Unifying the Four Kingdoms Finale Part Two

With the experience and precedent of governing Southlyn, and cooperation from within Lyndaria, Eastlyn’s takeover of Lyndarian territory and the implementation of new policies went smoothly. The only real obstacle was Lyndaria’s poverty and low population.

The national treasury was empty, the common people were destitute, and although the nobles still had some silver, most of it had already been seized by the Lyndarian Princess Royal and ended up in Northlyn’s coffers.

After years of natural disasters, the number of deaths in Lyndaria far exceeded the number of newborns; new graves lined up outside the city one after another. To restore Lyndaria, Eastlyn invested huge amounts of manpower and resources...

“If it weren’t for the Former Dynasty Imperial Hoard, Eastlyn’s national strength alone could never have sustained this.” Serena Feng stared at Lyndaria’s expenditures, her head aching unbearably.

The Lyndarian emperor had spent the past few years fighting for power, leaving almost no noteworthy achievements. Lyndaria wasn’t quite deserted, but the weeds in the fields were growing as tall as a person’s hand.

Across the nation, thousands of granaries could barely provide enough food for the Lyndarian army for a single month. Once that was gone, even next year’s seed grain couldn’t be found—rats were on the verge of starving.

Eastlyn’s conquest of Lyndaria not only failed to yield the jewels and wealth expected of a victorious nation, but instead required massive resource investment just to help Lyndaria’s people survive this disaster.

Cart after cart of grain was shipped to Lyndaria, along with manpower... The entire nation was striving to support Lyndaria.

“If it weren’t for high-yield crops like sweet potatoes and potatoes, Lyndaria wouldn’t have survived to see the next year.” The situation in Lyndaria was dire; the death toll kept climbing.

Orphans and the elderly were the first to be abandoned; corpses piled up outside the city like mountains. If Eastlyn hadn’t shipped vast quantities of grain over, cannibalism would have broken out in every Lyndarian town.

“Grain and medicinal herbs are nowhere near enough—Cloud City’s reserves are already running dangerously low, and the next harvest of herbs isn’t due yet.” Serena Feng pressed her temples in frustration.

Never before had she felt so helpless—across the entire Nine Provinces Realm, both food and medicine were scarce. Thousands, even tens of thousands, died of hunger and disease every day, and she could do nothing but watch...

“Don’t worry, there will be a way. Lyndaria is surrounded by sea on all sides—if everyone works together, we’ll pull through.” Ninth Royal Uncle set down his pen and paced a few steps to loosen his stiff limbs.

He had already ordered the Eastlyn and Lyndarian navies to merge, then begin fishing expeditions at sea to help relieve Lyndaria’s famine.

As for those working sabotage in secret, Ninth Royal Uncle had already sharpened his blade—just waiting for them to stick out their necks...

“You’re right, we just need to get through this stretch. It’s just... seeing so many people die, it hurts.” Serena Feng stood up, poured two cups of water, and walked over to Ninth Royal Uncle, handing him one.

After conquering Lyndaria, both of them became busy. Only at times like this could they enjoy a rare moment of leisure...

Winning a realm is hard; governing it is even harder. Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena Feng didn’t seek supreme power—they wanted the people of this land to live in peace and prosperity, to restore the Former Dynasty’s golden age, and to ensure that tragedies like parents eating their children would never happen again.

For this ideal, they didn’t hesitate to wield the butcher’s knife—slaying gods if they met gods, slaying Buddhas if they met Buddhas!

......

The gears of time slowly turned forward. By the fifth year of Ninth Royal Uncle’s reign, Eastlyn had already conquered most of the Nine Provinces Realm—only one last step remained before full unification.

To demonstrate that all people of the Nine Provinces Realm were equal, Ninth Royal Uncle accepted his ministers’ proposal and formally renamed the country the Nine Provinces Empire.

From then on, there was no more Eastlyn, Southlyn, or Lyndaria—the Empire’s people were all treated equally under imperial rule.

Once the new name was set, the Empire adopted Former Dynasty policies, standardizing currency and official language, erasing the influence of old states, and gradually reclaiming land from the aristocracy to lease directly to commoners in the name of the court...

This move harmed many nobles’ interests, and implementation met fierce resistance. Ninth Royal Uncle did not hesitate to take up the butcher’s knife, striking down those who opposed...

As a ruler who had fought on all fronts, even if he no longer appeared on the battlefield, his very nature was iron-blooded and decisive. No one could stop him from creating a peaceful golden age, or from handing a prosperous realm to his son...

Three years later, under Ninth Royal Uncle’s iron-fisted rule, most farmland was in the hands of the court. Commoners could lease fields directly from the government, paying taxes to the Empire instead of being exploited by landlords.

Grain was the foundation. With imperial support, the towns of former Lyndaria were restored to life; people could basically be self-sufficient. Without natural or man-made disasters, there would be no more famine or mass starvation.

That same year, with the Empire’s grain stores full, the army strong, and Lyndaria’s negative influence erased, Ninth Royal Uncle ordered an attack on Northlyn...

Dorian Owen, Colin Si, and Dominic Zhai, having matured through years of war, were now nearly invincible on the battlefield. This time, the three armies moved together, launching a joint offensive against Northlyn.

On the Nine Provinces Realm, Northlyn stood isolated and alone. However brave and skilled its warriors, they could only retreat again and again in the face of the Empire’s overwhelming strength.

Despite Northlyn’s desperate resistance, the war between the Empire and Northlyn lasted a year. Afterward, Northlyn’s last emperor, Prince Quentin Northlyn, handed over the surrender documents and the imperial jade seal, begging the Empire to treat Northlyn’s people kindly.

That same day, Northlyn’s last emperor set himself ablaze in the Northlyn Imperial Palace, vanishing with his kingdom into the torrent of history.

After ten years, Ninth Royal Uncle, starting from Eastlyn, unified the Nine Provinces Realm, rewriting its history and leaving a bold mark in the annals of time.

As an emperor, Ninth Royal Uncle was undoubtedly outstanding. The eldest prince once praised the founding emperor of the Empire, Eastlyn’s Ninth, saying that in a thousand years, none could surpass him—his achievements were truly unmatched!

Compared to Ninth Royal Uncle, the woman behind the throne, Serena Feng, remained exceptionally low-key. Aside from knowing she was the emperor’s only woman, the last of the Phoenixfield Clan, and the direct-line heiress bearing the Phoenixfield Clan Seal, ordinary people knew little of her deeds. Most simply thought she was a woman of extraordinary luck, blessed with all the emperor’s love...

Only those who had survived countless battles and still stood at the pinnacle of power understood that, as the emperor changed history, this woman changed their lives.

Many of the emperor’s policies that benefited the nation and its people were proposed by this woman. Thanks to her, children from poor families across the Nine Provinces Realm could go to school and learn to read, and orphans could grow up, learn a trade, and support themselves...

Beneath every academy and medical hall in the Nine Provinces Empire, the bold character ‘Feng’ was the best proof of her legacy.

......

‘Feng’—not the dragon-phoenix, but the empress who was wife to the founding emperor, revered as a legend by the noble houses: Serena Feng!

When Rory Dongling, the new emperor, ascended the throne, he once declared: “My mother is the greatest mother in the world!”

A woman respected by two generations of emperors—her life could only be called legendary!

A word to my readers: At this point, I feel the story can end. Unifying the realm was the main plot; the love between Serena and Ninth Royal Uncle was the thread that ran alongside it. Everything that needed to be written has been written. With the world united, this legendary couple deserves their rest.

Governing through medicine—Serena married Ninth Royal Uncle and became empress, using her ideals to influence imperial policy. That, in itself, was ruling the realm. I can’t write Serena as a female emperor; she never wanted that anyway...

Thank you all for accompanying me these two years. This book is certainly long, and there may be many details I missed when wrapping up—please forgive me.

Qing King, Crown Prince, Wenqing, Lingmo, Sixing, Tianyu, Valley Master, Gu Baoji... There are so many characters in this story. If I had to explain every detail of their lives, I’d never finish.

The main story ends here. I’ll post some side stories later. I know everyone loves Wang Jinling most—he’ll definitely appear in the extras. If you’re interested, please keep reading...