Chapter 1: Ascending the Throne

In the sixteenth year of King An of Deng, King Deng An, who ruled over Nanyang, passed away, and on his deathbed, he passed the throne to his fifth son, Lord Xin Ye, Deng Sheng.

Deng Kingdom's capital, Wan City.

A young man of about sixteen, dressed in mourning clothes, stood quietly on the city tower of the royal palace of Wan City.

This young man was none other than Deng Sheng. Sixteen years ago, Deng Sheng had unexpectedly traveled to this world, and with him came a summoning system called "Struggle for Supremacy," which could summon historical figures from China. However, this system was somewhat troublesome; it could only be activated if Deng Sheng ascended the throne as the King of Deng. Otherwise, it would just be a decoration. After sixteen years of planning, Deng Sheng finally defeated his brothers, secured the position of crown prince, and the coronation ceremony was scheduled for the next day.

Over the past sixteen years, Deng Sheng gradually came to understand this world. It was an era similar to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of China, where major states vied for dominance, and smaller states were scattered everywhere, with any state that had some power daring to claim kingship.

In some aspects, the history of this world was very similar to that of China. For example, there were also the legendary figures of Yao, Shun, and Yu, and Yu established the Xia Dynasty, ushering in the era of hereditary rule. There were also the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and finally, the unification of China by Qin Shi Huang, marking the beginning of the feudal dynasty. However, after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, history took a different turn. After the fall of Qin, the Chu-Han Contention continued, but the Western Chu Overlord, who refused to cross the Yangtze River, did not lose. Instead, he fought his way out of the Battle of Gaixia, retreated to Pengcheng, regrouped, and confronted Liu Bang in the Central Plains.

The Battle of Gaixia left both the Chu and Han states severely weakened, and they could no longer dominate the entire world. As a result, the nobles of the six states began to occupy counties and declare themselves kings.

The Deng Kingdom was a product of that era. However, the founding king of the Deng Kingdom was neither a noble of the six states nor a leader of a peasant uprising. He was a minor noble from Nanyang County. When the Chu and Han states were at odds, they were evenly matched, and neither could defeat the other. They had to hold their own territories, with the Han state retreating to Guanzhong and Bashu, and the Chu state retreating to Pengcheng and Huainan. During this time, many warlords rose to power, and the Chu and Han states granted titles to many of them to secure their loyalty.

The Deng Kingdom was established under such circumstances. The founding king, King Xuan of Deng, took advantage of the chaos, gathered a force, and occupied Nanyang County. Since Nanyang was close to Guanzhong, King Liu Bang of Han sent an envoy to confer the title, and King Xuan of Deng became a vassal of the Han state. By the time it reached Deng Sheng, the Deng Kingdom had been established for 223 years, with eighteen kings, and Deng Sheng was the nineteenth king.

Although the Chu and Han states were still powerful, they could no longer dominate the world. After more than two hundred years, many of the vassal states of the Chu and Han states had risen to become major powers. The current major powers capable of vying for the world were the Chu, Han, Qin, Qi, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Wu states. Alongside them were the Deng, Jing, Yue, Dai, Chen, Zhongshan, Shu, Nan, Lu, Song, Xiang, and Han states.

Among these, the Dai and Zhongshan states were in the north, bordering the Zhao and Yan states. The Chen, Han, Lu, and Song states were in the Central Plains. The Jing, Deng, and Xiang states were in Jingzhou. The Yue and Nan states were in the Baiyue and Nanyue regions, and the Shu state was in Shu.

The coronation was scheduled for the next day, and Deng Sheng's primary task now was to clearly understand the strength of the Deng Kingdom.

The Deng Kingdom controlled thirty-six counties in Nanyang. Later, as the Shu state rose and threatened the Han state's Hanzhong region, with the tacit approval of the Han state, the Deng Kingdom occupied the nine counties of Shangyong. Currently, the Deng Kingdom controlled two prefectures with a total of forty-five counties, known as the "Forty-Five Prefectures." It had a population of forty thousand households, totaling about 1.6 million people, and an army of 150,000, making it one of the stronger small states. The eight major powers all had armies of 400,000 to 500,000, making them very powerful.

Among the smaller states, the Lu, Jing, and Chen states were comparable to the Deng Kingdom, each with armies of 150,000 to 200,000. The Han, Dai, Yue, Nan, Xiang, and Shu states, due to their smaller populations, had fewer troops, with the Yue state having about 80,000, and the others around 50,000.

The Han state had the smallest army. Despite being located in the Central Plains and controlling the twenty counties of Yingchuan, which was known as the center of the world, the Han state had a large population. However, it was heavily influenced by the literati, with many noble families, and was surrounded by the powerful Han and Wei states. As a result, the Han state's army was only about 30,000, which was not impressive, even less than the northern Dai state.

Although the Dai state had a small population, it bordered the Hu people, and its people were fierce. Despite having only 30,000 to 40,000 troops, its combat strength was very strong, and even the powerful Yan and Zhao states did not dare to provoke it. The Song state, with its limited territory, had an army of only about 50,000.

However, that was the old Deng Kingdom. The current Deng Kingdom had declined somewhat. The reason was King An, Deng Sheng's father. When King An ascended the throne, the Deng Kingdom was relatively strong. It defeated the southern Jing state, and King An became ambitious, planning to expand the kingdom's territory and strengthen its power to vie for supremacy. He set his sights on the Han state, which had a large population and fertile land but a small army. His strategy was to annex the Han state, suppress the Jing and Chen states, and ally with the Lu and Song states to counter the Han and Wei states.

As the saying goes, "Ideals are full, but reality is harsh." When King An led 100,000 troops into the Han state, he made rapid progress and besieged the Han capital, Yangdi. However, due to his aggressive actions, he aroused the suspicion of the Han and Wei states, who did not want to see a powerful Deng Kingdom. The Han state sent troops through the Wu Pass to threaten the Deng capital, Wan City, and the Wei state sent troops to rescue the Han state. As a result, the Deng Kingdom was defeated, losing nearly half of its 100,000 troops, and its strength was severely weakened.

This great battle also led to King An's depression and eventual death. The current Deng Kingdom, due to that battle, had directly offended the Han, Wei, and Han states, and also had a long-standing enmity with the southern Jing state. It could be said that it was surrounded by enemies. Apart from the troops guarding the borders, the Deng Kingdom could only muster fewer than 50,000 troops.

After a night passed, the coronation ceremony was held grandly. Deng Sheng, dressed in a black royal robe and wearing a nine-pearl crown, ascended the throne, symbolizing the rule of the Deng Kingdom.

"Long live the king, may the king reign for ten thousand years!" The ministers shouted in unison, and Deng Sheng officially took control of the Deng Kingdom.

"Rise, my ministers!" Deng Sheng raised his hand slightly.

After the ministers rose, the prime minister, Cai Feng, handed the royal seal of the Deng Kingdom to Deng Sheng, completing the entire coronation ceremony.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! The Struggle for Supremacy summoning system is activating, countdown: 100, 99, 98, 97... 3, 2, 1, 0. The Struggle for Supremacy summoning system is now active."