Enfeoffing the Deities

Fang Ming nodded, waved his hand, and a brilliant white light shot into Wang Liulang's body. The white light flared, and Wang Liulang, clad in a true ninth-rank official uniform, had white qi swirling above his head like a cluster of clouds. In the center, a red and white natal qi harmonized, stabilizing his fortune. This transformation made Wang Liulang's face lose some of its murderous aura, replaced by a dignified presence. He knelt and bowed to Fang Ming.

"Your subject, Wang Liulang, the true ninth-rank Earth God of Baishi Village, pays respects to my Lord!" Only now could he be called a subject, truly possessing an official status, distinct from commoners. This was also the first subordinate under Fang Ming to have an official status.

Fang Ming smiled and said, "Wang Liulang is a rather unrefined name!"

"I request my Lord to bestow a new name!" Wang Liulang was quick-witted.

"How about Wang Zhong!" Fang Ming said without hesitation.

"Wang Zhong..." Wang Liulang, no, Wang Zhong, bowed and said, "Your subject shall henceforth be known as Wang Zhong! I will be loyal and devoted, doing my utmost to repay my Lord!"

"Good! Very good!" Fang Ming clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

The bestowed divine position of Earth God was naturally not a genuine one. Instead, it was Fang Ming's latest creation, developed through continuous experimentation and insights gained from his own advancements. In essence, it was very similar to the previous divine ability runes. However, it was imprinted with the four inherent divine abilities of an Earth God, along with Fang Ming's method for digesting the Power of Incense and Offerings.

Since Fang Ming had created it himself, he could naturally recall it with a thought. It was like a projection, with the ultimate authority remaining in Fang Ming's hands. He could even order it to self-destruct. Even with divine power of a higher rank, it couldn't be advanced further; advancement was only possible through Fang Ming's decree. Naturally, it wouldn't grant any great divine abilities.

Furthermore, Fang Ming had imposed restrictions. This divine position could only absorb incense and offerings from within its designated territory and could not draw from outside. It also could not leave Fang Ming's divine domain or be taken out of the body, otherwise, it would self-destruct.

He also planned to have his subordinate Earth Gods collect incense and offerings according to Fang Ming's system and rules, fulfill the wishes of believers, and keep records. They were to report for an audience monthly, have their accounts verified, and hand over half of their reserve funds to be stored by Fang Ming, mimicking the practice of central banks in his previous life.

Half of their reserve funds were deposited with Fang Ming. The remaining half was sufficient for fulfilling wishes, and they could apply to use Fang Ming's funds if needed.

Half of the net income of his subordinate Deities each month also had to be contributed to Fang Ming. In his view, this was a franchise fee. Since they had joined his divine system, they naturally had to contribute. These contributions, once made, were non-refundable and became Fang Ming's pure income. Although Fang Ming could directly collect divine power from his subordinates through their divine positions, doing so felt disrespectful of their privacy and could easily expose secrets. It was better to have them convert their divine power into large coins and hand them over during their monthly audiences. This, in turn, utilized the labor of his subordinates.

In this way, half of his subordinates' strength was held by Fang Ming. Fang Ming would not bestow all his subordinate positions; he would always maintain direct control over half of the territories under his command. This way, the Lord would always hold an absolute advantage in strength, so why would he fear his subordinates rebelling?

Of course, if it wasn't necessary, Fang Ming wouldn't reveal his control over his subordinates' divine positions.

Concurrently, since he wasn't afraid of his subordinates rebelling, he naturally had to offer some incentives. Well, he would allow them to manage all affairs within their divine jurisdictions independently and appoint their own Clerks and Yin Soldiers, as long as they reported for account reconciliation and handed over divine power on time each month. Everything else could be delegated, allowing them to become local potentates.

After all, the divine power income from a single village was meager. No matter how well it was managed, the income wouldn't increase much. Without divine power income, they couldn't recruit many Clerks or Yin Soldiers to expand their strength.

It had to be said that Fang Ming had truly pushed the prevention of subordinate rebellion and the leakage of secrets to the extreme.

After carefully considering, Fang Ming decided to proceed with this method in the future.

He then spoke again, "Wu Hongyu, you have also made contributions in spreading the faith of the Earth God. I now bestow upon you the true ninth-rank divine position of Earth God of Changhe Village. I hope you will bring blessings to the region!"

Wu Hongyu stepped forward and bowed in thanks, "Your subject thanks my Lord!"

Divine power enveloped him again, and an official uniform materialized. Wu Hongyu possessed a pure red natal qi and was the Ancestral Spirit of a Patriarch from a prominent family, making him capable. Serving as the Earth God of a village was naturally more than enough. White qi condensed, appearing very stable.

Seeing Zhou Si and Wang Deng below with expectant eyes, Fang Ming smiled. His original subordinates had not all been promoted yet! Moreover, these two both possessed natal qi and talent. Fang Ming's subordinates were short-handed, so they couldn't be assigned to external positions.

Fang Ming cleared his throat, and the hall immediately fell silent. He then said, "This venerable one intends to reform the military system!"

His subordinates exchanged glances. At this point, they could only bow and say, "Please instruct us, my Lord!"

"Five men form a squad, ten men form a fire. This is an ancient system and need not be changed, but we must establish ranks to distinguish seniority."

"Five men form a squad, with a Squad Leader. The Squad Leader is equivalent to the position of Clerk."

Up to this point, there was no change from before, only the clarification of ranks. Everyone listened attentively.

"From now on, five fires form a company, with a Company Commander and a Deputy Company Commander each. The Company Commander shall be called the Brave and Valiant Captain, a subordinate ninth-rank. The Deputy Company Commander is equivalent to the position of Clerk of Records." Each company would have fifty men.

"Two companies form a battalion. The Battalion Commander shall be called the Imperial Martial Captain, a true ninth-rank. He will have a squad of personal guards." Each battalion would have one hundred men.

"Five battalions form a guard. The Guard Commander shall be called the Inspiring Might Captain, a true eighth-rank. He will have a fire of personal guards." Each guard would have five hundred men, similar to a County Lieutenant.

"Xie Jin, Zheng Jing, where are you?"

"Your subordinates are here!" Xie Jin and Zheng Jing stepped forward.

"This venerable one appoints Xie Jin as Battalion Commander, Imperial Martial Captain, in charge of one battalion. Zheng Jing as Company Commander, Brave and Valiant Captain, in charge of one company."

"Under this venerable one, there are still seven fires of Yin Soldiers. Xie Jin, you will recruit warriors to form a battalion!" Fang Ming's subordinates originally had Wang Liulang managing two fires of Yin Soldiers, Xie Jin managing three fires, and the newly arrived Zheng Jing had also recruited two fires, totaling only seventy men. With thirty more men, a battalion could be formed.

"Your subordinate accepts the order!" Xie Jin and Zheng Jing were overjoyed. This meant they now had official status, no longer being mere soldiers or minor officials.

"You must train the Yin Soldiers well. In the future, without this venerable one's orders, you can only mobilize your own personal guards. If you dare to mobilize Yin Soldiers privately, your souls will be scattered, and you shall never be reborn!" The management of Yin Soldiers under Fang Ming had been somewhat chaotic before. Now, with the establishment of a system, Military Qi began to generate continuously. As Fang Ming made appointments, it converged onto Xie Jin and Zheng Jing, causing Fang Ming's eyes to twitch.

"Your subordinates dare not!" Xie Jin and Zheng Jing solemnly accepted the order.

Fang Ming, as an Earth God, naturally possessed no martial divine abilities. He had also decided that although the commanders of the Yin Soldiers would have official status, they would not be granted divine positions. After all, they possessed Military Qi, which was no less effective than divine abilities.

"Hmm!" Fang Ming nodded, waved his hand, and with a flash of red light, Xie Jin and Zheng Jing had already changed into iron armor, gleaming coldly. They were no longer wearing leather armor. In the future, military officers would naturally be protected by iron armor imbued with red divine power, while Yin Soldiers would only have leather armor imbued with white divine power.

As the number of Yin Soldiers increased, a Ministry of Military Equipment would naturally be established to be responsible for the crafting of military equipment.

Fang Ming then opened his mouth again, "Zhou Si, Wang Deng!"

The two stepped forward and bowed respectfully, "Your subordinates are here!"

"You two have also made contributions. I now bestow upon you ten taels of silver!" One tael of silver was equivalent to one hundred large coins, one hundred strands of white divine power, which Fang Ming had condensed from ten strands of red divine power.

When he subdued the Ancestral Spirits of the Four Great Families, Fang Ming had received a large amount of divine power, totaling over a hundred thousand strands of white divine power. Naturally, he had become wealthy.

"We thank our Lord!" Although Zhou Si and Wang Deng were somewhat unwilling inwardly, they still thanked him and withdrew.

Fang Ming smiled with satisfaction. With this promotion, both his original subordinates and the two new individuals from the Four Great Families had gained official status, creating a balance that would facilitate governance and control.

Zhou Si and Wang Deng also recognized this, but it was the norm. Therefore, despite their reluctance, they knew there would be future opportunities. Ten taels of silver was not a small sum, so they respectfully withdrew.

"Guo Sheng, I am promoting you one rank to Record Keeper Magistrate!"

"Zheng Kuan, I reward you with two taels of silver!"

"Li Ming, Li Kong, you two have been Servant Soldiers for a long time. You are diligent and conscientious. I hereby appoint Li Ming as Child-Sending Clerk and Li Kong as Fertile Land Clerk!"

Guo Sheng managed the accounts, so there was a shortage of Clerks, and promotions were possible. Li Ming and Li Kong had been Servant Soldiers the longest and had reasons for promotion. They could fill Wang Zhong's vacancy, but they couldn't be promoted two levels at once, so they would first become Clerks. Zheng Kuan had no reason for promotion and no vacant positions, so he would be rewarded with silver for now.

All four came forward and bowed in salutation.

As for He Dong, although he had been with Fang Ming for a long time, if he hadn't committed an offense, he could have been promoted to official status this time. But since he had offended Fang Ming, he could only consider himself unlucky. He would have to be ranked behind Li Kong and Li Ming, and wouldn't be promoted this time.

Fang Ming watched as his subordinates solemnly accepted their orders. The civil and military systems under him were now established; from now on, it would just be a matter of continuous replenishment. His own small system was officially established, and he couldn't help but feel overjoyed, laughing heartily.

As the appointments were issued, the fortune within the Golden Seal surged, rising another segment. It now occupied about eighty percent of the Golden Seal, with red qi accounting for seventy percent, bathing Fang Ming in a near-vermilion glow. This was a clear rule: each department performing its duties released surplus power.

Moreover, the white qi surging from the sky appeared even purer, faintly forming a net-like structure centered on the Golden Seal above Fang Ming's head. It spread outwards in all directions, seemingly intending to envelop the entire territory Fang Ming governed.

This was the embryonic form of law and order. It only truly existed when a strict system was established and implemented.

Fang Ming looked on and saw that the white qi was extremely dense, with threads of red qi forming above it. He knew this was the fortune of his entire system. His personal fortune was seven parts red and three parts white, while the system's fortune was almost pure white, with only specks of red qi.

This was the initial establishment of law and order; it hadn't yet deeply penetrated people's hearts. For stable rule, at least half of it needed to be red qi to be considered barely qualified.

However, this would take more than a day or two. It required painstaking effort to make the Earth God's faith deeply ingrained in the people's daily lives. To advance further, the Earth God needed to be closely linked to the people's life, death, illness, and old age. Only then could Fang Ming claim to have truly established a firm foothold in this land, making it impossible for even the government and the imperial court to eradicate the faith in the Earth God.