You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

"We're short of labor again."

"At this rate, I will only be able to report 20 people for the Heavenly Dao Festival in 5 years."

The high priest rarely showed his troubled side as a subordinate, and unfortunately everyone could only express their regret. It was a command from the heavens, and they couldn't help. Only the agent with divine power could respond.

The leader's leader is too lofty and unattainable.

However, they couldn't simply remain silent when Feng Tianyin expressed her troubles; that wouldn't be considered a lack of official competence, but rather a lack of social skills and emotional intelligence. So they immediately spoke up:

"I am willing to share your burdens."

She turned around and said in a low voice, "The same old method."

The crowd exchanged glances, immediately realizing that the high priest had once again entertained the idea of ​​plundering; indeed, it was a quick and easy way to make money.

They've probably set their sights on the population of the western city-states. Even if each one is far smaller than the Great Qian Dynasty, the combined population would be enough to sustain them for a while. Having just finished taming the surrounding slaves, they've finally turned their attention to the city-states.

The barbarian camp was no longer enough for Feng Tianyin; she needed something bigger.

difficult.

Every city-state had its own independent defenses and walls, making them all tough targets.

"My lord, the Great Qian Army is ready to be mobilized at any time."

The officers were naturally eager to volunteer for the mission, and the gray-haired girl nodded in agreement, replying, "There's no rush now; the priority is to rest and recuperate."

She told her subordinates to just remember that there was a plan, and that they should consider the long-term implications.

Sooner or later, they will conquer the cities on the west side.

The difficulty lies in the fact that Feng Tianyin's goal is not infiltration or control, but to truly subdue the other party. Therefore, she must completely conquer them, and a long-term plan is definitely necessary to ensure a safe outcome.

For at least the next five years, we need to stay put and behave ourselves. It won't be easy to digest two new cities, so we'll put our goals aside for now.

However, some groundwork should be laid in advance, such as using trade to establish trade routes...

Lost in thought, she entered the temple area.

Within the Great Qian Dynasty, in every region, even down to the smallest county or town, a temple for worship was always erected, let alone a temple of the scale of the main city. It was practically a palace. Indeed, in terms of function, it truly served as a palace.

It also serves as a church and office building, making it highly utilized and comparable to a central business district in ancient times.

As they walked through, the place had already become bustling with activity.

"Greetings, High Priest."

The clerks who had been assigned here earlier quickly greeted her and watched Feng Tianyin and her entourage head to the conference room, as the next matter concerned the strategy for Cuiwei City.

Everyone will be promoted from temporary workers to permanent employees, and the relevant systems will be established and matured.

Feng Tianyin took the seat at the head of the long table, and the others also took their seats.

She has never been one to value authority. Or rather, does being protected by the heavens and immortality require any other superfluous aura? Therefore, there is no need for her subordinates to stand and discuss things. The more crucial the discussion, the more trivial the details should be discarded.

"He Yuan will serve as the city lord."

The first sentence names the first manager, which is expected to be a senior permanent clerk, one of the 11 people assessed that year.

They've been working together at the temple for years and have gotten to know each other well. Since this is the first time managing a branch city, it's best to use people you know well, as the tasks ahead will be challenging.

He Yuan, whose name was called, immediately nodded and bowed: "Thank you, High Priest."

"Congratulations."

Colleagues offered their congratulations, their gazes meaningful, as this was a record-breaking first overseas assignment.

The high priest usually selects the best of the female officials to work closely with him, and the political circles call it the "inner priesthood," which was originally a priesthood group.

Because priests evolved from witches and shamans.

Bearing traces of a matriarchal clan society, they were blessed by fate in the dark, a fact that persisted for 1000 years before the arrival of the Way of Heaven, and they held the vast majority of sacrificial power.

After Feng Tianyin was resurrected, she gave one explanation:

A devout priest will gravitate towards the essence of the divine, like an extension of it on earth, just as His statue is depicted as a woman with wolf tail hair.

It finally came.

Her sculpted, hazy incarnations of the Heavenly Dao spread gradually, as the worship of divine images was an inevitable necessity.

The term "inner priest's shrine" corresponds to the term "outer chieftain's shrine."

It also retains traces of tribal history, as the Xia people initially governed secular affairs by the title of chief, similar to other barbarian tribes. This thousand-year-old tradition has left its historical mark. However, this is the first time that members of the inner palace have been sent out to serve in the outside world.

Unprecedented.

“The sub-cities and their subordinate regions will adopt a term system. He Wan will return after her five-year term, and you will always have a position in the inner palace.”

"During this period, you should also cultivate a successor who can take your place and recommend him to me."

Feng Tianyin relayed the order.

I would also like to add: "Everyone should cooperate. Although the knowledge bestowed upon us by Heaven contains many methods for management, practice makes perfect, and we must ultimately explore on our own."

Everyone immediately nodded. Strictly speaking, the local officials were newly appointed, and Xiayi had never had any experience in regional governance for thousands of years.

They all need to try, work through, and improve.

"Given the abundant grain reserves of the Great Qian Dynasty, my requirement for Cuiwei City is simple: trade."

"You must become the grain-producing region of the western city-states, where they live in a semi-arid grassland region and eat little refined grain. First, win over their stomachs."

"In addition, Daqian will also help them build water conservancy facilities."

“We need to build reservoirs and dikes upstream to store floodwater, and then sell the irrigation canals to them so that those city-states can also benefit from the water diversion. This is a benevolent policy, Sun Shan, I'm entrusting you with the responsibility.”

The high-ranking officials' eyes flickered between light and shadow; they were like old foxes telling me stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

"The High Priest is of great benevolence and virtue!"

[Image: Feng Tianyin's concept character design 1]

Chapter 44 Evil God

Time flies by in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Looking down from a higher vantage point, one sees clouds drifting by, yin and yang intersecting, seasons changing, and the rings of the year increasing one by one.

Xia He watched the passage of time, observing the scattered glimpses of human life.

Everything is accelerating, like the flashing of each frame in a stop-motion animation. The sand table I built myself is developing in a more expansive direction, and the past few years have been blessed with favorable weather and a prosperous era.

Although there were occasional floods and landslides, everything remained unscathed thanks to Feng Tianyin's well-prepared disaster relief measures.

Everything is normal; people live and work in peace and contentment, and the economy is thriving.

No wonder!

The artificial intelligence with its built-in "positive action parameters" is unlikely to be well-behaved; it's probably up to no good, especially in the five years since Cuiwei City was fully completed.

The fact that the arrow was shot first and the target drawn later confirms that Feng Tianyin was laying the groundwork.

Of course, players with very high skill levels may not be able to see the overall picture clearly when the time acceleration multiplier is applied.

Everything happened in a flash, gone before we could even sort it out. All we could see was the ever-increasing data, the expansion of farmland, the construction of roads, the troop deployment and training... but there must have been an underlying trend.

She figured it out without even asking.

Updates in the log status bar provide clues, and when these messages are pieced together, they outline the future:

The Great Qian Dynasty dispatched envoys to visit seven city-states on the western side.

Our merchants have learned that trade is booming and the economy is thriving from the Blessed Basin to the northern desert region of the glacial plateau.

Zhuguan's fiscal revenue has been rising year after year...

Xia He zoomed in on the map, and the entire desert region north of the glacial plateau came into view:

Western Regions?

However, due to its abundant rainfall and the fact that the intercontinental sea transports moisture from the south to deeper inland areas, it differs from the impression of arid deserts in reality. On the contrary, horse farms are widespread, while arable land is scattered sparsely.

According to the people of Daqian, "Western Region Valley" would be a more accurate name.

It is an extension of a huge plateau, where the collision of tectonic plates has created numerous valleys with a spring-like climate all year round, and the melting snow and ice nourish the agricultural areas.

The desert is interspersed with oasis valley resources.

The scenery is beautiful; amidst the endless yellow sand, valleys appear frequently, and stepping into one feels like entering a paradise. Birds sing, flowers bloom, water and grass are lush, and horses gallop freely—it's as if you've entered another world. It's a dream come true, but unfortunately, the tourism resources weren't unlocked in ancient times.

Pity.

Of course, once you've got it, there's no problem, and gaining benefits is just a matter of time.

Xia He saw through Feng Tianyin's intention and immediately grasped the crux of the matter: the valley could grow grain, but it lacked water.

Incompatibility is quite awkward.

It's easy to keep the seven city-states within their own small territories. However, the population will inevitably grow, and once it exceeds a certain threshold, water shortages will become apparent.

The small amount of water flowing from the glacial plateau each year is not enough for irrigation.

Demand is business opportunity.

Therefore, Feng Tianyin ordered merchants to transport grain in exchange for a large number of new crops, technologies, horses, and other subspecies of livestock... all of which could be used as gene banks for future breeding and selection.

In addition, water conservancy facilities were built, and irrigation canals were diverted to connect to their small rivers.

To date, she has implemented several agendas, including [encouraging trade], [reservoir projects], and [expanding irrigation], as the names suggest.

You don't need to look closely to know where to aim; the gain is obvious.

The military strategy employed was to deter and mediate, which was intended to curb sporadic city-state conflicts during the period.

..........

That's brilliant! Now the river valley city-states are gradually aligning themselves with Xia Yi. Don't forget that the buff cards like "Expanding Territory" and "Conquering Other Races" have had some influence so far, making it easy to attract neighboring states.

Feng Tianyin took this opportunity to continuously build up her prestige and control them, which was a battle of wits.

Violent conflict cannot be ruled out.

Xia He saw more, and could retrieve the diplomatic attitudes of various city-states; only "Green Valley Pass" was in submission.

It happens to be the closest, on the edge of the Cifu Basin, still considered a plain, with the largest area and a population of up to 5. Due to long-term close relations, it has been largely infiltrated by Feng Tianyin's methods, and a total of 7 people in the surrounding villages are basically under her control.