For most of the year, there have been few personnel changes in the Deng family.
Huang Feihu went to garrison in Handan, no longer subject to various forms of pressure from Zhaoguo, and was overjoyed. So he had another child with Jia family. Huang Tianxiang was born one year earlier than originally in history. Now Huang Feihu has four sons - Huang Tianhua, Huang Tianlu, Huang Tiange, and Huang Tianxiang - and a daughter named Huang Yan.
The officials of Nanjun each fulfilled their duties. Mei Bo was still engaged in supervisory work, seeing who was corrupt, he reported it to the higher-ups without any hesitation.
Corruption can still be threatened with the eighteen layers of hell, but there's nothing to do with those who lack ability or who take a more radical approach to doing things.
It's not necessary for all officials to be sages in human society, "Good deeds don't become officials, and emotions can't achieve things."
Deng Jiugong could only scold some officials, and this is where the limitations of the times lie. In many cases, there's not much of a solution.
Lao Deng changed the name of Nanjun back to its original "Nandu", and then moved the city gate northward based on the foundation of Sanshan Pass.
Originally, Sanshan Pass was built to defend the southern 200 feudal states. Now, it has been turned into a defense against northern enemies, so it naturally needs to be rebuilt.
The old Sanshan Pass was replaced with a new city, which, in fact, is the ancestral land of the Deng family. According to the naming conventions of the time, the new city was named "Nanyang".
At the same time, the Deng family also launched a campaign to compile household records, making it easier to manage the population. A large number of barbarians, southern feudal lords' subjects, and northern merchants who fled due to war became subjects under Deng family's rule, leading to another surge in population.
The south is a scene of prosperity, while the north has turned into a literal meat grinder.
King Zhou fought Eastern Prince Houbu twice, both times when he was on the verge of breaking into Zhaoguo and hearing that Xiqi had sent troops. He had to retreat and fight Xiqi. Once King Zhou withdrew from Zhaoguo, Xiqi also withdrew with the aim of making their father and son fight forever. Chonghou Tiger and Yuan Hong were also restless, turning the whole north into a mess.
King Zhou, Xiqi, and Nanjun were all carrying out certain forms of reform to varying degrees. Yin Zhou did not lag behind and abolished slavery around his actual control of Zhaoguo. As for Eastern Prince Houbu's side, the picture was not very optimistic. A large part of Eastern Prince Houbu's 600,000-man army was raised by the other 200 feudal lords, and Eastern Prince Houbu more resembles an alliance leader. These feudal lords were the most resolute opponents of abolishing slavery, and they posed a great obstacle to internal reforms as they were keen to maintain their status quo.
The Deng family had nearly finished cleaning up the 200 southern feudal lords, fully capable of enforcing orders and prohibitions. On the other hand, Eastern Prince Houbu could only play political games with the numerous feudal lords under his command through alliances and oppositions.
Familiar with the intelligence from various regions, Dian Chanyu felt quite nostalgic. She thought she had never interfered with the overall situation of the Investiture of the Gods, and she couldn't understand why it had turned out this way. It was very perplexing to her.
Dian Chanyu couldn't figure it out, so she just stopped thinking. As the Zong Yue Festival was approaching, she set off for the Underworld.
"Who is present in the court?" Ms. Su, clad in the full regalia of the Underworld Lord, inquired with an air of authority.
Dian Chanyu rolled her eyes: "The one below is Su San!"
Ms. Su, with her nonexistent beard, picked up a piece of white paper and pondered for a moment: "Isn't the name on this document 'Deng Er'?"
"Stop your chatter. Hurry up."
"Chichi," Da Ji laughed like a mischievous little fox that had stolen chickens, and even though she covered her mouth with her hand, her smugness was undeniable.
Ms. Su worked in the Underworld for two and a half years. Even though those warlocks were as keen as ever to fight, Queen Pingxin had to stop them. They couldn't continue forever, or else their hearts would become too wild.
Retreat and return to work!
Each of the high priests put on robes representing the scholarly people, put away their axes and hammers, washed the bloodstains off their feet, laced up their boots, and returned to the Underworld to resume their jobs.
Ms. Su achieved her goal and retired. In just over two years, she had directly upgraded from a mortal to a celestial being, all thanks to her good karma. She hadn't put in much effort to train herself, and her combat methods and techniques were still at the level of a mortal.
The witch tribe will certainly not neglect its own people.
Queen Pingxin felt that her foundation was a bit weak. Her realm had risen, but her methods hadn't kept up. The understanding of the Tao was even non-existent. In the future, when Ms. Su goes out to fight, can she claim to have been trained by the witch tribe? That won't do. She needs special training.
As a reward for her achievements, she was prepared to send her to the Palace of Pangu, so that Ms. Su could personally experience the authentic wisdom of Pangu.
The Palace of Pangu is the heart of Pangu, transformed from the earliest days of opening heaven and breaking earth. Here, it stores twelve drops of Pangu's essence blood, which later merged with the earth's qi to become the twelve ancient witches. Since then, countless years have passed, and the Palace of Pangu has always been the most important place for ancestors to remember their revered god father.
Long before countless eons, the Palace of Pangu was sent to a Great Universe that was completely disconnected from the time and space of the primordial chaos by the Spatial Ancestor Empress Jiang and the Temporal Ancestor Ancestor Zhu Jiuyin.
Apart from the twelve ancestral witches, there are no great wizards within the witch tribe, such as Jiufeng and Chi You, who are able to enter the Palace of Pangu. Even for outsiders, it's not a place they can enter. Ms. Su was granted permission this time and can only observe from outside the temple.
She took Dian Chanyu along as well, making up the excuse that she didn't understand the Dao and needed someone by her side to give her guidance.
This time, it was Ms. Su who was in charge, and Dian Chanyu was more like an accessory at best.
They were able to get up close and personal with the ancient Dao wisdom of Pangu this time, as well as accidentally refine that drop of Later Earth essence blood into a gold core, which they could then pierce and absorb its refined energy.
Two things, to be done together.
Ms. Su completed the handover of her work, and it was evident that King Qin Guangan, who had returned to work, was restless as if he had a thorn in his side. Sitting in the chair, he unconsciously held the pen with the grip he would use for a battle ax in his right hand, while his left hand was tightly clenched into a fist. From his expression, it seemed as if he could burst out and smash the table down, then hammer an enemy's skull with it.
Not paying any more attention to the "civilized" people who had put down their weapons and resumed their duties, Dian Chanyu and Ms. Su arrived at the side hall.
Ms. Su casually said, "Take off your clothes."
Dian Chanyu: "????"
Dian Chanyu looked at the two pieces of maguee cotton clothing with primitive tribal patterns, as well as the tiger skin shorts, and the two stone axes thrown over by Ms. Su. Only after she was explained did she understand the intention behind it.
Wearing the robe of Daoism for a few years, she suddenly had to change clothes now. It was really a little hard for her to adapt.
"Why can't I just wear the Daoist robe? Do I have to change clothes?"
Ms. Su whispered, "The Palace of Pangu is a very sacred place. It is different from the Primordial Chaos."
She pondered for a while on how exactly it was different.
She couldn't come up with a way to explain it, so she just repeated Queen Pingxin's words: "The grandmother said that the time there is completely different from the Primordial Chaos, not in the past, not in the present, not in the future. We might even see ancestral witches who have fallen."
So incredible!
Ms. Su bit her lip and looked at her with a seductive gaze: "It's best to change into the clothes of the witch tribe, they don't like Daoist priests."
Not just dislike.
The witch tribe has a big grudge against the Xuanmen!
We are the offspring of our revered father god, yet you, Xihun, an outsider, have seized the Primordial Chaos and want to use Dao to oppose us? Why can't the three purities, descended from the original spirit of Pangu, attain immortality?
