You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

[Livability: Below the poverty line]

[Effective population control: 180 million]

Productivity: 20 standard units

The rest, such as [Long-term National Policy: Land Reclamation and Reclamation] and [Military Strategy: Annexing Barbarian Tribes], are just continuations from the past and don't need to be examined in detail, since they will all be changed this turn anyway. The most eye-catching figure is the population: 180 million.

Terra is currently at an average development stage between the late Ancient Era and the early Classic Era, with underdeveloped technology and limited resources.

The ability to gather such a large population demonstrates the level of development.

"very good."

Xia He was somewhat surprised, as normal birth rates shouldn't increase this quickly.

A closer look at the records reveals the truth: the old method – conscription. The nomadic tribes of the entire grassland were under their control, and they even attacked scattered barbarian camps in the southern blessed plains, replenishing their population significantly.

They have been contributing to the great cause of the nation.

While other players treated the barbarians like wild monsters, Feng Tianyin treated them like treasures, capturing them all to be her slaves.

Coincidentally, it was still a slave system until now, which allowed for rapid assimilation.

It's a closed loop.

However, having many camps is only a drop in the bucket; a significant portion of the income actually comes from population inflow. Many people from southern city-states migrated north, mainly joining Cuiwei City, which saw the largest increase in population this round, second only to the capital of Xiayi.

It's no wonder that Feng Tianyin is preparing to establish a new southern city to share the burden.

This population would have been considered a large feudal state during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and could have been considered worthy of being called the Son of Heaven.

Xia He also took a look at the other branch cities.

It is basically still at the level of the "ancient era of slavery", but its actual level of development is even better, and there is no particular favoritism or neglect.

Among them, Cuiwei City, Zhuguan Pass, and Lvgukou have developed particularly rapidly, and are now the top-tier cities after Xiayi. Thanks to their early development and their recent focus on farming after resolving border troubles, their productivity is remarkable.

No wonder.

She came to understand how the cathedral's wonders were built in such an orderly manner.

Having surplus food at home brings peace of mind.

In fact, because both Xia He and Feng Tianyin adhered to the principle of "when in doubt, choose agriculture to increase profits," their grain yields were quite high.

It already exceeds what the current population needs; it's sufficient.

So part of it was used for brewing wine, and the other part was used for trade with the southern city-states.

There was still a surplus, so they decided to find a way to spend it, since leaving it would just be a waste anyway. Thus, they built wonders as an outlet, allowing resources to be transported out and accelerating the flow of official currency.

Similarly, the cities are in good condition because they are at least self-sufficient and receive additional financial support.

Linchun is the only one that has fallen a little behind, but it's still within an acceptable range...

wrong.

Upon navigating to the detailed page, Xia He saw a series of effects such as "Warhorse training progress is low," "Happiness level: poor," and "Administrative efficiency is decreasing." While not as severe as a negative penalty, these were clearly not in line with the rapid development of a city.

Ultimately, it was dragged down by the grassland tribes.

Moreover, the development time was too long, and there was not enough time to eliminate the accumulated problems, resulting in poor panel display performance.

Poor student.

Joining late and having a weak foundation is one thing, but to make matters worse, failing to meet targets led to a corruption case, wasting valuable farming time. It's truly a pity. Well, let's just drag it into the new era.

You're at the level where you sit next to the teacher at the lectern.

"It seems we should send them out to be assimilated within a controllable range for a while, and then let them return to the Great Qian Dynasty."

"If we force support at the current level, we will only waste more resources."

Xia He also thought about the balance of income and expenditure strictly, and that it was necessary to save money.

Xia He was relieved about everything else; now she could proceed to the next round step by step.

[New political system unlocked]

She directly ignored options like "oligarchy," "classical republic," and "Athenian democracy," which, while seemingly brilliant and diverse, actually had their own drawbacks due to limitations in productivity and would weaken the power of the high priest.

The Great Qian Dynasty truly has a philosopher-king; there's no need to abandon its advantages.

Moreover, in such a chaotic context, people would still tend to favor strong leaders; didn't the Roman Republic eventually turn into an empire?

The Senate is not suited to the economic structure.

Therefore, Xia He did not hesitate to pave the way for Feng Tianyin, which was also a suitable political system:

The system of enfeoffment by the emperor

[Description: This option aims to accelerate the expansion and development of a hegemonic state by enfeoffing vassals, thereby mitigating the penalties for rapid expansion and the division of cities. However, it has a certain separatist tendency. It allows for the enfeoffment of territories under the state's control, as well as the granting of fiefdoms to remote areas with relatively weak control, enabling their rapid development and the formation of a high-speed expansion front.]

[Effect: The granted territory gains an additional 5% development efficiency]

Don't underestimate the "5%" figure; its strength lies in its wide range of applications. It directly targets various aspects of development efficiency, making it incredibly powerful.

It is worthy of the overall gains during the changing of the times.

Once a fiefdom is established, it's as if the region's efficiency increases out of thin air. Skilled players like Xia He might even deliberately establish fiefdoms for a large number of vassals, maintaining control while maximizing their benefits, and then taking them back.

We must make good use of the mechanisms.

However, I won't mention such a risky and radical method to Feng Tianyin, just to be on the safe side.

From a game mechanics perspective, it actually harbors hidden dangers.

For example, the effect might be applied to the vassal states that were annexed, but not mentioned at all in the homeland. Theoretically, if the player makes a mistake, other regions could become the dominant force. Therefore, players need to suppress neighboring states to maintain unity, while also being able to reclaim vassals at crucial moments.

Now it's time to put your skills to the test.

Despite the numerous dangers, it was indeed well-suited for rapid expansion on the eve of the Classical Age, such as seizing the Blessed Plains of the South.

The voice of Heaven resounded deep within the High Priest's mind:

"Feng Tianyin, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, maintaining the [Emperor's Feudal System] allows for two strategies. First, proactively grant fiefdoms to Linchun, enabling its rapid and extensive development while offsetting some of the negative effects. Second, bestow fiefdoms upon some assimilated city-states in the south to facilitate expansion."

“Your idea is excellent. Let’s do it this way and quickly expand our territory in the early Classical period.”

Xia He usually follows this pattern when playing games.

As the classical era began, roads, carriages, and shipping were improved, allowing transportation to extend to more distant places, and the industry began to flourish.

Also.

Other civilizations will also begin to expand on a large scale, and they may encounter each other, leading to wars of annexation.

In her view, it should be expanded up to the "natural boundary line".

As for the specific definition of the boundary? That will be decided by force, of course. Therefore, Xia He's next step was to target other options, first having Feng Tianyin make some choices. After all, the leader has the authority to make changes during the turn.

[Long-term national policy: Expansionism]

[Description: Political entities adhering to this national policy will strive to expand their territory, not just in terms of land but also in terms of spheres of influence, and will profoundly shape our culture.]

[Effect: Increases core conversion rate in new areas by 10%, cultural appeal by 10%, and belligerency by 15%]

It's powerful enough.

The so-called "new regional core transformation" is similar to the significance of placing Linchun on the grassland.

This can accelerate the conquest of a region by the Great Qian Dynasty, and with the addition of cultural and religious factors, the efficiency will be quite high.

Classical strategies were more powerful, but at a cost.

Be careful of their belligerence.

Once a nation turns to militaristic expansion, it is prone to spiraling out of control, and even mere belligerence can, to some extent, dictate decision-making. While the status, prestige, and authority of a powerful figure like the High Priest are not so easily affected, corresponding turmoil is inevitable.

Moreover, frequent wars would naturally attract the attention of the Warp, and the probability of attracting something like Khorne is very high.

This god of war has a fondness for conflict and slaughter.

That would be lively.

Although it's far from a version where it directly clashes with the Warp God, various demons, Blessed Ones, Familias, Chosen Ones, and monsters under its command will visit.

Therefore, it is necessary to test Feng Tianyin's control level and weigh the pros and cons.

Military Strategy: Cavalry Legion

[Description: Our warhorse resources are plentiful, enough to support large-scale cavalry operations; the enemy will tremble under our iron hooves.]

[Effect: Cavalry organization level +5%, experience accumulation +10%]

They complement each other, which is enough to accelerate the expansion.

Xia He stopped after making decisions on the three major projects of politics, national policy and military affairs in this round. As a player, she could certainly continue to operate, but she should leave some for the AI ​​to do and see how it performs.

Even so, the decisions made in certain areas inexplicably gave all the people of Daqian a fighting spirit.

Their blood was boiling for no reason, and even their souls were sparkling.

They crave war.

In an instant, even the subspace became active, and countless thoughts of attention descended upon the realm above the mortal world.

Anywhere outside of Terra, it could easily provoke conflict or even instigate war.

Unfortunately, all of this conflict imagery was captured.

All of them belonged to the Great Qian Dynasty and had to become aids in the Great Qian's external wars, thus being unified under the power of the Heavenly Dao. The remaining thoughts in the subspace naturally tucked their tails between their legs and left, no longer paying attention. All of this happened very briefly, in the blink of an eye.

Expansiveness.

—This will become the main theme of this round and for many years to come.

Her encouragement of expansion stemmed not only from the game's style but also from the desire to encourage the Great Qian to actively engage with other civilizations, such as the two southern states of Qingzhou and Minyue, neither of which were content to remain peaceful.

War is the most sophisticated social activity, and just as Xia He encouraged the Great Expedition back then, it is time to expand again.

They've had enough time to rest and recuperate.

"Feng Tianyin, it's your turn to make the decision."

Upon hearing the voice of the Heavenly Dao, the gray-haired girl solemnly nodded.