Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 437 Old Place, Old Friends, New Policies
The carriage hurried through the vast Silvermoon Forest, heading east to the Crimson Corridor, and then south to the former territory of Stream Moon.

As a result, the team wasted more than half a day on the road.

However, this is what the esteemed Chairman insisted on, and Chen Mo wants to walk the path he once took.

That was the path that led to his desperate escape, a path fraught with danger.

Standing halfway up the mountain, Chen Mo glanced at the Wangshan campsite in the distance.

That military camp, once stuck in the mountain pass, was the first witness to advanced firearms in the Starry World, and it was hit by the "Big Head Eagle" from Dongxia, a high-explosive, high-incendiary, and toxic loitering munition.

Today, nature has long since healed the wounds with its tenacious vitality, and the land is covered with lush vegetation, with no trace of the battlefield remaining.

The accompanying elven patrol captain explained in a low voice, "This land was once thought to have suffered divine punishment and become a cursed land. No one wanted to stay here, so Wangshan City abandoned this outpost and set up three watchtowers further away."

"This place has been completely abandoned."

Chen Mo nodded, took one last deep look, and turned to leave.

"Let's go."

Chen Mo turned around, his cloak tracing an elegant arc.

The group headed south, passing through half of the blood-red corridor, and Chen Mo stopped at the edge of a cliff.

This place is called "A Line of Sky," with a towering, steep, bare red rock wall on one side and a dense, dark forest on the other. The bottom of the canyon is only wide enough for two cars to pass side by side, and the sky is compressed into a shimmering line of light.

Chen Mo remembered this place very clearly. At the foot of the cliff, there was an extremely conspicuous rock, about six or seven meters high, shaped like a large fish struggling to leap up, with its head facing east, the direction of the ocean that it could never reach.

Beneath the "fish's belly," several minotaur warriors worked together to dig out several packages.

After brushing away the dust, the outer waterproof cloth had lost its elasticity, and the edges were brittle, crumbling at the slightest touch.

Unfasten the straps, lift the cloth, and you'll find another layer of tanned animal hide underneath. Open it again, and a batch of dark, grimy machines finally see the light of day once more.

Miniature integrated meteorological observation station, fully automated sample collector, portable solar panel charging station...

In order to travel light, Chen Mo had to leave these things behind. At that time, Captain Pei Wen personally covered the last piece of soil with soil and told Chen Mo with great confidence that he would come to retrieve them for Chen Mo after the battle.

"Don't worry...it won't get lost!"

That was in the year 1426 of the Heavenly Vault, which was the year of Thunder in the Qiyue Dynasty and the year of True Knowledge in the Wuyue Divine Court. Of course, now, in the records of the Xiayue Alliance, it is called the four years before Xiayue.

Now it has been three years since the summer, and more than five years have passed.

Nothing was lost.

The person is gone!
This batch of equipment had been buried here silently until this moment, when the last two survivors of that team came to this place once again.

Chen Mo reached out and touched the weather station's outer shell, which was covered with a layer of rust, with his fingertips, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

The helplessness of time passing, the desolation of things changing and people being replaced, and the remembrance of the sacrificed.

Standing beside him, Liu Shuang seemed to sense his state of mind and leaned closer: "Once this trip is over, I'll take some men to raid the Zircon Territory!"

That's not what I meant...

Fine, let's just pull it out!
Zircon Territory's grudge isn't just with Prince Liushuang, the deputy commander-in-chief from Cloud Mist Territory; it also has a grudge against General Macaga, the top general of the Hanhai Army, Lin En, the head of security in Hanhai, Liu Zaiyue, the old scribe, Xia Er, and a large number of centaur officers and veterans of Hanhai.

Of course, most importantly, he had a grudge against Lord Chen Mo himself.

The fact that Zircon Territory has survived until now is a result of the all-out efforts of the Azure Sky Holy City in protecting it.

Once Lord Chen Mo has completed this trip and sorted out the external relations, let alone a mere local power of the Divine Court, even the Seven-Eyed God might not be able to protect Zircon Territory.

After all, the zircon collar at that time was probably far less valuable to the gods than the Vast Ocean!

The group continued south, arriving at the temporary camp on the edge of the dark forest where the little mage had once taught the young princess how to cheat by memorizing texts.

In order to please the young princess who possessed the "Eternal Song of Life," Chen Mo chose to provide her with technology. Dongxia even rushed to produce a more concealed and intelligent "endorsement cheating" tool.

However, once the items were made, the young princess could no longer use them.

Now no one dares to make her recite, or rather, even if she recites terribly, no one will scold her anymore. However, Liu Shuang misses the days when she was urged on by Lady Linda.

In the words of astrologers, fate is always so cruelly playing tricks on everyone.

Stepping out of the camp's dilapidated fence, one officially enters the territory of the Summer Moon Alliance.

Led by Lao Zegen, representatives from the thirteen tribes gathered together, waiting respectfully. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Chen Mo embarked on the final stop of this nostalgic journey.

I traveled to the countryside near Shicui City to visit my former teacher, Morton.

Chen Mo had been looking forward to this meeting for a long time.

In the traditional concept of the Dongxia people, there is the hierarchy of Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher. The teacher holds a very important position. In the years when he could not return to Earth, his teacher was also regarded as a symbol of family.

Surrounded by high-ranking officials and with the entire nation showing their respect, Chen Mo, arriving to see his teacher with such grandeur, felt a touch of triumphant anticipation.

Thanks to the lord's grace, a large road with eight lanes in both directions has been built in this small mountain village, allowing carriages to drive directly into the village. The first large house at the entrance is Morton's residence.

Morton hasn't changed much over the past few years; in fact, he's gained a little weight compared to when he was younger.

The middle-aged monk still had his usual air of grandeur, but upon seeing Chen Mo and the large group of people in fine clothes and purple robes surrounding him, his back involuntarily hunched over.

Chen Mo shouted loudly, "Teacher!"

Almost simultaneously, Morton's lips moved slightly, the sound was not loud, but Chen Mo heard it clearly.

"My lord..."

These words made Chen Mo freeze instantly. In his expectation, this was the scene where Morton patted his shoulder triumphantly—"Good lad, I knew you were going to amount to something!"

But his current posture is making him feel quite frustrated.

Seemingly sensing Chen Mo's helplessness, Morton bowed even more deeply and called out in a trembling voice, "Lord, you've worked hard... Please, please come in."

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, a mixture of self-mockery and relief.

This is an old world; what more can we expect from them?
Even if I were to return to Earth, given my current status, I'm afraid my relatives, classmates, and friends would instinctively become reserved and cautiously address me as "Director Chen" or "Chief Chen"!

Since I've come to this world by some twist of fate, and now that I have power, shouldn't I make a good change of it?
My teacher is essentially a kind, upright, and even somewhat pedantic good person. Given the inertia of the old system, it's already quite remarkable that he's done this much; what more could one expect from him?

Having figured this out, Chen Mo felt much more relaxed. He strode forward and gently touched Morton's arm.

"Teacher, there's no need for this between us. Just call me as you always have."

“This…this won’t do…” Morton waved his hands repeatedly, and was gently pulled into the courtyard by Chen Mo.

The two chatted casually for a while, and Morton gradually relaxed. He even had his wife and nephew come over to greet Chen Mo.

He was supposed to kowtow, but Chen Mo didn't allow it.

Clearly, Morton is living a very comfortable life now, having a wife. She looks to be in her thirties, with a beautiful face, graceful manners, and the unique temperament of a lady from a prominent family.

When he was young, Master Morton was busy with his advancement and career, so he didn't have time to get married. Later, after being framed and seriously injured, he lost all interest in getting married. He thought he would just live out his life like that.

However, he unexpectedly ended up teaching Chen Mo as a student, so it's no longer a question of whether you want to marry her or not.

As I said before, some things don't need to be done by force; men have plenty of ways to handle them.

Lord Keller, the lord of the Blackwood tribe in this city, has a younger sister who is a wealthy heiress. She is exceptionally beautiful and an enchanter by training, making her the goddess in the hearts of all the men in the city. Of course, Morton in his youth was no exception.

After Morton became famous, a little investigation revealed that this matter could not be kept from Lord Keller. So, some time ago, Lord Reis Keller sent someone to visit him, speaking earnestly, saying that his sister had recently lost her husband and was all alone. She had heard about Morton's deeds by chance and was deeply moved, so she sent someone to inquire whether there was an opportunity for her to serve Morton.

Speaking of Morton, his reputation in Xiyue is indeed quite good. He worked diligently in the Magic Tower, teaching several outstanding students; he remained true to his original aspirations despite Chen Mo's invitation, staying alone in a small village to guard his homeland; he devoted himself to serving the Archmage Hal, retiring after the Magic Tower was completed; and he cared for the elders in his hometown village, using almost all his surplus wealth to help the villagers...

Looking back now, those rigid, stubborn, and inflexible traits of the past seem to be moral exemplars.
No wonder the city lord's sister fell in love with him.

Morton's bones almost melted at that moment. This wasn't just the return of the school beauty; it was the object of his former admiration, the goddess of his dreams!

At this moment, he still retained a shred of clarity, gritting his teeth as he reluctantly refused. In his words to Chen Mo, "I think they're just after your prestige, Lord, and trying to use me to get close to you. I know my place; how could a crippled old man like me be of any interest to them..."

"Later...later..."

"Later, she came to my door in person. When she saw me, she burst into tears, saying that she was a woman from a noble family, but she had no choice in her own life and would only be used as a tool for family marriage. If I didn't marry her, she would be given to an elder of some tribe by her family and live a dark and hopeless life."

"She thought I was a good person, someone she could entrust her life to, and begged me to save her this once..."

"I...I couldn't help it..."

That's fucking amazing!
In his mind, Chen Mo gave a thumbs-up to the Black Forest Tribe, to Lord Keller, and to the eldest sister of the Reiss family.

This technique is simply unstoppable!
Even Chen Mo had some suspicions that Morton might be partly responsible for this young woman's widowhood.

Forget it, let's not think of people as so bad!
Regardless, Morton's brief instruction of just a few months back then has now brought him immense wealth and power. He now has a beautiful woman by his side, already pregnant; nephews surround him, more affectionate than his own sons; Archmage Hal has visited several times, their relationship like that of brothers; even the Elven race, under the rule of the White Deer, visits several times a year to pay their respects as disciples…

Hearing about Morton's current situation, Chen Mo felt much better.

"Alright, I'm busy and don't have much time to visit you. If you have time, you can go to Hanhai for a walk, or you can go to Bailu Plain. I just brought everything back from there."

"I've heard about what happened to the lord. The orcs in the north have all been driven away. That's truly remarkable..."

"Ha!" Chen Mo chuckled and shook his head: "Fighting wars is easy, but governing is difficult!"

"The affairs of this old Xiyue territory are much more difficult to handle than those in the north!"

"The reason I'm here is to have a good chat with the leaders of each tribe. An alliance should look like an alliance; how can it always be a disorganized mess?"

"That's right!"

As Chen Molin stood up to leave, he seemed to remember something and turned to Morton, saying, "Since you're unwilling to take a position with me, why don't you stay here in Xiyue and become an elder of the 'Consultation Council'?"

"You don't need to do anything specific. Just recommend any young, capable people you see to the league, and also keep an eye out for any problems and let the league know."

"It's for the alliance, and it's for Xiyue!"

Morton nodded, seemingly understanding, "I...I'll do my best."

After the visit, the information quickly spread throughout the thirteen tribes of Xiyue, and the chiefs, elders, and powerful figures of each tribe quickly gathered together to analyze it.

The bad news is that the chairman is indeed going to take action against Xiyue.

Good news: in Xiyue, the chairman seems to be temporarily not planning to adopt the same system as Bailu, which uses a bidding system for administrative positions. Instead, he will continue to use the internal promotion and self-nomination system that the tribes are already accustomed to.

Based on the current leaked information, the people qualified to make the recommendation are probably still the same group from our Xiyue Thirteen Tribes.

Well, at most, a small number of the lord's old friends.

Although the rules of the game are going to change, the players will remain the same group for the time being, which greatly relieved the chiefs and elders of each tribe.

However, Chen Mo was already on edge at this moment.

For Chen Mo, the visit to the Misty Moon Divine Court was unimportant; the business cooperation could be delayed by a few days. The Silver Moon Forest was also fine; it was just a trip to see the flowers, and his relationship with the elves, no matter how bad, couldn't be too bad.

The real challenge of this trip lies in Xiyue.

The entire Summer Moon Alliance is now roughly divided into three parts. Among them, the Han Hai Territory and the White Deer Plain, as Chen Mo's direct territories, are carrying out the Chairman's will without compromise and have taken great strides towards a holistic regime with public ownership as the main body and private ownership as a supplement, which has the characteristics of Han Hai.

It is also the fastest-growing, most dynamic, and most morale-boosting region in the entire alliance.

Silvermoon Forest and Stream Moon Federation are two highly independent member zones within the alliance, possessing completely independent administrative, personnel, military, and financial powers.

In theory, if they listen to Chen Mo's opinions, it's considered active cooperation; if they don't, it's considered independence. Cooperation means each party gets what they need; non-cooperation means going it alone!
Ultimately, it's because Chen Mo has never waged war against Xi Yue. He hasn't conquered any territory, so how could he possibly obey obediently?

Originally, Chen Mo didn't care. If Xi Yue really became Han Hai's subordinate, he didn't know how much more money and energy he would have to invest.

Why not just be like the elves, a dumping ground for their products and a source of tribute for vassal states? Wouldn't that be better?
However, as time goes by, objective laws are gradually exerting their power, and some things are ultimately beyond human control.

Chaos is about to break out in Xiyue.

The reason for this is that a highly feudal system, even incorporating slavery, and a system that is too advanced, almost representing the ultimate direction of human development, are bound to clash fiercely when they are mixed together in an alliance.

Some insightful, thoughtful, and perhaps even morally upright young people in the Xiyue Alliance, who have read books spread by Hanhai, heard stories from friends who returned from Bailu, and even witnessed the vitality of the Alliance's directly administered areas, have begun to gradually awaken.

They despised the hereditary privileges of tribal chiefs, hated the corrupt rule of the elders, and longed for the atmosphere of "appointing only the talented" and "rewarding those who have made contributions" in the vast sea.

They secretly established organizations such as the "Xiyue Torch Youth Association," the "Free Pioneers Alliance," and the "New Xiyue Society," and various organizations, both open and underground, proliferated wildly.

According to the latest intelligence, they are eager to sweep away "those parasites that hinder the development of Xiyue" and "that group of rotten and decadent rats" into the dustbin of history and welcome the "great light" of the Xiayue Alliance.

What does this mean? It means that a civil war could break out at any time within the Summer Moon Alliance. Once a war breaks out between the reformists and conservatives within the Stream Moon Alliance, the reformists will inevitably seek direct support from the Vast Ocean.

Not helping would be morally unacceptable, but helping would be unreasonable.

Chen Mo didn't care about fighting, nor was he worried about losing. However, from a macro perspective, this civil war might create a very bad impression on the Starry Continent: forces that joined the alliance peacefully would eventually have their original management forcefully eliminated by the alliance.

Although Chen Mo did nothing in the matter and even tried to prevent the conflict, as long as the war broke out, regardless of who won or lost, the blame would inevitably fall on Chen Mo's head.

Therefore, both Chen Mo's own understanding and the advice from his hometown in Dongxia suggest that it is best to avoid such violent conflict at this stage.

After much deliberation, Chen Mo felt compelled to intervene, hoping to bridge the gap between the two factions within Xiyue in a gentler way, and achieve convergence within the alliance without bloodshed.

This is indeed much more difficult than military conquest.

Just like in Dongxia, it might only take a few days to wipe out an entire ethnic group, but to integrate an ethnic group or a community requires decades of effort from the whole country and local governments. It requires patience like water dripping on stone and superb political wisdom.

If possible, he would prefer not to fight. Military means were seen as a last resort for Xi Yue.

As the first step in political reform, Chen Mo decided to start by dealing with the personnel power of Xi Yue, that is, to get involved in the local official appointment and dismissal system.

Whoever has the power to decide the promotion, demotion, and dismissal of officials controls the source of power. It can be said that whoever controls personnel power will naturally gain control of future administrative, military, and financial power.

Conversely, if you cannot control personnel matters, even if the current group of people listens to you, a change of government in the future is highly probable.

How can personnel control be gradually returned to the alliance without provoking a strong backlash?

Just copy their homework.

With the support of Dongxia, Chen Mo brought out a system from Dongxia that existed a very long time ago, called the "Recommendation System".

Hey, isn't this supposed to be a very outdated system?
Well, it may have been backward, but the methods the Dongxia people used thousands of years ago could still easily crush a large number of so-called modern civilizations in modern society.

Do you think the recommendation system only condones rampant corruption and supports spoiled brats? In fact, the system itself is not the problem; the problem lies with the people who implement it.

During the period when the Han Empire's governance capacity in the Eastern Xia Dynasty had not yet collapsed, the recommendation system provided the empire with a large number of outstanding talents.

Just to name a few familiar names—Chao Cuo, Dong Zhongshu, Dongfang Shuo, Gongsun Hong, Zhao Chongguo, Zhu Maichen, Huangfu Gui, Li Guang, Zhang Huan, Zhang Heng…

Now, Chen Mo is preparing to use the recommendation system as a spear to first break the shield of the powerful clans.

(End of this chapter)