Fang Ming nodded and waved his hand. A brilliant flash of white light shot into Wang Liulang's body. The white light blazed, and Wang Liulang appeared in the official robes of a Principal Ninth Rank Land God. White qi gathered above his head in a cloud, with a strand of red-and-white Life-Bound Qi at its center, balancing and stabilizing his Fortune. The change had dispelled much of the killing intent from Wang Liulang's face, lending him a measure of dignified grace. When he saw Fang Ming, he knelt and bowed.
"Your servant, Wang Liulang, Principal Ninth Rank Land God of Baishi Village, pays his respects to my lord!" Only now could he call himself a servant; he truly held an official post and was no longer one of the common people. He was the first among Fang Ming's subordinates to hold an official post.
Fang Ming smiled. "The name Wang Liulang doesn't exactly sound very dignified!"
"Please grant me a new name, my lord!" Wang Liulang was quick to catch on.
"How about Wang Zhong?" Fang Ming said without a moment's hesitation.
"Wang Zhong..." Wang Liulang—no, Wang Zhong—bowed and said, "From now on, your servant will be called Wang Zhong! I will serve my lord with unwavering loyalty and do everything in my power to repay him!"
"Good! Very good!" Fang Ming laughed, clapping his hands.
The Land God position he had bestowed was, of course, no genuine divine appointment. It was the latest result of Fang Ming's repeated experiments and the insights he had gained through promotion. In essence, it was much like the divine-power runes he had made before. The difference was that he had imprinted all four of the Land God's fundamental divine abilities onto it, along with a method he had figured out for converting Incense and Fire Prayer Power.
Fang Ming had made it himself, so he could take it back with a single thought. It was like a projection, with the ultimate authority still in his hands; he could even make it self-destruct. Even greater Divine Power could not promote its holder—the only way to rise in rank was through Fang Ming's appointment. And, naturally, the position came with no great divine abilities.
He had also placed restrictions on it. The position could absorb only the incense from its own territory, not Incense and Fire Prayer Power from elsewhere. Its holder could not leave Fang Ming's jurisdiction, nor remove the position from his body; otherwise, it would self-destruct.
At the same time, Fang Ming had already decided that the subordinate Land Gods would collect incense according to the rules of his system, grant the wishes of their worshippers, and keep proper accounts. They would report to him each month for inspection and reconciliation, and hand over half of their reserve funds to be kept with Fang Ming. It was modeled on the central bank of his previous life.
With half of their reserves deposited with Fang Ming, the other half would be enough to grant wishes under ordinary circumstances. If they needed more, they could apply to draw on the funds he held.
The subordinate deities would also have to contribute half of their monthly net income to Fang Ming. In his eyes, this was a franchise fee. Having joined his divine system, they naturally had to contribute. These offerings would not be returned; they would become Fang Ming's net income. Although he could collect Divine Power directly through the divine positions in his subordinates' bodies, doing so would feel like an invasion of their privacy and might expose his secret. It was better to have them turn their Divine Power into large coins and hand it over during their monthly audiences. That also put his subordinates' labor to use.
This way, half of each subordinate's strength remained in Fang Ming's hands. He would never enfeoff all his Land Gods, either; at all times, half the territory under his command would remain under his direct control. That ensured his lordship always held an overwhelming advantage in strength. What could his subordinates possibly do to turn the whole world upside down?
Of course, unless necessary, Fang Ming would not reveal that he controlled his subordinates' divine positions.
And since he had no need to fear their rebellion, he could afford to give them a little sweetness in return. He would let them handle all matters within their divine jurisdictions themselves and appoint their own clerks and Yin Soldiers, so long as they came every month to reconcile the accounts and pay their Divine Power. Everything else could be delegated, letting them rule like little emperors in their own domains.
After all, the Divine Power earned by a single village was meager. No matter how well they managed it, they could not increase their income by much. Without Divine Power, they could not recruit many clerks or Yin Soldiers, let alone expand their strength.
It had to be said: Fang Ming had taken the prevention of rebellion and leaks among his subordinates to the extreme.
Once he had thought it all through, Fang Ming decided he would follow this method from then on.
He spoke again. "Wu Hongyu, you have also rendered service in spreading the Land God's faith. I hereby appoint you Principal Ninth Rank Land God of Changhe Village. May you bring blessings to the people under your care!"
Wu Hongyu stepped forward and bowed in gratitude. "Your servant thanks my lord!"
Divine Power enveloped him, and official robes formed around his body. Wu Hongyu had a pure-red Life-Bound Qi and was the ancestral spirit of a great clan, with a talent for administration. He was more than qualified to serve as a village Land God. White qi gathered around him, stable and dense.
Seeing Zhou Si and Wang Deng below gazing up at him expectantly, Fang Ming smiled. Not all of his original subordinates had been promoted yet! Besides, both men had Life-Bound Qi and talent. Fang Ming needed people around him and could not send them away to govern elsewhere.
Fang Ming gave a light cough. The hall fell silent at once, and he said, "I intend to reform the military system!"
His subordinates exchanged glances. All they could do was bow and say, "Please give us your instructions, my lord!"
"Five men make a squad, and ten make a section. That is the ancient system and need not be changed, but we must formalize the ranks to distinguish status."
"A five-man squad will have a squad leader, whose rank is equivalent to that of a clerk. A ten-man section will have a section leader, whose rank is equivalent to that of an executive clerk."
So far, nothing had changed; the ranks had merely been made explicit. Everyone listened.
"From now on, five sections will make a platoon, with a platoon commander and a deputy commander. The commander will be called a Benevolent and Valiant Colonel, Subordinate Ninth Rank. The deputy commander's rank will be equivalent to that of a registrar." A platoon had fifty men.
"Two platoons will make a battalion. The battalion commander will be called a Martial Defender Colonel, Principal Ninth Rank. He will have a personal squad." A battalion had a hundred men.
"Five battalions will make a regiment. The regimental commander will be called a Might-Shaking Colonel, Principal Eighth Rank. He will have a personal section." A regiment had five hundred men, similar in size to a county commandant's force.
"Xie Jin, Zheng Jing, where are you?"
"Here!" Xie Jin and Zheng Jing stepped forward.
"I appoint Xie Jin battalion commander, Martial Defender Colonel, in charge of one battalion. Zheng Jing will be platoon commander, Benevolent and Valiant Colonel, in charge of one platoon."
"I have seven sections of Yin Soldiers under my command. Xie Jin, go recruit warriors and bring the number up to a battalion!" Fang Ming's forces had originally included two sections of Yin Soldiers under Wang Liulang and three under Xie Jin. The newly arrived Zheng Jing had recruited two more, bringing their total to seventy. Recruiting another thirty would complete a battalion.
"Your subordinate obeys!" Xie Jin and Zheng Jing were overjoyed. They now held official posts, no longer mere soldiers or minor functionaries.
"You must train the Yin Soldiers well. From now on, unless I give the order, you may command only the personal troops under your own charge. If you dare deploy Yin Soldiers without permission, I will make your souls scatter and deny you rebirth for all eternity!" Fang Ming's Yin Soldiers had been poorly organized before. Now that a system was in place, military aura kept forming and gathering above Xie Jin and Zheng Jing's heads with each appointment. Fang Ming's eyelid twitched at the sight.
"Your subordinates would not dare!" Xie Jin and Zheng Jing accepted the order solemnly.
As a Land God, Fang Ming naturally had no killing divine abilities. He had already decided that Yin Soldier officers could hold official posts but would not receive divine positions. After all, their military aura was no weaker than divine abilities.
"Mm!" Fang Ming nodded and waved his hand. Red light flickered, and Xie Jin and Zheng Jing were already clad in iron armor, its cold gleam sharp. They no longer wore leather armor. From now on, military officers would wear iron armor powered by Red Divine Power, while Yin Soldiers would wear leather armor powered by White Divine Power.
Once the Yin Soldiers grew in number, they would naturally need to establish an Ordnance Bureau to oversee the manufacture of weapons and armor.
Fang Ming spoke again. "Zhou Si, Wang Deng!"
The two stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "At your service!"
"You have both rendered service. I hereby reward each of you with ten taels of silver!" One tael of silver was worth a hundred large coins, or a hundred strands of White Divine Power. Fang Ming had made it by combining ten strands of Red Divine Power.
When he had subdued the ancestral spirits of the four great clans, Fang Ming had gained a huge amount of Divine Power—more than a hundred thousand strands of White Divine Power altogether. He had become quite wealthy.
"Thank you, my lord!" Though Zhou Si and Wang Deng felt a little dissatisfied inside, they still thanked him and withdrew.
Fang Ming smiled with satisfaction. Among those promoted this time, two of his original subordinates and two members of the newly joined four great clans had gained official posts. The balance made it easier for him to manage and control them.
Zhou Si and Wang Deng had noticed as well, but this was proper etiquette. Though they felt a little dissatisfied, there would be opportunities later. Ten taels of silver was no small sum, so they withdrew respectfully.
"Guo Sheng, I'm promoting you one rank, to registrar."
"Zheng Kuan, I'm rewarding you with two taels of silver!"
"Li Ming, Li Kong, you have both served as laborers for a long time, working diligently and conscientiously. I appoint Li Ming as the Child-Granting Clerk and Li Kong as the Fertile-Fields Clerk!"
Guo Sheng managed the accounts, and his rank as an executive clerk was no longer enough, so he could be promoted. Li Ming and Li Kong had served the longest among the laborers, which gave a reason to promote them and fill Wang Zhong's vacancy. But Fang Ming could not promote them two ranks at once, so they would start as clerks. Zheng Kuan had no grounds for promotion, and there were no vacancies, so Fang Ming would reward him with silver for now.
All four stepped forward and bowed.
As for He Dong, he had served Fang Ming for a long time, and if he had not committed an offense, he could have been given an official post this time. But since he had violated Fang Ming's taboo, he could only blame his bad luck. He would have to wait behind Li Kong and Li Ming; this time, he would not be promoted.
Fang Ming watched as his subordinates accepted their orders solemnly. His civil administration and military hierarchy were now in place; from here on, all he needed to do was keep adding to them. His little system had finally been formally established, and he could not help feeling delighted. He threw back his head and laughed.
As the appointments were issued, Fortune surged within the Golden Seal, rising another level until it occupied roughly eight-tenths of the seal. Red qi made up seven-tenths of it, bathing Fang Ming in crimson. This was the excess power released when the rules had been clarified and everyone assigned their duties.
Moreover, the white qi streaming in from the air looked purer now. It seemed to form a web, centered on the Golden Seal above Fang Ming's head, spreading outward and extending farther and farther, as though it would eventually enclose all the territory under his jurisdiction.
This was the embryonic form of law and order. It could only appear once a strict system had truly been established and put into practice.
Fang Ming looked over and saw that the white qi was incredibly dense, with fine threads of red qi forming above it. He knew this was the Fortune of his entire system. His own Fortune was seven parts red and three parts white, while the system's Fortune was almost entirely white, with only a few flecks of red.
That was because the system's laws had only just been established and had yet to take root in people's hearts. For its rule to be considered stable, at least half the qi would need to be red.
But that would take more than a day or two. It would require the slow, steady work of weaving the Land God's faith into every aspect of the people's daily lives. To go further, the Land Gods would need to become closely tied to the people's births, aging, sickness, and deaths. Then not even the government or the imperial court could stamp out the Land God's faith, and Fang Ming could finally say he had truly secured his footing on this land.
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