The banquet at Duncan's mansion was not delicious, not because of the quality of the food and wine, but because of Qi Yuan's endless chatter.

When they left, all the guests felt empty inside. Think about it, even the Senate and the Supreme Council of Nobles were gone. Qi Yuan, who had been the chief for most of his life, had lost his position with a smile on his face. Why should we bother with such a small thing? Besides, what was Qi Yuan's last sentence? "You should recognize the situation clearly. Think about it. With the wisdom, ability and prestige of the Grand Priest Saint Wulai, if he wanted to be a dictator like the Emperor of Heaven, would he not be able to do it?"

No one can refute this statement, because it is absolutely correct. Now Wu Lai can call the wind and rain and cover the sky with one hand whenever he wants. In this way, the advance warnings such as the notice are obviously well-intentioned - this seems to indicate that Wu Lai does not want to kill everyone with one blow.

After the banquet, Wei Huo rode his horse onto the ship and reported the entire banquet process to Wu Lai.

After listening to this, Wu Lai smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank your father, Lord Duncan, for me. By the way, your First Army of Longvington will rest for another fifteen days. After fifteen days, you will lead the army to Annan and keep a close eye on it. But one thing you must remember is that the military and politics are separate, and you cannot interfere in local affairs."

"Yes!" Wei Huo puffed out his chest, "High Priest, please assign combat tasks to our First Army in addition to defense." Although the First Army has a large number of people, its training level is somewhat insufficient, and it has not fought for a long time, so Wei Huo really wants to fight, just as a training exercise.

"Don't worry." Wu Lai smiled and waved his hand. "Our main task at the moment is restructuring and maintaining stability. As for combat, it's not time for your First Army to take action yet."

"yes!"

…

As soon as the deadline on the notice arrived, nearly 20,000 "homeless men, women, old and young" appeared in the streets of Assyria - before today, they were slaves in large, medium and small noble families in Assyrian cities. Woolley's new system allowed them to gain freedom, but also temporarily lose their protection.

But soon, temporary household registration administrators drawn from the army gathered them together, registered them, and distributed small amounts of food and clothing to them.

"Join the collective farm, where you will have housing and food, the land will be cultivated together, and the output will be distributed according to work." This is what the household registration administrators will say to them after registration.

Of course no one would refuse this...

It is worth mentioning that Wulai arranged to establish collective farms not only to accommodate the homeless, but also to better adapt to the requirements of socialized mass production. Although he was a beneficiary of private ownership, Wulai was very clear that private ownership must have fundamental defects such as exploitation, unfairness, and polarization between the rich and the poor. Although these defects would take a long time to lead to the demise of private ownership, they have greatly restricted Wulai's pace of building a new system. Therefore, Wulai constantly took a tough stance against private ownership. He abolished the nobility, abolished slavery, and changed the management structure of the Assyrian territory in order to combat complete privatization, because only in this way can social contradictions and ills be resolved, and civilization can go further and faster...

"Since God has given me this opportunity, why should I hesitate?" This is what Woolley said to Shelley before leaving the island. At that time, Shelley advised Woolley that throughout history, only by safeguarding the interests of the nobles could one gain the support of the nobles.

Of course, Woolley wanted to be supported, but what he wanted was not just the support of the nobles.

"I don't want to be an emperor. I just want to make the world the beautiful place I envision." He smiled and ended his conversation with Shelley with these words...

While the household registration administrators were busy registering, making lists, and sending people to resettlement areas, the soldiers who were also drawn from the army to serve as land managers were busy measuring and calculating. They had to do their work very carefully, because only in this way could the replacement and confiscation be carried out more smoothly. After all, the collective farm was just an empty shell and was still waiting for the land.

…

On the third day after the announcement period ended, an unconventional exam was held on the deck of the Woolley. Woolley jokingly called it the "scientific examination", but it also had a name that was very familiar to Woolley - the Civil Service Examination.

In other words, all those who can pass the exam will become members of the Assyrian territorial government and assume the responsibilities of management and service.

This will undoubtedly feel fresh, but this kind of exam is not the first time. Saltmarsh City, Lunvington, Muritania and even Glyndwr Island have all held it before. However, in terms of scale, today's exam is undoubtedly the largest. Not only is the test site the largest, but the number of candidates is also the largest - reaching 1,400, which is almost the sum of the number of candidates in the other four exams.

It is worth mentioning that Wu Lai almost copied the contents he was familiar with, so in addition to taking the administrative professional ability test, these candidates also have to take the essay test. Only those who pass both written tests can enter the interview stage. There is not one interviewer, but a group of interviewers. Under Wu Lai's special arrangement, the interview will not be just a face-to-face question and answer plus the candidate's explanation, but there will be scenes and temptations.

"Only those who can overcome these pitfalls have the basic qualities required of integrity and dedication." Wu Lai once said with a smile when discussing the topic with the interviewers.

…

The civil servant examination attracted a lot of people to watch. Although they were called spectators, in reality they could only watch from a distance, so far away that they could not even see their own candidates clearly.

Among the "onlookers" were former nobles and commoners, but now they were all collectively called "Assyrian citizens" - from the moment the announcement period ended, the title of citizen lost its metaphorical connotation of privilege.

However, those who changed from being "citizens" of that family to being "citizens" of this family were still somewhat uncomfortable, especially when they saw their own children "fighting" in the exams with the children of what were previously called civilian families, they felt a little jealous.

However, they soon discovered that this was not a bad thing, because although the people around them were less afraid, avoidant and pretentiously respectful of them, they became warm and friendly. Their smiles were sincere, especially when they talked about family and children, which always made people forget the distance and estrangement they once had.

Oh, well, that's not bad, it's no big deal if everyone is the same. More and more people think so...

…

On the day when the First Army of Longvington set out, Woolley finally left the Woolley amid everyone's anticipation and set foot on the land of Assyria.

He landed not because he had finished his work or had some free time, but because he was invited to cut the ribbon for the Assyrian City Government Hall and two schools - in Woolley's mind, the schools were as indispensable as the government hall.

He happily accepted the cheers of the people. His smile and graceful wave became the source of their cheers. Everyone vied to praise him with what they thought were the most beautiful words. If there had not been soldiers forming a human wall along the way, they would have definitely gathered around Wu Lai and vied to touch the corner of his clothes - this was the highest way to express respect to the high priest of the temple.

"Assyria will become more and more powerful!" Wu Lai simply waved his arms and shouted.

"Yes! It's getting stronger and stronger!" the people shouted.

"The people of Assyria will become richer and richer!" Wu Lai waved his arms again.

"Yes! Getting richer and richer!" the people cheered.

It's interesting. Wu Lai smiled and thought about it, then suddenly he felt playful and blurted out, "God loves you!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words came out, people on both sides of the street knelt down on the ground. Why? Who is Wu Lai? The chief priest of the temple, everything he said in the name of God is an oracle.

"Thank you, True God Amon!" Some people shouted to the sky, no, they were literally screaming to the heavens and the earth.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

A few black lines suddenly crossed Wu Lai's forehead...

…

"We have to be grateful." Qi Yuan glanced at the night outside the window, turned around and said to Wei Huo, "The High Priest's behavior is different from that of ordinary people, and many of the things he promotes are difficult to understand, but we have to recognize that the High Priest is not selfish."

Wei Huo nodded. Yes, if Wu Lai had been a little more selfish, Assyria would probably have to be renamed the Assyrian Empire by now.

"In this civil servant exam, our Duncan family has made a lot of gains. This is both a good thing and a hidden danger. So, you have to tell them that the children of the Duncan family must not cross the bottom line of the Grand Priest." Qi Yuan sighed softly and said, "The Grand Priest is a person that even I can't see through. So, be careful and do your job according to his wishes. It will never go wrong."

"Okay, father, I will gather the successful candidates tomorrow and give them an explanation."

"Also, you will be taking up your post in Annan in two days. Annan is not far from Titania, and Titania is still in the hands of Hatra. Tianjuan is trying to replace the original with the new. The High Priest will not allow them to do so, so Titania will go to war soon." Qi Yuan added, "You have to let the First Army of Lunvington achieve more military exploits, which will be good for our Duncan family."

"I understand, son." Wei Huo nodded.

"I'm here to take care of the private affairs. Besides, the high priest always keeps his word, so don't worry. By the way, I plan to gather some old people." Qi Yuan raised a smile, "The high priest made a mistake, and I have to make up for it."

"Make up for it?" Wei Huo frowned, "Father, I don't understand what you mean."

Qi Yuan laughed and said, "Wei Huo, the Assyrian territory has now abolished nobles and slaves, and there is no Senate and the Supreme Council of Nobles. Although the temple is still there, the high priest has declared that politics and religion should be separated, and the military and politics should be separated. Although it is a period of martial law now, the high priest, as the supreme commander of the Assyrian military, has the right to govern the entire Assyrian territory. But when everything is calmed down and stabilized, under what name should the high priest continue to rule the territory?"

Wei Huo was stunned. That's right! Separation of religion and politics, the temple has no right to interfere in government affairs, separation of military and politics, the army has no right to ask about government affairs. If Wu Lai does not make changes at that time, he will really be without a reason.

"Father, what do you think?" Wei Huo asked hurriedly.

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "I have thought about the administrative layout of the high priest. It is very good, with layers of management and clear responsibilities. If it runs smoothly, everything can be implemented by the right people. However, this administrative layout is limited to the scope of popular election by the high priest himself. The high priest is digging a hole for himself and leaving a hidden danger. If someone is strong enough to influence public opinion in the future, it will be difficult for the high priest to deal with it. Therefore, I plan to gather my old subordinates and use the banner of public opinion to nominate the high priest to serve as the lord of the Assyrian territory."

"The lord of the Assyrian territory? Father, the Assyrian territory has never had a lord of this level." Wei Huo said in surprise.

"It didn't happen before, but why can't it happen now?" Qi Yuan smiled. "With the prestige of the high priest, no one will object to this. If he refuses, I will further persuade him to at least make him the nominal lord of the entire Assyrian territory, so that he will have the authority to overturn the highest decisions of government affairs from now on. In fact, I am also considering the long-term stability of the Assyrian territory. Only when the Assyrian territory is stable can we, the Duncan Fertile Land, rest assured."

"Then father, do you think...the high priest will agree?"

"I am sure. After all, once you are used to power, you can't leave it. He is so confident that he will definitely not allow others to change or even trample on his ideas. I think he will agree as long as I say that." Qi Yuan sighed softly, stretched out his arm and patted Wei Huo's shoulder, "Wei Huo, our Duncan family is now tied to the high priest, and we prosper together."

"Father, I understand. I know what to do." Wei Huo bowed his head.