You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

The two sides have differing opinions, not based on personal likes or dislikes, but on differing stances, which could potentially escalate into a political upheaval of a "debate on finance and taxation."

Pipi!

On the other side, Feng Tianyin, with smoke rising from her head, broke the slightly tense atmosphere. Everyone turned to look and saw a black-and-white-haired girl whose eyes were flashing with light, and a vast spiritual energy was rising.

They immediately fell silent, and some of the priests hurriedly fetched ice water.

Sure enough, a moment later Feng Tianyin splashed cold water on her face, and the study was now filled with steam.

It still uses water cooling for heat dissipation.

"There are too many uncontrollable factors in abandoning crop rotation. Before the advent of chemical fertilizers, we would rather pay the cost of crop rotation than damage the environment and then try to fix it later. Don't underestimate the punishment of nature. Many people will die if major rivers change their course."

The loss of fertility combined with large-scale water extraction will inevitably affect the course of the river, and the consequences could be unpredictable if the riverbed water were to overflow and flood the area.

There was one instance in history where the course of the river was altered, and even the will of Heaven intervened to stop it.

very dangerous.

Collective memory compels the people of Daqian to revere the Mother River, so crop rotation cannot be easily abandoned.

“We can adopt a less aggressive crop rotation system, allowing for smaller but larger-scale planting. We should also use more fertilizer-absorbing crops and supplement the soil with artificial methods to restore fertility…” He Wan’s proposal won everyone’s approval.

Feng Tianyin knew that they were still missing some crops that could restore fertility.

For example, corn.

The sorghum that Daqian already has is also acceptable, but its overall performance is definitely not as good as that of corn.

"After all this discussion, the most direct option has long been presented to the Great Qian Dynasty—"

"Let our swords win land for our plows."

The high priest's words didn't surprise anyone at all; instead, everyone nodded in agreement. "You're such a cunning old fox in that position; you're just making things up like a ghost story. We all expected this."

They simply cared about their reputation and didn't want to be recorded in history books; in short, they wanted to be respectable people.

Keep it up.

Feng Tianyin has always been passionate, and she speaks so artistically; she truly deserves to be called the leader.

The top leader made the decision.

What should we do if we want to protect the environment through large-scale crop rotation, but also don't want to delay food production or reduce population growth?

If we're in a difficult situation, we'll have to deal with others.

Just as she pioneered the strategy of "attacking barbarian camps and seizing people" back then, Feng Tianyin uttered the astonishing wisdom of "using swords as plowshares to open up new frontiers." The greatest truths are the simplest, which is thought-provoking.

She probably laid the groundwork for this a long time ago, but only brought it up now.

Which senior clerk isn't a shrewd and perceptive person? They understand things instantly and are as clear-headed as a mirror.

My boss is quite temperamental.

They simply stopped being formal and offered their suggestions, all revolving around one point: the Southern Blessed Plains.

With its dense network of waterways, fertile, flat, and open land, and suitable temperature, it is a perfect farming area. Once fully occupied, there would be no need to suffer through crop rotation; one could simply cultivate it freely.

"Here is a copy of the 'New City Grain Production Report,' please circulate it among yourselves."

He Wan handed over a thick stack of documents.

Everyone quickly read it in turn, but Feng Tianyin didn't need to; this kind of information was already ingrained in her mind.

In recent years, the Great Qian Dynasty has successfully developed the northern section of the Great Plains. Its high efficiency of three harvests every two years has transformed several city-states into super granaries, making it a major contributor to increased production and achieving remarkable success.

But that's not enough.

Just as Feng Tianyin estimated, the standard amount of arable land will soon be insufficient.

Even with ongoing research into hybrid breeding for high-yield crops, we're nearing our limits due to a lack of genetic technology; we can't expect to achieve a perfect result overnight. Therefore, what we can truly rely on is arable land—it's right there in front of us, isn't it?

Meanwhile, the southern city-states were also expanding their grain-producing areas.

Feng Tianyin drew a line on the map, and the area she drew was exactly the boundary line between the two sides' farmland.

Not far away.

Gedentana snorted coldly: "They don't need that many. It was the southern countries that instigated this, just to take our farmland."

She was the first to file the charges.

In reality, given their level of intelligence capabilities, they knew that such a large number might indeed be necessary, given the growing population in the south. But no one opposed the Great Prophet; instead, they earnestly agreed.

The growth of non-Daqian people is not necessarily a good thing.

"The Southern Blessed Plains are a gift from Heaven to loyal believers, a mandate from Heaven. Divine artifacts belong to virtuous men; only Your Majesty's great benevolence and virtue are worthy of them, and only the people of the Great Qian who have been educated and bathed in Heaven's grace are worthy of possessing them. Many of the encroachments at present are unreasonable."

He Wan pointed to the map in an unfriendly tone, her eyes flashing coldly.

With the chief clerk speaking, everyone naturally followed suit, expressing their agreement one by one.

Yes.

In this respect, He Huang is different from his teacher Yu Xue. He is more likely to take high-profile and decisive actions, understands the propaganda of the new era, and is more resolute.

Of course, they each have their own merits; they're just different styles.

Her colleagues, influenced by her, naturally supported her, especially the clerks with military backgrounds who strongly endorsed her.

Feng Tianyin continued, "The Heavenly Dao reminded me of the importance of the Southern Blessed Plains a long time ago, but it also knew that the Great Qian Dynasty was not large enough and lacked the motivation to develop it."

"Times have changed."

"I believe that actual control of the Great Plains can be offered as a tribute to the Heavenly Way."

It's now the 69th year of the Enlightenment, and the next festival is not far away. We can't just tell Xia He that this round is simply about building a city.

We need to demonstrate initiative and proactiveness.

She viewed the south's expansion as a provocation and knew she had to react. How could she allow them to wreak havoc on the land Heaven had reserved for the Great Qian? A heavy blow was necessary—not just to inflict pain, but to conquer...

In a flash, several options flashed through Feng Tianyin's mind.

"His Majesty."

He Wan waved her hand to interrupt her thoughts, and then immediately spoke:

"War is necessary, but we cannot start a war directly, otherwise it would disgrace the sanctity of the Heavenly Dao and the majesty of the High Priest. How about we provoke the other side to make a move?"

“It is indeed necessary to create a claim.”

Although I had thought of several different options, there was nothing wrong with training my subordinates' thinking.

So He Huang quickly sketched out a list:

"These are all powerful figures from city-states who have cooperated closely with us over the years. Why not let them hold their own missionary ceremony, the grander the better? We can cultivate cohesion while spreading our message, and then see how our opponents react..."

She listed several possibilities and introduced corresponding contingency plans for each.

Missionary work?

It was indeed a suitable fulcrum, and it was on the eve of the Heavenly Dao Festival, so the reason was justified. Moreover, He Wan specifically emphasized that the Great Qian should not be invited, so as to appear that their side was uninvolved and would not make any move.

This actually leaves room for later intervention. The key is to get the enemy moving so that they can make targeted deployments.

How did He Wan come up with so many ideas in such a short time?

Feng Tianyin's thinking was certainly up-to-date and even ahead of its time, but the others were slightly surprised.

Having worked with the newly promoted chief clerk for a long time, I know his abilities, but he is still growing, and his style is becoming more aggressive and coordinated. He is a proactive type, which is also related to his personality.

Yu Xue usually handles things discreetly and often works quietly.

She would never volunteer like He Wan, offering her a solution while the High Priest was thinking; instead, she would simply "leave it to her" and act as a subordinate to carry it out.

The apprentice's ideas were even more unrestrained.

And it is essential to "package" a plan, making it high-profile and extravagant, but with hidden dangers.

It was rare for Feng Tianyin to listen so attentively, and then she made a decisive decision: "Let's begin."

--------

The events that occurred in the top-floor room of the Heavenly Path Temple were not made public; only the historians recorded them on the spot. It is unknown how long it will take for the information to be declassified and made public. However, the decisions made there will have a rapid impact.

Not long after, the southern city-states received the news.

Among them, the representatives of the believers, priests and messengers all made contact with the informants and received orders with only one theme: a missionary conference.

A meeting?

None of the people who acted as liaisons for the Dao Sect were fools; they immediately understood the meaning.

They immediately began to meet, and it turned out that there was a very important person among them:

Lord Lü Bo of Nanqiu City?

"Wait a minute, is it really you? What brings you here?" Jiang Jing, who was in charge of organizing, was shocked. "Well, we're just conducting a normal business activity, nothing more..."

"I've long been loyal to the Great Qian Dynasty, so there's nothing strange about it."

Upon hearing this, everyone calmed down a bit. To be honest, some people already considered themselves spies, but then they thought, what's wrong with preaching? It doesn't matter, especially with the support of a city lord, and in the territory of Nanqiu.

Stable.

"But why didn't Lord Song come?" someone asked, referring to the priest of this parish.

Over the long period of cooperation, Song Jingyun has accumulated a great deal of prestige and can be regarded as the backbone. Many believers are convinced of her sincerity.

However, City Lord Lü Bo shook his head.

"The missionary conference is a grassroots event, and I will not personally participate. The key is for everyone to organize it."

Chapter 121 Proxy Wars (6K)

Not showing up?

In a normal setting, Lü Bo's statement might have caused concern, but no one was worried because it was happening on Nanqiu's territory.

Besides, wouldn't they be more likely to receive blessings from Heaven if they showed their faces in public?

Of course, people also considered a deeper layer: the missionary conference needed to emphasize its grassroots nature, yet it also needed to expand its influence, even to the point of provocation, serving as a stress test to gauge the attitudes of the surrounding city-states.