Chapter 854: Marriage Alliance?

"I have mentioned all these things in the book I am currently writing, and I have also written down the countermeasures. As long as our successors are not too foolish, they will still be able to cope by relying on the things in my book."

Yulong looked distressed: "Father, can I take a look at that book of yours now? I feel that the more I work, the more confused I become; it seems like I still don't understand anything."

"Child, I am the one who wrote the book, but I, the author, am still alive. Everything you need to know, everything I have written in the book, I will teach you myself. Personal instruction is far better than reading a book."

"If you can think more deeply and carefully in the future, you can teach your children directly, instead of letting your children and descendants read the book I wrote," Baifeng said earnestly once again.

Yulong did not want to think about such troublesome matters anymore, so he asked: "Father, can you give my child a name? I still don't know what he should be called."

Baifeng slapped his forehead: "Oh my, I should have written a Genealogy Generation Rank; that way it would be easy to pass down. Why did I only think of this now?"

It was another thing he had never heard of, so Yulong asked: "Father, what is this Genealogy Generation Rank?"

"This genealogy is to record an entire family, and then the descendants continue to write in it later on. In this way, even after thousands of years, the descendants will still be able to know who their ancestors were, what their names were, and what they did.

By the way, this genealogy should indeed be promoted so that everyone uses it. In this way, their understanding of family and clan will be deeper, and their recognition of our country will increase. However, there is also a drawback: family and clan forces might gradually grow larger because of this.

But there is no other way. If we don't promote it in this generation, such a situation will spontaneously appear later on. In fact, if we promote it now, the benefits will be even greater."

"Genealogy..." Yulong was thinking about how such a thing should be written, and then asked: "Then what about the Generation Rank?"

"The Generation Rank is something used for naming. For example, I write down a passage, a poem, and you people of the same generation will use one of the characters from it as the middle character in your names. For instance, our surname is Bai, and the surname remains unchanged.

Moreover, surnames will be the mainstream in the future, and clans will gradually fade away. In your name, the 'Yu' character is the Generation Rank, and 'Long' is chosen separately. According to the Generation Rank, Changle would also have to be called Bai Yule.

Do you understand now?"

Yulong understood the meaning, but felt it was a bit cumbersome: "But what is the point of doing this? Is it just so that names don't repeat?"

"How could it be that simple? The Generation Rank must be used in conjunction with the genealogy. As long as you are of the same family, even if you are distantly related and have never met since childhood, as long as there is a Generation Rank, you will know what relation they are to you—whether they are your elder, your junior, or of the same generation. This is very useful for our Huaxia to distinguish status and seniority.

It is also of great help for them to maintain family relationships. However, for our Royal Family, this necessity is not very great. It can exist, but it is not mandatory. Our genealogy is the most important thing, and furthermore, enfeoffment and Nobility are the keys to proving one's Royal Family status.

These can be promoted for ordinary people to use. As for how to name your child, just name him as you see fit. That is your child, and you should be the one to name him. If I, the grandfather, were to name him, it would instead make you lose an important experience. Except for this first one, the Legitimate Son, I can name the other children."

"A child's name represents the parents' expectations for him. You should give your child the name you want him to become. Your name also carries my hopes for you. Do you understand?"

Yulong's expression turned serious: "Very well, Father. I will name my child myself, and I will not let down your expectations of me. I will definitely become a Yulong of Huaxia."

"Ah, that's right. Now that you are at such an age and are about to become a father yourself, I naturally will no longer treat you like a child.

Changle is also no longer a child. His mother is very worried about his marriage, but I don't know if he has a girl he fancies. He keeps running to the Xuanyuan Tribe; if he has taken a fancy to a girl from the Xuanyuan Tribe, then..."

Yulong was somewhat excited: "Ah, Father, I think this is really feasible. Anyway, our relationship with the Xuanyuan Tribe is so good, it wouldn't be a problem for Changle to find a woman from the Xuanyuan Tribe. If he finds a daughter of Xuanyuan, wouldn't that be even better? Your relationship with Xuanyuan would go a step further, and our two tribes could become even closer.

In our current situation, we can only huddle together with the Xuanyuan Tribe. According to what you said, the great war with the Shennong Clan and the Suiren Clan is about to begin, and our Huaxia certainly won't be able to avoid it. If our relationship is even better, then the alliance won't have too many surprises and can be more reliable."

Baifeng sighed: "Ah, I won't interfere. Let's see what Changle himself thinks. If he really takes a fancy to a woman from the Xuanyuan Tribe, no matter what her status is, I will find a way to get her. If Changle doesn't like her, I won't force him to find a woman from the Xuanyuan Tribe.

Child, remember, we cannot send our own women away just for the sake of the relationship between two tribes, or to please someone, nor can we let this affect our child's lifelong happiness.

Why do we want to make the country strong? Isn't it just to prevent such things from happening? If even our own Prince or Princess is treated as an object of interest exchange, then this country is due for its demise."

Yulong quickly explained: "Father, I didn't mean that. I still meant to look at my brother's wishes. If he can succeed, that would certainly be the best. If he doesn't fancy a woman from the Xuanyuan Tribe, then there are plenty of women in Huaxia for him to choose from."

Baifeng was just about to preach more, but Yulong stood up directly and said hurriedly: "Father, speaking of this, I will go ask Changle now to see if he has a woman he likes, so I can arrange it for him. My mother talks about it every day, and I'm getting a bit annoyed listening to it."

Baifeng saw that Yulong might be annoyed with him, so he waved his hand: "Fine, go, go. Go busy yourself. You two brothers should also have a good chat; you can't let your brotherly bond fade just by focusing on your work all day."

"Alright, no problem." Yulong said, lifted his legs, and ran off.