During this period, another faction of the Bai Ze demon tribe, scattered in the Jiangnan region, led by a leader named "Chen Qingzhi," sought to aid the current ruling power of the Southern Dynasties (Liang, within the Song, Qi, Liang, Chen lineage) in a direct northern expedition to unify Yanxia. However, this individual disregarded established norms. Instead of concealing their true demonic form and employing a mixed force of humans and demons, with demons hidden amongst human soldiers, they directly deployed seven thousand Bai Ze demon soldiers. The combat prowess of these seven thousand demons, crossing the river to march north, was astonishing. Wielding only light weaponry, they fought their way through hundreds of thousands of Northern Wei troops. This drew strong resistance from the Han people of the north, as well as the northern Bai Ze demon tribe. Eventually, the northern Bai Ze demons intervened personally, driving these demon soldiers back to Jiangnan. Chen Qingzhi was then forced to sign a guarantee, promising never to use pure demon soldier units again. This was because, since ancient times, the Bai Ze demon tribe had earned the trust of the human race by vowing not to establish their own independent power, but to serve only in an auxiliary capacity during warfare, assisting virtuous human leaders in achieving peace.
Therefore, after the Sui Dynasty unified Yanxia, there were no more "unreasonable" incidents of this nature in military history.
The Li Tang dynasty that followed the Sui was also composed of descendants of the Guanlong aristocracy, aided by the northern Bai Ze demon tribe.
Over the centuries of the Great Tang, the southern and northern Bai Ze demon tribes gradually merged, and some of the Shan Hai demon tribes also chose to integrate with the Bai Ze. The Bai Ze tribe flourished, contributing to the magnificent prosperity of the Tang Dynasty alongside the Li imperial family.
The rise and fall of dynasties is a natural law of history that cannot be defied. After the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the northern Shan Hai demon tribes resurfaced, successively supporting the Yelü and Wanyan tribes of the Khitan and Jurchen peoples, respectively, establishing the Liao and Jin dynasties. The reason for two ruling powers was internal division amongst the Shan Hai demons. A faction broke away and established the Jin state. After the Jin conquered the Liao, the faction within the Shan Hai demons advocating for peaceful coexistence with humans and the Bai Ze demon tribe gained the upper hand. The defeated Shan Hai demons migrated north, lurking amongst the Mongol tribes, gradually growing stronger. They plundered westward into Europe and attacked Jin and Song from the south, eventually occupying the Central Plains and establishing the Mongol Empire, the largest in territorial extent in the history of this blue planet.
During this time, the Bai Ze demon tribe, having experienced centuries of prosperity under the Tang and the Song, had long neglected their martial arts and cultivation. Consequently, they were no match for the northern Shan Hai demons. However, the Bai Ze demon tribe compensated with their vast numbers. After decades of resistance against the Mongols in collaboration with the Southern Song, they eventually fell. Determined to rise again, a century later, they re-emerged and supported Zhu Yuanzhang in establishing the Ming Dynasty.
The Mongol Empire, under the rule of the Shan Hai demons, eventually fractured and lost its momentum.
The Zhu imperial family of the Ming Dynasty, being cunning, continuously weakened the Bai Ze demon tribe's influence by leveraging their advantage in firearms. This eventually forced the Bai Ze demons to migrate north, passing through Shanhaiguan Pass into the former territories of the Shan Hai demons. By this time, the majority of the Shan Hai demons had already migrated westward into Europe via Siberia.
The Bai Ze demons who remained in the present-day Northeast region integrated with the Jianzhou Jurchen tribe. However, they continued to face suppression from the Ming Dynasty. Out of necessity, the Bai Ze demons played the role that the Shan Hai demons had once assumed, pushing for the destruction of the Ming from the south.
At that time, within the Ming Dynasty, there were neither Bai Ze nor Shan Hai demons. The human race had to resist on its own. Despite possessing firearms, the disparity in individual strength was too great. The Ming Dynasty could not withstand the "Manchu Eight Banners," which had integrated demon soldiers, and was swiftly conquered. The Bai Ze demons then assisted the Aixinjueluo lineage in establishing the Qing Dynasty.
This is why the "Manchu Eight Banners," with a mere force of fifty to sixty thousand soldiers, could sweep across the Ming Dynasty, which had nearly two million soldiers. This was akin to the "White Robe Army" of Chen Qingzhi decimating hundreds of thousands of Northern Wei troops – a case of dimensional suppression.
During the unification wars, as retribution for the humans who had driven them north, the Bai Ze demons within the Eight Banners succumbed to their demonic nature on several occasions, leading to atrocities such as the "Ten Days of Yangzhou" and the "Three Massacres of Jiading." Later, some within the Bai Ze demon tribe came to realize that they should not treat the human race in this manner. However, many remained resentful, especially since many of their "demon kin" had been killed by the Han people.
Ultimately, the Bai Ze leader proposed a compromise: all Han men were to shave half of their heads. In ancient times, it was a matter of great importance; one could lose their head, but not their hair. The Bai Ze used this method to take revenge on the Han people, to humiliate them, and also to placate the anger within the Bai Ze demon tribe...