Chapter 519: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Chu Yao exclaimed in surprise, "My lord discovered it too?"
Shen Tang was completely baffled by his question.
What does it mean that "she also discovered it"?
Shen Tang never deliberately hides her expressions and thoughts in front of people she knows and trusts. Chu Yao could tell from her reaction that they were talking at cross purposes and not about the same thing. He didn't keep her in suspense any longer and laid it all out.
"Previously at Yonggu Pass, after the border barrier broke apart, a new barrier appeared, and the flag on the city wall read 'Kang'."
The two armies clashed, and the situation was chaotic.
Very few people pay attention to this detail.
I noticed, but didn't think much of it.
Besides literary figures like Chu Yao.
Shen Tang frowned: "Kang? What do you mean?"
Although she knew about the Battle of Yonggu Pass, Chu Jie and the others only described the general situation of the battle, the strength of both sides, and their military formations, without mentioning the details. She only knew that with the help of [Utopia], a new border barrier had been erected.
Little did they know that there was more to the flags than met the eye.
Upon hearing this, Chu Yao smiled wryly and said, "The question then becomes why our lord chose this name for the country. Why are you asking me instead?"
Shen Tang: "..."
Shen Tang was taken aback: "When did I decide on this?"
This is absolutely a miscarriage of justice.
Her operation was merely a makeshift operation, a tiny, isolated territory, a far cry from the "nation," and the nation's name was an even more distant and unattainable concept. Why would she be pondering such things? But Chu Yao's expression didn't seem like a joke.
Chu Yao and Shen Tang looked at each other for a while.
After a moment, she rubbed her temples and said, "Never mind, it's not important. The border barrier reappeared because of [nothingness], and Yan An's way of being a scholar is like that... Just pin these things on him. There's no way to prove it when he's dead, and it might even salvage some of his reputation."
She cannot reveal it at this stage.
Playing it safe and developing your character stealthily is the key to success.
Why "Kang"?
If you're so capable, go ask Yan Xingning.
Chu Yao nodded slightly: "That's fine too."
This can be considered a small reward for Yan Xingning.
"Is that all Wu Hui wanted to say?"
She figured it wasn't that important.
There's no need for Chu Yao to make the trip himself.
Chu Yao shook his head.
His real purpose was to prove something.
He made an extremely bold request.
"Yao has offended me, but I would like to borrow the Lord's Imperial Seal for a look."
He had been tossing and turning, pondering for a long time, before finally finding in the corner of his memory the possible origin of the name "Kang" for the country—back then, in the bandit stronghold outside Xiaocheng, his lord had jokingly named the village "Joining Hands to Strive for a Well-off Society".
If that's the case, then things will get interesting.
This means that the name of the country was decided at that time!
The answer he seeks may lie within the Imperial Seal.
Chu Yao consulted classical texts.
It was observed that most founding rulers established a solid territory and a stable population, accumulating sufficient national fortune before offering sacrifices to heaven and gods on the eve of founding the nation, in order to determine the "national title." However, their own ruler was peculiar; he determined the national title first, and then gathered national fortune.
The order is completely reversed.
Currently, there seems to be no downside.
Shen Tang: "Of course."
With a thought, heat rose in the palm of his right hand.
A familiar sword materialized out of thin air. Nine golden dragons in various poses coiled around its hilt, exuding an invisible majesty.
With each breath, it merges into an exquisite national seal.
Chu Yao bowed slightly, extended his hands to receive it, and closed his eyes to sense it for a moment. His mysterious manner piqued Shen Tang's curiosity. In just a few breaths, Chu Yao suddenly opened his eyes, raised his hand, and shouted, "Open."
The imperial seal transformed into a stream of light, then into a white scroll with a gold dragon design, which gently landed in his palm. The scroll was tied with two buttons bearing the characters "文" (literary) and "武" (military).
Shen Tang: "..."
You can actually use this thing like that?
This was also Chu Yao's first time, so he wasn't very skilled.
He explained, "This is a roster."
Shen Tang: "A roster?"
She craned her neck to look curiously.
Chu Yao untied the thin rope and slowly unfurled the exquisite scroll, revealing rows of text on it, including the names of Chu Yao, Qi Shan, and others. Each name was followed by their current position and a string of strange numbers.
only--
"What does this symbol mean?" She noticed a small totem pattern after everyone's name. Qi Shan, Chu Yao, and the other scholars had one, while Gong Shuwu, Xianyu Jian, and the others had another. "Is this to distinguish between civil and military officials?"
Chu Yao's answer confirmed her guess.
"Um."
Shen Tang muttered, "This is quite interesting."
Then he asked, "What about this number?"
"The literary or military fortune each person receives is what we call 'salary'."
The border barrier is in place, and everything within its borders is now national territory.
A continuous stream of national fortune will converge on the National Seal. National fortune is a valuable thing, as it concerns every aspect of a country.
For example, a nation's fortune can be transformed into its cultural and military fortune.
Scholars and warriors outside the court rely entirely on absorbing the energy of heaven and earth for cultivation, while civil and military officials in the court enjoy "salaries," which are considered their literary or military fortune. The Imperial Seal is distributed among officials according to their merits and ranks.
The cultivation efficiency is higher and the effect is better.
For example, a nation's destiny can alter or reverse the weather and climate within its borders to a certain extent, but this requires a massive amount of national destiny.
Shen Tang: "Then this scroll is..."
Simply put—
It is the "List of Civil and Military Officials".
It allocates each person's literary or military fortune according to their official rank, achievements, and contributions, with detailed and clear records.
There are two operation modes: automatic and manual.
For example—
If Shen Tang were to be unfair in his rewards and punishments, showing excessive favoritism towards a particular person, he could easily bestow all the civil and military fortune bestowed upon that one individual. However, the consequences would be borne by that person. This is also a crucial reason why even the least gifted offspring of the royal family are not necessarily weak in strength—the ruler has the right to favor his own bloodline. National fortune is like money; it's easy to spend but difficult to earn.
Almost every country is in deficit.
Slightly better is barely breaking even.
If a natural disaster strikes and is not dealt with promptly, the country will fall into a vicious cycle of hard-won national fortune, national deficit, and further natural disasters, making its demise unsurprising. This small scroll was only accessible to the king and his most trusted confidants.
Shen Tang didn't care.
If Chu Yao wants to see it, let him see it.
only--
Chu Yao looked at his lord's scroll.
He exclaimed in surprise, "There's actually a surplus..."
Shen Tang was speechless: "...I was quite surprised too."
Private treasuries were in deficit, yet the national treasury had a surplus.
She secretly complained that this thing was like funds and stocks; if you didn't operate recklessly, the probability of making a profit was greater than the probability of losing money.
"But this is way too long! And who is this?"
Shen Tang thought the team was just a handful of people, not many, and that she could finish reading it in a few glances. But the scroll seemed endless, with more and more unfamiliar names coming into view. It's just that the numbers after these names weren't very large.
“Isn’t this a matter of righteousness? His lord is not me…” Shen Tang’s sharp eyes spotted a familiar name.
Chu Yao looked at the list and murmured, "Just as I expected."
On the battlefield, he noticed that Zhao Feng's troops were not quite right in strength—although they had not simply farmed in the past two years, but combined farming with warfare, and their strength had improved, such a large improvement was somewhat strange.
Zhao Feng thought it was because of the wine, but Chu Yao felt there were other external factors. Then he thought of the national title on the border barrier and wondered if the lord's national seal had produced a register. Perhaps he could find the answer from it.
I borrowed it and read it; it was indeed so.
Why is he on top?
Chu Yao closed the scroll and smiled helplessly: "Didn't our lord say before that women in the world couldn't cultivate literature and martial arts because no woman controlled the Imperial Seal? This principle also applies to the present. It's not that martial arts masters can't cultivate through farming, but that those who control the Imperial Seal don't approve of this method. They believe that weapons should be used on the battlefield, and farming is just a minor path for the common people to survive..."
Shen Tang genuinely acknowledged the efforts of Zhao Feng and the others.
It's not that he didn't receive any military fortune, but rather that it was paid daily, and in small amounts, taking a slow and steady approach.
These were earned entirely through hard work.
"My lord, this is a good thing."
It could be used to appease the two brave warriors transferred from Yonggu Pass. On the surface, the two didn't complain much and diligently handed over their work to Zhao Feng, learning about farming, building kang beds, repairing roads, and constructing bridges. But whether they were truly convinced in their hearts was hard to say.
Chu Yao was also worried that this would become a hidden danger.
Now that it's confirmed it won't interfere with cultivation and can even improve the reconstruction efficiency of Longwu County, it should be able to completely shut them up.
"Now my lord can rest and recuperate in peace."
From the outside, her troops appeared preoccupied with farming and lacking in fighting strength, but in reality, they were quietly growing stronger, eventually becoming a powerful and well-equipped force within a few years. She managed to manage her resources and build up her fighting power simultaneously, and could even surprise the enemy at crucial moments!
Isn't that wonderful?
"I had a premonition that Dayi would resign. Our foundation is weak, and without his and his troops' help, the reconstruction of Longwu County will be extremely difficult and prone to chaos. With this, we can rest easy."
Before getting the answer, Chu Yao had already made the worst-case scenario plan—if the guess was not confirmed, he would have to use some special means to keep Zhao Feng for another year or two.
Now, everyone is happy, that's for the best.
ヾ(ω`)o
Did you see the moon today?
PS: It's fixed now _(:з」∠)_
(End of this chapter)
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