Chapter 50: The 'Grassroots Troupe' Finally Opens (Part 2)

In the dead of night, with the tide surging and a torrential rain pouring, it was also New Year's Eve.

On the commandery road, where people usually rode horses, drove carts, or even sat in sedan chairs day and night, there wasn't even a ghost to be seen.

Only a caravan, like a long snake, lit by a string of wind-extinguishing lanterns, moved slowly forward.

Arriving at an inconspicuous fork in the road, the caravan turned onto a small path, moved even more slowly, and finally disappeared into the Xuanzhi Mountains.

The carts were special large vehicles that had traveled ten thousand miles, crossing half the Ming Song land from the Northern Kingdom to the Southern Frontier, equipped with large axles, capable of carrying both goods and people.

The oxen and horses were Qinghe oxen and Xiwu horses with wide hooves and wide hips; although they didn't run fast, they had plenty of strength and steady paces.

Moving through the forest didn't cause any trouble, but they were as slow as a turtle.

It took two hours of suffering before they finally arrived at Mushroom Valley.

Having trekked through the rain in the pitch black with fear and trepidation for so long, the spirits of Song Wenhua and the others were near collapse.

Their breathing was so heavy it felt like it would burst their throats, wanting to question Zhang Gui where exactly he wanted to go and what he intended to do.

And at this moment, seeing the entire caravan drive into Mushroom Valley, Zhang Gui laughed.

"Finally arrived at the destination; next, welcome everyone to my kingdom, Zhenlong!"

As he spoke, the gold and silver he possessed transformed into elemental power and the power of divine authority.

After a moment of dizziness, the ten thousand people arrived at Giant Serpent Head Island in the Outer Wild Ocean, on the Zhenlong Kingdom's Upper Stone Corpse Capital, which was also affected by the 'Crow Wind' and experiencing torrential rain...

Countless rain shelters, three zhang square, were set up on the Guiyang Palace square.

Under the shelters were piles of coke, with iron pots set on the charcoal.

Zhang Gui smiled triumphantly, patted the dazed Old Song, and said in a voice that resounded through the clouds:

"Song Gong, go greet the people and have them light the fires to warm up, drink meat soup, and gnaw on bones."

"Eating is the emperor's priority."

"From now on, you are all citizens of my Zhenlong Kingdom."

"As the emperor, I consider you all family."

Song Wenhua said woodenly:

"Lord, this, this is a secret realm, right?"

"A mere Pingyang Zhang family actually has a secret realm!"

"Could it be that the legend that Lord Zhang Siwei once intended to rebel is, is true!"

Zhang Gui laughed loudly, "Alright Song Gong, now that we've arrived, stop playing games with half-truths."

"This isn't a secret realm, but it is self-contained; it is an overseas island nation."

"From today on, you are the Prefecture Government Office of the capital, with the same Seventh Rank as Zhang Hehe, the director of the Heavenly Taxation Court who collects taxes."

"In addition, there is Liu He, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, who manages the appointment, performance appraisal, and promotion of local officials in the capital..."

"Zheng Yang, the head of the Ministry of Revenue..."

"The head of the Ministry of Finance, who manages the fiscal budget and official appropriations..."

"The Ministry of Rites... the Ministry of Works... Cao He, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture... are all Sixth Rank."

"In short, I've already thought of the government structure; once you take office, society can operate normally."

"Still the same thing, time is tight, let's proceed quickly."

For these days, he had long since clearly inquired about the abilities of the group of Rong family's three cabinets, senior clerks, and even ordinary clerks in the Wangbei Manor.

He had assigned positions by picking the best among the mediocre.

And while speaking, Zhang Gui had already withdrawn his divine ability, turned back into the appearance of a normal person, and strode to a carriage.

He opened the carriage door and carried out Old Song's granddaughter, Que'er, who was sleeping in a daze.

Que'er had a blank little face, opened her eyes, "Eh, it's Brother Zhang Gui, why are you here?"

"The weather is cold, and we've been on the road for so long, Brother Gui will take you to drink meat soup."

"Drink meat soup? But Que'er just ate so much meat for the New Year."

"I'm stuffed."

"Then drink some hot sour yogurt."

"Song Gong, go order people to send hot sour yogurt to all the children."

"Make sure they are sweating before they go to sleep."

"In this weather, catching a cold is no joke."

Song Wenhua was stunned, his originally anxious and uneasy heart slowly settling down.

Regardless of whether Zhang Gui was truly kind or a fake good person, as long as he was willing to act like a good person, then one could reason with him and he wouldn't be tyrannical.

And this was already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Song Wenhua regained his spirits, dragged his old and tired body, and began to work.

Great clans and wealthy families manage their businesses with the principle: 'one manor is like one country'.

The personnel is complete, and the organizational structure is clear from top to bottom.

Soon, over ten thousand people stood in line and lit thousands of charcoal piles.

The firelight shot into the sky, and in just a moment, the entire Guiyang Palace square became steaming hot.

The aroma of meat overflowed.

Sitting high on the platform, seeing the bitter and uneasy faces of the people gradually relax.

Zhang Gui beckoned the Rong family's managers and clerks who had surrendered to the platform.

Afterward, he looked at the crowd below and said in a voice like a booming bell:

"There are ladles in the pots, everyone don't be reserved, eat and drink as you should."

"I have a few words to say."

"First, congratulations to everyone for becoming citizens of the Zhenlong Kingdom."

"Breaking away from slave status and heading toward new prospects."

"That is to say, from now on, everyone is completely equal to me, to Mr. Song Huawen, and to everyone else in terms of human rights and personality."

"Of course, although personalities are equal, abilities vary, and social status differs; this is unavoidable."

"I announce that Mr. Song Huawen is appointed as the Prefecture Government Office of the Zhenlong Kingdom, managing all government affairs except taxation."

"Zhang Hehe is appointed as the director of the Heavenly Taxation Court... Mr. Liu He is appointed as the head of the Ministry of Personnel for the capital..."

"Everyone, applaud."

Here, the sky is high and the emperor is far away; Zhang Gui calls himself the Great King.

He began to use the simple and easy-to-understand vernacular style he was most familiar with from his past life to speak.

After making the appointments, he even learned from the 'strongest post-80s' of his past life and clapped for himself a few times.

Song Wenhua was stunned for a moment; although he didn't understand the meaning, he immediately followed suit and clapped.

Before long, applause thundered across the entire square.

Zhang Gui smiled with satisfaction, feeling a bit of the thrill of playing a real-life strategy game.

He made a gesture to Old Sang Gui.

Old Sang Gui, according to the plan, brought a tray of minerals and medicinal herbs.

Zhang Gui took them and walked personally to Song Huawen.

"Song Gong, although your body is not bad, you are old after all; a major illness could lay you down at any time."

"If things go wrong, you might not even make it to see Que'er get married."

"Now that you've become my subordinate, and we have personal feelings, I have to give you some benefits."

"Come, open your mouth, hold the minerals and herbs, and kneel down."

"Let's be clear, this is not to insult your personality."

"Kneeling is entirely a requirement of the ritual."

Things had reached this point; Old Song no longer had any consciousness of resistance.

Although his face was embarrassed, he didn't hesitate to put the minerals and herbs into his mouth and knelt at Zhang Gui's feet.

Zhang Gui transformed into a metallic demon and sang the high-pitched ancient divine song, the 'Song of Enlisting Soldiers'.

Instantly, the herbs and minerals in Song Huawen's mouth turned into liquid, flowing into his abdomen and permeating his flesh and blood.

His physical body gradually petrified, wrinkles disappeared, and his aging body recovered its health bit by bit.

When the ritual ended, Zhang Gui let out a long breath and personally helped Old Song up.

"Song Gong, you can transform into a Stone Corpse soldier or return to a normal human state as you wish."

"In short, living another twenty years in health and vitality is guaranteed."

"And you can upgrade in the future."

"When you transform, your strength will be greater, and you can live even longer."

"The next time will be thirty years, the time after that will be sixty years, and it can even stack."

"Does that sound beautiful to you?"

For an old man, what could be more attractive than health and longevity?

Song Huawen, who had always appeared calm, discovered that the rheumatism that would inevitably cause his whole body to ache whenever it was cloudy or rainy had disappeared without a trace.

Feeling the vitality and health in his body that he hadn't felt in a long time, he actually began to tremble.

"Beautiful, beautiful, it's truly too beautiful."

"Huawen is willing to die for Your Majesty!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 51 =====