You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

The gray-haired girl's smile grew more genuine, her eyes sparkling with light, radiant with vitality, as if her soul were leaping.

Xia He was also very happy with the performance of her masterpiece. Doesn't this make me look good?

I'm too strong.

The two exchanged a smile, and seemed to simultaneously feel a surge of spiritual energy flowing into them.

"What's the next step in your plan?"

"ocean."

Feng Tianyin's answer was not surprising; great minds think alike.

They agreed without prior consultation.

Xia He, who had also just witnessed the expansion trend of the Great Qian Dynasty, understood that with the Southern Blessed Plains, this inland treasure region, everything else could be put aside for now.

Anyway, the land is not going anywhere. As long as the core area is managed well enough, there's no fear of not being able to take over the others.

Therefore, the strategy will definitely shift "from land to sea".

The Great Qian has acquired a considerable territory in the north, but the true southern climate is actually the inland sea coast, which has not yet been reached, and the vast and abundant fishery resources have not yet been fully utilized.

"That's true. People can't live without salt. Salt lakes and saline-alkali land alone are not enough."

Xia He nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Your Majesty, and I believe the time is ripe. The Great Qian Dynasty is currently capable of developing higher-level navigation technology."

"You're right, like a movable triangular sail or something similar."

“In the past, our shipping needs were not high, and we couldn’t afford to have too many people engaged in professional handicrafts, so we left it as it was. But now, the fertility of the blessed southern plains can free up a lot of agricultural workers. Thank you, Your Majesty, for this gift.”

"It's the result of your hard work, no need to thank me."

Despite this, Feng Tianyin still solemnly bowed on behalf of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The road has widened.

Since the agricultural revolution, haven't humans been kept in captivity by crops? They will eventually have to leave. Only by freeing more people from simply working the land can there be more development. This is what Feng Tianyin wants to do.

Moreover, it is up to her to push it forward, because the current Great Qian Dynasty actually lacks sufficient motivation to move south.

Subconsciously, I felt that it was enough to just guard my own little plot of land.

They will become complacent and stagnant.

But both she and Xia He wanted to speed things up; waiting for the right opportunity was not their style, and they preferred to actively create it.

Now is the time to be ready and head to the ocean.

"However, there are still two major southern powers between us, so I won't choose any ocean-related buffs this round."

"Understood, Your Majesty's judgment will be followed."

Xia He said frankly: "As usual, your main task this round is to digest the Southern Blessed Plain. With it, the population of Daqian will explode once again. Once we have accumulated a size advantage, we can talk about dealing with potential enemies. I will also speed up the process of getting through this round."

She decided to accelerate the time flow rate to get to the next round as soon as possible.

Feng Tianyin nodded.

After all, the progress on the Great Plains is visibly slow, so there's no need to keep a close eye on it; it's best to proceed step by step. The only regret is that it's unlikely we'll see the Creator again this time.

That said, as times progress, one's own psychic abilities will also increase, allowing for more interaction.

Therefore, Feng Tianyin also looks forward to the spiritual power in the future.

"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on things. You can just move on to the next round quickly."

The gray-haired girl carefully closed her hands. Just moments ago she had been holding the white jade statue, but now she held it with utmost care, yet dared not touch it.

really weird.

He usually admired the statue, but after being possessed by the Heavenly Dao, he dared not touch it. So, what is the difference between the two forms? Is it merely spiritual energy? Is it a material existence or a consciousness existence...?

"Stop, stop, stop. Don't overthink it. Wait for me to do it."

Seeing the little robot tilt and start smoking, Xia He quickly interrupted, worried about another error message. She realized they really needed to strengthen maintenance. The immediate priority was to resolve the deployment for this round:

[Long-term national policy: Large-scale estate agriculture]

[Description: The Great Qian Dynasty has acquired a large amount of land, and it's time to encourage further collaborative production, which involves large-scale cooperative farming centered around manors.]

[Effect: Land reclamation efficiency +10%, population growth +5%, territory core conversion +2%]

You're the one.

It actually has a bit of a feudal lord's manor feel to it, which is indeed fitting.

Xia He made this choice because she wanted to ensure that land reclamation and population growth were covered by a single national policy, leaving room for other benefits.

[Dazhuangyuan Agriculture] is doing well in all aspects now.

The most valuable of these is undoubtedly the [population growth +5%]. Given the population explosion that is already underway in the Great Qian Dynasty, wouldn't this result in a leap forward? We have finally reached the threshold for a qualitative leap.

But what's the cost?

It will definitely create a large interest group of farm owners, but everything has two sides, and it is unavoidable.

"The manor owners are in your care, Tianyin."

"Please leave it to me, Your Majesty. I will properly handle the balance of interests among all parties."

Xia He wasn't worried. Only the people of Daqian understood how powerful a high priest truly backed by the Heavenly Dao was. At this moment, looking around, the entire Xia Yi population was prostrate and motionless, their kneeling in worship of the Heavenly Dao was also a form of worship of the high priest.

Military Strategy: Land Reclamation and Border Defense

As the name suggests, it's similar to the past, and the effect is nothing more than the same. The focus for these four years is not on military matters, but on consolidating new territories.

What's special is that Xia He directly chose a religious option for Feng Tianyin this time:

[Religious Strategy: Recruiting Believers]

[Description: The Heavenly Dao Sect's influence is expanding, and it can use propaganda to attract believers from afar to relocate to the local area]

[Effect: Immigration attraction +4%, Population growth +2%]

Xia He thus completed her operations across the entire Daqian region, essentially focusing on two key areas: arable land and population. Before the Industrial Revolution, mastering these two elements was a sure thing; Feng Tianyin would have made a similar choice.

hum!

The moment the ceremony was completed, a magnificent spiritual energy resonated across the heavens, which was truly awe-inspiring.

It is a blessing bestowed by Heaven.

Only the high priest knew the specifics, but that didn't stop everyone's faith from growing stronger. Especially the newcomers, who were filled with fervent piety and were incredibly devoted to the cause.

"Several new towns have been added. We can't just leave them unattended. Let them build fortifications and recuperate first."

Xia He's gaze swept over the various city-states in the southern part of the Great Plain.

They still bear the remnants of war, and if they are not repaired quickly, they could easily provoke the enemy to launch a counterattack. Therefore, she took over the operation and selected all the options such as [Repair the defenses], [Reorganize production], and [Maintain order].

The construction project was uniformly changed to "building a temple," which is a natural control point.

hum!

The same old trick was used to make the southernmost city-state rumble, and the power actually made the city walls grow. Everyone felt the arrival of the psychic energy.

"It must be a blessing from Heaven!"

They sensed it, and looked at each other in shock.

It's for real! I was absolutely right. I'm so lucky to have caught up with this once-in-a-decade Heavenly Dao Festival. I'll be able to brag about it for the rest of my life. This is a spectacular sight where even the city walls have changed right in front of me.

There should be other blessings besides these... but that remains to be seen. In any case, Heaven is a majestic deity that descends upon the world.

He is not some ethereal, illusory being.

The priest then presided over further prayers, completely winning over this group of believers.

Chapter 125 Assassination of the High Priest (6K)

After Xia He performed a single operation, the power of the Heavenly Dao resonated throughout the entire Great Qian Empire.

The psychic energy is vast.

Even ordinary people who have never encountered it can sense a chilling power sweeping across them. It is fleeting, but the lingering feeling is warm, inclusive, and great, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility.

The priests' chanting rose from all directions, devout and steady.

Of course, most of it was sensed by Feng Tianyin.

As the actual recipient of faith power, she could feel boundless power flowing into her, thereby strengthening herself and increasing her stats.

Xia He continued to observe.

"Such a high faith value should make the religious agenda more effective. Here's what we'll do, Tianyin, you also use your authority to coordinate and make the agenda related to population and arable land. This round needs to generate a sufficient population surge."

"Yes, ma'am. Please rest assured, you will see a different Daqian in the next round."

The two hit it off immediately, as they were on the same page.

The core geographical units of the Great Qian Dynasty have already taken shape, and the border defenses are solid, so there's no need to expend too much energy on unnecessary construction. We can focus solely on increasing the population to pave the way for rapid expansion in the future.

[Agenda Execution]

[The leaders' agenda is in effect and can be adjusted midway.]

Feng Tianyin's choices revolved around land reclamation and population, with the latter being a core indicator she had always valued.

This combined force enveloped the Great Qian, the two spiritual energies merging into one, together bringing forth a miracle. The subspace attention drawn by the stench of blood in the southern part of the Great Plains immediately receded.

We can't go here, we'll run into the line of fire.

Xia He is indeed paying attention to whether anything will appear that affects turn-based gameplay.

If you let her know the risks of reporting errors, she'll treat it as a bug and fix it for you.

So far.

All the necessary actions have been taken care of. There's nothing more to do this round; the Great Plains will be enough to sustain us for a long time.

Given the current state of the priesthood system in the Great Qian Dynasty, ordinary subspace pollution is not a major concern. Therefore, the focus should ultimately be on the south, and based on the vision we've gained, there seems to be a significant amount of high-concentration psionic energy there...