551 The Yeomen (1/2)
”The way of the witches is rooted in the strengthening of the bloodline as well as…”
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged and contemplated the differences between the present world and its past.
The Ancient One had harvested a wave of energy from the old Ancient Realm, which left it gravely damaged. When the Realm Alliance and the Hidden Dragon Guards were involved in a violent conflict, the Ancient Realm had taken the opportunity to achieve independence. The Realm was determined to never return to its old state. It organised an internal purge while foreigners were denied entry.
The marks of the Da Qian dream masters had been cleared away and all that was left was the dao that truly belonged to this world.
”Every world has its own expansion pathways and power systems. One would not necessarily die if they propagated energy from elsewhere but they would most definitely face many obstacles while doing so and might even incur divine retribution!”
”Of course...if one managed to succeed, it would be a peaceful evolution and would earn him much merit! It is still an invasion of the world though…”
...
Dozens of thoughts surfaced in Fang Yuan's mind.
”In this realm...what should I do other than to pursue the Ancient One? How should I proceed with harvesting energy from the world?”
After all, the Realm had been kind to him. Fang Yuan was unwilling to cut directly into the energy source of the world and then leave with the loot just like that.
”Compromising the interests of other people will foster hatred. The best way to go about this is to offer benefits to everyone…”
Fang Yuan had made up his mind.
”No matter what, I will have to get to know this place better!”
Although Jie was a citizen and could live within the city walls, he was too ignorant!
Especially regarding secret histories and the legacies of power.
”What I can do now is to leave this battlefield for the Shang capital…I could even go to Fang Mountain if it is close by…”
Fang Yuan was also interested in visiting the tribe that he had founded on a whim. He wanted to know how they were doing.
Regarding the punishment of deserters, Fang Yuan was not bothered by this issue at all.
After all, Jie was a lone ranger with no kin left. There was nothing that held him back from living life on his own terms.
Besides, Fang Yuan was prepared to give up on Jie's past and start afresh in this world as a new person.
”This world...shares some similarities with the Former Qin era in my memories and yet they are different...I just can't put a finger on these differences…”
Fang Yuan thought back to the strange occurrences in the Ancient Realm.
”Could it be...that there is a higher-dimensional world of the same type as the Demonic Heart Realm exerting its influence on this realm?”
This was the guiding principle that illustrated the effect that the Demonic Heart Realm had on its subsidiary realms which included Da Qian.
”It's happening on a higher level though...the Demonic Heart Realm projects power while that higher-dimensional world projects history and culture?”
Fang Yuan had a sudden thought.
”Now that I think about it...that higher-dimensional world is probably the same place that was featured in my dreams. Or could it be that the world in my dreams had been influenced by that higher-dimensional world?”
Fang Yuan used to have recurring dreams of himself in another world back when he was still young.
This could be due to his dream-traversing abilities or it might even have something to do with reincarnation, which caused these memories to surface.
Thus, Fang Yuan had always considered that world in his dreams his homeland.
”I now have some clues about my homeland...”
Fang Yuan clenched his fists tightly.
His main goal in life was to climb his way up to the top of the world and find out more about his homeland in the process.
Now that he had made lots of progress in these aspects, it was a cause for celebration indeed.
”Seems like I'm getting a better idea about why the Ancient Realm has accepted me…”
Fang Yuan raised a brow suddenly. He had sensed a disturbance.
”Sigh…”
He exhaled and stood up with his iron sword firmly in his grip.
The sword was about 3 feet long and had a hemp wrap on its hilt, giving it secure non-slip grip. Intricate carvings of strange beasts adorned its blade.
”This must be the sword of a yeoman. It is not something that a commoner can possess!”
Fang Yuan had drawn a conclusion upon seeing the sword for the first time.
In this era, a man who could ride to war in a chariot was probably a man of status.
At this moment, Fang Yuan maintained a good upright posture while holding his sword. He watched on as the bushes swayed and uncovered a few human figures.
”Who are you?”
The stranger wore black robes that were torn and tattered, revealing several bloody wounds. He was in an extremely miserable state and had probably followed the path of the stream to arrive here. Bumping into Fang Yuan had obviously surprised him.
”A Shang citizen?”
The two of them stared at each other and recognised that they were both from Shang.
After all, the Dongyi people were barbaric and very much like the Jiuli tribesmen. They would not be wearing clothes nor have their hair tied up into a man bun.
The man questioning Fang Yuan was undoubtedly of noble birth. He wore fine clothes and carried a jade pendant at his waist.
”Hey! What an insolent person. This is a yeoman from the army. Salute him and report your name now!”
Another man had jumped out of the bushes to accost Fang Yuan.
”Yeoman?”
Fang Yuan was slightly baffled.
”Was this rank already in use back during the Shang era? Wait a minute...this world does not follow the Former Qin timeline. Having been influenced by foreign civilisations, the Xia Dynasty adopted feudalism and it would be no wonder that there were yeomen in the Shang period.”
The 'yeomen' were the lowest ranked members of the ruling class. They were noblemen of the Shang Dynasty and lorded over commoners like Jie.
Nevertheless, this social system was only supposed to be developed in the Zhou era and widely adopted during the Spring and Autumn period. Its current presence in the Shang period was way ahead of its time.