Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 476 - 53: Spring of Jingxin Calendar Eighteenth Year, Reward and Ennoblement Arrive! (6K)_2

Chapter 476: Chapter 53: Spring of Jingxin Calendar Eighteenth Year, Reward and Ennoblement Arrive! (6K)_2

Zhao Xing each time he was promoted, could see ’giants’ on the court in the Illusion Realm, especially Emperor Jing, who was enormously built, which also meant that his "destiny" was stronger than others, enabling him to live longer.

Zhao Xing began to calculate how long he still had to live before he could hope for longevity.

"There are nineteen years left in the Jingxin Calendar, and thirty-seven years after the Jingxin Calendar it will be the Da Zhi Year and the Yongzhi Year. Adding up these two epochs, Emperor Jing will have reached the end of his lifespan after a hundred and fifty-eight years."

"That is to say, the Jing Emperor Period still has one hundred seventy-seven years left."

"Following him, Emperor Wu lived a thousand and twenty years, breaking the lifespan limits of previous monarchs under the Fortune Dynasty, but still did not progress any further."

"After Emperor Wu came Emperor Yuan. Starting from here, the Great Zhou Dynasty began to experience internal and external troubles as well as the Age of Calamity, and its fortune began to decline, encompassing fifteen emperors, each with an average lifespan of over a hundred years. Generally calculating, that totals about seventeen hundred years."

"Only after that does the Spiritual Energy revive, which means I have to live almost three thousand more years," Zhao Xing thought. "The path to longevity is long."

"The journey must be taken one step at a time, first achieve the goal of fifth-rank during the Jing Emperor Period."

"Currently, my battle merits have reached one million six hundred thousand, ranking forty-fifth on the Seventh-Rank Battle Merit list."

"Temporally promoted positions in the Divine Might Army aside, my current official rank is regular Sub-Seventh rank."

"At present, I am in the Divine Might Army, following Liao Rulong’s unit without a single defeat."

"Given my battle merits, if I were rewarded, I would definitely be promoted three grades, so I should be able to reach Secondary Sixth-Rank."

"Old Chen and Long Xiao, having started higher than me, should be able to reach regular Sixth-Rank."

"One million six hundred thousand battle merits will not gain me a higher noble title; it remains that of a third-rank Marquis, which although not a Marquis with a feudal land, still entitles me to one hundred and sixty thousand acres of lower-grade farmland and one thousand six hundred households."

"The honorary title should be the fifth level County Councilor, able to participate in important decision discussions in the county town and having some say at the prefectural level, able to offer advice and suggestions."

"The decoration ranking should reach the sixth rank, as long as in office, in addition to the salary, an extra annual bonus should be around three hundred thousand points."

The bonus from the decoration ranking is calculated in Military Realm Points, as the bonuses are distributed by the Military Realm.

After Great Zhou’s territorial expansion, its territories generated significant revenues, a portion of which, in taxes, was used to pay the decorated soldiers.

The military stratum must be the wealthiest stratum in Great Zhou!

So, the Great Zhou soldiers were also keen on territorial expansion. Even after retiring, the bonuses from the decorations were still between a third to half of what they were while in office.

Zhao Xing’s honorary title and decoration ranking were not high, as his previous million battle merits were all used to exchange for a spot as a Yin God.

"If nothing unexpected occurs, hostilities will cease in February, the entire Pacifying Barbarian Battlefield will begin withdrawing troops, and by March the investitures will be concluded."

"Immediately following will be the anomaly in Ten Suns Cave Heaven, leading to the birth of a large amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Beauty," Zhao Xing sorted through future events.

"The explosive emergence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Beauty will continue for half a year; by September, a two-tier reversal occurs with a ten-day crisis causing devastating disasters."

"The same year in October, Emperor Jing will again initiate the lower-to-mid rank battlefields, continuing the training strategies."

"That will last until Jingxin Calendar year twenty-eight, gradually incorporating mid-rank battle forces, peaking at fourth-rank, and from year twenty-nine to thirty-five, the war will escalate further, involving ranks from third to first sequentially."

"In year thirty-five, the war will falter, Prince Liang conspires with sects and Southern Barbarian Forces to rebel. By year thirty-seven, the rebellion is suppressed, the war is completely over, and afterward comes the Da Zhi Calendar, Emperor Jing begins to procreate, breeding successors, the Yongzhi Calendar then determines the successors."

"There is another window for action in the Southern Barbarian Battlefield after the Ten Suns Cave Heaven, but I must manage the timing well, otherwise I won’t be able to extricate myself then," Zhao Xing thought.

If you’re highly ranked in office, it’s not feasible to think you can just walk away, after all, the military is not a place that favors free comings and goings.

Being appointed to an office means you’re there to fulfill duties, and opportunities to extricate oneself are rare.

If missed, Zhao Xing would have to continue fighting, joining the higher-end battlefields, where he’d merely be cannon fodder.

Great Zhou currently boasts emerging talents, Liu Tianning, Fan Zhaoli, Lu Bang, Dantai Ming... These veteran fifth and fourth-rankers have lived for two to four hundred years.

Zhao Xing doesn’t stand a chance at rising to power, and even the son of fortune, Lv Yuanwei, fell in the following battles, barely maintaining a regular Sub-Fifth rank position.

If that’s the case with him, it’s even more perilous for others.

"Enjoy the blessings I should, and avoid the disasters I must," Zhao Xing said, "My physical resilience isn’t robust, my position too low, must quash greed, and should not try to influence the dynamics of the grand battlefield."

Practicing the Five-Finger Destiny also served as a warning to Zhao Xing, after tallying up the Sacrificial Soul Pass, Old Chen’s fate succumbed to backlash, let alone throwing oneself into the entire Pacifying Barbarian War?

Tier three fortune was indeed not bad, but in the later stages of the war, there were many more powerful than Zhao Xing.

Take Lv Yuanwei as an example, Zhao Xing estimated that his fortune reached at least to tier six!

Because he hailed from Lvliang State, and this Lv symbolizes another non-related king, Lv Yuanwei himself was a direct descendant of a king, inherently possessing great fortune!

Comparing with him illustrates the perils of the higher-end battlefields.

"The goal during the Jing Emperor Period is to develop; currently, whether it’s connections, strength, or fortune, I am yet unpositioned, and Emperor Jing doesn’t possess such a destiny; this isn’t the time for me to ascend and take action."

Having organized his thoughts, Zhao Xing closed his eyes and stored the memories deep in his soul using the Dream of Spring and Autumn Technique.