The Central Plains region south of the Luolong Mountains is currently the most densely populated area of ordinary human beings in the entire God-Forsaken Continent. The climate is very suitable for farming, and the Luolong River, the main river, nourishes many new city-states.
In this era of civilization revival, it is an indisputable fact that the land is vast and the population is sparse. With the continuous reclamation of arable land, united countries will naturally emerge in the concentrated areas of states.
These countries may have been established by other races who enslaved ordinary humans, or they may have been established by a tough guy like Duan Tianming who appeared out of nowhere among ordinary humans.
Compared with city-states, these countries have larger populations, more cities, and more concentrated and contiguous arable land that is easier to manage. As time goes by, city-states will inevitably become countries or be annexed by other countries. Small countries with few people can only exist in theory under the conditions in the Central Plains.
Just like the hundreds of countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, they were united into the Seven Kingdoms in the late Warring States Period, and later it was the Qin State that swallowed up the world.
Every initial divine domain, regardless of whether it is dominated by spiritual races or not, basically revolves around this logic. Only in the divine domains where races such as slimes or insects gather, other possibilities may appear, but in general, the basic logic must still be based on the development of material productivity.
"How many city-states have we united now?"
In the reception room of Seth's country, Duan Tianming and Yan Guo were participating in high-level discussions on this meeting.
In the conference room, Zhang Yun held up the organized documents and began to speak:
"There are approximately 40 city-states in the entire Luonan region, five of which were captured and absorbed by the Shenqi Nation. Yesterday, 30 countries participated in our military alliance agreement. These countries are all small and medium-sized with a population of less than 20,000, and most of them are located very close to the Luolong Mountains."
"The average population of these countries is calculated to be around 8,000. Each country can send an average of 500 troops to Yan Country for training. According to the terms of the agreement, that's about 15,000 people."
"There are five countries that haven't participated. Among them, Jin has a population of 30,000 and is the farthest from the Luolong Mountains, which is also the Shenqi Kingdom. The other major countries are also located in areas relatively far away from the Luolong Mountains. These countries are vaguely showing signs of uniting."
"Based on our analysis and intelligence gathering over the past year, our Yan Nation has now influenced and absorbed nearly 300,000 people, while the five major nations have a population of around 100,000 and a military strength of around 10,000."
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Zhang Yun slowly explained the various data. Duan Tianming had been teaching the Yan people Arabic numerals since he came here. Now, the Yan people still have a certain foundation in basic mathematics.
"So this time we've basically united more than half of the countries and population in Luonan, and we've gained an advantage in military strength, right?"
Duan Tianming analyzed.
This effect is already good, and overall the strategic goals for this year have been achieved.
"Yes, we are now geographically positioned to basically connect these countries together."
As he spoke, Zhang Yun took out a map, which detailed the sphere of influence of Yan State and the scope of countries that were not under the influence of Yan State.
The picture Zhang Yun took out
"Your Majesty, please look at this map. The areas marked with red paint are the spheres of influence of those major powers. The red areas are the spheres of influence of larger countries such as Molai and Jin. The large, contiguous area in the middle is the country that Yan Nation can currently influence."
Zhang Yun’s explanation was very thorough, and this diagram clearly expressed the current situation.
There are many small countries close to the mountains, while there are many large countries located in the concentrated plains. This is mainly due to the need for population in river management and the relatively small barrier effect of the Heluo River.
In the vast plains, there are not as many tributaries as in the countries on the southern foot of the Luolong Mountains, so large city-states are more likely to appear. The management of large rivers obviously requires a higher number of people and the country's organizational capabilities, so they are naturally higher in the river areas.
"Wang, I think this is a good opportunity."
Luo Wu suddenly said.
"Oh, how do you say that?"
Duan Tianming was a little confused. He was still thinking about how to integrate these big countries.
"Please look at this picture, King."
As he spoke, Luo Wu took out a crumpled map from his pocket. On it was the map of the countries in the Central Plains that had just been explored recently.
Duan Tianming has been busy with meetings these days and has no time to pay attention to the map he just returned. He just took a quick look at it. However, Luo Wu liked this map very much and asked the cartographer to make a copy.
The picture that Luo Wu took out
"Now the core part of the entire Luonan region has been basically connected by us, but the peripheral areas have not joined the joint system we have formed."
"Our Luonan region borders Wu and Han on the southern edge. Both countries are still absorbing their population, but there is a real possibility that they could move north and threaten us. To our southeast and east lie Yangcheng, Lingyun, Zhao, and Wei, who pose an even greater threat."
"But now, if these five major powers do not participate in the system formed by our Yan Country, they will inevitably form a coalition. This coalition will basically completely isolate us from the surrounding major powers. If used well, it will be a very good strategic buffer zone."
"Our Yan Nation, with a population of over 20,000, directly influences around 300,000 countries. Even though we've integrated economically and culturally, the pressure is still enormous. If we can create a strategic buffer zone by utilizing these countries, we'll have more time and space for development."
Luo Wu took the map and analyzed it step by step. Overall, his analysis was very thorough, which made Duan Tianming highly praise him.
The southern foothills of the original Luolong Mountains were a big piece of meat. The surrounding big countries all wanted to eat it and were sharpening their knives. Lingyun Kingdom was just a pioneer, but it was still restrained by other countries.
Now that Yan State has integrated these countries, it will be equivalent to having no strategic buffer zone between the surrounding major powers, which will easily make it a target of various countries. Now allowing these five countries to become independent can, on the one hand, save a lot of trouble, and on the other hand, allow them to once again become the lubricant between the countries, buying time for the development of Yan State.
"Wang, I think this method is very good, but the specific operation still needs attention."
Wu stepped forward and added.
"Indeed, these countries will inevitably form a whole. If they point their spearheads at Yan Country, it will be very troublesome."
Zhang Yun also followed suit.
"This requires careful handling of diplomacy and various conflicts of interest. Many things are double-edged swords, and relevant operations must be done well to maximize their value."
Duan Tianming concluded.
This is indeed a good idea, but you still need to be careful.
Of course, these issues are still based on strength. As long as Yan State absorbs and trains these troops, it doesn't have to care about the faces of these people at all. The most important thing is to improve productivity.
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