The Seven Prefectures of Vermilion Bird, the Outer Heaven Battlefield, and Decisions of the Council
With a tap of my finger, I was instantly transported to the exciting world of Chapter 287, "The Vermilion Bird Seven Provinces Outer Heaven Battlefield: A Deciding Meeting (Seeking Monthly Tickets)".
After the prefects of each prefecture finished their term of office, the governors of each state would come forward to take their turn.
The Southern Region Vermilion Bird Domain is divided into seven provinces: "Well Wood Hound Prefecture," "Ghost Metal Sheep Prefecture," "Willow Earth Roe Deer Prefecture," "Star Sun Horse Prefecture," "Extended Net Moon Deer Prefecture," "Wings Fire Snake Prefecture," and "Chariot Water Earthworm Prefecture."
These seven states are each ruled and controlled by seven Fourth-Grade True Spirit Lineage: the An Household "Well Wood Hound True Spirit", the Yang Household "Ghost Metal Sheep True Spirit", the Zhang Household "Willow Earth Roe Deer True Spirit", the Lu Household family of "Extended Net Moon Deer True Spirit", the She family of "Wings Fire Snake True Spirit", Yin Household "She Household Chariot Water Earthworm".
As Kong Wenxuan listened to the reports of these Fourth-Grade True Spirit Lineage governors, he discovered that their reports were not only about the affairs of their families and states, but also about internal matters of the "True Spirit Realm." In the latter part of their reports, there were various contents related to the Outer Heaven Battlefield.
Although Kong Wenxuan had vaguely known some things before, the main focus of the middle-grade and High-Grade True Spirit Lineage ' operations and strategies was no longer within the "True Spirit Realm," or rather, not only within the "True Spirit Realm," but more so in the Outer Heaven Battlefield outside the "True Spirit Realm."
However, he knew nothing about the situation of the "Outer Heaven Battlefield". Now, listening to the reports and duties of these governors, he gradually gleaned some information about the "Outer Heaven Battlefield".
According to Kong Wenxuan's analysis, the "Outer Heaven Battlefield" should be divided into two parts: one part is a defensive battlefield that protects the "True Spirit Realm" and resists invasions from enemies such as the "True Martial World"; the other part is an offensive battlefield that attacks, invades, and plunders other worlds.
The "True Martial World Origin Fragment" that the Kong Household encountered when they opened up the "Peacock Secret Realm" in the "Origin Sea" were undoubtedly obtained through plunder from the "Battlefield".
Unfortunately, the section on "the Outer Heaven Battlefield" in the report on the duties of the seven governors mostly focused on the "defensive battlefield," with very little information about the "offensive battlefield."
However, from their reports on matters concerning the "defensive battlefield," it is clear that the situation on the "defensive battlefield" was good for the first twenty years of the past thirty years, but the pressure on the "defensive battlefield" has been increasing day by day in the last ten years.
Over the past decade, martial artists from the "True Martial World" have clearly and intentionally intensified their attacks on the defensive battlefield of the "True Spirit Realm," greatly increasing the pressure on these Middle-Grade True Spirit Lineage to defend the "defensive battlefield."
Combined with the reports from the previous prefects, it is clear that the Demon Race in various regions have become more active over the past decade, appearing everywhere, attacking, causing destruction, and even driving hordes of Demon Beast to breach some county towns.
It's hard not to suspect that this internal and external trouble is a deliberate act of cooperation between the Demon Race and the martial arts practitioners of the "True Martial World".
In particular, there was the matter of the Demon Race artists of the "True Martial World" to use the "Heavenly Demon Grotto-Heaven" as a passage to help the martial artists of the "True Martial World" invade the "Demon Race Secret Realm" inside the "True Spirit Realm".
That's quite obvious.
Kong Wenxuan's sense of impending crisis, like "a storm brewing," grew stronger.
After the governors of the seven provinces finished their term of office, it was time for the officials of the six ministries of the royal court to report on their new posts.
The Ministry of Revenue reported on tax revenue over the past thirty years and criticized some prefectures and counties for failing to meet their tax collection targets.
The Ministry of Personnel summarizes and reports on the status of various "True Spirit Lineage" in the seven states of the Vermilion Bird Southern Region over the past thirty years, including their Star Inlaying status, promotion, demotion, fall, and development.
The Ministry of Works reported on the past thirty years' work in weapon crafting, alchemy, talisman making, array crafting, and the forging of flying boats and warships, as well as the consumption, replenishment, and maintenance of these products.
The Ministry of Justice summarized and reported on the handling of various wanted criminals and the extermination of Demon Race over the past thirty years.
The Ministry of Rites reported on its interactions and cooperation with the other four regions: the Central Domain, the Azure Dragon Eastern Region, the White Tiger Western Region, and the Black Tortoise Northern Region.
Finally, the Ministry of War summarized and reported on the overall combat situation in the Outer Heaven Battlefield over the past thirty years.
While listening to the reports from the officials of the six ministries of the royal court, Kong Wenxuan discovered that the heads of these six ministries were mostly members of the "Vermilion Bird True Spirit" Zhu Household. Even the assistant officials were mostly members of the seven Fourth-Grade True Spirit Lineage in the seven states, with no other True Spirit Lineage or outsiders in office.
The entire central leadership of the "Vermilion Bird Royal Court" can be said to be the "family-run empire" of the "Vermilion Bird True Spirit" Zhu Household, a one-man show!
However, Kong Wenxuan considered the high degree of autonomy of the "True Spirit Lineage" in various regions. Therefore, it was not surprising that the Zhu Household, the "Vermilion Bird True Spirit," as Second-Grade True Spirit Lineage that led and controlled the entire Vermilion Bird Southern Region, also governed the entire "Vermilion Bird Royal Court."
After the officials of the six ministries finished their reports, the "Vermilion Bird King," who was seated at the head of the table, did not speak. So the official presiding over the small court assembly continued the proceedings, proceeding to the subsequent discussions, punishments, and rewards.
The meeting was to discuss the various issues raised during the previous official performance review, propose solutions, and outline the general direction for the development of the "Vermilion Bird Southern Region" and the Outer Heaven Battlefield over the next thirty years.
Like county magistrates such as Kong Wenxuan, they could only listen to the discussions above from below and then act according to the results of the discussions and the orders issued.
Only when the governor, the chief official of the six ministries, or other high-ranking officials need to inquire about specific matters and are summoned can one step forward to report the situation.
Kong Wenxuan stood at the lower end, listening to the officials' discussions and decisions, which covered a wide range of topics. One of the key points was the collusion between the martial artists of the "True Martial World" and the Demon Race race, as well as their invasion through the "Heavenly Demon Grotto-Heaven".
Therefore, the officials in the council specifically summoned the Bifang Commandery to step forward and inquire in detail about the circumstances surrounding how the martial artists from the "True Martial World" had used the "Heavenly Demon Grotto-Heaven" as a passage to infiltrate the "Demon Race Secret Realm".
Clearly, the high-ranking officials and True Spirit Lineage of the Vermilion Bird Royal Court have far more information and knowledge than Kong Wenxuan. What he can think of, these high-ranking officials and True Spirit Lineage can naturally think of as well.
With the Demon Race active inside and the "True Martial World" attacking from the outside, the pressure is increasing significantly. It is obvious that they are colluding and cooperating with each other. Their goal should be to repeat the "Demon Race Secret Realm" incident and lure the martial artists from the "True Martial World" to invade the "True Spirit Realm".
Therefore, after discussion and deliberation, a decision was quickly made: First, the Middle-Grade True Spirit Lineage each prefecture should take the initiative to intensify the crackdown on and suppression of the demon Demon Race that have emerged and caused trouble in various places. Ideally, they should find out the hidden strongholds of the Demon Race in various places and wipe them out completely.
Secondly, it aims to strengthen defense and offensive operations in the "Outer Heaven Battlefield," suppress the attacks of the martial artists from the "True Martial World," and sever the connection between the martial artists from the "True Martial World Realm" and the Demon Race race within the "True Spirit Realm" as much as possible.
Upon hearing these orders, the prefects of each prefecture bowed and accepted them.
Besides matters concerning the Demon Race and the martial arts cultivation of the "True Martial World," there were other matters, such as taxation, relations with the other five domains, the Outer Heaven Battlefield, and development plans for the next thirty years, which were discussed and decided one by one.
Kong Wenxuan stood at the lower end, listening to these discussions and decisions. Although most of them were temporarily irrelevant to him as a minor county magistrate, it did not prevent him from remembering these matters, understanding the overall situation, and broadening his horizons.