You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

Just then, Feng Tianyin finally put down her carving knife and quickly signed the newly updated official history archives. She decided to give up carving; with her current level of understanding, she was far from being able to see the true manifestation behind the vast spiritual energy.

She can only succeed if she pushes the power to a higher level.

"Report, the Western reconnaissance team has returned. High Priest, we have made an important discovery."

"Thank you for your hard work, now you can speak."

The sea-searching reconnaissance team dispatched by the Heavenly Dao with a blessing has not yet returned, but unexpectedly there is already news from the West. Her original order was to achieve a one-way trip of 15 days.

In a sense, a month can be considered the threshold for the effective rule of a feudal dynasty.

The territory was roughly the same before the industrial era.

In Feng Tianyin's view, rule beyond this boundary line can only be achieved through enfeoffment, tributary system, tribute, and military governorships. Would that count as her own territory? The boundaries of her territory would be vastly different.

Let the historians argue about the definition; she's a politician who only cares about interests.

"My lord, we have discovered many city-states! Here is a map."

"Bring it here."

The reconnaissance captain unfurled a long, finely detailed map, which included records of mountains, rivers, vegetation, birds, and animals.

His team was undoubtedly elite, not only measuring the land on foot but also developing the prototype of an encyclopedia.

Most importantly, it contains numerous city-states scattered throughout.

Everyone quickly gathered around, their faces filled with amazement. It turned out that the western part of Xiayi was never lonely.

The seeds of civilization sprouted everywhere.

Chapter 37 Sai Ma Niang (Bonus Chapter 1)

I work from 8 a.m.

Xia He, who had just returned to the server room office, was stunned because a series of message notifications appeared on the screen.

"I hope they don't get up early to have Saima fix the bug."

She breathed a sigh of relief upon closer inspection. It wasn't an error message, but rather a sudden influx of map information, with a surge in data across three areas: artificial intelligence, the civilized operation page, and administrator codes.

It's highly likely that a large number of new maps have been loaded.

To date, the company's "Civilization Evolution" has invested heavily in realistic maps, which serve as the stage for a series of historical processes.

It's not simply about which plot of land gives which benefit; that's too superficial.

In fact, the map of "Civilization Evolution" contains various elements such as atmospheric circulation, monsoons, and the influence of mountains and plateaus.

trouble.

If optimization isn't done properly, players' graphics cards and processors will probably be used for grilling meat.

However, that was the responsibility of another project team. Xia He, who was training the AI ​​model, could access various workstation hosts, all thanks to her immense strength. Even so, she carefully went through the process to avoid crashing or freezing due to excessive workload.

"There shouldn't be any problems externally."

In her view, programs and administrator privileges are external to the game, and everything is fine; the rest depends on the internal aspects.

The player log has been refreshed with a bunch of notifications:

The Great Qian Civilization encountered the city-state of "Kangguo". Local Sogdian merchants warmly welcomed your scouts, gave you a feast, and exchanged intelligence.

[Encountering the city-state "Loulan," a desert oasis and a crucial gateway to the distant west]

【encounter……】

The rapid emergence of numerous city-states was thanks to the scouts' ability to see.

They were all heroes, for in this era, traveling far and wide was fraught with peril, especially since they were sent out by Feng Tianyin and lacked any buffs. But the reconnaissance team not only survived the long journey but also made connections in all directions and gathered a wealth of intelligence.

The log will refresh the moment it is collected, and the Xia Yi higher-ups will have to wait for them to find out that they need to go back. Fortunately, they have already arrived.

Only half of those who set out returned.

Getting lost, wild animals, disease, and barbarians along the way caused the unfortunate to die forever far from home.

The marine reconnaissance team has not yet returned, but Xia He dragged the view to take a look and found that they had indeed reached the coastline, 550 kilometers away from Xia Yi. Along the way, they mainly encountered barbarian camps, and the progress of city-state construction was relatively slow.

She looked away, not in a hurry to retrieve the intelligence.

It mainly depends on Feng Tianyin's decision. We'll wait until they return to make a judgment. It will be just the right time. The log is refreshed:

The high priest awarded medals and bestowed rewards upon the victorious squad, and the fallen were given a cenotaph and their families were granted gifts.

[Temple General Meeting Held]

The highest levels of the Daqian government unanimously agreed that a city should be built 220 kilometers to the west at a tributary of the Jianxia River, to seize the strategic location first, deploy defenses in advance, and protect the capital city of Xiayi in the center.

[Leader initiates agenda: Envoy exploration. Diplomatic vision +5%, Influence +5%]

A new team of messengers has set off.

[Xia County has officially launched its plan to build city walls; preparations are underway...]

The sheer volume of messages almost made Xia He lose track of them. As expected of Feng Tianyin, she excels in efficiency, which is very noticeable when the flow of time is different.

That's fast.

She probably had a plan in place, she was just waiting for the intelligence to arrive.

One should always be wary of others. Although city-states are relatively low-key and less aggressive, we cannot entrust peace to others. Moreover, the Great Qian Dynasty already had the idea of ​​establishing another city on the west side, so it makes perfect sense.

Xia He explored westward along the map's view. What appeared to be a wide plain with no natural defenses was actually surrounded by water on three sides and hills.

With a water surface over 100 meters wide, it does not freeze, has a stable flow, and serves as a natural barrier.

Good choice.

Not a step further is acceptable, because if we move a little west, the water flow is still there but not wide enough, and if we move a little east, it won't provide enough strategic buffer. The current situation is the best.

The new city and the capital city can be connected by waterways.

In fact, if we were willing to dig canals to divert water, it wouldn't be impossible to connect the city of Cuiwei with waterways. In this era, rivers are like highways, and they have extremely high value in terms of logistics and trade. However, these projects would have to wait.

"In short, the location of the new city is safe enough, almost as safe as Xiangyang. Well done."

Xia He agreed.

Opening the map reveals just how nightmarish a defensive line like the "Xiangfan Integrated Defense Line" is: surrounded by water and mountains, with mudflats or shallow seas all around, it's practically a hellish dungeon.

It took the Mongol Empire a massive amount of resources to besiege and conquer the city; it wasn't a direct assault.

Similarly, there is Constantinople, the city the world longs for.

It's too safe.

To put it bluntly, limited by the level of productivity in ancient times, in some places, a single city could form an absolutely impenetrable defensive line, making it virtually impossible for the attacking side to capture. Of course, this was under the condition that both sides were evenly matched.

Earth Online understands the matchmaking mechanism, and the defending side often faces negative consequences such as factionalism, consecutive years of natural disasters, and unpaid wages.

How could they perish if nature couldn't even protect such a formidable natural barrier?

It's a pity, but they deserve it.

The saying "A country is not secured by the natural defenses of mountains and streams" should be translated as "When you rely on natural barriers, you are likely to perish."

However, a reliable defense can save you a lot of effort when playing games.

"The biggest weakness of the Xiangfan defense line in the Daqian version is not the new city itself, but its proximity to the capital." Xia He sighed, "It's a drag on the overall system. Will we have to move the capital later?"

She wasn't sure either, because the best approach was actually to hit them.

Why not just proactively create strategic hubs? The more you fight, the more buffer zones you create; that's how early-game players operate.

Forget it, without enough scale, it's all just empty talk.

At the same time, the Great Qian Dynasty, which had launched a series of projects, could not withstand Xia He's whimsical ideas and needed to recuperate. What needed to be done now was to respond:

He said, "The new city in the area with its dense network of waterways to the west will be named 'Zhuguan'."

The loud sound echoed.

Every person in the Great Qian Dynasty heard these two words. They signify being surrounded by water on three sides, and guarding the border.

They immediately bowed deeply, never expecting that Heaven had already sensed their presence and issued an order. Fantastic! This meant they were blessed; they should begin work immediately, even if productivity was already under immense pressure.

Xia He was actually urging them to grab the spot.

If it were a player-versus-player situation, the Zhuguan area would probably have been occupied long ago. Fortunately, the map view of other city-states is not wide enough to notice it.

Currently, only the Great Qian Dynasty is large enough to barely maintain three cities.

Thanks for your hard work.

Even when she's playing games, she wouldn't expand her territory rapidly with such a small population. But now there's no time to hesitate; hesitation means defeat, and development is always a race against time.

Although they were far apart, Xia He and Feng Tianyin shared the same thought at this moment:

The slaves are definitely in for a rough time.

In the past, the Great Qian Dynasty tended to favor a style of recuperation and development, but this time it was different; the peaceful and leisurely era had come to an end.

For the high priest, who understands the mechanism of the changing times, this is a shift from the ancient rounds to the future classical rounds, and the vastness of the world is quietly revealed.

The people of Daqian also sensed the impending turmoil.

Let's embark on a shared future.

PS

The book recommendations were made by friends around the same time.

Why must you treat me as an emotional crutch?

[mygo + crossover anime, citrus, heartwarming slice-of-life]

My name is Noshiro Toshika, and I was assigned to this everyday world by the system.

For reasons that cannot be explained, various plot breakdowns have occurred in the side worlds of the main world.

As for me, I need to save everything through a simulation-like method.

"Leave the specialized tasks to the professionals!"

------