The Great Seminary

Chapter 255 Tiger Crouching, Dragon Coiling
In just two days, the situation on the east and south sides of Giant Snake Head Island changed dramatically.

Tens of thousands of stone corpse warriors from the True Dragon Kingdom swept across the numerous strongholds set up on the island by various forces from the Eastern Victory Continent.

In particular, they easily captured Heimu Town, which the Prince Zhen's "temporary residence" had seized from the Zhang family of Pingyang.

And the attached city built using half of the "Tian Gang Tian Gong Kai Wu" (a book on the creation of heaven and earth).

They brazenly occupied most of the land on Giant Snake Head Island.

And seemingly with the posture of a tiger crouching and a dragon coiled, it is eyeing the remaining half of the island...

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, at the main hall of the Imperial Palace in the capital of the True Dragon Kingdom.

Because it was a grand court assembly.

Zhang Gui, unusually dressed in a full imperial crown, sat high on a sofa.

Looking down at his ministers, who were also seated on sofas, he asked with a beaming smile:
"Gentlemen, what do you think of the sofas sold by 'Civilization Vanguard City'?"

"Your Majesty, this chair called a 'sofa' is indeed soft and comfortable, but it's a bit too expensive."

Sang Gui, sitting to his right, bounced his butt on the sofa chair.

"I would very much like to negotiate a price with those unscrupulous Western merchants on your behalf."

"Old Sang Gui, don't act like you're going to pay with swords and spears just because you've won a few battles."

That's uncivilized.

Furthermore, this applies to a country whose situation is not subject to the will of its leader.

War is essentially a business transaction; before you start, you need to consider whether it's worthwhile.

Let's take our current strategy of exploring the eastern and southern halves of Giant Serpent Head Island as an example.

The main reason is not actually to show off or occupy land.

Rather, with the recent surge in population of our True Dragon Kingdom, the role of 'Tian Gang Tian Gong Kai Wu' (a system of divination and innovation) has become increasingly important.

So much so that we can no longer tolerate that half of this rare object has been controlled or wasted by the Prince Zhen's "Xingzai".

However, if they could secretly and directly take away all of the Flying Man's skills from Prince Zhen's side.

This will inevitably cause a lot of trouble, so it's better to strike first.

Our forceful occupation of Kuroki Town will inevitably arouse the vigilance of all the Eastern Shengzhou forces that have established maritime strongholds on Giant Serpent Head Island.

Then it might as well just wipe it all out first.

But the one located to the west of Giant Serpent Head Island, well, since we've already established a legitimate foothold overseas.

It would be rather indecent to name the occupied island after the 'Giant Snake Head'.

Moreover, the omen was also unsettling.

Let's rename it 'True Dragon Island' from now on.

What do you all think?

The emperor has already said he wants to change the name, so what can the officials do?

Moreover, while the name 'Giant Snake Head Island' is apt, naming the birthplace of a nation after a 'snake' does indeed weaken its grandeur.

Adding the words "snake head" alone suggests beheading, so it should be changed.

The assembled officials in the hall then praised it in unison, expressing their full approval.

"True Dragon Island of the True Dragon Kingdom, and the True Dragon Kingdom of True Dragon Island."

Arranging them in this way, whether up, down, left, or right, creates a neat and orderly sequence. It's catchy, easy to pronounce, and incredibly fitting.

Your Majesty has truly made excellent changes; they are truly brilliant!

"The true dragon dwells in the sea, cultivating its fortune and gathering its strength, waiting for the future to soar into the sky!"
This is an excellent omens; it's only thanks to His Majesty that he could think of it.

"Your Majesty, our True Dragon Kingdom has now occupied tens of thousands of miles of fertile land, truly becoming a force to be reckoned with."

This former giant snake-head island is practically ours now.

"Naturally, it has to be called whatever you want it to be called."...

Zhang Gui listened with a smile to the flattery of his ministers, intending to wait until their enthusiasm subsided before getting back to serious matters. However, the conversation unexpectedly went on and on.

At most, all he could do was clap his hands and shout:

"Alright, alright, let's put an end to the matter of renaming Giant Serpent Head Island."

After the court assembly concludes, I would appreciate it if you, Lord Song, could issue a public announcement to be disseminated throughout the country.

Let our people know that the island beneath their feet has been renamed 'True Dragon Island'.

Sitting to Zhang Gui's left, Song Wenhua nodded respectfully, but raised a slight objection.
"Your Majesty, the matter of renaming True Dragon Island may seem trivial, but it is of great importance to the transformation of the nation's 'name' and 'instrument'."

Your Majesty, I believe it is best to issue your decree to the world…

"Two things. First, as I've said before, the biggest rule in the True Dragon Kingdom is that 'the king is subject to the law.'"

According to the provisions of the Magna Carta, the so-called changes in the 'name and instrument' of the state should be initiated by your government.

Secondly, our True Dragon Kingdom currently has less than five million people. After the New Year, we will refine another batch of Stone Corpse Warriors, which will bring our military strength to one hundred thousand.

How can we talk about "enlightening the world"?

It's important for small, sparsely populated countries to have ambition and confidence, but going too far can be awkward.

"Your Majesty is right." Song Wenming nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this.
"Especially the second one, boasting, is something we should always be careful not to do."

Zhang Gui laughed heartily, then changed the subject:

"Alright, let's continue our previous topic."

Located on the west side of Ju, Zhenlong Island, are the three cities of Roujin, Civilization Vanguard, and Sacred Ode, built by the Xihezhou Ocean Merchant Group.

This is completely different from the situation in Dongzhou, where the stronghold couldn't bring us any benefits.

A year ago, on average, we could recruit about 1,800 new citizens every day in these three cities.

In the past year, this number has increased to around 2,500 per day.

what does this mean?
This means that they pay us at least 20,000 taels of silver every day, in addition to thousands of human corpses that can be used to refine 'Stone Corpse Warriors'.

I would like to ask everyone, if we were to capture cities like Meat Gold, Civilization Vanguard, and Sacred Ode, would it be possible to obtain even greater benefits?

I think that's impossible.

There, he eloquently presented the facts and reasoned with the people, eradicating the rising tide of "military-mindedness" in the True Dragon Kingdom.

He then shared his views on the next steps in national policy.

"First of all, our True Dragon Kingdom still needs to close its borders for the time being."

Firstly, because most of our people are slaves and soldiers from the Eastern Continent, while those from the Southern Red Continent were born into slavery.

So, to avoid being discovered by those in power in the East and West, we're fleecing them…

"Your Majesty, our True Dragon Kingdom is rich in resources. Although we lack gold and silver mines, we can purchase..."

"My dear minister, please wait. I know what you are thinking."

But have you ever heard the saying, "No buying, no harm"?
When we spend money to buy a slave, the slave traders will kill more than one person!

Remember, without buying and selling, there would be no harm.

You must understand the reasons behind this, otherwise you'll be aiding and abetting evil right before your eyes!

Upon hearing this, the courtiers remained silent for a long time, then applauded and praised him.

Only Zhang Gui himself thought to himself:

"The slave trade was an absolute 'political mistake' and a huge obstacle to the future development of human civilization!"

However, judging from the current social systems and productivity levels of Dongshengzhou and Nanchizhou...

It's hard to say whether the slave trade resulted in more killings or more rescues.

The only positive thing is that getting freebies is more suitable for me than paying for purchases.

(End of this chapter)