Chapter Six:The Shi Family
550 AC
For the past four years, the Northern Kingdom had control over the western part of the Central Plains and many lives were lost in this war. King Huang Yun believed that his father was the greatest and superior to him in any skill. His father was a conqueror, he was a man who tried to make the land prosper with smiles. King Huang Yun eventually died of sickness, and was buried at the forbidden cave of Black Heavens with his father. King Huang Yun had one son who was very incompetent named Huang Zhou. Huang Zhou ascended the throne as King and this eventually lead to disasters. Huang Zhou's mother Empress Dowager Shi Zhi was a very power hungry woman and controlled the imperial court. King Huang Zhou left all political and military affairs to his mother. Empress Dowager Shi Zhi becomes the first woman to have total power over all of the Northern Kingdom. Shi Zhi wanted her family name to go down in history gloriously so she changed the surname of the entire Imperial family from Huang to Shi. King Huang Zhou became known as King Shi Zhou. Shi Zhi was confident that she will do very successful things for the country. Because of Shi Zhi's gender, a lot of generals and court officials disagreed with her and accused her of usurping the throne.
Some subordinates such as Grand Commander Zhao Er gave her their loyalty because he believed Shi Zhi's actions will benefit the country. Shi Zhi ceased fire with the Holy Council which the Holy Council gladly accepted. The Holy Council began attacking the barbarians that were causing problems in the south. There came a long age of peace for the Northern Kingdom, however peace did not last....
558 AC
An army wearing black robes and hood secretly enters the palace while being undiscovered. This army scream like they are suffering in great pain. There came the massive slaughter of the Northern Imperial Palace. The small army were like demons and they quickly killed anyone they saw. The palace was invaded and lost to these demons. Empress Dowager Shi Zhi and Emperor Shi Zhou were believed to be dead but their corpses weren't found. The demons eventually left the palace after killing 8,000 subordinates of the palace. No one knew where or when they came from... all people know was that they were pure evil. Because of the absence of both Shi Zhi and Shi Zhou, a new King must ascend the throne.
Shi Zhi's son Shi Ming ascended the throne as King. Shi Ming knew that the kingdom was all controlled by his grandmother because his father was useless. King Shi Ming does not want to repeat the same mistake his father made. King Shi Ming studied the ways of warfare and politics at a very young age. Instead of hunting down the demons who abducted his grandmother and father, he declared that they were both killed and their corpse were burnt by the demons. He wanted to do all he can to build up a strong a efficient country and was believed to be the hardest working King of the Northern Kingdom.