Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 108 A Manifest Destiny, A Bright and Proud Youth

To help Chen Mo understand more clearly, Master Towns gave a live demonstration.

The old man stood up, took some magic powder from a cabinet in the room, shook it a few times, sprinkled it in front of him, and then gently swirled his hands together. A three-layered spell model with inner and outer nesting quickly appeared in just a few seconds.

As he demonstrated, the old man provided explanations.

"The Mage's Hand is an entry-level spell. Once you learn the model, you can cast it. The only difference is the power and the distance."

"The higher the skill level, the better the precision of control."

"But the requirement you've put forward is too roundabout and too far-reaching. A professional elemental mage needs at least a level four weaver or higher, and other types of mages require even higher levels!"

Towns held the spell model still with his left hand, and with a quick flick of his right hand, a jujube on the table flew in front of him and slid into the entrance of the spell model.

Then, the jujube began to spin rapidly in circles within that invisible "tube" in the air, until finally it shot out from some outlet and fell into the distance.

"See? This spell isn't difficult; the difficulty lies in its control. Without a spell model of at least three layers, it can't be made."

"As for solidifying it and turning it into a magic circle or scroll effect that can operate independently of the caster, we'll need to ask a professional runesmith or spirit construct master to do that!"

"This old man doesn't have that ability!"

Chen Mo immediately asked, "Then, where can I find a runesmith or a spirit craftsman?"

“Every country has a few enchanting masters who can solidify high-level magic models, but they either serve their country or are affiliated with powerful families. They are all treasures of their respective families, and you can’t hire them without some strong connections.”

"On the other hand, the Silver Alliance has never placed much emphasis on force and is relatively lax in its management. Some accomplished enchanting masters have settled there and occasionally take on outside jobs."

After leaving Tang Si, Chen Mo immediately summoned Helan, briefly explained the situation, and posed his two questions: "First, does Earl Liuyun in Cloud Mist Territory have any enchanters of rank four or above? Second, if we go to the Silver Alliance to ask for help, who can go?"

Helan: "There are definitely enchanters in Cloud Mist Territory, but I don't know their rank."

"Aren't you supposed to be an omniscient nobleman?"

“You’re right, but enchanters aren’t nobles…”

“As for going to the Silver Alliance, there are three regular routes,” Helan spread out the map and first drew a line from the south with his finger: “Go south across the desert, follow the Creek Moon Federation to the end, then exit from the south of Creek Moon through the Ron Pass, and follow the mountain range westward. This is the shorter route.”

"This road passes through several uninhabited areas, and we have to brave the dangers to get through!"

"The second route goes through the Emerald Duchy, into the territory of the Moonlit Dynasty, and then south along the border between Moonlit and Sky Dome, bypassing the Forgotten Swamp, which will also lead to the Silver Alliance."

"Although this route is longer, it is through human-controlled areas, making it safer and easier to manage the time. As long as the procedures are completed on time, we will definitely be able to enter the Silver Alliance."

"The last option is to take the sea route."

“Every year, ships from the north sail south with the trade winds to the southernmost harbor, and then return downstream once the tide turns.”

"This route takes the longest and there are bound to be some minor risks at sea, but the advantage is that it avoids crossing national borders and leaving traces or clues."

Helan listed the pros and cons of the three routes one by one, and bowed helplessly.

"But if you ask who can handle this matter, my lord, I think I can search the entire territory and it seems there is no one who can!"

"From what you've relayed about Master Downs, this matter is very difficult, so the price must be high!"

"May I ask, my lord, is there any human warrior that you would entrust with a few dozen or a hundred gold coins and allow to be disposed of at will?"

Chen Mo was stumped by the question.

That's right. So far, in terms of trustworthiness, Liu Zaiyue (Old Ox) and the Little Horse Guard are trustworthy. But this is a matter of doing business in a human kingdom. If they were to walk through the country openly with orcs and half-orcs leading the team, it would be too conspicuous.

As for the human race in the family, the core members are still the human guards led by Captain Lynn, but to say that they can be entrusted with important tasks with complete peace of mind is not really an option.

In the words of his hometown, this group of people were too heavily influenced by feudal ideology and had a strong old military mentality. The process of ideological reform was lengthy, and Chen Mo was somewhat uneasy about letting them go out to do business with a large sum of money.

But that wasn't all; Helan then pointed out another crucial element.

"The magic circle you requested is not a standard product; it needs to be custom-made by a master."

"Leaving aside how many people we need to contact, if the other party offers excessive terms, who dares to make a decision—to agree or refuse?"

"Unless you are present in person, I'm afraid no one can make this decision."

"But given the current state of the territory, you can't leave. So, it's best to put this matter of magic circles aside for now!"

This enthusiastic exchange ended with the lord looking disappointed.

It wasn't that he did nothing. Chen Mo arranged for people to travel west to Cloud Mist Territory, ostensibly to pay respects to the Earl, but actually to find out if there were any useful enchanters.

On the other hand, following Helan's advice, they selected a few relatively clever young men from their territory and, led by Wood, who was originally from the south, went to the Silver Alliance to set up a small outpost there in advance to inquire about relevant information about the alliance and prepare for further contact later.

Finally, they arranged for people to go to several nearby mercenary guilds to try posting quests for solidified spell models, to see if there were any forgotten heroes in the countryside.

This is similar to posting an advertisement at the entrance of a residential area, asking someone to help solve a problem with aircraft engine design drawings—it's all just guesswork.

After arranging these trivial matters, Chen Mo began to carefully study the series of suggestions sent by his family.

It's clear that the parents in the family highly approve of his attempt to gradually liberate slaves and advocate for equality for all.

However, as the old man in the family said, taking too big a step at once can easily exhaust you; you need some transition.

The information provided by my family is quite comprehensive; it's more like an instruction manual than a suggested solution.

Chen Mo opened the thick folder directly.

The first rule at the top: Establish the absolute authority of the Lord of the Vast Ocean!
Despite the technicians' best efforts to phrase things tactfully, Chen Mo, with his higher education, immediately recognized that the words were all about destiny!
"The chosen one" is indeed a good saying!
In any feudal territory, the lord is an authoritarian leader, but not all leaders are the same.

Some people rely on charisma, some on brainwashing, some on high pressure, and some on bribery. This material presents a comprehensive and organic combination of these methods, ultimately resulting in the establishment of a personality cult around the leader.

The overall idea is to portray the lord as the sole embodiment of the collective will on the land of the Vast Ocean Territory.

The elders in the family, perhaps worried that the little guy might be a bit awkward, or perhaps they were afraid he really had gone the wrong way, left a separate note in red pen here.

"In chaotic situations, a leader's personal charisma and prestige are often the core driving force that enables a team to move forward firmly!"

So, how do we do it?

First, an efficient and unified bureaucratic system must be established, that is, a bureaucratic network that runs directly from the highest level to the grassroots level, with the lord in charge or his confidants in charge.

Officials at all levels were directly appointed, transferred, and supervised by the lord or the ruling center of the territory represented by the lord.

This will completely change the current independent responsibility system of each city in the mainstream territories on the Starry Continent, so that the civil and military officials of City A are all the city lord's confidants, and the lord has to go through the city lord's arrangements to transfer them.

The Eastern Xia leader approved of Chen Mo's promotion of Helan to chief administrator, believing that an experienced bureaucrat familiar with the Starry Sky environment could indeed greatly improve the territory's work efficiency.

However, the proposal suggests restricting its power.

It is recommended to form a multi-person governing team, with the lord bringing in leaders of the native sand people, centaur leaders, orc leaders, representatives of the introduced human race, representatives of the slave groups, and so on, to create a council. This would both increase the enthusiasm of each group for political participation and ensure that no single person can bypass the lord and make decisions that the lord is unaware of.

For example, Liu Zaiyue, the representative of the orcs, had no idea what politics was; he didn't even know how to write the word "politics."

However, he could not only participate in the council, but also had the same voting rights as anyone else in the council.

Most of the time, because he doesn't understand the complexities of territorial affairs, Old Bull can choose to abstain. However, if he senses that an issue might make the lord uncomfortable, he can use his voting rights to stop it at any time and promptly notify his lord.

When disagreements arise, the lord must make the final decision.

Here, the elder statesman's comment is: "Some efficiency should be sacrificed in exchange for necessary control. If the development direction is wrong, the higher the efficiency, the greater the damage."

Next, there will be an elite selection mechanism directly under the lord; the establishment of external intelligence and internal oversight agencies; the breaking down of racial barriers within territories through mixed-arms organization; the forceful suppression of racism and the promotion of collectivism; and the establishment of a separate resource allocation and control department directly under the lord…

In the entire plan, two points were highlighted and explained in detail.

The first is the creation of a common enemy.

From the perspective of the politicians of Dongxia, the last swift and decisive handling of the bandits had greatly boosted the morale and enthusiasm of the territory, but it also had some negative effects, namely, the external threat factor was greatly diminished.

A persistent and significant external threat is itself an important means of strengthening cohesion within a territory.

This is really... Chen Mo helplessly rubbed his hair, which was now a complete mess.

Managing territory is too difficult...

Here, the think tank of [Cihang] put forward two core points, one of which is about the creation of a common enemy.

I suggest starting by shaping things internally... oh, I shouldn't call it shaping, it should be called rooting out the "saboteurs" within.

This includes lazy individuals who slack off and sabotage production; dissidents who promote the superiority of other territories; and external spies and those with ulterior motives who harm the interests of the territory.

By distinguishing between internal enemies and allies, we can build consensus, strengthen unity, and mitigate conflicts.

The second step is to find a suitable external enemy. For example, as a subordinate territory of Cloud Mist Territory, certain territories of the Green Pine Kingdom would be a clear-cut adversary.

The enemy is eyeing the vast sea with covetous intent, waiting for the protection period to end before launching a major attack that could devastate the territory. Therefore, the people need to unite and work together for the ultimate victory of the territory.

Of course, the think tank also specifically explained why orcs could not be chosen as the hypothetical enemy.

For the current Vast Ocean Territory, the orc tribes are too powerful, especially considering that the main inhabitants of the territory are slaves under the orcs' command. These people both hate and fear the orcs. If the threat of the orcs is exaggerated, it may cause the inhabitants of the territory to lose the courage to resist.

In short, the enemy that poses an external threat must be strong, but not too strong. The right kind is one that we can defeat with a little effort from all of us!

Another key point is education.

All of the above points emphasize that education is fundamental.

The plan details all aspects of education, including basic education, cultural education, and skills training, and of course, it also includes ideological education on loyalty to the lord.

There are also a variety of other measures, some of which seem positive, such as strengthening the sense of collective ritual, creating a system of territory badges and titles, and strengthening the sense of collective honor and belonging through continuous internal propaganda, praise, celebrations, commendations and other measures.

Some appear neutral, such as creating a lord's officer corps, implementing universal conscription, establishing comprehensive reward and punishment regulations for people's livelihood, and building a pragmatic diplomatic team, etc.

Some of them even seem to have a touch of magic.

For example, in the short term, the legal system could be "instrumentalized"; "demonstration punishment" such as public trials and referendums could be used; racism could be forcefully suppressed; and negative public opinion could be carefully controlled...

In short, Chen Mo spent the entire night reading through this folder of more than ten pages, even neglecting his usual meditation practice.

The next morning, with bloodshot eyes, Chen Mo convened a meeting of the territory.

At the meeting, Lord Chen Mo first affirmed the achievements in the development of the territory, then pointed out the many problems that had recently been exposed, and asked all the middle and senior leaders of the territory to pool their wisdom and efforts and put forward their own ideas and suggestions.

Taking advantage of this meeting, Chen Mo smoothly completed the formation of his deliberative team, and then quietly and gradually fine-tuned the territory policy.

During this period, in addition to continuing his cultivation and regularly studying spell models with Master Downs, Chen Mo devoted all his energy to education.

The underage centaurs, the sand children, and the slave children all sat together, listening to the great lord impart his first lesson upon entering school!
Although the territory of Han Hai wants to create a fair and loving society, at this stage, it is still necessary to use child labor intermittently. Therefore, these children will be taught basic courses by teachers selected by the territory on a part-time basis.

Those children who perform exceptionally well and achieve outstanding results in the assessment will have the opportunity to rise to the top and be selected into the "Han Hai Youth Corps" directly under the lord.

Members of the youth group enjoy the same benefits as local civil servants, and are fully off-the-job.

Under the lord's personal guidance, they will learn language, mathematics, history, ideology and politics, participate in basic trainee soldier training or mage apprenticeship, and even be exposed to basic military combat knowledge.

Chen Mo certainly didn't have that much time to teach them; the course was conducted via video.

Dongxia designed a dashing and handsome image for Lord Chen Mo, and then used AI and human adjustments to perfectly recreate the lord's voice. As a result, the children in the youth group eagerly learned knowledge that their ancestors had never been able to access before, under the patient guidance of Lord Chen Mo in the video.

Of course, without exception, the entire youth group became the lord's loyal guards!
Those who are disloyal will be eliminated quickly...

What excites the members of the boy group the most is their honor system.

The emblem of the youth group was designed by Chen Mo himself. It is a burning torch, symbolizing the future and hope of the territory.

The members of the boy band wearing this badge can walk with impunity throughout the entire Vast Ocean Territory. Everyone knows how much the lord cherishes these child soldiers, and even professionals will respectfully give way to them.

Then, the lord severely reprimanded the kids, and Kaga, as the leader of the youth group, was even punished by having to clean the classroom for a week.

That's right, Kaga is also an underage centaur, so of course he's a member of the boy group.

After the lord's earnest and patient moral education, the youth group adjusted their mindset.

The lord said, "Be polite, be courteous, and make way for the builders of the territory."

If they meet again on the road, the members of the boy group will quickly step aside and wait for the transport vehicle or construction team to pass first.

Seeing the workers' eyes filled with both satisfaction and envy, this feeling was a hundred times more pleasant than having others make way for me.

The esteemed Lord Chen Mo also said that he would actively participate in the construction of the Han Hai territory and contribute to its development.

Because they are not on full-time jobs, the Torch Youth Group has no work assignments. So, in their spare time, besides morning and evening exercises, Xiao Kajia organizes the Torch Youth Group to voluntarily join various construction sites to help with tasks such as mortar mixing, brick carrying, and cart pushing.

Even if you're going to work, wearing that badge is tantamount to showing off.

We are the lord's personal guards!

If they encounter their elders or uncles, their heads practically swell to the sky. The adults will beam with pride, and even their brick-moving speed will increase as they can't help but boast, further elevating the boy group to the highest level.

The sense of honor is off the charts, and the morale is off the charts!
The Han Hai Youth Group has been formed one season after another. Some members have been selected, while others have fallen behind. But overall, the Youth Group has basically gathered all the growing elites in the territory, creating a highly cohesive team that is loyal to the lord.

Or, in the words of some politicians, they are emerging interest groups.

(End of this chapter)