The Great Seminary

Chapter 256 Voting Officer
On the main hall of Guiyang Palace.

Zhang Gui leaned against the round, large sofa, his elbow bent, and his chin resting on his fist.

Listening to the flattery of the courtiers below, he put on a fake smile but did not stop them.

Having reigned as emperor for so long, he had come to understand that sometimes, as the highest authority, accepting the flattery of one's subjects was a matter of social etiquette.

Because you, the emperor, as the supreme leader of the country, are too upright and aloof.

Everyone below will then experience a strange sense of disorientation.

As everyone learned to act rigidly from above, they all became extremely cautious because they could not rely on their superiors.

Over time, even when doing the right things, they dare not act boldly and stick to old ways.

Meanwhile, Zhang Gui, who is at the top level, will gradually fall into a predicament where "a person who is too discerning will have no followers."

Becoming a lonely person in another sense is truly a loss that outweighs the gain, so why bother?

It is far less appropriate than the approach of "a balance of tension and relaxation, the way of martial arts".

After the courtiers had finished their flattery, Zhang Gui clapped his hands and said:
"My beloved ministers have elevated me to the heavens, so I took advantage of the opportunity to fly for a while."

Now that we've finished flying, let's all land back on the ground and continue.

We've decided to leave the three cities of Meat Gold, Civilization Vanguard, and Sacred Eulogy to the west of True Dragon Island untouched.

Not only did they not move, but they also used these to do business with various groups of merchants from the Western Hezhou region.

They could do anything except the slave trade.

Lord Song, after the court assembly, you should send envoys to the three cities of Roujin, Civilization Vanguard, and Sacred Ode to tell their leaders that Zhenlong Island is our territory.

However, due to historical reasons, the land of the three cities of Roujin, Civilization Vanguard, and Sacred Ode can be leased to them for one tael of silver per year.

Old Sang Gui, divide all the troops that our True Dragon Kingdom can currently send out into battle into three groups.

They escorted the three envoys to the three cities of Flesh and Gold, Vanguard of Civilization, and Sacred Ode.

Remember, this is merely a threat; never resort to force.

"Not to be moved lightly" means that "movement" is only possible when necessary.

Sang Gui pondered for a while, but did not press Zhang Guizhong about the extent of the matter.

He simply bowed with Song Wenhua and replied, "Yes," thus agreeing.

"Very good, the matter of the Western Continent Ocean Merchants Group is now settled."

Let's talk about those so-called corporate explorers from 'Northern Xuanzhou' north of True Dragon Island.

Based on my observation, they are actually a group of destitute people who have nothing left but their lives.

Aside from being a roguish, daring, and murderous rogue, all he has is the ruthless drive to do anything for money and ideals.

However, as the saying goes, even a broken ship can yield three pounds of nails.

Even a single sheet of toilet paper can be useful when using the restroom.

Beixuan is the last piece of the 'Four Continents of Earthly Origin', and its civilization, including its political system, is quite interesting.

Therefore, we should leave those explorers behind.

We wait for these people to reach out to us.

Let's see if we can open up a trade route between us and Beixuan Continent.

Unlike large, land-based nations, island nations cannot form their own independent systems.

It is only natural to try every means to expand trade.

So as soon as Zhang Gui finished speaking, the ministers echoed his words and offered many suggestions on how to collude with the Northern Xuan people.

Zhang Gui listened silently and finally adopted the suggestion made by Song Wenhua.
Since those penniless people who traveled all the way from Beixuan Continent to Luanya Islands are both poor and greedy.

Using money to control them is undoubtedly the simplest way.

"Lord Song is indeed a wise and experienced ruler; this strategy of using someone else's strength is the best he could do."

Leaning forward and shifting his position on the sofa, Zhang Gui clapped and laughed:

"The matter of dealing with the Northern Xuan people is now over; the next topic is the last one."

In the past year, our original plan was to build new counties along the Zhenlong River.

The extraordinary object used to build the county, 'Tiangang', is an unparalleled masterpiece, and its creation principles are in line with the 'Huangji Jingshi'.

It would take twenty-nine towns and townships, plus a county seat, to form a complete county.

This county town, with a population larger than that of a major country on the mainland, has 10,000 households and an average population of 50,000.

Eighteen or nineteen townships, and three or five towns, together with 100,000 households, would amount to more than 500,000 people. A county seat would need to accommodate approximately 700,000 people.

But we don't have that many people.

At that time, an idea came up: after the county town was built, the entire urban and rural areas would be relocated, totaling 50,000 people.

Let's set up the framework first.

However, the situation in the Eastern Continent changed drastically, and Emperor Song Hezheng of the Ming Dynasty was extremely ambitious but incompetent.

It unexpectedly threw the court into chaos, turning such a great empire into a state of decline.

This also gave us the opportunity to increase our population nearly fivefold in just one year, jumping from one million to almost five million.

To force oneself to follow the previous plans would be a joke.

So in reality, we built thirty-three county towns and three prefectural towns, forming three prefectural systems.

One county relocated 1.5 million people.

So now, the 'Shangshi Shijing' still has 500,000 people left.

It's more than 100,000 less than before.

However, if there is any further change in Dongzhou, especially in the Ming and Song empires, hundreds of thousands of people may migrate here in a short period of time.

Therefore, I plan to expand 'Uesugi Shikyo'.

It was built in accordance with the regulations of a country's capital.

What do you all think?

Zhang Gui's tone clearly indicated that he was "overwhelmed".

Furthermore, the ministers of the True Dragon Kingdom present were also stirred up by the series of victories.

Naturally, no one objected.

Only Song Wenhua suggested:

"Your Majesty, since we are going to undertake large-scale construction in the capital, should we suspend the 'establishment of counties' in the local areas?"

"That's how it should be."

Zhang Gui nodded, then his expression gradually became serious as he began to gather his emotions.

When all the ministers below sensed that something was wrong, their anxious gazes all moved upwards.

He announced in a deep voice:

"This is hereby proclaimed to the world."

After January, all towns and villages in the True Dragon Kingdom will have their officials elected by the local common people through a secret ballot...

The official in charge cannot be a serving official…

Anyone found guilty of fraud will be sentenced to death.

Those who ignore reports will face the sole death penalty if their allegations are verified.

As for those who were originally town and village officials, they were reassigned as local deputy officials, with no change in rank or salary.

I knew that such a reform would inevitably cause turmoil at first.

But this is the inevitable trend of civilization…

As they were talking, Zhang Gui suddenly felt a mysterious stirring, and his whole body began to tremble.

Having just broken through to the fifth-grade 'Ci Shang Zhong' extraordinary level, there are already signs of further advancement.

"Last time I was teasing Zhen Ciyun, I unintentionally did..."

In the future, when he becomes a king or a saint, he will surely break the old rules set by those human sovereigns, who 'prescribed many taboos for others'.

From then on, a person's character was judged solely by their actions, not their words.

The result was that the mystery was uncovered, and a positive response was received.

Unexpectedly, an even bigger one happened today.

What a pleasant surprise!

It's a pity that it still lacked a little bit of finesse and didn't reach the next level in one fell swoop.

But it shouldn't be too long.

(End of this chapter)