Preface

  The "Xi Ci" chapter of the I Ching says: "The Changes have the Way of the Sage, which is fourfold. In speaking, it values its words; in movement, it values change; in making vessels, it values their forms; in divination, it values its pronouncements."

  The "Zhou Li" Spring Officer Tai Bo is in charge of the three rituals, namely "Lian Shan", "Gui Cang" and "Zhou Yi". "Lian Shan" and "Gui Cang" have long been lost, and only "Zhou Yi" remains.

  King Wen of Zhou expanded the sixty-four hexagrams and appended judgments to them, which became the "Judgment" (Tuan). The Duke of Zhou gave symbolic interpretations of the lines, each becoming a "Line Statement". Finally, Confucius wrote the "Ten Wings".

  ……

  This is a continent larger than Asia, called the Illusionary Continent. The Illusionary Continent has six major empires: the Qin Empire in the central-eastern part of the continent, the Fengyun Empire in the south, the Qing Empire in the northeast, the Mongolian Empire in the northwest, the Dai Empire which occupies thousands of islands of varying sizes in the Eastern Sea, and the Caesar Empire in the west.

  In the northern part of the Dream Continent, there is a vast grassland that is several times larger than the Siberian Plain. On this vast grassland, two empires were established by nomadic peoples: the Eastern Great Qing Empire and the Western Mongolian Empire. The Great Qing Empire and the Mongolian Empire are separated by the Yanmen Pass of the Great Qin Empire, with the western side being the Mongolian Empire and the eastern side being the Great Qing Empire. To the south of the Mongolian Empire is the territory of the Caesar Empire, which lies south of the Qilian Mountains. The eastern part of the Caesar Empire borders the Yizhou region of the Great Qin Empire. South of the Jiaozhou region of the Great Qin Empire lies the Fengyun Empire.

  The Great Qin Empire is the largest country in the Illusory Mainland, and it is a very large feudal-era nation. Its previous history is astonishingly identical to that of China's Western Jin and the feudal dynasties before the Western Jin. The only differences are that its population is tens or even hundreds of times larger, its land area is dozens of times greater, and its standing army generally has over ten million soldiers.

  At that time, the 16-year-long "Eight Kings Rebellion" of Western Jin had just ended. However, this rebellion severely damaged the social economy, leading to large-scale internal migration of ethnic minorities in the north and uprisings of refugees across the country, ultimately resulting in the downfall of the Western Jin dynasty.

  Afterwards, the Xiongnu, Qiang, Di, Jie and Xianbei tribes successively entered the Central Plains, establishing their own dynasties in the north. After decades of war, a man named Tiyang Jian appeared in the north, rising from the grasslands with an army. He was skilled at both strategy and battle, often leading his troops on campaigns. He excelled at using tactics and attacking the hearts of his enemies, while also spreading benevolence to all ethnic groups. For weaker tribes, he advocated for first pacifying them through persuasion, then collecting taxes from them; if they resisted, he would then launch a military campaign against them. With the help of his able minister and general Wang Zhimeng as his right-hand man, Tiyang Jian was able to dispatch troops to successively destroy the Former Yan, Former Liang, and Dai states within ten years, ending the long-standing division and chaos in the Yellow River valley. Soon after, Tiyang Jian ascended to the throne as emperor, with the country name of Great Sui, and the capital at Chang'an; this is known in history as the Great Sui dynasty.

  During his reign, he appointed Liu Zhimeng as the prime minister, reused talented people, suppressed the powerful and wealthy, promoted water conservancy, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, and implemented a series of policies to reconcile with ethnic minorities and sinicize them. After several years, Northern Sui became rich and strong. Then, Tiexiong Jian used another ten years to unify the north, and then sent troops to capture the two states of Liang and Yi in Eastern Jin; afterwards, he marched into the Western Regions, and five years later, Emperor Sui led his army southward, capturing all the land north of the Yangtze River in Eastern Jin. Just as he was preparing to conquer the remaining forces of Eastern Jin and unify the world, he suddenly fell ill with a serious disease, and his son Tiexiong Guang took advantage of the opportunity to launch a coup and assassinate him.

  Iron Guang had just ascended to the throne and continued to attack Eastern Jin, leaving only five counties in Ningzhou. However, due to internal changes within the imperial court, the attack on Eastern Jin was temporarily suspended, and instead, a treaty was signed that required Eastern Jin to abandon its national title and completely surrender. After pacifying the internal turmoil of the imperial court, Sui entered a relatively peaceful period of twenty years.

  At this time, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou began to redivide the administrative divisions. He continued to use the three-level system of prefectures, commanderies and counties that had been in use since the Qin and Han dynasties. The states and commanderies that had been established due to war were abolished, and the remaining territory of Eastern Jin was divided into thirteen states, eighty-five commanderies and nine hundred fifty-seven counties. Due to its own limited power, the Eastern Jin government was also forced to accept Emperor Wu's administrative divisions and divide its own administrative divisions according to Northern Zhou's requirements.

  Under the prosperous Sui Dynasty, Sui gradually became corrupt. Various social crises lurking beneath the surface gradually emerged. At this time, Emperor Yang of Sui, disregarding the advice of the imperial court and his ministers, mobilized a large army three times within six years, gathering over 200 million troops from more than a dozen main force military units to attack the Qing Empire. Due to the people's discontent and the soldiers' war-weariness, coupled with poor command, the Sui army was defeated by the Qing army skilled in archery on horseback on the vast grasslands.

  After the failure of the expedition, Tieguang began to indulge in a life of extravagance and tyranny in order to forget the failure of the expedition. He lived every day in a state of drunkenness and gluttony, regardless of the lives of the people, and opened up the large canal that runs through the north and south. He also continued to use troops outside the northern border several times, but all ended in defeat.

  Under the brutal rule of the Five Barbarians, people from all over the country rose up in revolt, and the Five Barbarian nobles also took advantage of the situation to start a rebellion. At the same time, the Sui Empire quickly disintegrated, and the Xianbei, Qiang, Dingling, and other tribal nobles who were originally conquered and controlled by the Sui took the opportunity to rise up in arms and establish their own independence. The Xianbei Murong Chui rose up in Hebei, and the remnants of the Eastern Jin dynasty, led by Sima Hui, rose up in Dianchi and began a northern expedition. The Sui Empire began to disintegrate.

  At this time, the founding emperor of the Great Qin Empire, Yang Shangkun, was serving as the governor of Yanzhou. In the face of the fragmented and disintegrated Sui Empire, he resolutely took up arms and after 33 years of war in the south and north, finally unified the warlords of the Sui Empire, establishing the Great Qin Empire. Along with the Fengyun Empire, the Caesar Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Qing Empire, and the Dai Empire, it became one of the six powers vying for hegemony.

  ……

  The 15th year of Xuanhe in the Great Qin, third month

  The officials of the Qin Imperial Observatory predicted that there would be a lunar eclipse on a certain day in June, and astrologers throughout the land believed this to be an omen of change for the empire. They therefore began observing the stars in June.

  At this time, the three famous masters of astrology and divination who had been in seclusion for many years - Tianji Old Man Zhuge Wen, Shenqi Mr. Li Feng, and Shensuan Mr. Yuan Tiangang. A month ago, they made an appointment to come to Guanting on Mount Tai, where they observed the stars on a certain evening in June.

  Three people are all well-versed in various divination techniques and are geniuses of the time. In ancient times, divination was roughly divided into three categories: first, observing the stars to understand national fortunes; second, calculating birth dates to know heavenly fate; third, divining auspiciousness or inauspiciousness to discuss success or failure. Zhuge Wen, Yuan Tiangang and Li Feng are all proficient in these three types of divination.

  That night, only the three of them were on the Star-Gazing Pavilion, and in the starry sky, the Emperor's Star had long been dim and without light. On either side of the Emperor's Star were the Azure Dragon and White Tiger Stars. These two stars must be the General's Stars, with a brilliant light that shines for thousands of miles, unmatched in power. It can be seen that they are two rare warriors who will rise to replace Qin. This was already predetermined by the star chart fifteen years ago after the shooting star passed, and it has not changed until now.

  At this time, a solar eclipse occurred. After the eclipse, the starry sky in the northern part of the 12 palaces of the imperial court remained unchanged, while three guest stars suddenly appeared in the southern starry sky. The Southern Emperor Star was dim, and this was the Guest Star Fan Emperor Star. Among the three guest stars, the Heavenly Wolf Star came from the north and seemed to devour the Emperor Star position. The Seven Killings Star was on the side of the Southern Emperor Star, with a sign that it would force the Southern Emperor Star to move westward. The Broken Army Star was located in the south and would soon enter the Emperor Star position. The three men, including Zhuge, felt that there would be changes in the world again, and the world would be in great chaos. After the great chaos, a new regime would emerge.

  At this time, Yuan Tiangang casually glanced at the starry sky in the northeast and suddenly discovered a small purple star. Yuan Tiangang hurriedly said: "Master uncle, master brother, you quickly look at that small purple star."

  Zhuge Wen and Li Feng looked in the direction that Yuan Tiangang was pointing, and in the eastern part of the sky, far from the Twelve Palaces of the Imperial Way, there was a small purple star. It seemed to be moving slowly westward. Estimated to enter the Twelve Palaces of the Imperial Way soon. Although this star is small, it has a auspicious aura, with a faint purple light and surrounded by auspicious clouds, it's not an ordinary thing. However, the sudden appearance of the small purple star moving westward only lasted for a moment before disappearing into the starry clouds.

  Three people did not understand the astrology, opened the twenty-four star map they carried with them, combined with the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching they had learned all their lives, and finally made them suddenly enlightened.

  Zhuge Wen suppressed his excited emotions and said: "Although this small purple star is dim and uncertain, auspicious clouds are rising around it, and good fortune is boundless. Given time, when it enters the Twelve Palaces of the Heavenly Emperor's Way, it will shine brightly for thousands of miles, destined by heaven to unify the world and establish an imperial enterprise."

  Yuan Tiangong's excitement was evident on his face as he exclaimed, "The purple energy is coming from the east, and the auspicious cloud is protecting it. This must be the legendary Ziwei Star!"

  "The last time the historical records mentioned Ziwu Xing was during the Western Jin dynasty." Li Feng added, "From the perspective of astrology, Ziwu Xing is only a short distance from Huang Dao, and it also took a long time to reach the center of the twelve palaces. It can be seen that the true dragon son has already descended into the world."

  Yuan Tiangang said with emotion, "Yes! According to astrology, at that time, the Western Vermilion Bird and Southern Black Tortoise will also enter the Imperial Way together, appearing in the northwest direction of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, dazzlingly brilliant. Its light is comparable to that of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, and it may also lead to a situation where the world is divided into three."

  Li Feng worriedly said: "The light of the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise stars may cover up the Purple Forbidden Enclosure star at any time. At that time, the two stars will even become the new southwestern pair of Emperor Stars. Is this a blessing or a disaster?"

  Zhuge Wen sighed and said: "Let's wait and see then!..."

  At the same moment, on Qinglong Mountain of the Great Qin Empire, an old man about eighty years old looked at the lunar eclipse and muttered: "The Purple Mansion appears, the world is in chaos, the true dragon emerges."

  However, in the face of the new star pattern after the lunar eclipse, the astrologers of the world have different opinions. Some say that this star pattern represents the great Qin replacing and unifying the world, while others say it represents the Wind Cloud Empire unifying the world. There are also those who claim that this star pattern represents the six nations of the world on the verge of another great chaos. Even the officials of the Imperial Observatory of each country have no unified opinion in the face of these differing views.