Chapter 1417: Surnames and Power

Regarding the Shennong Clan and Xingtian, this Tribal Chief from the center of power of the Shennong Clan said a great deal, basically stating everything he knew. He did not know that Yinglong, who also hailed from the Shennong Clan, was here, but he did not tell any lies either.

Afterward, Xuanyuan and the others questioned Yinglong again to see if what Jiang Cheng said was true or false. Yinglong gave his affirmation: Jiang Cheng had not spoken falsely.

Now it was determined what they should do next: naturally, it was to move forward, keep going until they encountered the next tribe, and then attack them and force them into submission.

They would fight until they felt they could no longer win, or until time ran out, and then retreat. Various signs indicated that next year would likely be the time for the decisive battle. Even Baifeng had not expected it to be so soon.

The main thing was that Baifeng did not know the scale of the all-out tribal wars of this era, nor did he know how long such a war would take. He had thought it would take four or five years to conquer the Shennong Clan; he just had not expected that the Shennong Clan was already falling apart and on the verge of extinction.

The Xuanyuan Tribe could conquer the Shennong Clan largely due to the Shennong Clan's own internal problems, which allowed the Xuanyuan Tribe to conquer this tribe that was the largest in the world, though no longer the strongest.

It was the same in history; there were not many myths passed down about Xuanyuan attacking the Shennong Clan. Instead, there were very, very many stories and legends passed down about the battles against the Jiuli, and Xuanyuan had also nearly been defeated by Chiyou, losing battle after battle, only winning the final decisive battle.

Time was running on without pause. Baoxi received an order from Baifeng to send men to mine an Iron Ore deposit. Baoxi had no way to refuse, so he could only arrange it according to the requirements. His focus now was on the construction of Suiren City; once this city of his was built, his position as City Lord would be solidified. Otherwise, it would remain an empty title—having the position but no power.

Besides, Iron Ore was very important to the Suiren Clan. Since he did not have the ability to develop it himself and Huaxia did, why shouldn't he provide assistance? If Huaxia produced more Ironware, he would also be able to get a share.

Back in the day, for the sake of a little Ironware, there had been a lot of trouble within the Suiren Clan. Although Ironware was still scarce now, it was no longer enough to make everyone fight over it, because this Ironware belonged to them.

The people of Huaxia were also brainwashing them at every moment: as long as they worked hard, they would have everything in the future. Things like Ironware and Dajian would not be a problem for everyone to have one each in the future. Now the Suiren Clan and Huaxia were one family, and there would be no more restrictions placed on them.

At the same time, an order was brought from Huaxia to the officials of Suiren City. Baifeng required them to start changing the way people in Suiren City referred to themselves, starting now. The term "Suiren Clan" was to appear less and less; Huaxia was to completely replace the Suiren Clan.

The "Suiren Clan" could only appear as a "Clan" in the future, representing identity and status. This was an honor belonging to Baoxi and some of his brothers, representing their lineage and status, but the term could not be used to represent the entire Suiren tribe.

This "Clan" of the "Suiren Clan" was not held by Baoxi alone within the entire tribe. In fact, there were quite a few people who possessed this clan name. Most of them were Leaders, because they all belonged to the descendants of the first-generation Suiren, and this clan name represented their status.

Baoxi was the most noble one within this clan, and the Suiren Clan had also branched out into many clans, but just the same, they had no ruling power.

After such a long period of statistics and management, the officials of Huaxia had completely determined how many people in the entire Suiren Clan had a clan name and how many had a surname. However, except for Baoxi's family, others could not receive rewards, and they could not obtain Nobility.

But because their status was relatively special, they would be given some advantages and preferences in the future when dividing farmland and residential locations, allowing them to enjoy the benefits brought by their own surnames.

Baifeng could not abolish the surnames of these people, because Baifeng was telling everyone that those with surnames were noble people. The Suiren Clan was also part of Huaxia, so of course, they were also applicable to Huaxia.

It was just that their nobility came from their ancestors and did not represent them personally. However, to avoid problems like the "Five Surnames and Seven Clans" or powerful cliques, Huaxia had strict restrictions on these things.

Your surname could only bring you some false honor and a sense of superiority; in reality, you would not possess any special treatment. Perhaps it only made others look at you with higher regard in daily life.

What truly made people look at you with higher regard and be willing to show you favoritism were clans like the Suiren Clan or the Fuxi Clan; others had no advantages whatsoever.

Just like in modern society, coming from ancient great surnames like Feng, Jiang, or Huang would not make people look at you differently, but the even more ancient Ji surname might be more eye-catching.

Another thing was the contribution made by one's ancestors. In the same interview, if two people had the exact same abilities and even looked exactly the same, one surnamed Wang and one surnamed Xuanyuan, the interviewer would definitely favor the one surnamed Xuanyuan.

Even if it wasn't an interview, if I were surnamed Xuanyuan, even if I didn't get extra points on an exam or free meals, I would still feel my surname was awesome. If you were surnamed Zhuge, others would think you were smart the moment they heard it.

As for things like Yehenala or Aixinjueluo, it would be fine if you didn't speak, but if you dared to say your lineage was noble, then we would have to ask which mountain ravine you were hiding in before, and ask if you liked the Hanyang-made rifle.

After counting these people of the Suiren Clan, besides giving them some small favors, another thing was to pay close attention to them. Sometimes, those who rebelled were not necessarily the direct descendants, but rather those who had some connection to the imperial throne.

These people did not receive the greatest benefits brought by the change in power, so they were the most likely to cause trouble when it came to the distribution of interests. Baoxi was not the one who needed the most attention right now; what needed attention were those who were also of the Suiren Clan but had not obtained the right of succession—Baoxi's brothers and nephews.

Once time was spent creating a certain distance between surnames and power, these problems would no longer exist. Those of the Suiren Clan with surnames would also need to work hard for Huaxia to regain power; otherwise, they would be completely removed from the center of power and would not be able to gain any benefits at all.

As of now, their enthusiasm for learning was not high at all; at least compared to Baoxi, it was much worse, and compared to other young people of the Suiren Clan, it was also much worse. In the end, they would certainly be completely replaced by those young people who had no power.