Junior Uncle is too cunning.

Within just a few years of joining the Shang Dynasty court, he proposed two major policies, one internal and one external. The decree to reduce the power of the vassal states has not yet been implemented and the outcome is unknown, but the decree of bestowing favors he proposed made King Zhou truly recognize Jiang Ziya's unparalleled talent.

The Edict of Grace was a law specifically formulated by Jiang Ziya for the Shang Dynasty's imperial court and King Zhou, specifically for the vassal kings. It can be considered a good medicine, with the aim of strengthening the overall power of the central government. Of course, reducing the power of the vassal kings was also a means for the emperor to strike at the vassal kings and feudal lords.

The main purpose of the Enfeoffment Edict was to allow the vassal kings of the Shang Dynasty to divide their fiefdoms into several states, so that the vassal kings' descendants could share the fiefdoms in turn until all the land was used up. Those with large fiefdoms but few descendants would establish fiefdoms in name only, and the fiefdoms would be divided among their descendants after they were born.

In fact, Jiang Ziya's enactment of the Edict of Grace was an improvement on the enfeoffment system. Previously, the territory governed by each lord was inherited only by his eldest son, but now it was jointly inherited by the lord's eldest son, second son, third son, and so on, up to the youngest son.

In fact, the two decrees, the Edict of Grace and the Edict of Reducing the Feudal States, are very similar. They are essentially the same thing in different forms. The main difference between the Edict of Grace and the Edict of Reducing the Feudal States is that one is indirect and subtle, which ultimately weakens the entire feudal state layer by layer, while the other is enforced and leaves no room for maneuver for the feudal lords.

First was the Edict of Grace, which changed the practice of allowing all sons of a prince to inherit their fiefdoms, whereas previously only the eldest son of the principal wife could inherit them. This seemingly minor change had a significant impact. Land that was once controlled by one person was increasingly divided among several, meaning each son received only a small portion of the original fiefdom. While this method was met with opposition from the eldest son, those who were not originally entitled to fiefdoms were grateful to the emperor, as they had received nothing after the eldest sons inherited the land.

In this way, the decree was very beneficial to them. Although the method of granting imperial favor was rather subtle, it was indeed very effective and also very beneficial to the emperor's own reputation.

The reason why the decree to reduce the power of the vassal states was not directly applied to the royal family is because although King Zhou was a human emperor, a large part of his power base came from the royal family, or more accurately, the Yin family.

Although the Emperor was impartial, King Zhou was still human. Although some of the royal ancestors had been suppressed by the Five Emperors of Huoyun Cave and had not spoken out this time, if such a strong attitude as the decree to reduce the power of the vassal states were used directly, King Zhou would be wrong even if he was in the right. They would definitely jump out together, and even the Five Emperors would not be able to suppress them. Unless all the rebels were killed, it was really not advisable to use too strong a means to deal with the royal family. After all, King Zhou was surnamed Yin.

The reduction of the feudal lords' power, to put it bluntly, was King Zhou's order to gradually take back the power and land that the feudal lords originally enjoyed through coercive means, which was equivalent to abolishing the feudal lords directly.

It is conceivable that the feudal lords, who were already used to living in their own fiefdoms, would not agree. Not only would they not agree, but if they were provoked, they might even rebel, which would have a certain impact on the regime.

However, even if the Great Shang Imperial Court did not handle it this way, given the current power and attitude of the four major vassal states, especially the Xibo Marquisate which has already received support from Western Buddhism, it is impossible for them to give up the Ji family to become the new human race imperial court.

Even if Ji Chang were willing, the Western Buddhism behind him would not be happy. After all, they had planned for so long and spent so much effort, and had also offended the Goddess Nuwa and the Three Pure Ones. If Ji Chang and the Marquisate of Xibo were to break off their relationship at this time, Jieyin and Zhunti could easily kill him with a single slap.

Although the Edict of Grace and the Reduction of Feudal Powers are two different methods, they have something in common: their purpose is to recover the vast territories controlled by the vassal kings and princes of the Shang Dynasty, so that these territories that had been separated from the Shang Dynasty can be brought back under the control of the Shang Dynasty. However, the difference between the Edict of Grace and the Reduction of Feudal Powers is that the Edict of Grace is much wiser and more effective than the Reduction of Feudal Powers, while the Reduction of Feudal Powers is simpler and more brutal.

Compared to the vassal states under the jurisdiction of the Shang Dynasty's imperial court, the royal family was a minor problem. Therefore, before implementing the decree to reduce the power of the vassal states, Jiang Ziya first promoted a simplified version of the decree of grace to the royal family as a trial.

After all, even if there were internal conflicts within the royal family, with the Yin Ancestor and the Five Emperors of Huoyun Cave, plus King Zhou, they could eventually suppress them.

However, the result was satisfactory, although it caused some of the current heirs to resist, and even the princes and marquises in power... resisted, after all, they were not fools, how could they not know what the Great Shang Imperial Court wanted to do.

However, the Shang Dynasty's imperial court employed an open strategy. After all, while the Edict of Grace might harm the interests of some heirs, the other princes and marquises were overjoyed and deeply grateful to King Zhou, practically worshipping him as a god every day.

After all, although they were born into royalty, only the eldest son could enjoy the inheritance left by his predecessors. Other sons could only obtain some wealth and an empty title. Everything else they had to do was to work hard for themselves.

Now that the decree of grace has been issued, they have gone from being mere spectators to heirs to the throne. Although they can only receive a portion of what their fathers received, it is still better than nothing.

This explains why many princes and nobles, despite knowing that the Edict of Grace was harming the interests of their own families and relatives, could only suppress their bitterness and resentment in the face of their other sons and constant whispers in their wives' ears, watching the Edict of Grace be implemented little by little.

Moreover, the fact that the Edict of Grace was carried out so easily this time was largely due to the cooperation of the princes' sons. After all, there were so many members of the royal family in the Great Shang Dynasty, and their relationships were so complex. Without these insiders to guide them, Wei Ziqi would have had a hard time handling the royal family's affairs, let alone in seven years. Even if he were given seventy years, it would have been difficult.

Besides the principle of dividing the land among sons, this decree of grace added a very important rule: the lineage would end after five generations. This decree not only divided countless large vassal states into countless smaller states, but also imposed a restriction on hereditary succession.

The title of a prince is reduced by one rank with each generation if he fails to achieve sufficient merit to advance or maintain his title.

The first generation was a prince. If they had no merit, the second generation became a duke, the third generation a marquis, the fourth a count, and by the fifth generation, if their descendants still had no merit, they would become viscounts.

Then, by the sixth generation, they had fallen out of the peerage system and become barons. Although it was a peerage, they had become nobles by this time and had no political privileges at all.

A title without political privileges is meaningless in the Shang Dynasty's imperial court; it's not even as prestigious as that of a wealthy merchant!

Compared to the rule of dividing the land after each son, the rule of cutting off the land after five generations is too cruel for kings and nobles. If their descendants are mediocre and incompetent, five generations can turn a king or noble into an ordinary commoner. Even if they have some background, they are just a great nobleman. In addition, their fiefdom is gradually taken back by the Shang Dynasty court. If their descendants are really not capable, they will really fall into the mortal world.

Under the pressure of King Zhou and the Five Emperors of Huoyun Cave, the kings and nobles finally obeyed the order, albeit with great resentment. After all, although there were losses, the spoils were distributed to their own offspring, and since the meat rotted in the pot, they could still consider it a fair deal.

However, the five-generation ban really pushed them to their limit. This law almost caused these kings and nobles to storm the palace. In the end, it was Jiang Ziya who came up with a plan for King Zhou: to divide and conquer them.

Give some benefits to their ancestors, such as spiritual treasures, elixirs, and cultivation techniques... Anyway, they are all part of the Great Shang Imperial Court's power, so this can be considered an investment.

The ancestors were divided, and these contemporary kings and nobles had no choice but to accept it.