Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 334 Regulations for the Management of Gods: A Cleanup Campaign Begins in the Vast Ocean
Outside the window, the dense snow silently covered the sky and earth, turning the vast sea into a pure white expanse.

Inside the conference hall, a lively and enthusiastic atmosphere prevailed.

The second item on the agenda was to announce the establishment of the new governing body, the Summer Moon Religious Affairs Administration.

The appointment letter from Dongxia was for the Religious Affairs Administration Bureau of the Starry World, but that was a long-term goal. Currently, the scope of management is limited to the Xia Yue Alliance. To be more precise, only a few places like the Vast Sea and Profound Water can be called management. Other areas of the Xia Yue Alliance can only be called "guidance".

But it doesn't matter. With Hanhai's success from scratch, it's foreseeable that subsequent expansion will be a natural progression.

By the way, the wording in the letter—why was it "appointed" instead of "appointed"—only shows that the Dongxia leadership is extremely cautious in this regard.

Appointment implies a hierarchical relationship, while hiring can be understood as a parallel cooperative relationship.

The elders in the family would rather break with tradition than cause Chen Mo any unpleasantness.

Chen Mo hadn't realized this yet, but things had to be done first.

"In short, all matters related to deities and faith fall under the jurisdiction of the Religious Affairs Bureau!"

"I will temporarily serve as the director of the Administration Bureau. As for the deputy director, Helan will temporarily take over for a few days. After Comrade Chen Yuanfeng returns from the north, he will take over the responsibility!"

"The Administration will also hire a special advisor, and the overall management authority and organizational structure will be strictly implemented in accordance with the provisions of the document."

The position of advisor was naturally reserved for the "White Fang" bishop, but it was foreseeable that he would remain an "invisible man" for a long time.

Helan, who was sitting to the side, stood up in response.

As a component of the HanHai government system, Helan is a typical example of someone who is moved wherever needed.

It was tiring, really tiring. For a long time, because Helan's vision, experience and management skills were outstanding in Hanhai, he became a standard firefighter, filling in the gaps everywhere. He was capable, so he kept working himself to the bone.

As the group of cultured and thoughtful children raised by the lord gradually grew up and the workload gradually decreased, Helan felt a little sad again.

Despite his tireless efforts to learn the Eastern Xia language and his desperate attempts to understand and adapt to the lord's management system, which was completely incompatible with the traditions of the Starry Continent, he knew deep down that sooner or later, one or more of these energetic young people would grow to a higher level than him and eventually surpass and replace him.

Fortunately, at least for now, Helan is still Lord Chen Mo's right-hand man!

"Thank you for your trust, lord!"

Helan bowed slightly: "I would like to briefly report to the Lord and all leaders on several key work arrangements recently made by the Religious Affairs Administration."

"The lord once pointed out from a high-level perspective that the establishment of the Religious Affairs Bureau was not to suppress or eliminate faith, but to better guide and manage faith."

"We must ensure that the people's faith in the various deities within the managed area is 'visible, controllable, and developed in an orderly manner,' so as to effectively prevent certain evil entities or lawbreakers from using religion as a guise to harm and damage people's lives, property, and social stability!"

"Currently, the Religious Affairs Bureau has received three formal applications."

Helan opened the folder in his hand and read aloud the items one by one: "The first one is the application submitted by the Elven race to establish a temple to the Goddess of Life and Moonlight in the Vast Sea Territory and White Stone City."

"Secondly, the group of necromancers who returned to the cemetery proposed to build a temple of the god of wisdom within the cemetery area as a pilot project."

"Thirdly, the Sand People and the Halflings jointly applied to set up a shrine to the god of corn and hearth fire within the Vast Sea Territory."

These three applications represent three groups within the Summer Moon Alliance.

As one of the main and powerful forces within the Summer Moon Alliance, the Elf race launched its attack with the largest temple ever built.

The goddess of life and moonlight has been silent for a long time. The elves are eager to expand the influence of their chief goddess as soon as possible by rebuilding the temple and strengthening the channels of faith, hoping that she will return soon and protect the glory of the elven race.

The necromancers who "returned to the cemetery" seemed somewhat helpless. The gods they once worshipped had long since fallen, leaving them rootless orphans. Although they had escaped the gods' constraints and exploitation, they had also lost their blessings and protection.

Now, with the leadership of the Religious Affairs Bureau and the support of the Magic Society, they are attempting to build a temple to the god of wisdom, to see if they can establish a new connection with this deity who wields magic, and find a suitable divine home for themselves.

As for the already declining Sand People and Halflings, adhering to their ancient beliefs, they are preparing to revive the worship of the Corn and Hearth God, a small Karami. However, due to their extremely weak influence, they only dare to cautiously apply to establish a very small shrine.

However, it is clear that the Starry Continent still has a very strong tradition of worshipping gods.

Chen Mo leaned forward slightly, placed his hands crossed on the table, and approved each of the three applications on the spot.

Chen Mo closed the file and emphasized his tone slightly.

"Here, I would also like to emphasize that we respect and protect the freedom of every citizen to believe in a deity, but this freedom must never be built on the basis of infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of believers in other deities or those without faith!"

"Therefore, any religious activities, such as building religious sites, publicly proselytizing, holding large-scale sacrificial rites, or organizing collective prayers, must submit a detailed plan to the State Administration for Religious Affairs in advance and can only proceed after approval!"

"Within the jurisdiction, all personnel appointments and removals of religious personnel, changes in clergy ranks, mobilization and adjustment of armed forces protecting the faith, inflows and outflows of sacred objects and ritual implements, and public displays of divine grace and favor must be reported to the Administration Bureau for approval!"

"Furthermore, to avoid misunderstandings, each religion needs to report in detail to the Religious Affairs Administration on its own pantheon, territory under control, number of believers, and system of divine grace. The Administration will provide corresponding support based on the characteristics of each religious group and strive to establish an effective cooperation mechanism."

Others may not understand what this means; only a few people who are actually in charge know what it means.

Taking the current "Seven-Eyed God" temple in the Han Hai territory as an example, this set of regulations means that the temple's priests, chief priests, list of believers, the delivery of spiritual energy, and the accumulation of divine grace must all be reported to the Religious Affairs Administration Bureau in detail.

Then, based on the deity's "cooperative attitude" and "actual needs," the Religious Affairs Bureau will provide targeted "support" and "transfer" to a group of rigorously trained professionals to become the deity's "new believers."

Whether these believers are devout or not is not important. The key is that they are all selected professionals who, once they establish a "path of faith," can stably provide new spiritual sources for the "Seven-Eyed God."

This is what the gods need most.

Of course, these believers who do hard labor don't get it for free; the Religious Affairs Bureau will certainly demand corresponding compensation!

Currently, the secret negotiations with Bishop Farrell are nearing completion, with only a few details still being finalized, but the overall framework for cooperation has already been determined.

Once the agreement is formally reached, the Vast Ocean Territory will guide a group of qualified professionals into the "Seven-Eyed God's" spiritual energy transfer system. Those who are not compatible will be replaced until the standard of the number of "believers" is met.

Meanwhile, Rainbow City, where Farrell is located, is in the midst of intensive negotiations and is highly likely to approve the deal. Once approved, it will promise that during this cooperation period, as long as Chen Mo does not launch an attack on Rainbow City, the city will invoke divine grace to shield Chen Mo from at least one divine punishment.

This is enough!

If he could accumulate one or even multiple opportunities for "divine immunity" from different gods through similar transactions, then his options for future strategies and tactics would become incredibly broad.

If the gods can negotiate, then who says that divine grace and punishment can't be turned into a resource transaction? In the foreseeable future, there will be cooperation, confrontation, collusion, and disputes between the Summer Moon Alliance and the various gods. Each will get what they need and each will have their own plans. But whether they like it or not, the religions preaching in Chen Mo's territory have reluctantly accepted the "guidance" of an institution like the Religious Affairs Bureau.

So much so that later, among those bards who liked to exaggerate and sensationalize, the Religious Affairs Bureau was called the "Divine Inspectorate," and its regulations were called the "Divine Management Regulations"!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the final stage of the meeting, some government officials and military representatives left one after another, leaving only the core management members of the Summer Moon Alliance in the meeting hall.

The atmosphere gradually became heavy.

Chen Mo coughed lightly.

"Next, I would like to introduce a new organization to you."

"Xia Yue Discipline Inspection Office"

"The director will be Liu Shuang, and the deputy director will be Xia Yuanchen!"

The half-elf girl, who had been sitting silently to the side since the meeting began, only drawing circles on her notebook, raised her head and gave a slight nod.

Everywhere I looked, everyone wore a slightly humble smile.

A very typical characteristic of this type of new organization setup at Hanhai is that the top leader is usually just a figurehead and does no work; his existence is mainly to indicate how high the level of this new organization is.

For example, the director of the Religious Affairs Bureau is Chen Mo himself. Obviously, Chen Mo doesn't have that much time to worry about specific matters. But with the names of Lord Han Hai, Chairman Xia Yue, and Commander-in-Chief of the Supreme Military Command here, everyone knows that this Religious Affairs Bureau is absolutely not to be messed with!
Now, the head of the Discipline Inspection Department is Liu Shuang, which is a blatant warning: if you don't have the martial arts skills to surpass this great swordsman and the favor you receive over this young prince, then you'd better obediently put your hands on your head and squat down to accept the inspection!

The deputy director is specifically responsible for handling the matter.

Tsk tsk, surnamed Xia, generation name Yuan, the most direct descendant of the direct line!

Even more insiders know that this is not only an orphan who has lost both parents and no relatives, but also a hybrid of beastman and human, with the blood of the incredibly loyal canine beastman.

It bites fiercely!
After graduating with honors from the Hanhai Naval Academy, Xia Yuanchen successively served in the Second Brigade, the Reconnaissance Team, and the Intelligence Department. After the downfall of Lin Zhong, the former head of the Hanhai intelligence department, Xia Yuanchen temporarily took over the management of the Internal Security Department.

According to rumors spread privately by some malicious individuals, Lin Zhonghui's exposure was the work of this "little bastard."

Many people couldn't help but shiver as they watched the young officer stand up and salute.

Chen Mo clapped his hands lightly, indicating his firm support.

"This time, the Discipline Inspection Department will launch a comprehensive review of both the military and political lines simultaneously!"

"I reiterate that everyone, regardless of rank or contribution, must unconditionally cooperate with the Inspectorate's investigations. This applies to everyone present, including myself!"

"Xia, tell me your plan, and let's see how everyone needs to cooperate?"

"Okay, thank you Commander-in-Chief, thank you Speaker, thank you all the leaders and seniors for your support!"

Xia Yuanchen's voice was loud enough to be heard clearly in every corner of the conference room without the need for a microphone.

"In accordance with the instructions of the Commander-in-Chief, the Xia Yue Discipline Inspection Department will officially launch a three-month special rectification campaign. The core objective of this campaign is to resolutely crack down on the three unhealthy tendencies of 'forming cliques for personal gain,' 'corruption,' and 'falsification,' which we internally call the 'Three-Anti' campaign!"

"During this period, the Inspectorate will open a whistleblowing channel for all citizens, allowing and encouraging anyone to provide relevant information and leads to the Inspectorate, whether named or anonymous."

"At the same time, I have been authorized by Director Liushuang to select some elite personnel from the Liushuang Guard to participate in this operation. In addition, new members of the Torch Youth Corps will be responsible for auxiliary work."

"Furthermore, through the Lord's personal coordination, we have reached a preliminary agreement with High Priest Farrell of the 'Seven-Eyed Temple' that the temple will provide us with specific... technical support if necessary."

"During the inspection period, we will conduct a comprehensive and detailed investigation of every level of management in the territory, resolutely carry out the commander-in-chief's instructions, and ensure that no innocent person is wronged and no guilty person is let off the hook!"

Using the Frost Guard for internal investigations is a rather ruthless move.

The Frostguard is the exiled elven redemption army. They are a self-contained system and have no vested interests with any important figures in the Vast Ocean.

Moreover, it's mixed with the inherent arrogance of the elves, their contempt for humans, and the frustration of losing political struggles. If they've set their sights on you, any attempt to use connections will be completely blocked, leaving no room for negotiation.

As for the intervention of the "Seven-Eyed God" priest, it means that certain "extraordinary censorship methods" are permitted when necessary.

Chen Mo sighed softly, his gaze sweeping over the many familiar faces present, his tone tinged with emotion.

"Alright, I'll give you three extra days before the three-month inspection campaign officially begins."

"Many of you here are veterans who have followed the territory all the way, and have made great contributions to the development of Han Hai. I, Chen Mo, will always remember this."

"However, I must also be soberly aware that some people have fallen behind in the development, some have succumbed to temptations, and some have been unable to endure hardship. Just like some others, they have fallen behind!"

"These three days are the last chance I'm giving you. Within these three days, in light of the content of this inspection, proactively confess your problems to the investigators, and I will consider leniency and spare you some face."

"The investigation will begin in three days. At that time, I will no longer concern myself with any specific matters related to this. Even if the Chief Councilor of Helan is arrested, I will not even glance at him, understand?"

"Understood!" came the unanimous reply from the entire room.

"We must shed all our burdens, travel light, and embrace greater challenges and a broader stage."

In his concluding remarks, Chen Mo said earnestly, "If you don't harden your resolve now and clean up and reorganize the internal affairs, how can I expect you to manage them well when you enter the Xia Yue Alliance, that big cesspool, instead of them dragging you down with them?"

This inspection campaign, officially defined by the Han Hai as "self-rectification," privately referred to by the people as "major purge," and likened by the lord to "scraping the bone to remove poison," is quite complex and its detailed process cannot be described in detail.

However, to some extent, the three main issues set forth at this meeting—free trade, divine management, and rectification—have a profound impact and importance that are enough to leave a significant mark on the development history of the Han Hai and even the entire Xia Yue Alliance, and will be repeatedly studied and emphasized by later generations.

Just as a massive construction, trade, and inspection campaign was underway, centered around the Vast Ocean Territory, a long-overdue message finally broke through the Silver Moon Forest, crossed mountains and rivers, and exploded across the nations of the Starry Continent, causing a huge uproar.

The once mighty Xiyue Federation, with its long history, has become a thing of the past, swept into the dustbin of history.

In its place came a strange regime called the "Summer Moon Alliance," which appeared out of nowhere and sparked speculation and scrutiny around the world.

The power structure of the Starry Continent underwent a dramatic transformation.

Behind the swirling snowflakes, a new blizzard is approaching.

(End of this chapter)