier than in official history, issued an edict to the Wang clan of Central Asia to cease hostilities after barely resolving domestic affairs. However, at this time, he had already launched a northern expedition against the Yuan clan, a western campaign against Rome, and even crossed the Zagros Mountains to capture the former winter capital of Persia, now the capital of the eastern border duchy of Rome.

Even though there were a series of reasons, such as Rome's carelessness in losing the country and the supermodel cloud pulling out Rome's non-citizens, the Central Asian royal family had truly developed to the level of capturing dragons.

Naturally, Wang Meng was somewhat disdainful of the new emperor's orders in Luoyang. He thought, "Do you really think the Liu family is still the same as before? My Wang family has earned its current status through hard work and fighting. You think I'll just stop because you tell me to? Where does that leave my dignity?"

Moreover, at this time, Wang Meng's grandson, Wang Zhen'e, also displayed the demeanor of a martial temple. Including Wang Jun, who was waiting for his internal energy to leave his body and seemed to be able to live for a while longer, and Wang Menni, the son-in-law of the Wang family who was in the final stages of his life but had not yet died, the Wang family had a total of four generals at the level of martial temples and eleven commanders of large legions.

Even if some of the commanders of these eleven legions are incompetent, the sheer number and scale of them is still more outrageous than any other major power of the time. Even Rome would have a headache facing four Temple of Martial Arts level experts. As for the Yuan family of Eastern Europe, who were very powerful not long ago, they also chose to retreat after being severely humiliated several times by Wang Meng's army in the Caucasus region.

In other words, the Wang family at this stage had already entered a state of vying for supremacy. Moreover, unlike other forces that relied on absorbing external wisdom, the Wang family only needed its own strong members to solve all problems. As a result, both its unity and stability far surpassed those of other forces.

Therefore, Wang Meng was quite disdainful when faced with the Han emperor's questioning.

On the contrary, the six major families in the Congling Mountains, after receiving clear feedback from the Han Dynasty, quickly jumped out to welcome the emperor's arrival. There was no way around it; the Wang family at this stage was simply too abstract for these families in the Congling Mountains. In particular, the way the Wang family swept away several families of the same level as the Congling Mountains like autumn leaves was too frightening for these families.

After all, only their families had a deep-seated hatred for the Wang family, while the other families had no such enmity. The Wang family's actions clearly indicated that they were saving their main course for last, which was disastrous!

“Cui Hong, surrender. You are someone to be reckoned with, but you are not good enough. My Wang family has only sent one person, while there are three others like me, and more than a dozen others who are inferior to me.” Wang Meng looked at Cui Hong and Zhao Yi on the city wall from below the city.

In Central Asia, only the Cui and Zhao families remained who neither fled nor submitted. The two families completely merged and relied on the Persian terrain to hold back the Wang family, but they were indeed starting to falter.

“Father, please do not surrender. Wang Meng’s personal arrival only shows that the situation in the Northwest has exceeded the Wang family’s expectations. The arrival of the Han emperor is no simple matter.” The young Cui Hao advised with some worry. Due to the lack of intelligence, Cui Hao could not clearly analyze the situation in Central Asia. Relying on his keen sense of people’s hearts and the situation, Cui Hao did not believe that what Wang Meng said was true.

"Will the Han emperor really come?" Cui Hong asked with a hint of despair. Their Cui clan's land, spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, had been reduced to just this capital city by Wang Meng in just two years. Even if they managed to hold it, what good would it do? What problem could just one city solve?

"They will come. In the current situation, our importance to the Han emperor is rapidly increasing. If the Wang family annexes us, then the Wang family will no longer be the Central Asian Wang family, but the Persian emperor!" Cui Hao explained with a hint of impatience. "And the Han emperor is clearly ambitious and very young. He will definitely not allow another true dragon to emerge in the world. I imagine that even the Yuan family, the Cao family, and Rome will be at the emperor's beck and call!"

As Cui Hao predicted, Liu Yu barely managed to extricate himself from the internal turmoil of the Han Dynasty, only to witness the birth of this behemoth in the West. If the three kings were to annex the entire Central Asia, their next target would inevitably be Chang'an. In the so-called Han cultural sphere, there would only be one emperor.

This is why Liu Yu immediately led his army to the Pamir Mountains after escaping. As for the so-called diplomatic means, Liu Yu was also using them. In addition, the Yuan family lost the Caucasus and Rome lost Ctesiphon. Under Liu Yu's leadership, the three parties were willing to join forces to strangle the Wang family. Of course, they did not intend to destroy the Wang family in Central Asia. Their goal was simply to bring the Wang family in Central Asia back to its original state!

However, Cui Hao analyzed the situation correctly from a strategic and psychological perspective, but he could not calculate the terrifying fighting power of the Wang clan. The Romans came from the west, the Yuan clan went south, and Liu Yu personally suppressed the Wang clan from the Pamir Mountains. But when faced with the Wang clan, which was at its peak and relied on the terrain to fight on its home turf, they managed to break through the situation. Even the Yuan and Cao clans suffered heavy defeats against the two veteran generals of the Temple of Martial Arts.

When Rome faced the young general Wang Zhen'e, they were careless and suffered an initial victory followed by defeat, allowing the royal family to take over the winter capital Ctesiphon and seize half of Mesopotamia, thus establishing the empire's power!

Liu Yu, who also led a large army in a personal campaign, faced Wang Meng, who cultivated gentle internal energy and whose lifespan was over two hundred years. Wang Meng was only seventy-five years old and at his peak, so Liu Yu was unlikely to achieve much. Fortunately, although Liu Yu came with the idea of ​​crushing the Wang family, he did not linger when he saw that things were not going to work. He simply fought a game with Wang Meng, sent troops to rescue Cui and Zhao, and stabilized the Congling Mountains.

But from then on, the Persian royal family was established!

"He appointed Wang Meng as Grand General, granted him the same rank as the Three Excellencies, enfeoffed him as the King of Qin, granted him the authority to act on behalf of the emperor, bestowed upon him the Nine Bestowments, placing him above all other kings, and granting him imperial banners, imperial guards, and the right to rule over his own territory. He also granted him the land of Persia." After realizing that there seemed to be no good way to deal with the Wang family at their peak, Liu Yu protected the Cui and Zhao families and strengthened the defenses of the Pamir Mountains. He then accepted reality and stopped dwelling on the past. Just as anti-monopoly laws are used to deal with those who do not have a monopoly, the crime of subverting state power is used to deal with those who cannot subvert the state.

If the Wang family truly possesses the power to dominate all sides, then the Han emperor will have to seriously consider how to appease the Persian king. Besides, in matters of power, one must contend for a lifetime, not just for a short time. If Wang Meng can live for two hundred years, so can I, Liu Yu! Persia is an empire, but isn't my Central Plains also an empire? Right now, it's only because their Liu imperial family is in dire straits that they've given the Wang family this opportunity; let's wait a few more years!

Let's talk about a less extraordinary era, how empires gradually collapsed, and how new powers slowly rose. Of course, we'll leave out royal families; that phase was definitely a bug.