Chapter 820: The Plan

Time dragged on, and finally, the eleventh year of Di Qi arrived.

The first day of the first lunar month.

The assembled officials entered the palace to pay their respects to the Human Emperor, and the various Vassal States of the south also sent envoys.

Although they had already decided to rebel against Shang and had long since secretly formed an alliance.

They still needed time to digest the cultivation resources sent by Xiqi, and cultivators also needed time to make breakthroughs.

Following the congratulatory ceremony, there were various Sacrificial Ceremonies.

Sacrificing to Heaven and Earth, sacrificing to the ancestral temple, sacrificing to ghosts and gods, and so on; they were busy until dusk, after which the Human Emperor held a banquet in the palace to feast the civil and military officials.

The Empress also held a banquet in the palace to feast the wives of the officials.

According to the regulations set by Yin Qi, the Spring Festival holiday lasted fifteen days, with the first day of the first lunar month as the boundary, eight days before and seven days after; thus, by the eighth day of the first lunar month, all offices of the Imperial Court had resumed work.

……

Zichen Hall.

The side hall.

Yin Qi convened a Small Court Meeting, and the ministers of the Cabinet, the Military Affairs Department, and the Censorate were all present.

Yin Qi glanced at the assembled officials and said, "It is a new year, but this year is different. We have already completed two plans, and this year we will launch an important third plan."

"I also know that you are all worried about the war with Xiqi."

"But no matter how urgent the war with Xiqi is, we cannot lose our footing or disrupt the rhythm of our development."

"Xiqi has the Chan Sect, and we have the Jie Sect."

Upon hearing this, Shang Rong and the others all nodded silently.

Just as the Human Emperor said, only the Jie Sect could deal with the Chan Sect; there was no point in them worrying, so they might as well bury their heads in development.

Yin Qi looked at Shang Rong and said, "Chief Councilor, report on the government affairs."

Shang Rong nodded, stepped forward, bowed, and then said, "Replying to the Great King, we have exceeded the targets for the second plan formulated in the sixth year of Di Qi, some even by five or six times."

"In terms of civil service, we have completely established systems for the selection, training, supervision, and promotion of officials."

"In terms of industry, we have completely established an industrial system based on the Refining Artifact Technique."

"In terms of commerce, various commercial systems and laws have basically been perfected, private capital is active, and over ninety-five percent of the Nobles have completed their transformation into industrial owners."

"In terms of agriculture, Taiji Rice has been fully popularized, including in the territories beyond the Eight Desolations. Additionally, nine hundred and eighty-eight newly added economic crops have also been fully popularized."

"In terms of economy, the national treasury revenue, converted into Immortal Crystal, totals about five trillion."

In reality, in terms of industrial and agricultural output value, the Yin Shang national treasury revenue could not reach five trillion Immortal Crystal; over eighty percent of it came from the output of Spirit Stone mines and Immortal Crystal mines.

In Yin Shang, Spirit Stone mines and Immortal Crystal mines were all state-owned.

Previously, limited by the level of technology, both Spirit Stone mines and Immortal Crystal mines were difficult to discover, and mining them was not easy.

Later, Yin Qi had the Immortal Court patrol the country and detected all the Spirit Stone mines and Immortal Crystal mines.

Subsequent mining became easy.

If not for this, Yin Qi would not have been able to offer such generous conditions in the Recruitment Edict, making the disciples of All Sects feel tempted.

In fact, it was not just Spirit Stone mines and Immortal Crystal mines, but also various other mineral deposits.

Such as mortal-grade metal and non-metal mineral deposits like gold, silver, copper, and iron, various spirit mines of the spirit grade, and various immortal mines of the Immortal Level, all of which the Immortal Court had detected.

The deepest mineral deposits from the surface reached a terrifying depth of five billion li.

Through the mineral vein distribution map drawn by the Immortal Court, it could be said that there were mineral deposits under every inch of land, but at a depth of five billion li, it was certainly impossible to mine them with the current strength of Yin Shang.

In reality, what is currently being mined is within a depth of one thousand li, using a method that combines digging tunnels through immortal arts with large-scale machinery to efficiently extract various minerals. Yin Qi nodded and turned to look at Jizi.

Jizi stepped forward, bowed, and said, "In terms of military strength, including the territories beyond the Eight Desolations and excluding local garrisons, our total Yin Shang military strength has reached 550 million, of which 80 million are deployed within the borders."

"If local garrisons are included, the total military strength reaches 800 million."

"Among them, there are thirty-nine Mysterious Immortals, five hundred and seventy-eight Heavenly Immortals, four thousand six hundred Earth Immortals, over fifty million Nascent Soul and Heaven Realm cultivators, and the rest are basically Golden Core or Earth Realm."

"Additionally, there are fifty-two Mysterious Immortal Class Warship, over two thousand five hundred Heavenly Immortal-grade Warship, and over five thousand Earth Immortal Realm Warship."

Do not look at the fact that Yin Shang has as many as 800 million troops; there are not many cultivators above the Immortal Realm, because the Immortal Dao cultivators within Yin Shang basically belong to the Martial Hall, and the Martial Hall is directly under Yin Qi.

Beyond the Eight Desolations, Yin Shang's expansion of territory is basically led by the Martial Hall, which wipes out strong enemies; then the Military follows up to stabilize the strategic areas; and finally, the Cabinet follows up to establish Prefectures and counties, completely consolidating the rule.

Yin Qi nodded and said, "Everyone has heard the current situation of our Yin Shang; next is to formulate the third plan."

Shang Rong and the others bowed one after another: "Great King, please speak."

Yin Qi said with a solemn expression, "First: Education. First is literacy; in the territories beyond the Eight Desolations, wherever Prefectures and counties are established, literacy must be achieved there."

"But literacy is only to let everyone read and master some basic Common Knowledge."

Please... you... bookmark 6... 9... shu.... com....!"

"But for more in-depth knowledge, teachers are still needed to explain, so Public School must also advance with the advancement of Prefectures and counties, while simultaneously organizing adult education locally."

"I have only one goal: everyone must have a specialized skill."

"Whether it is farming or other crafts."

"Finally, on the basis of the original civil and martial subjects of Public School, add the Immortal Cultivation Hundred Trades."

"Every student who enrolls must major in one of the Hundred Trades."

"Among them, Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Array Formation are key majors."

Currently, the territory of Yin Shang is still small, and with industrial zones for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, etc., plus the production lines within the Immortal Court, it can barely meet the development needs of Yin Shang.

Once the Investiture of the Gods is over, Yin Shang will develop comprehensively and expand its territory rapidly; the shortage of cultivation resources will soon manifest, so talents in the Immortal Cultivation Hundred Trades such as Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and Array Formation must be cultivated now.

"Second, increase the mining of minerals at all levels."

"Third, encourage the people to engage in large-scale medicinal herb planting; the Imperial Court can provide loans, technical support, and even subsidies."

"Fourth, continue to expand industrial zones for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, etc.; all technologies of the Hundred Trades below the Immortal Level can be licensed to other domestic factories at preferential prices."

"Fifth, continue to expand the military, with a target strength of three billion, to be completed secretly in the territories beyond the Eight Desolations."

Dharma Treasures and Pills are essential cultivation resources for cultivators.

In the future, as the number of cultivators increases, the demand for Dharma Treasures and Pills will naturally grow larger as well.

As for the secret massive military expansion.

It is, of course, so that after the Investiture of the Gods, we can launch a full-scale offensive.

Yin Qi finally said: "These five aspects need to be prioritized; they are also the focus of the third plan. After you go down, draft detailed plans and submit them to Us for review."

"Yes, Great King."

Shang Rong and the others nodded one after another.

Yin Qi continued: "There is another matter, which concerns the establishment of local administrative units. Currently, our Great Shang implements the Prefecture-County system, but as our territory grows larger in the future, the Prefecture-County system will be unable to meet the needs of local governance."

In the Yin Shang Prefecture-County system, a large Prefecture is actually very vast, with a radius of two to thirty thousand li.

Even a small Prefecture usually has a radius of three to four thousand li.

But even with a radius of twenty or thirty thousand li, compared to Honghuang, it is a tiny, insignificant place; therefore, as the territory continues to expand, the Prefecture-County system will certainly not suffice. (End of chapter)