The Boat is Small, Easy to Turn; Haste Makes Waste

Standing within Qiankun Hall, Ye Chen quietly savored this solitude.

At the same time, he also savored this loneliness in fine detail.

Because this kind of loneliness could become addictive.

To be honest, sometimes he wondered whether this step he had taken was right or wrong.

Or rather, was the life he had now what he truly wanted?

Originally, he had only wanted to complete the system's tasks and establish his own civilization.

Then quickly raise the civilization to at least Level Two, developing technology that could extend lifespan.

After that, accumulate Civilization Points and exchange them from the system for powerful genetic technology, thereby becoming a god.

But his thoughts were beautiful, while reality refused to comply.

When he first began building the civilization, influenced by the environment, actual circumstances, and other factors, he was forced to establish an empire.

Finally, when he looked back, he realized he had unknowingly been pushed step by step to this position by the tide of events.

And bit by bit, he was compelled by that same tide to learn how to govern a country well, how to ensure his subjects had enough to eat and wear.

And also, what it truly meant to be a qualified Emperor.

He now felt that the path he was walking had strayed far, far away from the direction he had originally envisioned.

Moreover, he felt that being an emperor was exhausting—especially being a good emperor was even more exhausting.

But as time passed, he instead found himself taking pleasure in it.

He felt he might have contracted some kind of illness. Hmm, he had caught "the disease of being an emperor is exhausting yet I enjoy it anyway."

Something like "life abuses me a thousand times, yet I treat life like my first love."

In modern terms, it would be called "Stockholm Syndrome." Probably, maybe, that was the disease?

His thoughts slowly scattered, all kinds of random ideas flooding his mind.

Shaking his head to toss out these tangled thoughts, Ye Chen leaned over his desk, recalling various technical points from his memory. Basically, whatever came to mind, he jotted down on paper.

If he truly couldn't think of anything, he would spend Civilization Points to exchange it from the system.

Now, over the past hundred years, the entire development of the Yanhuang Empire could be said to have been accumulated bit by bit by him like this.

Although he had been a top student before, that didn't mean he could remember everything. Many things required him to slowly recall on his own.

As for the Yanhuang Civilization System, its help over these hundred years hadn't been that significant. Because ever since the Yanhuang Civilization System bound itself to the Yanhuang Empire, obtaining technological data or other technological products required spending Civilization Points to exchange from the system's shop.

And Civilization Points were obtained based on the development of the Yanhuang Civilization. That is, the stronger the Yanhuang Empire became, the more Civilization Points he would gain.

Over these hundred years, the development speed of the Yanhuang Empire he had created wasn't actually that fast. Of course, this was also related to his deliberate control over the empire's pace of development.

Haste makes waste. He had worked so hard to reach this point and establish the Yanhuang Empire. This was now his foundation. He would not forcibly rush things for the sake of temporary gains or losses.

Of course, the core reason was that his lifespan was long enough—he could afford to wait.

Forcibly pushing the Yanhuang Empire to grow prematurely would only leave greater hidden dangers in the future.

A large ship is hard to turn. Compared to solving problems after the empire became powerful, it was better to nip them in the bud from the very beginning.

What he envisioned was to lay a solid foundation, gradually weed out the old native elements, focus on developing the population, then establish a complete education system and spread knowledge.

Finally, after the first batches of students graduated, they could begin industrial and technological development. This way, the entire social system could slowly be revitalized and steered in the right direction.

Yanhuang Calendar, Year 124.

Within the empire, after decades of effort, the education system was finally completed.

With the first few batches of graduates deployed as teachers across the nation, a grand nationwide education initiative was launched.

At the same time, officials from every province took charge in each city, safeguarding the national education effort.

In the shadows, Ye Chen ordered Long Yu to establish the Imperial Guard organization, monitoring the entire country. Any official found sabotaging the education system or neglecting their duties could be executed first and reported later.

After a few "chickens" were severely punished, the existence of the Imperial Guard gradually shifted from the shadows to the open, becoming the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all officials nationwide, ready to fall at any moment.

For a time, officials across the land trembled in fear. The authority of the Imperial Guard reached its peak.

And it would never decline in the future, because behind the Imperial Guard stood Ye Chen, the Emperor—and Ye Chen would never die.

As long as Ye Chen lived for one day, the Yanhuang Empire would not fall into chaos.

As long as Ye Chen did not weaken the power of the Imperial Guard, its authority would never diminish.

Now, with the passing of generation after generation of the old, and after more than a hundred years of the empire's existence, Ye Chen's indoctrination of each new generation of the empire's children had made the entire Yanhuang Empire, in effect, Ye Chen's one-man rule.

Everyone took pride in the empire. Everyone regarded Ye Chen as the one true god.

Just like among the Angels, where all the new generations blindly believed in Keisha and were willing to die for her.

Star Hall, morning court.

Ye Chen, clad in a black Star Robe, wearing a twelve-bead crown, and holding the Chixiao Sword (formerly the Sword of Flames), sat firmly on the Emperor's throne, looking down upon the assembled civil and military officials.

Yuan Long, standing beside him, announced: "Bow!"

"Greetings, Emperor."

Watching the crowd bow down, Yuan Long spoke again: "Acclaim!!"

"May the Emperor live for ten thousand years!!"

"Acclaim again!!"

"May the Emperor live for ten thousand years!!"

After the court etiquette concluded, Ye Chen looked down at the crowd and said in a deep voice: "Rise!!"

"Thank you, Emperor!!"

Once the necessary procedures were finished, the ministers took their seats on separate sides.

The civil and military officials sat on either side, with a wide aisle in the middle.