You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

Then it's all about time. All policies need time to be tested, and the High Priest has no shortage of time.

------

Summer of 52.

An army surrounded a fishing and hunting tribe near the Arctic Circle.

"We are the army of the Lin Kingdom, the first vassal state in the north. We are here by order of the Great Khan Erbala to unite the various tribes. We hope you will cooperate."

At the command of the leading officer, a large contingent of cavalry surrounded them.

Iron hooves trampled, and the icy plains trembled.

The so-called armies under the command of the vassal states were actually composed of barbarian tribes from the northern desert regions, far inferior to the Great Qian army, but with a more bandit-like air, fierce and menacing, and full of majesty.

They came to plunder people, since paying tribute of "slaves" to the suzerain state was one of the obligations of the vassal state.

Although the Great Qian Dynasty shifted towards feudalism, it did not completely abolish slavery.

It is efficient.

This method of operation, which is perfectly suited to conquering various barbarian camps, was encouraged by Feng Tianyin.

Above them were the performance evaluation criteria of a regional lord, and even higher were the strategies of the high priest. Naturally, a few lowly soldiers acted with extreme caution. They dared not slack off, otherwise, wouldn't the lucrative post they had worked so hard to secure be lost?

After all, they are allowed to take a cut of the spoils...

"Thoroughly inspect the belongings of this group."

"Then take them all away, arrest them, and from now on you will be members of our neighboring country."

After the officer gave the order, the faces of the Arctic barbarians turned ashen.

It’s over.

Everyone had already heard that this group of people were violent, often resorting to beatings and verbal abuse, and that they had faced countless deaths while transporting prisoners, leaving behind a trail of corpses along the way.

The wildness of these guys has been reawakened; the Great Qian Dynasty didn't properly educate them back then.

Little did they know that the armies of the feudal lords also looked down on them.

In the eyes of these warriors, a group of barbarians dressed in animal skin coats, with beards and long hair, were hairy, heavy, and their animal skins trembled as they walked, which was really an eyesore.

They're all big stomachs.

The feudal lords felt that these people were barbaric and uncivilized, and did not realize that they had once been part of the uncivilized group themselves.

The tribes of the former grasslands have been separated; they have long since become the people of Daqian.

Although they were granted the title of "Seven Kingdoms of the Grasslands," they still regarded the Great Qian Dynasty as their master, believed in the Heavenly Dao Sect, and used the same script, language, and standards. They were still one family. These barbarians on the edge of the polar regions were different.

They roughly pushed and shoved the tribesmen.

While driving everyone to a place and surrounding them, they began to ransack the place.

The spoils of war were a key way to earn extra money, and the soldiers were always beaming with joy at these times, sometimes even arguing over them.

"I saw it first."

"What I get is mine, so get lost."

It wasn't until an officer intervened that everyone had to calm down and continue searching.

Limited by military budgets, the armies of the vassal states could not match the Great Qian Army in terms of material resources, and naturally, they lacked the organizational, training, and discipline required for such a level of organization, training, and discipline, often resulting in a mixed bag of good and bad soldiers.

When the granaries are full, people know etiquette.

With inadequate rations and pay, and the lack of respect for soldiers within the Great Wall, everyone resigned themselves to their fate.

"What a bunch of trash, all they can do is fight barbarians," the officer sighed.

He once served as an instructor for several squads of the Daqian Army. After retiring, he was hired by a vassal state with a high salary and gradually began to lead troops again.

It was just to indulge in the fantasy of being a military officer and make up for the lack of experience.

I once wanted to change the habits of these people, but I gave up; it wasn't necessary. I gradually realized that the low combat effectiveness of the vassal states was due to a corrupt, systemic, and permissive system.

It's a complete mess.

The vassal states treated them entirely as products of cost reduction and efficiency improvement, giving them meager compensation and leaving them to bear their own profits and losses.

Even with the encouragement of the Great Qian Dynasty, they were unwilling to provide much military support. For example, armor, iron weapons, and some advanced tactics and discipline were not provided to the vassal states, allowing their fighting capacity to be hollowed out, resulting in a situation where the central government was strong while the regional powers were weak.

Having grasped the situation, the officers decided to make money together.

As he pondered this, the surrounding barbarians all knelt down and begged for mercy:

"Sir, I don't want to be a slave."

"I've given you all my belongings, please don't take us away, I beg you."

"We have lived here for generations and cannot live without it."

He snorted coldly.

"Look at what you're saying, as if going to the interior is some kind of terrible place. That's a land protected by the Heavenly Dao, and countless people are not fortunate enough to be there... Could it be that you are heretics who reject the Heavenly Dao?"

Upon hearing this, the barbarians shook their heads, angry but not daring to speak out, thinking to themselves that it was precisely because of the brutality of these people that they were feared.

As for the deities who have truly manifested in the world, we certainly wouldn't dare to use those names casually.

Being labeled as ostracized is the end of it.

“We will do our best to ensure your safety. We are not as barbaric as before. The High Priest has also restrained the vassal states from doing their best to protect their labor force.”

"really?"

"Of course I wouldn't dare to issue imperial decrees carelessly. Don't worry, things have become more organized over the past two years..."

Even placing him next to his subordinates, who were rummaging through drawers and cabinets, would seem ironic.

In fact, the Great Qian Dynasty did take the losses incurred during the annexation of barbarian camps seriously, for example, by having accompanying priests to oversee the operations. Right now, one of them is coldly observing all of this within their ranks.

Acquiring spoils is permissible, but the indiscriminate beatings and scoldings of the past are no longer allowed; the complete relocation must be ensured.

"There's another reason."

The cloaked priestess proclaimed in a loud voice:

“There have been sporadic pollution incidents around the polar regions in recent years. According to the prophecy of the Great Sage, there may be a risk of an outbreak in the short term, so we are here to evacuate. We cannot let you become carriers of pollution; relocation is better for everyone.”

After she finished speaking, the barbarians were finally a little relieved, and the officers also began to restrain their subordinates.

At least there are people above watching, so we can't go too far.

"Come on."

Suddenly, a push appeared on the other side, and even two or three soldiers couldn't move a burly man in a fur coat.

He had his back to everyone and was just busy cooking porridge in a big pot.

As it was stirred, steam rose and even the surrounding snow melted. But gradually, a rotten, foul, and pungent odor filled the air, burning the lungs when inhaled.

It's hard to imagine who would eat this kind of thing.

"Don't rush," the soup maker's voice was hoarse like a broken bellows. "I've finished cooking the porridge, so I'll treat you to a meal."

"Damn it, who would eat this garbage you made?"

Unable to bear the smell, the soldier kicked over the large pot, revealing green pus spilled all over the ground, mixed with rotting flesh and bones, and the stench was unbearable.

click!

Suddenly, the spoon pierced through the soldier's chest cavity. There was no blood; instead, his entire body rotted and decayed in the green, steaming as he became a monstrous mass of rotting flesh, staring blankly at his own hands.

"What...what have I become? What are all these things?"

“You have certainly received the blessing of immortality and are fortunate to serve Him with me.”

"An enemy attack!"

At the officer's command, everyone gripped their weapons, drew their bows and nocked arrows, aiming at the special clan that had never been recorded before.

At the same time, all the soldiers who had penetrated deep into the camp withdrew, practically tumbling and crawling.

It was precisely because he wanted to avoid accidentally injuring his teammates that he didn't fire the arrow immediately.

"hehe."

The person cooking the soup didn't make any move, just stood there and sneered. When they looked up, everyone noticed a mouthful of rotten teeth oozing pus, with worms crawling around inside.

He glanced at the unfortunate infected man beside him, who charged forward howling.

The officer waved his hand and gave the order.

Arrows rained down, swishing and covering the infected, knocking them down with sheer force. Former comrades were instantly riddled with holes, lying on the ground only laughing, utterly excited.

Then it actually got up and continued to bar its teeth and claws.

The movement was too fast; in the blink of an eye, he had caught up with a retreating soldier, threw a punch, and the attack of strong acid pierced through the torso.

The armor was useless, and even the thrusts from the spears of those around him were ineffective.

Phubi!

Any metal objects that came into contact with it immediately melted into water, flowing into the earth and spreading into a green pus-like substance. Some kind of twisted plant even grew there, emitting a foul odor. Everything was filled with pollution.

All the soldiers present immediately put on masks.

This is a specially scented and herb-scented fabric that can resist air pollution to a certain extent, including psionic pollutants.

They were, after all, a powerful army that frequently fought against infected creatures on the frontier, so they had some experience.

"Cover your retreat, use a javelin to stop the kinetic energy."

Whoosh!

The javelin, hurled with all its might, hurtled through the air and, despite the corroded tip, continued its trajectory, piercing through the already battered body, the latter half even embedding itself in the snow with a snap.

Dozens of javelins were thrown with all their might, piercing through the target with 100% accuracy, pinning it to the spot for a moment.

The advance of the terrifying monster was finally halted.

At the same time, the priest also drew his bow and shot an arrow with a whoosh. Unlike ordinary arrows, this one shimmered with psionic light, and runes were engraved on the arrowhead. It pierced the target's head with a resounding thud.

It exploded with a bang.

It collapsed instantly, and its remaining remains ceased to struggle.