NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 58: Era of Five Emperors
Zhuanxu’s first act as humanity’s fourth ruler was to relocate the capital from Zhuolu to Diqiu. Despite this change, humanity did not abandon the old capital. They built a shrine dedicated to the Yellow Emperor and worshiped its patron saint.
Every year, humans would make a pilgrimage to Zhuolu to worship the Yellow Emperor. At first, the idol built in the Yellow Emperor’s image resembled a flaxen-haired and golden eyed woman, but as time passed, her visage grew blurry and more indistinct. Eons later, the humans who worshiped the idol might see the woman, but some would see a man. Eventually, the names of Xuanyi and Xuanyuan disappeared with the passage of time, and only the title Yellow Emperor remained in humanity’s memories.
However, as mentioned before, that would be something that happened in the future. For now, Zhuanxu continued to make sweeping changes to all of humanity. The more prosperous humans became under his reign, the more merits he would accumulate. The more merits he accumulated, the greater rewards he would reap on the day of his ascension.
Zhuanxu merged humanity’s territories together and divided them into five regions. For the first time in their history, humanity had distinct boundaries showing how vast their land was. He divided the government into five departments: the Water Department was responsible for governing the northern region, the Earth Department governed the central region, the Wood Department governed the eastern region, the Flame Department governed the southern region, and the Metal Department governed the western region.
When everything settled down, Zhuanxu focused on the next agenda, unifying humanity’s customs. Although all of humanity kept the core traditions created by the human ancestors and previous sovereigns, the variations in tradition made a group on one side of the territory appear alien to another on the opposite side.
If the traditions continued to diverge, then humanity would split apart again. Zhuanxu didn’t need to wait for the future to see this; he already had an example. Although the Yellow Emperor called the Jiuli Tribe barbarians and descendants of giants, Zhuanxu knew that the Jiuli Tribe had been pure members of humanity. They had grown closer to barbarians because they split off from the dominant group and lived in the barren lands.
Zhuanxu aimed to prevent this, so he took a census of all the current traditions of humanity and created a unified tradition that all members of humanity must follow. He reformed the wedding and funeral system, established the difference between men and women, advocated for the consumption of cooked meat over raw, and many more.
It took many years for Zhuanxu to complete this process. Even when he completed humanity’s unified traditions, it was only the beginning. Year after year, humanity needed to abide by this new tradition in order for it to fully root in their very souls.
With the process on track, Zhuanxu focused on the government once more. While he focused on humanity’s tradition, he noticed that not all censuses he received were equal. Many officials had grown selfish and corrupt, transferring the funds for the census into their own coffers.
To combat corruption, Zhuanxu created the Five Punishments, a code that punished officials depending on the severity of their crimes. His reforms cracked down on corruption and stabilized the government.
The peace from the Yellow Emperor’s reign continued during Zhuanxu’s reign because of his good governance. He wasn’t just skilled in the ways of governing but also in the way of cultivation.
Not only had the Yellow Emperor taught Zhuanxu from a young age, he had also studied under the Daoist Taiyi of the Twelve Golden Immortals. Compared to the previous rulers of humanity, Daoist Taiyi did not contribute much to Zhuanxu’s growth.
As a result, when Zhuanxu ascended, Daoist Taiyi only gained five percent of the overall merit that came. Another five percent flowed toward the Human Temple, and Zhuanxu absorbed the remaining ninety percent.
His cultivation base quickly rose from the Profound Warrior Realm to the Golden Warrior Realm. It continued to rise until Zhuanxu reached the peak of the Quasi-Saint Realm.
The major powers who witnessed this couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Years ago, they sensed Wutian breaking through to the Half-Saint Realm. Because of his breakthrough, humanity had at least three Half-Saints. They couldn’t help but worry that only the Saints could withstand humanity’s dominance if all the human rulers reached the Half-Saint Realm.
Although another peak Quasi-Saint still loomed over them, the gulf was far shorter than if Zhuanxu had become a Half-Saint.
Zhuanxu himself also felt disappointed. Still, he was clear-headed. He knew that although his achievements were astounding, especially considering the entire history of humanity, they paled in comparison to the Three Sovereigns. Had his predecessors not laid the foundation, he knew he would not have been able to raise humanity’s prosperity to its current extent.
He sighed, but only internally. This was the day he became the leading emperor of the Five Emperors. He could not show any disappointment, lest his subjects become disappointed.
Zhuanxu rose into the air and looked down at his successor. “From now on, you will become Emperor Ku, the fifth ruler of humanity. Rule well and make humanity reach greater prosperity.”
Emperor Ku stepped forward and saluted his predecessor, just as Emperor Zhuanxu had done one hundred twenty-nine thousand and six hundred years ago. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
When Zhuanxu left, Daoist Taiyi also disappeared. But before leaving, he glanced at the western Saint’s disciple. Emperor Ku had an innate affinity for the metal element, so his fate was linked to the West. However, Daoist Taiyi didn’t know why it was Maitreya and not Dishitian or Kshitigarbha who took on the role of Emperor Ku’s teacher.
Still, a Saint’s decision did not concern a little Golden Immortal like himself.
On Mount Sumeru, Jieyin glanced down at his favorite disciple. “Do you blame Master?”
Kshitigarbha shook his head, still sitting atop a golden lotus with his hands in a prayer position. “Everything disciple has is given by Master. It is Master’s freedom to choose who will teach humanity’s ruler to whoever is most suitable.”
He gave the opportunity to become the fifth ruler of humanity’s teacher to Zhunti because the latter needed a vast amount of merit to offset the forty-eight vows he made when he ascended to Sainthood. Because of this, he deprived the most promising disciple of the Liberation Sect of this heavenly fortune.
Jieyin sighed, feeling guilty toward his most outstanding disciple. “Since Master has let you miss this chance, I will naturally do my best to make it up to you. Do you have wishes or needs?”
The former shura didn’t reject Jieyin’s kindness. Instead, he fell deep into thought. “I wish to attain a position in the Nether Realm to cleanse souls of their sin and understand the cycle of life and death deeper.”
“I’ll talk to Empress Pingxin about the matter,” Jieyin said.
He felt a slight sense of regret. If he had known of his disciple’s talent in the Law of Death, he would have accepted Tongtian naming Ksitigarbha the Heaven Bearing Emperor, even if it was an empty title with no power. Just possessing the title would give Ksitigarbha a certain amount of Karmic Luck and allow him to have an easier time comprehending the Law of Death.
Luckily, Jieyin still had room to maneuver. He already sensed the cracks between Tongtian and Empress Pingxin. Although she was as powerful as a Saint in the Nether Realm, she was ultimately not a Saint. As long as Jieyin proposed an alliance, he didn’t think Empress Pingxin would reject his offer.
Jieyin discussed the matter in depth with Zhunti first before he set out. Once the preliminary details had been hammered down, Jieyin left for the Nether Realm.
After Zhunti felt Jieyin’s departing presence, he returned to his own residence. He looked down Mount Sumeru and saw the countless disciples and he and his senior brother had accepted. Like Saint Redcloud, most of the disciples they accepted weren’t true disciples, but outer disciples.
They weren’t like the Saints of the East. Not only could they not be picky about their disciples, but they also had to bait them with the chance to become a Saint’s disciple.
“Master, there’s no need to rush. What belongs to the West will eventually come.”
Zhunti clapped his hands together and muttered a few prayers. “Disciple, how did you know what Master was thinking?”
Dishitian smiled. “How can disciple not? Master has always been concerned about the state of the West. Whenever Master furrows his brows, is he not worrying about the West?”
“You really know me,” Zhunti joked. Yes, who in the Three Realms didn’t know that he and his senior brother always wanted to restore the West to its former glory?
Zhunti looked at Dishitian. Perhaps it was the feeling of sentimentality, but he asked the same question Jieyin asked Kshitigarbha. “Do you blame Master? In the entire history of the world, there are only a few chances to earn merit like this. Logically speaking, you have already surpassed your senior brother, but after he comes back, he might surpass you.”
“What’s there to blame? Master has already given me so much. Disciple has not forgotten the risk Master took during the Zodiac Conference,” Dishitian said. She wasn’t like Kshitigarbha, who felt that his master had his own reasons. Instead, she really didn’t care about becoming Emperor Ku’s teacher. “Besides, Senior Brother is much more suitable to become a teacher than me. I don’t have the patience or the will.”
“Since you don’t blame Master, continue working hard. Your Uncle-Master and I have already decided that the Liberation Sect must have another Saint. We haven’t decided who yet,” Zhunti said.
Dishitian’s eyes lit up. If given the chance, who wanted to remain an ant? “Yes, Master. Disciple will strive to not disappoint you.”
Like his predecessor, Emperor Ku’s first act was to move humanity’s capital to a new location, Shangqiu.
Emperor Ku governed humanity with benevolence and virtue, earning the respect of all humans. Thanks to the influence of Maitreya, the population of humanity exploded. They placed more emphasis on the dead, thus perfecting funeral rites even further.
In the middle of Emperor Ku’s reign, the barbarians attacked humanity. It wasn’t an all-out war but a series of swift guerilla attacks. Even when humans deployed their army to chase the barbarians, the barbarians would always choose to retreat and avoid any direct confrontations.
The barbarians aimed to plunder resources, not victory. Their land could not sustain their growing population, so they could only take from the humans. Although the amount of resources plundered was not even close to harming the foundation of humanity, Emperor Ku did not want foreigners to think that humanity was an easy target. Nor did he want to raise an enemy for himself.
So Emperor Ku reformed the military system again, forming a permanent army that would station themselves at the frontiers of humanity’s territory. They were the Eastern Border Army, the Southern Border Army, the Western Border Army, and the Northern Border Army.
Emperor Ku created the four border armies to protect humanity, but he was not ignorant of the risks. If the generals ever decided to bare their fangs against humanity because of their disloyalty and selfishness, then the contemporary ruler must not be helpless. So, he created the Central Region Army. The Central Region Army could fight against two border armies at once, so as long as all four border armies did not rebel, there would be no problem.
After Emperor Ku’s improvements, the barbarian’s raids drastically reduced. Although the Western Border Army could not prevent all of them, it reduced the casualties by ninety-nine percent. Without humanity’s resources, the growth of the barbarians was limited.
Soon, another one hundred twenty-nine thousand and six hundred years passed. Emperor Ku ascended and became the second emperor of the Five Emperors. Like Emperor Zhuanxu, he reached the peak of the Quasi Saint Realm after his abdication.
His successor was Yao.
When Yao was born, Daoist Yuding of the Twelve Golden Immortals had appeared and accepted him as a student. After Daoist Yuding taught the uncrowned emperor, Yao left his teacher’s abode and caught the eye of Emperor Ku. Emperor Ku tested Yao many times during his reign, and after he ascended, Emperor Ku named Yao his successor.
Historians penned Emperor Yao as a ruler who was as tolerant as the heavens, more knowledgeable than immortals, as warm as sunlight, possessing a gaze that captured all the clouds in the sky, wealthy but not excessive, noble yet humble.
Emperor Yao’s first act was relocating the capital from Shangqiu to Puban, but because of the constant floods in the new capital, he had to relocate again. This time to its more permanent location, Pingyang. He would later form a method for humanity to resist floods.
He improved criminal law, taught people to cultivate morality, promoted etiquette, reformed marriage customs, established ethics, emphasized filial piety, composed music, produced dances, and created Go.
He continued Emperor Zhuanxu’s method of recruiting talents instead of overseeing everything himself. Among the talents recruited under him, eight stood out. They were Shun, Qi, Kui, Jue, Xizhong, Xishu, Hezhong, and Heshu.
However, Emperor Yao was not satisfied. He feared talented people were going undiscovered, so he erected a drum outside his palace. He erected two structures outside his palace, the Drum of Remonstrance and the Board of Criticism. Anyone who struck the Drum of Remonstrance could express their opinion to him. And those who found fault with him could write them on the Board of Criticism so that he and the world would know.
In addition to his governance, Emperor Yao also focused on economics. He encouraged people to make handicraft, and for women to become seamstresses, brew fruit wine, craft pottery, and to smelt copper and tin. He also developed a more complex agricultural system to increase the output of crops and revised the calendar to account for the planting seasons.
The third emperor’s actions brought humanity’s productivity to new heights.
Emperor Yao labored tirelessly for one hundred twenty-nine thousand and six hundred years. When he ascended to become the third emperor of humanity, he named Shun his successor.
Shun was born with polycoria, a condition where an eye has two or more pupils in the iris. From a young age, the people around Shun knew he was destined for greatness. They were right. When Shun turned nine, an immortal by the name of Duobao appeared and accepted him as a student.
Daoist Duobao wanted to bring him away to teach, but Shun valued filial piety and was unwilling to leave his parents. So, Daoist Duobao erected a wooden shack outside of the city, and Shun would visit every day to learn. This filial piety of Shun’s caught Emperor Yao’s eyes.
As emperor, Shun reorganized the calendar to accommodate the changing seasons and introduced ceremonies to worship the gods of heaven and earth. He emphasized the importance of popular opinion and conducted internal reviews of officials every five years. Those who made contributions would be rewarded, and those that failed their duties would be punished.
Rather than wait for crime to occur, Emperor Shun preferred to stamp out the intent. To do this, he mandated that all utensils must be engraved with the Five Punishments to warn against committing crime. Emperor Shun also felt that the Five Punishment was not detailed enough, so he revised it. He made execution only permissible in the gravest of crimes. Those that would have originally been executed would be exiled instead. He also introduced other punishments such as flogging, beatings, a repentance system, and more.
During his reign, humanity still suffered from floods. Upon closer inspection, Emperor Shun learned the culprits behind them were monsters and demons that had been expelled from the land when the Realm Linked King established the Earth Celestial League.
Emperor Shun established the Flood Prevention Bureau to combat the floods. Although it is called a bureau, it was closer to a division of the army composed of powerful cultivators that was deployed to slay monsters. When the Flood Prevention Bureau couldn’t slay the monster behind the flood, Emperor Shun would take action personally. However, this was only a short-term solution. For humanity to conquer floods, the common people must have the ability to halt floods and not rely on a select few.
Till late in his reign, Emperor Shun could not stop the floods from harming humanity. The one who would make up for his regrets was a man named Xia Yu, son of Xia Gun.