Chapter 536: Caught Unprepared
The princess continued with confidence: “The abdication of the Divine King and the emperor is a way to sharpen the young generation, taking advantage of the chaos, a way to select the most excellent successors. Only the descendants up to the task would be qualified to lead Jin. Only someone who could suppress all the other rebellers would win the heart of the people and become a true conqueror.”
“The dynasty has enjoyed peace for too long. The nobles here are extravagant and decadent. The clans are influential, all working for their own interest.”
“Let’s talk about the four great clans. The Beiming has the most authority with deep roots and members all around the dynasties. It has eight prefectures and more than ten thousand cities, countless cantons. Yes, too many to count, so they have relationships everywhere. Some heretical sects have to give them face too before establishing another branch for recruitment.”
“Just this clan alone controls thirty percent of the court, or rather, thirty percent of the dynasty. The Grand Chancellor doesn’t worry too much about the emperor, if they were allowed to grow, the royal clan would be in deep trouble.”
“Now on to the Yin Gou, They rarely participate in the court but remained influential in both the mortal and cultivation worlds, perhaps even above the Beiming Clan. As long as there are people, there are stores belonging to them, so they’re even richer than us. Some even say that their riches are ten times more than the national treasury.”
“The most important things for both mortals and cultivators are wealth and resources, and both are under the Yin Gou’s control. If they ever want to do something, their summoning power might be superior to the Beiming.”
“For the third one, the Nalan, they were the biggest rival against us, the Long. Though they lost, it didn’t actually affect their real foundation. They retreated back to Heavenly Cloud and publicly declared their submission, but the truth is that they’ve never really obeyed any order. The clan masters from there never entered the capital either.”
“They continue to grow in the shadows, so that entire prefecture is pretty much their domain; all ten of the biggest clans there only obey them and do not offer tribute to the court. Six thousand years have passed now, who knows just how strong they are?”’
“As for Xiyue, this is definitely the most reasonable among the four, seemingly the weakest. But of course, how could one of the four be so simple? They are located in Western Realm Prefecture, far from the capital and adjacent to seventy-two minor countries. They, combined, are twice as large as Grand Southern.”
“After several thousand years, they are now the king of the west. The royals from these minor countries have become their puppets and even offer tributes to them, more so than they do for the royal clan.”
“Moreover, they are quite influential in Yu Qian and Tian Long Dynasty too, possessing some military power there. Though they don’t really show themselves in Jin, once something happens here, they will turn into a mighty beast. Yes, this clan is impossible to speculate.”
Her expression became serious as she pointed at the horizon: “How could the emperor not know about these four ambitious clans? How could the royal clan not care? Alas, they are too powerful with deep roots, some are older than the royal clan, there’s no easy way to take care of them. Any attempt would only alert and make them more cautious in the future, so even the emperor is helpless in this, despite his power.”