You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

Ultimately, however, it's not up to them to decide; the decision is left to the one in the temple.

----

Feng Tianyin, who was stamping the jade seal, raised an eyebrow.

[Hint: Daqian's diplomat Ke Rong has discovered that an envoy from Wangjiang City-State is visiting Qingzhou. Diplomatic influence +5]

There is an inevitability within the coincidence.

She had long anticipated that Wangjiang City-State would seek help from Qingzhou, since their interests were aligned. Both sides had a motive to stop the expansion of Daqian. Despite the current flourishing trade, there were actually far more reasons for war than for peace.

[Note: The priests accompanying the Great Qian delegation have confirmed that the belief in the Sea-Dwelling God is corrupted.]

Two such instances in a row are enough to indicate that something is not simple and should be considered a tip-off.

Feng Tianyin silently put down her brush and went to the sand table. The surrounding scribes tensed up, wondering if His Majesty had had a sudden inspiration or made some discovery.

What is it?

"The belief in the Southern Sea God is the enemy of the belief in the Way of Heaven."

The opening remarks, which set the tone, left everyone wide-eyed. Why so sudden? From the High Priest's perspective, the enemy was a heretic that had to be eliminated.

Gengantana, who was knowledgeable about religious affairs, immediately understood:

"Is it like the situation with the Eternal Heaven back then? A primitive belief has been polluted and hollowed out."

"Correct

When the discussion turned to the Eternal Heaven, which was once worshipped by the tribes of the northern deserts, everyone realized that this was a famous event in the history of the Great Qian Dynasty, after all, it produced an ascended person, the current Great Prophet.

Back then, even the Heavenly Dao itself sent down its will to destroy everything.

Dealing with the God of the Sea will not be easy either.

"Don't rush into action. I need further intelligence. Just keep this to yourself and wait and see."

Feng Tianyin was calmer than everyone else; she remained composed despite dropping a bombshell.

Since she has said so, it's best to hold back for now.

"The important thing is to make this festival a success; the time is fast approaching."

The entire Daqian Dynasty attaches great importance to every round of Heavenly Dao Ritual.

The high-ranking officials of the temple were dissatisfied with the simplification and haste of the previous 70-year enlightenment ceremony. At that time, the war had made the ceremony a bit rushed, which was really not in accordance with etiquette. Wouldn't that make Heaven look down on them?

He gave so much, yet He couldn't witness the grand ceremony? It makes humanity seem heartless and ungrateful.

Is that reasonable?

This is something that must be made up for after 80 years of enlightenment.

Moreover, this Heavenly Dao Ceremony was arranged in advance by that person and the High Priest. That's right, Feng Tianyin said she received a revelation.

The details of her conversation with Xia He are not for outsiders to know; the conclusion is enough. Given her authority and that of the Heavenly Dao, everyone will believe her unconditionally. Considering the pollution by the Southern Sea God, I've already pieced together the gist of it:

The war of the gods has returned.

The war fought in the Eternal Heaven was the largest in terms of scale and size in the history of the Great Qian Dynasty.

After all, everyone was poor and backward back then. The Western Regions and valleys had not yet been developed, and the south was still in the works. They relied on only a few cities to fight to the death against the tribes in the northern desert.

Looking back now, it still feels incredibly thrilling.

The gains from the war were also unexpected.

The vast lands beyond the Great Wall became a resource base for the Great Qian Dynasty, continuously supplying ores, warhorses, and cold-resistant crops. This also resolved the danger of separation in the Western Regions valleys and brought together the entire grassland power, including pillars of the state like Gegentana and Erbala.

Risks and opportunities coexist, and so does the upcoming journey to the south.

Excitement aside...

Feng Tianyin did not continue with the topic of conflict, but instead returned to the most important internal matter: the preparations for the Heavenly Dao Festival.

She has no intention of advocating war; everything will wait until the Heavenly Dao takes action in this round. At that time, coordinated deployment will create an effect greater than the sum of its parts, enough to unleash terrifying war potential.

They were busy preparing for the Heavenly Ritual, but it was also for the sake of war.

Since the high priest did not intend to emphasize the war, the scribes returned to their work.

However, the military personnel couldn't pretend they hadn't heard. Du Shaoqian and Shen Xingyao cast questioning glances at Feng Tianyin, who nodded and said, "You really should make preparations."

Yes, sir.

So, will they be useful after the Heavenly Dao Festival ends?

"Since Ke Rong is not here, He Wan will receive Feng Guo. Tell them to prepare military supplies and conduct a thorough self-inspection to ensure everything is in order."

"Understood, I will urge them to do so."

At this point, everyone immediately understood that the vassal states would likely have to provide the money, labor, and manpower. While they couldn't and dared not rely on them for direct combat, they were sufficient for auxiliary purposes, maintaining order, and patrolling.

In fact, the military system centered on the Great Qian Dynasty is operating at high speed.

The numerous commands issued by Feng Tianyin were all related to this, interlocking and intricately coupled, forming part of a massive system engineering project that slowly propelled the war machine.

She always wins by leveraging her power.

Ten years of rapid development have given the Great Qian Dynasty a solid foundation, and it's also a good opportunity to test its organizational capacity and influence at the Heavenly Dao Festival.

For example, a missionary conference held just before the festival was an excellent testing ground:

[The religious influence of the executed leader's agenda "missionary conference" increased by 3%]

Fishing lights on the shore.

Because of its location at a major north-south transportation hub, it became the city where the missionary conference was held. Song Jingyun was in full charge of directing and coordinating all related matters, which led to the rapid expansion of the Heavenly Dao Sect's influence, and the results proved to be quite good.

A steady stream of believers arrive here to worship the divine way.

Although they knew it was just a small event on the eve of the Heavenly Dao Festival, they still poured a great deal of enthusiasm into it.

"We request an audience with the High Priest. Please baptize us."

"It's impossible to squeeze in, hurry up."

"Since we're already here, let's just go straight to Xiayi to participate in the Heavenly Dao Festival."

What's different this year?

Regardless, everyone welcomed him, and the scene was lively, keeping Song Xuyun extremely busy. Fortunately, this kind of event was familiar to the inner palace, and order was quickly restored.

all the best.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, seemingly having stabilized the situation to prevent a stampede or other accidents.

Being in charge of such an important event for the first time made Song Xuyun extremely nervous.

"...You seem to have it all done so easily."

Her colleague Jiang Bai, holding a teacup, smiled and brewed a cup for her as well. The rich aroma was invigorating, a familiar taste as always.

"I'm very busy too. After all, the distribution of offerings has never stopped, and I also have to give a report after the missionary conference."

She is currently in a temporary posting from the central government to a local position.

The bureaucratic system of the Great Qian Dynasty emphasizes versatility. Even if someone as talented as Jiang Bai is promoted directly from the academy to the finance department, they still need local management experience. Without hands-on experience, they won't understand many things. Teaching alone cannot teach people how to do things.

You can learn something by teaching it once.

That's why He Wan transferred him to Yu Huopan, where He Wan had previously worked, which can be seen as a way of taking care of his apprentice.

Of course, this doesn't mean the difficulty has decreased; on the contrary, it has increased.

such as.

The missionary conference was suddenly decided to be held by the fishing fire, not only because of geographical factors, but probably also to give them a test.

Both of them understood the deeper meaning behind it.

Therefore, we devoted 120% of our energy to the missionary conference... The week went by smoothly and without any major mistakes. Everything was resolved successfully, and more than 200,000 believers came to visit.

Considering the long journey, the unfamiliar environment, and the financial difficulties, it is truly remarkable.

They only breathed a sigh of relief as the missionary conference drew to a close.

ended.

It was not only a unique religious event, but also a brilliant record for Song Xuyun and Jiang Bai, enough to become a strong political asset for their promotion in the temple.

With a thud, the priestess leaned back in her chair, stretched, and sighed:

"The most difficult task of the year is over."

It's springtime, and I never expected that Song Jingyun would organize such a large-scale event. It's really impressive. I have to admire the teachers' abilities.

Neither Bayar nor Gegentana possessed abilities that I could currently match.

"Will things be easier after that?"

Jiang Bai asked.

"Not necessarily." My colleague shook his head: "You haven't experienced the Heavenly Dao Festival in Xiayi. It's incredibly busy. The once-in-a-decade celebration all falls on one day. Everyone's busy shopping and it's chaotic."

Song Xuyun is the quiet type, and that kind of occasion was really too noisy.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai's eyes lit up with anticipation. After all, coming from a merchant family, he couldn't wait for business to be booming; it was all about the everyday life of the people.

"If there's any advantage, it's that we can sit in the VIP seats and watch the Heavenly Dao Festival."

"Where are the VIP seats? I've only ever heard of spectator seats."

"It means standing and praying with the high priest all day long."

"That's a very real life."

The two looked at each other and smiled, their anticipation for this supposedly unprecedentedly auspicious festival growing stronger.

Chapter 130 Gained Face (Please refresh)

On the day of the 80th anniversary of the Enlightenment.

Feng Tianyin, who usually stays up all night, welcomed the first ray of dawn. Following this ray of light, she walked to the window and opened it with a creak, illuminating the study.