You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

The last time was in the 15th year of the Enlightenment, when the Jianxia River drastically changed its course, almost destroying Xiayi. It was Heaven's way that gave an early warning, even going so far as to send down its great power to permanently reshape the terrain and avert disaster.

Feng Tianyin later relayed the sacred admonition, "lest it strike the Yuan 5000 years with its elbow," which probably foresaw the distant future.

The divine will must be important to convey its revelations without delay, even if it takes a whole year.

"Your Majesty."

The gray-haired girl in the center of the altar bowed deeply, and sure enough, a gaze descended upon her, accompanied by a wisp of golden auspicious cloud, causing all the residents of the city to prostrate themselves.

You did the right thing; be careful of the north.

[The primitive shamanistic belief continues to ferment deep in the grasslands, which can induce psychic phenomena.]

Xia He offered a hint, because for Feng Tianyin, who prefers long-term planning, it's not the lack of specific warnings that's worrisome, but the absence of any information altogether. Knowing the details allows for preventative measures.

She just confirmed that, after all, the area further north is shrouded in map fog.

[The times are changing ahead of schedule; the classical era will begin 50 years after the Enlightenment. I will issue you the order to wage war 40 years from now.]

The gray-haired girl lowered her head.

The auspicious clouds, carrying the radiant glow of all things, vanished in the next moment.

PS

I recommend some great books by the veteran author of Orange Literature:

They all say I'm so righteous it's almost wicked.

Chapter 59 The System of Towns and Tombs

After receiving this inspiration, Xia He's gaze returned to the outermost boundary of the known map explored by Da Qian.

The northern foot of Mount Kurong.

A few scattered scout insignia indicate long-term patrol squads; from their perspective, one can see the vast land, with low-lying grass and howling winds.

As far as the eye can see, there is a vast, yellowish-brown plain, with a touch of green underfoot.

The dividing line between the flourishing and withering of vegetation is here.

The player's perspective is wider, and a few scouts can be vaguely seen at the edge of the map's fog.

[Barbarian Tribe]

They always manage to emerge from unnoticed corners. What's special is the suffix: "[Great Shamanic Faith Blessing]" is a precursor to religion. Furthermore, it possesses expansionist potential, which prompted Xia He to decide to use force.

However, the specific strategy will be implemented separately...

Experienced players can tell at a glance that the barbarian tribes on the grasslands had a shared belief before they became city-states.

They were probably one step away from forming the religion of the Eternal Heaven.

Xia He glanced at the progress bar of the Great Qian Dynasty's [Founding Religion Progress Bar: 61%], which was the fastest.

There is no real religion in this era.

Despite the grand displays of priesthood throughout the Great Qian Dynasty, its true focus is on faith. From an academic perspective, it lacks standardized doctrines, rituals, and a hierarchical structure, making it at least not professional enough. From a game-like perspective, it doesn't count unless it has at least a million true believers.

Card population.

In Civilization Evolution, a significant portion of the mechanisms are unlocked by population, or are related to scale.

The Great Qian Dynasty is still lacking; it doesn't have enough true believers.

After all, this standard excludes superficial believers. One must regularly worship, chant scriptures, and maintain certain conduct to be considered a true believer. Accumulating a certain number of such worships will unlock religious gameplay, accompanied by a weak spiritual power.

In its early stages, psychic energy could be directly integrated with religion, representing a controllable form of supernatural power belonging to humanity.

Let's wait and see.

When the progress bar is full, a "Great Prophet" character will appear. This is the highest-level hero who will create a religion to spread faith and psychic power.

The current Heroic Mode is just an early, most primitive version of PsyOps.

Transcending the ordinary and reaching sainthood is still a long way off.

“Since the northern barbarians will unite under another faith, they will definitely be enemies of the Great Qian, and it will be judged as a holy war, on a larger scale.” Xia He’s eyes flickered as she dragged her gaze. “We need to prepare early.”

In the upcoming round, he carefully instructed Feng Tianyin to pay attention to defense.

Xia He's gaze returned to the map of the Great Qian Dynasty.

She saw a steady stream of caravans exchanging goods within the territory, enriching the variety of products, and the pace was much faster than she had imagined.

All roads lead to Xiayi.

The painstakingly constructed roads and shipping routes became the arteries of the Great Qian Dynasty, connecting different regions and keeping the ever-growing behemoth healthy. Without the replenishment of various resources from the Western Regions' river valleys, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

Meanwhile, Xia He witnessed a series of magnificent caravans heading to the capital.

The preparations for the Heavenly Dao Ritual, which marks 40 years of enlightenment, are unlike anything before, destined to be a unique event in history.

Who?

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that they were dispatched by the seven major city-states. Although some had been transferred to the management of local officials appointed by Feng Tianyin, the local forces were still ordered to pay their respects.

Procedures are indispensable; one must express one's attitude and stance.

Anyway, she won't lose out. The nobles will have to pay for the travel expenses themselves, and she can also check the traffic while she's at it. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?

In addition, the messenger "strongly suggested" that the whole family move away as soon as possible.

The high priest had only one command:

The powerful and wealthy families gathered in the capital, and those who refused had their homes confiscated. This did not violate Feng Tianyin's promise of protection, since you were the one who disobeyed orders first.

The system of towns and mausoleums?

The shadow of this system can be seen. After the expedition was pacified and she basked in the glory of victory, she acted swiftly: all those whose assets met the requirements were to be relocated to the capital. Those who disobeyed would be reduced to slavery, with zero tolerance.

Emperor Wu of Han is most famous for implementing this approach, which is a means of suppressing powerful clans.

However, benevolent governance often fails to last until the death of the person in charge.

Malpractices often have a poisonous effect that leads to death.

However, Feng Tianyin can play this game, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future, which will cause trouble for local powerful families.

She didn't need Xia He's reminder; she already realized that as the territory expanded, the millennia-old "central-local conflict" would come to the fore. The previous transfers were merely a test of compliance, a way to streamline the process and give the responsible officials experience.

The city-state system at this moment is the real game-changer.

Under the guise of "40 years of enlightenment, paying homage to the divine will, and incidentally relocating to receive divine grace," they actually strengthen the trunk while weakening the branches.

Even if local powerful figures wanted to take their time and wait until sunset, it wouldn't work; it was useless.

Power lies in holding a high position for a long time; change brings weakness.

Feng Tianyin possesses eternal beauty, immortality, and immense power, wielding both literary and military prowess. She is a ruler active 24/7; how could she possibly outlive someone who is immortal? In many people's minds, she is—

The sun of the Great Qian.

When faced with this kind of person, even the local powerful clans are helpless. What else can they do? Raise an army in rebellion? That's impossible.

Everyone has witnessed Xia He's "heavenly special effects" and knows that destiny has brought them together.

The high priest, who reigned for forty years, was undoubtedly the representative of humanity. Under this premise, how could a rebellion be mobilized? Moreover, with the people living in harmony and the political situation in various regions, there was no basis for resistance.

"You're really good at calculating."

Xia He had to admit that Feng Tianyin's meticulous planning was highly efficient, making a big deal out of the Heavenly Dao Festival.

The high priest beat the noble family members with sticks, making them scream in pain.

Their fear was not unfounded, because traveling long distances in ancient times was truly a matter of life and death.

Unaccustomed to the local environment, exhausted from the journey... With such a poor mode of transportation as horse-drawn carriages, most people would not be able to sleep or eat well, some would fall ill and never recover, and some would even die on the way and be buried on the spot.

Countless people died from the disease.

If Feng Tianyin were to die, this period of history would certainly be recorded as a "great migration filled with suffering and oppression," a smear campaign.

Unfortunately, that will not happen; it is merely the ultimate fantasy of the nobility.

Xia He took the initiative to listen from a first-person perspective:

"Why? Doesn't the High Priest value a large and prosperous family? Three members of our family have already died of illness, why are you forcing us onto the path of death?"

"In that lord's calculations, letting us exploit others would only further suppress population growth."

Are we doomed?

"Have you read 'The True History of the Great Qian Dynasty'? Back then, the High Priest single-handedly slaughtered all the major landowners in Xia County with his sword."

"She won't break her promise; she can at least guarantee our prosperity for three generations. As long as our descendants don't squander the family fortune, it won't be difficult to continue into the fifth generation and live a good life. As for what happens after that? I won't care about you once we're beyond the fifth generation."

"Don't you care about the family's continued prosperity?"

"The nation prospers, the high priest is eternal, and only the way of Heaven is eternal."

"You must have been brainwashed."

Xia He knew from their discussion that things had been done, and that the capital's control would surge, providing a safeguard for population growth.

I could feel Feng Tianyin's all-out effort on the eve of the KPL assessment.

The excruciating transfer orders imposed on local powerful clans were merely part of the High Priest's task of fulfilling the divine mandate.

Chapter 60 Preparing for the Great Expedition

Summer of 40.

At dawn on the day of the fifth Heavenly Way Ceremony, the entire Xia County was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

With the arrival of powerful families from all over the country, a large amount of capital poured into the capital of Daqian, making it difficult not to prosper.

Countless products from afar entered the market, offering high quality at low prices.

Moreover, everyone had received some share of the war spoils; generous rations and last year's bumper harvest had filled their pockets. Therefore, faced with a dazzling array of goods, they had only one answer:

buy.