Chapter 292: Founding the Nation (1)

Baifeng continued to tell them: "This is the current distribution of all tribal forces. I am also relying on rough deductions to see that they will all expand toward the center, the north, and the east in the future. At that time, war between them will be inevitable."

"This war will last for many years, until one tribe annexes all the others, and then they will proclaim themselves king. And to be honest, we do not yet have the capital to confront these tribes. Our time of development is too short; we cannot compare to those tribes that have developed for who knows how many generations."

"However, I am also unwilling to just guard a city like this, waiting for other tribes to come and attack me, to turn my land into their territory, and to turn my subjects into their subjects."

"Therefore, my goal now is to advance westward. The west has vast, boundless land, as well as countless mineral resources, and there are no such massive tribes there. For us, it is a better direction for development. By the time we have easily developed and grown strong in the west, their difficult wars of mutual conquest in the center will have ended. At that time, it will be a war between two great kingdoms. Do you understand?"

Everyone answered yes, but Xiong was still anxiously asking about the matters of founding the nation and proclaiming kingship. This must have a process; just talking about it won't do.

Baifeng paced on the platform, thinking, and then slowly began to speak: "From now on, prepare for the ceremony. The founding of the nation and my ascension to the throne as king will be carried out simultaneously. Once the kingdom is established, I, as Tribal Chief, will naturally become the King."

Afterwards, he turned around and used a blackboard eraser made of wool to wipe off the map he had drawn, but was quickly stopped by Yu, who shouted loudly.

"Tribal Chief, could you please not wipe this? Leave it for us. We don't know what this world is like, nor do we know the forces of those tribes. We can keep this map and look at it every day so we have some idea in our hearts. If you need to write something else, I will get you an empty blackboard."

Baifeng was not angry at Yu for interrupting him, because Yu's idea was very correct. What he wanted was for his tribesmen, especially the management, to have this kind of attentive approach.

Baifeng nodded to let Yu go get an empty blackboard, and then filled in the little bit he had just wiped away.

After Yu brought the empty blackboard, Baifeng earnestly wrote the two large characters "Huaxia" on it, and then said to everyone: "Our nation, the name of the state shall be Huaxia, the Huaxia Kingdom."

The people below were puzzled: "Tribal Chief, we are the Baifeng Tribe, why not call it the Baifeng Kingdom, or the Bai Kingdom would also work. What does this Huaxia mean? Does it mean we will have to change our name to the Huaxia Clan in the future?"

Baifeng shook his head: "The state name naturally must be separated from our tribe's name. Our tribe is called the Baifeng Tribe because my name is Baifeng. When the tribe is passed down to my son, it will be changed to the Yulong Tribe, or I will have my son change his name to Baifeng. We are not like some large tribes that have an unsurpassable ancestor who contributed to the entire human race, so our tribe's name is difficult to keep unchanged."

A tribe's name is basically a default rule: it is the name of one's own Tribal Chief. If one wants the tribe's name to remain unchanged, then one must let one's son inherit the name of the previous generation's Tribal Chief. This must also be a powerful, large tribe; otherwise, one does not have this qualification.

Some large tribes, like the Suiren Clan or the Shennong Clan, had founders who were too great, so their descendants could not change the tribe's name. And this name is also a kind of honor for them. If the descendants are willing, they add something like 'the nth generation Shennong Clan' to themselves; if they are not willing, they use their own names, such as Baoxi or Chiyou.

Small tribes and small clans change their tribal name whenever they change their Tribal Chief, because the tribe has no fame. Once you go out, other tribes only recognize who your current Tribal Chief is; they will not care who your previous Tribal Chief was.

Afterwards, Baifeng pointed his finger at the two characters "Huaxia" and said: "This 'Hua' character means that our nation has exquisite clothing and perfect etiquette, and is different from other tribes that are like savages. We must be more noble. This 'Xia' means that our region is vast and our territory is extensive. It can also be considered my expectation for this nation in the future."

"This state name must be used continuously. No matter which of my descendants it is, none may change the state name. I want to ensure that even if the nation is destroyed, the next monarch of a different surname who takes over my territory and citizens must also use the name 'Huaxia'."

The tribesmen were stunned by the Tribal Chief's dominance, and for a long while, no one spoke.

Baifeng thought they had some objections. In any case, Baifeng had no intention of changing this name. This name represented his own destination and his own pursuit. Huaxia, also called Zhongxia, refers to the Central Plains. In the future, Baifeng must return to the Central Plains region; only in that way could Baifeng's ultimate goal be achieved.

Otherwise, if he blindly developed westward while ignoring the most important place, by the time the true "Zhu Xia" was established, the Baifeng Tribe would become like the Yi or Rong, and no matter how large the nation was, it would be of no use.

Fortunately, the people from the Government Affairs Department spoke up first, agreeing with Baifeng's proposal and saying that the Tribal Chief had chosen a good state name, and that if it were up to them, they would definitely never have thought of such a state name, and so on.

The state name was decided. As for things like a national anthem or a national emblem, they were completely unnecessary, but a national flag was a must. In this era, a flag is still very important; whether for war or ordinary display, the flag is the thing that can most clearly express one's identity.

This also had to be designed by Baifeng. If he let them design it, they probably wouldn't be able to come up with anything. However, in this era, being too minimalist is not good, because others find it difficult to read the deep meaning and will also feel it is not fierce or domineering enough.

Therefore, Baifeng planned to draw a coiled dragon. Every tribe has its own totem. Because the Baifeng Tribe has "Heaven and Earth," the totem was ignored, but the dragon is the totem that Baifeng believes in. Using this as the national flag is absolutely no problem, and the tribesmen also approve, after all, they already know what a powerful creature the dragon is.

With these decided, Baifeng also arranged the matter of his own proclamation as king. After the nation is founded, he will not only be the Tribal Chief of the Baifeng Tribe, but also the King of the nation.

However, Baifeng also said one more thing: from now on, no matter who it is, whether a Free Person or a Slave, they can no longer join the Baifeng Tribe. What they can obtain is only the status of a citizen of the Huaxia Kingdom. The Baifeng Tribe will continue to exist as something similar to an honorary status; everything else will be the same as for ordinary citizens.