Junior Uncle is too cunning.

Master Lingbao's thoughts quickly shifted, and he recounted the recent situation in Jambudvipa to Chen Fusheng.

Ever since King Zhou of the Great Shang Dynasty, because of the matter of Su Daji, he formed a coalition to bring the powerful forces of the prehistoric world, such as the Three Pure Ones Taoism and the Fire Cloud Cave, onto the chariot of the Great Shang Dynasty.

Moreover, it not only received strong support from the Chan and Jie sects, with many Golden Immortal disciples being dispatched, but also allowed the great talent Jiang Ziya to fully join the Shang Dynasty's imperial court.

Although Jiang Ziya was not as powerful as top-tier True Lords like the White Crane Boy, his domestic affairs and long-term planning were of no less importance to King Zhou than those of a top-tier True Lord, and were even more important.

After all, even a top-tier True Monarch can only act as a henchman to suppress a region. However, the most important thing in governing a country is political foresight and strategic planning, which is exactly what a royal court urgently needs.

Just like the Shang Dynasty's imperial court, King Zhou could be considered a wise ruler, but the Shang Dynasty's imperial court was so large, and with the vassal states under its jurisdiction, its territory was too vast for him to manage alone, even if he worked himself to death.

Shang Rong, Bigan, and Wen Zhong were several talented administrators. Although their cultivation levels were not high, their status in the Great Shang Imperial Court was far more important than that of a Golden Immortal.

Jiang Ziya's addition not only provided the Shang Dynasty with another capable administrator, but also brought the Chan Sect to the side of the Shang Dynasty, just like Wen Zhong.

If Wen Zhong hadn't had the Jie Sect behind him, he wouldn't have been so highly regarded by King Zhou, appointed as an imperial envoy to inspect the world, and given great power. He could execute officials at all levels and feudal lords without prior approval, which was an immense power. It was as if King Zhou had shared a portion of his imperial power with Wen Zhong, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was half of the human emperor.

Moreover, as soon as Jiang Ziya joined the Shang Dynasty court, he displayed his unique talents, especially his proposal to reduce the power of the vassal states, which amazed even King Zhou himself.

Moreover, as Chen Fusheng secluded himself to refine weapons during this period, the spies sent out by Jiang Ziya, both overt and covert, have been returning to Chaoge in an endless stream. He has a complete grasp of the situation in the entire Southern Continent, especially the vassal states under the jurisdiction of the Great Shang Dynasty.

However, there were also areas where Jiang Ziya knew very little. He had even less information about the four major vassal states, especially the Western Marquisate. At least one or two spies from the other three states had gone in and learned some things, but the Western Marquisate was like a sealed iron barrel, and Jiang Ziya knew absolutely nothing about it.

Although the decree to reduce the power of the vassal states was not implemented, Wei Ziqi had basically finished handling the internal affairs of the royal family that King Zhou had entrusted to him over the past few years.

After all, he had the Five Emperors of Huoyun Cave behind him, plus the strong support of King Zhou. Even without the support of his ancestor, Wei Ziqi managed to resolve the situation, albeit with some minor setbacks.

Even with such smooth sailing, the internal affairs of the royal family still took seven years to resolve. There were simply too many people in the royal family. Even with Wei Zi mobilizing his full strength and King Zhou's strong support, it still took seven years.

While the large number of members of the royal family was one reason, another was a decree proposed by Jiang Ziya regarding the management of the royal family.

Jiang Ziya was the Vice Chancellor of the Shang Dynasty. Although the decree to reduce the power of the vassal states was one of his main tasks, he also had to handle other matters of the Shang Dynasty.

Especially when the decree to reduce the power of the vassal states was still in the preparation stage, Jiang Ziya would definitely have turned his attention to Wei Ziqi in handling matters concerning the royal family.

Although this is an internal matter of the royal family, even the emperor's family affairs can be considered national affairs, let alone the royal family, a powerful force. Moreover, not only Jiang Ziya and Shang Rong, but even Wen Zhong, who was away from home, were very concerned.

When Jiang Ziya learned that King Zhou had entrusted Wei Ziqi with the affairs of the royal family, he secretly nodded in approval, praising King Zhou's wisdom. However, as a far-sighted political talent, Jiang Ziya directly offered a suggestion regarding this matter.

The "Decree of Grace" sounds similar to the "Decree of Reducing the Feudal Powers," but they were aimed at different groups.

From its founding to the present, the Shang Dynasty's main foundation has been the enfeoffment system inherited from the Xia Dynasty.

In particular, Shang Tang was able to overthrow the Xia Dynasty with the help of many feudal lords and members of the Yin family. Therefore, after establishing the Shang Dynasty, Shang Tang enfeoffed all these meritorious officials and members of the Yin family in various places in the Southern Jambudvipa.

Initially, this system was excellent. After all, given the vast territory, it was the most suitable political system at the time to enfeoff the meritorious officials who had helped him conquer the land, whether out of loyalty or to recognize their achievements, as feudal lords who would rule the land together with him.

However, times have changed. The Great Shang Dynasty has been established for hundreds of thousands of years. Those loyal people from back then have long since left or retired, and now they have become a constraint or even a malignant tumor on the Great Shang Dynasty.

Moreover, not only was a feudal system used at the time, but in order to reward their merits, they were also granted hereditary succession, which is the system that has led to the biggest problems today.

Especially the royal family members, every one of them is a duke, marquis, or earl, and there are even many kings. Not only are they born nobles, but their offspring are also born with various titles.

Even if Wei Ziqi handles this well, as long as the root cause remains, it will resurface in tens of thousands of years. Therefore, Jiang Ziya specifically proposed the "Decree of Grace".

The Edict of Grace primarily addresses the issue of hereditary succession. After all, the human race reproduces far too quickly; even if one begets two, two beget three, and three can give rise to countless other things.

While this may seem exaggerated, unlimited childbirth is indeed a major burden for the Shang Dynasty imperial court. After all, once a member of the royal family is born and recorded in the imperial genealogy, they will receive a certain amount of salary. In the early stages, it was manageable because the number of children was relatively small and the Shang Dynasty imperial court could afford the money and provisions distributed.

However, by the time of the Shang Dynasty, the number of members of the royal family was simply too large. The amount of money and grain paid by the Shang Dynasty royal court to its members each year accounted for more than half of the Shang Dynasty's tax revenue.

It should be noted that although the tribute from the feudal lords was considerable every year, the Shang Dynasty imperial court also spent a lot. In addition to the annual salaries of officials at all levels, the Shang Dynasty imperial court's army, the palace's own expenses, and the fact that King Zhou had been waging wars in recent years, the Shang Dynasty imperial court's savings over the years and the supplies left behind by generations of emperors through frugality were all used up.

If it weren't for the efforts of Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and Wen Zhong in managing the situation, the Shang Dynasty's finances would probably have collapsed several years ago.

This is why King Zhou turned his attention to the royal family. It wasn't that King Zhou was wiser than his predecessors, but rather that he had no other choice.

The Southern Continent, especially in the last few hundred years, has been in turmoil. He can't interfere with the affairs of the immortals, but as the Human Emperor, how could he not know about the constant behind-the-scenes actions of the feudal lords, especially the four major feudal lords of the east, west, south, and north?

He originally planned to deal with the affairs of the four barbarians before dealing with the affairs of the feudal lords, but he did not expect that Buddhism would set its sights on the human race. Although King Zhou, the human emperor, valued the Shang Dynasty court, he valued the human race even more.

He tolerated it the first time. After all, although the human race is now the overlord of heaven and earth, it has never produced a saint. Even with the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, they can only protect themselves. However, Zhunti's plot against Nuwa gave him a chance. He decisively contacted the Three Pure Ones Taoism and Nuwa's Fire Cloud Cave to fight against Buddhism.

As expected, his plan succeeded. The Three Pure Ones, especially Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Jiaozhu, were very supportive. They not only sent a large number of disciples, but also helped him gain the great talent of Jiang Ziya. Although his cultivation was somewhat inadequate as a disciple of the sage Yuanshi Tianzun, his talent made him perfectly capable of serving as the prime minister of the Shang Dynasty.