Mythical Three Kingdoms

Vologases V stood atop the already flaming capital city of Armenia, gazing coldly at his brother Khusro, who lay dead with a sword pierced through his chest, and let out a couple of cold laughs.

Almost all Armenian emperors have Parthian blood flowing in their veins; even Vologases II once reigned as the Armenian emperor. However, this country chose to be close to Rome rather than Parthia, and therefore, its existence is unnecessary.

”Your Majesty, the supplies of Armenia have been gathered, and all the officials and merchants we investigated who have ties to Rome have been executed,” Atlatome reported respectfully to Vologases V.

”Order Zaris Kalan to return to Nihavand and Taysi Sealed to mobilize troops,” Vologases V instructed the young man in front of him.

”Yes!” Atlatome answered respectfully. Though he completely couldn’t understand the hidden meaning in Vologases V’s words, his respect for Vologases V ensured he would relay his words unchanged to the Kalan family’s Zaris.

The situation within Parthia is very complex. The power of the Seven Great Nobles can be compared to the Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao families during the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties. The resources they control fundamentally exceed those of the national government.

This means that although Vologases V plundered the Sulun Family and received assistance from the Kalan Family, his power may not be enough to firmly suppress the remaining Five Great Nobles.

Furthermore, speaking of the true intentions of the Kalan Family standing beside him, Vologases V himself didn’t believe in them. The deaths of many Parthian emperors were invariably related to these families, which have become deeply embedded in every aspect of the Parthian Empire. Even if Vologases V wanted to purge them, he wouldn’t know what to purge.

As an emperor with ambition, Vologases V also desires, like his predecessors, to dip his toes into the Mediterranean Sea. These distant aspirations revolve around a single word: power.

The Seven Great Nobles are both a shackle and a source of strength. If he could integrate the Seven Great Nobles, even Rome would have to take Parthia seriously. An empire that stood for centuries, would not allow others to belittle it unless it truly declined.

Thus, despite knowing the toxicity of the Seven Great Nobles, Vologases V has no choice but to find a way to refine them into his strength.

Just like Chen Xi once said, ”You think I don’t know there are too many scoundrels among the aristocratic families? If I kill them all, who will do the work? Even with a hundred Jia Xu, without people underneath, the world can’t be governed.”

In a bureaucratic system, the top individual’s role is strategy, planning, and the broader situation, not trivial details like Bing Ji asking about cows, illustrating perfectly that sometimes there must be a hierarchy of priorities.

Didn’t later generations realize that some below have inappropriate behaviors? If we were to strictly eliminate all, it would lead to the same problem — who would do the work? This is the ensuing generation, where a million a year in ancient times was equivalent to highly educated talent, yet it wasn’t truly swept away according to the rules.

Even if we were to deal with these, there’s a limit, involving a green line, white line, grey line, and red line. From an ordinary person’s perspective, only the green line is a safe zone; the other lines are invisible.

Only when positions change, or directly speaking, when class changes, can other ranges be seen clearly. Neither Vologases V, nor Chen Xi, or later generations represent identical positions of rulers and the ruled.

Even Chen Xi can only be considered as part of the Reformist or Moderate Reform Factions, rather than revolutionary, because any ruling class intrinsically aims to maintain and reproduce the current social form and production relations, preserving the privileged position of the ruling class.

Will the ruling class give up its status? Certainly not. The degeneration of class begins with becoming a ruling class.

The saying ”your seat determines your mindset” holds true. Chen Xi did his utmost to leave avenues for ascent to future generations, for those at the bottom, but can they enjoy the same privileges as the ruling class?

Impossible! Even with the same middle status, a young person from the bottom might never rise, while the ruling class, whether by supplementing interpersonal relationships or providing further education, or in other ways, has opportunities far exceeding those at the bottom.

That’s reality. The ruling class will endeavor to maintain the current social form to safeguard its position. After all, people seek gain and avoid harm. Revolution isn’t a dinner party, without the resolve of having one’s family killed, caution is preferable.

Russian people might not know if they ever miss the Soviet era’s global social status. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the breakdown of its social systems, was immensely painful, as seen by Russia’s current state.

Indeed, the top three rows of the late Soviet era had extremely, extremely serious problems, but before they were ousted, the Soviet Union retained at least a dignified identity. Yet, after being brutally eliminated, Russia, the Soviet Union’s eldest son, has yet to recover.

This is why Chen Xi refuses to forcibly reform. Compared to Putin, he is less authoritarian by eighteen blocks; conditions of the later era are better by eighteen blocks. If the latter couldn’t achieve it, could he?

Walking a path that’s not ideal but secure, accommodating the lower class while gaining upper-class support, is the truly suitable approach.

Figures like Shang Yang from Qin State or Wu Qi from Chu State, those extreme methods, do not appeal to Chen Xi, who leans more towards Zou Ji’s bloodless reform method. With a solid foundation, the potential unleashed by mere adjustment far surpasses others’ Heavenly Demon Disintegration level reforms.

Following reform in Qi State, utilizing its solid foundation, their power wasn’t merely boasted about. The title of Eastern Emperor was acknowledged by the heroes of the Warring States era. Had it not been for King Min of Qi’s destructive actions, Qi State might have stood a chance.

Even though there’s nowhere near the experience Chen Xi possessed, Vologases V was an extraordinary emperor. Despite disliking the Seven Great Parthian Nobles, he understood their power, recognizing that strained relations diminish Parthian power, which is, in essence, his own power.

Therefore, even when he disliked the Seven Great Nobles, knowing he’ll act against them when opportunities arise, he chooses tolerance. After all, blood replacement isn’t about draining all the blood from the human body to replace it with new blood.

Ultimately, only living individuals can dream of aspirations. When they’re gone, well!